Faerling

Book 1, _Crystal_Mirrors_

Part XV

Humans stank. Their scent, mixed with the leather they wore and the scent of the horses they rode was bitter in the panther's nose. He stopped as he circled the tree, sitting back on his haunches to look up where he could discern two figures crouched in the branches above him. He smelled fear, and exhaustion and sickness. The smell was unpleasant.

A wolf howled, somewhat closer than it had been earlier, so the panther started to move again in the direction of his enemy. He had killed one wolf yesterday for the Bright One and hoped to kill another for her today. Not only would the death of the wolf save her from attack, but it would provide a hearty meal for them both. Eyes glittering in the moonlight, the panther moved away.

Gil woke, stiff, the next morning. She felt something move past her and saw Donal drop out of the tree onto the forest floor below, startling the nearest horse. The horse whickered angrily, but Donal just laughed. Gil groaned as she tried to stretch her stiff limbs.

"I take it you feel better this morning," she called after the half-elf, who was heading towards the thick of the woods.

"Better than I felt yestermorn," he called back. He moved through the bushes, seeming to melt into them, away from her sight, returning a few minutes later. "The injury seems slight, and I find myself able to think again today. The pain is less as well."

Gil grasped the trunk of the tree, slowing letting herself slide down until she could drop the last few feet to the ground. Her legs buckled under her and she fell into an undignified heap, long legs tangled. "That hurt!" She looked around. "Is it late?"

Donal nodded. "It appears that I have slept longer than I usually do, more than likely due to my head."

Gil nodded, her mind still not fully awake. "'Scuse me," she said quietly, as she moved into the trees. She hated the natural life she had to live here, and really missed modern bathrooms. She wrinkled her nose as she made sure there were no unpleasant plants in the area and thought that even an outhouse would be better than *nothing*. She kicked aside some branches to make a small clearing for herself. The sound of a breaking branch seemed very loud to her, and she nearly jumped at the sound. She turned to look behind her, seeing nothing. Shaking her head, trying to convince herself that there was nothing to harm them, she started to walk back to Donal.

Something lying in her path, almost under her feet, stopped her, and she screamed before she could stop herself.

"What is it?" Donal called, running to find her.

Gil turned away, dropping to her knees, hand over her mouth. Her face was pale with the effort not to lose the breakfast she hadn't had. Donal stopped when he saw what had surprised her.

Lying on the path, where it hadn't been earlier, was a wolf corpse. The corpse had been dead for only an hour or two, and was heavily mutilated. Donal knelt to examine it more closely. The throat had been ripped out by sharp teeth, and Donal assumed that was what had killed the creature. The stomach was likewise gnawed, but on the haunches were unmistakable knife marks, where the wolf had been partially skinned and meat sliced from it. The corpse was dirty, as if it had been dragged to this point and then left.

"What's so great about the wolf?"

Donal looked up to see Gil standing over him, trying to look him in the eyes without seeing the corpse. He gestured at the sliced haunch. "Knife marks. Maybe Genna?"

The thought struck them at the same time, and they started to laugh. Gil was still giggling when she commented, "Genna? Kill a wolf?"

"Speaking of Genna..."

Gil turned to look at the half-elf, who was watching her speculatively. "Yes?"

"Couldn't you..." Donal's voice trailed off as he waved his hands in the air in front of him. "Well, couldn't you use magic to find her?"

Gil's eyes widened. "God, I am *such* an *idiot*!" She slapped Donal on the back. "Thanks, friend." She started to walk back to the horses, muttering, "That's it girl. Just forget about your magic like the stupid twit you are. It was the corpse. Made me forget all about it..."

Back at the camp, Gil pulled her notebook from her pack and started to go through it. "Summoning? Or finding?" She wrinkled her nose as she thought. "I thought people only summoned demons and monsters? If I summon a person, would it be a summoning or a traveling - like a teleport to me?" She shook her head. "Better just try to scry for her - safer that way. Besides, she may not feel well after her last experience with a t-port spell."

Gil sank to the ground, her legs crossed as she sat. When Donal entered the clearing, she called out, "Go get me a skin of water, and pour it into one of the deep plates." She didn't wait for an answer before returning to reading her book.

Donal placed the plate in front of her, watching intently as Gil's eyes moved from normal color to black as midnight. She whispered strange words that fell like water over Donal's ears as she moved her hand over the plate. Finally she reached into the water and drew her hand out as if she drew a fine strand of silk out. She was then quiet as she sat, staring at the water.

Donal walked away, pulled out his knife and began to flip it, tossing it high in the air and watching as it thunked into the soft earth at his feet. Finally, he heard Gil move, and he turned to see what she had found.

"Well?"

Gil's voice was tired, as if the magic had sapped her strength. "I didn't see either of them exactly, but scrying isn't exactly exact, if you know what I mean. I saw a tree with a panther curled at the foot of it, asleep. I saw a fight with a panther, as if through some predator's eyes, and I saw myself climbing a tree, with my arm and leg paining me incredibly. That's all." She hadn't moved from her seat on the ground, and looked like she would pass out any moment.

