The muscles of Syl’s arm strained against gravity. Against the momentum of her plummeting blade.

  At the top of her Ka-Sho class, there was nobody with faster or sharper movements. Her body was limber and strong from the recent warm-up and her reflexes demanded she end the fight quickly.

  Except it wasn’t a fight. It was her friend. And it took every ounce of her training to halt the blade before it split his head like a melon.

  Even then, it was a monumental effort that left the Sho-Val’s razor-edge resting against the skin of Kule’s forehead.

  “Syl!” Dena whispered harshly as she caught up. “What are you doing?”

  “What are you doing?” Syl in turn whispered to Kule, withdrawing her Sho-Val. Carefully. A small line of crimson ran down Kule’s forehead in the light of the rising sun. She wavered between anger at Kule for suddenly appearing like that, and guilt for very nearly splitting his head in two.

  Seeing the paleness of her friend’s face, her heart settled on the latter. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

  Kule dropped straight down to a seated position on the ground. “I’m done. I’m going home,” he said, his voice shaking.

  “Don’t be like that,” Leeze said as she stepped around the corner of the house.

  “She almost killed me!” Kule pointed at the blood slowly oozing between his eyes and down the side of his nose.

  He wasn’t surprised to see Leeze; they’d come together.

  “Not the first time she’s almost killed one of us,” Rogar added, and joined them.

  “But you usually deserved it,” Edar piped in from behind Rogar.

  When Reylo quietly followed, Syl turned an accusatory glare on Dena, who just smiled.

  “What are you all doing here?” Syl asked rhetorically. Dena.

  “Getting ready to go home,” Kule said, and started to stand.

  Leeze, not so gently, put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. “Dena told us what you were going to do,” Leeze said. “We couldn’t let you go out there alone.”

  Syl couldn’t hide her surprise. “But earlier, you didn’t want to leave the village…” She stumbled and regretted her words when Leeze’s face coloured.

  “You can say it,” Leeze said, but kept her chin up. “I was scared. I was really scared. I don’t want to die like Kilik did. Or Lorac. But…” Leeze gulped and forced herself to continue, one hand on her pendant. “You would do it for me. And you’re right. There are things I want to protect too.”

  “It’s going to be dangerous, you don’t have to…” Syl started, but Rogar interrupted her.

  “Which is why we’re going. We may be rivals on the Ka-Sho field, but we’re friends everywhere else. And friends watch out for each other.”

  Syl just looked at him, shocked at the bluntness of the statement.

  “Who are you and what have you done with the real Rogar?” Dena asked as she walked up beside Syl.

  “Shouldn’t we be going before somebody sees us?” Edar pointed out to the group.

  “Yes, you should be going,” Kule said, trying to get back up. “I’m going to find breakfast.”

  Leeze pushed him right back down. “You already had breakfast. And you’re coming too,” she said.

  Kule’s eyes went from Leeze to Syl. “Promise you aren’t going to try to kill me again?”

  “I thought you were the Lake-Wolf,” Syl mumbled in her own defense. “I won’t try to kill you,” she added more loudly.

  “He does kind of look like a Lake-Wolf,” Dena said helpfully.

  Kule just scowled at her, but that meant he was back on board. Leeze released her grip on his shoulder and he rubbed the spot as he stood.

  “Strong grip you’ve got there,” he said. “Anyway, can we leave before I go back to thinking this is a terrible idea?”

  “You’re all sure?” Syl asked the group. She took a moment to look each of them in the eyes.

  “We’re all sure,” Dena said. “Just go with it.”

  Syl’s chest threatened to burst with appreciation for her friends. They were willing to risk their lives for her.

  She wouldn’t let anything happen to them.

  “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go then.”

  Syl led them through the woods, just like she and Dena had planned. They spread out as they went, careful to keep an eye on one another and on the surrounding forest. If the Lake-Wolf could sneak up on Lorac and his party, they couldn’t afford to let their attention lapse for even a moment.

  They all breathed a small sigh of relief when they retook the road a mile or so from town.

