Sunset of Lantonne (40 page)

“Wolves,” said Greth nervously. He sat down on the floor and sniffed the tiny gaps in the floorboards. “Five or six. They’re cutting us off from Lantonne and circling us, if I’m guessing right.”

“Even I know wolves won’t attack a group of humans on horses,” Ilarra countered, leaning back against the wall of the wagon and giving Raeln an annoyed look. He shrugged and lay his head back down. “Wolves aren’t stupid.”

“When I said wolves, that wasn’t exactly what I meant.” Greth rubbed his face in frustration and began searching the floor on hands and knees.

Greth soon pulled clumps of dirt and dust from under the benches that had likely been left by the farmers Therec had acquired the wagon from. He hugged the dirt to his chest and sat down on the floor, rubbing it into his fur and clothing. Once he seemed satisfied with the amount of dirt on himself, he dug his claws into his clothing and began shredding it. After that, he mussed up his fur and looked over at Raeln in annoyed impatience.

“Werewolves,” he told Raeln matter-of-factly. “Get yourself looking uncivilized or we’re both dead.”

Raeln rolled his eyes and tried to lay back down, but Greth grabbed his shoulder and yanked him upright.

“I wish I was lying,” Greth said in such a dire tone that Raeln’s eyes immediately focused and his posture changed. “You and I can get out of his with some clever acting, but she’s going to be torn apart. Get yourself ready to fight if you want Ilarra to live through this.” Jumping back to his feet, Greth screamed out the window at the nearest soldier on horseback. “Hey! Get ready. There are werewolves coming!”

Ilarra could imagine the man’s reaction without seeing it, picturing it as a mirror for how she wanted to respond. Had she not seen Greth’s panic, she would have believed this to be another of his ruses. Seeing the fear in his eyes cast that completely aside.

“There are no werewolves, you superstitious savage,” the man called back, slamming the shutters of the wagon in Greth’s face.

“Can you smell them?” asked Greth of Raeln, pacing in the small space at the middle of the wagon. “They’re close.”

Shaking his head, Raeln gave Ilarra a worried look, and then his ears shot up in alarm. Sniffing more loudly, he closed his eyes and nodded.

“What good is dirt going to do you?” Ilarra said nervously, standing as well. She had no idea what to do and wondered if there was any chance of fighting the same way as she had with the bear the night before. “How can there be werewolves this close to Lantonne? How can there even be werewolves?”

Greth shook his head quickly, continuing to rub at his fur anywhere it tried to lay flat. “They’re real savages,” he explained. “Civilization is the enemy. They want to see it all burn and slowly go back to being wilderness, or so my pack-leader’s daughter always told me with that self-satisfied smirk of hers. The more rough we look, the better our chances. As for why they’re so close to the city…I’m guessing it has to do with the explosion in the quarry. Lycanthropes hate the cities enough they might think the explosion was done on purpose. They’ll blame anyone they can pick off on the outskirts.”

A howl in the distance quieted Greth and made Raeln’s fur bristle. Seconds later, two or three more voices joined the first. Any doubts Ilarra had melted away in the seconds that howl continued.

“Raeln,” Greth said, stopping at the middle of the wagon. “Ilarra is your prey. Drag her around like she’s food. Ilarra…play dead. I’ll try to convince the raging idiots that we’re at least similar enough to them that we don’t need to be eaten. They can smell that we’re different, but maybe…”

A human scream outside preceded the lurching stop of the wagon.

“I’ve said that you aren’t a real wolf,” Greth told Raeln. “It’s time to prove yourself. If either of us fails here, there’s not a chance we’ll get to regret it. If we convince them we’re strong enough, they might not kill us…though then they might do worse.”

The wagon rocked abruptly as something collided with one side of it, nearly knocking the whole thing over. Outside, Ilarra could hear the soldiers scrambling and dismounting. Shouts came from all directions as more curt howls announced the arrival of attackers.

“Can you stand?” Greth asked Raeln, offering him a hand. “You need to look strong for these guys.”

Though unstable as he got up, Raeln nodded and clasped Greth’s hand the way Ilarra had seen him do with the warriors back in Hyeth. Something in the touch was a statement of strength that she did not understand, but communicated to Greth that Raeln was intending to fight no matter what the outcome might be.

Greth turned next to Ilarra, “The door’s locked from the outside. Can you blow it open? As soon as you hear the next howl or scream…”

Another howl shook the wagon as the sound of crossbows firing and a horse screaming made Ilarra’s skin crawl. Despite her instincts begging her to huddle under the wagon’s bench, she raised a hand toward the door and pulled magic to herself. It came easier than she remembered, thundering into the wood door with enough force to rip the wood apart and fling the pieces outwards.

Even before the door’s remains had settled, Ilarra felt ill, her whole body burning with fever. She clutched at her stomach and did her best to hide the sensations, but she knew Raeln would notice no matter what she did.

The men fighting outside appeared to be huddled together, staring at the dimming light of the plains around them. It took several seconds before Ilarra saw anything past them, but when she did, her heart skipped a beat.

Among the trees and scrub bushes just off the road that were coated with snow, she could see three wolf-like creatures moving around, keeping a fair distance from the wagon and its guards. At first glance they appeared to be wildlings, though, unlike Raeln and Greth, they wore no clothing she could see. All of them walked on their hands and feet like beasts, growling and yipping at the humans. In passing, one looked toward her, its eyes gleaming or possibly glowing faintly yellow even in the evening light.

It was then that Ilarra saw what the humans were hiding behind. Rather than a barricade, as she had first thought, they were using the gutted remains of one of their horses as a shield against the werewolves. The poor animal had been torn completely open.

