Chance ground his teeth. “I want that faun. Perhaps the den will give us some clues.” He thought for a moment. “So, you think we can catch them? Only the two—” He glanced at Shyshax with distaste. They had never gotten along. “Only the three of us?”
Laylan pinched Shyshax’s ear before he could say anything. “We must surprise them to have any chance at all. No pun intended.”
Chance didn’t smile. Puns on his name never amused him. “But even if we did surprise them, eight wolflings and their wolves against two shelts and a cheetah are poor odds.”
“I didn’t mean we could take them all in a fight,” said Laylan. “All we need to do is kill Fenrah. If that happens, I think the Raiders will fall apart.”
* * * *
“Syrill, what are you saying?” Meuril had gone very pale.
“I saw it, Sire! Lexis tricked her, trapped her, and abducted her.”
“Dain,” Meuril spoke to one of his aids, “go see if the princess is in her chambers.” The king folded his hands. “What happened, Syrill?”
“Corellian the iteration traveled with me to Lupricasia. He is, as you know, a friend of Capricia’s. Yesterday evening she contacted him, saying that she was in danger. She seemed frightened and wanted Corry to meet her privately. He asked for my help, since he is not a skilled fighter. I agreed to come, but secretly, since Capricia had requested privacy.
“This morning I went to the arranged meeting place: the roof of the hotel Unsoos on the banks of the Tiber-wan. The roof is a garden, and as I walked through the trees, I stumbled across the body of Capricia’s doe. Her throat had been mauled. Of course, I was immediately worried. I began calling for Capricia. She answered me from across the garden, but before she could reach me, the cats found her. I heard screaming and growling.
“By the time I found her, Lexis had already done something to her. She was on the ground at his feet. I tried to reach her, but Ounce attacked me. At that moment Corellian appeared and tried to help the princess, but a black leopard charged him and knocked him over the railing. He seems to have fallen into the river. The fall should not have been fatal, but I searched for him briefly on my way here and couldn’t find him.
“I saw Lexis lift Capricia in his mouth, and at that point Ounce overpowered me. I hit my head against the railing and lost consciousness. I couldn’t have been unconscious for more than a few minutes, but when I woke, they were gone.”
A heavy silence. Meuril looked suddenly very old.
Dain reentered the room. “Sire, the princess is not in her chambers. The palace watch reported a cloaked shelt, possibly a fauness, having left this part of the building shortly before dawn. I have sent runners throughout the city. So far no one has located Capricia.”
Meuril rose. “Find Lexis and bring him here at once.”
* * * *
Tolomy Alainya lay curled in a sunbeam. The orange and black tiger cub stirred in his sleep, pawing the goat hair cushions beneath him. The room had been chosen and adapted for cats: a low drinking bowl, large windows not far from the ground, and a profusion of cushions spread about the floor. The doorknob had been removed from the door.
It swung open as a white cub bounded into the room and landed on Tolomy. He let out a spitting hiss. “Hush!” growled Leesha. “I’m not killing you, Tol. We’ve got to leave right now.”
The orange cub went limp. “You know it scares me when you—”
Leesha rolled to the floor. “Everything scares you. Let’s go!”
Tolomy rose and stretched. “Go where?”
“Into the forest.”
“Why?”
“Father told me.”
“Where’d you get the chain?” He stared at the delicate gold links around her neck. “Is that what hit me in the ear just now? It felt heavy.”
“I’ll explain later.” She grabbed his scruff and tried to march him towards the door, but he was considerably larger and pulled away easily.
“Leave Danda-lay? Whatever for?”
“Because Father said so!” Leesha was nearly spitting with frustration. “Haven’t you been listening? Hurry!”
“Leesha, did Father really say this or are you just playing? If you’re telling the truth, why isn’t Ounce or Loop here to escort us? Father wouldn’t send us off alone.”
Leesha leapt forward, grabbed her brother by the scruff, and shook him. She almost managed to get his feet off the ground. Tolomy growled, then cringed and hunkered down.
“Now listen to me, brother. I don’t have time to explain everything. You and I have to get out of Danda-lay. Father’s in trouble, and we have to help him.”
