Bayn had a quick decision: save the girl or save the man.
It was a simple choice.
You save pups.
Always save the pups, for they cannot save themselves.
He barreled toward Erian. As soon as they reached her, Llor slid off Bayn’s back into his sister’s arms, and the wolf launched himself at the air spirit.
The spirit was twice his size, with that vicious beak and talons. But Bayn was fast, strong, and far more intelligent. He feinted for its neck and then clamped hard on the tendons in its wing, ripping backward as the air spirit pulled away. He tasted its blood—crisp mountain air, the tang of pine, and the acrid bite of soil choked with stone. Not the usual taste of the spirits of Aratay.
There was no time to consider what the odd flavor meant, however. Behind him, Erian cried, “Bayn, watch out!” Turning his head, he saw she was pointing at the sky.
Five more spirits streaked toward them. Alone, he might have fought them, but he couldn’t risk Queen Naelin’s children. Baring his teeth, he crouched low and jerked his head, hoping the children understood what he wanted.
They did. Llor and Erian climbed onto his back. As the air spirit he’d injured shrieked to the others, Bayn tensed all his muscles and then sprang away from the branch. He sailed through the air in a graceful arc, landing smoothly on a branch of the next tree—if anyone had been watching, they would have been shocked to see a wolf travel through the trees this way, but both Erian and Llor were too young and too scared to question it. He felt them through his back, shaking, tense, and terrified, but he didn’t dare pause to comfort them.
He jumped from branch to branch while the spirits streaked through the air after them. Instantly, he knew he’d made a mistake—if he’d fled east toward where Queen Naelin was visiting Queen Daleina’s childhood village, Naelin would have known her children were in danger and could have compelled the spirits to stop, but instead he’d run west.
Or more accurately, he’d been driven west.
Maybe they’re not as stupid as I thought.
And they were proving that. Every time he tried to switch direction, one of the spirits would cut him off. He raced down the trunk of a fallen tree and hit the forest floor. Running faster, he weaved between the bushes and the roots. Crying to one another, the spirits chased him, skimming over the bushes and zigzagging between the trunks. He saw one out of the corner of his eye, pacing him.
No longer screaming, the children were whimpering into his fur. He smelled their fear in their sweat, and it made him run faster. He covered one mile, then two, then three, farther and farther from Naelin and safety.
The spirits, he realized, were trying to trap him against the border of the untamed lands. He’d seen this hunting technique before. In fact, he’d used it himself.
No oneeverwent into the untamed lands. Not even if they faced death. He’d taken down prey within inches of the border, tearing them to shreds when they’d stopped, terrified, their deeply ingrained fear of the untamed lands overwhelming their fear of a predator.
And nowhewas the prey.
He sensed the spirits, flanking him, so he dodged right. The children held on as he veered around the trunk of an oak tree and then plowed through the underbrush. Two spirits darted in front of him. He ran left. Another spirit shot forward, forcing him to swerve again.
I am not fast enough,he realized.
Soon, they’d have him corralled.
Ahead, he caught a glimpse of the untamed lands. Through the branches, it looked like the haze above a waterfall. It shimmered and darkened, and Bayn had a brilliant and terrible idea. Switching directions, he did what no ordinary animal would do: he rantowardthe border.
Caught off-guard, his pursuers faltered for a moment before chasing after him.
Once more, he heard the whimpers of Erian and Llor. He felt the crunch of fallen leaves beneath his paws.If I can just reach it, the spirits won’t dare follow....Ahead, he saw the haze trembling and shifting as, beyond the borders of the known world, mountains rose and fell, trees sprouted and died, and streams flooded and dried. He heard Erian cry, “Bayn, no!”
But before he could reach the border, two of the spirits broke from the others and attacked from above. He felt Erian and Llor being pulled from his back. He heard them scream. Pivoting, Bayn leapt and snarled, but the other four spirits closed around him.
He was driven back, as the two spirits carried the screaming children up toward the canopy. Fighting, he tried to run after them—but it was impossible. The other spirits cut him off. He retreated, losing inch by inch, backing toward the untamed lands.
As the two spirits carrying Erian and Llor burst through the canopy, he knew he’d lost.Oh, Great Mother,he prayed,I’m sorry my best was not good enough.And then to the children, he thought,Stay alive. Until we meet again.
He broke off fighting and did the unthinkable.
Turning, he ran without stopping, without slowing, without even hesitating. Behind him, he felt the spirits pull up short, watching, as he plunged into the untamed lands.
And the haze closed around him.
Chapter4