Donal helped her stand and climb onto a horse. He pulled himself up behind her, the other horses following in a train behind their own. Gil slumped back against him, and it took all his strength to hold her taller body on the horse in front of him. He peered over her shoulder and saw that her eyes had closed, and that her breathing was shallow but strong. He shrugged and started slowly on the path through the forest, positive that that would bring him to where Genna was. It seemed as if all Gil had seen were trees, so trees must be where Genna was. And possibly Alec as well.

Genna sat cross-legged on the ground, her foot paining her too much to continue walking. She rubbed at the bandage, willing it to stop hurting. Finding no relief, she leaned back against the tree trunk and closed her eyes.

She reached out with her left hand and felt until she found her pack, pulling it towards her. Lazily she opened it and started fishing around in it, still without looking. Finally her hand felt a smooth stone surface and she pulled out the stone Alec had given her. Grasping it tightly, she concentrated on her friend.

-Alec? Alec, can you hear me? I'm hurt, and I can't walk any farther...-

She groaned when there was no response, and rubbed a hand across her forehead. Her head was beginning to ache now as well, and she felt warm despite the chill air.

She wrinkled her nose as she concentrated harder. -*Please,* Alec! I can't have lost you all... I feel so awful.-

She thought she felt something answer her, but she couldn't hear the words. Then a feeling of protectiveness settled over her, the warmth stealing through her limbs, making her sleepy. She curled up, the stone still clutched tightly in one hand, and fell asleep.

It was growing dark as Donal moved slowly down the path, deeper into the woods, and the moon was already high in the sky. He was nodding off, tired from the strain of holding Gil's still unconscious form on the horse before him. When the horse shied, he was nearly unseated, his arms pulled painfully as Gil's body threatened to fall from the horse's back. He barely got the horse under control, then slipped off, lowering Gil to the ground. He propped her against a tree, then tied the skittish horses while he investigated what was bothering them.

He could hear sounds from not far away, the growls of animals fighting. He moved silently up on them, stopping when he could see what was happening.

Not far from the path a panther and a wolf circled each other. The wolf was gaunt from hunger, his ribs showing easily through his skin. Saliva dripped from the wolf's mouth as he eyed the girl slumped against a tree trunk nearby. The panther growled each time the wolf glanced at the girl, and kept himself placed between the animal and her body, almost as if protecting her. The two had apparently already attacked each other, for there was a deep gash in the wolf's side, and blood dripped from one ear of the panther.

As Donal watched, the wolf lunged forward, snarling, teeth snapping at the panther's throat. The panther slipped sideways, avoiding the wolf's bite, lashing out in return. The wolf, seeing the way open to the girl, lunged at her instead.

Donal jumped from the bushes, dagger drawn, screaming at the wolf. Almost as if he recognized and ally, the panther took advantage off the wolf's confusion and fastened his teeth on the rangy creature's neck, while Donal placed himself between the wolf and the girl.

The panther clung to the wolf, his teeth pushing deeper as he tried to tear his opponent's throat out. The wolf lashed out with claws, opening huge scrapes down the wolf's side and forelegs. Donal could see no easy opening to help, and had to let the panther finish the fight, hoping that once done with the wolf, he wouldn't turn on himself and the girl.

Finally, the wolf's movement slowed, and then stopped. The panther released his hold, allowing the corpse to drop to the ground. He sat behind it, and pushed it forward with his head, towards Donal. Donal looked at him curiously, but didn't move. The panther grasped the wolf's neck again between his teeth and carried the corpse over to the girl, setting it down and nudging it forward again.

Donal glanced down at the girl, curled up in a tight ball at the base of a tree. There was a dirty bandage on one foot, and another on her forearm. Beads of sweat ran down her face, and she shivered in her sleep. One hand was held against her chest, clutched tight. Her face was down, so Donal couldn't see it, but once his eyes registered the pale green tint of the hair, and the lacy wings folded against her back he knew he had found Genna, and she was in even worse shape than the young mage.

He turned to the panther, and was only somewhat surprised to see it sitting, staring at him, head cocked as if waiting for something.

"You stay here and watch Genna," Donal found himself instructing the animal, as if it actually would understand him. "I've got to go get Gil and the horses."

He moved quickly back through the forest to where Gil was stirring slightly near the horses. He helped her to her feet, and pushed her up onto the horse until she lay across its back. He then led his little caravan back to where Genna was and helped Gil down, laying her next to Genna where she quickly fell back asleep.

Donal sat down and built a small fire, carved a little of the stringy meat from the wolf, and cooked his dinner. He pushed the corpse towards the panther, who still sat there, and commented, "Go ahead, have some. I don't think the girls will be interested tonight."

The panther tore some meat from the corpse, and ate its fill. It then moved further away, sitting down to clean its wounds and keep a watchful eye out for more wolves.

Donal felt sleep stealing over him and glanced over to see the panther seeming to stand guard not far away. His eyes flickered closed as he lay down near the girls and joined them in slumber.

To be continued...

Faerling is copyrighted by Deb Atwood.

Copies may be kept for personal use but may not be redistributed without the expression permission of the author.

Tryslora Eloran (deb_atwood@fac.com)