Wolf's-own: Weregild by Carole Cummings

Author:Carole Cummings
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-03-21T14:09:22+00:00

MALICK was extraordinarily unhappy, and he didn’t much care whom he brought down with him. He’d been terse and snappish with Yori as they’d made their swift way to the Stallion, his longer stride and quick pace somewhat trying for Yori to keep up with. He’d ignored her huffing and the light scrim of sweat on her red face, and kept rattling off what had happened, what was happening now, what he thought might happen next, and how he was all kinds of pissed off that so little of it was under his control.

“So, Joori’s not going anywhere, then?” Yori asked, which had only pissed Malick off more, though he shouldn’t blame her for being pleased about the idea—she’d never formed an attachment to anyone else in all the years he’d known her; he should be delighted for her—but it was so far beyond what was actually important that it made him grind his teeth.

“The Ancestors seem to think he’s significant to what’s going on,” Malick had told her as evenly as he could, because it was just one more thing on which Fen would lay distrust, and it wasn’t bloody fair, damn it. Malick had meant to get them out, he’d wanted to get them out—who wanted the annoying, jealous twin about mucking up the works, anyway?—but he’d forced the issue with the Ancestors for a reason, and now he had to suck it up and deal with what he’d gotten. Joori was some kind of key, according to the Ancestors, and there were bigger issues at stake here than Fen being pissed at Malick for not coming through on his promise.

They sat now in Xari’s dark little parlor, listening to Husao blather about changing fates and what Wolf really meant—because, of course, Husao, one of Dragon’s, would know better than Malick how to interpret Wolf’s directives; Malick didn’t even try not to roll his eyes—Yori listening attentively to Xari and Husao debate, and Malick grinding his teeth down to almost nothing. The day just kept getting better and better.

“But he clearly said that he was calling Kamen to his duty,” Husao argued. “‘All fates rest on the Heart of the Null’. Surely that means—”

“The hand of Fate itself safeguards those who would mock Balance,” Xari put in wearily. “What Asai is safeguards Asai. Fate safeguards Yakuli. It does not mean what you want it to mean, and no amount of debating and choosing those things you want to hear will make it any more what you want it to be. The Balance comes before your vengeance, Husao.” She turned to Malick. “Your god has commanded you to risk your soul to do his work, to see to Asai, to see to Yakuli—and I would hazard any other who has dared to use Wolf’s children so badly—but you have not been given leave to destroy out of hand. You risk the suns only if you disobey your laws while obeying Wolf. That is your conundrum. Only you are Wolf’s-own. Only you can judge best what your god wishes of you.

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