little me and take me away from those nasty Xeteskians.’
She stopped and glared around the table, daring any of them to speak. The Unknown felt suddenly cold, knew he’d made an error and cursed himself silently. He knew what she was going to say before she said it.
‘But any of you who thinks I will leave my daughter here to the tender mercies of her killers and the Dark College deserves nothing but my contempt. I’m sure you all understand.’
She strode from the kitchen.
‘That wasn’t your cleverest speech,’ said Ilkar.
‘No,’ agreed The Unknown. He’d misjudged the state of her grief and her mind; and though he felt empty for her, he couldn’t fathom why she hadn’t moved on a day since he’d left. ‘But she’ll come round.’
‘By tomorrow? No chance,’ said Denser. ‘Her mind isn’t rational one heartbeat to the next.’
‘Well, you’ve got to make it so. She isn’t safe here. And we need her. She’s Raven.’
Ilkar shifted in his seat and narrowed his startling slanted oval eyes.
‘There’s something else, isn’t there? Something’s got you spooked because this isn’t like you. You’re too careful. What is it?’
The Unknown shook his head. ‘You weren’t there; you didn’t feel it. Balaia’s dying.’
‘What are you talking about?’ asked Hirad.
‘I can’t make you understand. But every Protector here will tell you the same thing. It’s like the air itself doesn’t taste right. There are forces trying to impose things on Balaia and its peoples that go against the natural order. Not just Selik and the Black Wings; the colleges too. They have stood for two thousand years as deterrents against one another. But now they’ve turned on each other and they’ll murder Balaia too. I will not let that happen.
‘Now, where’s Thraun?’
Hirad sighed and looked at Ilkar. The elf was staring down at his food, Ren’s arm around his shoulders. The Unknown wasn’t about to like what he’d hear, he was sure of that.
The Unknown didn’t find Thraun until well past midnight, and even then he all but tripped over the feral man. The dark of the night, the deep shadows under the beech trees and bushes and Thraun’s utter stillness had made The Unknown’s lantern-lit search fruitless for hours. He’d rejected all offers of help. For reasons he wasn’t prepared to put into words, he felt he’d have more joy if he found the shapechanger alone.
When at last he came across the sleeping form, he stood and looked down at him for a time. Thraun’s face was creased by a frown and his teeth ground together as he dreamed, memories and anxieties surfacing to torture his rest. He lay in a close foetal position, with his hands balled into fists and his legs tucked right up to his body. He’d made a bed from blankets taken from the house, and scattered about him was the detritus of a confused mind trying desperately to find itself but not knowing where it was lost. There was an empty bottle, a book, a square of torn tapestry, a knife from the kitchen, an empty bowl and an arrow. A curious mix.
The Unknown knelt next to Thraun, the shapechanger’s eyes opening as he did so.
‘Not too much wrong with your senses, I see,’ he said, setting the lantern down.
Thraun’s eyes showed no fear, just tired puzzlement and then dawning recognition. His face relaxed.
‘That’s better,’ said The Unknown. ‘Good to see you again. Now, Hirad tells me you can understand most of what I’m saying but that you can’t speak right now. Can you indicate that you’ve understood me?’
Thraun nodded, making an affirmative grunting noise. The Unknown stared at the ground briefly before looking back up.
‘Sorry. I guess I shouldn’t talk to you like you’re a child, eh?’
A shake of the head.
‘What’s in there, Thraun? What is it that’s stopping you? Part of your wolven self must be obstructing your human mind, mustn’t it? What can we do?’
Thraun’s face collapsed and he hunched up, eyes moistening, pleading at The Unknown. The big man reached out a hand and clasped Thraun’s shoulder for a moment.
‘Gods, but I understand like no one else can. Let me tell you something I’ve not told anyone before.’ He moved to a seated position, his back against a tree. The night was quiet but for the warm breeze rustling the leaves above their heads.
‘My time as a Protector was mercifully short and a brave mage gave his life to free me and return my soul to me. But in the time I was one,