Chap lunged forward, front paws on the wagon's bench. He snarled, and his ear flattened at the sight of the wolf.
"Brake!" Leesil shouted. "Pull the brake!"
Magiere saw the wolf harry the horses as she blindly reached back with her hand. The falchion's hilt smacked against her palm, and she closed her fingers around it, not knowing who'd retrieved it. She grabbed for the brake with her free hand.
The wagon lurched to a halt with the sound of splintering wood. Magiere pulled the brake too late. Her grip on lever kept her from falling backward, but that was all, for they'd already hit something.
"Chap, go!" Magiere shouted.
The dog scrambled over the bench as she dropped off the wagons' side, running to get in between the horses and the wolf. It was snarling and snapping at their hooves.
"Get back!" she yelled, trying to attract the wolf's attention.
Chap rushed around her and charged. The wolf turned on the dog, and the two became a mass of growls and teeth. Magiere couldn't strike without risking injury to Chap.
Port and Imp tried to back away, and the wagon's rigging creaked under their struggles. Magiere glanced back to see wagon's corner grind against a tree trunk. Wynn clung to the wagon's side, reaching for a grip on the bench, and Leesil was nowhere in sight. Magiere grabbed for the horses' harness. The wagon twisted sideways and dropped as the outer rear wheel fell free from its axle.
A loud yelp carried above the horses' frantic snorts. Magiere saw the wolf break away and Chap roll to his feet, prepared to charge again. She released the horses and swung her blade, aiming for the beast's throat. It dodged, but her blade tip clipped its left shoulder.
The wolf yelped, and then dashed off into the trees. Chap scrambled after it.
"No!" Magiere shouted. "Let it go."
Chap circled around her, panting, his eyes on the forest where the wolf had fled.
Magiere turned back to the wagon. There was still no sign of Leesil, but Wynn lay in the road amongst half their belongings, toppled out the wagon's back end. The rear right wheel lay flat on the road.
"Wynn?" Magiere called. "Are you all right?"
The sage sat up, her short robe's cowl flopped over her face. She pushed it back and looked about as if lost.
"Yes… yes, I am fine," she said.
"Where's Leesil?" Magiere asked.
Wynn peered about again, climbing to her feet, and Chap ran around the wagon's back.
"Valhachkasej'a!" came Leesil's irate voice from the forest. "I'm in the damn bushes!"
He rose into view from behind the tree their wagon had struck, with dirt on his face and clothes. Stray leaves stuck out in his white hair. He walked stiff-legged as he stepped out onto the road, and held his right buttock as he scowled at Magiere.
"Did you ever manage to set the brake?" he asked through gritted teeth.
Magiere glared at him, though she was relieved that he was all right. "That wolf must have been starving to attack a wagon."
"Am I ever…" Wynn said, head shaking in disbelief, "ever going to have one safe night around the three of you?"
Magiere had no answer.
Chap sat down next to the sage and licked her hand, but Wynn pulled it away. She looked at the wheel lying on the ground. Leesil squatted down and poked at the axle's end. Magiere was about to ask if they could fix it, but Leesil was already shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yes, this makes perfect sense," Wynn continued. "Who else would become stranded in the wilderness by one famished wolf?"
Bitterness was unusual enough coming from Wynn, but the words hung upon Magiere as she looked toward the woods where the wolf had vanished. There was nothing else to be done, and she began unharnessing Port and Imp.
"Oh, I am sorry," Wynn said. "It is a bit too much to face right now."
"I could use your help," Magiere replied.
Wynn came forward to inspect Port's right front leg. It was bleeding.
"Only the skin," she said. "Proper tending and rest, and he will recover quickly."
"We're here for the night anyway," Leesil said, glaring at the wheel and axle.
He collected their belongings off the road and began setting camp as Wynn dug through her things to find salve and a bandage for Port's leg. Magiere stroked the animal's long forehead, but her gaze was still on the forest.
Chane knelt upon the ground, seeing through the wolf's eyes as he directed its assault upon the horses. He had made the wolf his own familiar and felt what it felt while merged with its awareness. When the dhampir's blade bit the wolf's shoulder, Chane recoiled in pain and severed his bond with the animal.
But he had seen the wagon smash against the tree.
Through his own eyes, he saw Welstiel standing a short distance off, holding his cloak closed about himself, watching Chane with tight lips and eyes narrowed with impatience.
"It's done. " Chane panted. "One horse is injured, and the wagon has lost a wheel. No one was hurt, and they are stranded."
Welstiel nodded. "Well done. Can you ride?"
"The wolf is bleeding."
"Will that affect you?"
Chane still felt the pain from the dhampir's blade, but it was fading. He did not answer and crawled to his feet to repack his components and mount his horse. Welstiel followed his actions.
"Go," Chane said, exhausted and angry.
He did not want his efforts wasted and, once they passed the dhampir in the night, Welstiel would no longer have a need to take matters into his own hands. Wynn would be safe-for now.
"How far ahead are they?" Welstiel asked.
"Perhaps a few leagues or more. I'll warn you when we get close, and we can move off the road through the forest. If we press through the night, we will be long ahead of mem by dawn."
Welstiel kicked his horse forward. Chane gripped his reins with one hand and his saddle with the other and followed.
Chapter 11
L eesil awoke well past dawn and felt like he hadn't slept at all. He rolled over beneath the wool blanket to find he was alone.
Magiere was already up and examining the wagon's dislodged wheel. Her hair hung loose about her shoulders, unbraided since the night before when they'd faced Vordana. The small cuts on her face were nearly healed, but the left side of her chin was still tinged red.
The damp air bothered Leesil more than usual, and it was difficult to put on a cheerful front as he got up. They needed to get the wagon fixed and be on their way. He crouched beside Magiere before the axle's exposed end.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"The wheel is intact," he answered. "But I don't see how we're going to lift the wagon enough to remount it."
Wynn and Chap gathered beside them.
"How is Port?" Magiere asked.
"Doing well," Wynn replied. Her eyes were sleepy, and she had not braided her hair either. "The salve helped, and he is not even limping."
"Any ideas?" Leesil asked her, returning to the wagon's wheel.
Wynn led the way into the woods until they found a fallen log. Leesil helped her drag it back. After Magiere hacked it clean with her falchion, Leesil scavenged a stout branch long enough for a lever. They rolled the log up to the wagon, set the branch in place, and all three of them put their weight on it.
The wagon's corner lifted, but when Leesil tried to set the wheel to the axle, it was clear they wouldn't get the axle high enough. More scavenging followed, as they tried to find a way to lift the axle higher. By midmorning, they stopped in frustration for a late breakfast, settling together on a blanket with apples and biscuits.
"If we can't fixed it soon," Magiere said, "We'll have to pack up Port and walk, take turns riding Imp."