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18

She hardly dared to believe her ears. "You... you have the key?"

"No, Wardo has it," Ander said, fishing something from his vest. "I have these." He held out a thin pair of metallic picks for her to see, one tipped with a hook, the other with a blunt head. He looked over his shoulder, then quickly kneeled by the lock and eased them into the keyhole.

"Why are you doing this? Won't you be in trouble?"

"Not as much trouble as you'll be in if I don't," he said, his tongue sticking out between his teeth as he worked.

"That still doesn't really answer my question."

Ander paused. He looked over his shoulder again, then briefly glanced at Kiana before returning to the lock. "I just... I don't want to see you get hurt."

"But why?"

"Do I need a reason?"

This didn't make any sense. All the other Wolves were a bunch of bloodthirsty barbarians, but this one... this Ander...

Kiana was aware of the fact that she had started thinking of him as a "he" and not an "it", but she wasn't entirely sure why. Even though only a minute had passed, she knew there was something different about him... different from the other Wolves... different from anyone she'd ever spoken to. He was just... different.

"Almost there..." Ander said, slowly moving his tongue from one end of his mouth to the other, gently manoeuvring his picks deeper and deeper until the lock sprung open with a soft click.

It was the most beautiful sound Kiana had ever heard, second only to the faint creak of the door swinging open on its hinges.

"Can you walk with that leg?"

"Oh..." That burst her little bubble quite effectively. "I'm not even sure I can stand..."

"Let me see."

"Wait, I -" Before she could do anything, Ander leaned his upper body inside the cage and took her by the leg. It suddenly dawned on her how vulnerable she was in this position, how helpless. If this Wolf wanted her, it would have her, and there wouldn't be anything she could do to stop him. Her heart sped up and her breath hitched in her chest as he examined her foot, slowly turning it this way and that. She could feel the movement of it all the way up to her hip.

He untied her dressing and winced as it fell open, revealing the gash in her ankle. "This is a deep cut."

"I know," Kiana said, wondering if she should pull her leg out of his grasp. She was beginning to feel lightheaded again. Because of the blood loss, obviously. Yes, definitely the blood loss.

"Looks like it goes down all the way to the bone, and Wardo never cleans those damn biters. He just uses the same ones over and over again. They're filthy."

The emphasis he put on that last word made her believe he was referring to more than just their state of hygiene, and she was inclined to agree with him on that, but the thought of possibly losing her foot to an infection was something she rather would have gone without.

"This will only take a minute," Ander said and pulled a little round casing from one of the inside pockets of his vest, still holding onto her leg with one hand. He flipped the cap open and turned it upside down over her wound. "This might feel a little strange."

"What is -" She suddenly felt a thick, syrupy liquid drip into her wound and slowly run along the cut, and she had to bite down on her hand to keep from crying out. Not from pain (although there was a bit of a sting), but from a strange heat she could feel building up on the inside, not entirely unpleasant, but not entirely comfortable either.

"It's honey," Ander said, answering her unfinished question as he retied her bandage. "The rain's a bit of a nuisance, but that should be enough to keep you healthy. At least until you get back to your people."

"But how? If I can't walk, then how do you expect me to -"

"That won't be a problem. I'll just carry you. But we have to be quick." He turned around and held his hands out behind him, as if offering her a piggyback ride. This pose, which she normally associated with little children on a warm summer's day, seemed so out place on a Wolf she couldn't help but stare. "Or do you intend to sit there all night and wait to be sacrificed?"

That got her going. She pulled herself up by the bars and hopped over to him on her good foot. Up close like this, she could see that he had all kinds of equipment strapped to his back: a bow, a quiver of arrows, a coil of rope.

"I know I can be a bit... scary, but you'll just have to trust me," Ander said.

"I trust you..." Kiana wrapped her arms around his neck and, feeling just a little bit self-conscious, hooked her legs into his waiting arms. "Ander?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you..." she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank...

*

you..."

Ander could feel her breath inside his ear, as if her words were physically touching him.

