The next few days pa.s.sed slowly. Very slowly. Hornsbuck ate what little wild stuff they were able to gather, tossed knucklebones, hawked, spat, cursed, belched, farted, and made other obnoxious and rude noises. Smart and wily he might be in the ways of survival, but the man's social graces were all but nonexistent. Mika had never quite noticed before what a coa.r.s.e brute Hornsbuck was, but then he had never been thrown so intimately into his company before.

The man was addled from war-l.u.s.t and if insufferable when awake, he was only slightly less noisy when asleep. Never had Mika so missed or so appreciated Celia and the company of women. Wedged in one small corner between Tam and the princess, Mika read his book of spells out of sheer despair, in an attempt to separate himself from Hornsbuck's endless, mindless commentary.

As he read, a plan began to take shape in Mika's mind, a dangerous, yet wonderful plan.

Chapter 17.

TWO DAYS HAD Pa.s.sED, and Tam was well, or nearly so. His wounds had healed enough so that he was able to walk and run without difficulty or pain.

The princess lay across one side of the tree s.p.a.ce, and most of Mika and Hornsbuck's possessions were hung from various portions of her anatomy. In her inert state, she had taken on the air of a seldom used and rather unnecessary piece of furniture.

Hornsbuck fretted about food. He and RedTail had ventured out the previous night, hoping to return with a deer or, at the least, rabbits. But they had found nothing but gnolls, which they had killed.

Mika rose and, holding his book casually, said, "Tam and I will go out and look for deer. It will do Tam good to stretch his legs."

"Be careful," growled Hornsbuck. "Take my bow and arrows."

"No. I have everything I need," said Mika, leaving quickly before Hornsbuck could question him.

The night was cool and the air fresh and heavy with the aroma of wet evergreens. He checked on the roan, watering him and moving him to yet another small patch of gra.s.s, grateful the horse had escaped the notice of the gnolls.

Standing in the center of the small clearing, Mika shed his few bits of clothing and stood full in the light of the moon. Opening his book of spells he turned to the appropriate page and thanked the dullness that Hornsbuck had brought into his life, which had forced him to study the spells.

He wedged the book firmly into the notch of a tree and then, confident of his skills, sank into a cross-legged position and faced Tam.

Slowly, deliberately, with great precision and careful enunciation, he stared into Tam's eyes, while holding the end of his tail, and recited the words of the spell. There would be no mistake this time.

Once again he felt the strange, whirling dizziness, the nausea, and the sour taste of bile at the back of his throat. Tam's eyes blurred and multiplied, and in spite of himself, Mika closed his eyes. When he opened them, everything was different. It had worked. He was a wolf!

Joy spread throughout his body. His new, strange body. He had done it! He had succeeded! He stood erect, his sensitive nostrils quivering. He realized now for the first time how very little man knew compared to wolves. He smelled the clear, sharp, wet smell of water, the green growing scent of trees and gra.s.s, the hot, sweet aroma of horse flesh. He lifted his head and drew in the foul distant stink of gnolls and the carrion stench of the hyenas. He threw back his head and howled for the sheer ecstasy of it, the sound issuing from his throat in tight rippling waves. Tam threw back his own head and they sang together of the joy of brotherhood and the goodness of life.

They looked at each other out of wolf eyes, now well and truly brothers. Their long tongues lolled from the corners of their mouths, and Mika knew that such a gesture was indeed a laughing grin as he had always suspected.

Standing, the two wolves sniffed each other from head to tail, spending much time scenting each others genitals, for as Mika discovered, there was much information to be learned there. In some indescribable way, it told of the personal strength of the animal and his position among others of his kind. Mika learned that Tam was a wolf of power and high standing among others.

Mika wagged his tail, feeling it beat back and forth through the air. Curling it high above his back, he turned and trotted off into the forest, knowing without looking that Tam was close behind.

The woods were alive with sound. Tiny squeaks told of frightened mice leaping for the safety of their burrows, rabbits bounding swiftly away, their broad flat feet pounding against the soft debris of the forest floor, and even the smooth slither of a night-hunting snake. Mika's ears swiveled back and forth as he ran, catching the most subtle of sounds.

Mika's muscles moved smoothly under his thick black pelt, his heart pumped strongly, and he ran more swiftly than he had ever imagined possible with little or no effort. And he felt pity in his wolf heart for the weakling that was man.

