Corvus Nightshade's Arc

Chapter 5 of 11

The wolf moved west at a steady pace, but Corvus saw fresh blood beading along its flank. Whatever had clawed it was still out there. He held up a hand, and Elara stopped beside him on the path. "It's hurt worse than yesterday," he said. She studied the trees ahead. "Then something hunted it close to the court." They left the trail and circled wide through low brush. Corvus drew his knife. Elara kept one hand near the small blade at her hip. The wolf slowed, ears flat, and led them into a stand of old oaks. A boulder ahead bore three long claw gouges, still pale where the bark of moss had been ripped away. Below it, two dead hounds lay in the leaves. Court hounds. Collared. Corvus crouched and read the ground. "Tracker pair. The wolf killed them before they could send word." He looked at the marked stone, then at Elara. "There will be a handler. Close." Elara's voice stayed level. "Then we find him before he finds us." She did not ask what came after. He was glad of it. They caught the handler at a small cottage half a mile on, painted shutters and pots by the door — a borrowed post, not his own. He was writing a report when Corvus stepped through the doorway. It was over in a breath. Elara burned the page in the hearth and watched the ash curl. The wolf waited outside, blood drying, eyes steady. The path west was clear now. But a court hound pair would be missed by nightfall, and the road they had to take had just grown teeth.