Chapter 38: Clearing
The day after Moon Silver came out, Violet handed it over to Old Egan to look after. Old Egan's leg was lame, so he couldn't watch the city gate. But watching one small creature was more than enough. He placed Moon Silver in a wooden box padded with soft leather, set it beside the fire pan, and lifted the cloth every now and then to check. "It's still alive." Old Egan said. Violet nodded. She strapped on her bow and arrows, tucked two short blades at her waist, called Leon, and left the city.
"Where to?" Leon asked.
"Kill wolves."
The first den of Thorn Wolves lay three miles south of the city, in a dirt burrow beside the dry riverbed. Violet crouched at the burrow's entrance. She dipped a finger in the soil and touched it to the tip of her tongue. Salty. The taste of blood.
"Wolves inside. More than one." She stood and stepped back two paces. She pulled a cloth pouch from inside her coat. Inside the pouch were herbs given by the Shadow Clan shaman. Not for healing. For poisoning. She crushed the herbs and mixed them into a piece of raw meat. Tied it with rope and tossed it into the burrow.
"Poison?" Leon asked.
"Not poison. A sleeping drug. Eat and sleep."
The two of them retreated behind a distant boulder and waited. After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a muffled thud came from the burrow, like something collapsing to the ground. They waited a while longer. Violet stood and walked to the burrow entrance. Bent down and looked inside. Three Thorn Wolves lay sprawled across the ground. Bellies still rising and falling. Eyes already closed.
"Kill or not?" Leon asked.
"Don't kill. Tie them."
Leon glanced at her. She untied the rope from her waist and handed it to him. The two of them crawled into the burrow. Bound the legs of all three wolves. Dragged them out. The wolves were heavy. Dragging them soaked them both in sweat. Leon threw the three wolves onto a flatbed cart and covered them with cloth.
"What are you keeping them for?"
"They have a use. When the beast tide comes, set them before the city walls as bait."
Leon asked no more.
The second den lay east of the city, at the foot of the mountain near the Ice Wolf Clan camp. This den had twelve. Violet didn't use the sleeping drug. Twelve were too many. The drug wouldn't be enough to knock them all out. She stood on the slope and looked down. The wolf den sat in a crevice. Stone on both sides. Only one way out.
"Draw the wolves out. Lure them to that narrow mouth." She pointed to a section of stone wall ahead of the crevice, just wide enough for two people.
"How to lure them?"
"You run fast. You lure."
Leon glanced at her. He drew his long blade and walked before the crevice. He mimicked a wolf's howl. The imitation was poor. But the wolves inside believed it. The first one charged out. The second. The third. All twelve came out. Leon turned and ran. When he reached the narrow mouth, Violet pushed a large boulder down from above, sealing their retreat. The twelve wolves were trapped in the narrow pass, crushed into a mass.
"What now?" Leon gasped for breath.
Violet took the bow from her back. Nocked an arrow. Aimed at the first wolf's eye. "Shoot the eye. Behind the eye is the brain."
First arrow. The wolf collapsed. Second. Third. Fourth. She shot twelve arrows. Struck eleven. The last one missed, grazing past its ear. That wolf charged out. As it lunged, Leon stepped sideways, thrust into its throat, and pulled back. The movement was clean and efficient. Exactly as she had taught the Self-Defense Force. Blood burst from the wolf's throat. It collapsed to the ground, convulsed twice, and went still.
"You learned from me." Violet said.
"You taught."
The two of them piled the twelve wolf carcasses together and set them on fire. The flames lit up half the mountain.
The third den was north of the city, near the Frost Claw Tribe's salt mine. This den had only six wolves. But beside it was a small band of mountain bandits. Twenty-three men, hiding in an abandoned mine shaft. Violet had found them while searching for wolves. She crouched in the brush outside the mine shaft, saw figures moving inside, heard cursing and swearing.
"Bandits." Leon said low.
"How many?"
"Can't tell."
Violet pulled a small pouch of sleeping drug from inside her coat and pressed it into Leon's hand. "Scatter it in through the vent. I'll wait at the entrance."
The vent was on top of the mine shaft, a crack the size of a fist. Leon climbed up and fed the sleeping drug bit by bit into the crack. Blew it in with his breath. The wind carried the powder into the shaft. They waited less than half the time it takes to brew tea. The cursing inside stopped. They waited a while longer. Violet bent down and crept into the mine shaft. Twenty-three men sprawled across the ground. Some slumped over tables. Some leaned against walls. Some had fallen asleep clutching their blades.
"Tie them." She said.
The two of them tied for a full hour. By the time the last pair of hands was bound, the sky was nearly light. Twenty-three men strung together in a line, dragged from the mine shaft out onto the open ground. A few woke. Opened their eyes and found themselves bound. Struggled a few times. Saw the blade in Leon's hand. Stopped struggling.
"Where to?" Leon asked.
"Water City. Tie them at the city gate. Let everyone see."
Leon looked at her bloodless face. Her lips were cracked dry. Her fingers trembling. She tied the last man and picked up a rope end from the ground. Clenched it in her hand. She glanced at him. Said nothing. He walked over and took the rope end from her hand.
