The Dog Master (48 page)

They came to a place where many dead fire smells mingled with people odors. “No!” her man shouted. Dog yawned nervously, panting, unsure what was happening, why he was so distressed.

“They left, Dog. They are gone. We are now truly on our own.”

*   *   *

Silex awoke at dawn. His first thought was of Denix and her unborn child, the pregnancy that was only beginning to pronounce itself. He would have to tell Ovi soon.

He yawned. During the night he had been aware of his sons returning to camp, and was looking forward to hearing about the wolf pack. The young men had gone out with the intention of seeing if the massive female with the white markings above her eyes had brought her young to the howling site.

His sons Cragg and Tok were sitting by the fire. Their faces were grim, alarming Silex. “Has something happened to the pack?” Silex asked anxiously.

The young men glanced at each other. “Father,” Cragg said, “we have seen something repugnant.”

Silex crouched next to them, warming himself. It was still early enough in the day that the light from the fire flickered in his sons' eyes. “Tell me.”

“There is a man, a Kindred, and he has captured a wolf.”

Silex frowned in noncomprehension. “Captured? What do you mean?”

“The wolf is fastened to a rope that the Kindred carries in his hand,” Cragg responded.

“A rope?” Silex repeated incredulously. “How would a rope save a man from a wolf?”

“The rope encircles the wolf's neck and perhaps it chokes her air,” Cragg speculated. “We do not know why the wolf does not turn on the Kindred, only that she is forced to remain captive.”

“We stalked them for three days,” Tok added.

Silex sat back, his face a study in disbelief.

“It is an abomination. He has enslaved the wolf,” Cragg stated emphatically.

“Could this man, could he be a wolf as well, Father?” asked Tok.

Cragg shook his head impatiently. “I have been telling Tok that this cannot be. The man is evil, an evil aberration.”

“What should we do?” Tok asked respectfully.

“We must end this horror,” Cragg argued.

“It
is
unnatural,” Tok agreed, “but I am unsure, Brother, that it is our place to interfere.”

They all looked to their father. Silex rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “An enslaved wolf,” he murmured. “I question whether you correctly interpreted what you saw. Such a thing defies my mind.”

“The man has a stunted leg,” Tok added.

Silex gasped. “
Are you sure?
”

His sons seemed taken aback by his reaction. “Yes, Father.”

“A lone man with a stunted leg holds a wolf prisoner,” Silex summed up, his face grim. The vision of the hyena in the field made sense to him now. “You can find this man, if you go back out?”

“Of course,” Cragg replied simply. They were Wolfen; they could track anything.

“Then we must go find this abhorrence, and we must kill him and set free the wolf,” Silex answered. “It is the only thing to do.”

*   *   *

The Kindred were well practiced at moving swiftly upon dawn's light. Mothers took charge of their children, while the men of the hunt arrayed themselves at the front of the migration. Valid was therefore somewhat surprised when his youngest son, Magnus, trotted breathlessly up to him when the sun was overhead and the Kindred were starting to walk more slowly, anticipating the midday meal. Magnus was eleven summers old and not yet a member of the hunt, so his appearance was irregular.

“Father,” Magnus panted.

“Slow down, Son. What have you come to tell me?”

“Mother said we cannot find Lyra. Your pouch, and our family's food, is also missing. She does not know how to feed us.”

“I do not understand what you are telling me, Magnus. Where is Lyra?”

“I do not know. Mother said that is what to tell you. We cannot find Lyra and Mother does not know how to feed us.”

Urs approached. “What has brought your son to the front?” he asked Valid.

Valid shrugged. “I am not sure. Sidee has somehow lost our food, and Lyra is once again evading her.”

“It is not unusual for a woman Lyra's age to have disagreements with her mother,” Urs observed, smiling.

“This is even more true in our family,” Valid agreed ruefully.

“Would Lyra have hidden your food, out of anger, perhaps?”

