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En’nish tried to step around and head up the trail. Before Sgaile intercepted her, Brot'an'duive cut her off.
"You may follow," he said, "but do not forget that guardianship belongs to Sgailsheilleache. Do not interfere."
Urhkarasiferin, about to head onward, cast only a passing glance at the woman. But Sgaile had another concern. He reached out to stop Urhkarasiferin, touching the elder's shoulder.
"I left Leanalham alone," Sgaile said. "Please stay with her, and tell her I will return when able."
Urhkarasiferin gave only the slightest cock of his head to betray his surprise. He was the elder of the two of them, yet only involved at Sgaile's request. The elder anmaglahk nodded and headed back toward Crijheaiche.
Sgaile turned to catch up with Osha close behind him. He heard En’nish and the other two following. For the first few steps, it struck him as odd that Frethfare or even Most Aged Father would send another trio of the caste to follow him in tracking down one small human.
He pushed the thought away and ran on.
Chap loped beside Lily, growing tired and sensing the same in her. At times, thickened brush between the trees made passage difficult. Wy
The ink-shaded elder slowed without warning, and all of the pack pulled up around him. They dispersed among the undergrowth, and a few dropped to the ground panting, pink tongues lolling out of their mouths.
A rest had been called, and Chap was no less grateful than the others. Lily lay down on the forest floor, but Chap trotted over to Wy
Wy
Chap barked again, and Wy
She was too weary and stiff to even put a hand on his head. Instead she crawled on hands and knees behind him as he returned to where Lily lay panting.
The pack lay in groups of two and three to share warmth. Wy
"She is beautiful," Wy
Chap looked into her weary face. He hoped for her sake-and his-they would not travel much farther in this ma
"I thought that all of them would be like you-born-Fay," Wy
He belly-crawled over to press his body against her.Winters here were far milder than beyond the mountains, yet the nights could be cool.
Chap found a strange moment of peace, considering what was at stake in this swift journey. With Wy
The first long baying rang through the night.
Several majay-hi stirred and got up as Chap opened his eyes. The sound rang out again, and he recognized it. The deer that had carried Wy
The deer lifted its head and issued an answering call. It turned and stalked toward the pack elder as Lily climbed to her feet. She joined them as the deer bent down to touch heads with the elder. Chap was too tired to try dipping into the exchange of memory. But when Lily returned to press her head to his, she whined in agitation. The flash of memory snapped Chap fully awake.
Gray-green-clad elves ran through the forest.
He could not see their faces clearly, for the image Lily gave him was not specific.Just anmaglahk ru
Why would she show him this? The answer came quickly to him. The Anmaglahk were coming after them.
Wy
We are pursued.
Wy
She sat up with a grimace and put a hand over her mouth. She looked at him as if he had poured a foul liquid in her mouth while she slept.
"What… what did you say?"
Chap repeated himself, and Wy
She looked back the way they had come."How far?"
He barked three times rather than send more words to assault her. He had no idea how close the Anmaglahk were.
He ran to the gray deer and barked once. Several of the majay-hi dashed on ahead, and if nothing else, Wy
Chapter Eleven
Wy
She hoped dawn was not far off and kept her eyes down as much as possible. Each time she looked up, something ahead seemed as if she had just seen it behind, or to the side, or as if she'd never seen it before. Everything appeared foreign and unfamiliar in the night.
The dark forest pressed confusion into Wy
Wy
She tried to shift her aching legs, but they were spread too far across the deer's wide back. Her backside was growing numb.
The black-gray pack leader slowed and the others with him. The deer'sgait decreased to a steady clomp, and Chap circled back to walk below Wy
"Are we close?" she asked. "We must be close. It has been so long…"
When she looked ahead, the forest had thickened across their path. As the deer carried her closer, the pack spread out to the sides.
Birches of ever-peeling bark grew close together. Their branches intertwined one into the next beneath thousands of leaves. Through their tangling masses, elm and ash trees rose, exposing their tops above. Below, brambles and blackberry vines glistened with thorns and filled the spaces between the trees' trunks.
Everything was silent, without even a breeze or the vibrant creak of a cricket.
Wy
Had it been there, or had it appeared when she was not looking? The top of a cedar spread above the birches, dark andstill, and she did not remember seeing it before. Was the forest toying with her again?