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The dizziness that Airy had experienced the day before was gone in the morning. Despite her assurances that she was fine, Jak insisted on examining her closely. He felt the back of her head and parted her head fur to inspect the cut there. She was a bit uncomfortable with it, but was not sure why. She had slept next to him all last night. It could not just be the physical contact. Maybe she just was not used to such close personal attention from a male even if this male was another species. His inspection went way past the boundary of awkwardness when, without warning, he yanked her breeches down to inspect the gashes on her thigh. She almost slapped him across the snout she was so shocked. Jak was oblivious to her embarrassment until he noticed her agitated nose twitching. He was still trying to figure out the meaning of her bodily expressions, which were subtly different from Wolves, but he had seen this one before on at least one of the few times he had dealt with Rabbits in the past. She was troubled or upset about something.

"What? Did I hurt you?" he asked obliviously.

Perhaps a bit too stern she said, "I can take my own pants off if necessary. You should ask first."

"Oh? Is it a problem? You still have your underclothes on and your shirt. These leggings were just in the way."

Airy wondered if Jak was really so dense. Then it occurred to her that his kind likely had different rules of propriety. "OK. I get it. I have seen your warrior females. They don't wear any more clothes than you do, running around mostly naked all the time. That's not the way it is in Rikifur. We are a more ... modest people, and it is not OK to remove someone else's clothes without their permission especially for a male to remove a female's clothes without permission."

Jak was contrite laying his ears back. "Sorry, Captain. I will ask the next time I wish to remove your clothes." Airy felt herself grow warm in the face at the thoughts Jak's words stimulated in her mind. Contriteness replaced by sarcasm he asked, "May I touch your thigh to inspect your wounds, Captain?"

Now he was teasing her, and she knew she had earned it. She had to stop overreacting to his cultural faux pas. That did not stop her from being irritated. "You don't have to call me 'captain', and I know I am lecturing and telling you what you can and cannot do." When he made no move, she dropped her shoulders and sighed. "Yes. You may tend my leg."

"Thank you, Airy." Now he had a mischievous grin as he squeezed and prodded the scabs that had formed over the deep gashes in her thigh. Finding some redness and pus, he growled in the back of his throat, proceeded to pick away the scabs from the infected parts, and washed everything well with water he kept in a leather bladder. Airy tensed and gritted her teeth from the pain. Jak arched an eyebrow and looked at her with one eye. "Kryfes have bad spirits in their mouths and on their claws. I need to put some more paste on this. It will sting more than the cleaning." He wasn't kidding. The paste he made from leaves and spit he mixed together was like a hot knife under her skin, but she bore it as stoically as she could trying not be repulsed by his spit on her leg.

As Jak continued to work on her leg, he proposed his plan to reach Rikifur. "We go north," said Jak. "I have heard it told that the mountains diminish in height as one travels north until they are merely hills. Unfortunately, the world turns to permanent ice before we reach that point. There is so much ice, it is said that only the highest hills can protrude above it. No one and nothing lives in that frozen realm. "

"How will we cross this frozen land? Even if we get across, we will have to go through more wild lands in the west that lie to the north of Rikifur. There are still some Wolves there, we think, and others who are not friends of Rikifur."

"South might be safer," Jak conceded, "but I know of no tales that speak of the mountain's end to the south. We might walk for years and still only find mountains we can't cross."

Airy was afraid he was right. "Traders who have ventured south of Rikifur by boat or afoot report plains, deserts, jungles, and mountains that go on forever."

"It may be that there is an end, perhaps an easier crossing to the west, but I think we should not journey on hope alone. I don't think south is better just because the dangers are unknown. We need more than hope to have any chance to make it to Rikifur. The northern route has at least has been done before, or so some have claimed. I'll be honest, Captain, that my people have often thought of reclaiming the west, and there has been much discussion about how to do that. The possible path to the north has been debated among the packs many times."

Airy noted Jak's use of the word 'Captain'. Suspecting he did that when a part of him still thought of her as the enemy, she was surprised with herself for feeling sad at the momentary loss of his affection and friendship. Used to giving orders and being obeyed, her typical response would have ordinarily been to chastise him and command him to call her 'Airy'. Uncharacteristically, she let it go. "How far is it to cross in the north?"

"I don't know. A very long way. It may take us months or longer to get there. It is still early summer, but I fear crossing the frozen north at any time other than the height of summer. I doubt we will be at the ice wall to start a crossing by then. We may not make it over the ice even if we do. We'll just have to see how far we get and adapt to whatever conditions we find."

"There is really no choice, then, is there? I say let's go north."

"Agreed." Jack chuckled. "It's always easiest to make a decision when your choices are limited."

"Since the ice is so far away, what lies between us and it?"

"Many hazards. Many dangers. The first of which is my own people." Jak became quiet and introspective. A tragic sense of remorse and sadness hung about him. Airy felt sympathy for him.