  “Rogar, you and I will take the lead. Dena, Leeze, and Edar, I want you in the middle of the road behind us. Kule and Reylo, bring up the rear. Those of you in the middle, keep an eye on the rest of us while we watch the woods.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I don’t want a repeat of what happened to Lorac’s group. Hopefully, the size of our group will make the Lake-Wolf think twice about attacking if we come across it.”

  “Don’t you mean if it comes across us?” Kule corrected.

  “That too,” Syl said, but didn’t look back as she took her position in the group.

  The three in the middle had bows out and arrows at the ready. Everybody else drew their Sho-Vals.

  “Lorac’s group was attacked around Black Creek, wasn’t it?” Leeze asked. “Isn’t that down this road?”

  “Yeah,” Edar answered. “But the turn-off to Teb’s farm is a couple of miles before that. Don’t worry. We won’t be anywhere near where the Lake-Wolf attacked.”

  “Unless Syl was right, and the Lake-Wolf was actually at the village last night,” Reylo chimed in.

  “Vacksin didn’t seem to think so, and we didn’t find any tracks,” Rogar said.

  “I believe Syl,” Dena piped up. “She said she saw something, so something was there.”

  “It doesn’t matter if I saw something or not,” Syl didn’t want to get into that again. “The Lake-Wolf could be anywhere along this road, or anywhere else in the valley. We need to stay alert.”

  Nobody argued that point and Syl let the topic lie.

  “There are a couple of waystations along the road to Teb’s farm,” Edar said after almost an hour of silence. “We should make sure we’re in one when night falls.”

  “No fog to worry about,” Rogar pointed out. “And at least a couple of days until the rain starts. We can travel at night if we need to.

  “Why do you even believe that superstitious nonsense anyway?”

  “It’s not nonsense,” Edar said defensively. “We need to hide when our Ancestors can’t protect us.”

  “How can you think the Anihazi are actually real? Have you ever seen one?” Rogar asked.

  “No,” Edar admitted.

  “There you have it. Superstitious nonsense,” Rogar said, shoulders back like the matter was settled.

  “But my grandma has,” Edar added.

  “The Anavilla saw one?” Leeze asked. “She actually saw one? Not just a story about one?”

  “When she was very, very young. When her grandmother was still Anavilla,” Edar explained. “She was seven years old when it found us.”

  “What do you mean, ‘found us’?” Dena asked. “Don’t they know where we are?”

  “Yes, and no, “Edar answered. “They know we’re in the valley, but our Ancestors’ sight wards them away. While our Ancestors can see us, we’re safe. But, for the month when the rains come, or at night when the fog rolls in and the Ancestors can’t see us, we have to protect ourselves.

  “Didn’t any of you pay attention when my grandmother spoke to our classes?”

  “Nah,” Kule said. “Had other things on my mind.”

  “Like Leeze’s legs?” Reylo asked.

  Kule let out a soft whistle. “Thanks for reminding me. And thanks for putting me in the back, Syl!” Kule called up to her.

  “If your eyes stray for even a moment from the wood line,” Leeze threatened. “That nick on your forehead will be a whole lot deeper.”

  “Whatever. I’m watching… No Lake-Wolves over here,” Kule grumbled.

  “How do we protect ourselves?” Reylo asked, going back to the topic of the Anihazi.

  “We stay inside, or under cover, so the Anihazi can’t see us from above.”

  “From above?”

  “Yes,” Edar sighed. He obviously wasn’t happy his friends hadn’t paid attention to his grandmother. “That’s why our homes are camouflaged. Why we have grass and shrubs on the roof, and on the walkways between the farms. So that the Anihazi can’t find our villages.

  “And why we can only have the Ka-Sho-Dan in the week before the rains come. It’s the only time of year when there isn’t any fog. Or clouds.”

  “What did it look like?” Leeze asked. “The Anihazi I mean.”

  “My grandmother doesn’t remember it perfectly,” Edar said.

  “Of course she doesn’t,” Rogar said dryly. “How convenient.”

