"Sleep," he repeated.
Wynn lay back and, after a moment, closed her eyes.
Chap dropped his head to his paws, still watching Brot'an.
He should rest with Wynn and keep her warm. This day had been no better for her than the others.In some ways, far worse. The Fay knew of her gift-or curse-of sensing when they manifested nearby.
A soft blur of white appeared near the edge of a far cedar. Lily poked her head around and whined.
Chap stifled his eagerness to go to her, not wanting to leave Wynn and Magiere alone and subject to so many threats. When he turned from Lily with a sigh, he found Brot'an watching him, and wrinkled his jowls at the man.
"Go," Brot'an said.
Leesil kept watch from an open space between the trees. Magiere lay with her head upon his thigh, her eyes closed. Still, Chap would not leave.
He glanced at the group of Anmaglahk gathered at another fire off through the forest. They huddled about the flames as Frethfare stood over them, but he could not hear their voices clearly.
"Enough!" Sgaile said too loudly and stood up.
Chap heard no more, though it appeared Sgaile defended whatever Frethfare had said to all there. En’nish turned away where she sat, and the conversation ended.
Lily came up beside Chap, surprising him with a lick on his ear. He didn't look at her but kept his eyes on the gathering of enemies.
"No one will disturb your companions," Brot'an said.
The words broke Chap's concentration as he tried to catch any memories in the minds of the Anmaglahk. He rumbled softly.
He did not care for so many having discovered how truly aware he was. First Sgaile-and now Brot'an spoke to him in full sentences, as if knowing he understood.
"We should all take what time is left to be with our own kind," Brot'an added.
The tall elf leaned his head back against the tree and stared into the fire's small dancing flames.
Chap got up slowly as Lily headed off. He shivered, but not from cold.
Though he was uncertain why, his thoughts slipped back to the phantasm he had suffered in the forests of Droevinka-Magiere's homeland. He had seen her, mad and feral, standing in the dark at the head of an army. Among the twisted creatures of the living walked those of the undead. He shook the memory off-it was a lie induced by sorcery.
Chap loped after Lily until she paused and circled around in a mulch-filled hollow between three close fir trees.
Her fur was warm and soft against him. He pressed into her as they turned about each other. There was relief in her gentle presence. For a little while, he was not so alone. He had kin of flesh, kin of living spirit, if not those who had betrayed him and taken his memories. And when he finally lay quiet beside her, it was with memory and not words that they spoke in whispers.
Chapter Fifteen
Leesil sat quietly with Magiere's head upon his leg. He expected rain to come, but the sky never broke open, so he saw no need to disturb Magiere and move to better cover.
Past what he guessed was noon beneath the dark clouds, Osha approached Brot'an. The young elf's gaze drifted to Wynn sleeping soundly in Brot'an's cloak.
"It is time," Brot'an called to Leesil.
At the sound of his voice, Magiere's eyes opened. She hadn't slept either and only rested.
Leesil's leg had gone numb beneath her head. He struggled to his feet, pulling Magiere up as his leg tingled with returning feeling. When Brot'an went to gather the others, Leesil left Magiere with Wynn and snuck off toward the barrier woods. Halfway there, he heard steps behind him, and turned to see Sgaile following.
"I won't be long," he said. "Unless you're fool enough to try to stop me."
"Then I will go as well," Sgaile answered. "Or you will not go at all."
Leesil was too weary to argue. He had no idea how soon another chance might come to see his mother. So he turned toward the passage through the woods with Sgaile close on his heels.
They emerged in the clearing, and Nein'a was outside her tree waiting. Leesil glanced back at Sgaile.
"Go," the man said with a sigh. "I will wait here."
Leesil had thought long on his mother while Magiere rested in his lap. Eight years in this glade, seeming so easy to leave and yet not, would drive anyone to odd ways. If he'd been thinking more clearly at their earlier meeting, he might have realized this. Stepping close before her and looking up into her calm yet disquieted face, he couldn't think of much to say besides the obvious.
"I can't free you by staying here. I'm going back to Crijheaiche to find a way to make your people listen." He lowered his voice. "Then you are leaving with me and Magiere."
She reached out and gripped his wrist. The action held no affection, and he almost pulled away.
"Forget me and leave this forest," she whispered, and then her tone grew soft, more like the lyrical voice he remembered from youth. "Please… my son."
All of Leesil's resentment melted in his mother's sudden warmth.
"You may trust Sgailsheilleache's guardianship," she whispered. "But in all other things, trust only Brot'an'duive."
He jerked free of her grasp. "I will be back… and you should trust only me."
"Leshil," Sgaile called, sounding strained. "Come."
Leesil turned away from his mother.
By midafternoon, Wynn worried about keeping the pace Sgaile set. She still wore Brot'an's hopelessly oversized cloak over her baggy elven clothing, and the combined raiment was heavy and cumbersome. But she was still too cold to remove the cloak.
The few times she took her eyes from the others around her, the forest shifted in unsettling ways. With the sun hidden behind thick clouds,all the world was caught within a lingering dusk. Her spirits low, she struggled to keep up-but not only because she was exhausted and worried.
She felt cut off and alone.
Leesil and Magiere were silent except for brief glances and touches they exchanged. Wynn thought she saw Leesil smile briefly, just once, at Magiere.
Chap ranged in and out of their procession, sometimes coming back to Wynn's side. Not once did he speak into her head, and after only a short distance, he ran off into the trees once again. Even Osha rarely looked at her or Magiere. Brot'an was considerate in his actions but otherwise as distant as the rest of the Anmaglahk.
Wynn had no one to turn to for a soft word or a look of comfort, and thoughts of Chap and her encounter with his kin returned often. This forest proved a terrible place that fed her loneliness.
Sgaile's demeanor worried her most. He had changed since witnessing Magiere's savage side. Wynn always found him daunting-occasionally frightening-but she had been certain he would protect her or Leesil or Magiere. Now his amber eyes were glazed, and any concern he showed was mechanical. Twice, he seemed about to speak to her, but then looked away.
He also appeared determined to rush them back to Crijheaiche as quickly as possible.
Somewhere behind Wynn, a strange chirp floated through the forest. She tried to slow and listen, but the procession's pace was too quick. She was left to wonder if it was the same kind of bird she had heard on their first journey in Crijheaiche.
Wynn had had enough of silence. All right, so she had brought much of this on herself. Or rather Chap had gotten her into it by running off without telling anyone. But compared to the encounter with the Fay, she should feel lucky to be alive.
She quick-stepped up behind Osha, trying to think of something to ask.Something useful-or not.Anything to break the silence for just one breath. She tugged on his cloak as she stumbled over the hem of her own.
Osha glanced over his shoulder with a frown.
"What is… Greimasg'ah?" she asked quietly. "A grasp-something? I heard the others use it to refer to Brot'an, and once for Urhkar.Some title or rank?"