from the canopy. The branch crashed through the lower branches and fell to the ground a dozen paces away with a heavy thud, only to be followed moments later by numerous other smaller branches.
He gave the trunk one more shove that sent the whole tree crashing down, breaking other trees as it fell, lifting the earth with its root pan under his feet.
He jumped to get out of the way of the lifting root pan and realized that he could have killed River. If that branch had come down upon him, it would have broken her like an anvil upon a gourd.
He sagged with dismay. The Mother made him destroy everything that was most precious to him. And it did not matter that she’d not made him shuck River’s soul from her body. This only meant River would have the agony of living in the darkness with the other woman before her end came.
River lay on his shoulder struggling against his grasp like some animal caught in a snare. It could not be comfortable being held there for great distances. So he brought her around front and cradled her like a father might his babe. Her face, he knew, would be bruised from his initial grip.
He tried to stroke her hair to calm her, but River did not stop struggling. She pounded at him and then began to tear at his eyes.
She would hurt herself more than anything else, so he caught both her hands in his ragged mouth and held them there.
I cannot die. I cannot disobey.
He held River close.
I am so sorry, sister. So very, very sorry. He repeated it over and over in his mind, then began to make his way back toward the Mother’s caves.
After only a dozen paces, he heard the distinct thock of someone stepping on and breaking a branch behind him.
He stopped and turned toward the sound. It was not an animal, for no beast that size would have remained close after he’d knocked over the tree. And it was not the sound of a branch falling.
Leaves rustled as if someone had tripped.
Someone following him in the dark. The burning son, perhaps. Or the older son. Or maybe even Zu Hogan himself.
She would take them as well, the Mother would. She would command him to kill them, and he would do it.
Horror rose in him at the thought, and he turned and ran away from the stalker. Through the trees, crashing through the brush, trying to cover River from the branches that whipped him. He ran up a slight hill and stopped to listen for his pursuer.
The sound of running footsteps rose from the forest below. A light sound, not a heavy animal. Not a large person.
He turned to run again. He would outdistance him in the dark, but what if he couldn’t outrun this pursuer? The family was all part of the Sleth nest, the Order, he corrected himself. What if his pursuer followed him all the way back to the Mother’s lair?
They’d find the Mother, that’s what. And she’d take them there.
Or would she?
Zu Hogan had fought him in the tower. But what if there had been three or four with his strength? Perhaps it would have been Zu Hogan taking him, instead of the other way around. The Mother had said something once about humans long ago, rising up against their masters. Perhaps Zu Hogan knew such secrets. Perhaps Zu Hogan’s failing to stop him in the sea tower had been more a function of surprise than strength.
His terror turned to hope. He could lead whoever was down there to the Mother. And that person in turn would lead Zu Hogan. And if not, Hunger could come back and lead Zu Hogan himself. Hunger looked down the dark, wooded hill.
Nothing moved. They were waiting for him to continue.
He grabbed a branch and broke it smartly to announce his position. Then he turned and walked away. A few paces later he broke another branch, and a few paces after that, yet another.
Hunger walked through the remaining hours of the morning, keeping only slightly ahead of the person following him. When dawn arrived he stood atop a ridge and looked down at the small valley below. Just beyond the edge of the wood, still in the shadow of the hill, a flock of sheep grazed the grass bordering both sides of the road running toward a village. The sun lit the fields and thatch roofs with a rosy light. Still farther along,