Of Truth and Beasts by Barb Hendee & J. C. Hendee

Author:Barb Hendee & J. C. Hendee [Hendee, Barb & Hendee, J. C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: fiction, Fantasy, general, horror, vampires, Fantasy fiction, Quests (Expeditions), dwarves, Occult & Supernatural
ISBN: 9780451463753
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2011-01-04T05:00:00+00:00

“Keep your eyes shut tight,” Wynn told Chane, pushing leafy branches out of her face.

Her sleeves were soaked through from moisture clinging to foliage as she trailed Shade. Ore-Locks followed, but it took all Wynn’s effort to drag Chane blindly onward. It seemed too long that she’d been fighting through this underbrush, but the howls and yips grew steadily louder and nearer.

Wynn broke into a small clearing and found Shade poised at its center with her ears upright. Something had stalled the dog, but as Wynn reached out to touch Shade’s haunches, two furred forms burst from the underbrush on the clearing’s far side.

Both majay-hì were long and lanky like Shade, with equally narrow muzzles and tall ears. One was a mottled brown. The other was a more traditional silver-gray. The pair split, rounding opposite sides of the small space.

Rustlings rose in the brush all around the clearing.

“Watch your backs,” Ore-Locks warned.

Wynn looked about frantically. Noise in the underbrush sounded as if an entire pack had surrounded the clearing, but only two dogs had shown themselves. She spun back at a clack of teeth.

Both newcomers froze. The mottled one held a forepaw up in midstep, as Shade snarled at it with her ears flattened.

Wynn had placed her trust in Shade. The last time she’d encountered a majay-hì pack had been in the Farlands’ Elven Territories. Only the presence of Chap and his mate, Lily, had made them tolerate her. She hoped the same would work here with Shade.

The silver majay-hì turned and lowered its head. Shade snapped the air before it.

Chane’s hand slipped out of Wynn’s and latched onto her wrist. Before she even turned, she heard his sword sliding from its sheath.

“Chane, no!” she said, grabbing his sword arm.

Another snarl erupted, pulling her attention. The sound hadn’t come from Shade.

The mottled one’s jowls quivered around bared teeth as it raised its head and sniffed the air in Wynn’s direction. It snorted, as if expelling a foul smell caught in its nose.

Wynn wondered why it needed to smell her at all. It should’ve picked up her scent without such effort. Then the reason dawned on her—perhaps it wasn’t her that the newcomer smelled.

Chane was the one who didn’t smell right. The brass ring could do nothing about that.

Ore-Locks pushed past Wynn into the clearing, his long iron staff at the ready but his blade still sheathed. The silver majay-hì swung its head toward him.

“Everyone be still,” Wynn said. “They aren’t animals. They’re as intelligent as you are.”

Shade still rumbled, and the silver one eyed her as if puzzled by Shade’s actions. It stretched out its muzzle toward her, and Shade bared her teeth.

“Easy, Shade,” Wynn whispered.

Shade was caught between two opponents and swung her head back and forth to keep track of them. When the silver majay-hì was a head’s length away, Shade turned fully to it.

There came the briefest touch of noses.

Shade flinched back and fell completely silent. The silver-gray dog turned and dashed back into the brush the way it had entered.

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