

The Endonshan Chronicles Book 7

## FERAL

By Cy Bishop

Copyright 2019 Cy Bishop

Smashwords Edition

With special thanks to:

God, my patient family, Google,

and Jessica Dodson for the fantastic cover

Table of Contents

Start of Book

Pronunciation Guide and Glossary

About the Author

153 years before The Division

**Chapter 1**

A pounding fist on the door made Relan jump and look up from packing his things, his excited thoughts of the upcoming sentinal ride pushed away by the harsh sound. He hadn't heard anything so urgent in the Temple of Peace during the last few days he'd been stuck there with his bossy older brother and the diplomat chaperoning them. Relan twisted to watch as one of their Tulvan guards, the squinchy-eyed one, crossed their quarters to the door.

Two Tulvans, one short and the other with a fuzz of dark hair, stood on the other side. "We must speak with Mazi Lemendi at once," Dark-Hair said. She stepped in without waiting for an invitation, Shortie beside her. Their eyes and ears twitched, as all Tulvans' did, constantly scanning the environment. "Close the door. We must be discreet."

Relan's ears perked, and he sat down on the narrow bed next to his nearly-full bag. It tipped toward the edge, threatening to spill its contents all over the floor. He barely managed to coordinate his gangly arms to catch it in time.

Hinaru leaned over from where he'd been packing at his own bed to jab Relan, smirking. "Nice going, dupe."

"Shut up, fec-head," Relan retorted.

"Boys," Mazi Lemendi scolded. The diplomat eyed them as he stood from the desk at the far end of the narrow room. "Behave as the princes you are."

Relan made a face, but the older Elf man was already addressing the Tulvans. "Please, speak."

Shortie pressed his fist to his chest in salute toward the diplomat first, then the boys. "Forgive our abruptness. We must return the princes to the palace at once."

"That's what we're doing now." Mazi Lemendi gestured to the bags around them. "Our other guards are preparing the sentinal for travel."

"No. You cannot go by sentinal. Not for the entire trip, that is."

"What?" Relan burst out. The ride on the towering mount had been the only good part of this trip, and now they weren't going to let him ride it again?

Hinaru frowned down at him like adults did and jabbed him again. "Quiet!"

"You're not the boss of me—" Relan started, but he shut up when the diplomat cast them a disapproving frown. Tugging his pack on his lap, Relan slouched forward on it. Hinaru always acted so grown-up, but he was only sixteen, and barely three years older than Relan. Not old enough to be the boss of anyone.

"Please, sit and explain. What is the problem?" Mazi Lemendi asked.

Dark-Hair shook her head. "With apologies, Sir, we cannot delay. The rumors are true. People of Emsha Province want to make Emsha the capital city and their governor, Lady Cettrina, queen of Kenara. This location isn't secure enough should someone try to abduct or harm the princes. We must return them to the palace at once where they will be safe until the matter is dealt with."

"What? They want to take over the country?" Hinaru stared in disbelief.

"You think they would come after us?" Relan shivered.

Mazi Lemendi returned to packing in a flurry, sweeping things into bags. "Boys, gather your things, quickly."

"But—" Relan started, his head spinning. Emsha was the second-largest city in Kenara, but there was nothing else special about it. Why would they want some governor there to be queen instead of Mam?

Squinchy Eyes pulled Relan to his feet and shoved an armload into his bag. "Who is coming for the princes? How many?"

Ice clenched in Relan's stomach, and he shuddered at the thought.

"We don't have details of any specific plot at this point," Shortie said, checking the door. "But we cannot risk the chance we've missed something, or that a plan has formed in the time it took us to get here."

With the Tulvans helping pack, everything was done within a few short minutes. The guards clustered around Mazi Lemendi and the boys as they hurried through the halls of the Temple. Relan hardly noticed the sparkling cathedral or the wide courtyard; mostly he noticed how many people filled the spaces. Were any of them from Emsha? His neck hairs prickled. Were people watching them?

He edged closer to the Tulvans. With their sharp claws and their heightened awareness and reflexes, they were perfect guards. They would stop anyone who tried to hurt them. He hoped.

It was a relief to leave the Temple's carved archway behind and see the sentinal on the road down the hill. The massive, round-bodied beast with its long, snaking neck already crouched low, ready for them to board. They scurried up the ladder into the massive saddle as the Tulvans loaded the bags and belongings.

Everyone barely had enough time to sit down before the blonde Tulvan, the one Hinaru clearly fancied, directed the beast to stand and get underway. Wind tore at Relan's hair as the sentinal's body rose above the treetops, but without the same exhilaration it had given on the way there. Now he just felt sick.

"You said we cannot remain on the sentinal for the full trip?" Mazi Lemendi called over the rush of air around them.

"The main road is closely monitored, with Emsha being such a trade center. We'll procure a cart with travel veelish before we reach the province's border and take a long route along the smaller roads. The princes will keep their heads covered," Shortie said. "It's unlikely we'll be seen as anything more than common travelers. You'll continue on toward Innsbrooke atop the sentinal."

Mazi Lemendi frowned. "These boys have been placed in my charge. It is my duty to see them through safely."

"With respect, Sir, the princes will be perfectly safe in our care. You will be needed in Innsbrooke, and your presence will help add credibility to a sentinal hurrying through the province with naught but a couple of Tulvans on its back."

The Elf diplomat's mouth tightened. "We'll be a decoy."

Blondie spoke up. "If anyone wants to intercept the princes, they'll be looking for a sentinal. By the time they find out it's only you, the princes will be far from the main road."

Dark-Hair nodded to her companions. "We know the province well. We've planned a calculated route, random but swift. It's the best way to keep them safe."

Mazi Lemendi looked at Relan and Hinaru before nodding. "Yes, I think that's wise."

"How do we know we can trust them?" Hinaru asked. "They're from Emsha Province themselves."

Relan cringed, looking to see how angry the Tulvans were at the accusation, but none of them appeared fazed. Dark-Hair even looked impressed.

"We came to warn and protect, nothing more," another one, a heavily muscled woman, said. "We are loyal to Queen Riista. But if you ask it of us, we'll leave."

"They show no sign of duplicity." Blondie adjusted the sentinal's reins. "I believe them to be truthful, Prince Hinaru. Their plan is wise."

Hinaru seemed to accept that.

"Prince Relan?" Mazi Lemendi turned to him. "Do you understand?"

"I don't know." He shivered. "You think their lady, um, Lady Citrona—"

"Lady Cettrina," Hinaru corrected.

"Yeah, her, do you really think she's told her people to capture us?"

"It's uncertain how much the governor is involved in all this," Muscles said. "Emsha's campaign for greater power was much of what prompted your mother to allow the people to establish provinces, so they could have local centers of power. But that wasn't enough for many of them, and Lady Cettrina hasn't discouraged these sentiments. We know she desires to rule and seeks to strengthen her position with the people. The greater concern are the people who want to see her in power—by any means."

Relan shivered again.

"We're gonna be fine, snitpup." Hinaru knocked his shoulder against Relan's. "They'll get us home safely."

Relan made a face and shoved back, though he couldn't help feeling somewhat better. "Why would people want this lady person as queen instead of Mam?"

"Many of them see it as a pragmatic matter," Shortie replied. "Emsha has become a powerful trade center, and it's further from the Wall, which they say makes it more secure from any military threats."

"That's dumb." Relan scrunched his nose again. "No Hranites have tried to cross the Wall in, like, forever."

"It may have been over a century since there was any trouble with the Hranites," Mazi Lemendi said, "but after what our people have gone through in the past, the fear is understandable. Not 'dumb.'"

Relan sulked away from the scolding and looked down at the carpet of green trees whizzing past below them. It _was_ dumb, no matter what the diplomat said.

"And Lady Cettrina claims heritage from Princess Alita," the Tulvan continued. "Most in Emsha Province consider that to be proof enough of royalty."

"The Elf princess?" One side of Hinaru's mouth twisted upward the way it did when he was trying to remember things. "I thought that was just an honorary title."

"The Elves chose Alita as their royalty, even to the point of regarding her as equal to the great Princess Tashan. Emsha sees her descendants in the same way. Especially with Lady Cettrina having the dragon ring."

"They have a dragon?" Relan stared, wide-eyed. "I thought those were all extinct!"

"They are, dupe." Hinaru gave him a jab. "It's a ring that had a dragon in it. Or something."

"It's symbolic, yes, but seen as an emblem of rulership," Dark-Hair said. "Understand that to these people, this isn't a coup. It's a natural shift between two near-equal powers."

Relan looked over the edge of the saddle again and felt the air whip against his face, tearing away some of the words behind him. It was too much to take in.

Mazi Lemendi cleared his throat. "I'm sure this is merely a precaution. The Tulvans will escort you safely home to the palace, and then the matter can be dealt with diplomatically. Everything will be okay."

His calming words, however, didn't hide the uncertainty in his eyes.

* * *

A whisper of movement shot through the dense tree branches overhanging the road. Relan adjusted his hood lower over his head as the cart jostled over yet another hefty bump.

"Quit fussing." Hinaru pushed Relan's hands away from the hood. "It makes you look like you're trying to hide."

"We _are_ trying to hide," Relan muttered under his breath. He pushed back and adjusted the hood once more, just to spite his brother. "Not like there's anyone around to see, anyway." It was their second day on the long, slow route around Emsha, and he could have counted the number of people they'd seen so far on one hand.

One of the veelish, the lanky animals with their soft fur close-shorn for work rather than for show, let out a soft snort as it pranced around another broad divot in the dirt road. The cart couldn't prance like that, however, and the wheels thumped heavily through the bump.

Relan grunted as he was nearly knocked into his brother's lap while Hinaru lurched sideways, grabbing at the side of the cart to stay upright. The Tulvans, two at the front and two at the back, swayed easily with the cart and showed little sign of losing balance. Their ears and eyes shifted as always, rapidly scanning the world around them.

Blondie glanced back over her shoulder from where she drove the cart. "This road's been freshly cut. It seems they haven't had time to level it yet."

From his position at the back of the cart, Shortie helped the boys untangle and get back into their seats. "There have been many new cities developed as people spread further into the forest. They've had to cut many new roads to accommodate the settlements."

Another whisper of movement shot through the branches above. Relan shivered and yanked at his hood again. Just a tree-snit, he told himself. It has to be just a tree-snit.

"Would you stop..." Hinaru looked at him, then up at the trees. "Are you... are you _scared_ of the forest?"

"No!" Relan scowled hard. "Of course not."

The branch rattled again, and he cringed.

Hinaru laughed. "You _are_ scared of the forest! What's the matter, little brother? Afraid that a big, mean, scary wastik might jump down on you?"

"Don't be stupid. I'm not a baby!" Feeling his cheeks redden, Relan glared at Hinaru, then peered up into the trees. Nothing but branches and leaves and darkness... and the unknown. The rattling of tree-snits skittering along branches felt like a warning. The occasional bird call sounded ominous.

Hinaru snorted. "Sure."

Relan shot another glare before a twig snapped, tearing his attention back to the forest around them. Their surroundings fell into silence, stretching on uncomfortably until he squirmed. "I heard... I heard there are Ferals in the forest."

"Ferals?" Hinaru's face turned serious, and he looked up into the branches with wide eyes. "You think there are some here? Now?"

Relan felt better. "I don't know," he whispered, inching closer to his brother, feeling safer with someone else watching for the threat along with him. The wild people looked almost like Tulvans. A dark triangle mark on their forehead was the only thing that marked the difference in appearance between the noble, protective Tulvans and the Ferals, the most dangerous creatures in all Kenara. "There could be."

"It's impossible to know," Hinaru whispered back. "They're invisible when they want to be, you know. Not even the Tulvans can see them coming. They kill everything they come across, just for the fun of it." He craned his head, peering into the trees. "They even killed off a whole race of magic-using Tulvans once, did you know?"

"Quit making stuff up. They're freaky enough as it is. Besides, everyone knows there aren't any magic users anymore."

"That's because it happened back when there still were magic users, dupe. And I'm telling you, it's all true," Hinaru pressed.

"Prince Hinaru," Blondie said over her shoulder, "you should not encourage fears. There are no Ferals nearby, we can assure you. And yes, we would know."

"See? Quit making stuff up." Relan gave his brother a look.

"Okay, but I didn't make it up." Hinaru looked around and leaned closer again. "I'm glad they aren't around, or they'd be coming straight for us."

Relan shivered and pulled his cloak tighter. "But it's not true, right?" He looked back at Shortie. "Right?"

The Tulvan frowned at Hinaru, then gave a quick glance around. "It's... exaggerated."

"Which means mostly true," Hinaru hummed.

"It's true that there was a race of magic-using Tulvans a long time ago," Blondie said, "and the Ferals destroyed them. We don't know why, though. Some say there was a war. Others say the Ferals were trying to take over the land, and the magic-using Tulvans stopped them at the cost of their own existence. There's no way to know at this point. But that was ages ago, and they've done nothing on such a large scale since."

"And while it is true that animals have been found dead near Feral sightings, that doesn't mean the Ferals kill everything they come across," Squinchy Eyes beside her added.

"Animals?" Relan's voice pinched at the end of the word.

"Dead, with a single strike to the back of the neck." Hinaru pointed to the base of his skull. "Dufos or wild trongials especially. They do it just for fun. People find the animals near the roads or their homes. It's how they know Ferals are around. Only a Feral would kill for sport like that."

Shortie gave Hinaru a warning look. "It's not known why they kill animals like that. As best as we can determine, it's not a threat. And it's rare for people to be attacked."

"Besides," Blondie added, "as I said, there are no Ferals around here. They are not invisible, and they cannot escape our notice. Now, please find a different subject. This is an unproductive conversation."

Relan closed his mouth, but he couldn't help peering around the forest again. It had seemed so harmless when they rode high above it on the sentinal, but down here it felt cold and teeming with danger.

A branch rustled behind him, and he jerked around to stare at it.

"Feral!" Hinaru shouted as clawing hands clamped onto Relan's shoulders. "It's a Feral! RUN!"

Relan screeched and flailed, falling off his seat.

Hinaru dissolved into laughter as he let go. "Your face! You should've seen your face!"

"Prince Hinaru," Shortie scolded.

"You mangy, harking netcher!" Relan shouted, face burning. He scrambled to his feet and lunged at his brother.

"Language!" Hinaru sang mockingly. Still laughing, he caught Relan's lunge and knocked him to the bottom of the cart.

Relan managed to grip his brother's shoulder, pulling him along with. Swinging hard with both fists, Relan tried to hit anywhere he could. "I'm gonna—"

The other Tulvan riding behind them, Muscles, caught both of them by the napes of their necks, picked them up, and set them back in their seats. "That is enough." Her cool voice rolled deep. "From both of you."

"Yes, ma'am," Hinaru said, forcing a serious face.

Relan scowled at his brother. He would find some way to pay him back, even with the Tulvans watching. Maybe this forest had bitter dulberries, and he could sneak some into Hinaru's food. He looked out of the cart at the forest passing beside them and saw nothing but darkness teeming with danger again. He shivered and looked at his feet, pulling at his hood.

"Watch out for those dangerous Ferals," Hinaru whispered, snickering.

Relan gave him a death glare. "I hope there are Ferals," he hissed, "and they eat you up!"

Hinaru only laughed.

"Boys," Blondie said sharply.

Relan started to sulk, then realized the Tulvans were all on full alert. She hadn't been scolding, she'd been warning them. He craned his neck to peer past the Tulvans and saw a cart at the side of the road up ahead.

"Keep your heads down," Shortie whispered as their cart slowed.

Ducking his head, Relan pulled the hood deeper. Then he tried to find the right angle so he could see what was going on without anyone seeing his face.

"Hey!" Someone near the cart waved their arms. "We need help!"

Blondie spoke quietly. "We shouldn't stop."

"It looks like a jammed wheel," Squinchy Eyes said. "It won't take a moment."

"Is there any possibility they could know who we are?" Blondie asked.

"I don't think so," Shortie said. "And we've hardly seen anyone else on this road. Even if anyone knew who we are, they wouldn't have found us this soon."

"Stop here." Muscles stood. "Vikk and I will assist the strangers. Remain on watch."

The other Tulvans nodded in agreement, apparently satisfied with the proposed plan. Squinchy Eyes from the front slid down with fluid ease and joined Muscles in walking to the broken cart.

"Do you think it's a trap?" Relan whispered.

"Don't be paranoid," Hinaru whispered back. "The Tulvans said these people wouldn't know who we are."

"Then what do you think is going on?"

Hinaru gave him a look. "Their wheel went off the road, munkbrain. Not everything is a conspiracy, you know." He paused and made big, spooky eyes, wiggling his fingers like he was trying to scare a child. "Unless this is all staged by... FERALS."

Relan hit his brother's arm. "Shut up!"

"That's enough," Shortie hissed. "Stay quiet, both of you."

Relan got in one more glare before peering ahead at the road again. The Tulvans had reached the cart and were examining the wheels.

One of the cart's occupants looked back at them, and Relan ducked his head. Would they recognize him if they saw his face? Even if it wasn't a trap, it could be dangerous if he and Hinaru were spotted.

"Tulvans," a woman's voice grated out across the road from behind them, "get off the cart."

Startled, Relan turned and saw a mostly Kadrian woman, with willowy build and high, pyramid-shaped ears, holding a crossbow aimed straight at them.

Chapter 2

Shortie stood slowly, lightly pushing against Relan as if shielding him. "You think this is a wise course of action?"

"We've got two more in the trees with aims on your hooded friends," the Kadrian said. "And one more beyond that I won't point out. Try anything and see how quickly your little friend there becomes a pricklepup."

Relan cringed and met Hinaru's eyes. It was a trap, and now they were caught! He searched for some idea of how to get away.

Hinaru shook his head in a quick, small movement.

One of the people by the supposedly stuck cart called back, "We're secure."

"All clear here," the Kadrian replied. She gestured with the crossbow. "Tulvans, both of you, to the side of the cart. Face the forest."

Blondie turned, eyed the woman, then glanced at the boys as she moved slowly. Shortie also began climbing down, moving slowly and keeping his eyes on the Kadrian.

"Faster," the Kadrian barked.

"You're making a mistake," Blondie replied, slowing further.

The Kadrian waved her other hand in the air.

Relan heard a _swwt_. A sliver of fire lashed across his forehead. He yelped, jerking backward, and stared at a crossbow bolt now stuck into the side of the wagon next to him. He reached up to his brow and felt blood. His hand shook. "You—you shot me!"

"Get it moving," the Kadrian repeated, her focus still on the Tulvans.

Both Tulvans silently climbed down from the cart and stood at the side of the road, facing the forest as instructed.

"You two next," the Kadrian gestured to Relan and Hinaru. "Stand over here by me."

Relan's hand still shook. He looked up at Hinaru.

His older brother gripped his arm. "Come on. It's going to be okay. The Tulvans will think of something."

"Quiet down," the Kadrian ordered. She eyed the forest around them as the boys climbed out of the cart. They obediently stood where she directed, side-by-side at the edge of the road and facing her.

"If you're looking for money, we have none," Blondie said. "We are simply traveling to our home village in Givron Province, to the northwest."

"Silence." The Kadrian finished inspecting the forest and waved the crossbow at Relan and Hinaru. "Take the hoods off."

Relan hesitated.

Hinaru reached up and pushed his hood off, standing strong and fearless. "I understand what you want, but this isn't the way to achieve it. If you return us home, we can help you—"

"Silence," the Kadrian repeated. She waved the weapon at Relan again. "You too. Hurry it up."

Relan scowled, but Hinaru nudged him, and he reluctantly took his hood off.

The Kadrian eyed the two boys, one of her greenish eyes squinting tighter than the other. It looked like that was their natural shape.

The branches above them rustled.

"Cama?" one of the ambushers by the 'broken' cart hissed. "Is that it?"

"Yeah." The Kadrian squinted into the trees. "It's here, I'll guarantee it." She took a few steps back.

"If you let us go, you'll be rewarded," Shortie started.

"Silence!" The Kadrian—Cama—glared at the Tulvans for a moment, then took another step back. She aimed the crossbow at Relan, then Hinaru, then Relan. "The shorter boy. Fire on three."

"No!" Hinaru gripped Relan's arm. "Don't!"

"They're only boys," Blondie said in a low, measured tone. Her eyes flicked to the boys, then over her shoulder at the Kadrian. "Leave them be."

"If any of you so much as twitches, we kill both boys at once." Cama closed the tighter eye and aimed level at Relan. "One."

"Please, don't," he managed to squeak. His heart pounded against his ribcage. Was this really happening? It couldn't be real.

"You don't know the consequences—" Blondie tried again.

"Two," Cama continued.

"If you dare—" Shortie started.

The Kadrian paused, her fingers twitching on the crossbow trigger. "Three!"

Relan cringed, eyes shut tight, waiting. Everything fell into complete silence. Even the rustling was gone. _This is what being dead is like? I thought it would hurt. Everything just sort of goes away._

But his forehead still burned. Blood dripped past his eyelids, making his brow twitch.

He wasn't dead.

"Don't," one of the other ambushers said tersely.

"Nobody move," Cama barked. "Not a fraction."

Relan cautiously cracked one eye. The Kadrian still held her crossbow aimed at him, but she was tense now, eyes mixed with fear and determination.

He hazarded a glance down the road, only moving his eyes, not his head. The other ambushers held crossbows aimed his way, too. The Tulvans were all standing abnormally still, watching him with narrowed eyes, their bodies tense, only their ears still twitching and scanning.

Even Hinaru was looking at him. The older boy looked scared.

Really scared.

"Put your hands up." The Kadrian's voice came out even harder-edged now.

Relan started to obey, but Hinaru's grip on his arm tightened. "Don't move," the older boy whispered, his thin voice barely a trace of sound.

That was when Relan realized that no one was looking at him.

They were looking past him.

Something was there, something behind him, something that had Hinaru terrified and everyone else tense and ready to fight.

He struggled to draw in a real breath, but it was like metal chains held his chest pinned. He was shaking again. Most of him didn't want to turn, didn't want to look and see what was so dangerous. But he had to know.

Trembling, moving as slowly as possible, he shifted his head, looking hard into the corner of his eye until he finally could see. He and Hinaru were no longer standing alone at the side of the road. There was a third person standing just behind them.

It looked like a female Tulvan, with the narrow pupils and high, pyramid ears. The brown skin and light eyes could easily pass for a person. But it was still as a statue, still in a way that no Tulvan would ever be, gaze fixed on the Kadrian. And there was a dark triangle on its forehead.

Feral.

What little air Relan had in his lungs vanished. He'd thought he was terrified when the Kadrian was about to shoot him. This was infinitely worse. Everything in him screamed to run.

He must have been moving without realizing it, because Cama snapped at him, "Don't move a fingerlength, boy. If you run, it'll chase. It's what they do."

The Feral's eyes suddenly shifted to him, the rest of its body still unmoving like a statue.

He thought he might wet himself.

"I said, put your hands up, Feral," Cama said in that hard voice. "Move away from the boys. You know you're outnumbered."

"Shoot it," Hinaru whispered. "What are you waiting for? Shoot it!"

The Kadrian ignored him. "Do it now, Feral. We will shoot, and you know it."

Relan wanted to look away, but it was like the Feral's gaze held him captive. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe.

"Not a movement, Tulvans," one of the other ambushers warned.

The Feral's attention snapped to the Tulvans nearby. Blondie had shifted forward. She immediately stopped, holding still and watching intently.

Relan managed to suck in half a breath. Would the Tulvans save them? The Feral was too close. It would kill him and Hinaru before anyone could get close enough. Why didn't the Kadrian just shoot it, like Hinaru said? "Please," he whispered.

The Feral slowly tilted its head. Like an animal inspecting its prey.

He shivered. They were dead. All of them. All—

"Now!" Blondie yelled, suddenly lunging at Cama, Shortie at her side.

Voices thundered in a tumbling cascade as Hinaru yanked Relan into the forest, running so fast that Relan could barely keep his feet under him.

A _swwt_ preceded a _thnk_. Relan registered a crossbow bolt buried in a tree just as he ran past it. Someone was shooting at them! He ducked his head and covered it with his free hand as best as he could as more _swwt_ sounds whizzed past him.

Hinaru swerved back and forth, dodging them past the attacks.

Relan's foot caught a root. He almost fell, but Hinaru's painful grip never wavered. It took Relan a moment to regain his balance. A dagger of pain jagged through his side. He wasn't sure if it was from the pain of running so hard or if he'd been hit.

A shape swayed closer to him: Hinaru running beside him. Relan clenched his teeth in determination. He would last as long as his brother did. Hinaru was right to pull him along so fast. They couldn't let the bad guys catch or kill them. And they couldn't let the Feral get them.

It clicked then, a sudden, horrifying realization. Hinaru was running beside him. Not in front of him. Not pulling him.

Relan looked up for the first time. The Feral had him in one hand and Hinaru in the other, running full-tilt through the forest without a glance backward.

Relan screamed. His feet lost their connection with the ground. The Feral dragged him on anyway, either not noticing or not caring. Screaming again, Relan twisted, desperate to break free.

The Feral abruptly dodged to the right and yanked them under a dense patch of branches. It pinned them against itself, its hands covering their mouths and its back to the trunk of the tree.

Relan clenched his eyes shut. This was it. The Feral was going kill them. Slice open the backs of their necks, like Hinaru said they did to animals. They were dead.

Nothing happened.

He hesitantly cracked one eye and chanced a look at Hinaru. His older brother was digging at the Feral's hand, trying to push away, but the grip on him didn't waver. Blood dripped down a long cut on Hinaru's arm, probably from one of the crossbow bolts. The injury didn't slow down Hinaru's struggles to break free.

For the first time, Relan realized how short the Feral was, almost his height. Hinaru's head rested back on the Feral's shoulder at an uncomfortable angle, the hand clamped over his mouth keeping him trapped in place.

Hinaru tried to stomp on the Feral's foot. The foot shifted at the last second, and Hinaru grunted in pain as his heel connected with a solid root.

Relan fought to pull himself together. He should be trying to break free like Hinaru. Maybe they could escape by working together. He swung his arm outward and slammed his elbow at the Feral as hard as he could.

The Feral shifted Hinaru inward, and Relan's elbow found its home in Hinaru's midsection.

Relan winced as the older boy grunted in pain. Scowling, determined to make a successful attack this time, Relan clawed at the hand over his mouth.

Voices rattled through the branches. Relan froze, listening. The Tulvans, coming to rescue them? He tried to shout, but the grip on his mouth kept his lips firmly shut.

Twigs snapped. Branches rustled. Whoever it was, they were getting closer. Relan shuffled his feet and tried to look down, searching for something he could use to signal where they were. Would the Tulvans be able to rescue him and Hinaru before the Feral killed them? He could only hope.

"You let them get away, you incompetent munkbrains!"

Relan froze. It was Cama's voice. The Kadrian and her buddies who wanted to kill him and Hinaru. He bit back a groan. When would this nightmare end?

Other voices grumbled in protest against Cama's insults. "But it moves so fast!"

"How were we supposed to know it would grab those kids and run?"

"I told you it was a stupid plan."

" _I'm_ the one who said we should have more people spread out in the trees."

It sounded like there were at least five other people with Cama as they kept snapping out excuses.

Relan tried to look over at the Feral. It remained statue-still again, head tipped slightly toward the sounds, eyes fixed ahead. What would it do now?

Nothing, apparently. They remained in frozen silence as the voices drew closer, then began to fade.

Relan tried to pull at the hand on his mouth again, but like the Feral's statue-like stillness, the grip was as if it had been carved out of stone. He finally gave up and folded his arms. He couldn't do anything to it while they were just standing still. But as soon as it tried to do anything, he would fight it with everything he had in him.

Silence stretched on. He got impatient. He tried to pry at the hand again, protesting through clamped mouth that the other bad guys were gone.

The movement came so fast, he almost hollered in surprise as the Feral's hand whipped from his mouth to his wrist. He didn't have time to react before he was running again, the Feral dragging him and his brother along like before. The forest shot past at a dizzying rate, patches of sunlight making disorienting flashes around them.

"Pull!" Hinaru yelled.

Relan managed to regain control over his flailing limbs and dug in, backpedaling hard to try to break the grip on his wrist. His foot caught on a root. He tumbled sideways, yelping in pain as he slammed into a tree. The grip vanished.

Struggling for breath, Relan fought to get his feet under him again.

Hinaru appeared at his side, yanking him upright and pulling him along at a more reasonable pace. "Come on, hurry up! Run!"

Relan gasped in air, the pain in his side already back. "I can't..."

"Run! If you ever want to see Mam again, then stop dragging your tail and run!"

Relan clenched his fists hard and struggled to keep up. He glanced up at the trees and choked, backpedaling again. Caught off-balance, Hinaru almost tripped beside him.

The Feral perched on a branch above them, staring down with head tilted.

"Mi'ine," Hinaru panted.

