By the time her vision had cleared to something approaching normal, the Prime had dug a small, deep hole, black earth a sharp contrast to the snow. She shuffled forward on her knees, not trusting her strength, and placed the remains in the bottom.
“It is clean. There will be no more harm from it,” she told him. He said nothing, filling in the hole with unnecessary care, patting the surface down then brushing snow back across to cover the spot. Arrow wobbled back to her feet.
“You’ve seen this magic before?” He also seemed to be struggling between revulsion and anger, and also choosing anger.
“Yes.” She grimaced and explained. “Academy graduates must be able to recognise urjusi. The Academy keeps inert samples for teaching.” In a triple-walled dark wood cabinet warded with the strongest protections that the teaching staff of the Erith’s magic Academy could conjure. Even passing that cabinet, in an out-of-the-way part of the buildings, was unpleasant.
“Erith magic?”
“It is forbidden magic. Not necessarily Erith. Human mages are also forbidden from sacrifice. Regrettably there are those who seek to use sacrifice for additional power.”
Zachary was watching her with an unblinking stare that she thought probably intimidated most of his opponents. She was intimidated, just too worn to show it.
“There’s nothing else to find here?”
“Nothing that I could sense. I do not know why the magician would leave that here. It seems a foolish risk. Perhaps he considered the spell impregnable. It would have destroyed everything if it had been triggered.”
“Speculation?” There was a gleam in his eyes she had not seen before. Humour. He found her amusing. It was not a reaction she was used to, leaving her unsettled and confused. “I thought such a thing was strictly forbidden by the Academy.”
“Perhaps in the lower cycles, but the Academy encourages senior students to formulate hypotheses based on incomplete facts.” She inclined her head slightly, faint smile pulling her mouth.
The lightness on his face grew to something that might have been a smile before he turned and went back to the packs. Tamara and Matthias were waiting, back in human form, the other two ‘kin a little distance away in their animal forms. Arrow hid a frown. She had not noticed any of them returning. Careless, to lose track of her surroundings so completely.
~
“You look worn out,” Tamara remarked lightly, handing Arrow a brightly-coloured plastic packet she identified after a moment as a human-made snack.
“I am quite tired,” Arrow acknowledged.
“You have the trail?” Zachary asked.
“Yes.” Her second sight was slowly returning, but the thread was clear. “Are you able to sense it, Prime?”
“No,” he growled, and she quickly lowered her eyes. “We tried earlier. There’s nothing. Not a single scent of Marianne for miles.”
“I can make tracking stones to help you follow her.” She focused inward a moment, testing her strength, and calling up a headache for her efforts. “Although not quite yet. I need some more energy. Later,” she added, seeing the glint of interest in his eyes.
“We’ll walk on a bit, find somewhere better to stop for the night.” He nodded, and lifted a brow at her. It took a moment for her sluggish brain to realise he was asking her for a direction.
“Sorry. The trail goes that way.” She pointed.
“Con. Jace.” The two ‘kin in animal form bounded ahead, the Prime following.
Matthias and Tamara took the other packs and set off, Arrow plodding in their wake.
She was barely aware of her surroundings for the rest of the few daylight hours. Her body was impossibly heavy, and, despite the packets of food that Tamara kept handing to her, and the extra flask of hot chocolate she was given, her body grew heavier until it required almost her entire concentration to put one foot in front of the other, her breathing harsh and laboured in her ears, entire focus on the snow in front of her feet and how she was going to achieve that next step.
From time to time the ‘kin would ask her for a direction and she would open her second sight a moment, wincing at the effort, and point the way.
She did not notice when the sky darkened, and only realised it was fully dark when Tamara gently tugged her arm, drawing her to a stop.
Matthias and Zachary had set up a fire, bright orange blinding in the dark, and were constructing some kind of shelter that was too haphazard to be called a tent but evidently something they had used before.
“Come and sit a moment,” Tamara suggested, flashing a smile, white teeth bright against her dark skin, eyes warm in the firelight. “Matt’s got some more chocolate heating for you.”
