Shifting Loyalties

by Melissa McShane

  She smelled wood smoke, and for a moment her addled brain pictured fire sweeping the forest, out of control. But it wasn’t strong enough for a forest fire, she saw no raging flames, and realized it was someone’s camp. The werebear camp.

  In the next moment, she was out from between the trees and grabbing firmer hold of invisible Wit to keep him from floating away into the open space. Small tents surrounding campfires greeted her, with women moving around the fires, preparing food or chastising small children. Some of those children were bear cubs. It didn’t look as if the camp were in an uproar. Sienne began to dismiss the vanish spell, then stopped. If no one yet knew that someone had tried to kill her, she might be able to use that.

  She steered Wit’s body wide around the edge of camp, trying to identify the tents they’d slept in last night. Everything looked so different in the bright morning light. She didn’t recognize anyone, which wasn’t a surprise given that she only knew a handful of weres to call by name, and there were several hundred people in the camp. She didn’t see many men, and the ones she did see were all at least as old as Test. Either the younger men were out hunting, or they were out hunting her and her friends. She couldn’t believe the whole camp was in on the plot. It wouldn’t have been nearly so placid if they were.

  Across the sea of canvas roofs, she saw Clever’s much larger speaking tent. She changed course and headed for it. Either Clever was there, and Sienne could hand the whole problem to her, or Bright was there, and Sienne could find out if she really was behind the attempts on her life. In which case, she would show her why wizards should not be trifled with.

  She thought about stashing Wit somewhere. The idea filled her with unexpected cheer. She’d started resenting his awkward burden and feeling irritated that he’d flung himself into combat without thinking. She had to remind herself he wasn’t a scrapper, and had no experience fighting alongside a wizard, but it was hard not to imagine how much differently that fight would have gone if he’d had the sense to let her attack first. But she still didn’t know when he’d wake up, and it probably wasn’t safe to dispel vanish while he was still unconscious if they really were surrounded by enemies. Not to mention she had no idea where to leave him. Sighing, she set about crossing the camp to the speaking tent.

  There weren’t many people moving between the tent groups, but even those few made Sienne want to scream with frustration, getting in her way and stopping to talk for what felt like an eternity. She very nearly ran Wit into someone who stopped abruptly in her path, sniffing as if she could perceive them though she was still in human form. Sienne’s heart, already beating faster from exertion, sped up. She was so on edge, if she’d had her spellbook open, she would have force-blasted the woman from pure nervous exhaustion. Finally, the woman moved on, and Sienne shoved Wit the last few feet into the open space surrounding Clever’s tent.

  With a final few pushes, she maneuvered Wit into the lee of the tent, well away from the two women who stood sentry before the door flap. People were talking within, not loudly enough for Sienne to make out anything but that there were three speakers involved in the conversation. One had a deep voice she recognized, and it made her leaden, exhausted heart light. Alaric was safe, at least. She spared one last prayer for her other friends, then walked around the corner and into the tent. The flap was ajar enough that she didn’t disturb it much on entering. She caught sight, out of the corner of her eye, one of the sentries looking at the moving flap curiously, and then she was through.

  Alaric, Clever, and Bright stood talking at the center of the tent. “Wit is a perfectly acceptable emissary,” Clever was saying. “He’s already familiar with human culture and his open demeanor gives him a trustworthy appearance.”

  “Yes, but a woman would have more authority,” Bright said. “You can’t go, but what about Bloom?”

  “Bloom’s too young.”

  “The king won’t know anything about your culture to appreciate the difference between you sending a woman or a man,” Alaric said. “My advice is you send someone who won’t be overwhelmed by being among humans. I don’t know your people, but Bloom struck me as a little too diffident for the task.”

  The flap opened. “Bright, could I speak to you for a moment?” said a man Sienne didn’t recognize.

  Bright’s eyebrows went up. “Excuse me,” she said, and left the tent.

  “She came around fast,” Alaric said.