"What's wrong, Jak?" she asked as she put her hand on his forearm to comfort him. Surprised again like he had been surprised by the hug yesterday, Jak tensed with his ears forward and looked at her in his lopsided one-eyed way as if about to reject the contact. Though uninhibited when it came to public displays of nakedness, casual physical contact between the wolf sexes was not customary. The awkwardness lasted only a moment, and then he smiled wistfully and covered her small golden paw gently with his much larger white one. New pack. New customs. I will get used to them, he thought.

"Perhaps they are not my people anymore; the Blackrock pack," he replied, pausing for a moment. "We are in their territory." He said the word 'their' as if he were testing it out for the first time and was trying to decide if it made sense. "They will kill me if they find me on their lands. The law of the pack requires it. We should pass unseen as long as we stay up high, but I fear the disaster in the pass will attract them to investigate. Let's clean up what we can and hope they don't find this camp. We are too near the trail to the pass. We must keep moving north and stay in the highlands for a while near the edge of where the trees can grow. My people prefer to hunt in the forests at the mountain's feet and in the valleys that stretch far to the east. I am sorry, but we will probably continue to have cold nights and sleep together in my blanket."

Airy didn't think that was such a bad thing but chose not to disabuse Jak of his notion. When they were done clearing and cleaning the camp, and ready to begin their journey, Jak thought hungrily of the deer slow cooking underground. His belly was empty again. They needed provisions for their journey or they would have to hunt more often, which would only slow them down. He knew he would be wasting his time to ask Airy to take the deer meat; so with regret and a barely audible whimper, he let it lay buried.

Jak set an easy pace at first, worried that Airy might still be too injured to move quickly over such rough terrain. When she didn't complain or appear to be in any discomfort, he gradually increased their speed. It must be nice to be so young and heal so quickly, he thought to himself.

As they travelled, Airy continued to ask her questions about the path before them. "What do you call the lands of the Wolf people, and what lands lie beyond them to the north?"

"We call these lands where all the packs live Olchanth. It covers all the lands where the packs dwell from the earth Spine east to the distant sea. To the north is a river we call the Elv. Beyond the Elv is Cat country. What they call their lands I don't know, but we name it Aserth, which is an old Wolf word that means something like 'danger' or 'badlands'. I have never been there, but I have been told that the forests get thicker and the land more wild where a great spur of the mountain thrusts eastwards out into the lowlands. It is a very dangerous place. The Cats do not work with or trade with any of the other peoples.

"You may not believe me, but the Wolf-people do not always fight with their neighbors. Though we have no love for them and sometimes even fight with them, we trade and on rare occasions cooperate with the Rabbit folk who live on this side of the mountains. I would not call us friends, but neither is it constant war. I have led raids against the Rabbit and Deer folk myself. They don't have the secret of your steel. I have also made peace with them and traded with them when it benefitted us. Some Wolf packs do prey on them constantly and even eat the Rabbit and Deer folk." Airy gasped at this. Jak continued emphasizing that Blackrock pack does not eat people. "In battle, we show mercy to the vanquished. We can't count on any mercy from the Cats. They kill or drive off anyone who enters their lands. I only hope that two travelers will go unnoticed; a small chance I think, but it is the only chance we have."

"Can we go around the badlands to the east?"

"It's a long way and possibly just as hazardous. If we avoid the Cat's lands, then we stay in Wolf country longer. The lands of the Wolf-people stretch far to east. Much trade happens in that direction with other peoples who we only know in rumor, but the other Wolf people will know me for what I am, an exiled pack leader. There is no other reason for a lone Wolf. I will be welcome nowhere. Other packs have no edict to kill me, but they will only see me as a source of trouble. What they would do with you I don't like to say. As I have said, not all Wolf-people have laws banning the eating of other peoples. I think we are better off trying to cross Cat country as quickly as we can."

"What will we find beyond that?"

"At the edge of Aserth is a deep east-west trending canyon cut by another river that defines their northern border. I have never heard the name of that river. If we can cross the canyon, then we will be safe from the Cats. The northern rim of the canyon begins a great fertile plateau that is home to the Horse and Cattle peoples. I have never met any of their kind. They may be just myth. I heard the names 'Hesture' and 'Storfay' used for that land. I don't know which if either are the right names. What I am telling you now are possibly just stories that travelers tell to their hosts to amuse them. Eventually these high plains supposedly fade away to desolate scrublands covered in snow most of the year. The scrublands end in a wall of ice. That wall is just the edge of a massive sheet of ice that continues to the northern ends of the world, wherever that is. Always to the north, the Earth Spine becomes less in height, but more covered in snow that moves, grinds, and opens beneath your feet without warning. Eventually the ice and mountains become one flat expanse, and that is where we will cross if such a place exists."

"And enter another dangerous land in the west. The lands north of Rikifur are not safe. There are still wolves there, Jak, and I'm sorry if this offends you, but they are still my enemies. We have never made peace with them."