Later, as the moon rose higher in the dark starry sky, they scented a roanbuck, the rank bitter smell declaring that it was a full-grown stag. They paused and looked at each other, staring deep into each other's golden eyes, silently reading the challenge, considering, deciding.

They lifted their muzzles and drank in the bitter odor, finding the specific thread of it in the air, separating it from the myriad of others and reading it like a map. Absorbing the knowledge, they turned and followed the musk deeper into the forest.

The partial moon had nearly reached its zenith before they tracked the scent to its source. The stag loomed large before them, full-grown, immense, powerful and wise. Its wide, sharp-tipped rack of antlers, capable of disemboweling an incautious wolf, were silhouetted against the night sky.

The stag pranced lightly, shaking its head up and down, snorting its contempt, brandishing its horns in their faces. Its dark eyes reflected no fear, only hatred, as it faced the ancient enemy.

The stag picked his ground carefully, a high knoll that rose improbably inside a tall circle of sablewood trees. The gra.s.sy mound was twined with intermeshing circles of mushrooms, their earthy redolence filling the air as the stag crushed them underfoot with its sharp hooves.

Mika lowered his head and slunk forward, circling the stag and forcing it to turn to keep him in sight. He felt his dewlaps twitch as he drew his lips back in a snarling grin, exposing his long, sharp canines. He inhaled the thick muskiness of the stag through mouth and nostrils, drawing it across his tongue, tasting the essence of it. He salivated and felt the thick moisture roll off his tongue.

The gra.s.s was cool and slick beneath his paws, and he circled steadily, rushing in, in false feints, forcing the stag to respond, to thunder down from its knoll, waving its antlers in Mika's face.

Mika leaped aside with ease, feeling the strength of his new body and the power in his legs. He dodged in under the great tines and nipped at the soft underbelly, causing the stag to swing its hindquarters downhill. Instantly, Mika leaped up, high on the stag's neck, behind the threatening horns, and slashed down with his teeth. The stag bellowed, more in anger than pain, and whirled about to menace the wolf that was no longer there.

Mika, bold with daring, dashed forward and ripped at the fat belly again, sinking his teeth into the smooth hide and using his weight to pull down, opening the wound. Letting go, he dropped to the ground and rolled, rising to his feet unharmed.

Mika and TamTur worked the stag between them, inflicting small wounds that bled, till the proud animal stood with its head bowed, its hide streaming with dark blood, and its breath coming in wheezing gasps. They allowed it no chance to rest.

Now, the element of fun vanished, the wolves filled with deadly intent. The salty iron tang of blood tainted the air and coated the wolves' tongues, acting as a powerful stimulant. A primitive compulsion thrummed in Mika's brain, entreating, urging, demanding blood.

Messages, all unspoken, but yet heard and obeyed, flooded into Mika's subconscious, telling him what to do. He darted, he feinted, he baited, he bit.

Then, the moment was at hand, the moment when all the right elements came together. Tam leaped, flinging himself directly at the stag, and sank his teeth into the fleshy lips, curling his body up into a tight ball to present no target for the plunging horns and slashing hooves.

The stag bellowed in pain, shaking its head from side to side and up and down in an attempt to dislodge the wolf. Tam clung ever tighter, using his weight to inflict as much damage and pain as possible.

The stag screamed, a high-pitched strangled sound, and lifted its head high, trying to shake Tam loose. Mika, who had been waiting for just such a moment, flung himself upward, seized the stag's throat between his jaws, and bit down with all his strength.

The stag shrieked, blood burbling thickly in its throat, even as it flowed into Mika's. Mika clung until he felt the great beast shudder and stumble off balance. Only then did he release his hold.

The stag foundered, its knees buckling beneath it as the blood poured from its mangled mouth and spurted from the ruptured arteries in thick gouts. It attempted to rise and failed.

Tam and Mika were on the stag before it crashed to the ground, ripping, slashing, tearing into the still-living flesh.

They ate their fill of the sweet, hot meat, wrenching off great chunks and gulping them down whole till their sides bulged and they could hold no more.

They lapped the thick, salty blood and lay swollen and sated in the middle of the b.l.o.o.d.y carnage.

Mika was exhausted but filled with a sense of satisfaction. He and Tam looked at each other, and Mika felt love swell in his breast for the creature who was now his brother in truth. He knew that they were truly kin after this night, their bond greater than any shared by wolf and man. Tam looked into his eyes and laughed, tongue lolling, as though to say, "You see what you have missed all these years?" And Mika could not but agree.

They were cleaning the blood off their pelts when they heard the first yapping hyena howl. They leaped to their feet and listened carefully, pinpointing both the direction and the distance.

