Shadows Fade realized Eleanor Naismith was now looking at her, as though expecting confirmation this was a waste of her precious time. “It is better that we find nothing than miss something,” she said.
The white girl rolled her eyes. “You’re probably right
Godly Claw then surprised the warrior by issuing a series of excited barks. These were not true sounds but inarticulate psychic bursts that existed only in her mind; the wolf had found something important, something that she must show Shadows Fade or tell her directly.
The barking ‘sounded’ like it came from the north. Godly Claw would await her there.
“I’m going to see Godly Claw,” she told Eleanor Naismith.
“What for?”
“She has found something. I wish to see what,” Shadows Fade said, making her tone obviously dismissive; she had had enough of the white girl, wanted to spend time with her Spirit Wolf.
Eleanor Naismith looked up at the dull sky, apparently measuring the time. Most of the day still remained. She loudly smacked her lips before saying “I suppose I’ll come with you. I’ll just required some water first.”
So the one time she denied herself something was when Shadows Fade wanted rid of her? How irksome. Still, it would be best for the Wanting Man if Eleanor Naismith did not return prematurely so the warrior would bear it.
“Godly Claw is this way,” she said, pointing away from the chapel. Bear it she might but she wasn’t going to wait for Eleanor Naismith to quench her thirst first. “There’s no sense doubling back on ourselves.”
The white girl looked at the chapel and then out to where Shadows Fade had pointed. “You’re right. The water can wait.”
“This way then.”
As they ventured to where Godly Claw would meet them, dark clouds spread their silent black wings overhead. A cool but foul wind played with Shadows Fade’s hair, teasing her with the promise of a storm. These were dark portents, ones the warrior would remember to brood upon later.
“What could it have found?” Eleanor Naismith asked.
“I’ll find out shortly,” Shadows Fade responded.
They found Godly Claw lying under the shade of a thin tree, her normal blue colouration dulled so she would blend in better. The tree’s trunk was black, desiccated and withered, and it emitted a rotten stink that easily masked Godly Claw’s musk; the land’s corruption had only killed the plant rather than corrupting it.
Godly Claw didn’t get up when they approached but she visibly reflected Shadows Fade’s annoyance; her blue predator’s eyes narrowed and her fur bristled.
“I hope it found something useful,” Eleanor Naismith said.
Shadows Fade didn’t reply but instead knelt beside her companion and rekindled the flame of their bond with a gentle stroke. Godly Claw smiled and pushed back against her hand, bringing them together as one again.
The information she’d gathered then roared into Shadows Fade’s mind; around the band, multiple dark circles had been carved into the earth with blunt blades, ritual sites with residual magical energy in their burnt offerings. That suggested the dark spirit host were not a standing army but one gathered from the spirit world every night. As such, they could attack the band from any direction, which explained why the attacks had seemingly come from all angles. There were more ritual sites to the north-west, though, which confirmed that was the most likely attacking point.
Puzzlingly, there were untainted human scents amongst the stench of magical corruption. Three, none of them her people, men. They usually stayed in a pack and could always be found in the densest stenches. But how could they possibly smell like normal people and still be involved in these rituals?
“There are men amongst the monstrosities,” Shadows Fade said. Her eyes were closed but she knew Eleanor Naismith would be waiting for an answer. And perhaps she wanted to share her shock. “Unsullied men.”
“Oh, is that all? How disappointing… The Father said something about harriers. That is probably who he meant.”
“You didn’t think to tell me this?”
“It didn’t seem important.”