"I'll take it."
She didn't argue.
By the time they returned to Water City, the sky was fully bright. Gray Bone stood at the city gate. He saw the twenty-three bound bandits. His mouth fell open. "You did this alone?"
"Two people." Violet pointed behind her. Leon held the rope end. Stood half a step behind her.
Gray Bone looked at Leon. Then at Violet. "He counts?"
"He counts."
Gray Bone didn't ask again. He ordered men to shove the bandits into the cellar and lock them up.
Violet climbed the city wall. From the wall she looked down. A crowd had gathered at the city gate. Water haulers. Stone movers. Patrols. All stopped to stare at the twenty-three bandits strung in a line. Some counted. Some laughed. Some cursed.
"She did this alone?" A Frost Claw man asked.
"Not alone. Two people." A Frost Wolf answered.
"Who's the man?"
"Gray Rock's chieftain."
"The two of them?"
No one answered. But everyone saw it. She stood on the city wall. He stood below at the gate. A dozen steps between them. But the way he raised his head to look at her. That distance had nothing to do with steps.
Old Egan came to find her, carrying Moon Silver. Moon Silver was a little bigger than yesterday. Its fur completely dry now. Silver-gray, gleaming in the sunlight. Its eyes were closed, but its head turned toward the light. Violet took it and held it in her palm. It clasped her finger with both small paws. Opened its mouth and gnawed. Toothless.
"It's hungry." Old Egan said.
"What does it eat?"
"Don't know. Its mother isn't here. You feed it."
Violet looked at Moon Silver. The small silver-gray creature nuzzled around in her palm, mouth opening and closing, as if searching for something. She dipped her finger in water and brought it to its mouth. It licked. Nuzzled again.
"Not water. Milk." Old Egan said.
"Milk?"
"Goat's milk. Wolf's milk. Any milk. It's a milk drinker."
Violet remembered. The Ice Wolf Clan camp had a she-wolf that had just whelped pups. She went to find Ulric. Ulric was training wolves. He saw Moon Silver in her hand. His eyes rounded. "What is that thing?"
"A child."
"Whose child?"
"Mine."
Ulric crouched down and stared at Moon Silver for a long while. "It's hungry?"
"Hungry."
Ulric led over the she-wolf that had just borne pups. The she-wolf sniffed Moon Silver. Her tail wagged. She lay down on her side. Violet placed Moon Silver beside the she-wolf's belly. Moon Silver nuzzled around, found a teat, and latched on. It drank urgently. Its small paws kneaded the she-wolf's belly. Steady rhythm.
The she-wolf turned her head and licked its head.
"She's accepted it." Ulric said.
"Accepted?"
"Accepted. She-wolves don't accept young by fur color. They go by scent. She sniffed it. Licked it. She's accepted it."
Violet crouched beside the she-wolf and watched Moon Silver nurse. It drank with great effort. Its small belly swelled round. She reached out and stroked the she-wolf's head. "Thank you." She said. The she-wolf glanced at her. Her ear turned.
Night. Violet carried Moon Silver back from the she-wolf's side. Old Egan said the she-wolf could help feed it, but it had to come back to sleep at night. Too cold outside. She placed Moon Silver beside her pillow. It slept the moment it was full. Unmoving. Its small belly rising and falling. The eggshell had split in two. It still slept inside. She cupped the shell halves together and made it a small nest.
Leon's voice came from outside the door.
"Asleep?"
"Not asleep."
"Open the door."
Violet hesitated. Then walked over and opened the door. Leon stood in the doorway. The old coat in his hands. He had stitched up the hole on the shoulder. The stitches were still rough. But the hole was gone.
"Where's the new one?" He asked.
"I'm wearing it."
"This one. Will you still wear it or not?"
Violet looked at the old coat. Gray. Old. The collar worn soft. She had worn it for four months. Returned it to him. He had stitched it and brought it back.
"You stitched it?"
"I stitched it."
"The stitches are too rough."
"It'll wear."
Violet reached out and took the coat. The fabric scraped against her fingers. Rough. Warm. She held the coat against her chest, the way she held Moon Silver.
"Thank you."
Leon nodded and turned away.
She closed the door. Draped the old coat over the back of the chair. Hung beside the new one. Two coats. One of Gray Rock hide. One old and stitched. She looked at them a long moment. Took the old one down and put it on.
The old one was still warmer.
She lay down and closed her eyes. Three dens of Thorn Wolves. One band of mountain bandits. Twenty-three men. Continue tomorrow.
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End of Chapter Thirty-Eight
In three days she cleared three dens of Thorn Wolves and one band of mountain bandits. First den drugged and bound for bait. Second den, twelve shot down. Third den, twenty-three drugged unconscious. Not because she was so capable in combat. Because she knew their weaknesses. A wolf's throat has no bone. A man's mouth is faster than his blade. Moon Silver drank the she-wolf's milk. Belly round and full. Slept inside the eggshell. Leon brought back the old coat, stitched up. Stitches rough, but the hole is gone. She put on the old one. Hung the new one on the wall. The old one is warmer. The beast tide hasn't come yet. But the walls are growing taller. The child is growing larger.