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The Seduction of Seleste

From the world of the mating season

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Chapter 62

It was a long and weary trek through the underground passages. They were all tired and dirty and grumpy, frightened, and anxious. None of them knew where the tunnels would lead, and the deeper they followed them, the darker it became. By the fifth or sixth day, they had to rely on their eyes alone, for Kilyan was frightened the torches would consume what little oxygen was there.

Because shemales had the best night vision, Avi and Keme took the lead. Kilyan moved close behind them, and Seleste followed behind with LiAnh. Keeno, Inden, Mio, and Zee followed behind her, and she could still hear them shuffling softly in the darkness. Every now and then, Kilyan called the group to a halt and had everyone say their names. When everyone was accounted for, they moved on again.

"We can't go on like this, Kilyan," Keeno said from the rear. He sounded as cross and drained as Seleste herself felt.

"Just a little farther," Avi said. Seleste's heart skipped a beat: Keme's mother sounded so far away!

"Avi?" Kilyan called, his voice a little strained. "Where are you?"

"Don't worry," came Keme's voice. "I've got her tail."

"Stop and wait," Avi called, and her voice seemed to echo - almost as if her head was poking down a hole.

They halted in the narrow tunnel, and Seleste could smell Inden pressing in behind her. Clinging to LiAnh's arm, she waited with her heart beating hard. Oh, please, let Avi have found a way out! She was tired and hungry and her muscles were aching. The tunnel was freezing! She pulled the hood on her shawl tighter around her face and felt LiAnh's comforting paw rub her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" LiAnh whispered to her.

Seleste nodded before she remembered that it was too dark for him to see her. "Yes, I'm fine, LiAnh," she assured him.

"Keme," came Avi's voice, "Avi need help moving rocks --"

"Coming," Keme said at once.

Seleste hugged herself and shivered as the sound of shifting rock began. She could hear Avi's moans and sighs as she moved the rock, but Keme's grunts of effort were what made her ears prick forward under her hood. She smiled to herself and was glad no one could see her: Keme's grunts sounded very much like his cries when he made love to her . . . so weighed with effort, so soft and then loud . . . She missed that.

Kilyan finally said what they were all thinking: "Is it a way out?"

"She who watches the summer tribe," prayed Keeno into the silence, "let this be an opening to the surface, and I'll - I'll die so I can lick your goddess pussy!"

Seleste's mouth fell open and she stared, appalled. She heard Mio and Zee laughing behind her, and when she realized LiAnh was laughing as well, she slapped his arm and he guiltily fell silent.

"Yes, say such things in front of my grandchildren, Keeno," Kilyan said wearily. "And my children too!"

"They're big boys now," Keeno said dismissively. "Besides, the summer goddess has been known to answer prayer with sexual favors."

"The summer goddess has also been known to answer with fire, plague," came Kilyan's laughing voice, "crop failure, and dick rot --"

"Kilyan!" cried Avi breathlessly and paused in her work. "No better than Keeno - you both like little children."

Kilyan laughed guiltily. "He started it."

Somewhere ahead, Avi made a noise of aggravation.

Seleste smiled to herself. So males never changed, no matter their age.

Avi and Keme continued their work, and Seleste silently marveled that they could do such a thing in such total darkness. What was it like, she wondered, to see in the dark the way they could? Seleste's night vision had failed her hours ago, but she realized Avi and Keme could probably see them all standing there in the tunnel.

Seleste shivered. It was sort of . . . arousing: Keme could see her, but she couldn't see him. To test this theory, she reached slowly for her shawl, then pulled it up. Her perky breasts were hit with the cold air, and somewhere up ahead, there was a thump and Keme cursed.

"Keme alright?" Avi cried.

"What happened, son?" wondered Kilyan anxiously.

Behind her, Seleste heard the ching of Inden's dagger when he pulled it. Inden had been very jumpy since they'd put out the torches. Keme assured everyone he was fine: he'd just dropped a rock on his foot. Inden's blade scraped again as he put it away, and everyone went back to waiting tensely.

