The Dragon's Rogue

Chapter 22

Something nudged at my side, poking my ribs smartly. I rolled, away from the pressure, but it followed persistently. My mind was mired in such deep sleep that it took me a few breaths to remember where I was, and what danger I was about to face. The thought cleared the last bits of fog. I sat, as well as I could in wolf form, and found myself curled around my satchel looking up at an unimpressed Illaise. Wolves and a few men busied themselves about the clearing, their actions smooth and practiced...and silent. There was only one reason I knew for such precautions.

Quatori.

Spider-legs of fear crept across my spine. Had the Quatori found us? How many enemies were we looking at? I hated that I was unable to ask for clarification. Even a whisper could be deadly if the Quatori were near enough. The sun had arched downward, but still poured its bright rays into the clearing. I estimated that I had slept for maybe five hours. It wasn't enough, but it would have to do.

Illaise made an impatient gesture and I noticed that she held rations in her hands. What looked to be hard dried biscuit and several strips of meat. My stomach turned at the thought of eating now, even that organ was concerned about the guarantee of my future death. A muscle in her jaw jumped, forcing the shadows on her neck to dance. Maybe it was safer to do as was expected and try to eat than to defy her any farther.

I shifted as quickly as I could, feeling exposed and useless in my naked human skin, and accepted the rations gracefully. That wasn't enough for Illaise, she stood, watching me until I began to eat. I wasn't sure whether to be impressed that she cared about feeding me, or irritated at the level of control she desired. Either way I took the first tentative bites. The biscuit crumbled to dust in my mouth. It took a lot of chewing but I finally got it down, the dried meat was a little easier, some of its inherent moisture still remained and it had been seasoned pleasantly.

When I had finished I found Illaise staring away from me, watching the proceedings of the clearing. Her gaze was guarded and her face neutral, but the hand at her side was clearly visible from my vantage and it clenched and unclenched in an agitated manner. How would it be, to feel responsible for all the lives before her?

She noticed my staring, one eyebrow twitched upward slightly as she turned back to me. Then she pointed toward my satchel and waggled her fingers, indicating that it was time at last to release my promised weapon.

I untied the leather fasteners and opened the sack, digging carefully through the compartments and removing five bundles. Each was a combination of two phials, designed to be tossed and broken at the same time. Illaise appeared unimpressed with my creations, she hefted one, roughly enough that I cringed at the possibility of it breaking. Fool of a woman.

There was no indication that she noticed my flinching, except a renewed gentleness. A few rapid hand signals and four men appeared at her side. She handed one of the bundles to each of them, keeping the fifth for herself, and busied herself tying the awkward bundle about her neck with a thong of leather. A deep frown creased my lips as the warriors designated to carry my creations followed suit. Did they not realize the danger? I had designed those bottles to break, they were not the most sturdy of vessels. At least in my satchel they had been held snug, tucked in against layers of cloth and my myriad of other bottles until there was little room to move and break. Around their necks there was plenty of maneuverability, too much.

I needed to warn them of the danger, I tried hand signals of my own. Unfortunately my weak flapping was of little interest. Something else commanded their attention, each of the men stiffened in turn, cocking his head and staring into the forest down along the path we had used to arrive at the clearing. A moment later I caught the scent that they had noticed.

Quatori. They were closing in.

The warriors stepped away and shifted to wolf, their bundles swinging precariously around their enlarged necks. It was better for my sanity, I decided, not to watch the spectacle. Instead I dove my hand back within my satchel and found my dart launcher. It took less than a minute to set up the six darts and the poison capsule that would, with all luck disable the enemy. I could not shift to wolf again, not with the launcher, but the wolf's natural defenses were nothing against this enemy, and I refused to be that vulnerable.

There was some silent signal that I missed, for all of the wolves moved off at once. Some, those with my creations, vanished into the forest along the stream bank. Others took to crossing the stream, silently slipping into the water like beasts from the river itself.

I watched for a moment debating what to do. I had been given no instruction on the different directions the wolves followed. Part of me wondered if Illaise hoped that I would simply become lost, or maybe stay and be Quatori fodder now that she had her weapons. It was a possibility, but one that made little sense given the effort she had just taken to ensure I was rested and fed.

I spotted a flash of fur and my thoughts settled slightly. Not Illaise's pale sliver, but a deeper gray male, and smaller. He had crossed the river already and was pacing in the shadows of the trees, watching the path behind me anxiously.

Taking the hint I entered the stream myself, careful of my footing. The shock of the cool liquid energized my skin where it touched. Danger, and the chance of finally reaching Adda energized the rest of me. The water reached mid-thigh in the center of the stream before receding as I climbed the far bank. Roots tangled there, exposed from seasons of water rushing by, providing naturally formed hand and foot holds. When I reached the bank safely the wolf turned and dashed into the undergrowth. If I looked closely there was the fine beginning of a trail that he followed. Grasses bent and a few branches deprived of their leaves. But it was not a deeply rutted game trail, no other animal had passed here for a long while.

This was not the first time the pack had run this path, I realized. Illaise had mentioned that she had sought passage into the camp, I hadn't thought she was speaking of such recent events. By my estimate that might have been exactly what she was doing when Scet summoned her.

The trail was hard to navigate, it was clear, but the route had been chosen for the shape and abilities of the wolf form. And while the Shifter's wolves were much larger than the wild wolf counterparts, the form still had much maneuverability that my human arms and legs lacked.

Behind me a branch snapped, a sharp intrusion into the enforced silence. I crouched, backing from the path slightly and working my way behind a trunk. Dread and hopelessness worked it's way into me. If the Quatori had found us, and tracked us already then what chance did we have?

As predicted a man came into view, oozing around a fallen tree trunk. One of the mutilated and possessed beings. At this point it still wore its human form, so it was impossible to tell if it was a Shifter or not. I knew now that the Quatori could also possess dragons. Could they take humans as well? I wasn't sure they would have reason to, but I didn't pretend to understand the logic behind this evil.

The shadows around it behaved strangely, swirling and gathering, yet if I looked closely enough they stopped. Such was the power of the Quatori. This man was particularly concerning. He weaved and moved as I had come to expect from those possessed. Oddly his eyes were still intact, though swollen and oozing, not the gaping holes I had seen so far. Wounds split his skin, and they looked fresh. He snuffled at the ground, and as I watched, my stomach heaving as he raised blood caked fingers and raked at his own face with a frustrated gesture. A pained moan followed, one that had me gritting my teeth.

A soft tickle against my skin nearly startled me from hiding. I flinched violently, which was dangerous in a situation that required such stillness. The gray wolf had appeared at my side. He watched for a long moment, the creature snuffling about the path, the gray hackles rising. Then he turned to me, meeting my eyes pointedly before tilting his head toward the path.

Yes, he was right, it was not wise to sit here and allow the creatures to catch up. Especially since there was bound to be more than this one. Yet, I found myself unable to pull away. Just what was it that was pulling at my recognition? Something deeper that I was missing, something bad.

It wasn't until I caught a waft of scent that I finally knew what it was. I did recognize the creature, and he was a shifter. This was...or had been my Alpha.