Angharad: Strange Prey

Harri's tiny hands tightened on the reins, her heels kicking into the side of the steed. The horse began to turn, hooves cutting into the mossy sod of the earth.

Harri looked back upon her teacher and the panicking horse, and saw that two more creatures had joined the fray. They brandished small claws of black, and from under their obscuring cloaks of brown and green, she couldn't tell if they were apart of them, or mearly weapons.

The horse reared back, front legs kicking up into the air, and as she fell, she saw why... One of the creatures was heading for her.



Wolf saw the small bundle fall as the horse reared, landing in a pile of leaves. There was a flash of pale skin, like a new bird's. The creature continued forward, snarling, its form coiled as if to spring upon the horse and its fallen load.

Wolf sprang at the prey, snarling as he leaped at its back. This unnatural creature would be his. Wolf would not let it destroy more.

Harri fell just as she had been taught, rolling over and over in the leaves. She heard the terrified squealings of the horse as she scrambled to her feet, drawing the small sword ...

And looked to see the horrible ... Thing ... that had attacked her was under attack itself by a fierce grey wolf.

Harri shrank back, her eyes wide, her heart hammering so hard she thought it would burst. She clutched the sword tighter. Wolves were fierce and strong and deadly ... but this one was at least attacking the horrible Thing.

Wolf landed on the things back, just as it was about to reach the fallen child. Its teeth hit the mark, and the smell of fear and blood was heady. The thing tried to turn in its grasp, screaming.

The face that Harri was forced to face contorted in agony. It was caked with earth and grime, flecks of moss stuck to its twisting skin. The eyes, though, that met hers, were hazel... and all too human. It reached for its fallen blade, other hand flailing back to beat the wolf off of him.

With a wild growl, Wolf ripped into the creature's neck, yanking it backwards and away from the fragile looking bit of a thing the creature sought to attack.

Harri gave a scream of sheer terror and cowered back against the tree trunk.

Father would want her to be brave - but Father had also said - not once but many, many times, that it was better to be safe than to be brave.

Harri started to burrow into the pile of dead leaves.

Her hands dug into the pile, touching not only the leaves but other things, strange and slick, the kind of things the serving boys terrorized each other with. Behind her, the screams grew louder, the thing cursing in a tongue she couldn't understand. The curses were cut off as Wolf ripped into a vein and vital muscle, and the thing grew limp under him.

Behind them, the sounds of fighting had died down as the other creatures spoke to each other in their strange tongue, falling silent when they sighted their dead comrad and the wolf atop of him.

The black wolf bared his teeth in a hideous growl at the other creatures. Their tongue made no sense, but they were prey and they would fall as well.

He moved to stand between the creatures and cub, and then paced forward slowly, the growl growing stronger and more menacing.

Harri had hastily left the leaves alone, and sat up, staring at the wolf. The Thing was dead - at least she hoped so ... but the wolf was ignoring her, and it was between her and the other horrible things ... the ones that had attacked Master Dylan and ...

"Kip!" the name came out as a broken little sob.

She scrambled to her feet, the small sword clutched in her hand. If she couldn't hide - then she wasn't going to run away. She was going to stand fast and make these horrible things pay for what they'd done.

On her feet, she could see her poor pony, bent down to one knee. It gave a pitiful neigh as it tried to rise again, only to crumple as its foreleg refused to hold it. One of the creatures sniffed at it, then seeing the bloody leg, snorted and said something to its comrades.

The two others ignored the bleating horse as they rose from the still form of Master Dylan, pulling up their bloody blades and holding them ready. They ignored the girl, moving in on the wolf instead. The grunted at each other in their strange tongue, and looked upon their fallen with a desire for revenge that needed no words.

Angharad gripped her sword more tightly, watching the wolf. It had saved her ... and if she could help it now ... she would.

The wolf moved in small steps, leading the two prey away from the cub. He remained hunkered down, waiting for the right moment to pounce. And once he was sure he had drawn them far enough from the little one, and they were close, he attacked, sharp teeth seeking soft flesh.

The scent of blood on the shiny sharpness in their forepaws was bright in his nose, and he knew that meant danger, and did his best to twist his body to avoid the blades.

When he ran ... he ran so fast! Harri's little legs could not carry her so fast over the slippery ground, and once she fell, measuring her small length on the ground. Lying there, panting and trying not to cry, she saw she had fallen just where she had, on Master Dylan's orders, dropped those strange red dart things. Poison, Master Dylan had said.