“Thank you.” Arrow did not know her own voice, that weak thread of sound. Work for the Erith was never easy and yet she could not remember ever being so tired before. Used to functioning with the constant heaviness from the seals inside, this was another thing entirely.
“You had a tough day yesterday,” the ‘kin added, settling Arrow on a blanket spread over a thick tree trunk, some ancient inhabitant of the forest long since toppled over, then tucking another blanket over her legs. “Food in a little while, then sleep.”
Arrow’s mouth twitched, and she managed an answering smile. Tamara was one of the few ‘kin women she had met, and very different to her mate. Warm, open and friendly, she bustled about the small camp on a variety of tasks that Arrow’s tired mind could not follow, dull ache in her chest as she wondered for a moment what it would have been like growing up with Tamara.
The hot chocolate warmed her through and she ate the meal they provided, feeling a bit of energy return to her stiff, stupid body. Enough to notice that the two other ‘kin, Con and Jace, had not returned for the meal, and Matthias and Zachary were keeping a close watch on their surroundings.
“Is there trouble?” Arrow asked Tamara as the ‘kin collected her bowl.
“Not expected. We’re just being careful,” Tamara said cheerfully. “Do you want to sleep now? We’ll sleep in animal form, it’s so much warmer, but we’ve blankets for you and your sleeping bag.”
Arrow’s mind snagged for a moment on the notion that the ‘kin had to be careful in their own territory, wondering what was out in the dark that would have five adult ‘kin, one of them the Prime, staying alert at all times. She shook herself slightly, catching up with Tamara’s question.
“Thank you. I should try to make a tracking stone first, though.”
“What do you need?” Zachary asked from the other side of the fire, eyes still on the forest.
“Almost anything would do, but a smooth stone to fit in a palm works best,” she told him, only then wondering how they were going to find smoothed stones, normally worn away in water, on a mountain.
“We passed a creek bed earlier,” Tamara was back with a white handkerchief full of odd shapes, “and collected a few.”
“Did we?” Arrow had not noticed the creek at all. She turned over a few of the stones, selected five and picked up the first, closing her eyes.
Her power was sluggish, reluctant to stir even for the simple tracking spell. The words were easy and familiar, power bound into them.
She held out the first stone to Tamara, closest to her.
“It will hum against your skin when you are on the right path,” she told her. Tamara took the stone carefully, wary, and passed it to Zachary, who had come to stand behind her. The Prime took a few steps away from the camp and turned a circle, nodding once as the stone reacted to Marianne’s trail.
“Good. How many can you make?”
“I will try to make one each.” She did not promise, and was glad she had not as she swayed, vision blurring, when she had completed three.
“Here.” Zachary handed her a white cloth. Handkerchief. She took it, staring at the cloth in her hand. “You’re bleeding,” he told her, touching his own nose.
“Sorry.” Heat scorched her face and she used the cloth to blot the bleeding.
“Three will do.” He nodded. “Keep it,” he said when she would have given back the handkerchief.
“Thank you.” Her face was hot again. It was a casual gift, meaningless to him. She would add it to the small box of possessions, tucked under the stone floor of her residence, when she got back to the Taellaneth. A piece of the ‘kin, a tiny scent of the wild.
“You need to sleep,” Tamara told her, hand under her elbow.
Arrow allowed herself to be put to bed like a youngling. She could not remember ever having been put to bed before, even in her earliest memories, and fell asleep puzzling on that thought.
She woke mid of night to absolute stillness and cold all about, alarm flicking through her. Her wards were intact. Nothing had disturbed her companions, several ‘kin in animal form lying around her, too dark for her to identify. But there had been something.
Warm and safe under covers she shivered. Perhaps it was the memory of the urjusi. Perhaps she had recalled the feel of that cold leather against her skin in a dream and woken before it became a nightmare.
Her fingers curled. Her hands were clean. They had been washed. Several times.
