Slinker. We must keep moving.’
Sorenson nodded, but he turned back again briefly, his brow furrowed with concern.
The two Wolfen crept forward, staying low and moving as fast as their senses would allow.
Eilif had been tracking the Panterran for hours, and in the last few moments she had picked up the almost imperceptible sounds of another party — smaller, but moving stealthily beside the main trail.
She took to the trees, moving along the thick branches that were less crowded than the forest floor. If there had been strong moonlight, she would have been more exposed, but as the night was dark and the path was heavily overgrown, it suited her to be able to move at greater speed, unencumbered by bracken and fallen trees.
Eilif increased her speed, sensing she was closing on the small party. She knew they weren’t Panterran — she could not smell the acrid tang that the foul creatures left behind. If one of the creatures stopped to urinate… Even if covered, the smell was appalling. She shuddered as she remembered the disgusting creatures touching her face and body.
In another hour, Eilif knew she had managed to get ahead of the small party. She hesitated; she could outpace them and reach her quarry first, or she could wait to see who had been tracking them. She remembered an olden saying from Balthazar — something like, my enemy’s enemy is my friend. She hoped that the party turned out to be her friends and not those of the Slinkers.
Eilif pressed herself into the limb of a tree just over the path, her night armour blending perfectly into the background. She sensed them now — there would be two of them. She waited, unmoving, and unafraid.
A large figure appeared… but strangely, only one.
Strom stopped in the centre of the path, his hand on the hilt of his sword. He waited, his senses focused. He knew there was another being close by. His instincts were as sharp as any in the kingdom, but his large frame meant that, as silently as he could move through a forest, it was not easy for him to vanish like some of the other warriors.
That was where his younger brother was second to none — he could become like a forest wraith.
Eilif knelt in the crook of a large branch. The massive figure was frozen like a statue. She sniffed the slightly acrid tang of the Panterran, perhaps because they had recently passed through, but she also caught the scent of her own kind. She continued to stare at the being; it stood there, unmoving, but not concealing itself. She had the feeling that it sensed her, that it knew it was being watched. That it had come out into the open area of the path, wanting to be seen… And if it wanted to be seen, then it wanted to draw her attention away from…
The small blade came down along the side of her throat.
‘And what would the king say, young princess?’
She pushed the blade away from her face. ‘He’d say that he’s happy to give friends of Valkeryn to the hated Slinkers.’
Eilif dropped to the ground, with Sorenson landing lightly beside her. Strom had already sheathed his sword and joined them. He bowed slightly. ‘Not a good night for hunting, my lady; there is no moon.’
‘Depends what one is hunting. And what are you hunting, the two of you?’
Strom and Sorenson exchanged a glance. Nodding, Sorenson turned back to the princess. ‘You need to go back to the castle. There is important business afoot.’
Eilif placed her fists on her hips. ‘If that business of yours is rescuing the Man-kind, then I’m going with you. And if it isn’t, then I’m going by myself… and you’d better stay out of my way.’ She had raised her voice only slightly above a whisper, but still it seemed loud in the hush of the forest.
Sorenson reached forward and grabbed her snout and held it. ‘Silence, or the only thing we’ll find tonight is our way to the afterlife at the hand of the Slinkers.’
She pulled her nose free, and snapped at his fingers. ‘My father would have you whipped for that. Though I struggle to think of him as my father at all, after he has handed our good friend to those vile creatures.’ She walked a few paces further along the trail. ‘Well? With or without you?’
She heard Strom groan softly.
Sorenson turned to his brother and shrugged. ‘At least she knows how to track and hunt.’
Eilif started foward. ‘We need to hurry, or they’ll be lost once they get to into the tangle brush — without a trail, we’ll never find them.’
Strom motioned for the three of them to crouch, and he linked his large fingers across his knees. ‘We don’t have the time to explain what has and is occurring in the kingdom. But it is enough to tell you that the king risks everything by sending us out to rescue the princeling… and your friend.’
‘Grimson? They’ve got Grimson?’ Eilif tried to stand, but Sorenson grabbed her and pulled her back down.
‘Captured by the Slinkers several days ago,’ he said. ‘Spirited away. Arnoddr-Sigarr offered to be part of an exchange — the Man-kind for the prince. We hope that they are taking the Man-kind to where they have Grimson. We have little more than a day.’
But why just the two of you? Why not the entire Wolfen army? Grimvaldr would normally not rest until he had rescued my brother — I don’t understand what is happening.’
‘No princess, you don’t. There is war coming, and if he sent out his legions now, there is a chance they could be ambushed and pinned down, days from the castle… at a time when all of Valkeryn will need them. But Strom and I might be able to find the camp and infiltrate it.’
‘I smell Slinker.’ She flashed the brothers a questioning glance.
Sorenson held up a leather bag tied at his waist. ‘The hide of a dead Slinker — it will at least cover some of our scent. Hopefully long enough for us to get close.’ He dropped the bag and reached inside his vest, pulling forth a small cage. He gave it a little shake, and it started to glow. He held it up, facing back the way they’d come, and the beetle glowed dully. But when he held it in the direction they were heading, the glow intensified.
‘A female fleet beetle.’ Eilif snorted, nodding as understanding dawned on her. ‘And Arn has its mate on him.’
‘Hmm, not really on him, but he certainly has it with him. But we only have limited time — just over another day and night until we lose the beetle’s guidance.’
Strom got to his feet. ‘If you follow our instructions, then you may accompany us. Agreed?’ In answer, Eilif started to move off down the path, and Strom grabbed her shoulder. ‘Wait. You won’t need all of these. We need to travel light.’ He pulled a few of the daggers from her belt and cast them aside.
‘I’d much prefer to see those buried in a Panterran, than in the dirt of the forest floor.’ Muttering, Eilif headed off into the dark.
Strom shook his head, and Sorenson just chuckled softly.
Chapter 27
You Are the Monster Here
Arn’s knees were bruised, and his neck chafed even though the rope had been looped around the outside of the bag over his head. The air inside was stiflingly hot.
From time to time, he felt something sharp prodding his rear, and he hoped the Wolfen brothers weren’t too far away. Arn also knew what would happen if one of their sorcerers took the opportunity to probe his mind again — whether he wanted to or not, he might alert them to the fleet beetle, and betray his would-be rescuers.
He had no idea how long he had been forced to march, but as it was early evening when he was taken from the castle, and there was faint warmth touching his skin now and then, he thought that the sun must have been coming up. He felt fatigued, but he did not yet crave sleep — adrenaline must have been coursing through his system.
They marched on and on, and the rubbing of his boots became a damp, stringing throb — burst blisters, he bet. The hours passed, and finally there came a push in his back, and he was pulled roughly to his knees, the sack dragged from his head. Even though it was only mid morning, the weak sunlight blinded him and made him screw