"It's all danger and peril, but now it's our road to travel. The alternative is to stay here and die. I was willing to do that yesterday, but now that I am of Rikifur, I think I would rather live another day. I admit, I still have an affinity for my own kind, but we have never been a united people like your Rikifur. We make war on each other. The wolves of the West will be just another pack to me. If they attack my new pack, Rikifur, I will fight alongside Rabbits to kill Wolves."

"You give me courage, Jak. My courage has been tenuous since I crossed the Spine. With you as my guardian, I have confidence again." She lapsed into silence, wondering how much to tell Jak of the internal problems that plagued Rikifur. Her people were not as united as Jak seemed to think or as much as Airy liked to believe. Deciding to tell him later, she let the subject go, and let Jak believe in the unity of his new pack.

Their journey took them over rough land with no trails other than what the local animals made, going up and down the endless series of valleys carved into the sides of the Earth Spine. Jak was not happy with their speed. Though Airy moved quickly for her size and did not tire easily, she did not have Jak's stride. He could also see that her leg wound was starting to slow her, though she tried to conceal it from him. Often Jak would turn and notice that she had fallen far behind him. Being separated was too dangerous, so he changed the marching order, keeping her in front of him and telling her which way to go. Their speed did not improve, but letting Airy find her own pace was easier on her and kept them close together. They encountered only animals and no people that day, but they were not as alone as Jak would have liked.

Ice Eyes led a small group of warriors up the mountains to discover what the recent volcanic eruption had done to the pass and the precious obsidian deposits that were so valuable to Blackrock pack. Though somewhat shorter than the average warrior, he was strong and lithe. He took after his father in strength, and his mother in grace and agility, but neither in his coloring. His fur was a rich chocolate brown with stripes of gold. Though fierce in battle and stern when in command, he was gentle and compassionate with the females and had been quite popular even before he became pack leader. Many new pups would be born of his seed before the next turning of the seasons. It was actually a relief to have this new task in front of him and be away from the mating game for a while. An overabundance of female attention to their new leader had begun to wear him out.

The past few weeks had been exhausting in other ways. Emissaries from friendly neighboring packs had come visiting Manenron, the central village of Blackrock pack, to meet him as the new leader of their important trading partner, and feasts had to be prepared and gifts made and distributed to the visiting dignitaries. Thoughtful in his diplomacy, Ice Eyes had given these visits his full attention, at least all of his attention that was left after satisfying the females. A few neighboring packs had yet to send emissaries, like River and Winter packs, and Ice Eyes was distracted by the possible meaning of that. Word of White Paw's demise had been spread quickly as was custom whenever there was a new leader. Of the packs that had come to inspect his ascension, so far all seemed satisfied that Ice Eyes was indeed a strong and competent leader. In addition to solidifying his role as leader, these feasts made the members of Blackrock pack less somber over the demise of White Paw.

Yet the recent onset of earthquakes and the red glowing cloud of smoke above the Earth Spine had startled the pack and cast a blanket of doubt over his reign. Some among the pack had begun to talk of ill-boding omens for Ice Eyes' reign and spoke openly of the evil that was being unleashed because Ice Eyes had thrown down White Paw too soon. Ice Eyes understood their longing for the stability and continued prosperity that White Paw had provided. Nearly everyone in the pack had loved White Paw even though they knew or at least suspected it was his time to go. A large minority had never known any leader but White Paw. They found it difficult to comprehend Blackrock pack without him. Yet none except Moon had loved him more than Ice Eyes.

Instead of the singular achievement that it should have been, the challenge proved to have been the worst day of his life. It was a fate he had tried but failed to avoid. The other warriors were reluctant to challenge White Paw as long as Ice Eyes was the most favored replacement. It was known that Ice Eyes was the strongest and best leader of the pack's males. In contests of fighting, hunting and physical stamina, he was typically the winner. Though young, he had natural leadership talent and had his own band of loyal followers even before the challenge. These traits are all necessary to become a Wolf pack leader, and mounting a challenge without them was typically pointless, because even if a Wolf won the challenge he might not be accepted as leader. It was unusual, but not unheard of for an unpopular challenge victor to be driven out if enough warriors backed the revolt. Even if another challenger were popular enough to withstand a revolt, any challenger who beat White Paw would certainly fall to Ice Eyes at the next moon. It wasn't until he learned that other warriors were beginning to talk openly of challenging White Paw that Ice Eyes was forced to act. He could not bear to think of his father, who he loved so dearly, falling to some of the arrogant and boastful clods who were tentatively stepping forward. White Paw had been getting old, grayer and weaker with age. Every day he was becoming easier to defeat. So Ice Eyes, despite Moon's desperate pleading, stepped into the challenge circle on the last full moon and spoke the ritual words of the challenge:

Strong leaders make strong packs.

Only the strongest among us made lead Blackrock Pack.

I invoke the right of challenge to determine who shall lead.

Does my Pack Leader accept my challenge?

