No one challenged me over the following days, but they didn’t really spar either. I wasn’t sure if the upcoming meeting was weighing down their moods, or if they were saving their energy. Either way, I didn’t plan on practising until I’d figured out control. I pledged to myself I’d find the wolves when we returned and work out how to share or store this extra power before I hurt someone. And then I had to bite my lip not to smile at the memory of Steed’s face when I’d sent him flying through the air.
“All right,” Chevelle said as he brought his horse to a stop. “This is the nearest we can get you. We can wait for her to find us, or search for some clue of where she’s hiding.”
I smiled. “You make it sound as if she’s–” My words cut off at a sound from the trees behind us. I turned to find Rhys and Rider entering the clearing.
They’d been following at a distance because I’d been attacked on our own lands. No one had expected this trip, so if there had been any other plotters, they’d be on the mountain. Not to mention that we didn’t want any of the rogue clans pursuing us here, in the First Forests. Words forgotten, I scanned the surrounding trees.
I’d been surprised when Anvil had told me where Junnie would be. I wasn’t exactly shocked she’d gone into hiding, considering she’d turned on her own council and lost most of her family, but I hadn’t expected her to stray so far north of the villages and forests that had been her constant. The trees here were thin and wiry, more needled than broadleaf. The forest floor was moss and ink-bristle. This was a palette of night blossoms and jade flower, not the sunny rainbow of her home. She’d feel out of place here. Cold.
I realized the others were watching me. Waiting.
“Set camp here. I’ll have a look around, I should be able to tell where she’s been.” Surely, there would be some mark of her, some sign of growth or garden or change.
Ruby went straight to forming a large fire. I doubted we’d need to make a spectacle, it wasn’t as if we’d be hard to spot, but I didn’t spoil her fun. Rhys and Rider stayed close. I knelt, splaying my hands on my legs, and closed my eyes. I didn’t expect to find her so easily, but it was early afternoon, and I could at least get a feel for the land before she came to us.
I found a harrier and sank deep into its mind so I could cover a greater distance. It was easier with my own hawk, took less focus once I’d gotten familiar with its mind, but that was why I hadn’t brought it. That familiarity allowed me to find it even now, back in the castle. It meant I could still keep an eye on things.
The forests were a striking green, dark patches among the clearings. The harrier took long, lazy circles and I could see the patches grow larger, taking over the clearings farther south. We weren’t terribly far from the base of the mountain, closer to it than any of Junnie’s own people. It was a disturbing sign.
For a long time, I saw nothing out of the ordinary, no indication that she’d touched the land. But there was no hint of anyone else, either. And then I saw a dog.
It wasn’t mangy, in fact its coat was clean and shiny, a fluffy black that appeared to float about it as it ran. It didn’t look as if it’d missed a meal either. I touched its mind briefly and knew. Snickers.
I came back to myself, shaking my head. They were watching me.
“She’s there. A league or more, in a copse of blood oak.”
Anvil glanced at the sky. Would we go now?
I nodded. If Junnie was behind the attacks, I didn’t want to sit in wait.
“Do we go in mounted?” Steed asked.
“Yes. It’s not as if we’ll be able to sneak up on her.” We could be stealthier on foot, but I was confident that by now she knew we were coming.
On Steed’s command, the horses gathered and in moments the packs were secure and ready. Snickers was still running the field when we approached.
“Is that...” Grey asked, trailing off as the dog spotted us and advanced, immediately picking up speed.
I answered a flat, “Yes,” but the question on their faces was plain. How could he have grown so quickly? He was a giant, some terrifying mix of a mastiff and a wolfhound. I tried to work out his age in my head, but no amount of arithmetic could reconcile this massive beast with that puppy.
I tore my eyes away long enough to glance at Chevelle, whose expression was wary.
“Does he plan to eat us?” Anvil asked evenly.
I managed a laugh. “No, but there will be slobber.”
Ruby made some sort of disgusted noise and I turned to smile at her. Fairies didn’t like dogs, and this one was bigger than she was.