Seleste couldn't hear Avi moving. She blushed furiously as she remembered: Avi could see her too! She quickly put her shawl down and wanted to die. Avi had seen her little prank! Oh god. What was Keme's mother thinking?

"What will we do if this isn't a way out?" Mio wondered. A surge of sympathy went through Seleste at the anxious tone of his voice. Mio was always worrying, always questioning - and silent Zee was always brooding.

"Good question," came Keeno's voice. "I dunno, Mio. I guess we'll either wander until we fall down a hole and die, or we'll wander until we die. Take your pick."

"Keeno," came Kilyan's voice from the front, and now he sounded exasperated.

"Just trying to keep the mood light," Keeno said innocently.

"Mio's question is still something to consider," came Inden's calm, calculating voice, but Seleste knew he was speaking directly to Kilyan. "If this is a dead end, or if it just leads to more tunnel . . .? What will we do? Will we risk traveling further? Or turn back?"

"But . . . we can't turn back," Mio said miserably.

"We could," Kilyan assured him. "The way we came is blocked now, yes. But at least we know _that_way leads to the surface. And maybe we can shift the rocks over the entrance - or the mud from the rain could have already shifted them. If this proves a dead end, we'll turn back."

The adamant tone in Kilyan's voice proved reassuring to Seleste, and somehow, she knew the others were reassured as well. A perpetual calm seemed to fall over the group as Avi and Keme continued their work. But they were all as weary and tired as before, and Seleste was on the verge of sitting down when Avi spoke.

"Yes - this is it!" Avi cried.

As if on cue, light broke through, reaching down the tunnel walls in shafts. Seleste blinked as the light hit her eyes, as the shadowy forms of the others took shape around her. She could see Keme, Kilyan, and Avi gathered near the opening. Beside them against the wall towered the pile of heavy stones Keme and Avi had shifted. In the sudden light, Seleste could also see LiAnh's relieved face, and behind her, the relieved faces of Inden, Mio, and Zee.

Keeno had been leaning against the wall, arms folded, but he stood and grinned when the light washed over him. "Finally!"

"But where does it lead to?" Mio wondered darkly.

"A warm bed and a fire?" Keeno suggested.

Keme stared into the sunlight. It washed pale and soft over his face. He shook his head and held out his arm when Avi moved toward the hole to climb out. Avi looked up at him in confusion.

"Didn't you see?" Keme cautioned her. "There's a village out there!"

"Ah," said Keeno, "I was right." He pushed his way to the front and stood between Kilyan and Keme. The three males peered out with Avi.

"What do you mean?" Mio demanded impatiently. "What sort of village, Keme?" He came forward and peered over Keme's shoulder. LiAnh, Inden, and Zee followed suit.

Seleste watched the others as they crowded the tunnel opening. After Avi, she was the shortest one there, so she could not see over their heads. They were murmuring now, and wanting to know what they were seeing - and not wanting to hang back alone in the darkness - Seleste came forward as well and rose on her tiptoes to peer over their shoulders.

The sunlight was nearly blinding after the pitch dark of the tunnel passages, but after her eyes adjusted, Seleste could make out the shapes of buildings in the distance. They were indeed huts - but they were square. Clay. Brick huts! Seleste stared. She had only ever seen the like in the sun village. Where in the world _were_they?

The village was too far away for them to draw notice emerging from the tunnel, and when Seleste impatiently pointed this out, the others began to make their way from the stuffy underground passage one at a time. Kilyan insisted on going first, lest there was any danger, and when things remained quiet, he helped Avi down after him. Keme soon followed, then Mio and Zee. LiAnh helped Seleste down before leaping out after her, and Inden and Keeno brought up the rear.

Happy to be free of the cold and the dark, Seleste looked around as she brushed herself off. It was dawn. Silent. Tranquil. The stillness was the breath before the rising sun, when all nature roused itself, rising from a place between sleeping and waking.

