Guin yelped at her feet, whining and crying.The puppy caught the edge of Brynn’s dress in her teeth and tugged, as if begging Brynn to flee.Gone was her earlier bravado.
Brynn scooped the puppy up in her arms, staring to where the monster had taken Hróarr.
His two men chattered in Valdari, pointing to where the monster had disappeared with their lord.
Brynn reached the nearest man and shoved Guin into his arms.“Go back to Istra,” she ordered, pointing back in what she hoped was the direction of the town.“And take my dog with you.”
The man stared at Brynn without comprehension.He’d glared at her with suspicion earlier, but it seemed he now appreciated her ability to repel monsters.She didn’t know his name, but he was one of the men who had visited Ombra with Hróarr in the past.
“Cenric.Tell Cenric.”Brynn stepped away from the men toward the direction the monster had disappeared with Hróarr.“You go!”She pointed again.“Take my dog back to Cenric and tell him what happened.Tell Ovrek what happened.”Even if Brynn was hardly sure what had happened herself.
“Wulfwir.”The man shook his head.
“Is that the name of that thing?”Brynn pointed in the direction it had gone.“Wulfwir?”
The man nodded, eyes wide.
Brynn took a deep breath.Her husband had never mentioned that Valdar was haunted by beasts with taintedkaand red eyes.It seemed like the sort of thing he should have mentioned.“Go,” she repeated, pointing in the direction of Istra even as she headed after the monster.
“Hróarr,” the warrior protested, taking a step after her.
“I’ll get him,” Brynn promised, even as her whole mind screamed that she was insane.“I will get him, just go!”
Hróarr might already be dead, but she had to try.She had to at least try.For Cenric.
Brynn hated leaving Guin with a stranger, but the puppy had a better chance of surviving this way.Hopefully, the men would do as she told them.
Lifting her muddy skirts, Brynn ran across the field with its maze of stumps and exposed roots.It had taken the monster mere heartbeats to cross this way, but she had to run for what seemed to be forever.They needed more help.She might not be able to do anything.
But Hróarr didn’t have time to wait for help.He probably didn’t even have the time to wait for her.
Brynn finally reached the spot where the monster—Wulfwir—had disappeared.A burrow sank down into the earth, like what a fox or a rabbit might have, but at least a hundred times bigger.
Hróarr’s sword lay beside the opening, where it had been dropped on the way down.Dark patches of blood stained the earth and Brynn could only hope that was from the wounds she had inflicted on the Wulfwir, not from Hróarr.
A man let off a yelp at Brynn’s back.Hróarr’s man had dropped Guin, shaking his hand.
Guin hit the ground and barreled after Brynn, whining and crying.It seemed she was determined to stay.
Brynn waved to the men to go.They were warriors and proud ones at that, but the Wulfwir seemed too much for even them.
Guin came skidding to Brynn’s side, whimpering.Her body shuddered, but she stayed close to Brynn’s ankles.
“It will be dangerous,” Brynn whispered, stroking Guin’s coat even as her own hands tremored.“Can you be brave for me, little girl?”
Guin clung close to Brynn in response.The dog was terrified, but she seemed as committed as Brynn was.
Brynn picked up Hróarr’s sword.She cast a final look to the sky, sending a plea toward Eponine for protection, and stepped down into the burrow.The ground was slippery, mud plastered over a maze of roots.
The tunnel sloped down gently, reaching deeper into the earth.Brynn could hear Hróarr shouting from ahead.She thanked Eponine he was still alive and sent a silent prayer for continued good luck.They would all need it.
Guin padded along at Brynn’s side.The puppy trembled, but she remained silent.
Roots jutted out of the ceiling, the walls, and made twisted patterns on the ground.The earth here seemed to be made of roots as much as soil.That ancient yew with its many offshoots had created a mesh underground, entwining together in a woven gauntlet.
Up ahead, Brynn could sense the burning presence of evil.That was the only way she could think to describe it.
Brynn had never liked spiders, but theirkafelt much the same as all other creatures.Foxes and weasels sometimes stole geese, but they did not have this kind of malice to their presence.