But perhaps she could use them now ...

She managed to collect a half dozen that still had the green tips intact. Behind her, she could hear the wolf fighting with the others, yelps mixed with shouts and curses.

Then she felt a hand yanking on her cloak, pulling her to her feet.



Wolf, meanwhile, saw an opening as one of the creatures lunged to plunge it's dagger into his hide. Wolf met it, his teeth closing around the thing's wrist, breaking skin and bone with one snap of his jaws. The thing let out a high pitched scream, dropping the blade. The other circled out of Wolf's sight, and seconds later, Wolf felt something prick in his hind quarters.

Harri scrambled up, dagger clutched in one small hand, and a poisoned dart in the other, ready to attack.

Wolf wheeled around, jaws open, to attack the second creature.

Blood might call to others. Best to finish the fight now and get away to lick his wounds in safety.

He felt a strange burning coursing through his veins as he turned, but it did not hinder him lunging at the other thing and clamping his teeth around the thing's throat. The taste of its flesh was horrible, a mix of decay and salt, but it ripped easily.

The Wyrr attacking Harri reached out, grasping the hand that held onto her tiny sword. He gave her a yellowed leer, pulling her deeper into the woods. Too late, though, he saw the darts she stabbed into his wrist. Before he had gone six steps with the struggling girl, he was falling, jaw slack and eyes bulging as he gagged and coughed.

Harri struggled free of her captor with a shudder of horror. She pulled her sword back from his slackening grasp, and then, with a last fearful look at the writhing Wyrr, she hurried back to the path where the wolf was tearing into the second Wyrr.

She stayed under the shadow of the trees - she was afraid that the wolf might turn and attack her next ...

And then she saw the dart, protruding from its flank.

"Oh no!" she almost wailed.

The wolf had fought off the Wyrr ... it wouldn't be fair for it to die now, when it had tried to save her.

Harri ran forward, suddenly oblivious of the danger. She didn't know if it would help or not, but at least she could pull that horrid dart ... out!

The taste of the prey choked the Wolf but he clung ferociously until the fight had left the creature and he dropped it to the ground. He turned back to the other, who he had only damaged, still growling. His focus had narrowed to these prey. To the danger. Once he was sure that danger was past he could stop and sit and lick his wounds, which burned so strangely.

He put the pain out of his mind. And the cub's cry of pain only spurred him on to ensure the cub was safe.

The wolf had turned to the other Wyrr now ... It was Harri's chance to act.

She dashed forward and placed a timid little hand on the wolf's flank, trying not to thinks about those dreadful tearing fangs that were even now ...

The flank was warm, muscular, And the fur was rough, but oddly comforting ...

She took a deep breath and seized the dart. A good strong pull should get it out - and then the poor wolf would feel better, she was sure ...

The barb came out easily, barely tearing the wolf's flesh as Harri took it out. The tip was bloody, the red mingled with streaks of sickening green.

When she looked up again, the wolf had leapt onto it's already injured prey, tackling it and pinning it to the ground. A sickening scream and gurgle later, the forest was once again silent, save for Kip's pitiful neighs.

Harri felt icky sick when she saw the wound on the wolf. She hoped she'd helped ... but it looked really horrid. She looked around a little desperately. There was some long-leaved ladies' balm growing underneath the tree - Father had taught her that if you crushed it and rubbed it on your skin when you had stinging nettles rash, then it drew out the itchiness and sting. Whether it would work for poison and a wolf ...

Well, something was better than nothing. She grabbed up a handful of the balm, rubbed it to break out the pungent smell, then wadded it and thrust it against the bleeding flank.

"This is good for you," she said firmly - as firmly as Nurse would say to her when she was making her take her cough mixture.

She looked worriedly down the path at Kip - she would have to see if she could help him next. She could only hope the wolf didn't want to kill her poor pony too ...

Wolf stopped, standing over the remains of the last of his prey. Stinging... pain...

His head swiveled and he looked behind him at the cub as it reached out to shove something against his flank. He snarled, pushing his head at her, nosing her away from the stinging mess. Her. Yes, a she cub. He had her scent in his nostrils, her fear mixing with the scent of blood and the pungent scent of the crumpled leaves in her hand.

He danced away, unwilling to let her touch the sharp pain in his flank, growling. Then he lifted his head, scenting the air. These were gone... but were there more? Was anything else coming, drawn to the smell of blood in the air? Best to hurry them away now, before more danger came. Lick their wounds in peace. Growling again, he moved forward, driving her away from the carnage with slow steps.