Seleste could more clearly see the village Keme had spoken off. Its square clay huts were black silhouettes in the early morning light. The village was surrounded by high walls made of the same clay brick, and the trees pressed in on them, fairly cloaking them from view. Small figures walked the top of the wall with torches held high in the light of dawn, warriors who had spent the previous night on patrol.

"To those trees," Kilyan said in a low voice. "Hurry."

Seleste looked where his nod had indicated: a forest of pine trees stretched away to the horizon, and not far in the distance, she could see mountains looming. Birds cawed and wheeled across the sky, and it was just early enough that the village's youth might have gone out on the hunt: they would have to be very careful in the forest.

The group made their way to the cover of the trees, and once a fair enough distance from the village, Kilyan deemed it safe to sit and rest - but not to make camp. They were in unfamiliar territory, and what was more, a possibly hostile tribe was located only feet away.

Seleste was more than happy to sit on a rock and massage her ankles. She saw the others doing much the same. Mio sat on the ground and rolled his neck and shoulders while Zee stood over him, his eyes dark with thought. Giving Mio a fond tousle on the head to reassure him, Keeno sat in the grass, dropped off his pack, and drank from his canteen. LiAnh sat likewise near Seleste's feet, and Keme dropped off his traveling pack and sat with his back against a tree.

Avi didn't sit but stood near Keme. One of her paws touched the hood that was drawn up over her mane as she studied Seleste. Remembering her prank in the tunnel, Seleste sheepishly met her eye and was surprised when Avi smiled. But why not? Avi had been an impish girl once.

Inden stood at Kilyan's side, and together, they observed the distant village in grim silence.

"Think any of their sentries saw us?" Keeno wondered.

"What," said Kilyan with a snort, "no joke? No gross images to blaze across my inner eye?"

"Images of me boning the summer goddess? That's not gross," Keeno said indignantly. "That's hot, that's what that is." He nodded and took another swig from his canteen.

Mio looked at Keeno in amazement. "Don't you ever worry about anything, Uncle Keeno?"

"He worries," Zee said quietly. "He just doesn't show it."

Keeno lifted his eyebrows and pointed a finger at Zee. "Smart lad." He looked at Mio and said fondly, "When you've been through as much shit as I have, Mio, you learn not to jump at every little sound. Otherwise, you'll be jumping every minute."

Mio smiled and pushed a tired paw back through his mane. "I'll keep that in mind, Uncle."

"But did they see us?" LiAnh wondered. "They aren't a large village. Maybe they aren't even a threat."

Keeno snorted. "_Three_strange wolves could be a threat. Even with our numbers."

"Two of us will scout - _I_will go," Kilyan said before Zee could protest. "And I'll take Inden."

"Coddled again," Zee complained darkly. "Why even allow me to come? We all know I'm the best scout --"

"Hush, don't sulk," Avi chided sternly. "Zee will listen to grandfather and show him respect."

"Yes, honored grandmother," Zee said bitterly and fell silent.

When Zee continued to look bitter and angry, Kilyan came to him and took him by the shoulders. He smiled. "Zee, you could be the best damn scout on the planet," he said, "but at the end of the day . . . you're still my grandbaby."

Zee nodded and gave a reluctant smile. Kilyan clapped him fondly on the cheek, then turned to Inden. The winged male nodded, and together, they slipped off around the edge of the tree line.

The rest of the party waited tensely for them to return. It seemed to take hours. As time dragged by, Avi began nervously pacing and Keme had to take her shoulders and calm her. Zee stood on the edge of the trees, resolutely peering in the direction in which Kilyan and Inden had disappeared. When they returned, he was the first to notice.

Keme had convinced Avi to sit down, but she leapt up when Kilyan returned with Inden. The others did likewise, and Seleste joined the group as they gathered round. Both males were covered in bristles and leaves but were otherwise unharmed. Avi grabbed Kilyan and examined him, then began fussing over him as he reported his findings.

"I think I know where we are," Kilyan said and he looked very relieved.