  “But she said its wings blocked out the sun, and it had a voice like thunder crashing,” Edar went on, ignoring Rogar. “Its claws rent the ground, and there was nothing our weapons could do against it.”

  “Its claws rent the ground?” Rogar asked dismissively. “You’d think we’d know about something like that.”

  “That’s where Redrun River came from,” Edar said confidently.

  “Redrun River? Isn’t that over by Bok?” Dena asked, referencing one of the other villages.

  “Exactly,” Edar said. “And Bok was almost completely destroyed when the Anihazi found it. That’s why all the buildings there are newer than ours.”

  “If the Anihazi was so powerful, and our weapons couldn’t hurt it, how did any of us survive? How were they able to rebuild Bok?” Rogar asked, not satisfied with Edar’s story.

  “There were no clouds to hide it from our Ancestors. With each rising sun, the Anihazi was exposed to their power, and it withered and died while it attacked Bok.”

  “Guess the Anihazi aren’t very smart,” Rogar chuckled.

  “They’re just as intelligent as we are,” Edar said darkly. “But their hate for us overrides their common sense. They want nothing more than to see us burn. To destroy us.”

  Hate. Burn. Destroy.

  Edar’s words echoed in Syl’s head. The same words she’d heard from the thing outside the village.

  “Must just be a coincidence,” she muttered quietly to herself.

  “Well, as long as our Ancestors can see us, we should be fine,” Rogar went on. Nobody heard Syl mumbling.

  “There’s another reason we should stay in one of the waystations,” Edar said.

  “And what would that be?” Rogar asked.

  “Do you want to be camping on the open road with a Lake-Wolf on the prowl?” Edar asked flatly.

  Rogar didn’t have an immediate reply to that.

  “My father should get to Teb’s farm today, if he isn’t already on his way back,” Syl changed the subject. “Either we’ll meet him on the road, or at the farm, and then head straight back.”

  Nobody said anything to that, but Syl knew what they were all thinking.

  What if he isn’t?

  As the sun began to set and they found their second empty waystation, Edar pushed for them to stay the night.

  “We won’t make it to the next waystation for several hours,” he said. “This is our last chance to have a roof over our heads for the night.”

  The pressure in Syl’s chest had built again. The need to find her father and make sure he was safe. She couldn’t just sit around while he was out there alone on the road.

  “What if we…” she started.

  “Syl,” Dena said quietly, and pulled her aside. “We’ve been going all day. None of us got much sleep last night. We’re out here because we want to make sure you’re safe, but it won’t do you or us any good if we can barely keep our eyes open.

  “Edar’s right. We should camp here for the night.”

  Syl’s jaw clenched, but Dena had a point.

  “Besides,” Edar added. “Lake Cashin is a few hours ahead of us. We’ll get there before noon tomorrow, and we can check with them to see when your father passed through. He might even be staying with them now.”

  “We should have found him by now,” Syl said, her frustration and worry boiling over.

  “He got a good head-start on us. Like you said, we’ll catch up to him tomorrow,” Dena said. “The only thing we really need to worry about is how needy Teb is. He’ll probably want your dad to examine everybody on the farm.”

  “Dena’s right. He always keeps me and grandma a day longer than we plan.”

  “You come out here often?” Rogar asked.

  “At least once or twice a year,” Edar said. “The Anavilla has a lot of responsibility. Listen Syl,” Edar turned his attention back to her. “I know these roads. We should stay here.”

  “Please, Syl,” Dena whispered while the others watched.

  Why were they looking to her for the decision? Would they actually push on if she said she was going to? Probably. And it was for exactly that reason she couldn’t.

  “Okay, we’ll camp here for the night,” she said finally, letting out an anxious breath. “Two-person watch at all times, and we leave with first light.”

  “First watch!” Kule called, giving a little fist pump.

  “Reylo, you’re with him,” Syl said. “Everybody else, let’s get some sleep.”

  Syl let the others file into the waystation ahead of her, but she lingered outside, her eyes on the road ahead.

  “Where are you, dad?” she asked quietly into the night.

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