its scientists. You’ve already said that science can be used for good.”
“Well, yes, I suppose so,” Oskan agreed grudgingly. “But leave some magic in the world. Leave us some mystery to enjoy.”
The werewolves now began to pull the sleighs again, and they traveled on under the colossal and silent majesty of the northern lights until, on the horizon, a dim uplifting of the land beneath its frozen skin of ice began to appear. Gradually over the next hour or so, the hills resolved themselves into mountains that climbed in awful majesty, white and glistering against the black of the perpetual night. The aurora borealis bathed their white crags in a deep blush of blue and crimson, and a shooting star blazed over the highest peak.
“The Kingdom of the Snow Leopards,” called Grinelda, and the sleighs shot forward at even greater speed as they headed toward the mountains.
19
The Wolffolk had stopped and were staring at something in the distance. Both Thirrin and Oskan stood up in the sleigh and tried to make out exactly what was approaching. At first they could see nothing, and when they called to Grinelda she waved them to silence without taking her eyes off the horizon.
Then, after a few minutes, all the werewolves stepped out of the traces and formed a tight protective ring around their human charges. Oskan gasped and seized Thirrin’s hand. “There!” he said, pointing. “A leopard, an enormous leopard!”
She followed his pointing finger, screwed her eyes against the distance, and at last saw it. It was closer than she thought. Its mainly white, black-spotted coat camouflaged it perfectly against the background of snow, ice, and shadow. And Oskan hadn’t exaggerated, it was enormous: about the size of a warhorse at the shoulder, and its massive head was lit by eyes of vivid amber.
As it walked unhurriedly over the snow toward them, Thirrin noticed that its paws were huge and soft-looking, and despite its obvious weight they carried the animal over the loosest snow without once sinking through. But it was its mouth that held her attention: As the leopard approached, it raised its head and drew back its lips in an action that was so like Primplepuss that Thirrin knew it was scenting them. The movement revealed a row of teeth that made her shiver. They seemed whiter than the surrounding snow, the smallest of them were longer than her fingers, and the fangs looked as lethal as ivory cavalry sabers.
Thirrin squeezed Oskan’s hand once for comfort, then she released it and raised her head proudly as she donned her full queenly persona.
The creature stopped about ten feet away from the nearest werewolf and sat down. After a moment of gazing at them, it licked a paw and yawned enormously, displaying its impressive teeth, and then to the amazement of the human members of the party, it spoke.
“Who are you that trespass on the lands of Tharaman, the Thar of the Snow Leopards?”
Even though both Thirrin and Oskan had been told that the leopards could talk, they had expected them to sound like the werewolves, uttering the gruntings and growlings of an animal in a way that somehow resembled speech. But this creature sounded completely human, even refined, and a little bored.
“You know well that we are Wolffolk of the Ukpik tribe,” the leader of the white werewolves replied. “And we bring with us Queen Thirrin Freer Strong-in-the-Arm Lindenshield, Wildcat of the North and Monarch of the Land of the Icemark. With her is her adviser Oskan the Warlock. They are humans who seek audience with Tharaman-Thar of the Snow Leopards.”
The creature immediately stopped licking its paw and looked up. “Humans! Here? Let me see these beings of legend.”
Thirrin immediately jumped down from the sleigh and advanced toward the leopard, while Oskan scrambled behind her and tried not to look afraid.
The giant cat stared at them for a long moment, then said, “Are these puny things human beings? Well, how disappointing. I really can’t believe that these small objects were blessed with the same tongue as the Leopard People. Tell them to go back where they came from.”
Thirrin was so furious she forgot to be afraid and, drawing her sword, she advanced on the leopard. “Small or not, Master Pussycat, I will not go back, unless, of course, I take your head as a trophy for my wall!”
The creature laid back its ears in amazement. “They do speak our language, and with clear diction, too!”
By this time Thirrin was standing squarely beneath