“You can’t just be called Wolf. That’s what every wolf is called.”
“Exactly.”
I grinned and shook my head. “So you’re telling me that every half-wolf is called Wolf?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Doesn’t it get confusing?”
“Not when you don’t have anyone to confuse it.”
“Right.” I bobbed my head in understanding. “No pack, no humans.” I paused, unsure whether or not it was safe to bring up last night. “Then…what was with the pack last night?”
“They were passing by and thought it strange you were with me, so I told them about you.”
“I see.” That meant he could communicate with real wolves. That was actually pretty amazing. I nudged an acorn off the path with my foot. “Do you have any family?”
A sad look flashed over his face. “Gone.”
I wondered what happened to them, but it didn’t feel right to ask. Instead I touched him on the shoulder and said, “I’m sorry.”
He surprised me by kissing my fingers. “Thank you.”
We continued on, hopping over the occasional gully stream, skirting thick growths of thistle bushes. The forest seemed endless. After seeing Wolf’s map, I understood why Marianne claimed that the forest went on forever. Aside from the few farms and villages, the Kingdom of Red was nothing but forest. How long did she wander around in it? How long did she wander through the forest in Wyoming? I shook my head. The poor thing. Alone and scared in a dark forest. I’d been in that position before. And now she was stuck with slave traders. What where they like? I hoped they weren’t mean. I really didn’t want to go through three near-death experiences in two days. Or maybe just two. Wolf’s was still up for debate.
“What do we do when we find them?” I walked down a set of thick tree roots like stairs. “How do we get Marianne away from them?”
“Simple. We buy her.”
I scoffed. “With what? They gave those giants six cows for her.”
“How many of those fire sticks do you have?”
“You mean matches? Assuming you didn’t get overzealous and use a bunch, I’d say at least twenty.”
“Then give them six matches. Six nights of easy fire making is well worth a slave.”
“Really?” It didn’t seem like much to me, but then again, I’d never thought much about making fires either. “What are slaves used for around here anyway? Shouldn’t that sort of thing be outlawed?”
“Oh it is. But they still do it and try not to be seen. Slaves usually sell to witches who need young girls and boys to do their bidding.”
I stopped walking for a second. “You have witches here?”
“Of course.”
“They’re not all bad, are they?”
“No. Many of them keep to themselves.”
Suddenly the ground vibrated. I grabbed Wolf’s arm to stay upright. He used the moment to slip an arm around my waist. The tremor died away.
“What the hell was that?”
“Giant, probably,” he said, smiling down at my hand on his arm.
I stepped away from him, trying to figure out why my heart was beating so fast. “Giant?”
“Falling down. They do that from time to time. They’re quite clumsy.”
The sun arose slowly, its rays cut into wedges by the trees. I’d been so preoccupied before, I hadn’t noticed that it was springtime here, not fall. Little flowers with white teacup blossoms emerged from the carpet of dead leaves here and there. Occasionally a few birds flitted by, chirping to one another. I didn’t see any small animals like I usually did though. No chipmunks bouncing along branches lying on the forest floor. No squirrels rustling in the underbrush on the hunt for fallen nuts. No rabbits munching on the green shoots sprouting up. I suspected it had something to do with Wolf being nearby.
Wolf looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “Last night you said you protect wolves. How?”
I shrugged. “I just tell people about them. I explain how without wolves, the deer and other animals would overpopulate and cause problems. That wolves aren’t the kind of threat everyone thinks they are and how they’re really quite afraid of people. I talk to a lot of kids too. I go to schools and tell them about wolves and how they should be protected. A lot of farmers get angry when a wolf kills a cow. They think the entire pack is going to eat their herd. Bunch of idiots.” I kicked a rock.
He stared at me, awestruck. “Does that work?”
“It’s taken time, but yes. Wolves were almost completely wiped out at one time where I come