Taking hold of the stag, they began to drag it back toward camp, hoping that they could reach it in time, knowing that there were too many of the dangerous enemy to fight them off.

They were better than halfway back when Mika felt the peculiar tingling which he now recognized as the onset of the end of the spell. He sat down on his haunches and waited, realizing that it might be easier to carry the stag in his human form, and glad that he was on the ground and not in mid-air.

The transformation was less traumatic than the first time, since he now knew what to expect. He shivered and rubbed his hands over his arms as the cold night air raised b.u.mps on his chilled flesh.

Tam stared at him with amus.e.m.e.nt and perhaps just a touch of pity.

"All right, all right," said Mika, "but at least I can carry the d.a.m.n thing instead of dragging it in my teeth. So be quiet and let's get out of here!"

He heaved the stag to his shoulder, staggering under the great weight. Blood dripped down his chest and back, no longer raising the same emotions it had evoked when he was still a wolf.

Mika also regretted loss of the ease with which he had traversed the forest earlier, trudging along heavily over ground he had covered so effortlessly only a short time before.

They reached the spot where he had left his clothes and he changed into them quickly, also retrieving the precious book. The howls of the hyenas had faded into the distance and he wondered if they had perhaps found some other prey.

Shouldering the stag once more, he and Tam made their way back to the spruce. He paused outside, inhaling the cold night air, more than a little reluctant to enter, to rejoin the race of man, to let go of what he had been privileged to share with Tam if only for a short time.

Tam pawed his leg. Placing the stag on the ground, Mika pushed aside the branches of the spruce and entered.

Chapter 18.

HORNSBUCK AND REDTAIL greeted the arrival of the stag with much happiness. RedTail gobbled the numerous sc.r.a.ps greedily as Mika and Hornsbuck butchered the animal quickly and efficiently at the edge of the stream.

"By the Great She Wolf, you look as though you've bathed in the blood," Hornsbuck said with a laugh. "You'd best wash off. Anyone seeing you would think you'd rolled in the thing before you brought it back." Mika just smiled and did as he was told.

Hornsbuck could not understand Mika's refusal to partake of the stag, but lost no time in worrying about it, stuffing himself with great quant.i.ties of meat, barely waiting for it to sear over the tiny flame before he choked it down.

"Now that we have meat, can we leave?" Mika asked.

"Aye, we'll leave tomorrow," said Hornsbuck.

"And the gnolls . . ." began Mika.

"They'll never find us. You'll see!" said Hornsbuck, and then there was no more talking as he addressed himself to his food in a serious fashion that precluded speech.

RedTail s...o...b..red and growled over a leg bone, bits of flesh and gristle dotting his thick red pelt, and Mika could not help but observe that man and beast bore a strong resemblance to each other.

Tam and Mika lay down together and tried to ignore the sounds of crunching and slurping.

Mika looked at the princess, his eyelids heavy with fatigue, and in that foggy state, she looked quite lovely, almost as beautiful as she had when he first laid eyes on her. His half-closed lids filtered out the dirt and the smudges and the torn clothes and the snarled hair. In his mind's eye, she was fresh and clean and lovely.

He yearned to see her awake, with her eyes open, staring at him with love. He tried to picture what form her grat.i.tude might take, for now it was he alone who would win that reward when the spell was lifted-now that the others were dead.

Of course, there was the small matter of finding out who had placed the spell, persuading him to lift it, and emerging alive in the bargain. But that was another matter . . . and one that he would think about later. Still thinking of the princess and his reward, he closed his eyes and slept.

"Time to go, Mika. Best be awakening," said a loud voice, rupturing the pleasant dream into splinters.

Mika opened his eyes and stared up blearily. Hornsbuck leaned over him, shaking his shoulder, a smile splitting the great beard.

Mika groaned and closed his eyes, trying to recapture his dreams. The princess had been just about to take off her dress.

"Go away, Hornsbuck. It's the middle of the night."

"Pah!" snorted Hornsbuck. "Get up lad, get up. Time's a wasting, the sun will be up any minute now. It's time to go!"

Mika opened his eyes and glowered at the ceiling of branches. The dream was gone and would not return. He turned his head and looked at the princess who lay scant inches from him, then closed his eyes and sighed. Sometimes dreams were far more preferable than reality.

He sat up and groaned. Mornings were not his favorite time of day. Hornsbuck handed him a stick, layered with grilled chunks of deer meat, singed and covered with a fine layer of ash. "Eat up," he advised. "We won't be eating for a while to come."