"You're very welcome," Ander said, all too aware of her weight pressing against his back. Despite the freezing wind and the pelting rain, he felt like he was burning up inside.

Now is not the time for this, Ander. You need to focus. If someone sees you now, you're both as good as dead.

"Hold on tight," Ander said and ran for the shadow of the nearest tent. With the constant noise from the rain and the absolute darkness of night all around them they didn't have to worry much about being seen, heard, or even smelled, but Ander was working under a deadline. If his plan was to have any chance of success, he would have to cover a lot of ground before midnight.

"Where are we going?" Kiana whispered in his ear as he weaved his way among the dark tents, sending those warm shivers throughout his body yet again. "Aren't the gates back the other way?"

"Yes, but we're not going through the gates. The guards would spot us right away."

"Then how do we get out?"

Ander pointed to the wall, a solid slab of blackness in the dark, topped with a row of sharp teeth. "Over that."

"Oh dear..."

As they approached the wall, Ander could tell this wouldn't be easy. He could see the water slide down the wood in sheets, could see miniature waterfalls trickling between every post. If he fell while Kiana was clinging to his back...

"Ander?"

"Hmm? I was just planning ahead, that's all. I'm going to have to let go of you for a little while, so try to hang on, okay?"

"Um, all right..."

When he felt her tighten her grip around his neck, he released her legs and pulled the rope from his shoulders. The moment he did that, however, she naturally hooked her legs around his waist to keep from slipping off, and Ander had to use every ounce of willpower just to keep a straight face. It was a good thing he had the foresight to tie a loop at the end before he left his tent, because he wasn't sure he'd be able to focus on something as complex as knot tying in this situation right now.

He threw the rope at the least jagged-looking spike and managed to snag it on his second try. He tugged on it,hard, just to make absolutely sure it wouldn't slip free. "You ready?"

"I don't know. Are you sure you can do this? Aren't I too heavy for you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. You're not that much bigger than Hezzi, and he still clambers all over me sometimes."

"Hezzi? Is he that little grey Wolf?"

"Yes," Ander said, taking the rope between his hands. "He's my little brother." Ander pulled himself up and planted his feet against the dips between the posts. The moment they left the ground Kiana gave a small gasp and squeezed him even tighter.

It would have felt nice, if not for the fact that she was practically choking him to death. "Er, Kiana?" he croaked. "It's good to know you have a strong grip, but I kinda have to breathe for this, you know?"

"Oh, sorry." She eased up a little, and Ander started to climb.

He was right when he thought this wouldn't be easy. His feet kept slipping against the wet surface, and Kiana's weight constantly pulling him back was only making it worse.

When they had almost reached the top, she suddenly wrapped her tail around his. Wolves certainly never did that, and he had no idea what it was supposed to mean. Maybe it was an added measure against slipping? Maybe she was scared? Maybe it was just a Fox thing?

"Ander?"

"Yes?"

"That black Wolf is your brother too, isn't he?"

Oh. Now it made sense. "Yes. His name is Banno. You don't have to worry about him."

"What did he mean when he said he wanted to taste -"

"I said you don't have to worry about him!"

"Oh... all right."

She uncoiled her tail from his and he instantly regretted his harsh tone. "Listen, Kiana? I'm sorry. That came out much stronger than I meant. It's just that... Banno, he... He's just..." Ander sighed. "I'm not like him, Kiana. Please believe me."

When she didn't answer right away, Ander marvelled at how fast he managed to screw it all up. He knew he wouldn't see her again after this night, and spending the only hours he would ever get with her in a hurt silence was something he didn't want to face. He wracked his brain trying to come up with something to say, something that would magically fix everything, but then she did answer, and the answer she gave touched him in more ways than even he knew at the time.

"I know you're not like him, Ander," she said. "You're not like anyone. You're... different."

That was the first time anyone had ever called him by the meaning of his name, and didn't mean it as an insult.

Looking back at that moment, Ander would have loved for it to become a happy memory, but it would forever be tarnished by the knowledge that someone was watching them disappear over the side of the wall. Watching them with a pair of dark, unforgiving eyes.

The eyes of his brother...