A Plague of Giants (Seven Kennings #1) - Kevin Hearne Page 0,101

impulse to kiss him, for he was right: it would be inappropriate during a mission while he was temporarily under my command.

Once everyone had risen, I thanked the trees for their comfort and shelter and allowed them to return to their accustomed form, and we descended to the ground. I allowed myself a private smile. We had scouted the Hathrim successfully and lost nothing this time except some ill-defined measure of my life span. But perhaps something new had taken root between me and Nef. Time and sun would tell if anything would grow out of it.

—

“To the north of the Godsteeth,” Fintan said, “Abhinava Khose also had the opportunity to form a new bond.”

It has been a day of incredible discoveries. First came the realization that all of my bloodcat bites were completely healed, the torn muscles repaired; even the skin was unblemished by scars or scabs. All had healed while I slept. The scratches I’d suffered from the grass puma were likewise healed. I should have had weeks of discomfort ahead of me with injuries like those, but instead it was as if they had never happened.

No: it’s much better than that. I feel better than I ever have. Stronger, faster, more alert. I feel like my senses have improved. And though I cannot confirm it yet, I suspect that I have nothing to fear on the Nentian plains anymore but other humans.

My first order of business upon waking—after stretching and such—was to ask Murr if he could understand me. He just rolled over, presenting his belly.

“Are you asking for a belly rub?” I said. He pawed at the air and said, “Murr,” which was cute but inconclusive. I didn’t move because if I was wrong about that, Murr might become annoyed with me. Even if I was immune to harm from animals now, I didn’t want to offend him.

“If you can understand me, we need to establish a way for you to signal yes and no. That would help immensely. So let’s start with that. Can you nod your head or bob it up and down to say yes?” I began nodding to demonstrate. “Like this?”

Murr righted himself, locked his red eyes on mine, and executed an awkward nod—more of a tossing of his chin than a human movement, but still, it was evidence that he understood me. Or perhaps he was just mimicking me.

“That’s excellent. So let’s say you wish to say no to something. Can you shake your head from side to side, like this, to say no?” I demonstrated again, and Murr watched me for a moment, then copied the movement.

I grinned at him. “Fantastic, Murr! Now, let me ask you that other question again and you answer, yes or no. Do you want a belly rub?”

The bloodcat stared at me for a few beats, then shook his head.

“No? I’m very glad I confirmed that, then. That could have been extremely awkward.”

Murr performed his catlike nod.

“Do you know if I can talk to all animals, or are you special?”

He shook his head, and I realized I hadn’t phrased the question very well. Did he simply not know the answer, or did he mean I couldn’t talk to any other animals? I would have to be more careful with my word choice.

“Can you say anything else besides ‘murr’?” At his nod, I asked him, “What else can you say?”

“Murr,” he said.

“That sounded the same to me. Are you saying different things, perhaps, but my human ears can’t understand the difference?”

He nodded again, and I thought that was interesting. It appeared that the kenning granted me the power to communicate clearly to animals—or at least bloodcats—but not the other way around. It required testing.

“I need to keep walking toward Khul Bashab. I’ll eat something as I go. Still coming with me?” Murr got to his feet by way of answering and took a few steps north before stopping to check if I was moving yet.

“Guess you’re anxious to go! Okay. Same as before: hunt when you feel like it and find me when you want. Let me make sure this fire is out and get my bag.”

We covered a lot of ground that morning; I even jogged for a while since it felt so effortless. I asked Murr only one question before lunch: “Am I the first human to be able to do this—I mean talk to you and not get eaten and all that?”

He nodded, and that gave me plenty to think about. The histories