Mika closed his eyes and did as he was told, finding it strange indeed to compare this meal with his last and declare it far inferior. Being a wolf had its advantages.

They packed the meat in two bundles made from the hide of the deer. The meat, unsmoked, would last no more than two days without going bad. But Hornsbuck said that it would be more than adequate, although he still refused to give any explanation of where they were going.

Other than the meat, which they loaded on the roan at Hornsbuck's insistence, they took as much gra.s.s as they could gather. They cut the gra.s.s off at the roots and bound it in sheaves, and Mika was thankful that it was both lush and abundant or Hornsbuck would have left the roan behind. Lastly, they heaved the princess up into the saddle and tied her in place in front of the pile of pitch-soaked limbs Hornsbuck likewise deemed vital for some reason.

Mika took the opportunity to try and clean the princess up a bit, smoothing down her tangled hair and trying to wipe some of the dirt off her dress.

"Leave off," growled Hornsbuck. "It won't do any good, and the d.a.m.n female probably won't approve no matter what you do. You can't ever please a woman. Why, once I brought back a whole bagful of hydra eyes for a woman . . . thought she could string 'em on a necklace, do something pretty with 'em. Almost got myself turned to stone getting 'em for her. And did she appreciate 'em? No, she did not! Threw them away! Said they made her sick! Can you imagine? Women. Pahhh!"

Hornsbuck eyed Mika critically. "If you need to do something, braid your own hair. You look like a d.a.m.ned woman with it down on your shoulder like that!"

Mika sighed, refraining from mentioning the painful bruise that still covered much of his scalp, and he sc.r.a.ped his hair into a loose braid to appease the older nomad who had definite ideas of what was appropriate.

Hornsbuck grunted with approval, then, taking one last look to make certain that nothing was being forgotten, turned and began leading them in a northwesterly direction.

They walked for several hours, leading the horse by the reins. They met nothing living, although they found a number of gnoll and hyena corpses, all of which had been chewed upon by hyenas or hyena-dons, most forest dwellers being too choosy to eat such foul offerings.

Only once did they find humans, a driver and a nomad, or what little remained of them, made unrecognizable by the severity of their wounds and the teeth of predators. They quickly buried the pitiful remains, said a few words, and hurried on their way.

The forest was thinning now, the sablewood and roanwood trees giving way to smaller softwoods- white-barked birch and quaking leafed aspen. The soil underfoot was changing from soft loam to hard-packed earth and stone. Periodically they were forced to skirt large boulders that stood alone like giant monoliths.

Hornsbuck called a halt and turned to look at Mika, his brow furrowed in deep thought. He studied Mika wordlessly for some moments as though filled with uncertainty. Then, coming to some decision, he sighed and shook his head.

"Look, Mika," he said gruffly. "No man alive knows what you are about to see, excepting me an' RedTail here. I learned it from someone else, and he's dead now. It's secret. You can't tell. You've got to promise. Give me your solemn vow."

"All right," said Mika, puzzled as to what could possibly be so important.

"Don't promise unless you really mean it," growled Hornsbuck. "I mean, even if they pull your toes out with their teeth, you can't tell. It's that kind of promise I'm asking for."

"All right," Mika said slowly. "Even if they pull my toes out with their teeth, I promise not to tell," he vowed, wondering all the while who "they" were and why they should want to do such a thing. Surely Hornsbuck was exaggerating.

"By the spirit of the Great She Wolf, Mother of us all, Guide of our spirits and protector of our souls, I Mika, son of Veltran, do promise never to tell this path to any man, not even if he pulls off my toes with his teeth and other horrible things," intoned Hornsbuck, holding up his hand and nodding at Mika, commanding him to repeat the words.

Mika held up his own hand and repeated the words word for word, feeling foolish all the while. Tam sat on his haunches and looked up, tongue lolling, laughing. Mika refused to meet his eyes.

Satisfied, Hornsbuck lowered his hand and resumed walking. The ground began to rise underfoot. The trees grew spa.r.s.e and then disappeared completely, giving way to a dense mat of coa.r.s.e and p.r.i.c.kly bushes. They shoved their way through them with difficulty. Once again, they began to encounter the strange boulders, although now there were more and more of them, the ground more rock than dirt. The land began to rise in a series of low, jagged hills, stretching away to the far horizon. Mika was not pleased at the thought of traveling across such harsh open land and started to speak.