Tolomy stared at her. She sounded serious.
Leesha started away at a run. Tolomy followed her through the hall and down a flight of stairs. As they reached the outer door, it opened to admit a black-furred faun. The stranger’s hand moved swiftly beneath his cloak, and Tolomy caught a glint of metal.
Leesha charged between the faun’s legs, and her brother followed—out the door, down the steps, and into the sunlight. “Leesha, I think that faun was trying to—”
“Kill us,” she finished. “Keep running, Tol.”
* * * *
Meuril paced the dining hall while Shadock stood silent at a window. Outside, a furious search was in progress. Shadock cleared his throat. “Meuril, sit down. You’re tiring to watch.”
“You’re not watching,” snapped Meuril, but he sat down at the end of the table.
Shadock came to sit diagonally. They were nearly the same age, but as different as two shelts could be. Shadock had been a devilishly handsome youth—tall and broad, with the dark hair of the royal house and brilliant blue eyes. Age had peppered his hair, but his presence had grown, if anything, more formidable. He liked tournaments and strategy games and public display. Meuril had always been small and never handsome. He kept an informal court and liked to think his subjects could invite him over for tea.
“She can’t go far,” said Shadock. “She’s a lone female—on foot if we are to believe that her doe was killed.”
“Why would we not believe her doe killed?” asked Meuril icily.
Shadock spread his large hands on the table. “Well. Capricia has had a propensity to wander in the past. I believe she was ranging through the woods unescorted when she brought that iteration home—the same one they’re looking for now.”
Meuril focused steely gray eyes on Shadock. “She did not bring him home. Syrill did.”
“Well, met him, then.”
“My daughter has not run away!”
Shadock demurred. “Of course not, but she might have taken a walk away from the city, even with Lexis—”
“Syrill does not lie!” Meuril exploded. “Capricia does not ‘take walks’ from the city without telling someone. Something bad has happened, and I want her found. You may have dozens of children to lose, but I have only one!”
Shadock went rigid. He took several deep breaths, then tried again. “Meuril, Capricia could not be made to ride unconscious, and no cat could walk through the gates of Port Ory carrying her in his mouth. We’ve no reason to think shelts are involved, and as long as that’s the case, she must still be in the city. They would have killed Syrill if they were planning to kill anyone. They wouldn’t kill Capricia, not if they wanted something from you, and no other reason for the kidnapping makes any sense.”
“It doesn’t make sense anyway,” whispered Meuril. He put his head between his hands.
“Capricia is a resourceful fauness,” continued Shadock, although the reference to his family had taken all the warmth out of his voice.
As if to illustrate the reason, Jubal came smartly into the room “Sire, the palace has been scoured, and Danda-lay and Port Ory are in the process of an exhaustive search. Neither Lexis nor any of his staff have been located. However, a night watchshelt saw a small group of cats leaving Port Ory early this morning. The descriptions match those of Lexis and his officers.”
> Meuril heard the news with admirable composure. “Shadock?”
“Yes?”
“Permission to put every Filinian in Port Ory and Danda-lay under temporary arrest?”
“Permission granted.”
* * * *
At the orphanage once, Corry had seen a video of three men skydiving. He remembered how the people opened up their arms and lay spread-eagle on the air. He had asked the supervisor what would happen if their parachutes didn’t open, and she had said they would die instantly. A boy beside Corry had piped up and said that his father had jumped off a twelve-story building and he bounced. The boy wasn’t sure whether he died on the first bounce or the second. Corry had thought at the time that if he ever fell from a deadly height, it might be prudent to fall headfirst in order to die on the first bounce.
The thought returned to him with crystal clarity as he shot from the falls over Danda-lay. He tried to tuck himself into a dive, but he wasn’t sure which way was down. Then he was in a cloud, and the world was dark and full of water.
And then nothing happened for a while. Corry wasn’t sure if minutes or only seconds passed, but eventually his stomach started to settle. If I’m going to die, I might as well enjoy the ride. Instinctively, he uncurled in the air, reaching out and out, breathing slowly and carefully so as not to inhale water.