Relan's ears burned at the swear, but that wasn't important. The important thing now was how they were going to get away from this Feral hunting them. He clutched Hinaru's uninjured arm. "Make it go away!"

"Listen," Hinaru said in his strong voice, the one he'd practiced to use as king, "we only want to leave your forest in peace. We won't tell anyone you're here. Please let us pass."

The Feral kept staring.

"We're going to leave." Hinaru kept his voice steady, his hands carefully raised. "We won't do you any harm." He nudged Relan behind himself and slowly took a step backward.

The Feral pounced, knocking them both flat on their backs.

Chapter 3

Relan's head smacked the ground hard. Lights flashed in front of his eyes. He groaned and found the Feral's hand clamped over his mouth once more, its knees planted firmly on his and Hinaru's midsections. Flailing at the grip met with similar success as before.

Hinaru tried to twist free from under her knee, grappling with her iron-fast arm at the same time. His hand was slick with blood now, and it kept slipping.

The sound came sooner this time, voices rumbling above the creak of swaying branches and the rustle of the wind. Both boys froze, straining their ears. Was it the Tulvans this time, or was it Cama and her ambushers again?

The voices cleared up from vague mumbles. Relan didn't recognize any of them. He turned his eyes to Hinaru. Hinaru gave him the same look; he didn't recognize them either. It wasn't the Tulvans.

Hinaru gripped Relan's wrist with his uninjured arm. He caught Relan's gaze, then looked toward their feet. Relan frowned, unsure what his brother was trying to say. Hinaru looked down repeatedly, then up at the Feral.

Relan cautiously eyed the Feral. Its gaze was outward, toward the voices. Satisfied the attention wasn't on him, he looked at their feet. It was hard to see around the Feral's crouching body, but he glimpsed a light reflection on Hinaru's boot.

Of course. That fancy-pants dagger Hinaru was always showing off because he was 'grown up enough' to carry a weapon around with him. Relan started to scowl, then remembered their situation. Trapped by a Feral with no one nearby except enemies looking to kill them. Did Hinaru really think the little dagger would be enough to stop a Feral?

Hinaru gave him a look, raised his eyebrows, and jerked his gaze toward the boot again.

A snit-sticking dagger was better than nothing. Relan started to nod but realized that might tip off the Feral. He returned a squeeze on his brother's arm instead.

Apparently satisfied, Hinaru watched the Feral intently. It showed no signs of noticing either of them, gaze still outward to where the voices were now beginning to fade in different directions. Splitting up, apparently. And keeping the Feral's attention on them.

Taking a slow, steady breath, Hinaru folded his leg upward and stretched it toward Relan's hand.

Relan crawled his fingers closer, also watching the Feral. He had to keep his head as still as possible so it wouldn't notice anything was going on. He strained his arm, stretching beyond his limits, and barely managed to curl his index finger on the edge of Hinaru's boot.

Hinaru squinched his eyes and budged his boot closer.

Checking on the still-unmoving Feral, Relan pushed himself harder and managed to get his fingertips on the dagger's handle. He glanced at Hinaru.

His brother shifted an eyebrow toward the Feral as if asking if Relan was ready.

Relan exhaled, then jerked downward for a better grip and yanked the dagger free. It slid easily into his hand; he'd had plenty of practice with similar blades. Now he just had to strike—

The Feral released his mouth, twisted the dagger out of his hand, and flung it into the trees. Someone grunted in pain, followed by the sound of a heavy person crashing to the ground.

Hinaru made frantic muffled commands, shoving at Relan.

It took Relan a moment to realize he was partially free. He grabbed at the Feral's knee and tried to shove it away. He fought the impulse to scream for help; the only people who would hear wanted to kill them just as much as the Feral did.

He felt the knee budge, and he squirmed free, jumping to his feet.

The Feral jumped with him, yanking Hinaru upright. It clamped onto their arms once more, and they were running again.

"No!" Relan clawed at the hand this time, digging his feet into the forest floor with all his might. Hinaru did the same beside him.

The grip on Relan's hand disappeared so abruptly, he tumbled headfirst into a tree. He landed hard on his side and gasped for air.

Hinaru landed beside him, braced on his elbows as if preparing to jump up, but he didn't move. Relan caught his breath and twisted to see what was going on.

The Feral stood a mere pace away from them, a statue once more, looking the direction they'd come. Voices whispered through the dense trees.

Relan stretched his neck but couldn't see anyone else nearby. How far away were the people searching? Was it still the bad guys, or had the Tulvans caught up?

"Please." Hinaru kept his tone low. "Please, just let us go."

The Feral's gaze snapped to Hinaru. A moment stretched in stillness. Then the Feral vanished into the trees above them, so fast it didn't even look like it had jumped or moved in order to do so.

Relan let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Are you okay?" Hinaru asked, pulling him to his feet.

"I—yeah, I'm okay. Your arm—"

"It's fine," Hinaru cut him off. "We have to move."

"Gotcha!" a deep voice thundered.

Relan jumped out of his skin. He spun and stared as a large Nim-Elf man lumbered toward them, crossbow aimed straight at Hinaru. The man's thin lips twisted unpleasantly. "If you two are here, then it must be—"

His words cut off in a choking sound as the Feral landed squarely on his shoulders. The crossbow tumbled one way as the Nim-Elf landed hard the other way. The man barely had time to lift his hands before the Feral's hand slipped behind his neck. His arms twitched, then slumped to the ground.

Relan's stomach turned on him. He spun and lost his last meal. The impulse to run almost took him over, but he fought it back. Cama was right; if he ran, it would chase. Shaking, he turned back around.

The Feral climbed off the larger man and pressed a hand over his forehead. It was still for a moment, then straightened, wiping its hand on its leather leggings. It pinned them with its intense stare once more, but it didn't make any moves to come closer or grab them again. Not that there would be any warning once it decided to.

Hinaru fumbled for Relan's arm with his uninjured one. "Come on," he whispered. "Back away slowly."

Relan cautiously crept backwards beside his brother, never taking his gaze off the Feral.

The Feral didn't move, silently watching them go. It wasn't coming after them.

The tightness around Relan's chest gradually lessened. They were safe. They were going to be okay. It seemed impossible, after the Feral had them in its hands, and after Cama and her friends had come so close...

He mentally paused. The Feral had just saved them from one of Cama's people. And it had hit someone when it threw Hinaru's dagger. Another one of Cama's? Maybe.

The thought seemed so foreign, his brain had to repeat it three times before the possibility sank in. Could—could the Feral be _helping_ them?

Impossible. It was stupid of him to even think that way.

He eyed the Feral as the distance between them grew. It still hadn't moved from where it stood by the bad guy. He slowed down, studying it. Her? The Feral looked like a girl. In fact, now that he really looked at it, it looked barely older than him. Or it would be, if it was a Tulvan or a normal person like that. Did Ferals age differently?

"Come on," Hinaru hissed, giving Relan's arm a sharp pull. "Keep moving!"

Relan glanced back at his brother, then returned his attention to the Feral. He couldn't see it anymore. He craned his neck, searching for it. Had it vanished, or had they just gotten far enough away he could no longer see it through the trees? He wasn't sure.

"Where'd it go?" Hinaru searched the forest around them.

"I don't know." Relan paused. "I don't think it's coming after us. It would have grabbed us while we were still close if it still wanted us. Right?"

"Whatever." Hinaru's grip on Relan tightened. "Let's get out of here."

Relan nodded and turned with his brother, the two of them hurrying forward. His side still ached, along with his legs and feet. He panted as they ran, then he slowed down, looking around at the dark forest surrounding them. "Which way are we going?"

Hinaru scowled, but he slowed too. "I don't know."

"Should we try to find the road again?"

"Not if they're still looking for us." Hinaru shook his head. "How did they know it was us? The Tulvans said no one would know that fast!"

"So which way should we go?" Relan turned around slowly. He didn't even know where the road was, much less which way to go to avoid it.

Hinaru joined his slow turn. "Uh... We should find somewhere we can see the sun, right? We need to go west, so as long as we can find our way west..."

"You gonna climb a tree?"

Hinaru gave him a look. "It wouldn't hurt to try. But it would have to be you." He pulled his injured arm closer to his body.

Relan winced. "We should bandage that."

"We should clean it first. We need to find water anyway."

"And something to eat." Relan's stomach cramped after the violent emptying.

"Yeah..." Hinaru turned and jerked, grabbing at Relan's arm again.

He spun to see what had alarmed his brother.

Several juicy-looking pieces of some kind of ruby fruit sat on the ground a few paces from them. A dozen more paces beyond that, the Feral stood, staring at them.

"Go," Hinaru whispered, pushing Relan backwards once more. "Get moving!"

Relan resisted this time. "Hang on." He pulled away from his brother and took a cautious step forward.

The Feral didn't move.

"What are you doing?" Hinaru grabbed him and yanked him back.

"Wait." Relan took a deep breath, the previous thoughts tumbling through his mind again. "I think it's trying to help us."

"Help?" Hinaru snorted. "Are you kidding?"

"Just listen! It killed that guy, didn't it? And when it threw your dagger, I think it killed another one of Cama's people who was trying to find us. And the other times when it put its hands over our mouths, Cama and her people got close, right? I think it was trying to hide us from them. And now it brought us food. I think it's trying to help."

Hinaru glared at the fruit. "Probably poisonous."

"If it wanted to kill us, we wouldn't be talking now, would we? We'd already be dead."

"It still could—"

Relan rolled his eyes and turned back to the Feral. It still hadn't moved. He took another cautious step forward and pointed to the fruit, speaking carefully. "Are those for us?"

It gave no sign of hearing or understanding him.

"Um, thank you, thanks. But, um, we also really need _water_." He mimed drinking from a cup. "Water? You know water?"

Still no change in its face or gaze.

"Uh..." He mimed drinking again. "Waaatteerrr?"

"You're making a fool of yourself." Hinaru grabbed for his arm again.

Relan pulled away with a quick glare at his brother, then turned back to the Feral, determined to find some way to communicate.

It had vanished.

"Wait—where did it—"

"It's gone," Hinaru said. "Let's go. We should keep moving."

"But..." Relan looked around. He jumped at the sight of the Feral standing where there had been nothing but trees a moment before, just a pace from its previous position.

"Look," he whispered. "Look, it's back!"

Hinaru reached for him, but Relan dodged the grab and took a step forward.

The Feral took an equal step back.

Relan hesitated, then took another step.

The Feral again echoed the step, moving away from him.

"I think..." Relan studied the Feral's face. It almost seemed to be waiting. "I think it wants us to follow it."

"Straight to its feeding den? No, thanks."

Relan gave him a look. "Or it understood that we need water."

"Yeah, right."

"Well," Relan squared his shoulders, "I'm going after it."

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"You really think so? Then stop me." Relan gathered up some of the fruit and took another step forward, then another.

Hinaru blew out an impatient breath and fell in step behind Relan. "We run the instant it so much as twitches in our direction, got it?"

The Feral turned and slowly walked through the forest, staying well ahead of them. It never glanced back but seemed to slow down at times when they stumbled over roots or had to fight their way through dense underbrush.

It wasn't long before the soft whisper of moving water joined in with the sounds of rustling leaves and murmuring branches.

Relan grinned. "See? It found water! I told you so."

"Shut up." Hinaru still glared ahead at the Feral. "We'll see if it's any good. And if the Feral decides to turn on us once we get there."

"Whatever."

Soon they were at the side of a broad creek. The Feral walked several paces downstream, then turned and stood like a statue once more.

"All right, keep an eye on it." Hinaru crouched by the stream, keeping watch as well. He and Relan drank deeply, then Hinaru lowered his injured arm into the water, cringing.

"Hey." Relan waved at the Feral with one arm as he wiped the dripping water from his mouth with the other. "Um, his arm is hurt. Do you know something that will help?"

"Would you stop talking to it?" Hinaru hissed.

The Feral disappeared back into the forest.

"Let's move. We should get as far from here as we can while it's gone." Hinaru scrambled to his feet, cradling his arm once more and pulling Relan with him.

"But—"

"No buts! We aren't trusting a Feral!" Hinaru shook his head as they stumbled along the uneven dirt and rock lining the side of the creek. "I can't believe I even have to say a sentence like that. What kind of munkbrain are you?"

"I'm not a munkbrain," Relan snapped. "But it _is_ helping us. Can't you see that?"

Hinaru stopped short with a yelp as the Feral stepped out of the forest directly in front of him. He took a half step backwards and raised his hands. "Just—just let us go, okay?"

The Feral grabbed his hands, drawing another yelp.

"Don't move," Relan said as his brother started to twist. If the Feral was on their side, they shouldn't upset it. "Just hold still for a second."

The Feral seemed to be searching Hinaru's eyes. Time stretched uncomfortably long before it seemed to give up. It—she?—let go of Hinaru's uninjured arm and turned his other arm so the long gash faced upward.

"Stop, let me g—" Hinaru's protest came to a sharp end when the Feral shoved a piece of the juicy fruit into his mouth, never taking her eyes off his wound. He grunted around it as she pulled a broad, mottled leaf out of some sort of pocket on her side and squeezed the center. A thick, pale ooze slid out of the leaf's stem, spreading across the injury.

Hinaru grunted again, louder, and yanked the fruit out of his mouth with his free hand. "What is that? What are you doing?"

Relan stared at the ooze, unsure if he should interfere. "Does it hurt?"

"It..." Hinaru hesitated, blinking. "No."

"It didn't hurt you?"

"No." Hinaru flexed his hand, looking shaken. "The whole thing doesn't hurt. I mean, the cut stopped hurting."

The Feral released Hinaru's wrist and deftly wrapped a flat, vaguely slimy vine around his arm. The vine covered the whole gash and fixed in place like a bandage. Then she took several paces back and returned to statue mode.

Relan watched her for a moment, but it looked like she was done. His stomach rumbled, reminding him of his hunger. He grabbed one of the fruits from his arms, sniffed it, then took a tiny nibble. Juice burst in his mouth, sweet and tart.

"Hey," Hinaru barked, pushing Relan's hand down. "What if it's poison?"

"Why would she fix your arm if she was going to poison us?" Relan glanced down at the fruit still in Hinaru's other hand, juice running down his fingers. "Besides, you had some, and you aren't dead." He gave his brother a triumphant look and took a bigger bite of his own fruit, enjoying the strange flavor.

Hinaru scowled. Still, it wasn't long before he tasted his own again, then chomped into it with hungry eagerness.

The Feral didn't move while they finished their fruit. As Relan used the back of his hand to wipe the last of the juice from his chin, he glanced at her. "Maybe she can help us find our way home."

"'She'?" Hinaru gave him a look, then side-eyed the Feral. " _It_ is an animal, Relan. Maybe it helped us find some food and water. Maybe it kind of understands some things. But it's not a person, and it can't help us." He frowned at the Feral again. "It probably doesn't understand anything we're saying."

"But she protected us and helped us. Not to mention taking care of your arm," Relan objected.

"That's nothing. You've heard of times a mother toross took care of a baby rekin or snitpup that crossed its path. That's all this is."

"So we're snitpups now?" Relan rolled his eyes. "You're being dumb. _She_ is helping us. She could keep helping us."

"What, out of the goodness of _its_ heart? It's a Feral, Relan! Don't you remember anything we talked about in the cart? You were terrified by the thought of Ferals, and now there's one right here, and you want to stay with it?"

"That was before she protected us from Cama's people and fixed your arm." Relan folded his arms. "I'm telling you, _she_ can help us."

"Quit calling it that. It's not a person. It's not like us, with names and brains and thinking and—and—personhood!" Hinaru flailed his uninjured hand in frustration. "Quit talking like it's a person!"

"Madze."

The quiet, calm voice cut into their argument like a double-headed axe. They both spun to stare at the Feral.

She stood in the same place, watching them in silence. Her gaze leveled on Relan, and she tipped her head to one side.

"Uh... Mahd-zay?" Relan fumbled over the word. "What's that mean? You said it, right? That was you talking, right?"

Her eyebrow shifted upward slightly. If he didn't know better, he'd say she was unimpressed.

"It can't have been talking," Hinaru whispered. "Ferals aren't people. They don't talk."

"She did too say it," Relan insisted. He took a step closer to the Feral, and this time she didn't back away. "Madze? What does that mean? Is that something in your language?"

She pressed her fingers against her chest. "Madze."

"See, I told you it was her talking!" Relan crowed to his brother, then remembered himself and faced the Feral again. "Um..." He stared a moment longer before it clicked. "Madze? Is that your name?"

She dipped her head.

"Ha!" Relan took the chance to gloat over his brother. "See? She is a person with a name, just like us."

Hinaru hmphed.

"I'm Relan, and this jerk is Hinaru. We're brothers," he added unnecessarily. "We need to get back to our home in—"

"Home," Hinaru interrupted. "We need to get to the nearest village, and they'll help us get home from there." He seemed to be saying the last part to Relan instead of to her.

"Yeah, fine," Relan said. "Can you help us get to the nearest village?"

She dipped her head again.

"See?" Relan elbowed Hinaru before addressing her again. "Do you know where one is?"

Another head dip.

"Do you know how to get there?"

The eyebrow shifted upward again.

"Duh, munkbrain." Hinaru jabbed Relan. "She said she can help us get there, so that would mean she knows how to get there."

"She," Relan smirked.

Hinaru's smug look vanished. "It. I meant it."

"Yeah, right." Relan turned back to Madze. "Ignore him. He's an idiot. Oh, and thank you for saving us. That's what it was all about, wasn't it? You grabbed us to get away from Cama and those people trying to kill us, right?"

Head dip.

"See?" Relan couldn't resist rubbing it in.

Hinaru brushed him off. "Whatever. We should get moving. We don't know how far away those people are."

"She would," Relan said. "Madze, are the bad guys close?"

She tipped her head.

"If she's so smart, why doesn't she talk?" Hinaru grunted irritably. "Just tell us, will you? Is anyone nearby or not?"

She eyed him with that unimpressed eyebrow raise, then her gaze shifted to the forest.

"Maybe she doesn't talk," Relan whispered, scolding his brother.

"She said her name just fine," Hinaru muttered back.

"Maybe that's all she can say. But that doesn't mean she isn't smart," Relan quickly added. "She's gotten us this far, hasn't she? And she's going to help us get hom—"

His words cut short with a hand clamped over his mouth again. He started to object, then forced himself to stop. There was probably danger nearby. He should find out what was going on before he risked giving them away. He strained his ears.

Faint voices. Then sudden silence.

Madze grabbed their wrists and took off running again, staying by the creek.

The pain in Relan's side reappeared faster than before. He glanced at Hinaru, seeing the strain on his brother's face and how he cradled his injured arm tighter to his body. Both of them struggled to keep the pace.

Finally, Madze slowed. She pushed both of them along the bank downstream and started back the way they'd come.

"What..." Relan turned to follow.

She caught his shoulder, spun him around, and gave him another push downstream.

"Come on." Hinaru caught Relan's wrist and hurried along the waterbank once more.

"But—" Relan took another glance over his shoulder just as Madze disappeared into the forest. She seemed to be making a lot of noise, where she hadn't made any sounds before. He frowned, trying to figure it out. Was she abandoning them?

He almost tripped on an uneven patch of ground, and Hinaru caught him. "Keep up!" his brother hissed. "We'll get over that rise, then we go into the forest. We can hide there."

"What if she can't find us?"

"That's fine by me."

"But she's going to help us get home!"

Hinaru sighed. "You're really dumb enough to think she couldn't find us if she wanted to?"

Relan scowled at the insult, but his expression quickly turned around to smugness. "She."

Now it was Hinaru's turn to scowl. "Shut up and keep moving."

They hurried on as best as they could until Hinaru changed their direction into the forest. They pushed through underbrush further and further from the creek, branches tearing at their clothes and skin.

Finally, Hinaru proclaimed them safe. "Come on. We'll sit over here." He led the way to a nest of underbrush, plunking down in the midst of it.

Relan took a careful look around before joining his brother. It looked like they would be hidden well enough there. He thought. He flopped down and worked on catching his breath. "Now what?"

"We regroup, figure out if the bad guys are anywhere nearby, and find our way back home."

"What about Madze?"

"She left us, remember? If she wants to find us again, she will, but I don't think she's coming back."

Relan blew out an irritated sigh and looked around. "I think she's still—" His voice caught in surprise at the sight of Madze crouching on a branch above them, watching like a statue again.

"What?" Hinaru asked in alarm before following Relan's gaze. He startled, then scowled up at her. "I don't know what you're up to, but—"

She pressed a finger over her lips, and surprisingly, Hinaru stopped talking. She tipped her head back the way they'd come and seemed to be listening.

Relan strained to hear. For a long time, he couldn't hear anything. But then he realized the lack of sounds: no birds, no wastik clicks, no tree-snits skittering along the branches.

A new sound came, something he wouldn't have realized was unusual before. Rustling. Big rustling, like something large was coming through the forest.

Coming their direction.

Chapter 4

Relan tensed to jump up and run, but Madze's finger stayed put on her lips, keeping him still. He looked from her to the sounds, then back again. Was it an animal? A wild trongial or dufo? Or was it Cama and her people again? Were they supposed to just stay put and be caught?

A quiet voice whispered something and was shushed.

Relan met Hinaru's eyes. It was the people after them again.

Hinaru looked ready to bolt, his hand inching toward Relan's arm.

Shaking his head, Relan shifted his arm further out of reach. They had to trust Madze. She would keep them safe.

Another quiet voice.

"Shh!" another hissed. "They've got to be nearby. You're going to tip them off!"

Relan's heart thudded in his chest. If the bad guys were close enough to be heard while whispering, then they were way too close. Maybe Hinaru was right. They should be running.

But Madze kept statue-ing on the branch, watching the direction of the people getting closer, finger still on her lips.

"Ha!" a voice shouted. "Got you—"

Relan scrambled backwards in alarm, but the voice cut off in a scream. He searched the forest for whoever had found them, but no one was in sight.

"What the—"

More shouts and screams. Screams in pain.

Relan's arms shook from holding himself half-upright. He looked up at Madze, unsure what to think.

Her gaze shifted to him as the shouting fell into silence.

He shivered. Something had attacked the people hunting them. "More Ferals?" he whispered.

Eyebrow raise. She shook her head.

"Traps," Hinaru muttered. "She set traps."

Relan shivered again and lowered his voice for Hinaru's ears only. "Glad she's on our side."

Madze jumped down and slipped through the forest, disappearing again.

Relan peered after her. "Are we supposed to wait here?"

"We should move." Hinaru stood and winced, pulling his injured arm tighter to his chest.

"Does it hurt? I thought that stuff made it feel better."

"It did. It's starting to hurt again." Hinaru brushed it off. "Come on, let's go."

"Aren't we..." Relan looked back the way she'd disappeared. His heart jumped, startled at the sight of her there once more, that eyebrow slightly raised again.

Hinaru turned and made a face. "What now?"

She statued for a moment, then took a slow step backwards.

"You want us to follow you?" Relan asked.

Nod. She turned and disappeared again.

"Hey, slow down!" Relan started after her. "Madze? Come back!"

She reappeared a few paces in front of him, making his heart jump again at the suddenness. She pressed a finger against her lips.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I couldn't see where you were, and..."

She took a slow step backwards.

"Right. We're following."

This time she stayed in sight. It seemed she was being deliberately slow, like when Hinaru tormented Relan by taking an extra long time to finish his play in ruuball before Relan could have his turn. Sarcastic, almost. Relan brushed aside the thoughts. She was helping them; that was all that mattered.

She led them along the creek for a while before stopping to drink. They did the same, barely having time to finish before she was moving again.

"We can't keep going like this," Hinaru muttered. "You're worn out, and I'm injured."

"I'm not worn out," Relan protested, puffing. "You're just as worn out as I am."

"We have to stop and rest." Hinaru spoke louder this time.

She glanced back at them with a finger on her lips again.

"What? You got rid of the people following us, didn't you?"

She stared, and it took a moment for Relan to realize she was looking past them. "There are still people after us?" he asked.

She looked down, then pushed them into the forest.

"Hey!" Hinaru objected.

Ignoring them, Madze snapped off a leafy branch and slowly walked backwards the way they'd come, dragging the branch along the bank as she went.

"What..." Relan started to ask, craning his neck to see around the trees.

"She's covering our tracks." Hinaru sounded like he didn't want to be impressed. "It's... smart."

She reached far enough away they could barely see her anymore, then she stomped her feet in a strange sort of dance on a new path into the forest. They heard the underbrush and branches shaking for a while, then silence fell once more.

Relan looked around, waiting for her to reappear.

"Let's go," Hinaru said, tugging at Relan's arm.

"Shouldn't we wait for her to come back?"

Hinaru glared. "I said, let's go. She'll catch up." He pulled again, turning them to face the deeper forest behind them.

Madze stood there, looking at them with head tilted slightly.

Hinaru jumped, then scowled. "Yai, you have to stop doing that!"

"Told you she'd come back," Relan taunted, trying his best to hide that he'd jumped nearly as much as Hinaru. "And watch your language." He looked back at Madze. Was that amusement in her eyes?

Before he could look closer, Madze made that deliberately slow walk away from them.

Hinaru let out an irritable sigh before falling in step behind her, Relan at his side. "'Yai' barely counts as a swear, baby-brain."

"It does too, fec-face," Relan shot back.

Hinaru slugged his shoulder, then addressed Madze. "Are we going to rest now?"

If Madze heard the question, she didn't show it.

Hinaru made a face, then looked around. "Here," he finally said after several minutes. "We'll rest here."

The sheltered mass of bushes didn't look very comfortable. "You want to sleep _there_?" Relan wrinkled his nose.

"We can crawl between the bushes. We'll be hidden underneath them. We don't want the people trying to kill us to find us while we sleep, do we?" Hinaru was using that mocking voice he used when he thought Relan was being dumb.

"Shut up!" Relan glared and resisted the urge to stomp his foot. "Of course not. But we can find something better." He didn't know if that was true, but he wasn't going to let Hinaru talk down to him and get away with it.

"You're such a stubborn child," Hinaru retorted. "Quit being dumb. There's obviously a lot more of those people than we know, and they're really good at tracking. How else do you think they keep showing up? We are going to rest here where we can hide whether you like it or not. Now get down there." His tone challenged Relan to defy him.

Relan started to do exactly that when Madze gripped both of their arms and jerked them forward.

"Hey!" Hinaru pointed at the bushes. "No, we aren't going any further. We're resting here."

She pulled again.

"Listen." Hinaru dragged his voice out slowly, making excessive hand gestures to match his words. "We can't keep walking. We need to rest. We are going to rest here. Got it?"

Eyebrow. She pulled again.

Hinaru waved his injured hand in frustration. "You try telling her. She's your girlfriend."

"She is not!" Relan glared, but then turned to Madze. "We're tired. We need rest."

Eyebrow.

Relan hesitated. It felt like when the tutor was explaining a math term for the fifteenth time, and he knew he should understand it but couldn't. "Um... you understand? We need rest?"

Nod.

"So we're going to rest here."

Pull.

It finally clicked. "You're going to take us somewhere else to rest? Is that it?"

Eyebrow, followed by a nod.

"See?" Relan gave his brother a look. "She understands just fine."

"She could have just said so," Hinaru grumbled.

Tilt.

Relan jabbed him. "She doesn't talk, fec-for-brains."

Hinaru punched him back. "Whatever. All right, then, show us where _you_ think we should rest."

Madze led them deeper into the forest, still using that slow walk. After a while, she jumped and vanished into the branches above.

Relan peered up into the tree but couldn't spot her. "Up there?"

"We aren't sleeping in a tree." Hinaru had a tone of finality in his voice. "We'll pull these branches to make a bed, over..." He looked around, then pointed to a dense patch of underbrush. "In there. We'll be hidden just fine."

Madze reappeared on the branch just above them, perched and looking down with her head tilted.

"We're not sleeping in a tree," Hinaru repeated, folding his arms and giving her the stink eye.

Eyebrow.

"Well, we aren't."

"We could try," Relan offered.

Hinaru gave him a look.

"Why not? I've never slept in a tree before."

"Fine. Go for it. I'm staying down here."

Madze dropped down in front of Hinaru. He took half a step backwards, hands coming up in a defensive position. But she only stood there, intense gaze focused on him.

"Come on," Relan tugged at Hinaru's good arm. "Sleeping on a branch won't kill you."

"I'm not going."

Madze's eyebrow shifted upward. She looked away and tipped her head in a much more dramatic gesture than usual, seeming to listen. Then she looked at Hinaru before repeating the movement, even bigger this time.

"What—" Hinaru started.

"I think she wants us to listen." Relan tipped his own head, straining to hear.

Hinaru made a face but did the same.

Bird songs. Leaves rustling. Wastiks clicking. Branches rubbing against each other. A little wisp of noise as a tree-snit dashed away from them.

"I don't hear—"

Madze put a finger in front of Hinaru's face, cutting him off. She repeated the 'listen' gesture.