None of the ‘kin stirred as she settled more comfortably, more alert than she had been all day, energy slowly recovering. Unable to sleep she wondered again what Marianne Stillwater had done to attract the attention of magician using urjusi. And not a simple magician, either. Whoever had killed Marianne had concealed themselves from the mountain and managed to bring a sacrifice with them without attracting the attention of the ‘kin. The mountain was the ‘kin’s territory and, however vast, they would keep a watch over it. Following ‘kin onto ‘kin territory sounded foolish to Arrow. And what could Marianne have known that would drive a magician to that desperation?
CHAPTER TEN
Arrow did not think she had got any more sleep until she was nudged awake by Tamara, the ‘kin dressed for the day and still wearing her infectious smile. The rest of the ‘kin were already up, Arrow the last to rise again.
She stumbled out of the shelter, dragging her hair back from her face and trying to remember where she had put her hair pins only to stop mid-step.
Beyond the camp there was silence. The forest held its breath. In the midst of it something. Something that made her want to run.
“Arrow?” The Prime was alert, enquiring.
“Something,” she answered, distracted, sending her senses out as far as possible, headache blooming behind her eyes. The range was pathetic. Her strength was better. Still a fraction of what it should be.
“What?” He was less patient.
“Predator.” There was no doubt.
“Check with Con and Jace,” Zachary told Matthias who set off at an easy run through the forest, not hampered by his human form or snow shoes.
Tamara sent a concerned look after her mate but said nothing, moving quickly to finish packing up the camp. A few moments later Zachary’s eyes flared green and his head tilted, listening.
“Matt says there’s nothing out there that they can sense. You’re sure?” this last to Arrow.
“Yes.” She was too shaken by whatever it was she had sensed to fully appreciate what she had just learned. Shifkin could use telepathy, a skill denied the Erith.
“Bear? Human? Erith?”
“I do not know, Prime.” She dropped her eyes.
“Still there?”
“No.” Whatever it was, the sensation had gone, nothing left for her to follow.
“What d’you want to do?” Tamara asked, packing finished.
“Keep moving. We’ll stay closer together.” Zachary glanced at Arrow, assessing, before collecting one of the packs.
Arrow had nothing to carry but her own weight again, and again struggled with that, falling behind the ‘kin as they walked ahead, unaffected by the weather or the weight they carried. Matthias returned, stern expression softening as he joined Tamara, taking one of the packs from her. With each of them carrying a tracking stone, Arrow had nothing to do but follow them, increasingly aware that her limited use was fading, her presence an extra burden along with her pack.
The day wore on, time marked for Arrow by the changing shadows of the ‘kin ahead of her and the trees all around. The ‘kin were moving faster today, and it was more and more difficult to keep up.
At some point past noon, after Zachary had called a short halt for a break and food, Arrow’s sight wavered, and she paused, breathing hard, waiting for her sight to clear. A familiar sign that she was too tired to be useful to anyone. She could not even keep herself moving.
The ‘kin moved ahead, bright colours of their jackets fading in the trees.
Breathing nearly back to normal, she lifted a foot for the next step as a crack echoed through the trees. A harsh shout. Alarm. Another crack. Gunfire.
Adrenaline gave her the strength to push forward, moving as quickly as she could, leaving great, dragging trails through the snow as she fought the unfamiliar snow shoes.
She rounded a clump of trees and skidded to a halt, unsettling more snow, unable to make sense of what she was seeing.
The bright jackets of the ‘kin were caught up among huge creatures with dull grey hides, too many long limbs, and jagged, sharp teeth. Too tangled for more gunfire, the ‘kin in human form were partially shifted, using their teeth and claws alongside those in animal form.
“Baelthras.” Unwanted memories rose up, holding her. Too many teeth. Long claws. Flat black merciless eyes. Carrion breath. Fire.
The ugly snap and crunch of breaking bone and cut-off cry of pain from one of the ‘kin broke her stasis, brought her back to the here and now. Three creatures from her nightmares. Too many legs. Armoured hide that the ‘kin could not grasp, with teeth or claws.
