Masques (Sianim #1)(32)

All the same, nobody but Myr met her eyes as they left to collect the bodies.

They buried the guards in rough graves dug in the night, as Wolf said they should. He had counteracted the runespell as best he could, but runes enacted on living flesh were stronger than they might otherwise be. He never made clear the exact purpose of Edom's runes, but he said that burying the bodies would give strength to his own spells.

When the last shovelful of dirt had been spread, Wolf raised his hands and spoke words of power and binding. Two great stones formed out of nothing rested side by side on the freshly turned earth. Each stood as tall as a grown man, and glowed with symbols that faded rapidly until they were merely large rocks.

The huddled group of people stood uneasily for a minute. The sting of death was no new thing to any of them, but that didn't make it any more pleasant. They all shared guard duty, and it could have been any of them. None held any illusions that they would have escaped better than *willow had. The magic they had witnessed this night had its effect as well. Most of them were not quite comfortable with magic, even though they could work a touch of it themselves.

Gradually they drifted back to their tents until Aralorn, Myr and Wolf were left alone by the cairns.

Myr hit the stone he was standing near with a clenched fist, hard enough to break the skin. He spoke with quiet force. "I am tired of feeling like a cow waiting for slaughter. If we didn't realize before this that the ae'Magi is just biding his time until there isn't something more interesting to turn his attention to, we know that now. Edom is ... was too young to be anything but a minor servant, and we almost didn't stop him in time. When we face the ae'Magi, we don't stand a chance."

"Edom was more than a minor servant if he worked the runes that were on the bodies," commented Wolf calmly, having recovered most of his usual control. "Carrying a souleater is not much easier. Don't make the same mistake that the ae'Magi is: he is not invincible."'

"You think that we have a chance against the ae'Magi?" Myr's tone was doubtful.

"No, but we can bother him for longer than he thinks that we can." Aralorn's tone was light and teasing, but her face was tightly drawn, with something more than weariness. "Now, children, I think that it is time for us to go to sleep. Don't forget that we have the sanitary facilities to dig in the morning. Wolf, if you don't mind, I think that everyone would be a little more comfortable if I sleep in your camp rather than the tent I've been sharing. Let them meet their shapeshifter in the light of day."

Chapter Six

Somewhere in the darkness a nighthawk cried out in defeat: and a mouse escaped for another night. Aralorn sympathized with the mouse; she knew exactly how it felt.

Nothing remained of the blackened body except a slight scorched smell, as if someone had left the stew on the fire too long. Edom's remains had been gone when she arrived with her belongings. She supposed that Wolf had disposed of the body somewhere; she hadn't been inclined to ask.

Now that the excitement was over it was time to rest, but she couldn't do it. When she closed her eyes she could all but feel the not-quite-cold metal cutting her and tearing at more than the flesh of her thigh. Every time she managed to doze off she had nightmares; either she arrived too late to help Wolf, or the sword's bite had been more conclusive.

The blankets she used seemed too thin to protect her from the slight chill in the air, she pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them in an effort to get warm, but even that didn't seem to help. She shivered convulsively and knew that it was due to fear rather than the night air.

She sat up and rested her forehead on her knees. She closed her eyes, but that didn't stop the jumbled images from presenting themselves to her.

If she hadn't decided to find out what was bothering Sheen, or Edom had been just a little swifter in his work, Wolf would be dead now. Not only would that have meant the end of any chance of defeating the ae'Magi, but she would have lost her enigmatic Wolf. Some part of her was amused that of the two results, it was the second that bothered her the most. Ren would not approve.

She was so intent on her thoughts that she didn't notice that Wolf had gotten up until he sat down beside her.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

She started to nod and then abruptly shook her head without lifting it from her knees. "No. I am not all right. If I were all right, I would be asleep. I am not asleep; therefore something is wrong." As she spoke, still without looking up, she scooted nearer to him, until she was leaning against his shoulder.

There was a pause, and then he slid an arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong. Lady?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Is there something I can do?"

She let go of her legs and snuggled closer until she was almost sitting in his lap. "You're already doing it, thanks. I'm sorry; I've never been this jittery after a fight."

"I don't mind." He sat still, holding her almost awkwardly, but his warmth seeped in and alleviated the cold that blankets hadn't been able to dispel.

Aralorn relaxed, but felt no pressing need to move away. "I must be turning into one of those women who moan and wail at the first chance that they get, just so a handsome man will take them into his arms."

"Hmm," he said, apparently considering what she had said, "Is that why they do it? I have always wondered."