Relan strained harder. What did she want them to hear?

More branches creaking. Rustling underbrush. The faint sound of the creek in the distance. More wind...

Relan paused at that one. Was he imagining it, or did he hear voices?

Hinaru frowned. "Do you hear someone talking?" he whispered.

"I think so," Relan whispered back. "They—Cama and her people—are they still that close?"

Madze's statue face had returned, with only the faintest eyebrow raise.

Hinaru sighed. "Fine. We'll sleep in the tree."

Madze jumped into the branches without any difficulty.

Relan struggled to haul himself up on the lowest branch, which was just above chest level on him.

Hinaru tried to do the same, then gave up and crouched beside Relan. "Here," he whispered, glancing around as if expecting the bad guys to jump out at them at any moment. "Climb on me."

Relan braced his foot on Hinaru's knee and pushed off, managing to fold himself over the branch on his stomach. It took some more scrambling to get himself all the way on the branch. He braced himself by the trunk, holding onto the nearest branch, and helped pull his brother up.

Hinaru puffed a little as he brushed his hands off. He peered up into the tree. "Madze?"

Relan peered, too, and saw nothing but branches. "Start climbing. She'll come back for us."

They had strained, puffed, and sweated their way up a third of the tree when Madze reappeared just above them, holding out some more of the juicy fruit, this time along with some sort of dark green leaves with curly edges.

Relan rested on one of the wider branches, relieved for the break, and took what was offered. He studied the leaves. "Thanks. What's this stuff?"

She raised her eyebrow and lightly tapped her lips.

"Oh." Relan took a bite and made a face at the bitter flavor. "Ugh! Um, thanks, but I'm good." He reached to hand it back.

The eyebrow came stronger this time. She pushed his hand back toward him, her eyes as severe as Mam's when he tried to say no to something she'd told him to do.

He shrank. "Um, okay." He took another bite, cringing at the flavor and forcing himself to swallow.

That scant amusement returned to her eyes. She grabbed his food, wrapped the leaves around the fruit, and handed it back.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning it over in his hands. He couldn't imagine the fruit making the leaves any better. "I should eat them together?"

Eyebrow.

He shrugged and took a cautious bite. The initial bitter taste melted away into the sweetness of the fruit. The tartness was stronger, probably because of the leaves, but she was right—it was good this way.

Hinaru clumsily followed suit, favoring his injured hand. Once the leaves were in place, he held it in his good hand and tucked his wounded arm tight against his body again.

Madze slipped easily over the branches and came to a stop in front of him, pulling out more leaves from her pocket, the same ones she'd used before on his gash.

"I can do it," Hinaru objected, reaching to take them with his hurt hand. He cringed in pain, pulling his arm back before he could take them.

"Stop being a snitpup and let her take care of it," Relan said between bites, relishing the chance to tell off his older brother.

Hinaru glared, but reluctantly positioned his arm so she could work on it.

She deftly sliced through the wrappings with one claw, then poured liquid from a thin gourd of sorts over the red skin.

Hinaru hissed, sucking in deep breaths. "What is that stuff?"

"Maybe it helps clean it up," Relan offered. He studied his brother's injury. It looked a lot better now, but it still was open. His stomach turned, and he had to look away.

Madze squeezed more of the healing ooze on the wound, then wrapped it the same way as before with a new vine. Once it was secure, she slipped down the tree below them.

"Hey," Relan whispered as loudly as he could. "Where are you going?"

But she was already gone.

"Just eat your food and rest." Hinaru cradled his arm close again. "Quit worrying about your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend." Relan plucked a seedpod off the branch beside him and flicked it at Hinaru's head. "Munkbrain."

Hinaru snorted and took another bite of his leaf-wrapped fruit. "Look, try to be seriousness now." He glanced down the tree, peering at angles. Once satisfied, he returned his attention to Relan. "I know she's helping us, I get that. And I get that you trust her. But she's still a Feral. We don't know why she's helping us or what her game is."

"There's no game," Relan started, but Hinaru cut him off.

"All I'm saying is, we don't know her motives, and we can't just assume they're good. Ferals don't help people. It's not what they do. What they _do_ is stay hidden unless they're killing. If this one is showing herself to us—even helping us—there must be some reason. Until we know that reason, we have to be careful. Got it?"

Relan made a face. "Why is it so hard for you to accept that maybe she's just plain helping us?"

"What, out of the goodness of her heart? What makes you think Ferals even have hearts? In that sense, I mean." Hinaru made another careful check below them. "Look, she's helping us, and that's great. I'm just saying that we need to be careful. If things go wrong, we need to be ready to run. Got it?"

"It's not going to go wrong," Relan insisted.

"Just shut up and listen to me. If you see her do anything that doesn't seem right, you'll tell me. I'll do the same for you. If you can't say it out loud, then make your hand like this," Hinaru closed his fingers together to touch the tip of his thumb, "and hold it by your hip. If either of us makes that sign, then we run, together, as fast as we can."

Relan made a face.

"I'm your older brother. It's my job to get us home safely. Remember? There are people who want to take over the country? Mam and the guards can't deal with that until we're safe. This isn't just about you or your girlfriend, this is about all of Kenara. So do as I say and tell me you understand."

Relan scowled.

"Say you understand." Hinaru clenched a fist. "Now, or I'll knock you clear out of this tree."

"Fine! Fine, I understand. But it's not going to happen."

Hinaru finally looked satisfied. "Be watching for the signal."

Relan took a bite of his wrapped fruit instead of answering.

They'd finished their food before Relan happened to glance down and spot Madze at the base of their tree. He could barely see her through all the branches. He leaned side to side until he found a better angle to see her arranging something close to the trunk. After finishing, she moved a few paces around the trunk and did it again. Another move took her out of Relan's sight.

"What's she doing?" Hinaru asked, craning his neck.

Relan climbed over a couple branches to see the other side of the tree. Sure enough, she was arranging something there, too. "I don't know. Making traps?"

"That's not comforting. She thinks the bad guys will get this close to us?"

"They were close enough we could hear them. I think she's being cautious. It's a good thing." Relan climbed back to his original position and gave his brother an imperious look. "What, do you want her to leave us without any defenses while we're all sleeping?"

"Ferals don't sleep. Everyone knows that." Hinaru wiggled, shifting one way and then the other. "How are we supposed to sleep up here?"

Relan leaned back against the branch behind him. It felt cold and hard against his shoulders. "Um..." He turned another way, trying to lean his back against the trunk. It was better, but still too hard, and his legs kept sliding off the branch whenever he relaxed.

"Yeah. Sleep in a tree. Great idea," Hinaru scoffed.

"Well..." Relan made a face, trying to shift his position.

Madze landed on the branch in front of him.

The yelp escaped him before he could bite it back.

"Would you _stop_ that?" Hinaru growled, glaring at her.

She eyed him, then turned and crept over the branches around Relan, tipping her head one way and another as she studied the tree.

"Look, this tree thing isn't going to work for us," Hinaru said. "We're climbing back down." He started to shift forward, but she held up a hand.

"What?" Hinaru demanded, irate. "I get that _you_ have no trouble getting around in trees, but we can't. Either help us find somewhere to sleep on the ground, or get out of our way, because we're climbing down."

Madze pulled on Relan's arm.

He sighed. He didn't like siding with his brother, but Hinaru was right. They couldn't sleep in a tree. "I'm sorry, but—"

She pulled again, harder this time.

"Um, okay." He let her pull him over to a larger branch, then up another two higher.

She directed him onto a broad branch, then lightly pushed him to lean on an adjacent, slightly higher branch.

He wiggled a little to get the feel of the position, then cautiously relaxed. He didn't slide. He tipped his head to lean against the tree trunk. It actually wasn't half bad. Strange, but not too uncomfortable, and he wasn't going to fall off. "Hey. This works."

"You're kidding." Hinaru squinted up the tree at him.

Madze hopped back down and pulled on Hinaru.

He grunted, but reluctantly gave in. Soon he was settled close to Relan in a similar position. He made a face and squirmed. "This isn't comfortable."

"What did you expect, a feather bed?" Relan took the rare chance to condescend his brother.

Hinaru made another face. "Useless prattle-pup."

"Whatever, wastik-breath."

Madze gave them the eyebrow, then dropped a few branches lower and settled herself in for the night. It looked like she had fallen asleep, but it was impossible to tell.

"Go to sleep," Hinaru muttered, wiggling around again. "We'll get back on the way home tomorrow."

Relan closed his eyes, then opened them again. He was exhausted, but his mind was in too much of a whirl to rest. Attacked. Nearly killed. Dragged through the forest on a mad dash behind a Feral. Who turned out friendly. He shook his head.

The branches above him shifted and groaned. He shivered. The image of Madze disappearing and reappearing out of nothing flashed through his mind. He peered up into the darkness, searching for any signs of movement. What if there was another Feral nearby? Would they even know?

"Madze?" he whispered, keeping his gaze above for a moment longer before looking down at her.

She cracked one eye up at him, barely visible in the fading light.

"Are there other Ferals nearby?"

Head shake.

He looked up again, then back to her. "I thought Ferals traveled in packs." He cringed—that sounded animalistic. "I mean, in groups. Um, families."

She met his gaze for a moment, then closed her eyes and rested against the tree once more.

He exhaled. Apparently she was on her own. Maybe she got separated from her family, like he and Hinaru were. Whatever the reason, at least he knew there weren't any other Ferals around. The Tulvans had said there weren't any Ferals in that area. Maybe Madze was just traveling away from her family.

The Tulvans. He sat up once more. "Madze?"

She peered with one eye again.

"The Tulvans with us... well... did they... um..."

Before he could find a way to say it, she shook her head.

He shivered and rubbed his arms, but it wasn't his body that felt cold. He blew out a breath. "Are you sure?"

She opened the other eye and looked up at him for a long moment. She almost looked sad. Then she closed her eyes and rested once more.

"It's why they came with us, to protect us," Hinaru said, but even he had a subdued tone. "They fought so we could get away. They'll be honored once we get back to Innsbrooke."

Relan nodded, but he still felt mixed up inside. All of this was so wrong. He just wanted to be home, safe at Mam's side.

Exhaustion won the battle. He yawned and wiggled, adjusting his position, and slipped into restless sleep.

Relan woke up more than once during the night, shifting his position as his neck cricked or his back objected. When daylight speckled down through the leaves, he opened his eyes and winced through a stretch.

"So you thought we'd be just fine in a tree, huh?" Hinaru muttered, stretching out kinks of his own.

"At least we didn't get—"

Madze clapped a hand over Relan's mouth before he could say anything further. He yelped into her fingers, then winced inside. He had to stop jumping every time she appeared, no matter how sudden it was. He looked like a fool.

Hinaru started to object, but she pressed a finger against her lips as she released Relan. Hinaru reluctantly closed his mouth, straining to listen.

Movement through the underbrush, choppy and joined by occasional grunts and mutters too quiet for Relan to hear. He leaned forward, tilting his head to try to hear better.

Crunch, snap, rustle. "...gonna get killed out here..." Snap, rustle, rustle. "...should've shot them when we had the chance..." Crunch, grumble, curse. "...shouldn't be out this far..."

Hinaru eased forward, craning his neck to get a better view.

Madze caught his shoulder and shook her head.

The voices grew clearer. Whoever they were, they were getting close.

"...no point anyway. You know the Ferals already put them boys to pieces, what being out here all night 'n not." The griping voice ran at a whiny, high pitch.

"Shut it!" A smacking sound, like the whiny guy got hit upside the head. This voice was lower and thicker, like he was speaking through a mouthful of gumroot. "Ya heard Cama. Them Tulvans we graved was royal guard. Means them boys was the _princes_ , get? They make clear to Innsbrooke, they run their mouths at us, what we doin' here, we get the whole army on our heads. Ya want that? Ya want the plan gettin' out?"

"Might the boys don't kin what we doin'," Whiny retorted. "They only saw us wit' the crossbows 'n not. Doesn't mean they kin. They got nothing to say."

"Oh," Gumroot drawled loudly. "A'cause they get back, run their mouths at us attackin' them with crossbows, that won't stir up no trouble on us? No one come lookin' after us? Yer thick. Shut it and find them manky skitternits."

"Ain't thick," Whiny grumbled. "You better mind how you blabber at me—"

His voice cut off in a scream and a mass of shaking underbrush.

Chapter 5

Gumroot cursed. "Mekkit? Mekkit, where ya?"

The only answer was a weak cry.

Brushes rattled and shook violently, accompanied by a colorful string of words. "Here!" Gumroot's voice bellowed. "They're sommat about here! We found—"

His voice didn't cut off in a scream. There was a _schunk_ , and then nothing but silence.

Relan shivered, but before he could process the moment any further, Madze had him and Hinaru by the wrists and was darting along the branches away from where they'd heard the men.

Hinaru grunted and nearly slipped off the side of the branch, barely catching himself with a cry of pain. "What do you think you're doing?" he hissed. "We can't run on these thin branches!"

She stared at him, then the branch, then him again, as if she couldn't understand what he'd said.

"We have to get back to the ground," Relan pressed. He remembered how easily she moved through the trees, usually completely unseen. "I know you're used to running in the trees, but we can't."

She turned the blank stare on him.

"We. Have. To. Get. To. The. Ground," Hinaru spat out, his tone sharp but quiet to avoid being heard from below. "Come on, Relan." He twisted to climb down and lost his footing.

Relan gasped as his brother started to slip. He flung a hand out too late.

Madze caught Hinaru's shoulder and steadied him. Once he was safe, she darted down the branches, vanishing again.

Relan climbed around to Hinaru's side. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," the older boy grunted. "Let's move before more of those creeps come."

It was slow going climbing down. Relan could tell Hinaru was trying to hide how much his arm hurt, so he went first, testing branches and doing his best to direct his older brother. "Careful here."

"Nanny," Hinaru muttered half-heartedly, most of his focus on climbing.

Madze reappeared at the base of the tree as they reached the lower branches. She eyed them, then took off again.

"Come back!" Relan hissed. He needed help with Hinaru; couldn't she see that? He tried to keep his voice as quiet as possible while he called, hoping she heard him. "Madze!"

The sound of distant voices bounced off the trees around them. Relan scrambled the rest of the way down, stopping at the last thick, broad branch and peering at the ground. Where had Madze made the traps? He couldn't tell. "Um..."

Madze appeared at the base of the tree and jumped up beside him.

Either he was getting better at not being startled, or she'd approached slower this time. "Where are the traps?" he whispered. "We have to get out of here—"

She climbed past him and reached to help Hinaru. He tried to brush her off, but she ignored him, all but bodily lifting him down to join Relan on the lower branch.

Hinaru brushed himself off, glaring at her. "Fine. So where are the traps? We might accidentally step on one."

She shook her head and held up a finger.

"We can't stay here," Relan whispered. "They're coming for us!"

She statued for a moment, then slowly took a step further along the wide branch, moving away from the trunk.

Eyebrow.

"We don't have time for guessing games," Hinaru spat, hissing his words out to keep his voice quiet. "Just show us where to go!"

She took another slow step backwards.

Eyebrow.

Relan hesitated, then took a step after her.

She stepped again at the same time he did.

"Come on, this way," Relan whispered.

"We can't walk on branches like she does," Hinaru shot back.

"We can walk on this branch. It's wide." Relan spread his arms for balance, trying to keep them low so it didn't look like he needed them.

Hinaru snorted.

Madze turned and slowly led them along the branch to where it crossed with another broad branch from a different tree. She looked back at them and made a deliberate show of stepping up onto the new branch.

They followed her that way through at least four trees, ducking twigs that scratched at their faces and dodging smaller branches that crossed their path at random. There were times Madze turned sideways and carefully shuffled along narrower spots. Relan was pretty sure she did it to show them how they would need to walk, not because she needed to.

Finally, she dropped down to the ground from the branch they were on, statued, then gestured them to follow.

Hinaru crouched and jumped, landing hard enough that he stumbled forward.

Madze hooked a finger over his shoulder, steadying him without bothering to look back at him.

Relan took it slower, lying flat on the branch and swinging his legs over, inching downward until he felt the ground brushing his toes. He dropped the rest of the way and shook the tree debris off his clothes. "Now what?"

Madze was still a moment longer, then sat at the trunk of the tree and dug out food.

"Shouldn't we keep moving?" Hinaru kept his voice low, scanning back the way they'd come—or at least roughly the way they'd come. It was hard to tell for sure now.

Madze looked up at them, holding out fruit along with the bitter leaves, waiting.

Relan's stomach grumbled. He hesitated. "Do you think it's okay?"

She tipped her head in the over-dramatized listening gesture.

Relan strained his ears. Hinaru made a face, but it was obvious he was listening, too. Wind rustling leaves, birds whistling. Scampering tree-snits and clicking wastiks.

"I don't hear anything," Relan finally said.

Eyebrow. She extended the food once more.

"I think she means it's safe." Relan elbowed Hinaru and sat.

The older boy remained standing, scowl deepening, but he finally plopped down. He snatched the food offered him and crunched on it grumpily.

Relan took a bite of his fruit. "Thanks."

She nudged his other hand, which held the leaves.

He made a face but reluctantly wrapped the leaves around the fruit. "Are we safe? For now, I mean?"

She lifted one shoulder.

"Great," Hinaru mumbled into his food. "That really inspires confidence, thanks."

"Hey!" Relan frowned at his brother, happy at the opportunity to scold. "Don't be rude. She's helping us—and keeping us alive. I think that's worth some manners, don't you?"

"Sure... _Mam_ ," Hinaru retorted.

Relan scowled, but Hinaru spoke again.

"You know what's been bugging me?"

"That you're so mean?"

Hinaru rolled his eyes and ignored the slight. "Those guys. They said they knew we were the princes because the Tulvans with us were royal guard."

"Yeah, so?"

"So why did they attack us on the road if they didn't already know we're the princes?"

Huh. That was odd. Relan skewed his mouth in thought. "Um... To rob us?"

"They never asked for any money or valuables. They made us line up by the forest and then threatened to kill us. Why, if they didn't know who we are?"

Relan was stumped. "Uh..." He thought back. They'd been ordered out of the cart and lined up. Cama ordered her people to shoot him, but they hadn't.

Because Madze appeared.

He turned and looked at her at the same time Hinaru did. He exchanged a look with his brother, unsure.

"No." Hinaru shook his head. "That makes no sense. Why would they be after a Feral?"

Madze leaned forward. "Trap."

The quiet sound of her voice startled Relan. "A trap?"

"Yeah, we knew that already," Hinaru said. "They made it look like a broken-down cart to attack us."

She shook her head. Her lips twitched. Relan got the distinct impression she was thinking through the words.

Finally, she spoke. "Attack you... Trap me."

Now they both stared openly at her. Relan almost dropped his fruit.

"You? Why would they want you?" Hinaru demanded.

Relan recovered enough to cast a withering look his brother's direction.

"What? She's a Feral. Who would want to deal with a Feral on their hands?"

"You're being mean," Relan hissed. "You're insulting her."

She lifted one shoulder, apparently unfazed.

"See? Even she gets it." Hinaru leaned back. "How does that even work, anyway? They put a broken cart on the road to trap you? That's pretty dumb. Ferals are smarter than that."

Her lips twitched downward. "Attack _you_ , trap me."

It felt like thick pudding to work through in his head, but as Relan studied Madze, it suddenly pieced together. "The broken cart wasn't the trap. Not the real trap. _We_ were the trap. You came to save us. They knew you'd do that, didn't they?"

Nod.

Hinaru still looked confused.

"Get it?" Relan pressed. "It didn't matter who showed up. The point wasn't to catch _us_. The point was to catch _someone_ and threaten them to make her come out."

"Yeah, I get that part." Hinaru waved a hand. "What I don't get is, why do they want her? Specifically her, or just any random Feral? What are they after?"

Relan looked to Madze, who followed their words closely. "Do you know?"

Nod. More lip twitches. Then, "Hero... Emsha."

Hinaru and Relan both sat up straight. "Emsha?"

"What about Emsha?" Hinaru demanded.

She stared at them.

"Who's a hero? Someone in Emsha? What does the hero want with you?" Relan asked, almost stumbling the questions over each other.

Statue. Lip twitches.

"People in Emsha want to take over all of Kenara," Hinaru pressed. "If you know anything, you have to tell us!"

Statue.

"Please, you have to try," Relan pleaded.

Then he realized she wasn't statuing. She was staring at them, staring hard.

"Well?" Hinaru demanded.

Relan elbowed him. "She can't, munkbrain. She either doesn't know or can't say it."

Hinaru glared at him, then at her. Finally, he sighed. "Whatever the original purpose of the trap, now they know who we are and are coming after us. We need to get back home as fast as we can. Are we at least getting close to a city or village or something?"

Her face relaxed, and she nodded.

"Then we should get moving." Hinaru stuffed the rest of his food in his mouth and stood.

Madze stood at the same time, statued for a moment, then resumed their route through the forest. Hinaru stepped in place behind her.

Relan followed, his mind spinning. What did Emsha want with a Feral? Who was the hero, and what did they have to do with this? If the trap wasn't really for him and Hinaru, then were they maybe safe now? No, Cama's people had figured out who they were and wanted to catch them. And what if word spread? Would other people be watching for them, too?

Lost in the unceasing questions, he barely noticed as the trees began to thin, the underbrush less dense around them. He did notice, after several hours of walking, when Madze abruptly jumped and disappeared into a tree.

"What is it?" Hinaru hissed up at the empty branches.

Silence.

Relan craned his neck but couldn't spot her. "Madze?"

She reappeared, perched on a branch above them. She made a slight shooing motion with one hand.

"What—" Hinaru started, but Relan put up a hand, listening. He doubted Madze would abandon them, or direct them to leave her, unless she had a reason.

A faint rhythmic clink in the distance. Voices. He stiffened, but something about the flow caught his attention. It didn't sound like people on the hunt, signaling and shushing each other. It was more like the hum of conversation piled over conversation. The clink, like a metalsmith's work.

His eyes lit up. "A city!" He looked for confirmation from her, but she had vanished again.

"Finally!" Hinaru grabbed Relan's hand and pulled him along.

Relan watched the tree a moment longer, unsure if he was relieved at finding help or sad to be leaving the one who had saved their lives so many times. They owed her thanks, or at least a proper farewell, didn't they?

He tripped on a root, and Hinaru tugged him upright. "Come on."

"Do you think she's okay? Do you think they'll try to catch her again?"

"She'll be fine. Hurry up."

The sounds grew louder and clearer. Buildings became visible between the still-thinning trees. People bustled about in a square beyond the buildings. It looked like a small village, but it was plenty big enough for them to get the help they needed.

Hinaru didn't slow down until they burst past the buildings and into the square. "Please, someone help us!"

The villagers came to a sharp stop, staring.

"Third moon above!" A woman with Elf-like ears stepped toward them, a hand on her chest. "What by all goodness happened to you boys? Are you all right?"

Relan glanced down and realized how disheveled and dirty they looked. Scrapes, scratches, bruises. Not to mention Hinaru's bandage.

"We were attacked on the road," Hinaru said. "Our attackers are still hunting us to kill us!"

"Or kidnap us," Relan added.

The woman was already issuing a stream of orders, directing people to bring bandages, water, blankets, and all other manner of aid. "Kidnap you?"

"Because we're the princes," Relan explained. "We have to get home straight away. Please, can you help us get there?"

The bustle slowed to a stop. The villagers stared.

Puzzled, the woman tipped her head. "Princes? There aren't any princes. Just the princess."

Hinaru stiffened.

"But..." Relan stared, then realized. They were talking about the rulers in their province, Emsha. "Oh, I mean—"

Hinaru grabbed his arm with a painfully tight grip. "Shut up, munkbrain!" He looked around. "Sorry. My stupid kid brother thinks people will only help him if he pretends he's someone important."

"I—" Relan tried again.

"I said, shut up," Hinaru hissed, giving him a shake.

The sort-of Elf woman eyed them with caution. "Where are you from, then?"

"Dimmeck," Hinaru said quickly. He nodded. "Our family is in Dimmeck."

Relan looked around at the staring faces as it sank in. These people were the ones the Tulvans were afraid of. The kind who wanted their governor person as the queen instead of Mam. He edged a step back toward the forest. "We should go..."

Hinaru's grip tightened, and he pushed Relan behind himself. "I'm sorry for the confusion. He's an idiot. Please, can you help us get back to our home? In Dimmeck?"

The woman exchanged glances with a taller man who had dark hair and Kadrian eyes. "Of course. Come this way. Let's get a meal in you and clean you up."

"Can't you..." Hinaru cleared his throat. "I mean, our family will be really worried. Can someone take us right away?"

A younger woman with a soft face and Nim features stepped forward, reaching out toward the boys. "We'll get you home. But you look exhausted, and it'll take some time to prepare a cart, anyway. Come and eat."

Hinaru looked back at Relan, then nodded and carefully followed the woman through the crowd full of curious, uncertain, and some suspicious gazes. They entered a large building near the center of the village. The woman guided them to a table as others followed in with the gathered supplies.

"I'm Dina," the woman said, directing the others to put food in front of the boys and lay out water, washing cloths, bandages, and salves. "What are your names?"

"Hinaru." The older boy grabbed a chunk of bread while reluctantly allowing another villager to take his injured arm and begin treating it.

"And I'm Relan." Relan snatched some cheese and scarfed it down, reaching for more.

"How did you get separated from your family?"

"We were traveling alone," Hinaru said.

"We were attacked on the road," Relan said at the exact same time.

Dina raised an eyebrow.

Hinaru swallowed fast and elbowed Relan. "We were traveling alone, then got attacked on the road. Bandits. We had to run away and got lost in the forest."

"The bandits are still chasing us," Relan added around a mouthful of dried meat.

"Maybe," Hinaru said quickly, giving Relan a hard jab. "We don't know for sure. I think we lost them." He glared at Relan.

_What?_ Relan wanted to ask, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to get them into any trouble. He managed to get in another bite before a hefty woman set to work vigorously scrubbing his face and arms.

"What did these bandits look like? We should be on the watch for them."

"We don't know. They wore hoods." Hinaru shot Relan another look, a silent reminder to keep his mouth shut.

"You're a bit young to be traveling alone," Dina said.

Hinaru hesitated, then straightened as if offended. "I'm old enough. We were just going to our uncle's house, anyway. In... Loxheed."

Her brows rose again. "Loxheed? That's south of here. How did you end up all the way up here if you were trying to get to your home in Kelren?"

"We got lost after the attack," Hinaru said lamely. "And it's Dimmeck. Not Kelren."

She nodded. "Right, I forgot. Dimmeck." She looked behind them. "Looks like they have the cart ready. Why don't you take the rest of the food with you?"

"Thank you." Hinaru gathered a bunch in his arm and pulled Relan to his feet.

Relan loaded up both of his arms, balancing some extra cheese on top, mumbling around a mouth full of food. "Tank yu."

The Elf woman stood outside next to a veelish cart, giving directions to a couple of men on the driving bench. She waved the boys over and threw blankets around their shoulders. "Climb up. Lesdi and Kivedan here will get you safely to your home."

Once Relan and Hinaru were up in the cart, another man climbed in behind them, sitting at the back.

"And this is Wresh. He'll be along to help keep you safe."

Hinaru shifted his weight, glancing nervously at the men sitting around them. "I don't want to take so many people away from you. We just need a ride, that's all."

"We're concerned for your safety," Wresh said in a rumbling voice. "You said the bandits might still be after you."

"I—I'm pretty sure we lost them..."

"Pretty sure isn't sure enough." Wresh nodded, and Lesdi signaled the veelish to go. "Don't worry. You'll be safe with us."

Relan glanced at his brother. Hinaru didn't look like he believed it at all. Maybe they should have left. "I think we can find our way from here," he started.

Hinaru jabbed him, hard. "Quit whining, baby. Just because they didn't fall for it when you tried to lie." He was talking louder than usual, harder.

Shivering, Relan pulled his blanket tight around him. Did these people believe Hinaru? Were they just nice enough to send so many people to protect them? Or were they taking him and his brother somewhere else—maybe Emsha city? He wished he hadn't said anything about being princes. He'd been stupid, just like Hinaru said.

"It's good you managed to escape those bandits." Wresh gestured to Hinaru's arm. "That from one of their blades?"

"A crossbow," Hinaru said.

"Crossbows, eh? Must have been painful. You an herbalist?"

"Herbalist?" Hinaru glanced at Relan, then the larger man. "No, I'm not. Why?"

"Just wondered, with how you used those leaves to bandage your arm. Smart. Where'd you learn that?"

Relan opened his mouth.

"Our Mam," Hinaru burst before Relan could speak. "She taught us. We always get scraped up, playing outside and stuff."

"Yeah," Relan said.

"Good to have a mam who teaches you smart." Wresh gave a solid nod.

The cart lapsed into silence, not a calm, attentive silence like with Madze but a tense silence. Relan felt like every tiny movement he made was being watched, judged. He nibbled on the cheese, suddenly not as hungry anymore.

