Circe's Gifts

Chapter 9

Kalliope again allowed Dylan set their pace. She saw no need to endanger her friends in a situation where she might easily escape, but they would have less of a chance.

She must keep such things in mind, odd though they seemed to her wolf side. Reasoning -- human reasoning -- made her consider the greater consequences. So she followed with a quiet step behind the cat and guarded instead of hunted.

Strange world.

And dangerous for reasons she had not expected. She scented wolves not far away, though apparently not yet at the hunt. Dylan must have known they were near, too. He instinctively dropped farther to the ground, crawling along in a slinking, snake-like manner that made him almost blend into the dirt and fallen leaves. Kalliope, being larger, tried only to move in shadow. She didn't want to meet any wolves, not tonight. She feared they would not accept her -- and equally feared they would, and she would want to go with them. The wild called to her tonight, and she had almost forgotten her friends and their mission once already this evening. She dared not take the chance again.

When a wolf howled, luckily not nearby, it sent shivers up her spine, and her hair rose on end. So did Dylan's fur and it looked as though Petkin might burrow into the cat's fluff to go unseen. They hurried a bit more. They might have slipped past resting wolves, but she didn't want to be near a hunting pack.

Mother and Circe must have helped guide them away from the wolves and led the wolves away from such easy prey. Kalliope wished them good hunting -- somewhere else.

As the night pressed on, Dylan began to limp and slow. Petkin even made a move to climb down, but Dylan hissed a warning, and the mouse stayed on the cat's head. She'd seen some damn quiet and very brave owls in her day and they could scoop up a mouse before either she or Dylan could stop the creature. Owls had even taken her prey a time or two.

She slowed for Dylan's sake though she had reason to worry. She hadn't heard Tiernan's cry for more than an hour and began to fear they'd already lost their charge.

Morning could only be hours away. Kalliope hoped the boy had gone to cover somewhere and rested, safe and out of the sight of any guards. She didn't want the boy to take any chances.

They came to a small glade, and Dylan paused nervously. He looked back at Kalliope as though hoping she could tell him if it this was safe. It didn't look safe -- but then no open ground ever did to her. She started to shake her hand when something -- odd caught her eye. She could see a body in the middle of the field.

Human. She lifted her nose to take the scent and gave a cry of despair before she charged forward. Their human. Their Tiernan --

Not dead, she realized as she reached him. The boy laid on the ground as though he'd fallen there from the sky. Maybe he couldn't hold the form for so long and overtaxed himself.

Kalliope pushed her nose to the side of his neck and Tiernan feebly reacted with a soft moan. By then, Dylan and Petkin arrived.

Petkin turned human first and knelt beside the prince, gently turning him over. The human boy's eyes fluttered open, and he looked startled and afraid.

"It's me, Petkin," he said. He brushed the hair from Tiernan's face. "Are you all right?"

"Flew -- too far," Tiernan admitted. He sounded exhausted. "Circe warned me, but I feared all those men in the woods. Kept flying and crying out hoping you would follow me. And then I realized I flew too far and tried to come back --."

"We're here," Petkin assured him. Then he looked around and shook his head. "Can you move? This isn't a safe place."

"I tried to find an open place to land," Tiernan said. He sat up slowly and rubbed his hand against his wounded shoulder. Kalliope didn't scent blood, so at least he hadn't torn the wound open. "I almost made it all the way down before I changed. I can walk, I think."