He shaded his eyes and peered down the empty road. The front end of a caravan was coming into view from the south, and a pair of the Humbled trotted away, their dull black robes fluttering in the wind.

There was nothing else on the road. He raised one eyebrow when she shrugged and said, "It will be a few seconds."

He hid his satisfaction. She was bonding, that was sure. As the search group came into sight, he asked dryly, "Have you ever been wrong?"

She hesitated, frowning. "No . . . No, I don't think so," she said uncertainly.

He raised a dark eyebrow.

She laughed. "I'm kidding, Hunter. I've been wrong as often as I've been right."

Somehow, he didn't believe it. "You'd make one h.e.l.l of a scouting partner."

Her face closed up. "There will be dozens of older, more experienced scouts in Shockton looking to pick up work."

"Of course," he said agreeably. But he watched her thoughtfully as she waved at the oncoming riders.

Kettre waved back and pulled up on the verge in a flurry of dust, just ahead of the others. "Where have you been?" the woman demanded as she slid from the saddle. She tossed the reins at the nearest man-Fentris-who caught them with a bemused expression.

Nori waved her hand at the dust. "Moons, Kettre, couldn't you get us any dirtier? What did you do, gallop back the whole way?"

Kettre didn't even pause. "We sent the search parties out last night, got started at first dawn. Payne was ready to chew up his scabbard when you turned up missing-"

"That sounds like him, but I am sorry. I didn't expect to be gone this long-"

"Sure, and the moons don't fly." Kettre glanced at the two men while the other searchers reined in. She lowered her voice abruptly. "Can't you go anywhere without finding some handsome man-or two-to bring you back?"

Nori grinned faintly at her disgust. "I didn't ask them along."

"You never need to." Kettre pulled her a few meters away from the others and lowered her voice even further. "So, spill. Who are they?"

Nori shrugged. "Chaperones for Test youth, out of Sidisport. Rich enough to afford fancy gear-"

The other woman fingered the fine, rolled-up sleeve of the overlarge shirt. "I can see that."

She swatted Kettre's hand away. "And idle enough to take a month out of their year to watch some relatives Test."

Kettre gave her a sharp look. She'd never heard Nori use such a dismissive tone for men she kept glancing at. Or rather, one man, she realized, as she caught Nori's surrept.i.tious look toward the taller one. "But you don't know who they are?"

Nori sighed. "The slim one is Fentris, the tall one Hunter."

Kettre watched her curiously. "Hunter's a scout name."

The wolfwalker shook her head. "He's city. Rides with formal training, not loosely like a Randonnen."

The other woman glanced back toward the Tamrani. "What about the other one?"

"He's rigged right," she admitted. "But he knows nothing about the forest. They're both heading for the councils, but they're not friends," she added, surprising Kettre. "Fentris called Hunter 'Brithanas,' and he called Fentris 'Shae' when they were trying to irritate each other. Other than that," she said quickly when the other woman started to interrupt, "all I know is that they didn't do badly last night on the ride, and-"

She ran her hands down the silk-soft sleeve. "they have excellent taste in clothes."

Kettre frowned. "Brithanas and Shae are family names, Nori. Old families. They're out of Tamrani Houses."

"The cozar said they were Tamrani," Nori agreed.

The other woman gave her a disgusted look. "You could have mentioned that first. It is just slightly, in the barest way, a teeny bit important."

Nori hid a grin.

"Brithanas," Kettre mused. "Moons, Nori, don't you know who he is?"

Nori shrugged. "Cityman, merchant. Arrogant and irritating. It's enough."

"Just once, could you use your brain for something other than badgerbear or stickbeast? Look at him. A Tamrani called Hunter in the trade lanes. Tall, green-eyed, well built, arrogant as old money, with a chovas hairstyle, but wearing tooled tesselskin boots?"

"I pick up the important things. I don't worry about the rest."

"You'll rest your mind all the way onto your funeral pyre if someone doesn't stay on your case. He's Condari," Kettre said in exasperation. "Condari Brithanas."

The wolfwalker didn't even blink. "Never heard of him."

"Payne will have."

"Payne hears all the gossip," Nori said, not quite under her breath.

"If you're going to ride with those two, you might consider listening to your brother. Even I have heard things about 'n.o.ble Hunter' Brithanas."

"You live in Sidisport," Nori retorted. "You're supposed to hear the news."

"And Fentris Shae?" the brown-eyed woman warned. "You'd best be on your guard. He doesn't make for a good ally."

Nori looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "He's got a good seat, carries his blade like he means business. He startled a few times, but he didn't hint at bolting, even when we crossed the poolah."

"Poolah?" The other woman poked at one of the scabs on her arm. "You just can't leave the critters alone, can you?"

Nori shook her off. "You're as bad as Payne. The poolah didn't touch me. This is from the brush last night, when I was running from worlags."

"Worlags." Kettre's voice was flat.