White Paw accepted the challenge and even seemed to welcome the prospect_. _ "This is the right thing to do," White Paw seemed to have said with his eyes. The battle was intense. His father had not been as weak as everyone had thought. Ice Eyes had misjudged how strong and agile his father still was, despite his graying coat and advancing years. As they battled, victory became uncertain. Ice Eyes was clearly stronger and faster, but his father was taller with more reach and most surprisingly more endurance. Only his agility to avoid the kicks and hits that White Paw dealt him kept him in the fight. Bruised, bloodied and exhausted, they eventually broke apart each panting and staggering from the ordeal. This was when Ice Eyes surprised his father and charged knowing he had to close with his father to beat him. Only pounding him mercilessly up close did he have a chance to win. The rage of combat made him forget whom he was fighting. His father went down under the onslaught, and Ice Eyes was pummeling him relentlessly when White Paw grabbed his wrist and bent it backward. The pain had been intense. White Paw stood up again with Ice Eyes helpless in his grip, kicking him in the side. He had been so close, and now it seemed that he might lose the fight. Flailing madly with his other hand, his claws raked his father's face. He hadn't wanted it to end that way, to maim him. He wished White Paw had yielded. A sudden glorious death would have been even better and ultimately easier on Moon, who had become inconsolable since White Paw's exile. She wept for him daily knowing that he might be alive somewhere in need of her. She needed to know he was dead so that she could move on. Though Ice Eyes knew that he would have yielded the contest himself before he would have killed his own father.

Knowing that Moon had gone after White Paw that first night and not to be alone as she claimed, he kept it a secret. He was grateful when she returned. She had not left the village since. White Paw was likely responsible for sending her back, knowing how important her presence would be to Ice Eyes. He was grateful for that and everything his father had given him. If Moon had been caught comforting White Paw, she would have been killed too, and it would have made his reign even more difficult.

As if something could be more difficult than contending with angry earth spirits. Every pack had people who were foolish, superstitious and easily frightened. A minority was claiming that the earthquakes and glowing sky were signs that the earth spirits thought Ice Eyes was not a suitable leader and had to go. Challengers would step forward soon based on those claims. Several potential challengers were here with him now. They were responsible for spreading much of the discontent by scaring the easily intimidated. His father, White Paw, had often told him to keep his enemies close so you could know them well and keep them from inciting others. Six Fingers and Bone Hat bore watching the closest. They had already begun openly questioning his orders, and were only waiting now because of the stricture that allowed only one challenge per full moon. The moon would be full shortly after they returned to Manenron. There would be a challenge, most likely by Six Fingers. Six, as most called him, was so named because of the extra digits he had on both hands, the result of too many brothers and sisters mating with each other in his past it was said. The inbreeding hadn't affected his wits, though. He was sly and cunning, and knew just when to say enough, never quite breaking pack laws and always avoiding direct confrontation with Ice Eyes. White Paw had received the same treatment from Six in the last years of his reign. Six's coat was all black like Ice Eye's father but without the White paw. His ignorant followers thought this made him the best replacement for White Paw. Idiots, thought Ice Eyes. Fur color makes no difference. Six was lean, tall and tough, but Ice Eyes knew he could defeat him. He just had to get in close and take him down. His superior strength and stamina would end the fight quickly after that. Bone Hat, or 'Bone Head', as many called him behind his back, was named for the bison skull that he wore on his head from his first kill. He was the only warrior present shorter than Ice Eyes. He had a coat of motley colors. Though foolish looking, it provided excellent camouflage when hunting. Brutish and strong, he was neither cunning nor sly like Six Fingers. He was a tough but utterly predictable fighter and would be easy for Ice Eyes to defeat. There would be no challenge from him, though. No one would tolerate him as leader, and even Bone Head knew it. Ice Eye's concern was what these two might do together. Six was clearly manipulating Bone Head and was plotting some mischief. Though they both disgusted him, he had to keep them where he could watch them.

They were now on the third day of their march on this mission. If they made good speed, they could reach the pass before nightfall tomorrow and have the answers to these disturbing omens. Everyone knew the importance to Blackrock pack of the pass and access to the tool making rock. Though still too early in the season for the climb, they had to know. Near evening, they stopped to hunt and forage. Ice sent three of the four females out to forage with Six and Bone Head, keeping the fourth female and the remaining male with him as guards. A separate group consisting of two of his best scouts, brothers named Eagle and Robin, hunted best as a pair without any other help. They were an odd reclusive duo, rarely speaking to anyone, even themselves. It was as if each always knew what the other was thinking. A bit abnormal for Wolves, they seemed the most comfortable and at ease when they were together but apart from the pack. They were efficient hunters and trackers, though, and no other hunting party could find prey as easily as them. Despite their eccentricities they were two of the most reliable and loyal warriors that Ice Eyes had. Eagle was so named because of the tufts of long charcoal colored fur that extended outward form the backs of his arms like bird feathers. He couldn't see distant objects with eagle eyes, being somewhat nearsighted, but he was the best tracker anyone had ever known. At his naming day, the other warriors must have thought it a bit of a joke to name Eagle's younger brother after a bird also. There was a minor resemblance in color only, for in addition to the same charcoal colored fur over the rest of his body, he had red chest and belly fur. Nothing else about him was bird like, especially a fat bird like the robin. Tall and slender, he was the fastest runner in the pack. He could shoot even the smallest birds out of the sky with arrows and did not seem to have any problem with killing his namesake animal. As was their wont, the brothers set out on their own to the north side of the trail.

