food. As long as the high-powered noises in the nest lived, the worker wolves could coordinate almost like Tine members. But kill the nest, and the creature fell apart like some cheap, star-topology network.
Certainly this nest had done a number on Woodcarver’s army. It had waited quietly until the troopers were within its inner loudness. Then outlying wolves had used synchronized mimicry to create sonic “ghosts', tricking the packs into turning from the nest and shooting uselessly into the trees. And when the ambush actually began, the nest had screamed concentrated confusion down on the Tines. That attack had been a far more powerful thing than the “stink noise” they’d encountered in other parts of the forest. To the Tines, the stinkers had been painfully loud and sometimes even frightening, but not the mind-destroying chaos of the wolf-nest attack.
More than one hundred packs had been knocked out in the ambush. Some, mostly packs with pups, had huddled. Others, like Scrupilo, had been “blasted apart'. In the hours following the attack, many of these fragments straggled back and reassembled. The resulting Tines were shaken but unharmed. Intact troops hunted up and down the forested cliffs for injured members of their comrades. There were places along the dropoff that were more than twenty meters deep. Where their fall wasn’t cushioned by tree boughs, members landed on naked rock. Five dead ones were eventually found, and another twenty seriously injured. Two carts had fallen. They were kindling, and their kherhogs were too badly injured to survive. By great good luck, the gunshot had not started a forest fire.
Three times the sun made its vast, tilted course around the sky. Woodcarver’s army recovered in a camp in the depths of the valley forest, by the river. Vendacious had posted lookouts with signaling mirrors on the northern valley wall. This place was about as safe as any they could find so far north. It was certainly one of the most beautiful. It didn’t have the view of the high forest, but there was the sound of the river nearby, so loud it drowned the sighing of the dry wind. The lowland trees didn’t have root flowers, but they were still different from what Johanna had known. There was no underbrush, just a soft, bluish “moss” that Pilgrim claimed was actually part of the trees. It stretched like mown parkland to the edge of the river.
On the last day of their rest, the Queen called a meeting of all the packs not at guard or lookout. It was the largest collection of Tines Johanna had seen in one place since her family was killed. Only these ones weren’t fighting. As far as Johanna could see across the bluish moss, there were packs, each at least eight meters from its nearest neighbor. For an absurd instant she was reminded of Settlers Park at Overby: Families picnicking on the grass, each with its own traditional blanket and food lockers. But these “families” were each a pack, and this was a military formation. The rows were gently curving arcs all facing toward the Queen. Peregrine Wickwrackscar was ten meters behind her, in shadow; being Queen’s consort didn’t count for anything official. On Woodcarver’s left lay the living casualties of the ambush, members with bandages and splints. In some ways, such visible damage wasn’t the most horrifying. There were also what Pilgrim called the “walking wounded'. These were singletons and duos and trios that were all that was left of whole packs. Some of these tried to maintain a posture of attention, but others mooned about, occasionally breaking into the Queen’s speech with aimless words. It was like Scriber Jaqueramaphan all over again, but most of these would live. Some were already melding, trying to make new individuals. Some of these might even work out, as Peregrine Wickwrackscar had done. For most, it would be a long time before they were fully people again.
Johanna sat with Scrupilo in the first rank of troopers before the Queen. The Commander of Cannoneers stood at Tinish parade rest: rumps on the ground, chest high, most heads facing front. Scrup had come through it without serious damage. His white head had a few more scorch marks, and one of the other members had sprained a shoulder falling off the path. He wore his flying cannoneer muffs as flamboyantly as always, but there was something subdued about him—maybe it was just the military formation and getting a medal for heroism.
The Queen was wearing her special jackets. Each head looked out at a different section of her audience. Johanna still couldn’t understand Tinish, and would certainly never speak it without mechanical assistance. But the sounds were mostly within her range of hearing—the “low” frequencies carried a lot better than higher ones. Even without memory aides and grammar generators she was learning a little. She could recognize emotional tone easily, and things like the raucous ark ark ark that passed for applause around here. As for individual words—well, they were more like chords, single syllables that had meaning. Nowadays, if she listened really carefully (and Pilgrim weren’t nearby to give a running translation) she could even recognize some of those.