Hinaru kept looking around: the sky, the road, the forest, the men. He eyed Relan from time to time with a warning squint in his eyes. _Stay quiet_.

As the hours stretched, bumping along down the road, Relan managed to eat most of his food out of a mixture of nervousness and a need to do something to fill the silence. He noticed his brother start to look up at the sky more and more often.

The cart slowed at a crossing. Lesdi clicked his tongue, and the animals veered left.

Hinaru gave the road a sharp look. "That's east. We should be going west."

"I think you've gotten confused, young man," Lesdi said, his voice nasal and pinched.

Grabbing Relan's arm, Hinaru stood and pulled his brother beside him. "I think we can find our way from here. Thank you for your assistance. Please stop the cart."

Wresh shoved them back into their seats. "Stay put, whelps."

Relan landed on the bench hard enough to almost lose his breath. His chest tightened. These people were taking them to Emsha! Hinaru's lies hadn't been enough to fool them. He cringed. This was his fault.

And now they were caught.

Chapter 6

"Our mam will pay you handsomely if you return us home," Hinaru said. "Or just let us free. You can return home and say you did what you set out for, and we'll send payment to you as soon as we're home."

Wresh glared. "Shut your yap."

"Name your price. Anything."

The large man suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Hinaru by the throat, lifting him half out of his seat. "Get this straight, boy. No reward you can offer me is worth what it means to put the sons of the false queen in the hands of our true ruler." With that, he shoved Hinaru back in his seat.

Hinaru coughed, holding his neck in pain.

"Leave him alone!" Relan burst.

"You want a taste?" Wresh threatened, raising his hand.

Relan shrank back.

The man snorted. "That's what I thought."

Shivering again, Relan gave Hinaru a helpless look. What were they going to do?

Hinaru wouldn't meet his eyes.

The veelish suddenly lurched to a stop with mildly offended snuffles. Lesdi and Kivedan yelped.

Relan twisted to see the front of the cart.

Madze crouched on the back of one of the veelish, head tilted, intense gaze on the men on the driving bench.

Wresh hollered and scrambled to his feet, fumbling a sword.

"Shh!" Lesdi hissed, waving a hand back at him. The man was sweating. "Don't move! Don't startle it!"

Relief coursed through Relan's body. "Ma—"

"Shut up!" Hinaru snapped, then lowered his voice, giving Relan the squint again. "You'll make it attack."

Relan looked at him, then at Madze. Hinaru apparently thought it was best for them to pretend not to know her. He did his best to look like he was cowering in fear.

"Let us be." Kivedan spoke in a slow, careful tone. "We aren't here to cause trouble. We won't hurt you. Just let us go."

Her eyes flickered past them, just slightly.

"That's r-right." Lesdi's voice shook as badly as his body. "L-leave us be. D-d-don't make us h-hurt you."

Her eyes flickered again, past the men, past Relan, past Wresh, to the road behind them, and then back to the front, all in the space of a heartbeat.

It clicked. Relan glanced at Hinaru to see if he'd gotten the message, too.

But his older brother was focused on pretending to be scared, cringing and keeping his eyes low.

Relan glanced at Wresh. The large man's focus was entirely on the small Feral still poised on the veelish. Moving as little as possible, Relan edged his foot to Hinaru's and gave it a kick.

Hinaru glared at him with warning eyes again.

Relan glanced at Madze, then at the back of the cart.

Hinaru looked confused.

Frustrated, Relan fought to keep his mouth shut. _Get ready to run, you fec-brained dupe!_ He exhaled, then leaned toward the back of the cart, still moving small to avoid being noticed, and shifted his hands into a miniature running pose.

The light flickered in the older boy's eyes.

Relan glanced back at Madze.

Her eyes flickered in acknowledgment.

"We don't want trouble," Wresh rumbled. "Go on your way. We—"

Madze lunged forward, tackling Lesdi and Kivedan into the back of the cart.

Relan and Hinaru moved at the same time, jumping over the sides "This way!" Relan shouted, dashing for the forest on his side. Hinaru scrambled to follow.

Wresh's boots thudded the ground after them.

Relan glanced over his shoulder and saw the big man bash through the underbrush behind them. Yelping, Relan grabbed Hinaru's arm and tried to veer sideways through the trees, jumping roots and trying to put distance between them and their captor.

But the heavy feet tromped ever closer behind them.

Hinaru tried cutting sharply left around a rock, then weaving behind some dense brushes.

Wresh thundered straight through the brushes. His heavy hands clamped on Hinaru and Relan's shoulders, yanking them back against them.

Relan yelped and twisted, trying to break free.

"Shh!" Wresh peered back the way they'd come. "You'll lead it to us!"

"You're a coward," Hinaru spat. "Threatening kids and then running away when your friends need help!"

Wresh snorted. "My friends back there with that Feral? If I'd stuck around, there'd be three corpses instead of two. Get? I did the smart thing, like you. Doesn't mean I'm gonna let you go free. Now quiet down. It'll hear us."

Relan looked at Hinaru and raised his eyebrow.

Hinaru all but rolled his eyes in reluctant agreement. He threw his head back and yelled at the top of his lungs. "Help! Help us! We're here!"

"Help!" Relan joined in. "Over here!"

Wresh's meaty hands clamped over their mouths, curling them tight against his body. His hand was so big it covered Relan's nose, too, and he struggled to breathe clearly. "Shut it!" Wresh hissed. "It's still too close."

Hinaru kicked and jabbed at the big man with his elbow.

Relan clawed at the hand over his face, fighting to at least free his nose so he could breathe.

"Hold still!" Wresh gave them a shake. "Are ya moon-touched? You _want_ it to find us?"

Relan finally managed to budge one of the fingers enough that his nose was clear. He sucked in air. Now that he could breathe again, he joined his brother in kicking, stomping, jabbing, doing anything he could to try to hurt their captor.

Wresh growled, then shoved them forward and caught them by the throats. Pain shot through Relan's body as the big man shook them. "That's enough!" Wresh glared. "I'm sure I'll still get a reward if I bring you in dead. You keep that in mind!"

Relan gave up his struggles as the grip tightened, threatening to cut off his air again. He shot a desperate glance around the forest. Where was Madze? Why hadn't she found them yet?

A chill raced through him. What if Lesdi and Kivedan killed her?

"That's better." Wresh gave them one more glare before looking around. "Move. I don't want that Feral tracking us down."

Madze landed heavily on his shoulders, knocking him flat.

Relan cried out as the grip on his neck dragged him down, too, Hinaru beside him. He barely managed to brace his hands in time to save himself from landing face-first on a protruding rock.

The grip vanished as Wresh twisted, swinging madly in a panic.

Madze tumbled aside, rolling smoothly to her feet and darting at him again.

Hollering, Wresh lunged forward with a powerful strike.

She darted under it. Came up on the other side. Caught the back of his knee.

He pitched headlong into a tree. Landed hard on the ground.

Didn't get back up.

Madze turned back to the boys and crouched in front of them, offering her hands to help them up.

"We're okay," Relan wheezed, pushing himself up. He rubbed his neck, then the hip he'd landed on. "Thank you."

He straightened and brushed himself off, casting a glare in Wresh's direction, then turned to her. Blinking, he realized for the first time that she had a thin cut along her cheek. "Hey, you're hurt!"

She lightly touched the cut, looked at the blood on her fingers, then wiped them on her leggings with a half-hearted shrug.

Hinaru finished brushing himself off. "Should we go back to the cart for the blankets?"

Madze shook her head. She statued, then set off deeper into the forest.

"But we need them," Hinaru objected as he and Relan followed. "We don't have anything. You want us to freeze?"

She glanced back with an unimpressed eyebrow raise.

"Well, why can't we get them? You took care of those guys, right?"

"Knock it off," Relan scolded. "She saved us. Again. If she says we shouldn't go back, then we shouldn't go back."

"You know, we wouldn't have this problem if you hadn't yapped about being princes." Hinaru glared and gave Relan a shove.

"How was I supposed to know those people were bad guys?" Relan shoved back. "We should've just left like I wanted! You're the one who wanted us to stay there and keep talking to those jerks!"

"You harking munkbrain, you really think—"

Madze clamped her hands over their mouths.

Relan froze, listening. Had Wresh gotten back up and come after them? Or one of the others from the village? Or had more of Cama's people caught up to them? He listened hard.

Branches. Leaves. Birds, tree-snits, wastiks. A sudden rush that startled him before he realized it was just a braybun dashing for cover.

No voices. No sign of people.

"Is someone there?" he finally dared to whisper.

She shook her head.

Hinaru frowned, then made a face, ducking away from her hand. "Did you do that just to make us shut up?"

Eyebrow. She turned and resumed the lead.

Hinaru rolled his eyes and fell into step behind her.

Relan caught up, made a face at his brother, and edged closer to her. "Are we safe from those people now?"

Shoulder.

Relan rubbed his arms and glanced back the way they'd come. Either no one was coming, or anyone who did come wouldn't be a threat. If Madze wasn't worried, then he shouldn't be, either.

Still, it burned him that the people had abducted and threatened him and Hinaru. No wonder the Tulvans were in such a hurry to get them safely home to Innsbrooke. He shuddered.

Madze led them down along a short rock face and into an alcove. She gestured for them to stay put and vanished into the forest.

Relan peered out of the alcove, then settled down. "Do you think they'll find us?"

"I doubt anyone's looking. Madze took care of the ones in the cart, and the rest think we're already gone, remember?"

Relan snorted. "Dumb jerks."

Hinaru shot him a smirk. "Dumb? Like the kid cowering in a cart because there might be a dangerous Feral nearby?"

"I was right, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, real dangerous."

"She _is_ dangerous. Just not to us."

Rolling his eyes, Hinaru scooted himself to a better position. He winced, holding his arm.

"Is it getting worse?" Relan asked.

"No, I just put my weight on it wrong."

"Sorry." Relan leaned forward for another peek out of the alcove before scooting over as well. "Do you think there are people that can help us at a different city? Maybe a bigger one?"

Hinaru shook his head. "We can't risk it, not while we're still in Emsha Province." Before Relan could speak, he added, "Not even with a Feral on our side. We have to approach without her. We'll be vulnerable. And the next place might send us with even more guards or lock us up where she can't help us."

Relan frowned. "So what do we do?"

"I don't know."

Silence fell. Relan shifted his position a few more times, sometimes sour about how the villagers treated them, sometimes worrying about what they would do next, and mostly feeling cold and uncomfortable sitting on the hard rock surface with nothing but rough stone to lean against. He sighed, then grunted, then sighed again.

"Would you be quiet?"

Relan made a face at his brother, then made an even louder sigh.

Hinaru glared. "Don't you get it? Cama and those people are still trying to hunt us. Who knows who or what else is in this forest. There could be dufos or trongials. You want to call one of those over here?"

"Yeah, right. If those were in this forest, we'd have seen some by now." Still, the thought of running into the deadly, lanky bird-like creatures or the violent equine beasts with their sharp teeth made him shudder.

"We've seen only a tiny bit of this entire forest. Besides, you think we'd notice anything as we were running? Or maybe you think can you recognize their tracks, o great hunter?"

"Shut up."

"You first."

Relan glared, then sighed—quieter this time—and looked away from his brother. He was startled to see Madze standing just outside the alcove, eyeing the two of them with her eyebrow raised. Unimpressed.

He flushed. "Sorry."

Her eyes shifted to Hinaru.

He looked like he might object to her silent scolding but looked away instead.

Apparently satisfied, she stepped into the alcove and dropped to her knees, laying out gibroots and, to Relan's surprise, several hand-sized fish. She shoved a couple of the tubers toward them, then set to work making a small fire.

Relan picked one up and munched on the crunchy, earthy-sweet root. Usually he only ate them cooked, but raw wasn't bad. As he ate, thoughts of the village and their stuck position came back through his mind. They had to find their way out of Emsha Province, fast.

He leaned forward again as she settled the fish over the small fire. "Madze? Do you know anywhere outside of Emsha Province, like a city or a town we can get help from?"

She stared at him.

"It doesn't have to be far outside the province, I don't think. It should be safe the farther from Emsha we get. Do you know a place?"

Stare.

"Um..." Relan tried to think of how to word the question so she would understand.

Hinaru put up a hand and addressed Madze. "Do you know what a province is?"

Stare.

"I don't think she knows what you're talking about. What's a city outside the province?"

Relan thought hard. "Uh... Kolrem?"

"That's to the south, munkbrain."

Relan made a face at his brother. "Sennet?"

"Maybe. It might still be too close to Emsha, but it's worth a try." Hinaru turned to Madze again. "Sennet? Do you know where that is?"

Stare.

Hinaru sighed. "We'll just have to keep going west and see what we can find."

"I guess." Relan searched his mind for a place they could have Madze take them.

"Palace?"

Madze's quiet voice startled him, as always. He looked up at her. "Palace? You mean, the palace in Innsbrooke?"

Nod.

Hinaru leaned forward, food forgotten. "You know Innsbrooke? Can you take us there?"

Nod.

Relan almost let out a cheer before remembering Hinaru's comments about dufos and trongials. "Thank you! How long do you think it'll take to get there?"

Shrug.

"That's okay," he said quickly. "Getting to Innsbrooke, that's what we need. Thank you."

"And if we find another city outside of Emsha Province along the way, we can get a ride from there," Hinaru said.

"But she said she can take us."

"On foot? The whole way? We'll go with her until we're safe, then find a mount or cart to ride from there."

Relan wanted to object, but his older brother was, unfortunately, right. It was way too far to walk. "Well... you don't have to be a fec-face about it. She could still come with us."

"You think someone with a cart would let a Feral on?" Hinaru punched his shoulder. "Quit being stupid."

"You're the one being stupid," Relan retorted, punching back.

Madze clamped her hands over their mouths again.

Relan leaned back, pouting.

Hinaru shoved her hand away and glared at her, then at Relan. "She's right. You're making too much noise."

"You're the one—"

Madze reached for them again.

Hinaru recoiled away. "Okay, okay."

Relan ducked his head. He realized that if she wanted to, she would have reached their mouths before they could react. She'd chosen to go slowly this time. He glanced at her.

She had that slightly amused look on her face again as she handed out the cooked fish.

They'd nearly finished eating when she abruptly statued.

Relan tensed. "What is it?" he whispered.

"She's just doing that staring thing again," Hinaru said dismissively.

Relan shook his head, waving for his brother to shut up. "Quiet! She's got that look on her face when there's trouble."

Hinaru frowned at him, then squinted at her. "That's the same face she always has."

"No..." It was Relan's turn to frown at his brother. He really couldn't see the difference? It was small but plain enough.

She stamped out the little fire, glanced at them, and made the listening gesture.

Hinaru tipped his head, and Relan strained his ears. It took him a minute to pick it up. Underbrush shaking, faint voices.

"Are they coming this way?" he whispered. "Is it more of Cama's group?"

Madze eyed him, then slipped away.

Relan scrambled to his feet and hurried after her, twigs snapping under his feet as he left the alcove. Hinaru did the same.

Madze stopped and stared at them.

"We're coming," Hinaru whispered. "We have a right to know what's going on."

She stared a moment longer, then took a deliberate step on top of a root, then onto another one, swaying around a dense bush. She looked back at them with one eyebrow raised.

Relan carefully followed her movements. He bumped the bush and made a light rustle, but there wasn't anything snapping under his feet.

Hinaru rolled his eyes and started forward again, not bothering to follow her route. A branch snapped loudly as he stepped on it.

"Shh!" Relan hissed.

Madze statued.

Relan listened. The voices seemed louder. "Quiet! They're getting closer. You have to do what she does!"

Hinaru scowled at him, but he stepped onto the roots.

It was slow going, following Madze's deliberately careful steps along the forest floor, but they slowly improved as they went, eventually only making the slightest rustles or scrapes.

The voices shifted from faint sounds on the wind to near rumbles to distinct words.

"...but I'm telling you, some Feral snatched the boys up. They're shredded by now."

"We'll see it with our own eyes, thank you."

Relan stiffened as he recognized the voices. Wresh. Cama.

Chapter 7

Madze continued forward.

Relan held back, not wanting to get close enough to be spotted. He tried to think of how to silently signal to her that they shouldn't get any closer.

Hinaru tugged on Relan's arm, gesturing for them to move away from the voices.

Relan took a step backwards, eyeing his footing so he didn't make too much noise, but lingered, trying to see where Madze had disappeared to. Could he risk signaling for her? Maybe a bird call?

Madze reappeared in front of them, eyebrow raised. She took another step toward the voices.

Relan and Hinaru both shook their heads emphatically.

Madze stared, then slipped past them without a sound and led the way once more, this time away from danger, from Cama and Wresh and whoever else might be with them.

Relan looked back over his shoulder. They hadn't gotten close enough to see how many people were there. Was that why Madze had kept going?

Distracted by his thoughts, he almost tripped on a root and had to catch himself on a low-hanging branch. He cringed at the loud rustle.

Madze stopped and statued.

Relan pulled himself upright, moving slowly to avoid making more noise, and strained his ears.

It didn't sound like anyone was coming closer. It seemed that they hadn't heard his slip. He let out a breath in relief.

They continued for a while before Madze stopped being so deliberate to show where she was stepping and simply moved through the forest like normal.

Relan tried to keep up while staying on roots and avoiding bushes like she'd been showing them, but quickly fell behind. "Madze," he whisper-called. No answer. "Madze?"

She reappeared and put a finger on her mouth, then led them further along, moving even slower after a minute.

"What's—" Relan started, but she held up a hand, silencing him.

She glanced back them, stared for a moment, then took a few more deliberate steps onward. She tipped her head in the listening gesture.

Relan tipped his own head to hear.

Snuffling. Twigs cracking under heavy feet. Snorts and shudders. Crunches.

"What is it?" he whispered.

She crept further and beckoned them to follow.

Relan exchanged a look with Hinaru, then followed. He did his best to copy her steps again, making as little noise as possible.

The sounds got louder, and Madze came to a stop, crouching and lightly pushing some branching fronds to the side. Relan bent beside her and peered through the opening.

Trongials. A whole clutch of trongials snorting and stomping, sharp teeth snapping at small rodents their trampling feet drove from the ground.

He almost fell over himself scrambling several steps backward. "Get back!" he gasped. The massive creatures were wild and dangerous even when tamed as mounts. Untamed ones were all the more deadly.

Madze stared at them, and Relan got the impression she was confused. She looked back at the trongials, then at them again. Her lips pursed. "Ride."

Hinaru grabbed Relan's arm, pulling him further away from the beasts. "No, no, no! Bad idea! Don't you get it? They're dangerous! They'll kill us all!"

Madze tipped her head to one side. She didn't get it.

"Come on," Hinaru insisted. "Do as I say. We have to get away!"

Relan nodded to emphasize his brother's words. There was no way they could go anywhere near those beasts.

She still looked confused. She gave the trongials one last look, but she finally released the fronds and took the lead, guiding them away from the clutch.

They'd only made it a short distance when she came to a sudden stop.

Relan almost tripped and landed on his face. "What's wrong?" he whispered. More trongials? Cama?

She statued, then took a slow step backwards, spreading her arms behind her in a protective gesture.

Peering over her shoulder, Relan tried to see what she'd spotted ahead. "What is it?"

Hinaru edged closer to Relan, gripping his arm, tense and ready to run.

Madze took another slow step backwards, arms stretching further like a broodmother spreading her wings to hide her chicks behind her.

Silence stretched. Relan didn't dare ask again or even move. He'd seen her statue many times, but never like this. It was like there was an unseen cloud of lightning in the space around them. Something was there, something dangerous. Even more dangerous than the clutch of trongials.

Sudden movement made him jump. His heart stopped as Ferals dropped from the trees in front of them, at least thirteen standing together and staring at them like statues. Intense, deadly statues.

Relan had to force himself to breathe. Were these friendly Ferals, like Madze? He couldn't tell, but her defensive reaction wasn't comforting.

Hinaru's grip on his arm tightened.

Madze took another slow step back, forcing the boys to step back along with her.

No one moved for a long time. Small glances slipped through the Ferals as if they were talking to each other in some unspoken way.

One of the Ferals, a slim woman, took a step forward and crouched. She extended one hand toward them as if in invitation.

Relan let out his breath as the tightness in his chest eased. These were friendly. They would help.

Hinaru's grip tightened more.

Madze remained defensive a moment longer, then her arms lowered. She edged forward.

"It's okay," Relan whispered to Hinaru. "See? We're safe."

"I don't think so," Hinaru whispered back, glaring at the group of Ferals.

Relan made a face. Hinaru was being dumb again. Obviously these ones were there to help...

He looked around the group and felt tightness creeping back in. Some of the Ferals slipped to the outside, almost vanishing in the trees, creeping around the edges to pass Madze. Their eyes fixed on the boys. Relan got a clear unfriendly impression from them.

Madze lifted a hand, reaching toward the woman's outstretched arm.

Relan leaned forward. "Madze?" he whispered. It was like she was entranced.

The other Ferals crept closer.

Relan grabbed Madze's shoulder. "Madze!" he hissed.

She jerked. Her gaze darted from side to side, and she returned to the protective posture.

The woman's face hardened as she straightened. The whole group stepped forward as one.

Madze spun, grabbed Hinaru and Relan's arms, and bolted.

Relan found it easier to keep his feet under him this time. All the time following her helped him spot the right areas to land his steps. Still, his arm and legs ached too soon, and his lungs burned as he struggled to keep up.

Movement beside him caught his eye, and he yelped as a Feral lunged closer.

Madze shifted at the same moment, pulling him out of reach of the Feral's grabbing hand.

He heard loud snorts ahead and realized what direction they were going. "Wait, wait!"

She ignored him, pulling even faster.

Relan managed a quick glance over his shoulder. No sign of Ferals—no, he saw a flash of movement in the trees above. They were still there, and terrifyingly close.

Without warning, they burst through the underbrush and straight into the middle of the clutch of trongials. Loud hooting sounds filled the air as the massive beasts lunged as one.

Relan screamed. Hinaru yelled.

Madze all but threw them both into the air. They landed hard on the back of one of the trongials, flopped over sideways like mountbags. It bucked, but Madze landed behind them, leaning low to keep them in place as her hands tangled into the creature's shaggy fur.

The trongial let out a thundering hoot and charged, battering its way through the forest. The rest of the clutch stampeded behind it, occasionally getting close enough to snap at them. Madze kicked the narrow, toothy snoots away each time they got too close.

Relan craned his neck to see in the trees above them. He caught a glimpse of movement, but it was further behind now. They were escaping. Another trongial snapped its teeth too close to his legs, and he curled them in tighter. Escaping the Ferals, but in the middle of a clutch of trongials? They'd be torn to shreds at any moment. How did Madze expect them to get away safely?

Madze yanked on the trongial's hair, and it took a sharp left, the rest of the clutch following like a flock of birds. Then another yank to the right. The run became more rhythmic, and the snaps at their legs and heads gradually decreased.

Relan peered at the trees and saw nothing. Not that it necessarily meant the Ferals were gone. He cautiously lifted his head. None of the trongials tried to snap at the movement, all of them keeping their focus ahead. He opened his mouth to ask if they were safe.

Madze clamped a hand over his mouth, pushing his head back down.

He didn't need to be told twice. He stayed down as she returned her hand to the trongial's mane.

The clutch took another hard left, and Madze suddenly pushed him and Hinaru off the back. He couldn't hold in a yelp as he landed hard on the ground. He saw the trongials coming and curled in on himself, waiting for the wild animals to stop and tear into him.

Hooves thundered around him. He looked up and almost got kicked in the face, but he dodged in time. The trongials were running on as if he wasn't there. He had to lunge sideways to keep from being trampled by another beast. Then again. He saw a row of hooves coming all at once, too many to dodge—

Madze grabbed his wrist and yanked him clear, darting rapidly through the clutch and out of the stampede.

Hinaru already sat on a rock outside the path, rubbing his arm. He stood as Madze and Relan joined him. "Are you nuts?" he hissed, keeping his voice low so the trongials wouldn't be attracted to the noise. "We could've been killed!"

Madze looked Hinaru over, then Relan.

"Well?" Hinaru demanded.

"We weren't killed," Relan translated her expression. "We're fine. She kept us safe."

Hinaru gave him a dirty look, then turned the look on Madze. "What was that? Those Ferals? Why did they try to attack us?"

She stared.

"You were going to go with them and abandon us, weren't you," Hinaru accused. "They're with you, aren't they? So why did they come after us?"

Her eyes shifted away.

"They weren't with her," Relan scolded his older brother. "They would have helped her if they were." He glanced at Madze. "Right?"

She looked sad.

"Would you stop staring and just tell us what's going on?" Hinaru demanded.

"Stop it! Can't you see she's upset?" Relan glared. "You're always scolding me on diplomacy, but you're the one being a big jerk right now. She saved us. Again. So quit acting like she's the bad guy!"

Hinaru scowled, but he kept his mouth shut this time.

Relan turned back to Madze. "I'm sorry. Thank you for saving us." He hesitated, still unsure about those Ferals and the way Madze had reached out toward them. "Were... were those Ferals your family?"

She shook her head.

"Why did they want you to go with them?"

She looked away.

He could tell she was still upset. "Look, I don't really understand everything that happened back there. But I'm sorry for it, and I'm glad you helped us. Thank you."

She was silent a moment longer, then gave him a little smile. With that, she turned and walked deeper into the forest.

"Come on." Relan fell in step behind her and waved for Hinaru to follow.

Hinaru rubbed his arm again and came along, grumbling under his breath.

They'd gone a short distance when Madze pulled one of those ruby fruits off a tree, handed it to Relan, then tipped her head toward the tree.

"Oh. You want me to pick more?"

Nod.

He looked around and saw no movement. "You think we're safe to stop here?"

Eyebrow.

"Right. Okay."

As he started gathering more fruit, Madze pulled aside some underbrush to reveal a patch of the medicinal leaves. She pulled one out by the base and handed it to Hinaru, then tipped her head toward the patch.

"What?" he asked.

"Get some more, munkbrain," Relan said.

Hinaru rolled his eyes. "I get that's what she's asking. But she's only used one leaf on me before." He stopped and looked Relan over. "Did you get hurt by the trongials?"

Relan shook his head. "Nothing big. I mean, it hurt when I fell down, but I don't think I'll have more than some bruises."

"Same here." Hinaru turned back to Madze. "Were you hurt? Is that why we need more?"

Eyebrow.

"What?" Hinaru asked.

Relan studied Madze, then it clicked. "We're getting more so we have some on hand, right? For later, in case we can't find more?"

Nod.

He gave his brother a look that said, 'see?'

Hinaru rolled his eyes again but yanked on a leaf. It split in half in his hands, the goo spilling out.

Madze shook her head and reached down, slowly pulling the leaf from the base.

He let out an impatient sigh and pulled the next one the way she did. It came out in one piece.

Madze nodded, then vanished.

"Hey!" Hinaru looked around. "Where'd she go now?"

"Probably to find us a place to rest. It's getting late," Relan said.

"And what if someone attacks us while she's gone?"

Relan tucked another fruit into his arms. "Do you really think she'd leave us alone if someone was around who might come after us?"

"I don't know. She's a Feral. How do we know anything about her?"

"Seriously? After all this, you still don't trust her?"

Hinaru looked around carefully, then crossed to Relan and faced him squarely, keeping his voice low. "Maybe I did, up until the part where she was about to go with the Ferals who wanted to attack us. They're her kind, Relan. It's just a matter of time before she sides with them over us."

"She said they aren't her family."

"It doesn't matter. They're her people." Hinaru took another glance around. "Come on, you big dupe, think. If you had a choice between going with some random Feral or a fellow Kenaran, like a Tulvan, which would you choose? You'd choose to go with a Kenaran, your own people. She'd do the same. Remember the signal?"

Relan blew out a breath in exasperation.

"I said, do you remember the signal?" Hinaru pressed. He put his fingertips against his thumb in a circle and pressed it against his hip. "Be watching. We may have to use it."

"No, we won't."

But Hinaru was already back to the leaves, collecting more.

Relan shook his head. His brother could be such an idiot sometimes. He returned his attention to the fruit but stopped after only a few more. It looked like plenty in his arms. He looked around for something else useful to do and saw a berry bush with bright orange berries. He crouched to pick those.

Madze swatted his hand away.

He jumped at her sudden appearance and almost dropped the fruit. "What?"

Her lips tightened the way they did when she was working on a word. "Bad."

"They're bad?"

"Poisonous, munkbrain." Hinaru held out his collection of leaves to Madze.

She tucked them into her hidden pocket, then gestured for the brothers to follow her. She led the way to a dense patch of underbrush, pushing some aside so they could crawl into a narrow clearing. She brushed a leafy branch across the ground outside the clearing, then rested the thick foliage back in place before sitting down.