Harri fell back as the wolf started to advance, her heart thudding painfully. She wanted to get to Kip and Master Dylan ... but the wolf seemed intent on driving her away ...

She gave a little sob of fear. She didn't want to go ... and she was scared of being lost in the woods with this big, menacing wolf.

He was driving her back now ... away from the track and under the dark canopy of the leaves - the very areas that Master Dylan had warned her was dangerous, over and over again.

"Wolf .. please!" she said, and she was aware that her voice was quavering. "If we go here, no-one will ever find me!"

But still he was driving her, snarling, nosing her in the direction he wanted to go.

Strangely enough, she was not afraid of him now. She didn't believe that he was doing this to hurt her. But she was afraid of the great dark forest, and of being alone in it at night ...

The cub made strange noises... strange sounds to go with its strange pale naked skin. Wolf nosed her back, pushing her towards a small copse of low cover where she could hide safely. If she had sense she would hide like a good cub and let him make sure it was safe. The pony's cries might yet attract attention.

Inexorably, he pushed her towards the cover, and then expected her to stay while he returned to the site of the battle, nosing out what was still alive and what was dead.

Harri crouched in the low copse, shaking. The wolf seemed to want her to stay here ... and she suddenly wondered if it sensed some danger around - some more of those horrible things. She gripped the sword tighter and sat down, crossing her legs.

Kip ... What if the wolf killed Kip? She didn't think she could bear it ...

She huddled deeper in the bushes and started to cry quietly ...

The pony whinnied as Wolf neared him, trying to back up as best it could. It's front leg was bleeding from a gash over its knee, most likely from a stumble when the creatures sprang. Passing it by, Wolf came to a limp form in the leaves, smelling not of burning wood and sweat, but of something cloyingly sweet and unnatural. It was like the cub, but larger, obviously an adult. His eyes were glazed as he stared at nothing before him, and the hand that had been closed over his blade was slackening. There were cuts in his side and stomach and breast, none of which bled with the slightest hints of life.

Not far away, there lay his gold rimmed spectacles, the smoky glass cracked.

Wolf passed the pony. It was in pain, but not dying, and seemed to have come with the cub. With a snort, he ignored it.

Wolf nosed the creature, the scent making his nose itch. Dead, it was most definitely dead. He looked at the shiny things on the ground, then gently picked them up in his teeth. He loped back to where the cub was hidden, to offer her the spectacles, dropping them at her feet.

Harri looked up as the wolf approached, watching a little tearfully.

It was carrying something, she saw, and as he dropped the spectacles she gave a little cry and pounced on them.

"Master Dylan! His ... eyeglasses!"

She examined them, seeing the bloodstains, tracing the crack with her finger.

"He's dead, isn't he?" she said forlornly, looking up at the wolf. "He's dead - and it's all my fault!"

And yet, young as she was, Harri knew this wasn't so. The Wyrr would have attacked them, whether she had cantered ahead with Kip or not - and the fact she had seen the poisonous darts had in fact helped her ... if not poor Master Dylan.

But not as much as the wolf had helped her. It was the wolf who had saved her life - and it hadn't hurt Kip either, for she could still hear her poor pony.

"We should go and get Kip," she told the wolf seriously. "And really we should go back to the castle, although I 'spect they'll come and look for us soon."

She reached out a hand tentative to stroke the wolf's magnificent ruff. "And I'll tell them you saved me so they won't hurt you," she told the wolf seriously. "'Cos you're hurt too - and I'm sure that poison isn't helping you."

Wolf watched the cub as she spoke, not understanding the words, but at least understanding that she was no longer whimpering like a pained cub. He sat stock still as she reached towards him, feeling her hand run through his fur.

Her scent stained him with its strangeness. Heady, different, and yet somehow acceptable. He turned his head and nosed her palm. He pushed at her, pushing her towards the pony who cried out for her.

Something in her sounds made him think that perhaps he should clean his wound, and he craned his head, trying to reach the puncture on his flank.

Harri scrambled to her feet with alacrity - the more so because she wanted to see Kip for herself. She walked beside the wolf back through the forest, and twisted her hands into his long thick fur. It felt comforting to have him beside her ...

When he turned and tried to lick the wound, she slid her arm over his neck.

"We'll find some water and bathe that," she told him. "It really should have a poultice to draw out the poison ... and Kip's leg too. But we'll do that back at the castle. Master Llew the stablemaster will know what's best."

