Black Wolf (26 page)

Quite some
time later, very full and satisfied, he had a drink and gave the
remains a last sniffing-over. Not much left, but it had been the
most delicious thing he'd ever eaten.

He sought out
a place that would be sunny later, on another glacial rock, and
stretched out on his side contentedly. Now he knew he could do it,
surely he could do it again when he needed to.

He felt no
hunger when he woke the next night, thanks to the heavy meal he'd
had.

That meant he
could explore without that nagging at him.

Where was he?
Still in Janicot Township, he thought, or at least near it. Some
distance from Haven and home, though.

Maybe he
should head back that way? There must be other wolves around, he'd
caught traces here and there, and it would be both dangerous and
discourteous to intrude into the territory of another pack. He
could turn back towards Haven, that would be better.

It felt
marvellous to be out and running. He used the roads, slipping away
and out of sight from headlights and people when necessary, but
that happened rarely. The moon above was waning yet still bright
enough to call to him, to add to the thrill of the exercise.

There, he was
getting close to Haven. He circled around the village proper, let
his homing instincts lead him to a high stone wall by the lake.

This was home.
If he stayed near here, all would be well. That was all he had to
remember. There was plenty of room to hunt.

He sniffed
around the gate, picked up the alpha male's scent, and that of the
alpha bitch and others. Automatically, he marked the ground by the
corner, letting anyone else who came along know he'd been there,
and spun away.

* * *

Lazily, he
stretched in the afternoon sun, enjoying the feel of it on his bare
skin. It had taken him a few nights, but he'd mastered shifting
back and forth between both forms, to take advantage of each. His
wolf body might be better adapted for living this way, including in
that it didn't need to be fed every day if he ate well enough, but
his human body could do things like climb trees for eggs—or get the
feathers off a bird so he didn't have to taste the vile things. He
was becoming quite adept at shapechanging, in fact.

It would be
time again soon to go hunting, so he turned his thoughts towards
planning that. What trick could he devise for tonight?

He rolled over
on his stomach to let the sun warm his back, grateful for the other
stones acting as a windbreak. It was so wonderful here. He couldn't
remember ever being so completely content. There was nothing to
hurt him, no one telling him he was bad and would never be any use
to anyone, no confusion or mysteries. Everything was finally fair,
he ate if he was clever and quick enough to catch something, and
around that he could play or explore, learning about all the new
things.

Then why did
he sometimes feel just a little lonely? This would be even more
wonderful if there were someone to share it with... wouldn't
it?

He tried to
dismiss that, to concentrate on planning tonight's hunt, but it
persisted with increasing strength. Wasn't there more to life than
simply running around the woods wild, avoiding everyone? Maybe, a
life where he
was
some use to someone, and a life where he
had a pack to run with, instead of all by himself?

He wrestled
with the problem without arriving at a solution, long past shifting
back to fur as the air began to grow chill, on into the twilight
he'd always loved and now only felt more at home in. He visited the
nearby stream for a drink, and went prowling for his meal.

Not so very
far away, a wolf howled, and a moment later in ragged order three
others replied. He listened, and a few minutes later heard them
repeat it, this time all closer together. He recognized them,
though he wasn't sure how.

He could go
join them, stay with them...

No! That was
crazy! He could survive on his own, he didn't need anyone else! He
didn't have to give anyone a chance to hurt him, ever again!

Except that
the blissful happiness of the first days had faded, and he knew
there was still something missing.

Uncertainly,
he turned in the direction of the last set of howls. Maybe he could
have company, just for tonight, they must know a lot more than he
did and maybe they could teach him. He didn't have to stay, he
could always come back, the woods and wind and moon would always be
ready to accept him without question.

He got near
where he thought they must be, but couldn't find them. Shakily, he
sat back and coiled his tail around his feet, and concentrated hard
on throwing back his head and howling. It wasn't as musical as
theirs, but it carried.

Immediate
response, it didn't take long at all for four large furry bodies to
come racing through the forest to him. They greeted him joyfully,
everyone trying to welcome him at once, alpha wolf and alpha bitch
and the other two, telling him so much all in one confused tangle
that he couldn't understand anything except their excitement and
delight.

The alpha
bitch finally began to snap at the others, driving them off far
enough that he had room to breathe, while she shielded him with her
own pale-furred body. Affectionately, she licked his ear—the one
that had been savaged by a groundhog some time before.

Hunt?
she asked, quite clearly, though the human part of his mind
couldn't figure out how. He thought it was in large part body
language that his instincts translated for him.

Hunt
,
he agreed.
Hungry.

Teach,
promised the other male wolf, not the alpha one.
Hunt.

The alpha
wolf, large and dark brown, paced back and forth a few times,
thinking. He must have reached a decision, because he spun around
and loped away. The rest followed.

The older
wolves showed him how to hunt sleeping ducks, brown ones with
bright iridescent heads, as a team: they found a trio of them
sleeping under a tree near a pond, and the alpha male nudged him
into following the other male and alpha bitch around between them
and the water. The alpha male and the chestnut bitch stalked them,
and while the alpha male seized one, the chestnut bitch missed and
the third took off as well—directly towards the three waiting
wolves. He snatched at one in vain, but the other two caught the
escaping birds. The five of them shared the three ducks amicably,
the alphas claiming less of the best bits than they could have. All
four of the older wolves, in fact, let the young black one eat what
he realized belatedly was more than his share.

He liked
having the company, being able to smell the other wolves all around
him, even more than the food.

Bellies full,
they got down to the serious business of fun.