There was already a bunch of gibroots in the clearing piled beside a pyramid of some oval-shaped rocks. Relan carefully unloaded his fruit beside the gibroots.

Hinaru unwound his bandaged arm and studied the wound. "I think it's better."

Madze seized his wrist and examined the arm, then nodded and released him.

"No more bandage?" he asked, flexing.

She handed him a fruit as her answer.

Relan selected one of the fruits and bit into it. The juice was delicious but seemed not enough. Thirst prodded him; it had been too long since he had a real drink. "Is there some water nearby?"

Madze handed him one of the rocks.

He stared at it. "Um... This isn't water. It's a rock."

She glanced at him, and he saw amusement. "What?" he asked.

She took the rock back, thumped it on her knee, and broke it in half. Gray mush filled the inside, and some kind of dense liquid seeped to the surface of each half.

He stared at the—whatever-it-was—being offered him. It looked gross. "Um..."

She brought one of the halves to her mouth and tipped it back, drinking deeply. When she lowered it, there was a sheen of gray on her upper lip. She wiped it off with a smile, then held out the other half to him.

"Okay." He reluctantly took the 'rock' and tasted a sip. To his surprise, it was incredibly sweet. "Wow, yum!" He tipped it back and drank, amazed at how many mouthfuls he was able to chug before it was drained.

She watched, her head tipped, then dipped her fingers into her half, dug out some of the mush, and ate it.

He copied her. The mush was dense, but just as sweet as the juice had been. "This stuff is amazing," he said around a mouthful. "Try it!"

Hinaru looked at the rocks with doubt before he took one and smacked it on his kneecap. "Ow!"

Madze looked amused again. She took it from him, cracked it, and handed both halves back to him before breaking another one for Relan.

He took it and handed her one of the fruits he'd gathered. It felt good having contributed, even in a small way. She had done everything for them up until now.

That got him thinking. "Hey, Madze?"

She looked up from the rock she was breaking for herself.

"Is there something we can do to help?"

Eyebrow.

"I just mean... you do so much for us, and we haven't really done much to help you. So... is there?"

Hinaru eyed Relan, but Relan ignored it.

Madze studied him, then jumped into the branches above them, disappearing into the trees.

"Really?" Hinaru made a face at Relan. "Why'd you ask her that? That was dumb."

"It's true. We haven't done much, and we should."

"Yeah, well—"

Madze jumped back down, dropping a pile of long branches in the middle of the clearing. Relan had to tuck his feet closer to his body to get out from under the pile.

"What are those for?" Hinaru asked, also adjusting his legs.

Madze slowed down her motions in the deliberate way she did when showing them how to do something. She selected a branch and began breaking off the leaves and twigs.

Relan nodded, copying her movements.

"What are we gonna do with those?" Hinaru asked.

She eyed him but continued working without stopping.

"Well?" Relan tossed one of the branches into Hinaru's lap.

"Fine," Hinaru muttered.

They worked and ate, and soon all the food was eaten and all the branches were clear. Madze picked up one of the branches and bent it as if testing it, further and further until Relan was sure it would break. She faced away from them and let go of one side, making the branch fly the other direction with a sharp slap that cut clean through a birrik fern nearby.

"Okay, so we're making weapons?" Hinaru picked one up and bent it. It broke.

She shook her head and resumed the slow, deliberate way of moving again. Planting one end of the branch into the ground, she carefully bent it down to make a strained arch, the other end touching the dirt on the other side. She picked up another branch and, moving even slower, braced it against the first, going crosswise. Then a third, then a fourth, over again until there was a dense basket-like dome on the ground.

Hinaru studied it. "What's that supposed to be?"

She stood, pulled him and Relan up, and pressed all three of them back to the edges of the clearing. Taking one last branch, she poked the dome.

All of the branches slapped outward in a rush, cutting through anything close enough to reach.

"Whoa!" Relan walked around the still-quivering branches, studying them. "Show me again."

After she modeled one more time, Relan picked up a branch and started to try.

Madze shook her head and led him and Hinaru a short distance from the clearing and pointed to the ground there.

"Right. It's a trap," Relan said.

She nodded, handed off the rest of the branches, and disappeared.

"All right, let's do this." Relan started bracing the first branch.

Hinaru stopped him. "What's this really about?"

"What? We're helping."

"You never were interested before." Hinaru's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Tell me, now."

Relan scowled back. "It feels good to help. That's all." He worked on bending the branch. "Besides... I guess, if we're helping her, then maybe we'll be her people."

Hinaru groaned. "You munkbrained rot-head. You think making a few traps will make her choose us over her own people? Her real people?"

"Shut up." Relan's face warmed. "I didn't mean it like that, fec-face. I meant..." He scrinched his nose, unable to come up with an excuse. "Whatever. Shut up."

Rolling his eyes, Hinaru picked up another branch. "Quit being a baby and pretending there's something we can do to change reality. Now shut up and get another branch."

Relan scowled. "I'm not a baby."

"Yeah, right."

They managed to make three traps, spaced carefully out around their hiding place, before they ran out of branches. Not knowing what else to do, they returned to the clearing, dragging leaves behind them to cover their entrance.

Madze wasn't far behind. She looked pleased, giving them an approving nod.

"What?" Hinaru stared at her.

"What do you mean, what?" Relan asked.

"She nodded at us. What was that about?"

Relan looked from his brother to Madze. He was sure he'd seen the expression of approval. Why hadn't Hinaru? The older boy was supposed to be the diplomat of the two. "She was telling us we did a good job. I think. Right?"

Nod.

Hinaru turned the stare on him now. "How'd you get that from a nod?"

"It was her expression."

Hinaru glanced back and forth between her and Relan. "Expression? It's the same look as always."

Madze looked amused.

Relan started to answer but smiled instead. So Hinaru couldn't recognize Madze's expressions. For once, Relan was better at something than his older brother.

They settled down to sleep for the night. Relan shivered in the cold air. How much longer would they be stuck out here? His body ached. No matter how he positioned himself, the bruises from the earlier fall off the trongial throbbed. He almost wished they had gone back for those blankets, even if Madze didn't think they should.

It felt like the first time in a long time that danger wasn't right on top of them, and now he realized how exhausted he was. Running, hiding, running some more... He closed his eyes and held in a groan. He wasn't sure he could keep going like this.

But they didn't have a choice. They had to get back home. He rolled onto his side, wincing and shivering again. Home meant safety, comfort, warmth. That would keep him going, even as exhausted as he was. He focused on that thought. _We just have to keep going_.

Morning came too soon, and Madze nudged the boys awake. There was a pile of fruit and bitter leaves in the middle of the clearing, but none of the rocks.

"Is there something to drink?" Relan asked.

She nodded.

"Where?"

Her lips twitched. "Close."

Hinaru peered through the underbrush. "Is it safe?"

Nod.

"No people after us? No wild animals?" Hinaru only paused briefly. "None of those Ferals?"

Madze's eyes shifted. She looked sad again.

Relan jabbed Hinaru with his elbow.

Hinaru ignored him. "Well?"

She shook her head.

"Good. Then let's go."

They gathered up the food, and Madze led them around the traps deeper into the forest. It took just under an hour of walking, munching as they went, before the trees thinned, revealing a stream just ahead.

Relan found himself speeding up. Finally there was something other than dark forest. No people around to threaten them, no fleeing, no anything but relaxing, drinking, maybe even washing some of the dirt and crud off his body.

They reached the stream, and Relan dropped to his knees at the edge, drinking deeply. Hinaru landed next to him, doing the same.

Once he'd had his fill, Relan lifted a cold handful of water to his grubby arm, rubbing it in and trying to wipe off the grime.

"Just jump in," Hinaru said. "Wash your whole self. You stink."

Relan made a face. "It's cold."

Hinaru paused, a grin on his face.

"What?" Relan asked.

Hinaru shoved him head-first into the water.

Relan yelped and managed to hold his breath before the shock of icy water slapped him. He surfaced and scrambled to get his feet underneath him, standing up in waist-high water. "Netcher!"

Hinaru was almost doubled over in laughter. "Language!" he sang.

Relan grabbed his brother's arm and yanked hard.

Now it was Hinaru's time to yelp. He failed his other arm for a moment before tumbling into the stream.

Relan laughed as his brother clambered upright. "Yai, it's cold!" the older boy managed around chattering teeth.

"I hadn't noticed," Relan retorted. He splashed Hinaru. "That's what you get!"

Hinaru splashed back and half-tackled Relan. They both sputtered in the cold water as they swatted and wrestled, grunting and laughing.

"Enough! Enough," Hinaru panted, chuckling.

"You started it," Relan puffed.

"Then I yield." Hinaru shook his head, flinging water everywhere. He laughed again.

Relan glanced back to the bank and saw Madze at the side of the stream, watching. He felt a hiccup of anxiety. "We—we weren't being too loud, were we?" He looked around the area, then the trees. "Is there..."

Hinaru nudged him. "You're the one always saying that if there's a problem, she would let us know, aren't you? Dupe."

"Munkbrain," Relan muttered back. He glanced back at Madze and saw a funny look on her face. "What?"

Her lips pressed in a smile, and she lifted her arm, lightly tapping her elbow.

He hesitated, then turned his arm to look.

Something small and silvery clung to his skin, a fan-like tail wriggling.

He hollered and jerked back, flailing his arm wildly.

Madze was there in a blink, catching his wrist and neatly plucking the _thing_ off his arm. She deftly sliced with a claw. It stopped wriggling, and she tossed it onto the bank.

"What in depps was that?" Hinaru asked, grabbing Relan's arm away from her and examining it. "Does it hurt?"

Relan hesitated, panting. There was a tiny red circle on his arm, but no blood or sign that he'd been cut. It didn't feel like he'd been bitten, either. He never would have realized it was there if she hadn't pointed it out to him. "No... I didn't even know it was there. It doesn't hurt. Is that bad?"

They both looked at Madze. She shook her head.

"So I'm okay?" Relan asked.

Nod.

He paused, studying her expression. "Then why are you making that face?"

"What face?" Hinaru asked.

Her lips pressed in a smile as she turned toward the older brother. She lightly tapped her upper arm.

He looked down and yelped, yanking another one of the creatures off his arm.

She plucked it from him before he could throw it back into the water, again slicing through it and tossing it to the bank. She splashed some water on her face, then walked out of the water, pulling the same things off various spots on her arms and then legs as she did.

The brothers exchanged a look, then wildly dashed for the bank, leaping each step to try to keep as much of their bodies out of the water as possible and looking like clowns for it. They stumbled over themselves onto the bank, then searched every inch of visible skin, finding a few more of the creatures in the process.

"You sure they don't hurt anything?" Hinaru asked her.

Nod.

He eyed the growing pile. "Then why are you killing them?"

She tapped her mouth.

Relan recoiled. "We're going to _eat_ those _things_?"

Shrug.

Hinaru finished cleaning himself off, then paused. "You don't think they, um... got under our clothes?"

With a sinking feeling, Relan turned to Madze.

She met his eyes, then reached up under her sleeve and pulled out another creature.

"Ugh!" He recoiled again. He started to roll his shirt up, but stopped, awkward in front of Madze.

"Some privacy, please?" Hinaru asked.

Madze looked amused again but nodded. She stood, paused, and pressed a finger against her lips.

Relan crouched, looking around with wide eyes. "Is something there?" he whispered.

Head shake.

"Then why do we have to be quiet?" Hinaru asked.

She looked around, then tapped her finger against her lips again before disappearing into the forest.

"I think she just wants us to be quiet in case something does end up coming near while she's gone," Relan said.

Hinaru shook his head. "How are you so sure about what she thinks all the time? And talking about looks on her face? Her face never changes."

"Yeah, it does."

"No, it doesn't."

"Yeah, it does." Relan shot his brother a look. "Just because _you_ can't tell doesn't mean it doesn't."

"You two are weird." The older boy pulled his shirt over his head. "Let's get cleaned up before your girlfriend gets back."

"She isn't..." Relan rolled his eyes and yanked a wriggling fin off his brother's back, paused, and threw it back in the water. "We're _not_ going to eat these."

"No argument there."

They were laughing and competing to see who could toss a creature closest to the far bank by the time they were ready to put their damp clothes back on. They'd almost finished dressing when Madze reappeared.

Relan jumped and hastily yanked his shirt into place. "Hey, we need another minute!"

She clapped a hand over his mouth, pushing him closer to the water.

He recoiled, torn between afraid of whatever danger she'd found and afraid of going back into the stream.

"What is it?" Hinaru whispered, letting her push him toward the water but digging his feet in before they got too close.

She didn't respond, her focus intent on the forest.

Relan tipped his head to listen, his eyes searching the surrounding trees and underbrush. Ferals? The trongials? Cama's people?

A clicking sound came from the forest.

He felt Hinaru tense beside him, and he searched his brain for answers. What did that sound mean? He looked over at his brother and mouthed, _'What is it?'_

Hinaru shook his head, gesturing for silence.

The clicking sound came again, closer now.

Relan remembered then. In the middle of the long, boring lectures filling his lessons, the most exciting ones had been about the wild animals found in Kenara. Including the dufo. A long-necked, bird-like creature with a sharp beak and deadly foot spikes. Which made a clicking sound when hunting.

He froze, eyes darting. Where was the sound coming from? Had it spotted them? Was it coming after them?

A bush rustled just a few paces away.

He took another step back toward the water, willfully this time. "Should we run?" he whispered as quietly as possible.

This time it was Hinaru's hand that clamped over his mouth.

The bush rustled again, and a lanky leg emerged, talons spreading neatly, foot spike planting firmly in the dirt. The clicking sound came again.

Relan couldn't breathe. They should be running, shouldn't they? He jerked backwards, then bolted for the water.

A loud trumpeting shriek pierced the air. He looked over his shoulder to see the dufo charging after him. A rock caught his foot, and he tumbled face-first into the water.

Thrashing, he pushed himself upright and almost tripped over his feet again as he spun, terrified and bracing for the coming attack.

Chapter 8

Madze slammed into the creature, knocking it to the ground. The lanky neck snaked and spun, beak clamping down on her arm. With a twist, it tossed her aside and started after Relan again.

He yelped and wheeled backward.

Hinaru caught his arm and pulled him out of the water, along the shore, out of the dufo's path.

It swiftly rotated, beak snapping after him and catching the edge of his legging. He shouted again as his foot slid out from under him.

Madze grabbed the beast's leg and yanked.

It made the deafening shriek again, spinning back on her and knocking her down again. Its beak snapped for her face.

She punched it away with one hand, swiping at its neck with the other.

It recoiled before she struck, and her claws only left shallow cuts. It shrieked and stomped its spike into her side, pinning her to the ground.

Hinaru yanked Relan's arm again. "Run!"

"We can't!" They couldn't abandon Madze like that. Relan twisted his arm around like he did when they wrestled, breaking free. He grabbed a rock and threw it at the dufo, hitting the round body. "Get off her!"

It squawked at him and snapped in his direction.

He stumbled backwards, then found another rock, flinging it harder. "Let her go!"

Madze punched the leg pinning her down. The dufo stumbled sideways.

Encouraged, Relan darted in to grab her and pull her away.

The beak spun his direction and clamped down on his arm. He yelled at the stabbing pain crushing so hard, he thought his bones might snap.

It released him and coiled to strike again.

Madze caught the neck and yanked it down toward her, hand over hand until she reached the base of the skull. Her claws sliced through the back of its neck.

The dufo twitched, making a weak squawk. It fell limply to the ground.

Relan clutched his arm, staring dumbly at the blood streaming from the wound. His body shook as the pain grew.

Hinaru took him by the shoulder and the wrist, holding his arm still. "Hang on. We have to get this cleaned up and bandaged." He looked up at Madze and started to speak but stopped.

Relan turned to see her carefully drawing the foot spike out of her body with shaking hands. Blood coated her arm and side.

His stomach twisted, threatening to empty.

"Madze?" Hinaru spoke slowly, his voice tentative. "Is the water safe to clean up in?"

She didn't respond.

Relan's chest tightened. How bad was she hurt?

She finally nodded, edging her own way toward the stream and lowering her arm into the cool water.

Relan kept staring, but Hinaru pulled him to the water and pushed him down, washing the injury.

"Do you think she's okay?" Relan whispered. "I mean, will she be okay?"

"Hold still." Hinaru looked over at her again. "The medicine we found?"

It took her a while to respond again. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of the medicine leaves.

Hinaru took two and squeezed them out on Relan's arm, spreading the ooze over the bleeding gashes. "Bandages?"

No answer.

"Stay put," Hinaru ordered Relan, then went over to Madze. "We need bandages, for both of you. Do you have any?"

Holding her arm tight to her bleeding side, she pushed herself to her feet.

"Wait, you shouldn't get up," Hinaru started.

She moved slowly to the forest, stopping at the edge and statuing for a moment. She stepped further and reached up with her good arm, pulling down a branch of broad leaves.

"Those? Okay." Hinaru quickly stepped in and started breaking off leaves. "Go sit down. I'll be right back with these."

Madze stumbled on her way back to the stream, but the numb look on her face never changed. She dipped her arm again.

"Are you okay?" Relan tried before realizing how stupid the question sounded. "I mean..."

Hinaru crouched beside Relan again, rinsed the leaves in the stream, and put on another layer of medicine ooze.

The pain was already starting to dull from the first layer of medicine, but Relan still clenched his eyes as his brother wrapped the big leaves around his arm. The leaves stuck in place over each other, and the remaining pain faded into a dull, cocooned warmth.

"All done," Hinaru said. "Now stay here."

Relan cracked an eye as his brother crouched beside Madze. Struggling one-handed to get up, Relan followed, keeping his hurt arm cradled close.

Madze squeezed one of the medicine leaves over her arm, her hand shaking.

"Here," Hinaru said, reaching for it. "Let me help."

She was still for a moment, then gave it to him.

Hinaru looked over her arm and bloody abdomen. "You should lie down until we get your bandages on," he said. "Just lie down and hold still."

She didn't respond.

"Please." Relan put his hand on her shoulder. "Let us help you."

Her eyes flicked his way, and she slowly eased down.

Hinaru took the leaf from her and finished applying the medicine, then wrapped it up with clean leaves. He lifted the edge of her shirt and hissed. "Relan, don't look."

"How bad is it?" Relan whispered, having a hard time resisting the impulse to peer over his brother's shoulder.

"Just stay there. Talk to her or something." Hinaru scooped water from the stream and poured it on her wound.

"Madze," Relan started, looking back at her.

Her eyes were closed.

"Hey, are you okay?" He nudged her. When she didn't respond, he grabbed her shoulder and shook it. "Wake up!"

Hinaru squeezed out medicine. "Hang on. I'm almost done."

"Is she..." Relan couldn't find the words.

Hinaru wrapped the leaves in place. "We have to find somewhere to hide until you two get better."

"We need to wake her up," Relan objected. "We..."

The sudden sense of being watched cut him off. He turned and stared into the forest behind them, then across the stream.

"Just help me find somewhere—" Hinaru started.

"Shhh!" Relan squinted into the trees on the other side of the water. Was something moving over there?

Hinaru looked around. "What is it?" he whispered.

A Feral dropped from the trees on the other side of the stream. The woman who had reached for Madze before.

Relan gasped and jerked backwards. Hinaru caught Relan's good arm and clutched tightly.

More Ferals appeared behind the first one. They looked angry.

"We didn't—it wasn't our fault she got hurt," Relan stammered. He hesitated, looking down where Madze still lay unmoving. "We'll just leave, okay? You can help her. We'll go away."

Hinaru pulled him up, and they took a cautious step away from Madze.

The Ferals stepped forward. Claws clicked out.

Relan sensed more and saw them coming closer on this side of the stream.

They were furious.

"Please, let us go," Hinaru tried.

They moved closer.

Desperate, Relan dropped to Madze's side and shook her. "Madze, wake up! You have to help us!"

Her eyes snapped open. She was on her feet in an instant, placing herself once more between the brothers and the Ferals. Her body shook, but she held firm.

The Ferals stopped. The tone changed, the anger fading into caution. The woman stepped forward, reaching out to Madze again.

Madze took a half step back, closer to the boys. Her arms raised toward them, poised to grab them and run.

The red on her side spread further. Relan cringed at the sight. How could she run when she was hurt so bad? They were trapped. The Ferals would catch them and kill them for sure.

Madze's swayed a little before tensing her muscles, keeping herself still. The bloodstain spread more.

The woman straightened. Something in her eyes changed.

The rest of the Ferals backed away and vanished into the forest.

Madze trembled, still tense and poised as she faced the remaining Feral.

The woman took a careful step forward and knelt one knee on the sand.

Madze's arms lowered.

"What's going on?" Hinaru whispered.

The Feral woman stood and began across the stream, her movements deliberately slow.

Hinaru jerked backwards to run.

Madze shook her head. "Stay." Her voice was barely loud enough to hear. She took halting steps forward, her body shaking harder from the strain.

"Get ready to run," Hinaru hissed in Relan's ear, his grip tightening on Relan's good arm.

Madze stopped just a few paces into the stream. The Feral woman met her there, reaching her hands out.

Hinaru started to bolt, but Relan dug his feet in. "She said to stay," Relan scolded.

"She's going with them!"

"She said to stay!"

Hinaru glared at his younger brother, then turned back to the stream.

The Feral woman held Madze's hands, and they stood still, statued together. The stream bubbled and murmured around their legs.

Madze wasn't shaking anymore. The red stopped spreading.

"Is she..." Relan stared. "Is she _healing_ her?"

"Can't be," Hinaru whispered. "There aren't any healers anymore."

Madze and the woman released hands. The woman lingered a moment, reaching out as if to touch Madze's cheek, then slipped back across the stream and vanished into the trees.

"Are you okay?" Relan chanced asking.

Madze turned and walked back to them. She still hobbled, but she wasn't staggering like before.

"Are they still there? Are they going to come after us again?" Hinaru asked.

She shook her head.

"We should get going, though, in case they come back," Hinaru said.

Nod.

Relan was still staring. "Did she heal you? Ferals can heal?"

Shrug, then slight nod.

Hinaru eyed her. "You can heal? Then why didn't you heal my arm from the beginning?"

She studied him, lips working. "I couldn't... find you."

"Couldn't find me? What do you mean, you couldn't find me? I've been here this whole time!"

She tilted her head, then turned and resumed walking. Her steps were already stronger.

"So you're all better now?" Relan asked. "All healed?"

No answer.

"Right? She healed you?"

"Some."

"Some? She only healed you some?"

Shrug.

"Why not all the way? Why did—"

Hinaru elbowed him on the good arm. "Quit bugging her."

"What? I just don't understand why that Feral would only heal her a little bit."

"Me neither, but there's nothing we can do about it, and we need to keep moving."

"But—"

"And moving quietly." Hinaru gave him a look. "You want to attract another dufo or something?"

Relan blew out an impatient sigh, but he fell in line without another word. He made it a point to stay close to Madze, keeping an eye on her. The bloodstains on her clothes still made his stomach turn, and he couldn't get the image of her lying on the sand out of his head. Or the dufo charging him. Or it pinning her to the ground. Or its beak crushing his arm. He shivered as his mind kept replaying the events.

"Madze?" he finally whispered. "I'm sorry I tried to run. That's what made the dufo attack, isn't it."

Pause, then nod.

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

She slowed and looked back at him with a shake of her head. She tapped her chest.

"Your fault? How is it your fault?"

Her lips pressed. "Couldn't stop it."

"What are you talking about? You did stop it. We'd all be dead if you didn't."

She looked at his arm, sadness in her eyes. "Not enough."

"Relan's right," Hinaru cut in. "That wasn't your fault. He was the one being a dupe and getting us in trouble in the first place."

Relan made a face at his brother.

She turned and resumed walking, though she looked a little less sad.

They walked in silence for what felt like forever. Relan started having a hard time keeping up. The images still wouldn't get out of his head. He couldn't stop shivering. His arm only gave him a dull ache, but other bruises and sore muscles kept hurting.

"We've been walking all day," he finally said. "Can we rest?"

Hinaru and Madze looked back at him.

"It's only afternoon," Hinaru said.

Relan squinted up at what sky he could see. The sun was still bright above. "Oh. I thought..."

Madze turned, statued, then continued on. They didn't go much further before she led them into a clearing hidden by dense bushes. She gestured for the boys to sit and turned to leave.

"Hold on." Hinaru stepped into her path. "You're hurt, too. Sit down. I'll find something to eat. Do we need more of the medicine leaf things?"

She shook her head.

"Anything else we need except food?"

"Water," Relan suggested.

Madze pulled one of the rock-things out of her pocket.

"Just food. Got it." Hinaru hurried out.

Madze remained standing for a moment longer, then walked around the edges of the clearing. She plucked leaves and twigs at random and tossed them into the middle of the space.

"You should sit down and rest," Relan said.

She ignored him.

"Come on," he coaxed, reaching toward her as she passed. "You're hurt, like Hinaru said. You need rest."

She eyed him and resumed her walk.

He made a face. "You're really stubborn."

Her lips quirked upward, and she eyed him again.

"Shut up," he retorted. "I'm not _that_ stubborn. Not as stubborn as you, anyway. And Hinaru's even worse than either of us."

Still looking amused, she sat down beside the pile and set to work making a small fire.

Relan felt a new shiver, the images slipping back into his mind. He wrapped his arms tighter around his body.

Hinaru returned before long with an armload of familiar-looking fruits. Madze had a fire going by then and had placed more of the rock-things around it. Warmed up, they tasted even sweeter.

Relan found himself shivering more anyway. He slurped the juice, hoping the warmth would help.

"Is your arm feeling okay?" Hinaru asked, frowning at him before looking over at Madze. "Should the bandages, um, leaves be changed now? Do we need more of the medicine stuff?"

"My arm's fine," Relan said. It still didn't hurt too much. He just couldn't warm up. He scooted closer to the fire.

"You're shaking," Hinaru said.

"I'm just cold, that's all."

Hinaru stared at him. "It's not cold."

"Yeah, it is."

"No, it isn't."

"Yeah—"

Madze shoved fruit into both of their mouths to shut them up.

They made faces at her, then each other, but silently ate.

As they ate, Madze cracked open one of the rocks and ate some of the mush, then pulled a tiny purple leaf out of her pocket. She singed the tip in the fire, crushed the leaf between her fingers, and put it into the juice-filling indent. She watched it for a long time before holding it out to Relan.

He took it and eyed the liquid. No sign of the leaf, but it was darker than before. "Will this help warm me up?"

"Calm."

"Huh?" He shivered again. "I'm calm."

Shrug.

He sniffed the juice. Didn't smell too bad. He cautiously tasted it. The liquid was still sweet, just a little less so than before. Satisfied, he drank deeply.

"Did that help?" Hinaru asked as Relan shivered again.

Madze looked amused. "Wait."

Relan drank some more and munched on the mush. At least they weren't starving. As he ate, his swirling thoughts eased, and the images began to fade. His shivering slowed.

With a clearer mind, new thoughts popped up. A few big questions pressed at him, and he took another bite to give himself time to sort them out. He swallowed hard once they fell into place. "Madze?"

Eyebrow.

"Are you going to be okay?"

Nod.

"I mean, you were hurt really bad. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Long pause. Small nod.

He didn't feel very reassured, but it was clear she wasn't going to say anything else.

"You're both going to be fine," Hinaru said. "We're going to find a safe place we can get help. We'll be fine."

It sounded like Hinaru was saying it more to himself than to them. Relan glanced at Madze and saw she felt the same.

He cleared his throat. "You're talking a lot more now. And better."

She waited for him to continue.

"Before, you said that the trap, with Cama and her people, was to catch you. Right?"

Nod.

"Why? Why did they want you?"

She tipped her head and stared for a moment, lips working. "Emsha ruler... wants queen."

Hinaru was at full attention again. "The ruler in Emsha wants to kill the queen?"

Head shake.

"Wants to _be_ the queen," Relan corrected.

Nod.

"Okay, what's that got to do with trapping Ferals?" Hinaru asked.

Head tilt. "Hero."

Hinaru looked at Relan, but Relan felt just as lost. "Uh... hero?"

She paused. "No Kaine."

"Kah-ee-nay?" Relan frowned. "What's that mean?"

She thumped her fist against her chest. "Kaine."

"You said your name was Madze," Hinaru said. "You mean it's really Kaine?"

Her lips twitched. She gestured toward both of them. "Ikane."

"Ee-kah-nay?" Relan stumbled over the rearranged syllables.

Nod. She pointed to herself, then the triangle on her forehead. "Kaine."

Hinaru stared blankly.

Relan had the same stare before it finally connected. "Kaine? That's you, I mean, your people?"

Nod.

"I thought you were called Ferals." Hinaru frowned.

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"You're... not called Ferals?" Relan looked down. "I'm sorry. We didn't know..."

Shrug. "Hero. No Kaine."

Relan tried to puzzle it out. "Emsha's ruler wants to be queen... so she's trapping Kaine? Your people?"

