The Snow Chanter by Linda Nagata

Author:Linda Nagata
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: epic fantasy series, noble bright, secondary world fantasy, origin myths, nature spirits, young adult, fantasy book series, ecological fantasy
ISBN: 978-1-937197-34-6
Publisher: Mythic Island Press LLC
Published: 2021-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

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Kit’s mouth turned in a cold half-smile when Bennek shared the news of what he had seen. “I hope this time you have it right, my cousin.”

“As do I,” Bennek said in full sincerity.

“Let us hold onto hope,” Pantheren told them. “But let us hurry. Already I can hear the yammering of the pack. Remember, to hide and do nothing is our best hope, but if you must kill, do it quickly so the beast does not alert its mates.”

The stream had steep, crumbling banks nearly four feet high. Spring floods had undercut them, and then over the long summer weeds had grown over them so that now an amber-leaved drapery concealed a collection of dry and tidy hollows.

Kit directed Bennek to crawl into a sheltered place on the north side. “Lie down against the dry bank and get comfortable. No one may move once we’ve settled.” Kit came in behind him, and readied his bow. There was space left only for Marshal, who slipped in next past the weeds.

“What of Lanyon and Pantheren?” Bennek whispered.

Kit said, “They’ll take Kina and conceal themselves in another hollow just upstream.”

“Now we must be silent,” Marshal whispered. “Not a sound from this moment forward.”

Bennek gazed past the weeds, worrying over the scuff marks left by their boots in the crumbling soil, but even as he watched, a swirling wind lifted them away.

The howls and barking of the arowl pack could be heard clearly now, carried south on the wind. Bennek listened to the bone-chilling cries and the hair on his neck rose, just as Kina’s had. He hoped the dog would lie quietly. He hoped the arowl had other prey in mind—but then he hoped they didn’t, for he wouldn’t wish this pack on anyone.

A tapping on his thigh made him shift his gaze. Marshal gave him an impatient look, and Bennek nodded. He closed his eyes and again he let his ghost-self step into the Fourth Way.

Suddenly, the yammering and crying of the arowl was no longer distant. They were all around him and he was a wraith, carried south by a strong wind. He shed fear among them, but they did not notice, so fearful were they already. So he urged them to greater speed, hoping to drive them to exhaustion before they reached the streambed, but they could run no faster than they already did.

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