Ice Eyes was surprised when they returned empty handed within the hour except for news regarding signs of strangers in the pack's lands. Having protection enough in the company of the brothers, he left his guards behind to wait for the return of the other hunting party. The brothers led Ice Eyes to a ledge and overhanging rock shelter not far off the trail.

Robin was silent as usual leaving Eagle to speak. "People were here recently. I think just this morning. There was a fire pit in among the trees away from the ledge and we found this buried in a cook pit." Robin brought forth a steaming haunch of slow roasted venison. The smell was intense, and the find would make their foraging much easier tonight.

"Do you think whoever left it will return for this?" asked Ice Eyes. "We could wait for them in ambush."

"I don't think so, Pack Leader. I found tracks heading north. Come see." The tracks were clear enough even for Ice Eyes, who was no expert tracker.

"A Wolf and, what? A bunny? The bunnies never come over the pass. How many are there?

"Just the one, Pack Leader; either a female or a young male."

"Even stranger. A lone bunny way up here. How many Wolves?"

"Again, only one. A lone Wolf."

The implications of that were not lost on Ice Eyes. Had his father been here? If he was still alive and in Blackrock pack territory, this was a serious challenge to his leadership. Why, Father? Why would you stay? You must know what I will have to do.

"They appear to be traveling together," continued Eagle.

"Surely the Wolf is hunting the bunny."

"I think not, my Leader. I scouted ahead and found more tracks. Come with me." They traveled for several hundred yards until they found another area with distinctive tracks. "See how the bunny's prints sometimes partially obscure the Wolf's prints. The bunny is following the Wolf."

"Surely not pursing the Wolf."

"No, Lord. I followed the tracks for a few miles farther, and found places where they paused and the tracks overlap each other. They are travelling together."

"These are strange tidings. Fire and smoke in the pass, and now bunnies in our lands." Ice Eyes wondered if there could be a connection. Could the bunnies be behind the pyrotechnics? They seemed to be masters of cruel magic. Their weapons were beyond the ken of his people. Of what else were they capable? It was more important than ever to find out the truth. If the bunnies were invading, he had to know where and how many and then rouse all the packs to stop them if necessary. Their home in the east would not be lost like their home in the west, not while he was leader.

"Lord, the tracks are one Wolf and one bunny. A lone Wolf, Leader." Clearly, Eagle had made the same connection as Ice Eyes but was hesitant to speak the obvious truth plainly, unless Ice Eyes was willing to admit it first.

"You think it is White Paw." Ice knew it was his father. Though faint, he had smelled his father's presence lingering here. Eagle Eyes, who could track a scent better than anyone, must also have already made that observation. Ice Eyes appreciated Eagle's deference and discretion.

"It seems likely," said Robin breaking his traditional silence and surprising Ice Eyes. "It is unusual for exiles to last this long, but who else could it be up here alone this time of the year?"

Ice Eyes was beginning to regret the burdens of leadership. So much felt out of his paws, and beyond his control. Even he had no power to spare his father's life. He was as bound by the pack law as much as the most submissive in the pack. For a moment, he thought perhaps he should send Six Fingers and Bone Head after the bunny and his father. White Paw would have a better time evading those two fools. He might even kill them. No. He would not send scum such as them to kill his father. The thought of them getting lucky and hunting White Paw down was too much to bear. The bunny was potentially important, and he did not want his rivals talking to the intruder first. He could not risk the safety of the pack on the sentiment he held for his father. This had to be handled by the best and most trusted warriors he had.

He motioned for Eagle to kneel, which he did at Ice Eye's feet ears forward in submission. Unbidden, Robin did the same. Putting his Paws on Eagle's shoulders, Ice looked him directly in the eyes. "I am giving you this task because you are my most faithful warriors. I know that you will not fail me. Bring back the bunny alive for questioning if you can, follow the intruder into Winter pack territory if you have to find out why the bunny is here. If White Paw leaves our lands, let him go, but if you catch him before then..." Ice Eyes almost faltered. "... do what you have to do with White Paw, but be quick and merciful, for any love and loyalty you had for my father and for myself." Ice Eyes blinked back the tears and wished his eyes were really made of ice so such weakness could not occur. "Meet us at the pass when you return. Now be off before I change my mind, damn it."

Eagle understood the sacrifice Ice Eyes was making. "It will be as you wish, My Lord. You can rely on us." With no more words, the brothers were off running north faster than any other scouts could hope to go. He had no doubts that they would catch and kill his father. The protection of the pack, not his father, was his paramount duty. It was better this way. Moon could finally have her peace and move on.