She was silent a long time. "Emsha queen—kill Kaine, be hero."

Both Relan and Hinaru stared. "She wants to _kill_ your people?" Relan asked, stunned and horrified. "You mean, all of your people?"

"To be a hero," Hinaru said. He nudged Relan. "You'd have been okay with that not long ago, you know."

Relan's face burned. "Shut up." He glanced at Madze, but she seemed unfazed.

"But it's true," Hinaru continued. "If she kills off the Ferals—um, Kaine—then people will see her as a hero. She'd get a lot more supporters."

"Yai," Relan managed to say. "That's why Cama and her people wanted to trap you? To kill you?"

Nod.

He shuddered. He hated Cama all the more now, and he hated that she'd been able to use him and his brother to make Madze come out of hiding.

"I don't understand," Hinaru said. "Why wouldn't they just hunt the forests? Why bother with other people at all? Wouldn't the people, the bait, go tell other people what's going on? I mean, even if they are happy about your people being killed, they wouldn't be happy being attacked and made into bait. Right?"

Her eyes shifted.

Relan shivered again, this time not from being cold. "They don't let the bait get away."

Head shake.

"Your people could get away from them if they went into the forest and hunted you," he continued, "but with people being used as bait... And the bait would be killed whether you showed up or not..."

Nod.

He held himself tighter, unable to say it.

Hinaru said it for him. "Your people are getting killed trying to save our people."

Long pause.

Nod.

"But," Relan grasped desperately, "but Kaine are super fast and strong, so it doesn't work, right? Like what happened with us. You rescued us before they could do anything."

Her eyes shifted again.

Silence stretched.

"We tried," she began in a halting voice, "few of us. No killing. Did not realize..." She looked down. "They were prepared."

"Your people didn't escape, not at first," Hinaru said quietly.

Head shake.

"Your—Kaine—changed what they were doing, then?" Hinaru asked.

"Some hid. Some... killed." She was silent a moment. "Not enough."

"But you didn't hide. You helped us get away," Relan said, then another thought occurred. "Is that how you got separated from the rest of your family? Because you came to help us while your family hid?"

Her gaze darted to him, then down.

"We can help you find your family," he offered. "I mean, after all you've done for us—"

Hinaru jabbed him hard.

"Hey," he started to object, but Hinaru gave him a look and tipped his head toward Madze.

She was still looking down. Tears pooled at the bottom of her eyes.

It hit Relan like a punch to the belly. His hand slapped over his mouth as if he could pull back the words. No wonder she'd responded when the other Kaine reached for her. They were giving her a chance to have a family again.

"Cama... or others like her... killed your family," Hinaru's voice was barely loud enough to hear.

Long pause, then nod.

"I'm sorry," Relan managed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean..."

None of them spoke for a long time.

"I'm sorry." Hinaru's gaze stayed on the ground. "And I'm sorry for how I've treated you. I haven't been fair, even with all you've done to help and protect us. I was scared." He took a deep breath. "I still am scared. But I never should have treated you that way."

Nod. She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.

"When we get back to Innsbrooke, we'll tell Mam everything. We'll make sure she knows what's happening here, and what these people are doing to your people." Hinaru squared his shoulders with determination in his eyes. "We'll make sure they're stopped."

"Yeah," Relan chimed in. "She'll send soldiers to catch Cama and everyone else like her. I promise."

Madze finished wiping the tears and offered them a trace of a smile. Then she winced, hand pressed against her side.

"What's wrong?" Relan scooted closer, worried. "Do you need more medicine?" He couldn't help staring at the bloodstain, praying to Maker it didn't get any bigger.

Nod. She looked at Relan's arm and passed a medicine leaf to Hinaru, then pulled out another and reached for the bottom of her shirt.

Hinaru quickly grabbed Relan's good arm and pulled him closer so that their backs were toward Madze.

Relan was stuck between feeling embarrassed and worried. "Do you think she needs help?" he whispered to Hinaru. "She was hurt really bad."

"She's okay." Hinaru pulled off the leaf bandages and squeezed out the ooze over Relan's parallel cuts.

Relan cringed, mostly over how bad it looked. He still didn't hurt much.

"How bad is it?" Hinaru asked. "It won't take long for the medicine to help, I promise."

"It doesn't really hurt," Relan said.

"You don't have to play tough. I know how much it hurts." Hinaru flicked his own arm to the side, showing off his mostly-healed wound.

"I'm not playing. It doesn't hurt."

Hinaru frowned, eyeing him. "Do you feel funny at all?"

"Nope. And it's warmed up, too, so I'm all better."

"Hm." Hinaru finished spreading the ooze, then chanced a peek over his shoulder. "Madze? Do we have more bandages?"

She finished squeezing medicine on her arm and started to stand, wobbling.

"No, no," Hinaru scolded, jumping up before she could. "If you don't have any, I'll find some. You stay put."

She reluctantly lowered herself back down. She held up one of the big leaves and gestured leftward.

"There are some that way?"

Nod.

Hinaru looked at Relan, then leaned closer to Madze and spoke quietly as if Relan wouldn't hear. "What was that leaf you gave him? Did you drug him?"

Eyebrow.

"Well?"

"Calm," she said.

Hinaru squinted at Relan again but straightened without another word. "I'll be right back. You two stay put."

As soon as he was gone, Madze stood.

"Hey," Relan scolded. "Sit down. He's getting it."

She tipped her head.

He felt like she was saying something to him, but he couldn't quite get it.

"Traps," she said quietly.

"We'll take care of that." He waved her back down.

She looked at his arm and shook her head.

"You're hurt a lot more than I am. Hinaru and I can take care of it."

She turned to go anyway, but then she stumbled.

He jumped up and grabbed her good arm. "Sit down, Madze. Please."

She was still for a long moment, then reluctantly sat.

"Just rest, okay?" Relan looked around for something he could use to make her more comfortable. "Um..."

Failing his search, he turned back to her. She was lying still, her eyes closed. "Madze?"

She didn't respond.

Images of her on the sand flashed through his mind. He started to reach for her but stopped. Was she passed out again, or was she just resting? She needed rest. He shouldn't bother her. He picked up a long stick and began stripping off the twigs.

Hinaru returned before long, hands full of broad leaves and some gibroots.

"I don't know if she's okay," Relan blurted. "I told her to sit down and rest but maybe she got worse, and I'm not sure."

"Calm down." Hinaru crouched beside Madze, studying her and peeking at her wound. "She's still breathing, and it doesn't look like it's gotten worse. I think it's okay. You both need rest anyway."

Relan frowned, still not sure.

"Eat," Hinaru said. "I'll take care of her and then help you with your arm."

Once everyone was bandaged properly, Relan peeled branches and Hinaru made traps. The older boy finished, looked around the clearing, and sat down. "I guess I'll watch out for trouble while you two rest."

Relan hugged his knees. The images started returning, and he shivered. "Do you think we're going to make it back home?"

"Of course we are," Hinaru said sharply. "Why would you ask that?"

"Cama. People in villages who would rather hurt us than help us. Those Kaine who keep showing up and coming after us. Dufos and trongials." Relan rested his chin on his knees and shivered again. "I don't know how we're going to make it."

"Don't be stupid. We're going to be fine." Hinaru hesitated, then looked down at the fire. Apparently he didn't know how they would make it, either.

"Look," the older boy finally said. "We're all together, protecting each other. Madze has gotten us away from danger how many times now? You're the one who keeps telling me about how she's helping us, you know. We're going to be fine."

Relan sighed. He wasn't very reassured.

"Go to sleep. You need it," Hinaru said. "You'll feel better in the morning."

Throbbing pain woke Relan in the early stages of dawn. The tiny fire still crackled, and it took him a minute to realize that it would have burned out long ago if it had been left untended. Had Hinaru stayed up all night?

Movement to his right answered the question as Madze put some more twigs on the fire. She glanced at him and dipped her head toward the food pile. Some of the medicine and bandage leaves sat beside the pile.

It was a relief, seeing her up and moving like normal. Mostly, anyway. He could see her slowed movements and occasional flickers of a wince.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

Nod.

A loud snore made him jump a little, and he glanced over at his brother before laughing. "Fec-face." The laugh caught in his throat, and he sat up straighter. "Should we wake him? Do you think it's too loud? Is there anything nearby that might hear and—"

She waved a hand, cutting him off.

"We're okay?" he asked.

Nod.

"Okay." He reached for the fruit and winced hard at the stabbing pain that shot up his arm.

She took his arm and went through the process of adding more medicine and changing the bandaging leaves.

It felt like she was sitting closer than usual. "Thank you," he said, unsure why he was suddenly shy.

She met his gaze for a moment, then nodded and scooted back.

He saw her reaching for medicine and quickly turned so she could treat herself with privacy.

Hinaru woke up as Madze and Relan finished eating. "How are you two feeling?"

"We're okay." Relan glanced at Madze, and she nodded her agreement.

"We'll take things slower today," Hinaru decided. "I want both of you to let us know if you need to stop for a rest. Got it?" He eyed Relan first, then Madze.

"Yeah, yeah," Relan said.

Madze raised her eyebrow, then lightly tapped her fist against her chest as if in salute.

As they set out, Hinaru kept to his word and forced them to walk slower this time. "We won't make it far if you push it and end up unable to walk."

"Whatever," Relan muttered, but he was glad for the slower pace. The medicine dulled the pain in his arm, but it still ached, and the rest of his body felt like he'd been trampled by a veelish cart.

Madze adapted to the pace, moving in step with them, though she seemed stiff. She slowed further at one point.

"What is it?" Relan whispered, slowing with her and peering around for a threat.

She tipped her head to listen.

Both of the boys fell immediately silent, straining to hear. Leaves rustling, wind, branches—nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Relan frowned as he strained harder. There was a tiny crunching noise, but he couldn't figure out what it might be. Certainly nothing big enough to be a threat. He glanced at Madze and tipped his head like he was asking what she heard.

Her lips curved slightly, and she picked up a branch and lightly pushed the fronds of a fern aside.

A braybun popped upright in alarm, then bolted.

"Mi'ine," Hinaru grunted. "I thought you meant there was something dangerous."

Shrug.

It happened twice more after that. She would pause and make the listening gesture, Relan would find some abnormal sound, and she'd identify the location—a baby bird rustling in its nest, a tree-snit leaping from branch to branch. Relan smiled as it got easier to notice the things she was calling attention to.

They stopped at midday to eat and rest for a bit before moving on. Hinaru insisted on being the one to scout the area.

Relan sat back without much protest. His body ached all over. "How much further do you think it is?"

Shrug.

He sighed. Gripes about how long it was taking and how much he hurt came to his mouth, but he held them back. He didn't want to sound like a child.

A new sense pushed its way through the throbbing aches. He sat up, looking around. Something wasn't right.

He glanced at Madze, but she looked unconcerned, holding her side and statuing. Maybe he was imagining it.

"How do you feel? Okay?" he asked.

She didn't answer.

"Madze?" He realized she wasn't statuing. She was staring blankly into the distance. "Hey!"

She blinked, seeming to come back to herself.

The strange feeling struck again. Something definitely wasn't right. "Madze, is there something here?" he whispered, scooting closer to her.

A sound caught his attention. Another tree-snit? He looked up.

The Kaine woman glared down at him from the branches above.

Chapter 9

Relan yelped, scrambling to his feet.

Madze caught his good wrist and took off, towing him behind her once more.

"Hinaru!" he managed to cry as he struggled to keep up. He spotted his brother ahead.

The older boy looked up. "What in the—"

Madze caught his arm in her other hand as they raced past, barely slowing down.

She darted one way and another. Relan caught glimpses of Kaine dashing through the trees above, appearing and disappearing at random.

The Kaine appeared just ahead, and Madze darted sideways. Claws came within a fingerlength of Relan's arm. He yelped again.

"Come on, keep up!" Hinaru yelled.

Relan's chest hurt almost as badly as his legs. He stumbled and staggered, trying to follow her rhythm and failing.

More Kaine appeared, and Madze took another sharp turn. One of them snagged Relan's sleeve, jerking him backwards. He cried out, swinging his arm and flailing at nothing.

Madze spun and sliced through his tunic, cutting away the snagged spot before bolting with them in tow once more.

"There are too many," Relan wheezed.

Hinaru wheezed almost as much. "Just keep going!"

His heartbeat and the air whooshing past them filled his ears in a constant rush. He gasped and sucked in each breath.

The sound got louder, almost deafening, and he realized it wasn't the air. Water. A lot of moving water, close to them.

They burst out of the trees onto a wide riverbank. Madze plunged onward without hesitation, dragging them into a swirling current cold enough to make Relan gasp for air. The water tugged at them as it rushed onward toward nothing.

Relan gasped again. A waterfall. He struggled to keep his footing with increasingly numb legs while they hurried onward. Madze's iron grip on his arm kept him upright, her legs braced on the river bottom to keep them from being dragged away.

He glanced back over his shoulder to see a half-dozen Kaine filling in the edge of the forest, watching in silence. They made no move to follow. It was almost more terrifying than being chased. What were they doing?

Madze came to a sharp stop as the water reached just above their waists.

More Kaine filled in the treeline on the other bank.

"No," Hinaru panted.

Madze started upstream.

The Kaine on both sides moved parallel to them, silently watching.

Madze stopped, and they stopped.

"What are they doing? What do they want?" Relan managed to gasp.

Madze was silent for a moment. "Trap."

Relan felt ice colder than the water hit him. She was right. They were trapped. The Kaine were just waiting for them to come out of the water.

Madze looked back at him, her hands shifting to their wrists and gripping painfully tight.

It took a moment before he saw the message in her eyes. He grabbed Hinaru's arm with his free hand. "Hold your breath," he whispered.

"What?"

The Kaine surged toward them.

"Hold your breath!" Relan barely had time to suck in his own breath before Madze yanked them both under the surface, kicking hard to propel them even faster along the current. The cold water made him want to gasp, but he held it in, kicking along with her. He prayed desperately. _Please, Maker, don't let us die._

Everything disappeared from beneath him as they went over the edge of the waterfall.

Relan clenched his eyes shut, gasping in weird breaths of heavy mist as he tumbled, trying to keep his grip on Hinaru as tight as possible with his weakened arm. The thunder of water at the bottom of the fall got louder with each moment.

Madze's grip abruptly tightened and twisted, forcing him to turn.

Relan sucked in a fresh breath and held it just before hitting the water feet-first. The force knocked the air out of his lungs. The water pounded him, dragging him deeper. It tore Hinaru's arm from his grip. Relan couldn't tell if Madze still held them or not.

The water's pull became stronger, drawing him further down. He fought and kicked as hard as he could, but he was helpless against its power.

Without warning, the current released him. Dim light reached his eyes. The surface. He kicked with all his might, clawing with his good arm.

Water swirled and tore around him as he finally broke surface, gasping in air through the heavy mist again. His injured arm hung uselessly at his side, and he struggled to keep himself above the wild water. "Hinaru!" He turned around, searching the long bowl formed at the base of the falls. "Madze!" The thundering water drowned out his voice. It seemed even louder now.

He turned again and spotted Hinaru struggling his way out of the water at the edge of the bowl. Relieved, Relan struggled to swim that way. "Hinaru!"

His brother turned, then waved hard. He looked scared, hollering things Relan couldn't make out through the pounding water. He finally pointed, waving Relan toward him and then pointing again.

Relan looked the way Hinaru pointed and saw the far end of the bowl disappear into nothing.

A second waterfall.

He gasped and clawed the water harder as the current tried to carry him along. He gave another desperate look around. Where was Madze?

He spotted her between him and Hinaru, working her way around some boulders with one arm. The other seemed to be curled downward against her body. Against the wound in her side, he realized.

The current picked up, dragging him further. He sputtered and struggled.

"Relan!" Hinaru's voice barely reached above the thunder of the falls. The older boy started back into the water.

Madze looked back over her shoulder and saw Relan. She turned his way and kicked off the rocks, swimming toward him.

Relieved, he stretched out his hand and kicked harder. She would help him get away from the falls. They would be okay.

The current sped up, like it wanted to take them and was angry they were trying to get away. It pulled him farther from Madze's reach.

"Relan!" Hinaru yelled again, halfway to the rocks.

Relan kicked and clawed as hard as he could. He just had to get a little bit farther. Madze was almost to him; there was just one more rock for her to get around and she'd be in reach...

Suddenly he realized her focus was so intent on reaching him that she didn't see the rock.

"Madze! Look out!" he shouted.

She turned too late. Her body slammed into the rock, and she vanished under the water.

"Madze!" Relan struggled forward, searching the churning surface.

"Relan, over here!" Hinaru called, struggling his way along the rocks and holding out his hand. "Come on!"

Relan reached the rock and clung to it, staring wildly at the water until he spotted a figure carried along by the rushing current.

"Relan!" Hinaru reached for him.

Relan kicked off the rock and struggled through the water. The edge crept closer. Something inside told him he wouldn't be able to reach her and get away from it in time. He should swim back to Hinaru.

He clenched his teeth and swam harder.

Hinaru's voice cut through the pounding water now and then, but it wasn't clear enough for Relan to understand. He blocked that out, too, focusing intently on keeping his eyes on her as she disappeared and reappeared through the white sprays and turns.

The edge was too close.

He swung hard with his bad arm, ignoring the pain, and clawed the water to push himself forward even faster. His fingers found cloth. He grabbed her arm and turned to fight the current.

Too late.

"Relan!" Hinaru shouted.

The world tipped away. Relan twisted and seized Madze with both hands. He wasn't going to let the water break his grip this time. He sucked in a new breath as the water carried him off the edge.

He wasn't sure how long they fell before the water hit him like a wall. He let the current carry him deep without fighting this time, still focused on keeping his grip. His hands were losing feeling, but he forced each muscle to stay painfully tight.

The downward drag weakened.

He twisted around until he saw light and kicked toward it, lungs ready to burst. Too slow. He let go of her with one hand, tightening the other so he could pull them to surface without losing his grip. He surfaced, gasping in air, and found quiet water carrying them peacefully along. Raised banks covered in dense grass bordered both sides of the river.

He pulled Madze beside him and had to wrap an arm around her chest to keep her head out of the water. She wasn't moving. It didn't look like she was breathing. "Madze?" he panted, then shook her. "Madze!"

Nothing. He tried to move her again, and both of them slipped beneath the surface. He kicked and pulled them back above the water. He had to keep his legs and good arm moving to stay afloat. He kicked toward one of the high banks, but the current was too strong.

"RELAN!" Hinaru sputtered and wiped water from his face before swimming toward them. "You stupid, harking rot-brain! What were you thinking? What—"

"She isn't breathing," Relan managed to blurt through his struggles, sputtering water.

Hinaru caught him by the back of the tunic and pulled. "Keep swimming, you dupe."

Too exhausted to respond to the insults, Relan kicked as best as he could, pulling Madze along while Hinaru dragged them to the riverbank. Relan gripped a rock sticking out of the bank's edge as Hinaru climbed out.

The older boy reached down for Relan's hand.

Relan shoved Madze toward the extended hand instead. "I can get myself out." Once satisfied Hinaru had a solid grip on her, Relan let go and struggled his way up the edge. His bad arm was killing him, and it got worse every time he so much as bumped it. After a lot of cringing and wincing, he made it onto solid ground.

He turned to find Hinaru gripping Madze's arms and straining. She was barely halfway out of the water, her waist folded over the raised bank.

"Hurry up!" Relan grabbed her closest arm with his good one and pulled.

"You hurry up," Hinaru grunted. "She's pure muscle, soaking wet, and dead weight. She weighs a ton."

The phrase 'dead weight' turned Relan's stomach. He gripped her with both hands, ignoring the pain in his bad arm, and pulled harder. Bit by bit, they dragged her up the riverbank.

They were nearly there when Relan's arm gave out completely. Yelping in pain, he fell backwards, losing his grip on Madze's arm. Hinaru grunted as the sudden change in weight made him lose his grip, too.

Madze crashed face-first to the ground. She landed hard and jerked, coughing up water, then was still again.

Hinaru pushed her onto her back and dragged her the rest of the way onto solid ground.

Still trying to catch his breath, Relan stared at her unmoving face. "Is she... Will she be okay?"

"I don't know. At least she's breathing now."

Relan pulled himself to her side and shook her. "Madze, wake up." He shook harder. "Wake up!"

"Shh!" Hinaru grabbed his shoulder, squeezing hard.

"Hey—"

Hinaru grip tightened, his fingers digging in. "Shut up! Those Ferals are still out there. You want to lead them straight to us?"

Relan shivered and looked around. "Kaine, you mean."

"No, I mean Ferals," Hinaru spat. "They're hunting us down and trying to kill us. The name fits. So shut up already."

"We don't know they want to kill us—"

"You really think she would risk taking us over a waterfall if they just wanted to invite us over for tea?" Hinaru snapped.

Relan glared, but turned his attention back to Madze, giving her another shake. "Come on. Please wake up." He put his hand on hers and found it icy. "She's freezing!"

"Shh!" Hinaru gripped tighter and pushed Relan away. The older boy knelt beside Madze and lightly patted her cheek, turning her face one way and the other. He looked up at the trees, then back at the water. "Are any of them close?"

"How would I know?"

"Because you're getting freaky good at noticing things like she does."

Relan made a face at his brother before looking around. "I don't know. I don't think they're here."

"Good. Help me pick her up. We need to find somewhere to hide."

"But—"

"You want to stay here for them to find us?"

Relan sighed and used his good arm to push himself up onto unsteady feet. "I'll carry her."

"You can barely stand. Just help me get her up." Hinaru stayed on his knees, tipping his shoulder low toward her.

Between the two of them, they managed to heave her across Hinaru's shoulders. Relan helped steady his brother in a standing position, then they set off deeper into the forest.

"Watch for anywhere we can hide," Hinaru whispered.

"Like what?" Relan whispered back.

Hinaru let out a slow breath. "They'll track us in trees or bushes. We aren't going anywhere near the water. Let's look for a cave. Something smelly. Really smelly."

A little sound caught Relan's attention, and he stiffened before realizing it was just a small animal. No Kaine, at least not yet.

It made him think, though. Maybe it was true; he might be learning to hear and sense things better than before. Maybe it wasn't that Madze's expressions were plain and Hinaru was just being dopey and not paying attention. Maybe it was that Relan had learned to see more than other people did.

Determined to make it count for something, Relan tried to listen, smell, and see as much as he could. Wind rattled the branches, but some of the rattling was from animals, not wind. It was hard to see far with all the dense trees and underbrush, but he could make out shapes and shadows beyond the nearer trees, including several darker areas. The thick forest smell had little whiffs of fruit and animal and something less pleasant.

He turned around slowly until he found what he was looking for: the unpleasant smell coming from the direction of a particularly dark area. "This way."

Hinaru only grunted, shifting Madze's weight on his back before falling step behind Relan.

Relan led the way deeper into the forest, listening and watching and smelling. They were almost there when he stopped short at the sight of movement ahead.

"What—" Hinaru started.

Relan slapped a hand over his brother's mouth and gave himself a moment of enjoyment—high time it was his turn to do it to his brother instead of the other way around.

They remained silent, Relan listening and sensing around them. Something biggish moved near the cave he'd been leading them to. He couldn't tell what it was, but he decided they shouldn't risk it. He didn't want to run into another dufo and get them all killed. He nodded his head to gesture their new direction and led the way carefully to avoid making too much noise.

Once they were far enough away, he turned around slowly, searching for a new place to hide.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Hinaru whispered.

"Shh," Relan scolded. "Unless you have a better idea."

Hinaru shut up.

Relan found another direction and led them on. With any hope, this one would be unoccupied. He wasn't sure how much further they could go if this one didn't work. Hinaru's feet dragged as he strained to keep going with the heavy weight on his shoulders, and Relan's legs still wobbled, the pain from his arm wound so sharp it felt like the entire side of his body was being stabbed by daggers.

The smell got worse and worse as they got closer. Relan pinched his nose.

Hinaru slowed and made a face. "Smells like something died."

"You said find something really smelly," Relan retorted. "Come on."

They slowed as they reached the edge of the cave, and Relan cautiously peered ahead, sensing as much as he could. Nothing seemed to be moving inside. "I think it's okay."

"Help me set her down, then stay here with her. I'm going to have a look." Hinaru knelt by the trunk of a tree, tipping to one side.

Relan joined him in easing Madze to the ground, leaning her back against the trunk. "Be careful."

Hinaru nodded and crept forward into the cave.

Taking another look around, Relan studied the trees for any signs of danger. If the Kaine were nearby, they weren't making themselves known. "They would show up if they were close," he whispered to her, pushing stray hair out of her face. Her skin was still freezing. He wished he had something dry and warm to wrap around her. "Just hang on. We'll make a fire and get warmed up. You'll be okay." He repeated it more to reassure himself. "You'll be okay."

A faint crunch behind him made him jump, but it was just Hinaru.

"It's empty," the older boy whispered, moving to pick up Madze again. "There's something in there that died a long time ago. It's nasty. Don't look at it."

"I'm fine," Relan scowled. Stupid Hinaru thought he couldn't handle anything. Relan reached for Madze's legs. "Come on."

They carried Madze inside the cave. Relan slowed to a stop, shifting his grip on Madze so he could cover his nose and try to block out the nasty smell.

Hinaru tugged them further. "We need to go deep inside if we're going to be able to build a fire and stay hidden." His voice sounded funny; he was trying to keep from breathing in the smell, too.

Relan stared into the empty darkness and shivered. But his brother was right. They needed a fire to dry off and warm up. "Okay," he mumbled through the hand now covering the bottom half of his face.

They had to go slowly as they moved deeper into the darkness, feeling their way with their feet. Relan bumped into something soft and squishy, and he jumped, almost losing his grip on her legs.

"What's the matter with you?" Hinaru hissed.

Nothing had moved in response to Relan's bump, which meant that it was probably the dead thing Hinaru had talked about. Relan felt his stomach turn, but he forced his voice steady. "Nothing. I'm fine. Keep going."

The cave curved, and the last hints of light vanished. Hinaru slowed down and lowered Madze to the stone floor. "Stay here with her. I'll get something to make a fire."

Relan carefully set her legs down. "I'll do that."

"No, you need to stay with her. I'll be right back." Hinaru was gone before Relan could object further.

Relan blew out an irritated snort. "He's such a fec-head." He sat down at her side. The pain in his arm stabbed again, and he cringed, curling his arm close. He was shivering again. It was too cold in the cave. Hinaru better hurry up with the fire.

He didn't realize things had gotten lighter until he looked up and found he could see the cave floor near the curve.

The light grew until Hinaru came around the corner, a makeshift torch in one hand and a pile of sticks under the other arm. He dropped all the sticks beside Relan, close to the inner wall of the curve. "Pile them up, further in so the light doesn't show as much."

"Quit bossing," Relan muttered. He grabbed some sticks and winced as his arm stabbed again.

Hinaru snatched the sticks back. "Fine. Then hold the torch and check her pocket. We need those leaves."

Relan scowled, but he took the torch and scooted to her other side to find the pocket. Everything inside was dripping wet. He found a broken rock-thing, a couple pieces of slimy fruit, and a pile of the medicinal leaves. Two had split open, explaining the slime on the fruit, but the rest were undamaged. He checked for anything else that might help and only came up with a few weird leaves he didn't recognize and the rocks she used to light fires.

"Gimme the torch," Hinaru said, grabbing it at the same time. He shoved it into the pile of sticks, and the flame grew as it took to the wood.

"Yai! What is wrong with you?" Relan glared.

Hinaru returned the glare. "What's wrong with _you_? You threw yourself off a waterfall!"

"I did not! I was trying to save her."

"We could have climbed down after her. You didn't have to go swimming off the edge of a fall. You could've died!"

"And she almost did! She would've if I hadn't been there."

"You don't know that," Hinaru snapped. He poked at the fire with the torch hard enough to almost knock some of the wood out of the pile. He scowled harder and jabbed them back in place.

"You don't know she would've been fine, either. She keeps risking her life to save us. Are you saying we shouldn't do the same?"

"Yes!" Hinaru flopped down. "No. Just—you shouldn't have done that."

"Well—"

Hinaru grabbed one of the dripping medicine leaves. "Shut up and give me your arm."

"I'm fine." Relan looked at Madze. She still hadn't moved. "How do we wake her up?"

"She might not wake up," Hinaru muttered. He caught the look on Relan's face. "I mean, not for a while. She's hurt pretty bad."

"Then we should take care of her first."

Hinaru opened his mouth, then shook his head and knelt beside her. "The bandage leaf came off. We'll have to find more. For both of you." He put more medicine on her side and pressed her tunic over the wound. "At least the bandage on her arm stayed. I'll leave that one alone until we have more. It should be okay as long as she doesn't move." With that, he examined her head. "She isn't bleeding, and I can't find any bumps. I don't think she hit her head on the rock."

"Then why isn't she waking up?" Relan leaned closer. He wanted to shake her again, but he doubted it would help.

