'With what? That great ridiculous beam you call a sword? Rusk can stop you with a word. The only reason he didn't do it last time was because he was seducing you.'
'Seducing me?' said Tal, grimacing at the word. 'He didn't even buy me dinner.'
'Can you be serious for once and listen to what I'm telling you?'
'We're quarreling again, aren't we?' said Chaney. 'You two should just rent a room and get it out of your systems.' He pushed back from the table before Tal could land another kick.
'All I'm saying is that you need a plan if you want to be ready for Rusk.' Feena tossed back her tea and slammed the ceramic cup on the table. Tal refilled it.
'Wait a moment,' said Tal. 'Rusk hasn't gone back to his lair, right?'
'Right, as far as we can tell.'
'So where in the Nine Hells has he been hiding all this time?'
'Perhaps somewhere in Selgaunt,' suggested Feena.
'He's not exactly inconspicuous,' said Chaney. 'He'd have to have someplace to hide for those two or three months.'
'Somehow, I don't see Rusk spending that time at an inn,' said Tal. 'He must have friends in the city. What do you think, Feena?'
She thought for a moment before answering. 'It's possible,' she said. 'Rusk is older than he looks. Mother said he roamed all over Sembia when he was young.'
'If he was interested in you the whole time,' said Chaney, 'then it all started with that hunting trip. Whose idea was that?'
'I don't remember,' said Tal. 'One of the Soargyls, maybe.'
'Wasn't it Alale who actually invited you?'
'Maybe,' said Tal with a frown. 'Dark and empty! I think it was.'
'Why don't you ask him?' said Feena. 'Maybe he has some connection to Rusk.'
'He does,' said Tal. 'Or rather, he did. He's the one Rusk killed in my tallhouse last winter.'
Tal's appetite vanished as he remembered waking up to find the man's mutilated body in his own bedroom. At first he feared he'd done the killing himself. Later, Feena assured him that she'd seen Rusk commit the murder in an effort to inflame Tal's bloodlust. Tal remembered none of it, for he remained completely unconscious of what occurred while he was in wolf form.
'That means Alale can't have been the one hiding him all this time,' said Chaney. 'If he has a friend in the city, it's someone else.'
'Good thinking,' said Feena.
Chaney missed her sarcastic tone and basked in the compliment.
'We can work on figuring out who Rusk's city friends are,' said Tal, 'but I'm more interested in finding out what he wants with me. Dhauna was very nice, but she didn't tell me anything about that.'
' 'Dhauna,' is it?'
'Yes,' said Tal. 'We hit it off. You could say we're friends.'
'She's the high priestess of Selune!'
Tal smiled over his teacup. 'She likes me.'
Feena turned away but glanced back at him out of the corner of her eyes. Rather than rise to the bait, she returned to the subject at hand. 'Mother will give us a sending if someone spots Rusk.'
'Isn't it dangerous for her to stay so close to the pack?' asked Tal. 'Even with two of you there, aren't you horribly outnumbered?'
'She can take care of herself,' said Feena. 'Selune grants strong powers against shapechangers.'
'They didn't stop Rusk last time,' said Tal.
'That wasn't our fault,' protested Feena. 'He surprised us. It didn't help that you'd locked yourself inside a cage and were no help in the beginning.'
'I was only in the cage to keep from hurting-'
'Girls, girls,' said Chancy. 'You're both pretty.'
'You stay out of this,' said Feena.
'He'll probably come during a full moon, won't he?' said Tal, pouring more tea.
'Not necessarily,' said Feena. 'Unlike you, he can change shape whenever he likes. So can most of his pack.'
'You're going to teach me how to do that, aren't you?' said Tal.
'Maybe,' said Feena. 'It all depends on you. Not everyone can manage to ride the moon.'
'It won't matter if he just wants to kill you this time,' suggested Chaney. 'You did cut off his arm, after all. I'd be pissed about that. Wouldn't you, Feena?'
Feena ignored the remark. 'Rusk is a proud man. You wounded his pride as much as his body, but I don't think he wants you dead.'
'Because he thinks I'm this Black Wolf?'
'Where did you hear that?' demanded Feena. Her voice was tinged with alarm. 'Did Rusk say it to you?'
'Actually, I heard it from you,' Tal smiled, 'when you and Maleva left my tallhouse.' When Feena looked perplexed, Tal added, 'My hearing has been getting keener. I wasn't trying to spy on you.'
Feena frowned. 'Never mind the Black Wolf prophecy. It's nothing to do with you anyway.'
'It's a prophecy? I thought you said 'heresy.' That's what Dhauna called it.'
Feena looked to the heavens in exasperation. 'Stop calling her that! It gives me the creeps.'
'So tell me about the prophecy.'
'It's something Rusk believed. The temple of Selune declared it heretical back in the Eighth Century.'
'Why?'
'Because it is heresy. It combines legends from the cult of Malar with philosophical discourses from sages devoted to Selune. Besides, it's a load of rubbish that's been the cause of no end of trouble since Rusk first heard about it.'
'Because Rusk thinks I'm the Black Wolf? Or because he thinks he is?'
'It's nothing to do with you or Rusk, and it's bollocks anyway!'
The shop owner returned with a platter of steaming pies, setting them before each of his guests before hastening back to the kitchen. He looked glad to escape his bickering patrons.
For a while they ate in silence, blowing on the molten spoonfuls of thick gravy filled with chunks of meat and vegetables before tasting them. Chaney managed to burn his tongue and flapped his hands helplessly until one of the cooks ran to him with a cup of cold water.
Eventually, Tal broke the silence.
'All right, so you don't want to talk about the Black Wolf, whatever that is. How are you planning to help me learn to 'ride the moon'?'
'Is that another country euphemism like 'roll in the hay'?' asked Chaney. Feena flicked a glob of hot gravy at him, and it stuck on his cheek. Chaney wiped it off with his thumb and sucked it clean.
'It means controlling your change, making it happen when you choose. It's hard, and not everyone can do it.'
'How do you know how to do it?' said Tal.
'It's something the clerics of Selune have been teaching for years. It's a discipline, a kind of meditation. It would have been a lot easier if you were one of us, because then you could take the moonfire. It'll be even harder for you, since you have the attention span of a toddler.'
'She's got you there,' said Chaney. 'Master Ferrick was always calling Tal 'unteachable.' '
'I've been doing very well lately, thank you. I've won a challenge almost every meet these past two months. You could've watched me whip Mervyn Elzimmer next time if you hadn't dropped out.'
'Too expensive,' said Chaney. Before Tal could offer to pay his tuition, Chaney added, 'Besides, I'm a lover, not a fighter.'
Feena appraised him again, shaking her head in disbelief. When Chaney saw that she was looking down on him, he sat up straight.
'I guess everyone moved up a rank when Malveen quit,' said Chaney.