Jak an Airy slept the night under a deadfall on the slopes of one of the uncountable number of valleys they had crossed their first day of traveling together. They were up early and set off immediately. Both were hungry, but Jak only allowed minimal time for foraging. He was beginning to regret not bringing the deer haunch he had left cooking in his pit. Perhaps a battle with the stubborn princess would have been worth it after all. Now berries and nuts, though unsatisfying, would have to do. If they got hungry enough, he would catch some fish. They would have to be cooked, which would take time, but until they could not go on, they would move as fast as they could on short rations. He had no reason to believe they were being followed or hunted, but felt pressed to leave Blackrock pack territory soon. The border could not be more than two days away. Airy was moving faster with less pain in her leg, so Jak took the lead again.

Later that day, he ran into a deer as he rounded a boulder and collided with the poor startled creature. Instinct took over and before he knew what he was doing, he had the deer pinned to the ground with his knife out and at the beast's throat. It was only Airy clearing her throat ominously from behind that stopped him from finishing the deed. Swallowing the saliva that was pouring from his mouth as he contemplated this surprise feast, he let the confused creature go, and watched longingly as it disappeared into the woods. "Your rules, Captain, are trying my patience and angering my stomach." Airy only smiled and said nothing.

They slept again inside Jak's blanket, this time on the crest of a ridge among some boulders that offered shelter from the cold that seemed to pour like water down the mountain slopes at night. Airy no longer complained of the smell of the blanket or Jak's breath. They both smelled bad enough that the blanket didn't matter, Airy perhaps worse than Jak, for she was still covered with the kryfe blood. She had wanted to pause at one of the many alpine lakes and bathe, but Jak would not let them tarry anywhere. "No baths. Bathing can wait until we are out of pack territory," he told her before amending his potentially impertinent command with "Captain". She whined about the lack of a bath, but complied. As they were breaking camp, Jak looked back across the last wide valley that they had crossed and saw something moving on the ridge to the south. Keeping hidden and scrutinizing the intruders through the cover of a shrub, he discerned two shapes. He couldn't see details, but they had to be Blackrock pack Wolves. Airy almost stepped out into view, but Jak grabbed her and held her back against the boulder.

"What?" she asked.

"We're being hunted. Wolves. I am sure of it. We need to run. We are less than a day from the border. If we make it there before they catch us they will probably let us go. They are still miles behind us. If we are fast enough, we might just make it." They ran for much of the day. Whenever Jak looked back and there was a clear view, their pursuers were closer. It was obvious they had been spotted, and the pursuers were fast. They weren't going to make it. The possible identify of the pursuers was rapidly becoming obvious to Jak, and he was deeply troubled. He called a halt to their run at a place where he thought they could make a suitable stand.

Though glad to stop running, Airy asked, "Why have we stopped?" between gulping breaths.

"We can't out run these two. I know them. We can't fight them fairly either. One of them never misses with his bow. He'll take us down easily if they come at us from behind while we are running."

"If it's hopeless to fight and hopeless to run, what do we do?"

"I know their weaknesses as well as their strengths. We set up an ambush using you as bait."

"What? I'm not standing here in the open while you hide somewhere safe."

"You won't be standing. You will be lying dead on the ground." Before Airy could complain about that, Jak tripped her backward and drew his knife. "Trust me," he smiled, and drew his black knife across the palm of his paw drawing blood. "You are covered in a lot of kryfe blood already, but some fresh blood will make this more convincing." He snapped off most of the blade from his knife and threw the broken tip away in the woods. "If this works, I should have some new weapons anyway. If not, then it doesn't matter."

"If what works, if you don't mind my asking?" asked Airy a little peeved that Jak was always the one issuing orders.

"I know the two who are following us and how they hunt. They are brothers. The younger brother, Robin, will hold back when they see you, to guard with his bow. Eagle will approach to check on your dead body. He is the tracker and he is very good. You had better be convincing. If they sense a trap, we're dead. I will be hiding back up the trail where I can try to hit Robin from behind."

"Convincing about what? What do I do?"

"Look as dead as you can."

"OK, but what about Eagle. Do I try to kill him?"

"No! Do not do that. He's beyond your abilities even with your sword. Let me do the talking. I'm counting on them being brothers. They have been inseparable since they were both able to walk. If I catch Robin. Eagle should yield. I'm going to have to pull up this pretty steel shirt to make this look convincing, Captain."

"Go ahead. Just don't get any funny ideas." That got a one-eyed head tilt from Jak, who then made a leering smile.

"There is nothing you have that I haven't seen already many times, Airy, on a Wolf female of course." He yanked her shirt up exposing her chest and slid the broken knife, which was now covered with his fresh blood between her breasts. "Lie on your side and prop the knife handle against the ground. We want it to look like you were stabbed through the heart." She complied and Jak dribbled more blood on the ground around the knife. Satisfied with his work, he bade her lie still and breathe as little as possible. Hiding the rest of her weapons, he ran to his ambush spot.

