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them finally leave their stronghold in the frozen north? And why do they need so many captives?
    Her head jerked up—someone was watching. She reached into members of her pack on guard duty, inquiring if anyone was around.
    No, no one is .
    The wolves smelled nothing but the usual forest fauna. Well, they also scented the goblins . Not unusual. The whole place stinks of goblin.
    The albino wolf beside her woofed . Anya guided its lupine eyes upward and realized how low the moon was in the night sky. Getting late. It’s only a few hours until dawn and I need to get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day. She laid down on the ground, cuddled the wolf, and dropped off into a deep, restful sleep.
     

 
CHAPTER FOUR
    THE CHASE. A PLAN EMERGES
     
    The wolves’ howls unnerved Jon at first. Then he learned to tune out the lupine version of jungle drums as the day wore on. They spent most of the following day trying to keep up with Anya and her pack. Ten paces of brisk walking, followed by ten paces at a jog, then ten paces at a dead run, over and over until Anya called for a halt. During their breaks, they grabbed a few bites of cold leftover rabbit and a few swallows of water before setting off yet again. The pack loped ahead and alongside them, teeth flashing as their tongues lolled.
    Jon had the distinct sense they were laughing at him.
    Despite her petite size and delicate frame, Anya not only kept up with them, she found the breath to tell them what she knew about goblins. Goblins had a good sense of smell, even better than wolves. They also spoke the Common Tongue, in addition to being deceptively strong and fast.
    Anya called for a halt before moonrise. Jon collapsed, panting on the grass. The expression on Saul’s red, sweat-streaked face mirrored his own gratitude for the respite.
    “We can rest here for a bit,” Anya said in a terse voice. “I need to…do something. Whatever happens, please don’t panic. Actually, just don’t make a sound.”
    Her lupine shadow, the albino wolf Jon privately called Minari, settled down next to her. Anya sank onto the dry, brittle summer grass; cross-legged, and her back ramrod straight. She closed her eyes and slowed her breathing until it seemed to stop completely.
    Saul tilted his head at Jon, a puzzled frown on his face. Jon shrugged. He licked his forefinger, silently apologized to Anya for the state of his breath, and placed it just under her nose for a few minutes. Faint, warm exhalations cooled his damp finger. He nodded at Saul. Still breathing. Saul sagged with obvious relief. The boys quietly moved to either side of her, bracing themselves to catch her in case she fell. Jon’s arms and legs were beginning to cramp when Anya finally relaxed and came out of her trance.
    She jerked her head back, and Minari studied both of them in turn. “What do you think you’re doing?” She flicked her hands with impatience as Jon started to explain. “Shush and follow us.”
    With Minari in the lead, they went to a hole by the side of a small mound, made invisible by the surrounding vast expanse of blackberry bushes. They dropped to all fours and crawled through a cramped, earth-lined tunnel, which opened into a small cavern. The rugged, eroded natural opening in its roof allowed enough moonlight to see.
    The cavern’s irregular walls resembled the sides of a half-melted candle. The scent of molding leaves and earth sprinkling the ground, mingled with the faint fragrance of blackberry blossoms, grew stronger as the trio sat down in a circle underneath the opening, facing each other, on the cool, knobby limestone cavern floor. Minari laid down next to her. A pair of amber lupine eyes stayed trained on both Saul and he.
    “No fire tonight. We’re still about half a day away, but I don’t want to risk them scenting the smoke.”
    Saul huffed, his sweat-streaked face still flushed a bright cherry red. “I thought we’d have caught up to them by now.”
    “Sorry, I