"She was already hurt bad. Going over those falls can't have helped. We'll keep giving her the medicine, and she'll be okay." Hinaru nodded like it was all settled.

"What if she isn't?" The words came out before Relan could catch himself.

Hinaru punched Relan's uninjured shoulder. "Quit being a nanny-muss."

"I'm not a nanny-muss," Relan snapped, punching back.

"Yeah, right." Hinaru picked up another leaf. "We took care of her first. Happy? Now give me your arm."

Another stab of pain silenced Relan's instinctive protest. He made a face and held out his arm. He ignored his brother's work for a minute, but something niggled at his mind. He looked up at his brother and saw it. Past the cross expression, the rough movements, there was something else...

"You were worried," he said. "You were scared I was going to get hurt."

"No, I was mad you didn't listen," Hinaru retorted.

It was a lie. Relan smirked. "You were scared."

"Fine. Yeah, I was scared." Hinaru shoved Relan's treated arm back rougher than necessary. "I was scared Mam would kill me if I came home without you. Now stay put. I'm going to find something to use for bandages. We'll need more food, too. And I'll make some traps."

"Quit telling me what to do." Relan made a face and stood. "I can help. We can find stuff faster if we're both looking."

Hinaru shoved him back down. "No, you can't."

"I can too!" Relan scrambled up again, good arm ready to swing on his brother.

"Use your brains for once, will you?" Hinaru jabbed a finger toward Madze. "What's gonna happen if she wakes up and no one's here? She'll think something happened to us, and then what will she do?"

Relan hesitated, arm still raised.

"She'll go looking for us. You know she would. You think that'll be any good for her, as hurt as she is?" Hinaru shoved Relan back down again. "Do as I say. Stay put and make sure she stays safe. I'll be back soon."

"Wastik-breath," Relan muttered, but Hinaru was right. He glared as his brother left, then poked at the fire with a stray stick, trying to coax it bigger. They needed to dry off and warm up. He shivered and poked again, glancing at her. "It'll warm up in here soon. You'll feel better then." He looked down, his poking more mindless. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt like this. I don't know what to do. I wish I did." Heat stung his eyes, threatening tears. He swallowed them back. He didn't want Hinaru to come back and call him a snitpup again.

It felt like too long before Hinaru finally returned. He dropped an armload of fruit and leaves on the cave floor. He ignored Relan as he picked up one of the big leaves and knelt beside Madze again, applying more medicine before carefully bandaging the wound, then treating and re-bandaging her arm. Once done, he turned to Relan and held out his hand demandingly.

"What?" Relan scowled.

Hinaru rolled his eyes. "Give me your arm, munkbrain."

"You don't have to be a netcher about it."

"Watch your language." Hinaru grabbed Relan's arm, squeezed out another layer of medicine, and wrapped a bandage around it. Satisfied, he shoved some fruit at Relan. "Eat."

"Mi'ine," Relan grumbled, but he took the fruit. "What crawled up your nose?"

"You being stupid," Hinaru spat back.

Relan started to retort but stopped. Hinaru's hands were shaking. "Did you get hurt?"

"What?" Hinaru glared.

"Did you get hurt? In the waterfall, or out in the forest?"

"No. I'm fine."

"You're shaking."

Hinaru scowled at him, then at his own hands. "I'm cold, that's all."

"We should make the fire bigger."

"And bring those Ferals on our heads? I don't think so." Hinaru scooted closer to the fire. "We'll dry off soon enough. Now shut up and eat."

Relan took a bite and rubbed his cold arms, avoiding the injury. It felt better now that the medicine numbed the pain.

Silence stretched long after they'd finished eating.

Finally, Relan broke it. "How long do you think it'll take for her to wake up?"

"Quit fussing. It's not going to make her wake up any faster."

Relan grumped, plopping his chin on his fist. "Sitting around isn't helping, either." He paused. "That other Kaine lady healed her before. At least some. Maybe she could do it again."

"Oh, you want to go find those Ferals and bring them back here? Go for it. I bet that'll turn out great."

"Shut up. At least I'm coming up with ideas."

"You're coming up with nonsense." Hinaru shook his head. "Lie down and get some sleep. I'll keep watch."

Relan scrunched his nose, but he couldn't deny how exhausted he was. Everything that happened that day—and the day before, and the day before—it was all too much to take. He lay down and stared into the fire. Hinaru told him they'd make it back home, but it was getting harder to believe. Lying in a cave who knows where, with their guide and protector hurt—home seemed impossibly far away.

He closed his eyes and tried to pray, but he couldn't get anything sensical through the jumble in his head. The best he managed was to think over and over again, _please, PLEASE let us make it home_.

Chapter 10

Relan groaned as he woke up, feeling the worst he'd ever felt. He tried to sit up twice, failing both times. His muscles wouldn't cooperate. He groaned again.

"What is it?" Hinaru demanded. "What's wrong with you?"

With some shuffling and squirming, Relan managed to roll on his side and lever himself up on one elbow. "Everything hurts." At least it was warmer now, with his clothes dry and the fire still going, though it was smaller now.

"That's what you get for jumping over a waterfall." Hinaru tossed a gibroot at him.

It hit Relan square in the chest before he could catch it, making him grunt. "I didn't jump."

"Yeah, whatever."

Relan dragged himself the rest of the way upright and looked over at Madze. "How is she? Did she wake up?" He put a hand on hers. She had warmed up, too, thankfully.

"Not yet. Let me see your arm."

"Her first."

Hinaru rolled his eyes. "I already did. Give me your arm."

The older boy was a little gentler putting on medicine and changing the bandage than he was the evening before. Relan eyed the wound with morbid curiosity. It looked somewhat better. He glanced up at Hinaru and saw how worn out his brother looked. "Did you stay up all night?"

"Someone had to watch out for trouble."

"Well, you should rest now."

"And leave the watch to you?" Hinaru snorted.

"Yeah." Relan squared his shoulders. "I can do it."

Hinaru shook his head and stood. "We're going to need more food and branches for the fire. I'll be back."

"No, you have to rest." Relan scrambled upright, ready to shove his brother down the way Hinaru had done to him the day before.

Something caught his attention as he moved. He stopped and looked around, trying to figure out what he'd picked up on.

"What?" Hinaru tensed like he was preparing for a fight. "What's wrong?"

Relan was about to dismiss it as his imagination when he caught a glimpse of movement again. He looked down to see Madze stir.

He dropped to his knees beside her and gripped her shoulder. "Madze?"

Her eyelids flickered, then snapped open. She flew to her feet, almost knocking him flat on his back. He landed on his rear instead with a jarring pain.

"Hey, it's okay." Hinaru quickly raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "Take it easy."

She stared, then turned and stumbled, wobbling sideways.

Hinaru caught her good arm. "You're hurt. You need to sit down."

Her eyes flicked around the cave. She looked doubtful.

"Please," Relan coaxed, standing and taking her other elbow, avoiding her injury. "Honest, we're safe. Sit."

Madze reluctantly let the brothers guide her to sit on the cave floor. She looked at them with concern.

"We weren't hurt," Relan said. "And they haven't followed us. Do you want to eat something?" He held out one of the gibroots.

"She might not feel up to eating yet." Hinaru looked around. "We should find something to drink, though. For all of us."

Madze started to rise again.

"Not you." Hinaru caught her shoulder. "I'll go. I'll be right back."

She eyed him, then shrugged him off and stood.

"You need to stay," Relan pressed. "You were hurt really bad. And we're all right here. Hinaru made traps and everything."

She swayed again and pinned him with an intense stare before glancing back at the way out of the cave.

"Stay put. I'll find something we can drink and be right back." Hinaru looked around. "Do we have anything I can use to carry water?"

Relan picked up the broken rock-thing. "We could scoop this out?"

Madze shook her head and started out of the cave.

"Hey!" Hinaru hurried to block her way. "Look, I understand you're used to doing things yourself, but you're hurt. Let us take care of this."

She paused, studying him, then looked at Relan. Her eyes searched his.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't understand."

Her lips thinned. "Check."

"Check... That we're safe? Or for where we can find something to drink?"

Nod.

"Which?" Hinaru asked.

"Both," Relan translated.

Hinaru sighed. "Fine. Whatever. Not like I could stop you, anyway."

Madze stumbled again on the way out of the cave.

Relan steadied her. "Here, lean on me."

She looked like she might object, but she nodded instead.

They took it slow, Hinaru leading the way and showing off his traps. Relan caught a glimmer of amusement on Madze's face as she gingerly bent to adjust one of the traps, but aside from that one, she seemed pleased. After they'd checked the cave exit, she statued for a moment, then guided them to the left.

"We can't go too far from the cave." Hinaru kept his voice low, eyes scanning the trees. "Those Ferals could be nearby."

"Kaine," Relan quickly corrected, glancing at Madze.

She statued again, then shook her head.

"We're safe?" Relan asked.

Nod.

"We still aren't going far," Hinaru ordered. "You both need more rest. We've already been out too long. We're going back now."

Madze eyed him, unimpressed. Relan couldn't help but smile as she resumed walking.

"Hey." Hinaru scowled.

"You can try to stop her," Relan smirked.

Madze stopped after only a few minutes of walking. She pushed aside the fronds of a particularly robust fern-like plant. Clustered around the bottom were the rock-things.

"Perfect!" Relan gathered them up.

Hinaru muttered something under his breath, but he loaded up an armful himself. "Fine. We got it. Now we're going back to the cave whether you like it or not."

Madze gave him a fake salute.

Relan snickered and returned to her side, helping her along the way back to the cave. It was good to see her up and acting normally, even if she was weaker.

Hinaru gathered up a few more small branches as they walked, and when they reached the cave, he fed a some to the dwindling fire. "We're going to rest today. If you're better tomorrow, then we'll get going again."

She paused, then nodded.

They ate and drank in silence. Relan glanced at Madze from time to time, watching closely for any signs of how she was doing. She looked a little better, but not quite back to normal. _Of course,_ he told himself. _She was really hurt. It'll take time for her to be all better._

Hinaru finally broke the silence. "What's the deal with those Ferals?"

"Kaine!" Relan gave his brother a look.

"I already told you my thoughts on that. They're trying to kill us. They're Feral."

Madze looked down.

Relan scowled harder at Hinaru.

Hinaru returned the look before turning back to Madze. "Look, I know your people—Kaine—don't like our people. But you being with us should be a clue that we're okay, shouldn't it? So why do they keep trying to kill us?"

Head shake.

"No? What do you mean, no? They aren't trying to kill us? I doubt that."

Relan jabbed his brother.

Madze's mouth worked. "No... 'don't like.'"

Hinaru frowned, lost.

"You mean, Kaine don't, um, not like our people?" Relan asked.

Nod.

"Oh, come on." Hinaru snorted. "Everyone knows Kaine attack people who go through their forests."

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She motioned to Relan's arm, then her own and her side.

Hinaru's confused frown remained.

"The dufo," Relan translated. "You mean people get attacked by animals, not your people?"

Nod. "Kaine..." Her mouth worked. "Protect. Not harm."

"Protect?" Hinaru snorted again.

Relan thought, studying her. "Wait. All those stories about animals killed by Kaine are always about dangerous animals. Are you saying your people kill those animals to protect our people from being attacked?"

Nod.

Hinaru and Relan looked at each other.

"Everyone has it all wrong," Relan said, shaking his head.

"Okay, okay." Hinaru waved a hand. "But these ones _are_ chasing us and trying to kill us. If your people are all about protecting our people, then why are these ones after us?"

She was silent a long time.

"Well?" Hinaru pressed.

"Shut up and let her think," Relan scolded.

"Think? She's just staring again."

Relan rolled his eyes. "Shut up and wait."

Madze finally reached down and traced a large circle on the cave floor to her left. "Ikane."

"Our people." Relan nodded.

She traced a small circle to her right. "Kaine." Then a tiny circle in front of her. " _Those_ Kaine."

"The ones chasing us aren't like the rest of your people." Relan looked up at her to make sure he'd understood right.

Nod. She touched the left circle, then the right circle as she spoke. "Ikane kill Kaine." She touched the small circle. "Kaine kill Ikane."

Hinaru cut in, looking eager to prove he understood. "These Kaine are getting vengeance on our people for the Kaine who've been killed."

Nod. She looked sad.

Relan put a hand on hers. "It's not your fault."

She gave him a small smile.

"So why are they after us?" Hinaru asked. "We haven't hurt anyone."

Her lips worked. She tapped the left circle. "Ikane hate Kaine." She touched the small circle. "Kaine hate Ikane. All Ikane."

"But you're with us," Hinaru said. "Like I said, shouldn't that tell them we're okay?"

Her lips turned downward, deepening the sad look. "Don't like us."

"Us?" Hinaru scowled. "What have we done to them?"

Head shake. She gestured to them, then herself. "Don't like... us."

"You just said the same thing again."

Relan jabbed his brother again. "She's saying they don't like the three of us being together. Right?"

Nod.

"Because they hate our kind," Relan continued.

Nod.

Silence stretched for a long time.

"Are they going to keep coming after us?" Hinaru asked.

She looked down and nodded.

"We should split up," Relan said. "You keep getting hurt trying to protect us from them, but if we split up, they'd leave us be because we'd be... you know, not _us_."

Head shake.

He felt cold. "They'd still come after Hinaru and me?"

Sad look again.

Hinaru exhaled. "Then we need to keep moving and try to stay away from them. First thing tomorrow."

The conversation fell back into silence. After a while, Madze scooted closer to the curve, listening. Relan glanced at Hinaru, then joined her. "What do you hear?" he whispered.

She glanced at him, then made the listening gesture.

He tipped his head. Branches, birds, skittering. He closed his eyes and focused on the skittering, then peeked at her. "Tree-snit?"

Nod.

He listened again. He noticed a soft, rhythmic thump. "Braybun?"

She smiled.

They played the game until Hinaru finally called them over to change bandages and eat.

Relan gobbled his food and turned to go back to the game, but he saw the strain on her face. "You should rest. You need it."

She hesitated.

"You both do," Hinaru said. "Go to sleep."

Relan shook his head. "You can't stay awake all night again."

"I'm fine."

Madze joined Relan in the head shake this time.

Hinaru scowled at them both. "Well, you two are hurt, so you need your rest."

"I'm a lot better." Relan extended his arm. "Mine wasn't as bad as hers, and it's almost healed up."

Madze tapped her chest.

"No," both brothers said at once.

"You were hurt the worst. You need rest," Relan said.

Her lips quirked in displeasure.

"No argument," he scolded.

She eyed him but obediently lay down.

Relan looked around, then picked up one of the oblong fruits and tested a spin on the floor. It wobbled but spun okay. "My left or right?"

"Seriously?" Hinaru gave him a look.

"That or I'm going to stay up all night."

Hinaru rolled his eyes. "Fine. Left."

Relan set the fruit between them and spun it. It wobbled around a few times before stopping, almost pointing to Relan but slightly to the right. He grinned. "I win. We'll take turns."

Hinaru scowled, but a yawn pulled at his mouth. "Whatever. I go first."

"No. I won, so I go first."

"You're such a dupe."

"You're just mad because you lost." Relan smirked.

Hinaru rolled his eyes again and lay down. "You make sure to wake me up before you end up falling asleep and putting us all in danger, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. That's not going to happen. Now go to sleep."

Relan almost dozed off a few times before he gave up and woke his brother. Nightmares hounded his sleep, images of attacking dufos and Kaine claws snatching at him tumbled with thundering water trying to drown him.

"Wake up!"

Relan startled awake to find Hinaru shaking his shoulder.

"You were having a bad dream. And being too loud," the older boy said, frowning as he sat back.

Relan shivered. The fire was barely more than a flicker. He sat up and reached for a branch.

"No." Hinaru pushed the branches away from him. "It's Maker's favor those Kaine haven't caught up to us yet. We don't want to risk drawing them to us."

Relan made a face and reluctantly sat back. He grabbed one of the rock-things and cracked it. "Should we wake her up?"

Madze sat up, glanced at him, and cracked her own rock-thing.

"You were saying?" Hinaru smirked around a bite of fruit.

"Whatever." Relan eyed Madze. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but she did look better. "Are you feeling okay?"

Nod.

"Eat up. We need to leave soon," Hinaru said. "And be quiet."

Relan muttered under his breath, but he obeyed.

As soon as they finished, they set out, skirting around the traps and heading into the forest once more. Madze took the lead again, stepping silently across roots and stones. She moved slower than normal, but at least she wasn't wobbling anymore. Relan fell in step behind her without too much difficulty. Hinaru made a bit more noise, but at least he seemed to be trying this time.

Relan worked on keeping his senses alert like she did, listening and identifying noises as they went. He wanted to check with her but knew Hinaru would scold him for talking. Instead, he tried to spot the sources to see if his guesses were right. He grinned with each success.

"Hey," Hinaru abruptly said.

"Shh." Relan smirked at his brother.

Hinaru ignored him, grabbing Relan's shoulder and leaning over to see ahead. "Is that a road?"

Madze nodded.

"Great! We can take it to find a city."

"What if we're still in Emsha Province?" Relan asked.

Hinaru gave him a look. "It's obviously way too dangerous to keep going like this, with those Kaine after us. We'll have better chances going to a settlement."

"But—"

"Quit arguing! We'll be fine as long as you don't decide to be a munkbrain and babble on about Mam. We're only going to tell them that we were attacked and separated from our escorts, and that we need to get back to our family in Innsbrooke. They don't need to know anything more than that. Once we're in Innsbrooke, the guards will protect us and take us home."

Relan made a face, but he couldn't argue with that logic. He looked at Madze.

She tipped her head and studied the road.

"What? Is something wrong?" he asked.

She frowned.

"Is it the Kaine?" he whispered.

Head shake.

"Something else? Cama's people?"

She hesitated.

"Well?" Hinaru demanded.

Relan elbowed his brother. "She's thinking."

Hinaru jabbed back, harder, and then folded his arms. "Am I wrong? We'd be safer finding people in a settlement to help us rather than going through the forest with those Kaine after us, right?"

Nod.

"So we need to go on the road." Hinaru started forward.

Madze hesitated again.

"Wait," Relan said. "There's something wrong." He turned to Madze. "What is it?"

She studied the forest.

"Great. Now she's staring again," Hinaru grumbled. "I'm done with this. We're going, _now_." He grabbed Relan's arm and yanked him toward the road.

"No!" Relan twisted free. "Not without Madze."

"You think she's coming into a settlement with us? Yeah, right."

"No, I mean, I'm not going on that road unless Madze says it's safe."

Hinaru rolled his eyes and squared with his brother. He spoke low. "Look. She can watch us from the forest. I'm sure she's going to either way. But think about it. If those Kaine find her without us, they probably won't go after her. They find us with her, they'll come after us again. We need to find people and get out of here as fast as possible. The road is the way to go."

Relan turned back to Madze. He stepped closer to her, away from Hinaru. "Is it safe?"

Head shake.

"Then we aren't going on the road." He folded his arms in finality.

"What's there?" Hinaru asked. "You said it isn't the Kaine. Is it Cama's people? An animal? What?"

She hesitated and looked down.

"Well?"

"She doesn't know," Relan translated.

"Is there a dangerous animal?" Hianru demanded, his voice stretching in annoyance.

Head shake.

"Do you _see_ people?"

Head shake.

"Do you _hear_ people?"

Head shake.

"Then what's the problem?"

"Stop it!" Relan glared. "She thinks there's a problem with the road, so there's a problem with the road."

"For depp's sake," Hinaru groaned. He turned and stomped to the road. "There's nothing there!"

Madze hurried after him. She slowed, pressing a hand over her injured side.

"I'll get him." Relan passed her to chase his brother.

She caught his shoulder and shook her head. She guided him to follow her along a route parallel to the road.

Relan peered ahead as they hurried on. He could see glimpses of Hinaru jogging on the road ahead. They had to catch him. Relan tried to speed up, but his side stung already. He slowed down against his will, wincing.

Madze looked back over her shoulder, indecision in her eyes.

"Go catch him," Relan puffed. "I'll stay inside the forest. I can hide."

She nodded and sped up, holding her side but pushing on to catch up with Hinaru.

Relan did his best to follow, but soon she was out of sight. He slowed to a stop and leaned against a tree, puffing to catch his breath. Time to find a place to hide.

A faint sound came from nearby. He tipped his head. Too big for a braybun, but it didn't seem that big. Rekin? He craned his neck to catch a glimpse and got a sudden sense of wrongness. Maybe it was bigger than a rekin. Maybe he should hide. Now.

Before he had a chance to move, a man lunged at him, knocking him flat on the ground.

Relan shouted, but heavy cloth fell over his head, muffling the sound. Many more hands joined in grabbing him as he struggled. He tried yelling again. "Help! HELP!"

"Shut him up," someone said.

Something slammed into the side of his head, and everything went black.

Chapter 11

Hinaru

Glancing back over his shoulder, Hinaru sped up. Madze and Relan were getting close. That was okay; they'd reach a settlement, and he and Relan would get the help they needed. He just had to stay ahead so Madze couldn't stop him.

He gave another glance and spotted Madze. Closer now. He winced at a pain in his side. If he went faster, he'd run out of strength. She and Relan would catch up and drag him back.

A branch caught him at the knees, and he stumbled a few steps before catching his balance. Really? They were throwing things at him now?

Another branch hit, making him stagger again. As he regained his balance, Madze grabbed his arm and dragged him back into the forest.

"Hey!" he snapped. He tried to twist free, but her grip didn't give.

Hinaru scowled. "Fine. You got me." He looked around. "Where's Relan?"

She turned and pulled him along back the way they'd come.

"Let go." He twisted again. "Look, I'll come with you. No more running. Let me go."

She released him, then pressed her hand against her side.

He felt a little bad as he followed. It probably hurt her having to chase him. But if only she and Relan had listened to reason...

Madze came to an abrupt stop. She turned around in place, then again. Her usually stone-like face gave way to distress.

"What's wrong?" he demanded. "Where's Relan?"

She met his eyes. "Taken."

Everything went cold inside. "The Kaine?"

She shook her head.

"Cama's people?"

She was still for a moment, then nodded.

"Harking—" He snarled a few more words under his breath as he looked around. He saw a large branch and picked it up, practicing a few swings. "Okay. Lead the way."

She shook her head.

"Fine. You don't want to deal with them? I will. Just point me the way." He started forward without waiting for a response.

She caught his arm in that iron grip again. She shook her head.

"If you aren't going to help me save my brother, then get out of my way!"

She stared, then spoke quietly. "Too many."

"So what, we're going to leave my brother to die?" He scowled. "This is your fault! Why would you just leave him alone like that? I would've been fine! How could you have left him?"

She stared at him.

"You made this mess, now fix it! Tell me where they took my brother!"

She stared.

He clutched the branch tighter and swung on her. "TELL ME!"

She caught the branch with her other hand before it could strike, silently holding it while keeping that soul-piercing stare on him. He saw the faintest glimmer of... Pity? Sadness?

"It's your fault," he grunted, trying to pull the branch free. He couldn't get it to budge.

Furious, he dropped the branch and punched her shoulder. "Fix it!"

Her expression never changed.

"Fix it!"

She let go of his arm and lightly touched his shoulder instead.

Something broke. He dropped to his knees, eyes burning with unshed tears. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have run like that. You knew there was something wrong, and I didn't listen."

She remained silent, but it felt like she understood. Like she wasn't angry for his outburst but stayed at his side without judgment.

"What are we going to do?" he finally managed to say.

She stood still for a moment. Then she looked down at him and spoke slowly, carefully. "Do you trust me?"

He hesitated before nodding. "Yes. I know I haven't, but now I do." He swallowed. "Do you really think we can get him back?"

She nodded and helped him up. With that, she took his arm and bolted into the forest.

Chapter 12

Voices talking over each other. The heavy feel of being pressed in. Dense smoke and body odor.

Relan's nose twitched, and he shifted his head. Shooting pain stabbed through his skull, and he groaned.

"Keep firm on him," a voice barked out. "South end, report in!"

"Clear," a distant voice returned.

Relan blinked, trying to force the world back into focus. The first thing he saw was the shimmer of metal blades in his face. He jerked back and felt something sharp prick his neck. He yelped.

"Keep him quiet," the commanding voice said, clearer now. "North end, report!"

Relan cringed in growing horror. He knew that voice. It was Cama.

Someone shouted, "Clear," as Relan tried to get a better look around. He sat on some sort of chair, ropes around his torso and legs keeping him from moving more than a fingerlength in any direction. People surrounded him in a tight circle, half with blades turned on him and the other half with crossbows aimed outward at the trees. It was hard to see through them, but it looked like they were in some kind of broad area with wide spaces between the trees, branches cleared almost all the way to the higher canopy above, undergrowth trampled or cut away.

Dozens of people bustled around. Some attended to large fires built at random around the space which belched the heavy smoke into the air. Others scrutinized the trees above with mirror-aimed torchlight, all with crossbows ready. He shuddered. No wonder it seemed like there were constantly more people after them. It was practically a small army.

Cama stood in the middle, directing everything. "West end, report!"

"Clear."

Cama eyed Relan, then turned back. "East end."

"Clear."

"Don't let your guard down for a moment. That's the direction she'll be coming from, I'd wager." She turned sharply on a heel. "Don't think that means the rest of you can relax. She's a slippery one."

Grunts and barked words of acknowledgment rippled through the camp.

Relan shivered and looked up at the trees. The illuminated smoke swirled at any small movement. He didn't have to bother listening to know when a tree-snit or wastik raced across the branches; he could see the clear smoke trail.

They were trying to catch Madze, and he was the bait.

His stomach turned. "Please, don't do this!"

"I said, shut him up." Cama dismissively waved a hand without bothering to look his way.

One of the people around him, a short Kadrian woman, sheathed her shortblade and dug a rag out of her pocket.

"Please don't," he whispered, shaking his head and trying to lean away from her hands without getting stabbed by the blades behind him. "I'll be quiet, I promise."

The woman snorted and grabbed his jaw, forcing his mouth open and stuffing the cloth in.

He struggled, but it was pointless. He sagged against the ropes in defeat.

A scream came from the east.

Everyone spun, weapons tense, but nothing followed.

"Report!" Cama bellowed.

Silence, then someone shouted, "Derrig's down, and Lon is missing!"

A rumble passed through the camp.

Cama snorted. "Shut it, the lot of you. There's too many of us for her to pick us off one by one. Move in and keep your eyes open."

The people obeyed without hesitation, backing up to huddle close together, scanning the forest around them.

Another scream came, this time from the south edge of the camp, followed by shouting.

"Report!"

"We almost got her! I think I nicked her arm before she got away."

"Almost isn't good enough," Cama barked. "If you see her, take her!"

Relan shouted into the rag, but of course nothing came out. He struggled against the ropes and felt blades prick his skin.

"Keep still," someone behind him hissed. "We might need to keep you alive until we have her captured, but it doesn't mean we won't cut into you before then."

His stomach turned again. He tried to make himself as small as possible.

Another shout from the south.

"She's too fast!" someone yelled.

Cama glared outward, shot Relan a dark look, then turned back. "Then we might as well kill the boy," she hollered.

The blades around Relan's neck edged in closer. He shouted into the rag, cringing.

A panic of screams and shouts erupted from the south edge.

Relan spotted someone darting through the people, moving fast, slashing and dodging along the way. He sagged in relief. Madze. She was coming for him.

"Stop her!" Cama screamed.

Fighters surged forward, weapons flashing.

Relan saw her slow. She could get through them without trouble. She could easily jump right over them if she wanted to. Why was she hesitating?

Then he saw the movement behind her. Hinaru.

His relief shattered into an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. She couldn't get through them and keep Hinaru safe. Her speed had kept them moving before, but now...

The people around him shifted. Most moved forward to stand between him and her. The short Kadrian spun behind him, yanking his head back against her shoulder and pressing his blade against his neck. "Feral! One more step, and I'll slice him open!"

Madze's eyes darted to him, then back to the people shifting closer to her.

Relan fought to hold onto hope. She wouldn't have come here if she didn't have a plan. She wouldn't have brought Hinaru unless she had a way of getting all three of them clear. Right?

A burly Elf grabbed Hinaru and yanked him away from her, more fighters sweeping in to separate them. Hinaru yelled as blades turned on him.

"You're beaten, Feral." Cama's voice was painfully calm. "Give up or watch your friends die."

Madze statued.

Relan tensed, ready to move as soon as she created the opening. He could see it in her eyes; she had a plan. She was going to get them free, somehow.

She closed her eyes. Her head drooped in defeat.

Relan stared. _What?_

Cama was already barking out orders. People grabbed Madze, slapped cuffs on her wrists, and pulled her arms outward from her body by chains attached to the cuffs, two people clutching each chain to keep her immobilized without having to get too close.

"Let her go!" Hinaru shouted, struggling.

"Watch her," Cama ordered, then turned her attention back to the trees. "Report. Any movement?"

