Wolf Blood Read Online Free PDF

with his own cloak and turn my attention to restarting the fire. I keep my spear within reach in case he wakes and attacks but I’m not expecting that. The shadow of the wolf still surrounds him but the wolf sleeps as heavily as the man.
    It takes a while for me to warm up and all the time I watch the sleeping man. Who knows what this transformation will have done to him? I notice the very moment when his eyelids flicker and his eyes open. His eyes in daylight are a greenish grey with flecks of a wolfish yellow. Their owner looks confused. He tries to speak but nothing comes out of his mouth and I see the panic in his face. He coughs and puts one grimy hand to his head to push away his thick, dark hair.
    ‘What happened?’ His voice is hoarse as if he had been shouting all night. His nails are black half-moons of muck and his hands are streaked with blood. ‘I had a strange dream . . .’
    I wait.
    ‘Do you know . . . I mean . . . how?’ He indicates his nakedness. I don’t reply.
    He doesn’t appear hostile. He has a lost look in his eyes and I struggle to see him as a potential enemy. He shivers and I dig in his bag for his remaining clothes. ‘You need to dress,’ I say and he twists away from me modestly. I’m used to the company of men and don’t need such consideration. His body is smeared with dirt and dried blood and raked with claw marks. It doesn’t look like he had an easy night.
    I help him with his boots and with the fastenings of his belt: I am not half-witted enough to strap on his sword. His hands and fingers are clumsy, as if he has forgotten how to use them. His skin is cold as stone. I tend him as I tended the sick back at home, as I tended Cerys. He lets me help him with such childlike trust that I wonder if his mind has been damaged by his transformation.
    I boil snow over the now blazing fire and make a meal from the last of Morcant’s food supplies – barley, beans and cheese. After my time at the Chief’s fort it is a feast. Morcant eats ravenously. Whatever else happened, I don’t think he feasted with the wolves last night and I’m relieved that he didn’t eat Lucius’ corpse. The blood on his hands is probably his own.
    ‘You need to remember what happened.’ I try to speak gently.
    ‘I’ve not been drinking?’
    ‘Only water from your canteen.’
    I leave him to his disjointed thoughts. His confusion is no concern of mine.
    Now that the sun is up, I know I should get moving but it is so good to rest in front of this fire. I let my mind drift, planning where to go next, how to find food. The only sound is the crackling of the fire, the spitting of the damp wood. At last he speaks.
    ‘I remember running and some kind of fight.’
    ‘You were a wolf, Morcant,’ I say. ‘A wild beast.’
    He shakes his head. Even now he doesn’t believe it. There is a rustle in the bushes and I have my sword out and I’m on my feet. Morcant is slower to react. That decides it. Tempting though it would be to travel with a companion, Morcant is too much of a risk – either wild predator or helpless fool. I check the undergrowth but see nothing untoward. It is time to go.
    I pack up Lucius’ gear, his cook pot, shield and spear. I leave his spade, axe and various other items for which I have no use or which weigh too much. I bow towards the hearth to thank the goddess and towards the tree that sheltered me through the long night. ‘I thank you for the blessing of your fire and the shared food,’ I say.
    He’s watching me with wide eyes. I can’t see him living long like this but he’s not my responsibility. I am free.
    ‘Thanks for the food. May the gods look favourably on your journey,’ I say. In the cool morning light I can see the wolf stirring. I turn my back on both of them and start walking. The spear is useful as a walking stick over the treacherous, uneven ground and, while the shield and armour are cumbersome, I leave Morcant’s company better equipped than I