Nori shook her head in silent warning. "I'll tell you later," she mouthed as the searchers began to dismount and greet her.

Kettre scowled. "Ask Payne," she returned cryptically.

Nori briefly explained the night to the cozar andchovas who had turned out to look for her. When Hunter would have added to her abbreviated version, she cut him off smoothly, leaving Fentris with a half smile on his face. Then she rea.s.sured the searchers, thanking them again as they left to catch up to the wagons.

Kettre stayed behind to wait for Payne and question the two Tamrani. Nori went back to her log pillow to close her eyes, not to sleep-she was too tired and sore for that-but to listen for the yearling.

She hadn't realized she had dozed off until the grey raked like a nail across her mind. She jerked awake.

She was on her feet instantly, her hand going to her borrowed bow. Hunter was half on his feet at her abrupt warning, and Kettre and Fentris barely an instant behind. She poised, listening.

Wolfwalker,Rishte sent sharply.Wake, alert. The pounding. Hooves on the ground like before.

"Nori?" Kettre said sharply.

Nori held up her hand and shook her head. Rishte was close, and the sense of his warning was stronger.

He was on edge, too, more twitchy since he'd crept closer to the humans. This time, she knew immediately it was fast, approaching riders. "Yes," she breathed. He'd keyed in to her need to listen only for a larger group, the one Payne would be with. He had ignored the other single and paired ring-runners who had pa.s.sed while she slept. So soon into the bond, it was more than she could have hoped for. She sent him a joyful shaft of approval.

Wolfwalker!he returned.

Kettre, watching the change in Nori's body language, relaxed.

"It's alright," Nori told the Tamrani. Fentris gave her an odd look but lowered his bow, as did Hunter.

A few minutes later, a knot of riders pounded into view at a canter. Nori raised her arm, and Payne spurred his dnu into a gallop.

Payne barely came to a halt before sliding from the saddle, and he and Nori banged bows as they hugged until Nori shrugged hers off and thrust it at Kettre. Hunter noted the worry in both Nori's and Payne's faces until they exchanged some low words. Then Payne gave Hunter a look that didn't pretend to hide his protectiveness.

Hunter understood completely. He couldn't help glancing at Fentris as the other searchers arrived. He still didn't know whether to put a fist in the other Tamrani's perfect face for letting his sister get stabbed, or bring the man in to help, since Shae had information of his own that could help Hunter at council.

He looked back at The Brother. The height and lean, broad shoulders Payne had, Hunter suspected, came from the father's side. Hunter wasn't a small man, but he guessed he outweighed the youth by barely fifteen kilos. Also like his father, Payne's face was fairly sculpted. If the ladies thought Payne good looking now, they'd probably swoon over him in two years. No wonder he had a growing reputation as a troublemaker and rake.

Hunter had been expecting to see The Brother as spineless and jealous of his father's reputation and name. Instead, he saw a young man who moved with much of the controlled energy Nori had, as if Payne had already been seasoned enough to wear away much of the brashness of youth. It made Hunter study him much more carefully. The children of strong parents were often weak, as if they couldn't define themselves except as shadows of such visible roles. History repeating itself, he thought. The young man had been called a "miniature Aranur" and a "budding Rhom" all his years growing up. If it had been Hunter, he'd have dyed his hair, changed his name, and pretended he really was cozar.

After Payne's look, he was prepared for the once-over he got from two of the older riders. Those hard faces and trail-toughened rigs could never have been cozar. These, he thought, looking at Wakje and Ki, were part of the Wolven Guard.

Beside the three men, the wolfwalker seemed not just slender, but almost willowy. Hunter gathered his gear and tried not to remember how her muscles had felt when he'd ma.s.saged her legs. In the wind, his soft jerkin and baggy shirt pressed against her figure. He felt his loins tighten again. Slim she might be, but there was strength in that long, lithe body. He stifled an urge to run his hands inside the garment, over her smooth skin, and shock her out of her reticence.

Wakje glanced at Hunter, then studied his niece as she briefly explained again where she'd been. He didn't miss the tautness of exhaustion, or the long scratches and gashes on her arms and neck. She was leaving out a few details. Payne, too, gave her a sharp look, but accepted her story without protest.

When she'd finished, the younger man turned to the rest of the searchers. "With our thanks, and if you're willing, you can ride back to the caravan. We'll follow in a bit."

Ki nodded to Payne and Nori, but Wakje made no move to leave; nor did Hunter or Fentris. The outrider, Murton, made as if to stay also, but Ed Proving simply handed Murton the man's reins and commented dryly, "They can manage, Outrider neKien. This road is fairly easy to follow, even for full-fledged scouts."

Thechovas flushed, nodded curtly, and reined away, but not before Nori caught a flash of something cold in his brown eyes. It seemed directed at her, and she felt a chill. Rishte echoed it into her mind, and howled up on the hill. The other riders stilled, then glanced at Nori, but her violet eyes were clear, not unfocused as a wolfwalker's gaze often was. Still, there was speculation in their gazes as they waved their ride-safes. Uncle Ki studied her for a moment, then nodded to her and rode away with his sons.