"So where are we, Dad?" LiAnh said with frown. "Is it safe to seek shelter with them? Did they see you --?"

"One step at a time, your majesty," teased Keeno.

"Did they see you?" Kilyan asked.

Keeno shook his head. "There were a few times when their hunters drew near, but we never had to move -- they never noticed us."

Seleste's ears pricked forward in surprise: she'd never heard any hunters drawing near! Just how close had they come to being discovered?

"I think they _did_notice us," added Zee thoughtfully. "They weren't hunters - they were scouts. They know we're here. What's surprising is that . . . they don't seem to care."

"And . . . you couldn't share this with me?" Keeno scolded.

Zee shrugged dispassionately. "I thought you'd guessed as much. I could tell you knew they were there the same as I did."

"So where are we then?" Keme asked Kilyan. He stood with his eyes fixed on Kilyan and no one else. Seleste looked away from him dismally: since her prank in the tunnel, he'd been avoiding looking at her at all costs. But why should he look at her? The last they'd spoken, she had slapped him.

"The Seat of the red wolf," Kilyan answered.

Keeno shook his head. "Never heard of it."

"What Seat of red wolf?" Avi wondered and stared at Kilyan intently.

Kilyan moved past her to his traveling pack. She helped him pull it on as he said, "It's a story Zaldon told me once. They call their village the Seat because it's in a sort of pocket, a comfortable niche between the sea and the forest. They are a peaceful tribe who value trade . . . and magic. So it's a good thing we _didn't_approach. They would consider it an insult if we didn't approach with an offering."

". . . you're kidding, right?" said Keme dryly.

Kilyan smiled at him. "No, my son. This time I do not jest."

"What . . . _sort_of offering?" Mio said slowly, and Seleste could hear the horror in his voice.

Kilyan laughed. "Well, not a blood sacrifice or anything as grim as that. The red wolves usually have someone with magic in a position of authority, and that sorcerer would demand tribute. Zaldon told me this funny story about his mother having to give up her nipple ring just because the village sorcerer liked it --"

"What's funny about that?" Seleste wondered in amazement.

"Well --!" began Kilyan eagerly.

"Dad," cut in LiAnh. He shook his head in exasperation, and Seleste knew Kilyan's story was one he'd heard a thousand times. "We don't need to hear a gross story about Zaldon's mother's gross nipple ring --"

"Ah, why not?" Mio complained. "I've never heard that one."

"Me neither," added Keme.

"The point is," said Kilyan, "we need to find something to offer as tribute. If I recall correctly . . . the red wolves love a fresh kill. They pride themselves as hunters and will respect others who can boast the same skill."

"Inden can do it," LiAnh said at once and nodded at the dark male. "Inden can kill anything."

Inden shifted uncomfortably under this praise but did not protest.

Looking up at LiAnh, Seleste smiled as she realized for the first time just how much he admired Inden. She had assumed he had hired Inden as captain of the royal guard because of his famed skill, but it was more than that. He loved Inden too.

"And since they already know we're here," added Keeno playfully, "he can just fly over the forest and swoop down on his prey."

"Who will you take with you?" Kilyan asked Inden. "I could come again --"

LiAnh let go of Seleste and stepped forward expectantly.

"Keme is a worthy hunter," Inden said and LiAnh's face fell.

Keme was just as surprised but he didn't protest. "Um - sure, why not?"

Keme and Inden left together with Avi's motherly warnings following after them.

LiAnh watched them go with his jaw standing out hard in his anger.

"Maybe Inden just wanted you to be safe," Seleste told him soothingly.

LiAnh smiled for her benefit, and Seleste knew he was biting back an angry protest for the sake of his promise.

"Since . . . they _know_we're here . . ." began Mio slowly.

"No fire," Kilyan said at once and sat down.

"But, _Grand_father . . ." Mio frowned at him and faltered uncertainly. "We just came through that filthy, freezing cave --"

"We don't have permission to light a fire on their territory. Zaldon and his mother did that - wound up prisoners of the red wolves for three days," Kilyan said over him.