… Just now, for instance, Woodcarver was saying good things about her audience. Approving ark ark’s came from all directions. They sounded like a bunch of sea’mals. One of the Queen’s heads dipped into a bowl, came up with a small carven doodad in its mouth. She spoke a pack’s name, a multichord tumptititum that if Johanna heard often enough she might be able to repeat as “Jaqueramaphan'—or even see meaning in, as “Wickwrackscar'.
From the front rank of the audience, a single member trotted toward the Queen. It stopped practically nose to nose with the Queen’s nearest member. Woodcarver said something about bravery, and then two of her fastened the wooden—broach?—to the member’s jacket. It turned smartly and returned to its pack.
Woodcarver picked out another decoration, and called on another pack. Johanna leaned over toward Scrupilo. “What’s going on?” she said wonderingly. “Why are single members getting medals?” And how can they stand to get so near another pack?
Scrupilo had been standing more stiffly at attention than most packs, and was pretty much ignoring her. Now he turned one head in her direction. “Shh!” He started to turn back, but she grabbed him by one of his jackets. “Foolish one,” he finally replied. “The award is for the whole pack. One member is extended to accept. More would be madness.”
Hmm. One after another, three more packs “extended a member” to take their decorations. Some were full of precision, like human soldiers in stories. Others started out smartly, then became timid and confused as they approached Woodcarver.
Finally Johanna said, “Ssst. Scrupilo! When do we get ours?”
This time he didn’t even look at her; all his heads faced rigidly toward the Queen. “Last, of course. You and I killed the nest, and saved Woodcarver herself.” His bodies were almost shaking with the intensity of their brace. He’s scared witless. And suddenly Johanna guessed why. Apparently Woodcarver had no problem maintaining her mind with one outside member nearby. But the reverse would not be true. Sending one of yourself into another pack meant losing some consciousness and placing trust in that other pack. Looking at it that way… well, it reminded Johanna of the historical novels she used to play. On Nyjora during the Dark Age, ladies traditionally gave their sword to their queen when granted audience, and then knelt. It was a way to swear loyalty. Same thing here, except that looking at Scrupilo, Johanna realized that even as a matter of form, the ceremony might be damn frightening.
Three more medals bestowed, and then Woodcarver gobbled the chords that were Scrupilo’s name. The Commander of Cannoneers went absolutely rigid, made faint whistling noises through his mouths. “Johanna Olsndot,” said Woodcarver, then more Tinish, something about coming forward.
Johanna stood up, but not one of Scrupilo moved.
The Queen made a human laugh. She was holding two polished broaches. “I’ll explain all in Samnorsk later, Johanna. Just come forward with one of Scrupilo. Scrupilo?”
Suddenly they were the center of attention, with thousands of eyes watching. There was no more arking or background chatter. Johanna hadn’t felt so exposed since she played First Colonist in her school’s Landing Play. She leaned down so that her head was close to one of Scrupilo’s. “Come on, guy. We’re the big heroes.”
The eyes that looked back at her were wide. “I can’t.” The words were almost inaudible. For all his jaunty cannoneer muffs and standoffish manner, Scrupilo was terrified. But for him it wasn’t stage fright. “I can’t tear me apart so soon. I can’t.”
There was murmured gobbling in the ranks behind them, Scrupilo’s own cannoneers. By all the Powers, would they hold this against him? Welcome to the middle ages. Stupid people. Even cut to pieces, Scrupilo had saved their behinds, and now—She put her hands on two of his shoulders. “We did it before, you and I. Remember?”
The heads nodded. “Some. That one part of me alone… could never have done it.”
“Right. And neither could I. But together we killed a wolf-nest.”
Scrupilo stared at her a second, eyes wavering. “Yes, we really did.” He came to his feet, frisked his heads so the cannoneer muffs flapped. “Yes!” And he moved his white-headed one closer to her.
Johanna straightened. She and White Head walked out into the open space. Four meters. Six. She kept the fingertips of one hand lightly on his neck. When they were about twelve meters from the rest of Scrupilo, White Head’s pace faltered. He looked sideways, up at Johanna, then continued more slowly.
Johanna didn’t remember much of the ceremony, so much of her attention was on White Head. Woodcarver