Then she saw poor wounded Kip ahead of them on the path, and she suddenly ran towards him with a glad cry.

"Kip! Kip!"

Kip pawed one hoof into the ground at the sight of his master, making a glad 'huff' as she approached. At first, Harri was lost in the joy of her pony being alive and well, save for the bleeding on it's foreleg. Then she saw what lay not far off from Kip's seat.

Master Dylan's cloak had fanned out beneath him as he had fallen, and he looked almost like he could be down for a quick, mid-day nap. His eyes were open, though, and his hand was loosely folded around his blade. There were stains of red on his waistcoat, one on his stomach, another over his chest.



Wolf could see the way the child wanted to go... He had never been there himself, but he knew what was said of that direction. Wolves sometimes tracked deer that way, but many times, most of the time, they never returned.

His tongue went numb when he licked the wound, but within breaths the feeling came back. First a tingle, then a burning, then nothing, just the taste of the spring air in his mouth. His hindquarter ached, but he could manage to get along with a limp.

The cubs strange paws tangled in Wolf's fur, an odd sensation. He padded along next to her, limping with the ache in his flank, but still mobile.

He sat down and rested his leg as the child greeted her pony with glad cries, and watched as she saw the dead adult of the sweet scent. That was her protector, perhaps, and gone now. There might be more of these predators yet.

He scented the air, looking out where the cub would travel. If she traveled alone, with only the injured pony, she might yet die. Cut off from her pack as she was, she was in danger. Yet... to follow her was danger.

Wolf growled low in his throat, torn. Then he stood and made his way back to Cub's side. He circled around the pony -- Kip was the sound Cub made for the pony -- and pushed his side against Cub's leg, towards Kip. Best they move soon, and the sooner he could deliver her to her pack, the sooner he could return to his own. He knew none of them could move quickly -- Kip's injured leg, his own flank, and Cub's own small legs.

Harri knelt for a time beside Master Dylan.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered at last. "For all the times I was naughty, and didn't pay attention to you. And I shall do my very best now to remember everything you ever told me. And I'll get back to the castle - and Father will see you have a splendid tomb and ... and ... oh, I wish you were still alive!"

She cried for a little then, and might have cried longer if the wolf had not roused her. She looked up at him tearily, and saw that he wanted her to go to Kip. Harri nodded. That was the sensible thing to do ... she could see that. They should go back to the castle ... although her heart quailed at the thought of how dangerous it would be, for Kip was clearly in no state to be ridden ...

Carefully, she covered Master Dylan as best she could with his cloak and leaves. Then she stood up and let the wolf guide her over to a slightly skittish Kip - who was more than a little alarmed at having a wolf so close. Harri carefully took Kip's reins, and positioned herself between the pony and the wolf, with her hand back on the wolf's neck again.

It seemed the wolf was going to come with them, and Harri's heart lifted a lttle.

"I shall tell Father how you saved me," said Harri. "And he'll probably give you a medal or something ... Or perhaps he'll let me form my own knightly order - the Order of the Wolf, an' you an' me an' Kip can all be the first members. Would you like that, Wolf?"

So they started the long walk back to the Castle.

Cub chattered on, like the way puppies yipped and chattered to each other when they played. She seemed better, although still unhappy, her fingers tangling in his fur again. He ambled along beside her, keeping pace with her and the injured pony, his gaze watchful for trouble, his ears and nose alive and watchful as well.

Though there were the occassion rustlings in the brush and calls in the air, the remained unmolested for an hour, and Harri was left to her chattering.

Then came the branch in the road.

She didn't remember it from before... She was certain the road was a straight one. But Master Dylan had been lecturing her on the way, and making her reiterate his lessons. Perhaps...

A left, then.

But then the woods grew strange, and the trail thick. The sun grew dim in the sky, and night threated to fall upon them.

Harri stopped, confused.

"I don't know where we are!" she said in despair. "P'rhaps ... p'rhaps we should go back to the fork.

"But Wolf, it's getting so dark ... an' I'm cold ... and I'm scared ... "

She stopped walking ... her lower lip trembling. It had been a long and cruel day - and Harri was not sure how much longer she could go on.

Cub whined and whimpered, her feet tired. She should be hungry, and she sounded scared. Was she lost? Wolf insinuated his head beneath her hand again, butting up against her hip. If it were just himself, he would travel after dark, unworried about sight in the darkness. But this cub... she seemed frightened as the day grew to a close.