The Wolf brothers arrived within ten minutes. Not being fools, they stopped immediately when they saw Airy and began to sniff and look around. Jak could not see them from where he was hidden behind a boulder, but he knew where they were. He had deliberately chosen a spot downwind of them. They would be on the other side of the boulder where they could see Airy without advancing any further. Jak could still see Air also and would know when Eagle approached her to investigate. The brothers were talking to each other, but quietly, as they should so no one nearby would know their plan. Eagle began to creep into view and Jak slunk in the opposite direction around the rock to avoid being seen by Eagle and to sneak up behind Robin. Just as Jak was rounding the boulder behind Robin, he heard Eagle call out "She's alive! I can see her breathing." Jak ducked back lest Robin suddenly turn around suspecting an ambush, but Robin kept his gaze on Airy and the surrounding area looking for places where Jak might be concealed never suspecting he might already be behind him.

Airy had her eyes closed, but could hear Eagle approaching her. She tried to be still, but her heart was racing and she was exhausted. She had to breathe. When Eagle called out, she knew the ruse was failing. She had to do something, so she groaned aloud and curled up tighter into a ball. "Help me," she pleaded in a voice convincingly hoarse from running. "Help me," she repeated louder and more insistently, and began groaning and wailing hoping to provide cover for Jak. Her act must have been believable because Eagle came close and knelt down next to her, and grabbed her by the ears and yanked her upright suddenly so she was standing on the tips of her toes. When he did this, her eyes opened involuntarily and she had a clear view of Jak sneaking up behind Robin. He just needed a few more seconds. Robin had an arrow notched to his bow and no doubt could loose it quickly. She had to keep him distracted, so she let go of the knife and kicked Eagle in the knee as hard as she could. He cried out in pain and collapsed sideways, and she fell hard to the ground. Rolling quickly, an arrow pierced the ground so close to her that she felt the shaft against her side. As she was deciding whether it was better to stay next to Eagle for cover, or get away from him before he got mad and violent, Jak shouted.

"If you move, Eagle, your brother dies!" Eagle turned his head slowly and only as far as he must to see Robin kneeling and bent over with one arm pinned behind his back and a dagger across his throat.

Eagle feared for his brother, but he could not understand why White Paw was protecting this bunny. The bunny was within reach. She could quickly be his hostage. He doubted White Paw would really kill his brother. Of course, he was no longer White Paw. That name died when Jak was exiled, and became a lone Wolf, which was a very dangerous creature capable of anything. That thought made him hesitate. "You shouldn't be here, Jak." Eagle would no longer call him by his warrior name since he was not of the pack. "You know the law ... and you shouldn't kill my brother either. We are only upholding the law that you taught us. By being here, you are breaking that law."

"I know, boys. If you hadn't been so damn fast, we would have been past the border soon enough. Give us a few more hours, and the law won't matter."

"It's not just you we're after, Jak. Ice Eyes told us to bring the bunny back. She needs to be questioned." At the mention of herself, Airy began to inch away from Eagle, but he was not as distracted as she hoped. Faster than she thought possible, he grabbed her ankle and dragged her into his embrace. It was a risk, and Eagle was grateful to see that Jak did not kill Robin. That eased some of Eagle's suspicions about Jak, but he still could not understand why Jak was traveling with this bunny. It made no sense. "Are you working with the bunnies against the pack, Jak? I won't let her get away. I'll kill her if I have to." He had his own knife pressed snugly between Airy's breasts, which were still exposed, and one of which Eagle had engulfed in his huge paw. Airy's arms were pinned and immobile, and she could only futilely try to bite at Eagle's head and ears. Eagle turned to her and growled, raising his lip and showing an abundance of sharp teeth. She stopped biting.

"Don't do anything we will both regret, Eagle. Hear what I have to say before you do anything. You know that I would never hurt the pack. How could I bring harm to Ice Eyes or Moon? This bunny is alone and lost. There is no invading army." He was not sure if he was getting through to Eagle, but at least he was listening. "You mentioned Ice Eyes earlier. Is he here? Is he leading you to the pass to explore the red lights and smoke?" Eagle didn't answer, but he felt Robin tense under him, and knew he had guessed correctly. "Ice Eyes is right to go to the pass, but I can tell you what you will find there. Fire and smoke, rock flowing like rivers, no way across, and no bunny army. You may have trouble getting to the black rock, but nothing more dangerous to the pack than that."

"How do you know this?"

"The bunny told me. Ask her."

Eagle snarled in her face again not inclined to talk to a bunny, but finally conceded. He squeezed her harder and prodded her with the knife drawing a small trickle of blood that mingled with Jak's. "Tell me what you know bunny, and make it true or I will kill you. I can feel your heart beating and smell your fear. If you lie to me, I will smell that too. I am the best tracker in the pack. You have kryfe blood on you." Sniffing her hair and neck he continued, "And the smell of burnt rock, mountain goat and Jak. You've been cutting fir branches, and eating pine nuts, spring berries and rocha tubers. I can smell your life story, so don't lie to me. I will know." To emphasize the point he squeezed her harder in his embrace and dug his claws hard enough into her breast that several drops of blood trickled down to her belly and stained the golden fur there dark red.

