He studied the mayor and each of the politicians in turn, then began to study the attendants around them. What sort of people were they? Did they understand that everyone around them had nothing, while they had food and clean clothes? Did they care, if they knew?
His gaze shifted past a tall, heavyset man wearing glasses, and then abruptly flicked back to him.
He was much taller and much broader than Anders. He had dark-brown skin, black hair, and a black beard, neatly trimmed. His glasses had thick, square frames. His trousers were gray, and they might almost have been the same color as an Ulfar uniform. His shirt was a dark green, still clean, neatly tucked in. He wore an amulet at his neck, though he’d tucked it inside his shirt, where it was mostly hidden.
He looked like he belonged with the people all around him. Except he was far more serious than any of them.
And Anders knew who he was.
“Rayna,” he whispered, tugging at her arm.
“I’m just saying,” she said to Sam, “when you go for the ones with the buttons, it might look easier, but once you tug the edge of the cloak—”
“Rayna!”
“What?”
Then, before he had a chance to reply, she followed his gaze and went completely still.
The man standing over by the tent was their uncle Hayn, a teacher at Ulfar Academy, a famous artifact designer, and perhaps the person Anders wanted to see most in the world right now. Hayn had helped them get their hands on their mother’s map. Had managed to get their augmenters to them, even after he’d been arrested. Hayn had always been on their side, trying to help them and protect them.
Carefully, Anders began to walk a slow circuit around the edge of the gathering, forcing himself to move at a regular pace so nobody would pay any special attention to him. Rayna was by his side, and Sam a few steps behind.
They were ten feet away when Hayn saw them, and he didn’t have nearly as much practice as they did at playing it cool in tricky situations. He started, then broke into a run, closing the gap in three big strides and gathering each of them up in one arm, lifting them clean off their feet. Rayna squeaked, and Anders didn’t even have enough air to do that. But luckily, their uncle set them down after just a few moments.
“Careful,” Sam whispered from behind them, “someone will notice you.”
Hayn looked up, white teeth flashing in a quick grin.“The one thing nobody notices around here right now is a reunion,” he said. “They’re happening all the time. My name is Hayn. You must be a friend of my niece and nephew’s.”
He held out his hand to shake, and Sam stared at it for a long moment, before Rayna gave a tiny, encouraging nod.
Very carefully, as though his own hand might snap off, Sam shook. “Sam,” he said uncertainly.
“Pleasure to meet you, Sam,” Hayn said, just as if the introduction had been perfectly normal. “Come on, you three, let’s find somewhere private, and we can talk.”
He led them around the back of the big tent to a couple of pale square patches in what was left of the grass.
“Huh,” he said. “There were crates to sit on here a few hours ago. I suppose someone salvaged them for some shelter.”
So instead they stood while they talked.
“I’m so relieved to see you,” Hayn said. “I had no idea if either of you were okay. I thought if there was any chance that you’d come to the camp, you’d come here, so I hung around and tried to blend in.”
“You thought we’d come where the people were richer and the pickings were best?” Rayna asked, looking a little insulted, though that was in fact exactly what they had been thinking.
“No,” Hayn replied, with much more faith in them than Anders felt they deserved. “This is where the decisions are being made. I thought you’d want to know what was happening.”
“And we thought you’d be with the wolves,” Anders admitted. “None of them are here.”
“No, they’ve made a camp to the north,” Hayn replied. “Up past Vadobrun, where the Ulfar students camp when they go out overnight. You remember it?”
Anders nodded. He and Lisabet had seen the place the night before they’d stolen Fylkir’s chalice and run away to Drekhelm to find Rayna. “There’s nothing there,” he said. “Just a cairn with a few supplies, and the river.”
“The wolves don’t need much,” Hayn replied. “They’ve trained for this. And they’re not welcome among the citizens of Holbard, any more than I’m welcome among the wolves. You know I was locked up before the battle, because Sigrid suspected I was dragging my feet on finding her an augmenter for the Snowstone. I wasn’t going back and giving them a chance to lock me up again. Not until I knew whether the two of you were safe.”
“I don’t even know what to ask first,” Anders admitted. “What’s happening with the wolves? What’s happening here?”
“The wolves are doing all right,” Hayn replied. “Theysalvaged supplies from Holbard and marched out to make a camp. Sigrid is missing, and Professor Ennar is in charge.”
