Rhanu barked a laugh. "I bet you did." He had already seen how the Shama pushed her authority around. She seemed to take it as second nature that everyone in the world would obey her every command.
"You need not worry that you will not be there for them. Your task is as important as theirs is. Greater, perhaps."
Rhanu angrily threw up his hands. "What are you talking about? What if something attacks us again? We are helpless out here with me wounded and the two of us alone."
Ayna's expression remain unperturbed. "We are not alone."
Shadowy shapes emerged from the woods and circled the encampment, lithe and silent as ghosts.
"We are never alone."
Rhanu eyed the wolves warily. They did not seem aggressive. Their golden eyes shone as they gazed at him curiously.
"Who are you?"
"I am Ayna Tlalli, a Shama and a Nahgual of Cold River Pack. I have remained behind for you, Rhanu."
"Who am I to you, Shama?"
"Before it was destroyed, the Eye of Everfell revealed you. I saw you walking across the Sea of Sands with hands stained red from killing. The orb on the medallion you carry hidden from sight blazed like the sun. I knew you were coming to Leodia, Rhanu. You, like Marcellus, are important to the coming events, the upheaval that will change these lands forever."
Rhanu unconsciously touched the medallion under his shirt. "I know not of Everfell or visions. I am a foreigner here. What have I to do with anything, other than killing the odji?"
"Do you think it was happenstance that I found you? I was on my way back to Halladen when I was compelled to come here. I was drawn to you, to this moment."
"This is madness. I don't have time to argue." He shouldered his pack. "My friends need me."
As he started forward, one of the large wolves snarled and moved to block him. Rhanu fingered his wakiza. "Tell your brother to back away."
The wolf's growling cut off. Ayna regarded Rhanu with a pleased smile.
"I never told you he was my brother."
Rhanu's eyes widened at the eye-wrenching transformation. The wolf's bones twisted and reset, tendons stretched and crackled as the creature stood upright in a pile of shed hair. The man that remained was dark-haired and deeply tanned like his sister. Nando's bronzed eyes glowed as he regarded Rhanu.
Rhanu winced as the memory flashed across his mind. The fire spread across his limbs as they shifted in a distorted fashion, elongating and sprouting thick black fur…
"Ironhide was right," Nando said. "He has the inborn spark. But that is not enough to convince me."
Ayna removed some clothes from the wagon and tossed the bundle at Nando. "He is what he is. I do no need to convince you, Nando. He is the one that needs convincing."
Rhanu overcame his shock. "You did this to me." He pointed an accusing finger at her. "You used your sorcery to try to make me one of you."
She smiled. "I joined my khara to your own, true. It was the only way to save your life. But the gift was already yours. To be a Nahgual is not some gift to be given. It is born from within."
"I don't know what a Nahgual is."
"Skin-walker." Nando's smile was bitter. "Shapeshifter. There are many names given to our kind, but we call ourselves the Nahgual."
"Wolfrunner would be the most literal translation," Ayna said. "You have the ability as well, Rhanu. There is no point in denying it."
Rhanu frowned. "Perhaps. It means nothing. I don't have the time to deal with this. I belong with my people."
"Look around you." Ayna gestured to the circle of wolves. "You are with your people."
"No, I am with your people."
"Let him go." Nando's voice was contemptuous. He stood in his breeches and a leather vest as though the cold could not touch him. "He is an outsider, and you are mistaken. A Nahgual would not turn his back on the pack."
Rhanu gave Nando a flat look, but directed his words to Ayna. "You see. I am not the one you seek." He turned once more to walk away, but again her words stopped him.
"If you leave now, your friends are as good as dead. Only with the reborn Sages can the akhkharu be defeated. We have tried on our own, and have failed. Your friends will fail as well without our aid. The Geod you carry is important. Whether you know it or not, it aided you in your homeland. You can use it to help us defeat the akhkharu here as well."
"You go too far, Ayna," Nando said. "Nothing was said of following an outsider."
"Enough, Nando."
Though he was clearly displeased, Nando grudgingly acquiesced. Ayna looked at Rhanu. "Please. You will not make it on your own, wounded as you are. Come with us as far as Halladen, and if you still wish to leave I will escort you myself to join your friends."
Rhanu looked at the tracks, still clearly imprinted in the snow. He could easily follow them and catch up to Han, Meshella, and the others. But… Ayna's golden eyes were transparent for the first time, and the truth shined in them.
He sighed. "Very well. I will follow where you lead…for now."
They immediately broke camp and left the wagon behind. Not all of the wolves were Nahgual, but about half the pack could shift forms, it appeared. It was the oddest procession he had traveled in — a mix of men and wolves together as one pack. They loped on foot to their destination, which Ayna told him was in the Steppes.
The grass and brush were brown and stunted by the deep frost. The snows lightened the further they rode into the Steppes. The land had not lost the feel of life even deadened by winter. It felt as though the land slept, replenishing itself for the coming of spring.
Rhanu's awareness grew stronger by the day. He began to identify by sound and smell like his companions. Most had accepted him if not as a part of their pack, at least like a welcome guest. A few like Nando regarded him as an unwelcome outsider and ignored his presence the best they could.
"It is not easy for all to accept you," Ayna told him one morning as he walked beside her. She always made sure to engage him in conversation, whether he felt like talking or not. He had come to welcome it, though it was always about the role she was so sure he was to play.
"I know how they feel." He smiled bitterly. "I do not feel I am one of you, Ayna. What if you are wrong?"
"If I could not interpret the vision, I would never have gotten you involved." Confidence warmed her features.
Rhanu found himself increasingly distracted when he gazed at her. She did not appear to notice she was a beautiful woman, which in turn made her all the more attractive. He realized he had been staring when she flushed and dropped her eyes. His face burned as well. Gawking at the woman like a lovesick pup! They walked in silence for a moment. When she spoke, she was once again commanding and sure.
"All of your questions cannot be answered at once, Rhanu. You will have to trust me."
On impulse, he laid his hand on her arm. "I trust you."
Her stride slowed, and for a moment her eyes lit like amber in the sun. But she quickly pulled away when Nando rushed up. He had noticed, however. Rhanu saw it in the quick flash of fury he tried to hide behind a thin-lipped smile. What resulted was an angry smirk before he turned his attention to Ayna.
"They are waiting for us."
Chapter 42: Nyori
Nyori felt there was no place colder, more forbidding, more harsh and dangerous than the Alpens of Norland. At the highest points trees could not even grow, for the cold would split them to pieces. Snow fell more often than not, and drifts blowing from the mountaintops made it appear to snow even when the storms stopped. Many daring travelers died trying to brave the Alpens, for one could suddenly vanish in a snow-covered pitfall, or easily lose their way and swiftly freeze to death.