pull the jaws apart, but they were locked to his forearm. Mace and I managed to prise them clear. Wulf pushed back his torn sleeve and blood gushed from the puncture wounds above and below his left wrist.
The hunchback swore loudly. ‘Were they rabid, do you think?’ he asked.
‘No,’ I assured him. ‘Cataplas cast a spell on them. As soon as we touched them with our weapons, the spell was leached away. Had they been rabid, they would have continued their attack.’ I was not sure that this was true, but my words comforted Wulf.
‘Why me?’ muttered Wulf, trying to staunch the flow of blood. ‘They were all round you, Mace, and you haven’t a scratch!’The gods favour the handsome, Wulf – you should know that. And you should have known better than to run at wolves.’I saved your life, you bastard!’True,’ Mace agreed, grinning. ‘Which is the second thing to remember about gods: they rarely aid the stupid.’It’s not a mistake I’ll make again!’ responded the hunchback, turning back towards the cave. Astiana bound his wounds, but Wulf was still complaining as the dawn came up.
‘We must move,’ said Mace, kneeling beside Piercollo. ‘Can you keep up with us?’We should stay for at least another two days,’ put in Astiana.
‘Perhaps we should. But who knows what the sorcerer will send against us next time. Tell me, Owen,’ he said, turning to me, ‘does Cataplas know where we are?’I believe so. He would have been linked to the wolves.’Then we have no choice,’ said Mace.
The giant pushed himself to his feet. ‘I will be with you, Morningstar. Do not concern yourself. Piercollo is strong.’What about you, sister? Where will you go?’I will travel with you as far as the village of Willow. It is close to the Troll Reaches and I have friends there.’Mace smiled. ‘I always like the company of attractive women.’And I like attractive men,’ she told him icily. ‘It’s a shame there are none close by.’I think she loves me,’ Mace told me as we set off towards the north.
We travelled towards the north-west, moving with care, listening for sounds from the soldiers hunting us. Twice we saw mounted warriors, but they were far off and we passed by unseen.
Piercollo walked in silence, uncomplaining, though the pain from his eye must have been great. We halted at midday in a sheltered hollow, where Wulf built a fire beneath the spreading branches of a tall pine. The wood he used was dry, and what little smoke it made was dissipated as it passed through the thick branches overhead. We cooked a little of the venison and sat quietly, each with our own thoughts. Wulf’s arm was paining him, but the hunchback had been lucky; the bite had been partly blocked by his leather wrist-guard and the wounds were not deep.
Ilka came to sit beside me and, for the first time, I took her hand, raising it to my lips and kissing the fingers. It was as if I had struck her and she jerked her hand from mine, her eyes angry.
‘I am sorry,’ I told her. ‘I did not mean to offend you.’But she stood and walked away from me, sitting beside Piercollo and Astiana. It had been an unconscious gesture, and one of love, yet I had forgotten the reality of her life. Raped, tortured and forced to become a whore, such a kiss for her was simply a request for carnality. I felt clumsy and stupid.
That night, after another seven or eight miles of travel, we found shelter under an overhang of rock. Mace gestured to Ilka, summoning her. When she shook her head and turned away, he stood and walked round the small fire to where she sat.
‘Is it that time of the month?’ he asked her. Once more she shook her head.
‘Then come with me.’ Ilka rose and stood before him, her hand on her scabbarded sabre. Then she pointed first at Piercollo, then Wulf and finally me. I didn’t understand what was happening, though I was glad she had refused him. ‘What is happening here?’ asked Mace, becoming irritated.
Ilka was agitated now, but she could not make herself understood. It was Piercollo who finally saw what she was trying to say.