Wolf's-own: Weregild Read Online Free PDF Page A

surrounding Fen widened their circle, fur morphing back to flesh as they withdrew, until Fen, the cart, and Samin were surrounded by eight men and women of varying sizes and ages. All of them held double handfuls of spiked weapons, some obviously limping or clutching at various limbs in suppressed pain. One of them had a white-fletched arrow jutting from her bicep.
    "Yori, Shig, stand down,” Malick called, even as Yori snapped her bow up to take aim at now-clear targets. Yori didn't gripe out loud, but Malick could tell she was doing it silently.
    He dragged Leu to her feet. “Just because Asai has claimed Wolf,” he told her, low and even, “does not mean that Wolf has accepted him to the Cycle. You might do well to give that some thought the next time he sends you out after me and mine.” He shook her a little then shoved her away, completely indifferent to her gasp of pain and the way she had to stumble to keep her feet. “Go back and tell Asai that his message has been received. And bring him back one from me.” Malick took a step toward Leu, satisfied when she backed up a pace, though she was clearly trying not to. “Tell him that Kamen sends him greetings from Skel. Tell him if he wants the earth-bound, or the Catalyst, he'll need to come through me. They're mine.” He stepped back, dropped the veil from Joori and the others, then yanked Joori to his feet, ignoring Caidi's little yip of fear and surprise, and locked his furious gaze to Leu's. “Wanna try and take him from me?"
    " No !” Fen snarled behind him then cursed and spat, “Let me the fuck go !” likely at Samin, since he was the only one among them who could've held Fen back when he was in a fury. Malick didn't take his eyes off Leu to find out.
    Leu held Malick's gaze for several long seconds then flicked it behind him, narrowed it. She nodded as her eyes went to Joori and then finally settled back on Malick. “We weren't to kill them,” she said then spat blood and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her chin jerked to the other maijin, still in a loose circle around them but retreating slowly and steadily, moving a little more quickly now at Leu's signal, melting into the shadows and scattering.
    "No,” Malick snapped at her, “you were only meant to take the earth-bound, if you could, retreat if you couldn't. Want to know why?"
    Leu shook her head, but Malick shot his arm out, took hold of her again and dragged her in.
    "I didn't know it was you, Kamen,” she protested, but otherwise she didn't resist, keeping her hands out and open at her sides. “I didn't even know....” She paused, caught her breath. “I heard you'd gone to spirit."
    "You heard wrong."
    "I didn't know. I would not challenge Wolf's Temshiel ."
    "But you would challenge Temshiel in general?"
    " No .” Leu's teeth clenched. She was too obviously having trouble getting a good breath, and a fine mist of blood every now and then sprayed from her mouth. “I didn't know until you veiled the earth-bound.” Her gaze turned sullen, almost accusing. “I thought you were just another mortal. You were concealing."
    "And apparently with good reason,” Malick snapped. “What the hell are you doing here, Leu?"
    She shrugged and looked away. “We were to take the earth-bound and allow the Catalyst to follow. Asai needed one of Wolf's... needed me to....” Her eyes shot quickly over Malick's shoulder again before turning to the ground, a hand climbing up to cover the gash. “He needed me to control the Catalyst."
    "Yeah, well, from what I saw, the rest of them didn't have a problem helping you out with that.” Malick was afraid to even look to see how torn up Fen was. Umeia was going to kill him when he got them all home. Malick had already been waiting for Fen to collapse, though he miraculously kept not doing it.
    "They'll be punished,” Leu wheezed, like that was supposed to make Malick feel better. “They weren't meant to attack him. They belong to Owl.” As