Wolf sat, refusing to move a step further. He would sit until she sat as well, and then as she rested, he would find a place for them to rest, so that Cub could sleep. In the morning light his leg would ache less, and she would cry less, and perhaps then he could return her to her pack.

He sought the scent of something familiar... something that smelled like Cub upon the air, seeking whether her pack was anywhere nearby. And beyond that, he looked for predators, hoping they would remain undisturbed.

"Come on, Wolf," said Harri. "We have to go on ... we can't just stop."

But the wolf was obstinately still, and Kip was shuddering with cold and pain. It was clear they couldn't go on.

Wearily, Harri sank sown, next to the wolf, letting Kip's reins loose as she did so. The warm fur of the of the wolf felt so good to the tired little girl. She snuggled deeper ... and was quickly asleep.

Wolf remained awake and watchful as Cub slept, determined to keep them safe... at least until sleep claimed him.

Harri slept long and deeply, snuggled against Wolf's reassuring flank. Several times during the night she woke up enough to give little whimpering cries ... her dreams were of the Wyrr and Master Dylan. But she did not wake fully till the morning.

They were both still dozing in the early morning chill when Wolf's ears perked. To the west, the sound of footfalls and crunching leaves. Something heavy was moving through the forest, coming their way.

Wolf stood, sliding out from beneath Cub's curled form. He tested his weight upon the injured hip, taking a step, then back again so that he stood protectively over the small one. A low growl built in his throat, and he nosed Cub to wakefulness, even as he listened.

He sought a scent upon the air, trying to distinguish between the death of the predator, or something else?

Harri stirred, a little uncomfortably. For a second she was confused - but the twin scents of forest and wolf reminded her where she was.

"What is it?" she whispered, scrambling to her hands and knees, so the she remained within his protection. She looked anxiously towards Kip ... surely he would recognise friends approaching?

Through the mists and lattice of pine needles and budding branches, both girl and wolf could make out a figure coming torwards them. He was a dark outline in the early morning, face obscured in shadows. It was a man, though, tall and broad, following the path they had made through the woods. He stopped when he sighted Harri and the wolf above her. He settled into a crouch, studying them from a safe distance.

"Either these woods have a surplus of little girls, or they call you Angharad."

Wolf bared his teeth without a sound. It wasn't a growl yet, but he staked his claim and his protection of the cub.

Harri regarded the man warily from her position between the wolf's feet.

"Only when they're mad with me," she said at last. "Usually - I have another name."

This, she thought, was a test. Not a very good one ... but a test all the same.

"Harri!" It didn't come from the man before her, but another one that had come up. This one was tall and broad as well, but his voice was all too familiar to Harri. Her father sighted the wolf, and he stopped dead in his tracks. His hand fell to his sword, and the first hint of blue flame began to show.

Harri scrambled to her feet.

"Daddy!"

She held out her rather scratched and grubby arms towards her father - and then suddenly spread them wide to protect the wolf.

"Daddy - don't hurt him! He saved me and Kip when the Weyrr things attacked us! He got hurt protecting me ... Master Dylan was killed ... and his horse ... Master Dylan made me ride his horse because it would be quicker ... but then they attacked ... and they attacked me ... and Wolf came and saved me ... and fought them off, and I killed one of them with poison - and Daddy it was ... horrible ... and then Wolf was hurt and he helped me find Kip, and I covered Master Dylan and then we walked and walked and walked looking for you but I got sleepy and Wolf looked after me and now I've found you ... " Her voice broke on a sob.

"You mustn't hurt Wolf, Daddy. He's my friend ... "

Wolf's hackles rose, recognizing the threat in the newcomer's stance, and the metal at his hip. He stiffened.

Then startled at Cub's sudden stop in front of her, protecting him? Wolf growled, nosing Harri out of the way. Cub would not protect him, he would protect her. She was crying... this had upset her again. He nosed her hand, insinuating himself close to her, as he snarled at the newcomer.

The man crouched before Harri and Wolf held up a hand to Corwin. A patch of sun hit his face, and Harri nearly recognized him. He was from Father's cards, she knew that, but he wasn't wearing the white armor...

"Hold," said the man. "Put that away. The wolf's familiar with what a sword can do. Harri, come to me. We will not hurt him."

"Promise?" quavered Harri.

She took a step forward, one hand still resting protectively on Wolf's head.

