Chapter 31
‘I’m not sure about this.’
They were standing at the foot of a cliff, in front of a cave entrance.
The wall of the cliff was orange with clay, broken up here and there by a creeping plant with pale blue leaves that Elver didn’t recognize.
To one side of the cave there was a tall pile of stones, each carefully balanced on top of the other, with a deer skull sitting on top.
Elver found her eyes were drawn again and again to its empty eye sockets.
It was not a place that she could picture Sunay spending much time in—this was wild country, far from the road—but she seemed completely comfortable.
At their feet, the cub prowled through the grass, chatting to himself about interesting scents.
‘It’s the best course for him,’ said Sunay. ‘I know the little sneak well enough now that I can create the illusion without having him close by, and Prideful Leap will not be safe for him. I think you know that too.’
‘Yes,’ Elver said reluctantly. ‘If she sees through the illusion, if she guesses we’re hiding him close by… But leaving him in the care of a stranger? A magpie?’
‘I’m a magpie too,’ Sunay pointed out. ‘And Bawric owes me a favour.’
As if summoned by his name, a figure emerged from the shadows of the cave. He did not step blinking into the light, as anyone else might, but seemed to adjust instantly. He looked calmly at them both in a considering way, while a pair of wolves, their pelts grey and shaggy, appeared at his side.
‘The Pack welcomes you,’ he said.
Bawric was a wiry man in his forties, with brown hair that fell to his shoulders and a neat, dark beard. His eyes were a ruddy brown too, almost red, and there was a scent to him Elver thought she almost recognized: he smelled a little like the forest.
‘My friend, how are you?’ Sunay said warmly.
As she spoke, three more wolves emerged from the cave, their noses twitching.
Elver was not concerned by wolves—she lived in the monster forest, after all—but she did not know how they would react to the cub.
She tensed, not sure what she would do if they went for him.
Her poison skin would not reach them through their thick fur pelts.
‘Busy.’ Bawric was watching the cub too. ‘Your message mentioned that you needed an animal tending to. I feel like you left out some important information, Sunay.’
‘You just need to watch him for a day or so,’ said Sunay. ‘You’ll barely notice him amongst all these fine fellows.’ She gestured to more wolves, who were beginning to crowd the entrance to the cave. ‘What do you say?’
‘Jih monsters are outlawed, by order of Trilot,’ he said evenly. ‘If I was found harbouring one, I’d be fined. Locked away. Perhaps worse.’
‘And you follow what Trilot says, do you?’ said Elver. She was thinking of the small dead cat they had left behind in the Temple of the Faceless God. ‘I thought the Pack was your lord, magpie.’
Sunay laughed nervously. ‘My friend is keen to see the cub safe, you see, and it makes her seem less than friendly .’ She shot Elver a look.
‘I would be less than friendly too, if I were a jih spirit wandering the human realm,’ said Bawric. ‘Yes, I know what you are, girl. One of the gifts of running with the Pack is that I can see the true nature of things. To hunt, you must see clearly.’
Elver stood up a little straighter, and lifted her chin a touch.
‘If you are too afraid of Trilot to help, then tell us now so that we can find another solution.’
One of the wolves gave a sharp yip, briefly exposing yellow fangs. Bawric, though, shook his head, the smallest suggestion of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
‘I’ve no love of Trilot,’ he said in his calm voice.
‘And no hatred of the Queen’s kin either.
Even monsters must hunt, locked away in their own forest.’ He nodded to the wolves, and they retreated back into the shadows.
‘But it’s not me that little chap would be spending his hours with.
Come in, and we will see how my companions feel about your proposal.
Then I’ll give you my answer, Sunay Tiskertalia. ’
Inside, the cave mouth drew into a narrow bottleneck before widening out into a much larger chamber.
Hanging on the craggy stone walls there were around a hundred bleached animal skulls, some of them decorated with flowers and strings of black and gold beads.
Running near the length of the chamber was a long, narrow firepit that gave off a pleasant warmth and the scent of cooking meat.
To her surprise, Elver found that she was drawn to it; the urge to go and sit by the hearth—to rest, and talk, and eat—was powerful.
Humans like to gather together. She thought of the people in the carriage, and the way Halla had offered her a swig from her own bottle.
The wolves, of which there had to be at least twenty, were either standing near the back of the cave or sprawled on stony ground beyond the hearth.
A few of them stayed close to Bawric, and in this space Elver had a better idea of how big they were; their long snouts rested at the same level as the mage’s chest. She pointed to the skulls.
‘All animals you’ve taken?’
‘Hunted, killed, dressed, and honoured.’ Bawric nodded to the skull of what looked to be an elk. Its antlers were strewn with loops of glass beads. ‘We remember those who made us work for it. Now then.’ He sat by the hearth. ‘Let’s have a look at this chap.’