Nori glanced at the Tamrani, then murmured to Payne, "Shall we?"

They walked away to talk in privacy. He glanced back and kept his voice low. "You're gouged up good, Nori-girl."

"It was an . . . interesting night," she admitted.

Payne heard the growl under her voice. His hand shot out and gripped her arm. "That howl. It's happened then? That's . . . is that your wolf on the hill?"

She couldn't help smiling. Payne's voice was so carefully steady that he had to be biting the insides of his cheeks. She disengaged his fingers. "The pack Called. One chose to stay."

Payne started to grin. With the wolves so wary of the taint in her mind, Nori had been terrified she would never find a partner. "It's happened," he murmured. "They Called, you Answered, and now you're really bonding."

"You would have done less, big brother?"

He mock-punched her shoulder and grinned when she couldn't quite hide her flinch. Served her right for adventuring without him. "h.e.l.ls, you know I wouldn't have ignored a Call. Are you going to tell?"

"Not before we leave on your Journey a.s.signment."

He nodded. What the elders didn't know, they couldn't control. Wolfwalkers weren't as rare as they had once been, but their skills were still in high demand. The Ariyen elders had been chewing their nails waiting for Nori to bond. Once she did, they could put more pressure on her to shift from the scout lists to the council lists. She could end up like their mother, drowned in county duties. Unless, he added to himself, she stood up to them or was already out on Journey.

He glanced back toward the Tamrani. "Do they know?"

"They suspect, but I don't think they'll tell." She hesitated, then asked more sharply than she intended, "Payne, how far did you get on my trail before you heard the recall?"

He said in disgust, "Moons, Nori, you didn't need to worry about me and the worlags."

But she surprised him. "I wasn't worried about that. You've never been afraid of them like I am." Rishte growled faintly as her thoughts turned back to that midnight run. She glanced back at the two Tamrani.

"Let's walk a bit," she said softly.

She led him almost a hundred meters down the road before taking the papers from her pocket and handing them to Payne. "I took those from the raiders at Bell Rocks."

Payne unfolded them carefully. "They'd be more useful if they weren't torn."

"Aye, and I'd be more perforated," she said dryly. "The raiders were armed, you know, at the time."

He flashed her a grin. While she waited, she peered into the bushes and idly picked a few seedpods hidden back in the thorns. The pods had escaped the spring sun and hadn't yet burst, so they were both hard and aromatic. Payne handed her a belt pouch automatically as he read, and she dropped the pods inside. As with most scouts, it was habit to supplement their scouting wages. This time, they'd need the extra silver to help replace her gear.

Payne frowned as he studied the last sheet. "This isn't House code."

"No. One of the raiders was writing that when I ran through the camp. I think it could be the same as the other samples we saw a month ago."

He refolded the papers thoughtfully and tucked them inside his jerkin. "I'll find a rider and send these on after we copy down the code. The next contact I know is two days away, but he's solid. We can trust him with this."

Nori glanced back at the Tamrani and lowered her voice. "There was something else last night, Payne.

At the base of Cotillion Cliff, a death-place, like the domes. Like the plague, but recent."

He stilled, his hand in his jerkin pocket. "So that's why you didn't want me following your trail, and why you don't want to confess the bond." He secured the pocket. "Plague." He said softly, "You're sure about this?"

"Sure as a rock set in stone."

He didn't doubt her. Mama had taken him to the same ruins as Nori. Like old sweat, a chill crept down his spine. Plague, and the wolves remembered it clearly enough to tell Nori before she'd fully bonded.

After eight hundred years, plague was still carried by the wolves. It was the reason their litters were so small, their pups often stillborn. It lay dormant in the Grey Ones until they did Ovousibas-the internal healing-but then it erupted like fire. It was why Ovousibas was forbidden. The intense energies of the inner healing killed the wolves, and then burned out the brains of the wolfwalkers who tried to do it with them. Mama was likely the first person in three centuries who had figured out how to use the alien healing technique without killing herself or her wolf.

Nori had the same knowlege of botany and biology as her mother, and with her vet skills and the taint in her mind, Nori could be the perfect person to help find a cure for the wolves. But seeking such a cure wasn't a goal to admit to-not with the tombs of the martyrs lining the Ancients' roads. Any hint that Nori could recognize plague or survive it or, moons forbid, cure it, and she would be inundated with hopefuls. Even the Lloroi couldn't stop that kind of flood. She could be the death of hundreds who would try to return to the domes and die instead at the plague sites. Nori couldn't even know yet whether she could do Ovousibas at all, let alone do it well enough to survive the plague, as Mama had barely learned to do.

Payne's voice was low. "Did the wolves tell you how many died?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't get to any real memories. We're not that closely bonded."