  “I beg your pardon?” Clever said.

  “She was adamant about not supporting your plan last night. Now she’s all for it.”

  Clever shrugged. “Bright is intelligent and forceful, used to getting her way. It sometimes takes her a while to accept a decision that runs counter to her own understanding. But I trust her, and rely on her.”

  “What?” Bright exclaimed, loudly enough to carry clearly into the tent. “When was this?”

  Sienne couldn’t hear the muffled reply. “I see,” Bright said. The tent flap opened. “How long have your people plotted treachery?” she said, addressing Alaric.

  “Treachery?” Alaric said. He was facing Clever, so Sienne couldn’t see his expression, but his back tensed the way it did when he was ready for a fight. “That’s a strong accusation, considering your people dragged us out here.”

  “Burr reports a slaughter out at the ruin,” Bright said, her voice furious. “Many of our people killed—by magic.”

  “That’s impossible,” Alaric said. “Sienne wouldn’t use magic on anyone who wasn’t attacking her.”

  “We have no reason to attack any of you,” Clever said. “Bright, do you have proof?”

  “Burr saw the bodies himself,” Bright said. “The wizard is gone. Where are the rest of these…scrappers? Killing more of us?”

  Sienne knew a good straight line when she heard one. “The wizard is right here,” she said, “and if any of your people are dead, they deserve it for trying to kill me.”

  All three of them startled and spun around, searching for Sienne. “Where are you?” Alaric said, with a note in his voice that said he was close to snapping.

  Sienne concentrated and dismissed vanish. “Here.”

  Alaric took a step toward her, reaching for her, then stopped, glancing at the werebears. “Why were you invisible?”

  Sienne came forward, pulling her spellbook out of her vest. “Wit and I were attacked out at the ruin,” she said. “I force-blasted most of them and scared off the last. Then we were attacked again in the forest. I didn’t kill those two, either.”

  “Why would any of us attack you?” Clever exclaimed.

  Sienne glared at Bright. “I think she knows why.”

  Bright’s perfect lips compressed in a tight line. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  “So it’s just coincidence that if we were gone, everyone would have to follow your plan instead of Clever’s?” Sienne opened her book at random. She didn’t intend to cast a spell on Bright, but it felt good to have the option available. “I bet if you ask those weres when they wake up, they’ll tell you Bright put them up to it.”

  Clever looked Bright up and down. Bright said, “You can’t possibly take this accusation seriously.”

  “I know you are deeply loyal to your people,” Clever said. “I also know it is the kind of loyalty that might not think humans are deserving of the same consideration.”

  Alaric’s hands were clenched into fists. “You ordered them to kill Sienne?” he growled.

  Bright faced him square on. “I owe you no answers.”

  Alaric roared and swung at Bright, catching her below the jaw and knocking her backwards to stumble over one of the stools. Sienne screamed, grabbed his other arm, and was dragged along as he pulled back for another blow. “Don’t!”

  “I don’t hit women who aren’t trying to kill me,” Alaric snarled, “but I’ll make an exception for you.” He grabbed Bright and hauled her up, her head lolling dazedly.

  “Stop!” Clever roared, and the end of the w
ord turned into an actual roar as she transformed into a red-furred bear that towered over Alaric and Bright, her tunic shredding around her. She slapped Alaric across the jaw, sending him reeling. Sienne staggered as he nearly fell, then threw her arms around him and pushed as hard as she could to keep him away from Bright. It was like trying to move a mountain.

  “Clever!” someone shouted from the doorway. “Clever, it’s coming!”

  Clever shrank back into human form. “What is? Is it the humans?” She clearly didn’t care that she was naked.

  The woman shook her head. Her eyes were wide, and she breathed in short, panicked gasps. “Not the humans,” she said. “It’s the howler. It’s on the move.”

  16

  “Howler?” Sienne said. “I thought those were a story.”