Valid shook his head. “That, no, does not seem like her.” He turned toward his son. “Lyra might be accomplished at concealing herself from her mother, but you and your friends can easily catch her. I am sure she is lurking nearby.” Valid gestured to the sparse trees, well spaced but thick enough to hide behind. “Tell your friends that the one who finds her will be gifted a wolf's tooth from my collection.”

“All is good. We will search again.”

Magnus turned to sprint away, but Valid held up his hand. “Wait. What do you mean? Have you already looked for her?”

“It is what we have been doing all morning.”

Valid and Urs stared at each other. Then they both turned and looked north.

“She cannot have run off,” Valid whispered. “Surely she would not do something like that.”

 

FIFTY-SIX

Sidee had collapsed and Calli was at her side, holding her hand. Word had swept through the Kindred: Lyra had run away.

Valid and his sons Ligo and Magnus were assembling their weapons, and men and women were gathering around to watch. Urs assessed the grim determination in his friend's eyes. “Valid. You cannot leave. We must continue south.”

Valid shook his head. “I have to do this, Urs.”

Urs turned a furious glare on the onlookers. “Leave us!” he bellowed. They dispersed hurriedly, scattering away and forming smaller groups to eat the midday meal, glancing over at Valid and Urs as often as they dared.

Grat rushed up. “I have just heard,” he declared.

“We leave now,” Valid replied.

“I will go with you,” Grat stated.

“No you will
not,
” Urs corrected icily. “Valid, I cannot allow this.”

“Please, Valid, you cannot leave me alone!” Sidee pleaded.

“She is our
daughter,
” Valid snapped.

“She has left to be with the cripple! It is her choice, Valid,” Sidee responded. Grat stared at her, shocked. Calli's eyes widened.

“Listen to me now,” Urs said forcefully, his voice hard. Valid's sons stared solemnly at the hunt master, and even Valid seemed unsettled by his friend's tone. “This is not allowed. You are spear master and needed here, with your tribe.”

“Urs. She slipped away just before there was light in the sky, and she must be following our tracks back. She cannot be more than half a day behind us. We will close on her within a day or two at the most,” Valid reasoned.

“And then what? In two days' time, we will be much farther south. You will not be able to catch up with us for the rest of the migration. No, Valid, you may not go.”

“Urs, do not ask this of me,” Valid begged.

Urs stepped closer. “Valid. I have lost a child and I know the pain that comes with it. I cannot tell you how sorry I am. And I promise you, when we return next summer you may take all the men you want and go kill the cripple, if he survives. Kill him and, if she is alive, retrieve your daughter.”

Calli stared in horror. Urs seemed to have forgotten she was there.

“But for now, this is the way it must be. I must have you with your tribe now, Valid. With the hunt. There will be no going back.”

Calli glanced down and saw triumph in Sidee's eyes. Suddenly filled with loathing for all of them, she dropped Sidee's hand and stood. Valid gave her a pained look, parting his lips as if to say something, but Calli walked away without a backward glance.

After the midday meal, the Kindred reorganized and fell back into step. The momentary flurry concerning Lyra was gratefully forgotten—they were migrating, as they always did, and there was comfort in this.

Calli found she could meet no one's gaze. She plodded along, her expression blank, eyes dark. If Lyra managed to survive and find Mal, the two of them together might stand a better chance of enduring the winter, but then in the summer the men of the Kindred would track them down and kill her son. Either way, her son would perish.

*   *   *

Lyra spent most of the first day glancing back over her shoulder, watching for her father.

She knew exactly what would happen. At first light, Sidee would notice her daughter was missing and alert her family. The Kindred would pause the migration and Valid would grab Ligo and come get her.

When he caught up with her, she knew her father would be furious. She would accept his anger and any punishment, but then he would see how serious she was. She would rather come out here and die than marry Grat.

Her father would not let that happen.

She was deliberately slow as she retraced well-tracked ground along the river, lingering for a long time over her midday meal. The farther she went, the angrier her father would be.