Seleste wanted to laugh at the look of astonishment on Mio's young face. "But that's foolish!" he said. "Any wolf may light a fire anywhere - they don't own this forest!"

"Tell them that," Keeno said with a snort. "If you're willing."

Sitting with a huff on a rock, Mio bitterly fell silent and rested his elbows on his open knees.

Seleste bit her lip and stared into the trees. What was taking so long? She dreaded the moment when they would be approached by red wolf hunters, who would haughtily announce that they had captured Keme and Inden, so the rest of them had better come quietly. But Seleste remembered Keme's magic talisman and such a thing suddenly seemed unlikely.

Would Keme really kill the red wolves to resist them? Would such a thing be wise? Keme's strength would only postpone the inevitable, for surely he couldn't take on the entire village! And with or without his strength, he was not invincible. All it took was a spear to his belly to slow him down. Seleste had witnessed that firsthand.

The sun was fully rising when Keme and Inden returned. Relieved to see Keme alive, Seleste shot absently to her feet. He was carrying a clutch of large red fish, at least six or seven that he had speared. Inden was carrying five fish over his shoulder. Both of them were a little sandy and wet from having waded into water. They both had sand and mud clinging to their fur right to the waist.

"God, that looks delicious," Mio moaned when they approached. He stood. "And we can't even eat them because Grandad won't let us light a fire."

"They aren't for us to eat, kiddo," Keeno reminded him. He tossed a paw. "They're tribute, so the red wolves don't string us up by our dicks and have their way with our females."

Kilyan came forward to meet Keme and Inden. He looked at Keme proudly: his son was a fine hunter indeed. "Where?" he said happily.

Keme jerked his head. "There was a lake due south."

"We met red wolves on the way," Inden added darkly. "Well . . . not met. They kept to the shadows and merely watched us."

LiAnh made a face. "Creepy." He glanced at Seleste, then looked at Keme and hesitated. "Nice . . . Nice work, Keme," he said reluctantly. "You lived up to Inden's standards. You even caught more fish."

Everyone looked at LiAnh in surprise, and Keme blinked.

"Uh . . ." Keme smiled uncertainly. "That's super, LiAnh. Thanks."

Kilyan and Avi were smiling too, clearly pleased that LiAnh was making an effort. Kilyan clapped LiAnh on the shoulder before turning away.

LiAnh looked down at Seleste, who was clinging happily to his arm. "How'd I do?"

Seleste smiled up at him. "I'm so proud of you! Now next time, why don't you give him a kiss?" she teased.

LiAnh shook his head at her teasing. "Don't push your luck," he said and pointed a playful finger at her.

"Alright, everyone gear up," Kilyan said and gathered his spear. "We'll circle back through the trees and approach the front gate."

"You know where it is?" Mio wondered.

"We saw it when we were scouting," Inden explained to him. "It's due west, facing the sea. It was . . . beautiful."

Watching Inden's dreamy eyes, Seleste smiled to herself. She'd had no idea Inden was so sensitive. When he realized she was watching, he gruffly cleared his throat. She wanted to laugh.

They set off through the trees in a line. Kilyan and Avi took the lead, followed closely by Keeno and Keme. Seleste walked with LiAnh behind Keme, and behind them, Mio, Zee, and Inden brought up the rear.

The pine forest pressed all around, pale shafts of sunlight reaching down through the trees to touch them. It was refreshing after the cold drizzle and the stuffy cave, and Seleste pulled her hood off to let the sun touch her.

Everywhere, birds were singing, and they found themselves wading through red flower patches on several occasions. Looking around, Seleste realized for the first time that they were still in the northern forest! This was the same forest that hugged the northern edge of the summer village. She had never been in the northern forest a day in her life before their journey, but Seleste still recognized many of its flowers and herbs. How many times had she seen that herb there applied to her sick father's tea? Or how many times had she seen one of those red flowers in the paw of some suitor who had come to claim her? But always, the suitors were turned away, and Seleste and her father held out hope that MeRorr would step up and claim Seleste.