The alpha
bitch dropped into play-position: chest low, ears forward, tail
waving. He obligingly pounced at her, and she darted away, inviting
him to chase her. The chestnut bitch jumped out of nowhere to
attack him and send both of them into a sparring match of playful
growls and snaps. The alpha wolf pursued the chestnut bitch in and
out around the trees, until the black wolf crouched behind one and
leaped out at him, startling him; the alpha wolf knocked him down
and pinned him, not hard with his greater mass, and licked
mischievously at face and ears and throat while his captive
squirmed halfheartedly.

In someone's
deserted pasture, the alpha bitch shifted to human, picked up a
stick to throw as far as she could, and the others raced after it.
After a time, the alpha wolf traded with her, so she could have a
chance at the game too. The black wolf was smaller than all save
the alpha bitch, much the same size. That gave him a little more
manoeuvrability, enough so that a reasonable number of times he was
the one who snatched up the stick and ran back with it before
anyone could take it from him.

It felt like
too soon when the other wolves said farewells and scattered home,
yet he had to admit he was exhausted. The alpha wolf waited for
him, and together they loped back to a grey stone wall, and in a
gate, and up to a porch that looked over a fountain.

There they
curled up together, sharing warmth, and slept.

20

Her belly full
for the first time in days, Aindry left Jaisan to guard the rest of
the deer they'd brought down, and trotted back to collect their
belongings. The ground was clear, no snow at all penetrated the
thick conifers to whiten the rusty needles below.

A sharp
cr-rack
was the only warning she had before the tree fell;
she lunged forward, and it missed her, though not by much.
Instantly wary, she spun around, searching the still air for any
scent of danger.

Shadows
detached themselves from the rest, drew themselves together into a
solid form. The upper body was grotesquely humanoid, yet with four
clawed arms; at the waist, its body trailed off into that of a
massive snake.

Another one.
Once, attacks from the demon plane had long intervals between them,
so long they'd wondered sometimes whether they'd been forgotten or
dismissed as not important and maybe they could settle down
somewhere. They always turned up eventually, though, even if it
took a while. Presumably it wasn't easy to get themselves called
here and then choose their own prey, or to find cracks between the
planes that they could slip through alone. Lately, the frequency
had been increasing, not at all a good sign.

This demon
advanced towards her, baring teeth that put a wolf's to shame. She
crouched, growling a warning, her ears flat against her skull; she
could feel the rhythm of her heart speed up, the rush of
adrenaline...

It darted
forward with surprising speed, all four arms extended to snatch at
her. Aindry slipped away to the right, tore at its side with her
teeth, but they glanced off metallic scales. It thrashed sideways,
and she barely escaped being swept off her feet.

She circled
around it, tried to decide how to attack. She doubted she'd be able
to get her preferred grip on the back of its neck, so something
else. Even demons had to follow
some
rules when they took
physical form. She just wished she'd had longer with her mother to
learn all the tricks of killing demons.

It came at her
again—how did it move so quickly with that awkward-looking
tail?—and again she ducked sideways. This time she snatched for one
of the arms, and closed her teeth on it with all her strength. The
claws of the other hand on that side raked across her hindquarters
shallowly, but she crunched down harder, chewing at it. The demon
shrieked and whipped around to bring the other claws into play, and
she backed off, noting in satisfaction that she'd half-severed one
hand from its wrist. Still screaming, it drew its arms in close to
its body, and the whole shape fluxed. A huge snake reared above her
and hissed. Blood dripped from one side.

All right, how
was she to get through those scales?

She grinned to
herself. Easy: don't. She turned and fled, back towards Jaisan.

It couldn't
keep up with a running wolf in that form; it had to shapeshift
again to follow her, as she'd hoped. It took the form of a black
wolf half again her size, and ran after her.

Aindry watched
her surroundings closely for a place she'd passed a few minutes
before... there! She thought, hoped, she had enough of a lead to
pull this off. She crested a small hill, reached the bottom in
three more strides, and slewed to a halt to hide herself in the
shadow of a tree to one side.

The demon came
over the hill, passed her; five feet later, it halted, finally
realizing something was wrong.

Too late.
Aindry flung herself at it from behind, ripping with teeth and
front claws, doing as much damage as she could before it could
shift back to its snake form.

Not quite
enough damage, though it was now blood-streaked in a number of
places. She fled again, and again it went back to wolf to
pursue.

She had yet to
meet a demon that would fall for the same trick twice in a row;
trying had gotten her and Jaisan both hurt a few times. She'd have
to think of something else.

A sudden yelp
echoed off the trees from behind her; she skidded to a stop, spun
around. Two black wolves were tearing at each other savagely. Not
surprising that Jaisan had heard the demon's screams. She
backtracked to help, adding her own teeth and claws and fury. Some
of the blood she smelled was hers and Jaisan's, but the scent was
overwhelmingly that of the demon's; it couldn't even seem to muster
itself enough to return to snake-form.

She finally
got a firm grasp on the back of its neck and crunched down until
she felt bone shatter under the pressure of her jaws. With a last
wail, the demon melted away, back into shadows and silence.

Both panting,
the wolves stood still a moment, waiting for the demon-rage to
pass. They needed to get clean, they needed somewhere they could
sleep for a few hours while their bodies worked on the demon
poison... Wearily, she forced herself to move, prodded Jaisan into
motion. No snow to roll in, no open water to splash in, it looked
like getting clean was going to have to wait a bit. Back to the
clearing where the small pile of their belongings was, and no
farther; they curled up heavily, a little apart, and endured. The
poison had already worked its way in deeply, spreading its cold
fire through every cell; gradually, Aindry felt it fade, as wolf
resistance to poison came into full force.