[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
of the wolf, gazing at her and running its tongue over its white, glinting
teeth.
file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/Tara%20K.%20Harper%20-%...er%20-%20Wolfwalker%203%20-%20Storm%20Runner.html (350 of 421)22-12-2006 1:37:04
Storm Runner-Wolfwalker 03-Harper, Tara K
Chapter 16
A single eye
Isolated in time:
Seeing nothing,
Seeing only dark,
Since the dreams
Died
To the north, the woman called the Siker crawled out on the ledge with the
others, resting her chin on her forearms as she edged her head over that
precipitous drop. Without a word, the ragged group studied the treetops far
below. The sun was high over the Slot behind them; anyone looking their
way would see no detail, just the bright, burning light that watered their
eyes and made them squint uselessly up. They had found body prints from
two other people lying at the edge just as Namina s group was now doing,
but since they had certainly been watching the raiders camp as well, they
were not those she hunted, but Ariyens.
Namina scanned the forest ceaselessly. She searched for movement any
file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/Tara%20K.%20Harper%20-%...er%20-%20Wolfwalker%203%20-%20Storm%20Runner.html (351 of 421)22-12-2006 1:37:04
Storm Runner-Wolfwalker 03-Harper, Tara K
movement that would betray the steady, snakelike trail of raiders working
their way through the forest, heading north. The camp the raiders had set up
in Dog Pocket was in the strongest position possible, but the trails that led
to it were still open to attack.
While Namina stared at the treeline, the man next to her studied the scene
below. His forearm was over his brow, shielding his view from the sun as
he catalogued the raiders wagons, their positioning, and their strength. He
had not been wrong when he told the others that the camp was a goal
beyond them. Backed up against the mountain on one side, it was guarded
by the river on the west and south, while the fireweed meadow on the east
kept even the worlags from nosing in. The river could be crossed only at the
southmost corner of their camp; above and below their position, the Phye
ran too swiftly for even a dnu to keep its footing. A man would be swept
away as if he were a leaf. Usu could not help his scowl. If only he had more
men&
One of the men grunted, and both Namina and Usu glanced over, following
the direction of the other man s finger. Namina saw nothing, but she waited
patiently until the metal that had first caught the other man s eyes flashed
again. It was almost hidden beneath the thinned tops of the trees, winking
out of sight immediately, but it was there, and it could not be mistaken for
the white underside of a swallow or the bright reflection of water.
Beside her, Usu nodded. So, he thought, the raiders are running their
supplies along the old road. He would not have guessed it. It was a stroke of
luck for him, though the rootroad they were using would still be spongy
from a winter of disuse, and the dnu would not be able to respond quickly
when attacked.
file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/Tara%20K.%20Harper%20-%...er%20-%20Wolfwalker%203%20-%20Storm%20Runner.html (352 of 421)22-12-2006 1:37:04
Storm Runner-Wolfwalker 03-Harper, Tara K
One of the women on the other side of him gestured abruptly, and he
nodded. They eased back from their vantage point silently. Not until the rim
of the rock hid them from below did they stand and jog down the trail.
Dion and Rafe jogged after the wolves cautiously. The raiders kept a good
pace, and she and Rafe would have been left far behind had they walked.
Now, close enough to see the buildings in the clearing, she dropped to her
hands and knees. Rafe was ahead of her, lying on his belly and worming
forward to the edge of the treeline, his knees and hands wet with the damp
earth. The moist dirt brought a welcome coolness to their warm, sweating
bodies.
The clearing they approached was big enough to include three houses, a
barn, and several outbuildings. Two of the outbuildings were greenhouses;
the other three were sheds, one of those being a storage unit. It was to the
storage shed that Dion directed Rafe s gaze. He followed her finger,
nodding as he saw the heavy bar across the door and the lock that dangled
from the outside. From shoulder height down, the finish of the door was
gone, scratched away. The deep grooves that remained tore the wood into
long vertical lines. There were no such marks on the other sheds or barns;
the wolfwalkers had to be in that one. As she watched, a group of raiders
stomped out of one of the houses, and Dion and Rafe shrank back into the
brush. There were three wolves with them. Moons if they looked this
way, the raiders would know&
Hishn, Dion called softly in her mind, I see your brothers and sister. Can
you reach them from there let them know we are here?
file:///K|/eMule/Incoming/Tara%20K.%20Harper%20-%...er%20-%20Wolfwalker%203%20-%20Storm%20Runner.html (353 of 421)22-12-2006 1:37:04
Storm Runner-Wolfwalker 03-Harper, Tara K
I howl with the wind, Wolfwalker, Hishn sent. Their song is mine.
As Hishn reached across to the packsong, all three wolves cocked their ears.
The tide of grief and anger that swept back through Hishn left Dion frozen
in the brush, her eyes wide and unfocused, while Rafe, unaware, frowned.
A moment later, the wolves turned away, disinterested. Rafe let his breath
out as two of them were shoved into the wire run. The third wolf was kept
out, one of the raiders taking down a training loop and placing it over its
snarling head. He tightened the loop, holding the stick between him and the
suddenly choking creature. Dion s hands went to her throat. She caught her
breath, coughing. No, she whispered.
Rafe frowned. What are they doing?
The wolfwalker near the shed grabbed the raider s arm, shouting at him,
trying to loosen the grip. He was shoved away, his shoulders, then his head,
striking the wall of the shed. He got groggily to his feet.
No, Dion whispered again. Rafe looked at her, his eyes narrowed. Her
violet gaze was unfocused, and her lips pulled back in that rictus snarl. One
of the raiders pulled a whip from a hook in the shed and uncoiled it. Rafe
tensed. The whip snapped, and Dion jerked. Rafe clamped his hand over her
mouth as she cried out. He dragged her body to his, muffling her face in his
shoulder, staring at the scene. The other wolves flung themselves on the
wire walls of their cage. The whip snapped again, and the gray wolf yelped,
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]