  “I would to God they were,” Clever said. She reached out a hand to help Bright to her feet. “Did you hear the howls last night? We have been tracking this one for a week, waiting for it to move on.”

  “Where is it?” Bright said, ignoring Alaric, who still looked poised to attack her.

  “Five miles due east. It’s headed southeast.”

  Bright and Clever shared a look filled with meaning. “But that’s good, isn’t it?” Sienne asked. “South and east takes it away from your camp.”

  Clever pursed her lips. “There is a human village some six miles from here. South…and east.”

  “So howlers are real,” Alaric said. “How real? How much of the legend is true?”

  “We don’t know,” Clever said. “Enough of our people have been killed by them that we stay well away. Those who encounter them…they are never in a condition to tell us details. We know a howler’s scream strikes its hearers numb with fear, forcing them either to flee or to freeze where they stand. It can fill its victim with an intense hunger for the flesh of its own kind, making them turn on those they call friends or kin. And we have seen it rend those it does not corrupt. Whether it is capable of turning someone into a howler, we cannot say.”

  “The rest is quite enough,” Bright said. “This one will not threaten our people.”

  “Yes, but what about the humans?” Sienne said. “Shouldn’t someone warn them?”

  “They will not listen to were-creatures,” Clever said. “There is nothing we can do.”

  “Are the others back?” Alaric asked Sienne.

  “I don’t know. I came straight here. Mostly.”

  Alaric took her hand and pulled her close. “We’re leaving,” he said. “If we come back, we’re going to renegotiate. Attacking my team makes me disinclined to help you.”

  “We did not attack you,” Clever said, but she glanced at Bright. Bright’s chin, which was turning a spectacular purple, lifted high in defiance. “And if we did,” Clever went on, “I assure you it was not an authorized attack. I would not jeopardize my people’s future that way.”

  “You’re all going to die,” Bright said. “No one faces the howlers and survives. Running is the only option.”

  “Then we’ll make the settlers run,” Alaric said.

  “You should help,” Sienne said.

  “They are not our problem,” Bright said. “They hate and fear us. Why should we help them?”

  “Because you’re people, not animals. And that’s what people do for each other.” Sienne released her spellbook. “How better to show them who you really are?”

  Clever shook her head. “We are too small a force to make a difference. And my first duty is to my people’s survival.”

  “You wanted us to plead with the king for your people’s survival,” Sienne persisted. “Give us something to show him you’re committed to being citizens. It’s not just about what you get from the country, it’s what you give, too. Help save that settlement, and King Derekian won’t need much persuading.”

  For a moment, Sienne thought she’d reached her. Then Clever shook her head again. “Persuasive,” she said, “but it is impossible. I wish you luck.”

  “Yes. You’ll need it,” Bright sneered.

  Alaric steered Sienne out of the tent in silence. They’d taken only a few steps when Sienne said, “Wit. I forgot.”

  “What about him? Was he hurt in the fight? Sienne, were you hurt?”

  She shook her head. “Just a minute.” She felt around until she found Wit’s foot, concentrated, and dispelled vanish. Wit lay in midair, gently breathing as if he were only asleep. Sienne shoved on his midsection until he lay on the ground, then dispelled float as well. “That’s all I can do for him.”

  “Why is Wit unconscious? Sienne—”

  “He did what I’m always telling you not to do, which is run into the middle of fury without ducking. Alaric, what are we going to do?”

  “Find the others. They were supposed to be back by now with our things. Then we’re going to run for that settlement and hope we can find someone to listen to us.”

  “It’s hopeless, isn’t it.”

  “Probably. Would you listen to strangers spouting children’s tales about monsters that freeze the blood and turn people into cannibals? But we have to try.”

  They walked swiftly through the camp until they reached familiar territory. Alaric didn’t have any trouble remembering where they’d spent the night. To Sienne’s relief, Perrin, Dianthe, and Kalanath were all there, seated around the fire and eating meat off skewers. Swift sat with them, laughing at some joke Dianthe had told. “Ho, the negotiator returns!” he said. “You—” His joking tone vanished. “You don’t look happy.”