"And Kip's leg's hurt too," she added. "But Wolf didn't seem to think it was too bad," she extrapolated. If Wolf had thought it bad, she guessed, Wolf would have made her abandon the pony or ... worse ... killed it. But she was determined to paint her saviour in the best possible light.

She took another step forward, clearly relectant to leave the wolf. "Kip likes Wolf," she asserted, well aware this was something of an exageration. "And so do I," she added firmly, and another step took her to the man's feet, just two steps away from her father.

"Uncle Julian?" she asked tentatively.

As Cub stepped forward, so did Wolf, remaining close by her side. Cub no longer cried, no longer seemed quite so nervous. Perhaps she knew them. And the metal was set aside. For the moment. But Wolf refused to release Cub until he was certain she was safe.

Julian reached out a gloved hand to her, his fingers swallowing her own. "Uncle Julian," he said, "What manner of wolves do you have in these woods, Cowin, that play nursemaid and hero? Most of ours just make themselves a nuissance."

"Harri..." Corwin stepped forward to claim his daughter. "It's a wolf. Not a pet. We can't take him back with us."

Julian eyed Wolf's flank and still present limp. "He's injured," he said carefully, meeing Harri's eyes. "He won't last long in the woods like that."

Wolf stood stiffly as Cub was removed from his side. He warily eyed the man who eyed him. Cub did not fight. It seemed Cub was home. Slowly, Wolf began to back up.

"He's not a pet," said Harri, with a gulp. "He's my friend. And he's hurt. He was hurt helping me.

"Please, Daddy? Until he's better and can fend for himself in the woods?"

She sank down again and threw her arms around Wolf's neck, looking up at her father pleadingly. Then she turned to Wolf, half burying her face in his ruff.

"Don't go," she said. "Don't go into the woods and die ... that's what Uncle Julian says will happen. Stay with me, Wolf. I'll make you well and strong again."

Wolf stopped abruptly. He pushed his cold wet nose against Cubs cheek, nuzzling her for a moment, then urging her back to her sire.

Harri held on firmly. "No," she said, and there was a note of pleading in her voice - and of fear for what might happen to him if Wolf left. "No ... listen to me, Wolf. You have to stay with me - do you understand?"

Wolf looked at Cub, green eyes peering out from the depths of black fur. Stay. He understood then... she wanted him to stay. He pressed his nose to her cheek, licking it in assent. Then his gaze swiveled to her sire, and Wolf remained wary. Cub might want him to stay. He was not at all certain her sire agreed.

"Harri, you can't... it's a wild animal!"

"Wild, perhaps..." Julian settled onto the forest floor, snapping his fingers at Wolf, then holding out his hand to him. "But it's used to humans. It may be domesticated."

"It's a wolf," repeated Corwin.

"It's my Wolf," said Harri firmly. "He looks after me."

She looked up at her father meltingly. "Please, Daddy? Until he's well again?"

It was a technique Harri knew as 'thin end of the wedge', and she was unscrupulous about employing it.

The sounds meant nothing to Wolf, but something about what the other man said made him snort, sounding almost like a laugh to those nearby. He sniffed the man's hand, still wary.

But he knew resistence when he heard it, and he trusted Cub's sire about as well as her sire trusted him just now. This other man, he might be acceptable. Might.

The man smelled of oil and dead animals, but also a musk similar to the childs. His was stronger, heavier, but still, it had that same underlying nuance.

Corwin sighed bending to take up his daughter in a feirce hug.

"Alright. But only until he's better."

"You had to say it would die, didn't you?" Corwin hissed over the top of Harri's head. Julian only chuckled and rose.

"We'll discuss breeding the animal as payment when we get back to what you say is a castle."

Harri, happy that her point was gained, caught at her Uncle's hand.

"Uncle Julian - everyone says you know all about horses. Please will you have a look at Kip's leg? It bled terribly yesterday - but it seems better now. And I don't think he got any of the horrid poison in. Wolf did, but I pulled the dart out."

And then, like a sudden whirlwind, Harri turned and ran to her father, hugging him as tightly as she could.

"I'm so glad you came and found me, Daddy!"

He hefted her up onto his fantastically tall stallion of black with the silvered mane, then climbed up behind her. "So am I, Harri... So am I."

They set off through the forest, going at a leisurely pace as Corwin and Julian kept their stallions at a pace with the limping pony and wolf.

They faded into the morning shadows of the forest, and the woods were quiet once again, filled only with the sounds of the wind, and the occassional strange bird call in the air.