MeRorr. Seleste bit her lip. If she could see the dead in the crystals, would she be able to see her mother? Would she be able to see Meleste? There were so many things she wanted to say to Meleste! Angry things, certainly. But she wanted to apologize as well. She wanted to take Meleste by her paws and tell her that she was sorry for the neglect, for all the times she had needed Misae and he had been so engrossed in Seleste. No one should ever have to feel unloved by a parent.

They reached the gates of the red wolf village at last, and Seleste breathed sharply. Inden was right: it was beautiful! The village faced the sea, and creamy orange light rolled in off the water, reaching with glimmering fingers over the square brick huts that rose to the pearly sky. Seagulls wheeled over a row of piers, where red wolves stood in their boats, aiming arrows at the gulls, casting nets, and eying the travelers with calm curiosity. Seleste was surprised when no one came running from the pier, spears lifted, demanding to know who they were.

Seleste could see females among those who shot down the gulls, females with big breasts and wide hips, females with pups clinging to their backs. Females who were allowed to hunt? She had only seen such a thing among the sun wolves. In other villages, females were never allowed to hunt! But these females aimed arrows at the gulls and brought them down as easily as the males. Below in the shallows, Seleste could see little pups splashing back and forth to collect the gulls that had fallen. Other pups stood on the piers, waving small fish to draw the gulls to them.

"It all so peaceful," Avi whispered as they approached the gates. "Remind Avi of home."

Avi sounded a little sad, and Kilyan glanced down at her before hugging her tight in his arm. Watching their backs, Seleste knew that Avi wasn't talking about the summer village. She was talking about the jungle.

"Why don't they stop us?" Mio whispered. "They have guards! But look at them - they do nothing!"

Seleste had to wonder this as well. There were many warriors about, patrolling the walls and even the piers, but none made a move to stop the strangers approaching. It was almost bizarre. But then she remembered that they had been watched while resting in the forest. Perhaps the red wolves were perfectly aware that their guests were harmless.

Kilyan halted the group when they had come to the open gates. Guards stood either side the gates with spears but seemed content to ignore them entirely: they neither waved them inside nor turned them away. Beyond the gates, Seleste could see the endless rows of square brick huts, and in the center of them all, a great building loomed against the clouds, spiraling away to the heavens. The tower was made of the same clay as the huts, and the orange bricks practically glowed in the light of the rising sun. The light was so dazzling, the village could have been roasting in a gentle fire.

Curious pups peeked around fences and from the open doorways of houses. Females with baskets and bows gathered in the streets alongside curious males. Looking closer, Seleste realized the wolves were red. Almost literally red. Red as rusty leaves on the forest floor, red as dried blood, red as the clay on the riverbank. Their fur was curly and thick and poked from their bodies in spirals, and their manes were just as curly and wild. They peered at the strangers with their strange yellow eyes and whispered and murmured, but no one made a move to approach them. And then . . . she came.

Seleste's heart thumped hard in her chest. A female materialized out of no where at the open gate. Like all of the wolves who surrounded her, her fur and mane were a rusty red and her eyes were fiercely slanted, yellow, and intense in their scrutiny. Her mouth was a cold line and her brows were a frown. Her head tilted down as she studied the strangers and . . . to their horror . . . she was hovering off the ground. Her arms were lifted, one leg was straight, and one knee was bent . . . as if she might soar away. But she hovered there with her mane slapping across her pretty eyes - eyes that searched them quickly and coldly. Her mane floated around her on an ethereal breeze as she regarded them. She was clad in a long red gown that was so transparent that it was nearly pointless that she wore it. The gown beat about her long legs, even as her mane continued its elegant dance around her face.

". . . the village sorceress," Kilyan whispered.