  “We have to leave,” Alaric said.

  “So soon?” Dianthe asked. “Don’t we need to wait for the weres to supply an emissary?”

  “We’re not going back to Fioretti,” Alaric said. “The short version is that howlers are real and one is going to attack a settlement several miles from here. We’re going to warn them, and possibly get ourselves killed by a mythical creature. Is everyone in?”

  “You can’t be serious,” Swift said. “Nobody attacks a howler.”

  “Attacking is not the plan,” Alaric said, “but if that’s what it takes to protect that settlement, then we’ll do that too.”

  Dianthe stood and wiped her mouth. “Our things are all here, but I imagine we’ll want to travel light. Is it all right if we leave the other stuff in your camp, Swift?”

  Swift stood as well. “Sure. But I’m coming with you.”

  “It’s not your fight,” Alaric said.

  “There’s nothing that says that howler might not head our way eventually,” Swift said. “And I find, after my time pretending to be human, I’m more interested in your people’s fates than I used to be. Besides, there are only five of you, and you could use the help. Where’s Wit?”

  “Still unconscious. It’s a long story,” Sienne said when Swift gave her a puzzled look.

  “I have been wondering why this morning’s blessings had a decidedly martial tone,” Perrin said. “What do we know of this creature? Is Swift’s tale accurate?”

  “Let’s move, and we’ll talk on the way,” Alaric said.

  Sienne resented the trees, growing so closely together she and her companions couldn’t go faster than a brisk trot. She hated not knowing things, and not knowing where the howler was or how much faster it was moving than they were filled her with a dread urgency that the stupid trees thwarted. Swift, in the lead, lived up to his name, darting between the boles like he was a deer rather than a bear. Were there such things as weredeer? Common knowledge said the only weres were predators, but common knowledge also said all weres were mindless monsters, so common knowledge could be wrong.

  Her small compass magic told her they were heading more east than south. How fortunate that Swift had come along, because Perrin had no blessings that would lead them to a destination. She tripped over a tangle of ferns, caught herself before it could become a fall, and ran on. Her lungs were a sharp pain in her chest, her heart thudded against her ribs like a captured rabbit, but she made herself maintain the
jogging pace that could go on for miles. A year ago this would have been impossible for her, untrained in wilderness travel and soft from years of doing nothing more strenuous than dancing.

  Despite what Alaric had said, there hadn’t been time or energy for talk before the running pace had made speech impossible. The others hadn’t had many questions, though Kalanath had asked, “So we are not to fight this thing? How is that a good solution? It will only be free to return.”

  “Howlers are opportunists,” Swift had said. “They’re like…those pieces of metal that attract other metals. When they’re close enough, they’re drawn to groups of people to feed, but far enough away they pass right by. They tend to move in straight lines. This one, if we can keep the humans away from it, will end up in the mountains where it’s harmless.”

  “There are mining camps,” Dianthe had said. “Humans are all over the Bramantus Mountains. It’s hardly harmless.”

  Swift’s cheeks had reddened, but he hadn’t responded to that except to say, “No one’s ever taken on a howler and lived. There’s only so much we can do.”

  Now Sienne considered this. Whatever Alaric said about just getting the settlers out of the howler’s path, she was sure it would come to a fight. The likelihood of the settlers listening to them was small, and probably they wouldn’t believe it until the howler was upon them. Which meant Sienne and her friends would have to keep it busy while the settlers fled. She felt resentment again, this time at the werebears who’d attacked her and Wit, forcing her to cast spells and use up her precious magical reserves. She didn’t know what would work on a howler, whether force or scorch or shout would have an effect. Change was probably pointless, since it was less effective the more magical a thing she used it on, and howlers had to be filthy with magic to be as powerful as Swift suggested.