“I’m going out,” Greth said, though he did not initially move and looked to Ilarra to be nearly frozen with fear. “Follow quickly. Look like you belong and we might get out of this. If either of you gives a hint of weakness, we’ll be dead before they even know what we look like.”

Taking a deep breath, Greth shook his head and began panting like an animal. His eyes completely unfocused, giving the impression that he was watching everything without letting himself dwell on any one object or person. Even his posture changed, sinking slightly as though he would be more comfortable on all fours. It was clearly a quick attempt at copying the werewolves, but Ilarra was thankful he had not looked like that when she had first met him.

Greth shivered slightly, then stepped from the wagon, dropping in behind the humans, who were far too worried about the werewolves to even notice.

“Do whatever you have to do,” Ilarra told Raeln. “Anything.”

Without hesitation, Raeln grabbed Ilarra’s cloak and clothing in one hand, hoisting her off the ground by the wadded cloth slightly above the small of her back. Growling loudly, he did what he could to mimic Greth’s appearance and followed the other man out of the wagon, carrying Ilarra like a sack of potatoes.

Chaos gripped the area around the wagon as a werewolf raced through the humans, narrowly missing Raeln and Ilarra. In its passing, one human vanished and a second collapsed screaming, clutching at deep gashes on his arm that went through clothing, armor, and flesh.

Therec was shouting orders, though Ilarra and the soldiers were ignoring him for the most part. Everyone had devolved into self-preservation.

Nearby, Greth shoved past the humans and was making his way out into the open, heading toward a gap between the werewolves but not directly away from them. He maintained a casual pace, likely trying not to appear like he was running away.

Raeln looked between Greth and the nearest bleeding soldier, then reached down and pulled the human off the ground, putting him in a more protected position near the fallen horse. As soon as he bent to situate the man, Ilarra saw two werewolves flank them, cutting them off from Greth. Another ran out in front of Greth, blocking his path as well.

“Defend the prisoners with your lives!” shouted Therec, standing tall despite the cowering soldiers around him. “I can kill them if you will stand and hold your position. I need everyone to…”

One of the werewolves leapt over the horse and two soldiers, landing atop Therec with all four paws, slamming him to the ground in front of where Ilarra dangled from Raeln’s hand. The wolf kept its weight on Therec’s chest, raising its angry eyes to Ilarra, then up from her to Raeln, almost seeming to dare him to intervene.

Roaring, Raeln kicked the werewolf in the jaw, knocking it over backwards. The beast-man slid and flipped back onto its hind legs, standing straight to bring itself even with Raeln. Even as large as Raeln was, the werewolf was easily his match for size and might have had even more muscle.

Raeln held his ground, maintaining a growl as the werewolf walked up to him, sniffing as it cocked its head and eyed him suspiciously. In the exchange, Ilarra saw anger only in Raeln…the werewolf remained eerily calm.

The werewolf was certainly not intimidated by Raeln in the slightest, snorting and dismissing him with a flick of its tail after a moment. It turned its attention to Ilarra, who could not stifle a squeak of fear that seemed to amuse the werewolf, bringing a smile to its muzzle, even as one of the soldiers drove a sword into the creature’s side.

Snarling, the werewolf reached back and caught the human by the arm, pulling him off his feet. Its eyes still watching Ilarra hungrily, it threw the human aside and then yanked the sword from itself in a spray of blood. Before the sword hit the ground, the cut had closed and fur had begun filling in where the wound had been.

Giving Raeln another curious glance, the werewolf reached for Ilarra, only to have its hand slapped aside by Raeln. The male werewolf barked and closed on Raeln, coming up so close Ilarra thought it might be bumping its chest against his, though all she could see was the hairy leg of the werewolf. In the fur, she could see blood and dirt, like she would have expected to find on a predatory wild animal that had run hard through rough terrain. The stench of the creature was incredible.

Nearby, Therec groaned and tried to sit up as the soldiers fled, but the werewolf moved its left leg, planting a huge paw on his chest to keep him still.

Raeln did not back down, keeping himself still as the werewolf remained close enough to bite him at any moment or simply grab Ilarra from him. The creature’s clawed hand was easily close enough that she doubted Raeln could have stopped it if he tried.

At last, the werewolf laughed, the first indication Ilarra had gotten that it might be in any way human or wildling-like. The werewolf backed off and turned away from her and Raeln, reaching instead for Therec.

What Raeln did next made Ilarra wish Asha was around to drag him off by his ear.

Dropping Ilarra, Raeln stepped forward and shoved the werewolf off its feet. The beast-man roared and spun on Raeln, completely forgetting Therec.

Ilarra scrambled back toward the wagon to get out of the way of the fight she expected at any second. Sliding under the wagon, she attempted to hide near one of the wheels, knowing full well that her safety would only last until Raeln was dead and the wolves began looking for prey again. Looking around for a way to escape, she saw the broken remains of Corth, lying in the road nearby, staring blankly at the sky.

Raeln and the werewolf circled one another slowly, the werewolf practically hunched onto all fours while Raeln stood tall. After several passes, the werewolf stopped, and Raeln did too.

“You smell of one we won’t touch,” the werewolf said, standing up and baring its teeth at Raeln briefly. It looked to Ilarra, still huddled behind the wagon wheel. “Run along with your snack. My family will let you go this time, wildling.”

Raeln held a hand back toward Ilarra and she wasted no time running to him. She practically slammed into his arm, clinging to be sure the werewolf did not change its mind and grab for her.