She kicked off her snow shoes and opened her senses fully, no meditation, no preparation, everything rushing in at once, a maelstrom of sensation. Roar of wind. Quiet, furious sounds from the ‘kin. Low, almost inaudible keening from the baelthras. Sharp scent of blood on the air. Sweet rotten scent of baelthras. Bitter sweet taste of her own blood. Cold on her face and her hands as she stripped off her gloves. The fight moving quickly, almost too quickly for her to follow, except that she needed to.
The mountain’s spirit shifted under her feet, restless at the invasion of alien creatures. She kicked some snow aside, slid the kri-syang across her palm, blood falling to the snow, no time to dig down for earth. Her blood seeped down, finding earth. With her senses open wide she requested the mountain’s aid.
The flood of power the mountain sent back knocked her to her knees, snow cold and numbing.
Eyes pure silver, wards crackling silver lightning around her, she got back to her feet as a ‘kin’s furred body flew past her head, thrown by a baelthras that was turning towards her, recognising her for what she was. The enemy.
Mage fire sprang to her fingers at her spoken command. Too much power, too quickly. The seals inside protested, insides tearing. She ignored the pain. No time for that now.
Silver spears of mage fire snapped into the baelthras’ hide, burning through armoured hide, burrowing into the creature’s lungs, setting it on fire. The smell was worse than she remembered.
“Get behind me.” That did not sound like her voice, weighted with more power than she had ever dared use.
Not waiting for the ‘kin to comply, careless of giving the Prime orders on his own mountain, she stepped forward to meet the next baelthras, more mage fire ready for it.
The creature screamed, holding her still for a moment in memories she did not want before she remembered who and what she was and sent the fire out.
As the mage fire met the creature, the third baelthras struck her from the side, darting in too quickly on its six awkward limbs, sending her flying through the air, thudding into a tree with a loud cracking that meant broken bones.
Sliding back to earth, the mountain’s power fading as her grip on it was shaken, she could not breathe. Lungs full of liquid. Copper. Pain
. Drowning.
Her palm was still seeping blood. She pressed the open wound through the snow, searching for the soil, a connection to the mountain, asking for help. Each breath was a weight, shallower than the last, liquid frothing in her throat. There. Cold damp soil met her palm. She bled into the mountain and it answered. Power shoved into her, pushing broken ribs back into place, sending the liquid in her lungs and throat out in a spew of bright red on snow, shock of healing power through her body brutal enough that she screamed, something she had not done for years.
Over her head the ‘kin were tearing the last baelthras to pieces, bits of limb and hide ripping off in ungainly chunks, creature fighting until one of the ‘kin finally got its heart.
Arrow lay in the stained snow, breathing too fast, too shallow, blinking to clear her eyes, insides rearranging themselves, the mountain still offering her power that she was having difficulty refusing. So much power. Even with the solid ground underneath she was spinning in circles.
“Arrow?” Zachary’s voice. He did not sound angry. She blinked, curious, and turned her head to find him crouched beside her. One sleeve of his coat was almost completely gone, down filling spilling out, and there was a deep scratch running down his face that was healing itself as she watched. Shifkin power.
“Prime.” Her voice rasped, even that one word hurt. There was still blood in her throat.
“Are you alright?”
“I will be. Are you? Your people?”
A shadow crossed his face and she sat up, following his gaze. Tamara, Matthias, and Con were gathered around something in the snow. Jace. She remembered the animal-form ‘kin thrown past her.
Her limbs did not want to work but she made them. Got up. Unsteady, she staggered over the snow to where the ‘kin lay.
He was a pale brown, short-haired wolf in his animal form, and dying. His chest was deformed, caved in, one leg lying at an impossible angle, coat matted with blood.
“Not long now,” Tamara said soothingly, kneeling by his head, stroking back his ears. Jace made no sound, did not move. The other ‘kin stood quietly by, heads bowed, waiting.
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