But the cub was still cowering by the entrance to the wider chamber.
‘Come on,’ Elver called to him. ‘You need to come and meet this magpie.’
I shan’t. The cub wagged the brush of his tail back and forth, scarlet feathers bristling. His eyes burned green. I don’t feel like it.
‘We don’t really have time for this,’ she replied through gritted teeth. Bawric was watching her with interest, and she could feel her cheeks growing pink. ‘You can have the last of the dried meat from my pack. Or I can just come and pick you up and bring you over myself.’
The cub scampered back a little further, his claws skittering on the stone. You wouldn’t dare! I will bite you! I will snap your human fingers off! He danced about. This cave smells like dung and you are all made of dung.
‘He is still a very young animal,’ commented Bawric.
Elver turned to him in surprise. ‘You can understand him?’
The mage shook his head. ‘Not as you do, jih, but I know the behaviour of pups better than most.’ He nodded to the crowd of wolves. ‘He’s frightened, and he doesn’t want us to know he is. Perhaps he’d be more forthcoming if you called him by his name?’
‘His name? He is a keltraxia cub. That is what he is.’
Bawric leaned down towards the firepit and picked up a small clay bowl that had been resting near the heat.
From its colour, it was made from the same clay that made up the cliff face.
There were walnuts inside, which Bawric crushed open with his fingers before picking out the sweet pieces of nut inside.
‘All creatures have their chosen names,’ he said. ‘As a mage of the Pack, I can see what they are, although I will admit I’ve never attempted that magic with a monster.’
Sunay, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, crouched to take a nut from the bowl. ‘Will that truly help us, my friend? To know the creature’s name?’
Bawric shrugged. ‘Help you? The point is not to help you, Sunay, but to treat this little creature with respect. The respect all animals deserve, even those who have been touched by the Queen of Serpents.’
Elver frowned. She couldn’t decide if she liked this human or not.
‘What does it cost? This magic?’
‘Something with a sharp edge. A blade, a tool, a knife. I would take a worked piece of flint, if you had it.’
Elver’s hand drifted towards her belt. What did she need a weapon for, after all? She was the weapon.
‘Here,’ she took the dagger from her belt and passed it to the mage, taking care to keep her fingers out of reach of his. ‘Take it. Do the spell.’
Bawric examined the blade, then nodded. ‘It has seen a lot of blood, this blade.’ She thought for a moment he would accuse her of something, but instead he seemed pleased.
‘Some of it in the pursuit of prey. Good.’ He slipped the dagger into his own belt and the firepit glowed with a sudden brightness, as though someone enormous had breathed on it.
There was a murmur that seemed to come from all around them, and the skulls began speaking.
His name , they intoned in old, dry voices, is Fleet. Now you know his name, now you know his nature.
Oh, that’s right , said the cub. That’s who I am.
‘You never thought to mention it?’ cried Elver. ‘We even asked you, once…’
Well, I wasn’t sure , said Fleet. He trotted down into the chamber, his tail held high. But now I am. I’m Fleet, that means I’m fast and I’m clever and you can’t catch me. He glared around at all the wolves, his eyes very wide. When I am grown, even you won’t dare challenge me!
‘Those who run with me, this is Fleet.’ Bawric was talking to the wolves, his voice taking on a rhythmic, musical quality.
Every pair of wolf eyes turned to him. ‘He is young, and hasn’t learned to hunt yet.
Will you teach him, my friends? Will you let him run with us for a while, to learn the ways of scent, and mark, and tooth? ’
There was a moment of busy silence. Elver looked at Sunay, who shrugged ever so slightly before popping another piece of walnut in her mouth.
Me? Learning to hunt?
Elver crouched by Fleet and scratched him behind the ears in the way that Artair did sometimes.
‘I have to go somewhere for a little while, with Sunay, and it’s dangerous for you to come with us,’ she said quietly. ‘So I want you to stay here until we come back for you. It’ll be safe here.’ As she said it, she wondered how true that was.
Elver, how long will you be gone? There was a note of fear in Fleet’s voice that caught at her heart.
‘Not long. A day or so. You’ll hardly know I’m gone, and then when I come back, we’ll be going home.’
I’ll miss you.
This felt like a slightly outrageous statement from the creature that had spent much of his time sleeping, running away, eating all their food or dramatically going to the toilet at awkward moments, but even so Elver smiled.
Around them, the wolves were lifting their long snouts to the ceiling and howling in unison, a strange, eerie sound that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
‘They say they will gladly run with him,’ said Bawric. ‘So I’ll take him into my care for as long as you need.’
Elver pulled the cub closer and buried her face in the feathers that sprouted between his ears.
‘I’ll miss you too, Fleet.’