"None." The word echoed from all around the camp. The lights continued to search the smoke above.

Cama waited a moment longer, then smirked. "Good. That means the others aren't with her. Finish this. We've wasted far too much time and resources on this little pest."

Relan shouted into the rag again, but the blade stayed firm on his neck, preventing him from struggling.

Hinaru had an easier time fighting, twisting and trying to break free. "No! Let her go!"

Someone laughed. "You'll have your turn, boy."

Movement caught Relan's eye. Madze's hands curled into fists.

"Enough of that!" Cama shouted. Apparently she'd seen the same. "Stay down, Feral. You know you couldn't reach them in time to save them if you tried. But you've fought well. I'll let the boys go if you submit."

The lie was obvious. Relan braced himself for action.

To his dismay, Madze's hands slowly uncurled. She remained drooped, her eyes to the ground.

He wished he could call out. _Please, I know you can do this. Don't worry about us. Get free and get away. Don't just stand there and let them kill you._

Cama nodded to a skinny Nim man near her.

He sauntered over to Madze. "You don't know me, but you know a lot of my friends," he drawled. "Knew, that is. Before you killed them." He spun and punched her in the injured side.

She buckled inward. The chains yanked her upright again.

"Funny thing most people don't know." The man spoke loudly, seeming to address Hinaru and Relan now. "Ferals are remarkably sensitive to pain. Strange, isn't it? They feel it a lot worse than anyone else." He punched again, harder this time.

A cry escaped her lips, and her body shook.

The cry of pain hit Relan like a dagger to the gut. He shouted into the rag again.

"Stop it!" Hinaru yelled.

"Yup. What might hurt a bit to you and me is agony to them." He leaned in toward her face, dragging out his word. "A-gon-y." He punched again.

She cried out louder this time and sagged against the chains. The people holding her dug their feet in to keep her upright.

"That's enough." Cama waved her hand indifferently. "Be done with it."

The man smirked again and walked to stand in front of her. He drew his sword and raised it to plunge into her chest.

"No!" Hinaru shouted as Relan screamed into the rag.

A mass of person landed on top of the Nim man, flattening him and sending the sword falling harmlessly to the ground.

The Kaine woman.

Shouts of alarm turned into screams of terror and pain as more Kaine dropped from the trees, slicing their way through the mass of people without hesitation or even difficulty.

Relan stared in shock and wonder. This had been her plan. She'd led the Kaine here, knowing they would fight to protect her.

Madze bolted upright and swung her arms inward so hard, the people holding the chains smashed into each other. The cuffs dropped free from her wrists, and she vanished into the chaotic mass of screaming, fighting people.

The Kadrian holding Relan trembled. Her blade bit into his skin, making him yelp. "Stay back!" she shouted, her hand shaking. "You hear me, Feral? Stay away from me, or I'll kill him!"

Her hand jerked away. Relan barely had time to process the sudden movement before she screamed, tumbling backwards.

Madze's claws sliced through Relan's ropes. He almost fell on her when she pulled him up. He tore the rag out, his mouth dry as sand when he tried to speak. "Hin... Hinaru..." he gasped out.

She paused only long enough to steady him, then dodged under a blade swinging her way. Her hand flashed, and the person reeled backwards, their weapon flying free.

Relan yelped as a massive Kadrian lunged toward them.

Madze grabbed Relan's arm and took off, dodging and weaving through the fray like she had before—but this time, most of the focus was off her and on the mass of crazed Kaine tearing their way through the camp.

He stumbled a few times, but it was easier now to follow her movements, responding to each subtle change in direction. They swept around a blade, ducked under a fired crossbolt. Madze smacked the weapon right out of the wielder's hand into his face and kept going past the dazed man.

Relan spotted Hinaru ahead. The older boy stayed low, and clumsily dodging left and right, trying to keep clear of the fighters. "There!"

Madze already knew, of course. She darted through and caught Hinaru's arm in her other hand, pulling both of them behind her.

Relan panted, his body already aching. The pain in his head thundered in the chaos, and his legs felt like wet swaygrass. He staggered more than once before his legs gave out completely. He landed face-first in the dirt, nearly getting kicked in the teeth by a stumbling Nim.

Madze crouched over him, slapping the flat of a blade to knock the incoming strike away from them.

"Get up!" Hinaru grabbed Relan and tried to haul him upright.

Relan's legs folded again.

Madze lunged over him, deflecting another strike.

Two attackers charged at once, screaming wildly. Madze barely ducked under one strike, still braced over Relan to protect him. She grabbed the other's wrist, turning it toward the first attacker.

The first one responded by parrying the blade. He raised his sword and swung down hard.

Madze had to yank the second one forward, his blade catching the first just in time but pinning her down. She strained to keep the blades off her while protecting Relan.

Relan sensed movement. He turned to see a third attacker lunging, sword aimed for her. "Madze!" he screamed.

She looked back, but there was no way she could turn without leaving Relan vulnerable.

"No!" Hinaru sprang forward, placing himself between the new attacker and Madze.

The blade sank into Hinaru's chest.

Relan's cry froze in his throat.

Hinaru fell to the dirt beside him. The older boy gasped, eyes wide and dazed.

The man yanked the blade free and charged Madze again.

Madze twisted free from under the tangle of blades, kicking up. The attackers staggered backwards as she spun to her feet. She caught the incoming attack, all but throwing the man's strike into one of the other attackers.

The two of them landed in a heap on the ground.

She sliced at the back of the man's neck, and he was still.

The last one started forward with a roar of fury, but a Kaine caught him by the neck and tossed him aside like a twig. The Kaine shot a glance at her and the boys, then spun and darted back into the fray.

Relan clutched at Hinaru's hands. "Hang on, okay? Just hang on. You're going to be all right."

Madze knelt beside Hinaru and bundled up cloth from her pocket, pressing it hard over the wound.

"He'll be okay, right?" Relan could barely manage more than a whisper. "He's going to be fine. We'll find a village, and they'll have someone who can help."

Someone shouted, almost on top of them. Relan had the vague awareness of a Kaine knocking the attacker away, but all his focus now was on his brother.

Madze leaned closer, searching Hinaru's eyes.

Hinaru coughed weakly. His fingers curled on Relan's. "It... it's okay," he wheezed. His grip weakened.

"No, no. No." Relan clutched harder, then looked at Madze, desperate. "You can help him. Like that Kaine healed you. Right? You can heal him. Or she can. Help him!"

She looked up, eyes wide and pooling with tears. "We can't find him."

"He's right here! Help him!"

A tear slipped free. "Him... inside." She looked down. "I'm sorry."

Hinaru coughed again and pulled at Relan's hand. The older boy's eyes shifted from dazed to intent. "Tell them. Tell them everything. The Kaine. Cama. Everything."

" _We_ will. We'll tell them what happened, and all about the Kaine and how they help people and what the Emsha people are doing. We'll tell them." Relan squeezed hard.

Hinaru wheezed, nodding weakly. "You... you're going to make a great king."

"No!" Tears burned Relan's eyes. " _You're_ going to be king. You're the older brother, and you're going to be king!"

Hinaru smiled weakly, then was still.

"Hinaru!" Relan looked around. "Help! Someone help us!"

He realized that the fight was over. Bodies scattered the ground all around them.

The group of Kaine stood in silence only a few paces away, the woman at the front.

Relan scrambled to his feet, grabbing a nearby sword and pointing it at them. "Stay back! Stay away!"

The woman looked down at him. A faint trace flickered in her eyes.

Compassion.

She slowly dipped her head in deference. The other Kaine behind her did the same, moving in unison. They all stepped back a pace and waited.

Madze gently touched his arm, lowering his aim. "They saw. He saved me." She paused. "They... understand."

Relan dropped the sword and fell to his knees beside his brother. "He can't be..."

She pulled him into a hug and held him a long time. He shook with sobs.

Voices echoed through the trees. "Hello? Is anyone out there?"

He bolted upright. "Yes! Help, please!"

Madze stood as well. She touched his shoulder.

He turned and saw the look on her face. She couldn't stay, not with other people coming. People who would think she was a dangerous Feral.

The Kaine still waited.

He slumped. It was what had to be. "Go with them," he whispered.

She pulled him close into a final hug, then crossed to the Kaine.

The woman took Madze's hand, gently pulling her closer.

Madze turned a final glance back at Relan.

He nodded through his tears.

The Kaine and Madze disappeared into the forest as one.

Chapter 13

The Kaine had barely vanished before people came into view, gasping and staring at the bloody battlefield. A burly Nim woman barked out orders, telling some to go back to the village and collect more help, others to go through and find the wounded, all while hurrying straight toward Relan.

He hovered over Hinaru, afraid and unsure what to expect. Would these people help? Would they think he was to blame for all of this? Would they recognize him and take him captive?

The woman slowed as she approached and knelt, keeping a respectful distance. "Are you hurt, naydi?"

The old Nim word for child, just like Da called them, stabbed into Relan's heart. He shook with sobs.

The woman eased closer. "You're safe now. It's okay. We're here to help."

He let her wrap her arms around him. Some other people approached, but the woman waved them away.

His sobs slowed into weak, empty hiccups.

"What happened here?" she asked gently.

"They..." He didn't know what to say. How could he possibly explain all of this?

"Hey!" someone shouted from across the field. "There's a Feral over here!"

"What?" People surged forward, reaching for their weapons.

The person waved them off. "No, it's dead. Never thought I'd see such a thing."

"Another over here," someone else called.

The woman looked around, scanning the field. "You were attacked by Ferals?"

It would be easy, and probably safer, to lie and say yes. He couldn't. He shuddered and held himself.

"It's okay now, naydi." She put a comforting hand on his back. "We'll get you back to our village. You'll be safe there."

She started to help him up, but he pulled back, unable to leave Hinaru's side.

The woman paused, looking at him and the body beside him.

"My brother," Relan managed to whisper. "He..."

Pity filled her eyes. She drew him into another tight embrace.

Time passed around him in a blur of people bustling around. The Nim woman walked him back to the village, someone else carrying Hinaru behind them. Gentle hands tended to cuts and scrapes he didn't realize he had. Voices coaxed him to tell more about what happened, but he couldn't.

Somewhere in his numb fog, he said something about being from Innsbrooke. He heard snatches of conversation, some people insisting they should keep him there until they learned more about what happened, others like the Nim standing firm that he was to be left alone and taken safely back to his home.

Food and a bed in the village's physic were offered, but he couldn't eat or sleep. He insisted on staying beside Hinaru, even as his brother's body was tenderly wrapped with burial herbs and placed gently on a cot near his. He ran out of tears to cry.

He managed to sleep fitfully after a while, waking up at any slight noise. He woke near morning at a growing argument just outside the physic. The Nim woman and someone else.

The Nim woman apparently won the fight, because she came in shortly after things quieted down. "We've arranged a cart, naydi. We'll get you back home. Where do you live in Innsbrooke?"

It took effort to make words come. "Near the docks."

She nodded. "Will you eat something before we go?"

He shook his head.

She sighed. "All right." She pulled him up and hugged him one last time. "Take care, naydi. Maker's rest upon you."

Relan stumbled his way through the physic and outside. A couple of men lifted Hinaru onto the cart, then pulled Relan up on the seat beside him.

A sense of presence cut through the fog surrounding Relan. He looked up into the dense trees around the forest. Shadows, shifting branches, and...

There. Madze stood just beyond the shadows, watching in silence.

"Hang on," he blurted, jumping off the cart.

"Oy!" an Elf said, reaching to catch him.

"No, I just need a minute." He hurried onward without pausing to see if they'd follow. He heard someone else calling for the Elf to back off.

He kept going until he was confident he was far enough from view.

Madze joined him, her brow raised slightly. She was worried.

"I'm okay," he whispered. "They're going to help me get home."

She hugged him.

He held her for a long time, then stepped back. "Are you staying here now?"

She glanced back at the village.

"Yeah, I guess they will be on higher alert now. Where will you go?"

She met his eyes.

He hesitated, unsure he understood correctly. "You're going to follow me?"

She gave a little smile. "Protect."

He hadn't realized how tense he was until that moment when the tension released. "Thank you."

Nod.

He turned to leave but paused. "Will you... Would you come to the palace with me? You and the others?"

Eyebrow.

"I mean, not into the palace, not right away. Not them. But I want you to come in with me. Mam needs to know the truth." He pressed his lips together in determination. "She needs to understand."

She was silent for a long moment.

Nod.

* * *

Relan had recovered enough to give directions to the cart driver once they reached the outer wall of Innsbrooke, going toward the docks near the Great Hall.

It turned out unnecessary. As they crossed the bridge into the city, a guard spotted him and shouted, "Prince Relan!"

The other guards rushed to the cart, talking over each other, one heading to grab the driver.

"No, stop!" Relan cleared his throat and tried to sound strong. "This man helped me get here safely. He should be rewarded."

The driver stared open-mouthed. "Prince?"

Relan nodded, hoping that the driver wasn't one of those Emsha people like in the first village they found.

"You... I'm sorry! You didn't say—I didn't realize—There should have been more of us, to protect you, to—"

"It's okay," Relan interrupted, relieved. "Thank you for helping me." He turned back to the city guards. "His whole village helped us."

"We'll see they're properly thanked for their service." The first guard looked around. "Prince Hinaru?"

Relan felt empty again. "He..." He looked down at the wrapped cloth beside him.

The guard stiffened and turned back to the driver. "What happened?"

"There was an attack. Ferals. I'm afraid the older boy was gone before we reached them."

With a sharp nod, the guard reached for the veelish reins. "We'll take it from here."

"Yes, of course." The driver scrambled down from his seat.

"We'll return your animals and cart promptly," one of the other guards promised, guiding the man away.

Relan felt someone nearby and turned.

Madze stood on the bridge behind them. A simple band of cloth covered her forehead, hiding the triangle marking her as Kaine.

"Hey," a guard said, starting toward her.

"She's our friend," Relan blurted. "She helped us."

The guard glanced back at the driver, who shrugged. "We only saw the lad—that is, the prince—after the fight."

"The Tulvans didn't mention anyone so young going with you." The guard's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"We met after..." His voice caught. "After Hinaru and I were separated from our guards. She kept us safe."

The guards looked at each other, and the first one nodded. "Let's get to the palace, quickly."

Madze slid onto the cart behind Relan, and they set off.

A buzz had already risen by the time they crossed the lake to the palace. Attendants scurried out to receive them, whisking them inside.

Mam and Da were already in the entryway. They rushed forward and pulled Relan into their arms, holding him tight.

He thought he'd already cried all his tears, but they came again now. He clung to his parents, letting the tears fall.

The others around them stayed respectfully distant, letting the family grieve in peace.

Finally, Mam wiped her tears and straightened. "Who is your friend?"

"Her name is Madze." Relan gestured for her to join them. "Can we talk? I mean, in private?"

Mam and Da exchanged a look, then nodded.

Relan hesitated. How would his parents react to what they would see as a dangerous animal in front of them?

Madze slipped her hand into his.

He took a deep breath, nodded, and followed his parents into the side chamber.

Da shut the door behind them. "What is it, naydi?"

More tears threatened. Relan swallowed them back. "Madze..." He looked at her and nodded.

She quietly removed her headband.

Mam stiffened, and Da stepped in front of her, ready to shout for guards.

"Wait!" Relan put his hands up. "She's not going to hurt anyone. She saved us."

Mam carefully stepped around Da and faced Madze, studying the girl. Mam politely dipped her head. "If that's the case, we owe you our thanks."

Madze echoed the head dip.

"Why don't we sit down, and you can tell us about it." Da still looked tense, but he gently guided Mam toward a chair.

Relan did his best to muddle through what happened. How Cama and her people attacked them to try to trap and kill Madze. Emsha's ruler and what she was trying to do with the Kaine. Who the Kaine really were, and what they do for people. How Madze had kept them safe time and time again as they struggled to find their way home.

Mam and Da remained silent as they listened to the story, though Mam took Relan's hand and occasionally squeezed it, tears glistening in her eyes.

When he finished, Mam pulled him close again. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I can't tell you how glad I am you're safe." Silence passed for a moment, and Relan squeezed her harder.

She finally released him and faced Madze. "Again, we owe you our thanks. You put your own life at risk. I'm not sure I can express our gratitude. Especially after the way our people have treated yours." She paused, speaking delicately. "I am grateful that you rescued my boys, even when you knew the trap was meant to kill you. Even without knowing who they were." The unspoken question lingered in the air: _why?_

Madze looked down, then met Mam's gaze. "My family died protecting your people. I would do the same."

The tears sparkled in Mam's eyes again. She reached out and took Madze's hand. "My people have done a great disservice to yours. I will do all that's in my power to make it right."

Madze dipped her head. "Thank you."

* * *

The following week, Relan stood on the raised platform in the Great Hall beside Mam and Da. The enormous room was packed with people and buzzing whispers. Leaders from all different provinces sat at special tables at the front of the room, including a sour-faced Lady Cettrina from Emsha.

Everyone had gotten Mam's special messages about how she was in discussion with the Ferals—the Kaine—to broker peace, how the Kaine themselves wished for an alliance and would monitor their own kind to prevent any from attacking other Kenarans, and how a ceremony would be held on this day to solemnify that agreement.

Only Lady Cettrina received a specific, customized message, containing the same as the others but with added lines about how peace is greater than genocide or making traps that get innocent people killed.

Lady Cettrina caught him looking at her and made a show of looking away, turning her nose in the air.

A stir came from the back of the room as the doors opened. Madze walked in, a mass of Kaine following behind her. People cringed away, but the Kaine ignored the looks around them and continued onward instead.

Relan saw some of the guards near the front tensing and wished he could scold them.

Mam cleared her throat, and the guards reluctantly eased back.

Relan caught a glimmer of a smile on Madze's face, just for a moment. He held back a grin. Her eyes met his with amusement before she returned her attention forward.

When the Kaine reached the front, their group filling in over half the expansive walkway down the middle of the Hall, Mam stepped forward. "Thank you, friends, for coming to meet with us today. We understand you have done much to protect our people, stopping dangerous animals from attacking, and we have gravely misunderstood you and mistreated you for it. Please accept our deepest apologies. We seek to make recompense. What would you ask of us?"

Silence stretched. The seated Kenarans began to whisper.

Relan shook his head internally. They couldn't see the silent communication slipping through the Kaine.

"We ask for nothing but recognition." Madze still spoke deliberately, as if learning a new language, but she'd become far more adept during the last week spent in the palace. "Recognition that we are our own people. That we mean you no more harm than anyone else in Kenara might. That we will help and protect whenever we can."

Mam raised her hands toward the gathered people. "Will you join me in recognizing this?"

Murmurs turned to agreement, slow at first but soon strongly ringing out through the room. Everyone had heard the whole story by now. They might still be afraid on instinct, but they knew their crown prince was only alive because a Kaine had put her own life at risk to save his.

"We will seek to repair the damage done between our peoples," Mam continued. "Please accept this as a token of our friendship and alliance moving forward."

An attendant presented a gold medallion to the Kaine. Silent communication rippled through them before Madze stepped forward and dipped her head, allowing him to place the medallion around her neck. To his credit, his hands only shook a little.

She straightened. "Thank you. We welcome this alliance."

Silence stretched once more, but this time it wasn't because of the Kaine. Mam seemed to be deliberately waiting.

Lady Cettrina reluctantly stood and stepped forward, her face still sour. She stiffly turned to the Kaine. "It has been called to my attention that people within my province have harmed your people. Without my knowledge or consent, of course." She shot a glance toward Mam.

Relan had to dig his fingernails into his palms. She was clearly lying, but he knew enough about diplomacy to keep his mouth shut. Calling her out here and now would do no good.

"I wish to give you our formal apology for this," the lady continued, eyeing the Kaine down her nose. "I, of course, never would have allowed this if I had known. We will find all the people responsible and see to it they are brought to justice. Please, accept this gift as our apology."

Two of her people lugged forward a giant golden statue.

Madze eyed it with distaste that only the other Kaine and Relan could see.

Relan bit his tongue to keep from snorting. What use did the forest-dwelling people have for a gaudy statue?

But Madze politely dipped her head again. "Thank you."

Mam still waited.

Lady Cettrina looked almost pained as she turned to face Mam. "I understand some of this... tragedy... was caused by people who believed I should be made queen instead of you. Again, I assure you that this was all without my knowledge. You are our queen, and I have no interest in taking any power other than what you have graciously entrusted me with as governor of Emsha Province."

Her lips twisted slightly as if she'd eaten something vile. "As a symbol of our deference to your position of authority, please accept this gift." She lifted a necklace off her neck, a black ring resting on a dark metal chain.

The dragon ring. Relan remembered the conversation on the sentinal from what felt like ages ago now. Former possession of Princess Alita, now the emblem of rulership in Emsha.

Lady Cettrina had to bite out each word as she placed the necklace on a pillow held by an attendant. "Please take it, and let it stand as the emblem of rulership over all Kenara from now until forever."

The attendant stepped up onto the platform and presented the pillow to Mam.

She lifted the necklace and draped it over her own neck. "I accept, Lady Cettrina. Thank you. We hold no enmity against you or your people, and we anticipate many years of peace between us."

Lady Cettrina made a tight-lipped grimace that was probably meant to be a smile, dipped her head, and returned to her seat.

The Kaine behind Madze turned as one.

Startled gasps rippled through the people, but the Kaine simply walked the length of the Hall and disappeared out the doors.

Madze dipped her head toward Mam. "My people return to their home."

"And you are welcome to make your home here, with us, as an ambassador of the Kaine."

Relan watched Madze's face. The subject had come up before, but she'd declined to answer. Her face hadn't given away any of her thoughts, either. He hoped she would agree to stay.

"Your offer is gracious. I accept."

Warmth bubbled in Relan's chest. He didn't bother trying to hide his smile.

Mam gestured, and Madze climbed onto the platform to stand beside Relan.

He whispered too quietly for anyone else to hear. "I'm glad you're staying."

Her hand found his and gave it a squeeze.

He knew exactly what she was saying.

Me too.

THE END

Pronunciation Guide and Glossary

**Alita** (uh-LEE-tuh)

**Cama** (CAH-muh)

**Cettrina** (seh-TREE-nuh)

**Derrig** (DEH-rig)

**Dimmeck** (DIM-ehk)

**Dina** (DEE-nuh)

**Givron** (GIHV-rahn)

**Hinaru** (hih-NAH-roo)

**Kelren** (KEHL-rehn)

**Kivedan** (KIH-v'-dahn)

**Kolrem** (KOHL-rehm)

**Lesdi** (LEHS-dee)

**Lon** (LOHN)

**Loxheed** (LOHX-heed)

**Madze** (MAHD-zay)

**Mazi Lemendi** (MAH-zee leh-MEHN-dee)

**Mekkit** (MEH-kiht)

**Relan** (RAY-lahn)

**Riista** (ree-IHS-tuh)

**Sennet** (SEH-neht)

**Tashan** (TAW-sh'n)

**Vikk** (VIHK)

**Wresh** (REHSH)

**Birrik** : A medium fern with large fronds that curl toward sunlight throughout the day.

**Braybun** (BRAY-buhn): A medium-sized nocturnal rodent with long front legs.

**Da** (DAA): The Kadrian term of affection for a father.

**Depps** (DEHPS): A term of displeasure.

**Dufo** (doo-FOH): A dangerous wild animal with spheroid bodies, long legs, and lengthy, serpentine necks. They exist in family packs, mostly living alone but always within hearing range of at least two other members of the pack. They attack any perceived threat with a sharp beak, talons at the end of their legs, and a foot spike coming from the back of the foot.

Dulberries (DULL-beh-rees): A highly bitter berry which can cause significant internal discomfort if consumed.

Ebrun (EE-bruhn): The western country on Endonsha's landmass, almost entirely inhabited by Hranites.

**Elf** (EHLF): One of the four races of Kenara, a short people group with large, single color eyes, small noses, and ears featuring a pointed tip.

**Emsha** (EHM-shuh): The second-largest city in Kenara, a major trade center surrounded by towering walls, founded and predominantly peopled by Elves.

Endonsha (ehn-DAWN-shuh): A planet with a single landmass covering two-thirds of the surface. This landmass is divided evenly into two countries, Kenara and Ebrun.

Feral (FEH-r'l): The common name for Kaine, believed by other Kenarans to be violent animals that will kill on sight.

Gibroot (GIHB-root): A farmed tuber with feathery sprouts and green skin known for its satiating qualities.

**Gumroot** (GUHM-root): A highly dense, chewy tuber with a pleasant flavor but little nutritional value.

**Hark/Harking** (HAHR-k'ng): An expletive, typically used as an adjective.

**Hranite** (RAHN-ai't): The predominant race inhabiting Ebrun, a tall people group with vertical eyes, round heads with narrow jaws, no hair, and gray-toned skin.

**Ikane** (EE-kah-nay): The Kaine term for anyone who is not a member of their race.

**Innsbrooke** (IHNS-br'k): The capital city of Kenara, also the largest city of the land. It is nearly centered beside the wall separating Kenara from Ebrun and has a large lake on the wall side, with two rivers at the north and south end of the city.

**Kadrian** (KAY-dree-'n): One of the four races of Kenara, a tall people group with high, almost pyramid-shaped pointed ears, flat noses, and wide eyes featuring a vertical slit of a pupil.

**Kaine** (kah-EE-nay): A race of people who appear like Tulvans, with small, flat noses, high cheekbones, wide-set feline eyes, and high, pyramid-shaped ears, as well as retractable claws, but with a dark triangular mark on their foreheads starting at the hairline and pointing downward. They have heightened reflexes and strength and intuitive understanding of their surroundings, making them vicious fighters.

**Kenara** (kehn-AHR-uh): The eastern country on Endonsha's landmass.

Mam (MAAM): The Kadrian term of affection for a mother.

Mi'ine (MEE-ee-nay): An expletive typically used to indicate surprise or disbelief.

Munk (MUHNK): A small bird known for foolish, frivolous behaviors.

**Naydi** (NAY-dee): The traditional Nim word for child.

**Netcher** (NET-ch'r): An expletive typically used as an insult to describe another person.

**Nim** (NIHM): One of the four races of Kenara, a people group with particularly lanky limbs, sloping foreheads, and protruding but curveless noses.

**Rekin** (REHK-'n): Very large rodents with lithe bodies, short padded feet, and protruding fangs. They are plentiful on Endonsha and valued for both fur and meat.

Ruuball (ROO-uh-ball): A sport in which the players take turns attempting to propel an object through an opaque, winding tunnel using only a straight pole.

Sentinal (SEHN-tihn-'l): Mount animals, somewhat rare but speedy due to their massive size. They have long, slender legs which stretch above the treetops, round bodies, stretched, snaking necks, and a nose like an upright spear set on a round head.

**Skitternit** (SKIT-'r-niht): Tiny multi-legged insects with long, furry feelers.

Snitpup (SNIHT-puhp): An infant tree-snit, particularly helpless and dependent on others, carried in a leaf pouch by the male tree-snit.

Toross (t'-RAHS): A relatively small ground mammal with an elongated body and four short legs. It feeds predominantly on roots and nests underground, but spends most of the day above ground hunting for new nesting locations.

**Tree-snit** (TREE-sniht): Small rodents with large eyes, furry round bodies, and skinny tails, most commonly found clinging to tree bark of a close color to their fur to hide from predators.

**Trongial** (TROHN-jee'l): A vaguely equine mammal with a long, narrow mouth filled with sharp teeth. They are prized as speedy mounts, but must be kept under careful control due to their feral instincts.

**Tulvan** (TUHL-v'n): One of the four races of Kenara, a people group with small, flat noses, high cheekbones, wide-set feline eyes, and high, pyramid-shaped ears. They have abnormally strong reflexes and agility, as well as retractable claws. They are known for being deeply religious and believe the Maker gave them power so they can serve in defense of others.

Veelish (VEE-l'sh): A lanky equine animal with long, soft fur.

**Wastik** (WAH-stihk): A general Kenaran term for insects or pests which are to be exterminated.

**Yai** (YAH-ee): An impolite term expressing surprise or displeasure.

About the Author

I enjoy life with my life-mate and little sprout in the Pacific Northwest. I obtained a degree in Counseling Psychology from Northwest University in Kirkland, WA, which I use to create fully dimensional characters with unique personalities and quirks. In fiction, I'm a huge fan of all things speculative: anything where the rules of reality need not apply. My books include traditional fantasy, space fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and more. When not writing, I can usually be found reading, watching movies, or wasting entirely too much time on the internet.

Connect with me at

cybishop.com

Other books in The Endonshan Chronicles:

Dragonbond

Sanaraheim

Power

Magic

Invasion

Traitors

**The "Pay What You Want"** **Quarantine Deal**

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After you have read the book, you then get to decide for yourself what that ebook was worth. Was the entertainment you experienced worth a dollar? Three? Five? More? Whatever you decide is what you get to pay.

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