Perhaps if I angle my arms like this…I could move away from the water of the falls. There, that’s better.
Oh! A warm draft from below. His stomach did a little flip. Now he wasn’t sure whether he was falling or rising. Next moment he struck something so violently that he thought he’d hit the ground. But, no. It was some kind of air pocket. Now he was definitely rising.
Corry giggled. He knew he was riding the cusp between panic and exhilaration. I bounced. Then the mists cleared, and he saw trees rushing up to meet him.
Glossary
blue month: one cycle of blue moon, usually 30 to 90 days.
Canisaria: native country of wolves and wolflings.
cowry catchers: manatee shelts.
Danda-lay: cliff faun capital.
Diven-rah: a ruin, old shelt capital of Filinia.
fauns: shelts with hooves, e.g. wood faun (deer shelt), swamp faun (goat shelt), cliff faun (sheep shelt), shavier (pegasus shelt).
fealidae: cat shelt, also plural.
Filinia: native country of cats.
Iron Mountain: centaur capital.
Kazar Swamp: home of the swamp fauns and lizard riders.
Laven-lay: wood faun capital.
lizard riders: alligator shelts.
nauns: shelts with neither hooves nor paws, e.g. manatee shelts and seal shelts.
panauns: shelts with paws, e.g. cat shelts, wolf shelts, fox shelts.
red month: one cycle of red moon, about 60 days.
Sardor-de-lor: a ruin, old wolfling capital of Canisaria before it fell to the cats.
Selbis: a ruin, the old wizard capital.
shelt: a two-legged creature having a humanoid body from the waist up and resembling some kind of animal from the waist down. Shelts have pointed, tufted ears.
watch: a period of time approximately four hours long. Shelts count four watches for the day and two watches for the night.
wolfling: a wolf shelt.
yellow month: one cycle of yellow moon, about 15 days.
About the Author
Abigail Hilton is a traveling nurse anesthetist, based in Florida. She owns 3 cats—all veteran travelers, who’ve been x-rayed on various occasions by the TSA. She has spent time in veterinary school and done graduate work in literature. You can connect with Abbie on Facebook or Twitter. You can also visit her blog and main website at abigailhilton.com.
Books by Abigail Hilton
Hunters Unlucky
Storm
Arcove
Keesha
Teek
Treace
The Prophet of Panamindorah
Fauns and Filinians
Wolflings and Wizards
Fire and Flood
The Guild of the Cowry Catchers
Embers, Illustrated
Flames, Illustrated
Ashes, Illustrated
Out of the Ashes, Illustrated
Shores Beyond the World, Illustrated
The Complete Series (Not Illustrated)
Eve and Malachi, Illustrated Children’s Chapter Books
Feeding Malachi
Malachi and the Ghost Kitten
Other Books
Crossroads: Short Stories from Panamindorah, Volume 1
Secret Things: Short Stories from Panamindorah, Volume 2
Table of Contents
Shelts of Middle Panamindorah
Prelude: Sing Muse
Part I
Chapter 1. Voices in the Walls
Chapter 2. Music in the Dark
Chapter 3. Laven-lay
Chapter 4. A Conflict of Interests
Chapter 5. An Introduction to Wolflings
Chapter 6. Raiders
Chapter 7. Fenrah
Chapter 8. Trouble for a Key
Chapter 9. Shift
Chapter 10. The Agreement
Chapter 11. Aspects of a Dinner Conversation
Chapter 12. Thief
Chapter 13. The End of a War and the Beginning of a Grudge
Part II
Chapter 1. Char
Chapter 2. Laylan’s Success
Chapter 3. Interrogation
Chapter 4. A Festive Occasion
Chapter 5. The Curious Construction of a Gallows
Chapter 6. The Road to Danda-lay
Chapter 7. Port Ory
Chapter 8. The Sluice and the City
Chapter 9. A Meeting of the Inner Council
Chapter 10. Furs and Filinians
Chapter 11. Salt and a Book
Chapter 12. A Rendezvous Arranged
Chapter 13. The Stone is Tossed
The End
Maps
Glossary
About the Author
Other Books
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