He had left Osha to watch over Leshil's quarters, and that decision resulted in the worst night of his life. En’nish had been sent by Frethfare before Sgaile could resolve the crisis-which meant Most Aged Father knew everything.
It took no great feat of intelligence to guess how word had reached Most Aged Father. En’nish must have been watching and waiting for an opportunity.
Sgaile grew sick to his stomach as they broke into a clearing where a large boulder protruded from a hillside. Halfway beyond the boulder's ledge top, Urhkarasiferin crouched upon the slope of thinly leafed elms.
"A pack was here," Brot'an'duive said, and Sgaile followed his gaze to the soft ground covered in paw prints. "And someone with small, human feet."
"Wynn?" Leshil asked.
Magiere stepped beyond Sgaile, pacing the ground with deep breaths.
"No blood," she said.
Sgaile was relieved, and then suspicious. Perhaps Chap had kept Wynn safe. But how, in the dark, had Magiere known no blood was spilled here? Leshil also watched her with wary concern. En’nish hung back by the tree with her companions.
"Come," Sgaile said, and headed upslope. As he approached Urhkarasiferin, the elder anmaglahk pointed through the elms to the northeast.
"At least seven… maybe eight majay-hi," he said."Along with the woman… all making speed."
"And following a clhuassas" Brot'an'duive added.
"What is that?" Magiere asked.
"One of the large silver-gray deer you have seen," Sgaile answered, and said no more. Theless humans knew of such things, the better.
Leesil knelt down by the split hoof prints, larger than any deer-sign in human lands.
Sgaile rarely saw even subtle distress in Urhkarasiferin's passive expression. But the man tightened his lips with a slight scowl and breathed sharply out through his nose.
"North by northeast," he said.
Brot'an'duive already stared off through the trees along the path the pack had taken.
"What's out there," Leshil asked, "and why would Chap or Wynn try to follow them?"
"They are not following," Brot'an'duive corrected. "They are traveling with the pack… being taken… to Cuirin'nen'a."
Such a blunt statement stunned Sgaile. But if Leshil came with them, he needed to know the truth of the situation. It was only right and fair to prepare him, as the shock could cause discord later.
Leshil rose quickly from the deer tracks, his eyes on the path ahead. He took off down the trail.
"No," Brot'an'duive shouted, grabbing for Leshil.
Magiere slapped Brot'an's hand aside with a menacing glare and followed in Leshil's footsteps.
Sgaile was at a loss. He could not allow anyone near Cuirin'nen'a, though he understood why Brot'an'duive had told Leshil where the pack headed.
He hoped they could catch the human woman before she and Chap reached Cuirin'nen'a.
It would be hard to turn Leshil aside, and harder still if he were in reach of his mother.
At least Brot'an'duive was with them-and that was some comfort. Sgaile would need his wisdom and calm counsel.
En’nish tried to step around and head up the trail. Before Sgaile intercepted her, Brot'an'duive cut her off.
"You may follow," he said, "but do not forget that guardianship belongs to Sgailsheilleache. Do not interfere."
Urhkarasiferin, about to head onward, cast only a passing glance at the woman. But Sgaile had another concern. He reached out to stop Urhkarasiferin, touching the elder's shoulder.
"I left Leanalham alone," Sgaile said. "Please stay with her, and tell her I will return when able."
Urhkarasiferin gave only the slightest cock of his head to betray his surprise. He was the elder of the two of them, yet only involved at Sgaile's request. The elder anmaglahk nodded and headed back toward Crijheaiche.
Sgaile turned to catch up with Osha close behind him. He heard En’nish and the other two following. For the first few steps, it struck him as odd that Frethfare or even Most Aged Father would send another trio of the caste to follow him in tracking down one small human.
He pushed the thought away and ran on.
Chap loped beside Lily, growing tired and sensing the same in her. At times, thickened brush between the trees made passage difficult. Wynn clung to the deer's back with nothing to grasp but the animal's coat of long hair. She bent forward against its shoulders and neck, trying to hang on.
The ink-shaded elder slowed without warning, and all of the pack pulled up around him. They dispersed among the undergrowth, and a few dropped to the ground panting, pink tongues lolling out of their mouths.
A rest had been called, and Chap was no less grateful than the others. Lily lay down on the forest floor, but Chap trotted over to Wynn and barked once. She still clung to the deer as it shifted from hoof to hoof.
Wynn looked so small upon the animal's back, no larger than a child might appear upon a full-grown horse. Her hair was tangled and her oval face smeared by clumps of kicked-up earth. She had no cloak and shivered in her light elven clothing.
Chap barked again, and Wynn lifted her head. She slid her far leg over the deer's haunches and tried to slide off its back. She ended up dropping to her rump when her feet hit the ground. Chap whined and pressed his head against her shoulder.
She was too weary and stiff to even put a hand on his head. Instead she crawled on hands and knees behind him as he returned to where Lily lay panting.
The pack lay in groups of two and three to share warmth. Wynn settled next to Lily, and Chap stretched out before both of them. Wynn reached out slowly and stroked Lily's back. Lily raised her ears once but did not object.
"She is beautiful," Wynn finally said. "All your kindare beautiful."
Chap looked into her weary face. He hoped for her sake-and his-they would not travel much farther in this manner.
"I thought that all of them would be like you-born-Fay," Wynn added as she closed her eyes and lay back. "I did not know they would be so far removed-yet still like you."
He belly-crawled over to press his body against her.Winters here were far milder than beyond the mountains, yet the nights could be cool.
Chap found a strange moment of peace, considering what was at stake in this swift journey. With Wynn nestled between Lily and himself, it was good to lie on the earth of his birthplace. His eyes began to droop.
The first long baying rang through the night.
Several majay-hi stirred and got up as Chap opened his eyes. The sound rang out again, and he recognized it. The deer that had carried Wynn was still among the pack, yet this bellow came from farther off.
The deer lifted its head and issued an answering call. It turned and stalked toward the pack elder as Lily climbed to her feet. She joined them as the deer bent down to touch heads with the elder. Chap was too tired to try dipping into the exchange of memory. But when Lily returned to press her head to his, she whined in agitation. The flash of memory snapped Chap fully awake.
Gray-green-clad elves ran through the forest.
He could not see their faces clearly, for the image Lily gave him was not specific.Just anmaglahk running in a line with purpose.
Why would she show him this? The answer came quickly to him. The Anmaglahk were coming after them.
Wynn was still curled on the ground beside him. She had barely stirred at the deer's bellow. Chap ground his paws into the earth.
We are pursued.
Wynn thrashed over, grabbing her head. "Do not do that! Not unless I know it is coming!"
She sat up with a grimace and put a hand over her mouth. She looked at him as if he had poured a foul liquid in her mouth while she slept.