This was the scariest of the Wolves Airy had yet met. How could he know so much about her past few days just from smell? She was inclined to believe that he could smell lies. His jet black eyes bored into hers and there seemed to be no bottom to them. "Everything, Jak says is true. I am lost and trying to get back home. I am only here because the flaming rock and shaking earth blocked my way home and would have killed me if I hadn't crossed over to the east. All my ...". Airy had trouble not crying again when thinking about her dead soldiers and companions. "... friends were killed in the low pass. Jak saved me from the kryfes and questioned me just like you are, asking about an army that doesn't exist. It's just me. I can't hurt you or your pack. My people only want peace and to be left alone."

Eagle made no move or sound. He was disinclined to believe the bunny even though he smelled only truth. The silence worried Jak. "What are you going to do, Eagle?" he pressed. "You know she isn't lying. You know I'm not lying. Are you going to kill her just out of hate? Are you going to kill me just because the law tells you to? If you kill her, I kill Robin. I am taking her home, Eagle. As a lone Wolf, it's all I have left to live for. She's my pack now. If you kill her, I have nothing left to keep me alive, and nothing to stop me from killing both of you."

"A Rabbit-Wolf pack, Jak? That's impossible. There is no such thing."

"There are strange signs and portents about, Eagle. Times may be changing for all of us. We like to believe that the world is constant, but now it's changing, perhaps violently. Look at the pass. Look at the growing destruction there. Maybe we will have to change, too."

"What if we don't want to change?"

"I'm not asking you to change, Eagle. I'm asking you to bend a bit and let us go. We mean no harm to Blackrock pack. We mean only to go away and never return. There is no harm to Blackrock pack in that."

Airy felt Eagle loosen his grip bit by bit, until finally he dropped his knife and pushed her roughly away. She gasped for air. He had been squeezing her so hard that she could hardly breathe. She crawled away and retrieved her sword from where Jak had hidden it nearby with the spear and her knife. She wanted to kick the bastard dog, but thought better of getting anywhere near him again. He was incredibly fast and strong. Jak marched Robin over next to his brother. "Now both of you lie face down with your arms and legs spread out." They complied with their tails tucked down and their ears laid back. Jak took all of their weapons. "We'll leave these at the border. You'll find them Eagle. There really is no better tracker. Just give us a couple of hours, and we'll be gone from the pack lands."

"What should we tell Ice Eyes, Jak?" asked Eagle.

"Tell me first what my son said to you when he sent you after me. What were his commands?"

"He said 'Bring back the bunny alive for questioning if you can, follow the intruder into Winter pack territory if you have to find out why the bunny is here. If White Paw leaves our lands, let him go, but if you catch him before then do what you have to do with White Paw, but be quick and merciful, for any love and loyalty you had for my father and for myself.'"

Feeling proud of his son, Jak blinked away a tear that began to form in the corner of his eye. "He's a good son and a fine leader," he said in a low voice mostly to himself. Composing himself and speaking normally again, he said, "Tell the leader of Blackrock pack that White Paw is dead, and now there is only Jak. Tell ... my son ... that his father loves him and his mother more than I can bear. That is why I must be dead to them, so that they can live and prosper. Will you speak that for me Eagle?"

"Yes, My Lord ... I mean, Jak. I will tell him."

"Thanks, Eagle. You can tell him the truth about this bunny, but he will probably learn that she is no threat before you even return. You won't be in any danger from Ice Eye's wrath." Jak took the white and bloodstone paws that Moon had given him so long ago and put them in Eagle's outstretched hand. "Give the bloodstone to my son. He's a leader now, and the mark of the first leader should go to him. I want him to give the white paw to Moon. Beg him to tell her White Paw is dead, and that his last thoughts were of her. It's true, and it will help her overcome her grief." Jak stood and moved to retrieve his hidden gear.

"Before you go, Jak."

"Yes."

"We would have been quick and merciful, just like Ice Eyes commanded; though I am glad you bested us. There was great love and respect for you when you were our leader. There is still great love and respect for White Paw who is now among our ancestors. I even have love and respect for Jak and wish him well. Robin and I will not follow until we know you are in Winter pack lands. You can rely on us."

Jak was touched, and Airy was amazed that any person could command such affection and loyalty from others without divine right. "I know I can, boys. Take care of the pack. Be loyal to my son. Do these things and the pack will be stronger than ever. White Paw is dead. Mourn for him and let his reign become a pleasant memory. Jak has a new life ahead of him."

"Good bye, Jak," said Robin.

Jak laughed, and shaking his head in disbelief muttered to himself, "The Wolf who talks the least gets the last word. Truly the world is changing."

With no more words, Jak and Airy resumed their trek to the border, but they were done running. Robin and Eagle sat up when they were out of sight. Robin looked questioningly at Eagle, always deferring to his older brother in matters of the hunt, asking with his eyes if they should pursue. Eagle shook his head and made a mark on the ground with a stick. They waited silently for the shadow of the trees to cross the line.

[End of Chapter]