Hearing Kilyan, the female gave a half-smile, and looking up at her, Seleste felt her clit shiver. Seleste's eyes traveled up from her tiny feet to her round calves to her shapely thighs and hovered over the cleft of her pussy. She forced her eyes higher, up her slender midriff, over her supple breasts and their dark nipples, up her long neck . . . to the female's face. Seleste's heart thumped again: the sorceress was gazing directly at her. And she was smiling.

As if she had come to a decision, the sorceress lowered her arms and gracefully floated to the ground. She stood before them, tall and beautiful, her arms at her sides, her paws lifted as if she might pirouette, her tail curled at the tip.

Kilyan knelt on one knee before her and bowed his head. "Sorceress of the Seat," he said, "we bring tribute."

Keme and Inden came forward and carefully laid the fish at the female's feet. They hurried back to kneel behind Kilyan, and the others followed suit.

Kneeling beside LiAnh with her head bowed, Seleste opened her eyes to steal another peek. The sorceress was regarding them all in amusement. "You know our ways," she said, and Seleste's ears pricked forward: when she spoke, it was as if three wolves were speaking at once! Her voice echoed on itself, as if she had shouted down a cave.

The sorceress cocked an eyebrow. "Impressive," she said, then gestured graciously at Kilyan. "Rise." Rise, rise, rise.

Kilyan rose to his feet, and it was clear the sorceress deemed him the only one worth speaking to. She spoke to him and only to him.

"What do you want," she said slowly, "in exchange for this generous display?" Display, display, display?

"Only a safe place to rest, Sorceress," Kilyan answered at once. "Then we will be on our way. We won't trouble you."

"Of that I am certain," she returned. Was that a threat? "Tell me," she said, and eyed Kilyan curiously, "Do you really know who we are?" She lifted her eyebrows. "Do you really know where_you are?" _Are, are, are?

Seleste smiled to herself. The sorceress had such a pretty voice! To hear her speak was akin to hearing a lullaby. She knew she would just melt if the female were to sing.

"I only know this is the Seat of the red wolf," Kilyan answered humbly. "Nothing more."

The sorceress smiled again. "A male who can admit what he doesn't know," she said in amusement. "Yet again, I am impressed." Impressed, impressed, impressed. "You stand before the last descendants of the Meketh," she said to him, "children of the fire, burned alive by those of the sun because they feared their magic."

Kilyan hesitated in mild surprise. "The sun wolves?"

The sorceress nodded gently, like a mother explaining a harsh lesson to a pup. "Yes. They sought to eradicate our numbers based solely on their ignorance and fear. Many fled, escaping north to this, a small nook on the edge of the forest. And here, our magic lives on. Even now, those of the sun continue to trade with us even as they fail to grasp exactly who we are, that we were once their great enemy." Enemy, enemy, enemy. She smirked, "They wouldn't believe it if we told them."

Thinking of the Ruins of Meketh she and Keme had come to, Seleste glanced Keme's way to see if he was as surprised as she. She could see him blinking hard as he listened to what was being said. To think, she and Keme had passed through the ancient burial grounds of these wolves! She wondered if they even knew those burial grounds were down there, under a place where the village of the sun once extended into the wastelands.

"Your tribe is far more ancient and powerful than any of us could have known," Kilyan observed.

The sorceress laughed, a pretty sound that echoed soft against their ears. "Ancient, yes. Powerful. . . . no."

Kilyan shook his head. "I beg to differ, Sorceress. I've known a lot of sorcerers and shamans . . . and none of them could fly."

"They could," the sorceress answered, "with the right tutor." Tutor, tutor, tutor. "But I digress. You seek shelter, summer wolf, and you shall have it. But not in exchange for my own fish plucked from my own lake."

"It displeases you, Sorceress?" Kilyan said apologetically.

The sorceress frowned. "Very much so."

Kilyan hesitated. "What . . . what can I do to . . .?"

"Give me her." Her, her, her.

Seleste stiffened. Somehow, she knew the sorceress was looking at her, and when she lifted her head . . . she was.