“I might.”
“You would never get within a hundred feet of him. The Wolves would tear you apart.”
“His pets are nasty?”
She laughed bitterly. “They’re not pets. They are men. Or at least they once were men. He did something to them during the rebellion, changed them in some way. Now they are something different. At night, they can change into monsters. You know, I really am starting to believe you are a Guardian. A normal man would be back on his horse and riding for his life about now. You just stand there as if you’ve heard this sort of thing all before.”
“I have.”
“So are you going to do anything about it? Somebody ought to make Massimo and his bastard monsters pay for what they are doing.”
“It sounds like it will take more than one lone Guardian to do that.”
“I thought you lot were supposed to be heroes, sneer in the face of danger, defy demons, that sort of thing.”
“I am sorry to disappoint. I already have one monster I am tracking. Are you going to tell me what you know about it?”
“So you are convinced that I am not it?”
“Maybe.”
“Cagey bastard, aren’t you?”
“It’s how I have lived to my advanced age.”
“It’s a skill I wish you would teach me.”
“What is your name, girl?”
“Petra.”
“What are you doing on this road?”
“My brother and I were fleeing, trying to get away.”
“From where?”
“Oakbridge. It was our village back along the road. The Wolves burned it.”
“You fled?”
“We fled. We were the only ones left alive. Luck really. Our house was on the edge of the village furthest from where they broke in. Tam smelled the burning, woke me. We crept out and hid, dived into the millpond. That way the Wolves could not smell us.”
“Clever.”
“Tam was a good hunter. He knew about such things. He taught me what he could after our parents died.”
“Where is he now?”
“You already know, don’t you?”
“The demon took him, or it took his body.”
“It was horrible. I could hear him screaming. He told me to run then he told me to come back. The voice did not sound like him at all.”
“It wasn’t. It was the thing that killed him.”
“He’s dead then.”
“His body is walking the world. His soul is not in it though.”
“Then I can’t even give him a proper burning.”
“You follow the Solar rites here?”
“Our village did. It’s all mixed up here though in the mountains. Some are moondogs. There’s old hatred here. Massimo is a moondog, so are his Wolves. You’d better hope they don’t see you. You’re sworn to the Sun, aren’t you?”
“I was. A long time ago.”
“You going to kill me or not?” Kormak looked at her. She was just a girl, with eyes that looked as if they were about to brim with tears, who had been hungry for too long. At least as far as he could tell.
“How did Razhak catch you?”
“Razhak? Is that the sort of demon you are chasing?”
“It’s his name.”
If she was curious as to how he knew that, she gave no sign. “He rode up, on a big horse. I thought there was something odd about him. It was the smell. We started to run but he rode Tam down. He just passed me by.”
“I don’t think Razhak would want a woman’s body here. It would make him too vulnerable.”
“You make it sound very cunning.”
“A land torn by war. A woman on her own. Too much like a victim.”
“He might use it as a trap.”
“You do think like a hunter.”
“I can help you hunt this bastard demon,” she said. “It killed my brother.”
“I am not sure I want any help.”
“You going to do this all on your own?”
“I don’t want to hunt a demon and look after you at the same time.”
“You are the soul of chivalry, aren’t you? A real knight.”
“A real knight would beat you for showing such disrespect. They don’t like uppity peasant girls.”
“So I should be glad you’re not? And I am not a peasant. I am a freeholder.”
“You got any place to go, or were you and your brother just fleeing?”
“My father’s sister has a place down in Steelriver. She would take us in. Or she’ll take me in now.”
“How far is Steelriver?”
“It’s the main town about five leagues ahead. It’s mostly a Sunlander place and it’s too big for the Wolves to attack, yet. All the Sunlanders are heading that way. What? What did I say? You look as if you swallowed a lemon.”
Kormak thought about what she had said. He suddenly saw a pattern to all the burnings. “It’s a cattle drive,” he said. “They are burning you out and driving you all to one place.”
She looked at him. Her mouth opened as if she was about to contradict him but then it closed again. “You know, you might be right.”
“There’s been a lot of feuding between the Sunlanders and the moondogs hasn’t there?”
“Always has been since Kyril the Conqueror claimed these lands in the name of the Holy Sun. The moondogs don’t like that one little bit.”
Kormak nodded. He could tell the girl was talking about humans when she mentioned moondogs. Further west that particular name was reserved for the Old Ones themselves not those who worshipped them. Here the words had the sound of a most bitter insult.
“You think they are going to get everyone in one place and then burn it?”
“It’s an old trick in siege warfare. Force your enemy to open the gates to refugees from their own side. If they open the gates, it’s more mouths to feed. If they turn them away, it demoralises.”
“Lord Martin would not turn any one of the True Faith away. The city council might. They are a bunch of money grubbing bastards by all accounts.”
“You always use such language?”
“Who are you, my father?”
“Where is he?”
“Dead, like my mother. Red plague took them.”
Kormak could tell by the set of her mouth that she was not going to say anything more on that subject.
“You can walk with me to Steelriver. Razhak is most likely going that way anyway.”
And that would not be good, Kormak thought. There would be many new bodies there, and in a big town he could hide all too well.
“You not going to ask me to ride with you?”
“My horse does not need the extra weight and I don’t need anyone behind me who is so ready with a knife.”
They had been on the road for hours and Kormak was tired of fending off the girl’s endless questions. He just stared at their surroundings and let her chatter flow over him. She did not seem to care so long as he grunted occasionally as if he were listening.
It was getting dark. The mountains which mere hours before had been vast and clear, dappled with woods, bright with snow on the peaks, were becoming mere gigantic shadows that loomed menacingly all around. Clouds hid the face of Our Lady of the Moon. It did not look like they would make the town this evening so it was time to make camp.
Kormak swung his steed off the road when he found a convenient hollow. It was cold, with the chill of oncoming winter. He began to gather sticks for a fire. Petra began to help. He noticed that she had a leather strap in her hand now with a stone in it and he watched her warily. Many a warrior had been killed with a sling. It made him reluctant to remove his helmet. He had known some men who would have mocked him for that but he was still alive and they were long in their graves.
“You any good with that?” he asked.
She nodded and began to whirl the sling. He kept his eye on her, ready to throw himself to one side if she looked like she was bringing it to bear on him. The stone whizzed away and brought down a squirrel in a nearby tree. It was an excellent shot in the bad light.
“Impressive,” Kormak said.
“Dinner,” she said. She nodded at the sword. “You any good with that thing?”
“I don’t intend to bring down any squirrels with it.”
“It was not squirrels I was thinking of,” she said. She nodded towards the mountain slope. There was something moving amid the undergrowth there. It might have been a wolf or a bear. Kormak returned to getting the fire lit. It might prove useful in keeping beasts at bay as well as keeping them warm. Petra moved closer. She set the squirrel down and began to clean and skin it. She carefully placed the pelt aside. He guessed she might be able to sell it or the tail. Or maybe she wanted to use it herself.