At a pretty spot by the stream, she sat and composed herself, waiting. She had rested fitfully the night before and her muscles were tired from days of walking, so it was not long before she had drifted off, sleeping in the sun.

When she awoke, the light in the sky was orange. Shocked, she realized she would have to spend the night alone. She quickly gathered as much wood as she could find, striking her flint so that when night came, she had the stream to her back and the fire warding off the darkness in front of her. She tamped down her fear by reminding herself that Mal had lived alone the entire summer.

She slept a little, but awoke when she heard wolves howling in the distance. She put more wood on the fire and stared at the flames, hugging her knees. For the first time, she allowed herself to contemplate that her father might not be coming.

*   *   *

Denix found Ovi standing by the river. It was as Silex described it—Ovi seemed to be watching the waters, swollen with recent rains, as if waiting for something. Denix observed her staring, not moving, for a long time before finally calling out.

“Ovi.”

Silex's wife and sister turned, blinking. She did not respond or raise her hand in acknowledgment.

“I was told you might be here,” Denix greeted, walking up to the other woman. “I think we have a lot to talk about.”

Ovi turned back to look at the water. “We do?”

Denix frowned. Her whole life, Ovi had been such a mystery to her. “Silex advised me he told you about … about my pregnancy.”

A black branch floated slowly past, and Ovi watched it. “Yes,” she agreed softly. “He told me.”

“Ovi, I am sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“All is good.”

“No, Ovi. Please talk to me. Are you angry?”

Ovi gazed at Denix, her expression implacable. “I am not angry with you, Denix. What would be the point? It is done.”

Though it was ridiculous, Denix found
herself
getting angry. “I have fornicated with your husband and gotten pregnant as a result. I do not believe you when you say you do not care.”

“Oh, I care,” Ovi responded faintly. “You have given me a gift.”

Denix paused, puzzled. “I do not understand. A gift?”

“A release. Is the river not beautiful, this time of year? So deep and dark. Standing here, I often see ice floating on the surface.”

“Ice.”

“Whatever feeds this river must live in winter. Did you know I fell in at the end of summer, when I was a small child?” Ovi asked. “It was this time of year, and here, where it is unusually deep. My father saved me. I remember how numb I was in the water. No pain. No feeling at all. Just the dark current, pulling me along.”

“I did not know about this. It was before I was born.”

“It was a long time ago,” Ovi affirmed wistfully. “Times were so easy then. Not like now, where every day is such a struggle. I am so weary of it all.”

“I was hoping we could talk about what to tell the others. Silex is very concerned that the Wolfen will react badly, but I believe it has a lot to do with how
you
behave, Ovi. He has shared with me that you and he have never been together as man and woman in your bed. If you would tell everyone that you have no objection to me filling that role, I think my news will not cause the harm that Silex fears.”

An ironic but unreadable twitch touched the corners of Ovi's mouth. “I think all is good. No harm will be caused by this.”

Denix nodded. “That is good of you, Ovi. Perhaps—”

“I really want to be left alone now,” Ovi interrupted. She fixed Denix with bland eyes. “I like to look at the river.”

“All is good,” Denix replied. “I will let you have solitude.”

Denix withdrew. Ovi turned back to the river, nodding. “Solitude,” she repeated to herself. It was a good word to describe what she craved. She stepped out of her garments, wincing as she waded up to her ankles in the shockingly cold water. She stood for a moment, then took another step. The numbness came after a time, encouraging her to go deeper, swim out into the currents.

Solitude.

*   *   *

On the second day, Lyra added wet wood to her fire and let it cloud the air with thick black smoke that rose high, visible for miles. Now her father would know exactly where to look. As the day grew long, though, Lyra ventured north, remembering some small caves where her tribe always made camp during their migrations. They were farther upstream than she recalled, but there was still enough sunshine when she came upon the place to allow her to find wood for her fire. After eating from her dwindling supply of food from her father's pouch, Lyra crawled into a small cave and put her hands over her face and sobbed until she slept.