Merciless Hunter

10: Hunt and be hunted

Hunting. Arkteia told her that it has some in common with burglary. The stalking. The risk of becoming prey yourself, at least if your prey is another hunter. The triumph of success. And the sense of guilt for those bereaved. Stealing from those who will suffer less - the well-to-do - means less guilt but more risk. In this case, the village Arkteia has chosen is neither rich nor poor, and they will take no more than the villagers can afford to lose.

It is not long since sunset when they peek out from under the eaves of the forest. The stark moonlight casts black shadows that are easy to hide in, while flooding the open stretches, leaving anyone moving there exposed. But waiting for moonset now would mean having only a short time of darkness before sunrise - a time when light sleepers, with a whole night behind them, are easily roused.

Here and there, faint streams of candlelight behind shutters infuse the moon silver with a warmer hue. Not all have turned in yet, time to wait and watch. Arkteia points at a house a little away from the others. "Do you see? It's the blacksmith's. Their ropewalk is next to it, they don't seem to have a ropemaker in the village. So the best place to look for rope would be a stable or a barn."

Wrenne nods, although she cannot see any ropewalk. She knows how they look, of course - an intriguing set of cranks mounted on a stand of some kind, to twist the fibers around each other - but she cannot pick it out at this distance, unused as she is to seeing the world by moonlight. She wonders briefly if Arkteia's keen sight is another gift of power.

They will need rope to reach the meeting place, Arkteia explained before they set out. She had no time to find that in Lewden, needing first and foremost clothes, blankets and a little food to last them for the day. Now she has to gather enough provisions to last the two of them for the next day, and for Wrenne for a few days after that. If all goes well, she will look for a pair of proper boots to replace Wrenne's light shoes.

Wrenne is grateful that Arkteia thinks that far ahead, herself unable to see more than an hour into the future at most right now. But she keeps her gratitude to herself, saving it for later. For when she has finally reached her destination. When the time comes to part. And when Arkteia has explained her other reasons for helping.

Arkteia points at another building. "We'll try that house first. Their barn seems easy to get to unseen, and I'll wager that smaller hut next to it is a food barn. Brun, you follow and let me know about the dog smells around them, as far as you can. Wrenne, you can keep a lookout from..." She pauses and squints across the terrain, then points. "From the raspberry patch over there. You remember how to make the alarm call?"

Wrenne smiles. "Do you want to hear it?"

Arkteia hesitates. "If you're sure you can do it, then let's not risk it."

They spent some time around the campfire before leaving, trying various warning calls that would sound like night birds in the area. In the end they settled for the owl hoot that Tirisi had used when they first met, blowing into her cupped hands through a gap between her thumbs. Once she understood how to do it, Wrenne was even able to blow a simple tune, delighting like a child in her new trick to Arkteia's and Brun's amusement. Now she has to resist the urge to practice her little tune again while waiting. To keep herself distracted, she goes through the past few days, trying to make sense of them.

"How did you do that voice?" she asks, suddenly remembering their escape from the pit.

Arkteia grunts. "It's something we came up with when I tried to teach Brun how to sing human songs. We simply speak in chorus, except Brun can't form speech. That voice is what comes from it."

"But..." Wrenne remembers how Brun's body vibrated beneath her before their flight into the forest. "But how does she know what you will say?"

She hears Arkteia draw a long breath and let it out between her teeth. "Yes, how does she indeed? All I can say is that it's part of the mystery of having an ally."