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From: Won Tolla <WegianWarrior@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: fur.stories.misc
Subject: FUR: Repost, Stranger among Strangers, full text (chapter 31-40 / 40)
Date: Wed, 03 May 2006 03:17:32 -0700
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===================

31
Hesitantly I walked down the dark passageway, forcing myself to keep a
steady marching pace. After a few meters it turned left and the murmur
of voices increased in volume. A couple of more steps, and I found
myself standing in an another arched doorway in one end of a huge hall.
I halted for a second before I forced myself to continue, and as I
stepped onto the first flagstones of the hall silence spread out like
ripples in water. Almost faltering, I draw on all my training from
years before.
'Når dere driver eksersis,' the voice of my drill instructor all those
years ago echoed in my mind, 'så driver dere kun med eksersis. Alt
rundt er uvesentlig.'
Straightening my back, I followed his advice. Hø, hø, hø-ven-hø.
Feeling the weight of the walls bearing down on me, I started to take
in my surroundings to occupy my mind. The hall itself was not so huge
as I first believed, but still large enough to impress. Large windows
on both sides let in the light, but it had a second hand quality as if
it was coming through long shafts. Hø, hø, hø-ven-hø. The vaulted
roof was about five times my own height and covered with alien
paintings, all shapes and colours but without any meaning I could make
out. Looking dead ahead, I quickly estimated the hall to be as wide as
it was high, and four times the length. Hø, hø, hø-ven-hø. Along
the walls a fair number of lupas sat on benches, but I kept my gaze
looked at the long table placed near the other end of the hall. In the
middle there was a raised chair, occupied by a white lupa reminiscent
of Xaviera, seemingly not wearing anything as far as I could tell from
halfway into the hall. Hø, hø, hø-ven-hø. On her left sat four
lupas, but the only I could recognise was Kidera, sitting next to the
one on the throne. Kidera was looking towards me, but I transferred my
gaze to the other side of the throne. Hø, hø, hø-ven-hø. Tree more
lupas, and Xaviera was the one closest to the throne, staring down into
her lap. All the other lupas I could see was clearly surprised, shocked
or scared. Avdeling - holdt! Outwardly calm I halted four steps away
from the table, the sound of my left boot hitting the flagstones echoed
through the hall. Counting silently to three, I smoothly went from
attention to standing at ease. The second thump from my boot seemed to
set of the murmur again behind me, and while I could not pick out the
words the voices hinted at surprise, shock and some fear. Tightening
the muscles in my hands to stop them shaking, I studied the lupa that
sat right in front of me. Her face looked much like Xaviera, with the
same taper on the muzzle. Her eyes were wide-open, as was her mouth,
but unlike Xaviera's dark globes her eyes were green. Her ears were
twitching like mad, and that almost scared me more than the rest of my
predicament. Lowering my gaze, I first noted a thick braid of blond
hair running over her shoulder and down into her lap. She wore a simple
white robe, and a single golden ring around her head indicated that she
was something else than most lupas I had seen so far. I let out my
breath, noting almost in passing that my knees started to shake
slightly. So this was probably Dumare, Xaviera's sister and empress of
the lupa Empire.
'Strange,' I thought to myself, 'if she's the boss around here... I
wonder why she seems to be scared?'
After what felt like an eternity, the one I guessed to be Dumare shook
her head and turned to her right, looking silently at Xaviera. Xaviera
did not look up, but simply sat staring into her lap. I noticed in the
corner of my eye that she was she was working her jaw, and I felt I
sudden pang of sympathy for her.
"Your Highness," came Kidera's voice suddenly from the other side,
"might I present to you a creature captured beyond the rift?"
Dumare transferred her eyes to me and I felt her scrutinising me, her
green eyes first looking up and down my figure before she stared hard
at my face. Instead of returning her gaze I stared hard at the wall
behind and above her head, using all my willpower to stand still.
"While we must admit that this creature could be interesting to study
closer at our leisure," Dumare said to the room in general, not moving
her gaze, "we fails to see why our esteemed sister, high General of our
defensive forces, judges it necessary to present it before Us as she
delivers her report on the campaign beyond the rift."
In the corner of my eye I saw movement from Xaviera's direction, but I
remained still.
"It's necessary due to one of the results of that campaign..."
Xaviera's voice was weak, but grew steadier as she continued.
"As the High Council knows, and the representatives should be aware of,
we pulled a large part of the defence force from the garrisons for this
campaign through the rift. The rich spoil has probably justified the
losses..."
Xaviera paused, and I heard the strain in her voice.
"Probably justified General?"
The voice raising the question came from my right, but I resisted
looking for the source.
"We suffered quite heavy losses..." Xaviera said, her voice quavering,
"partly due to heavy resistance. As you can see from our captive, our
only captive I might add, the creatures from the other side of the rift
are in general bigger and stronger than our troopers."
Dumare finally looked away from me, instead looking towards her sister.
I dropped my eyes from the wall, taking the opportunity to take in as
much as I could without turning my head.
"This is know from earlier openings of the rift," Dumare said, "that is
why we sanctioned to use such a large part of the force."
I got the impression that she was talking everyone in the room, not her
sister. Probably the two of them had already talked.
"In light of our knowledge it was the right move." Xaviera looked at me
for a second, then continued. "However, since our last contact through
the rift the art of war has changed on the other side. Had they found
the rift from their side and invaded, our estimates would have been
proven false. Instead of the three thousand dead and the loss of
Whitewater Ford, we would have faced the destruction of the Empire
within a few weeks."
A gasp went up behind me, but Dumare did not twitch a muscle.
"The earlier reports laid before the High Council describes their
weapons," she said in a matter-of-factly voice, "and We agrees with
your conclusion General."
Again, I felt like I was watching act being played out for the others
in the room. I felt my knees starting to shake again. Xaviera nodded to
her sister, then swallowed before she continued:
"We managed to capture fairly many of their weapons with surprisingly
small losses. In time, we would have learned the secrets behind them
and been able to bolster our defences."
"You speak in riddles General," came the voice from my right again,
"and you speak as if this is no longer true. What has changed?"
This time Dumare reacted, her ears folding backwards and her head
sinking several inches. Anger radiated from every hair in her face.
"Aguna," she said through clenched teeth, "you do not have the word."
I allowed my head to move slightly, getting a somewhat better view of
Xaviera. Twitching her hands in her lap, she sat quietly for a while.
"Than I'll speak plainly Aguna," she said quietly, "there is one single
thing that has changed: the rift closed with more than one third of the
force captured on the other side. We no longer have the troopers
necessary to defend the outlying parts of the empire from the dark
ones."
Noting that Xaviera had not said anything on how or why the rift had
closed, I tried to look gazes with her. She avoided my eyes, but I felt
pity for her so I made up my mind not to reveal it before she did.
Dumare on the other hand looked straight at my face as she spoke.
"This is where this creature comes in?"
Xaviera tried to say something, but her voice did not bear. Instead it
was Kidera who replied;
"Yes, Your Highness. We know he has knowledge in the use of the
weapons, as he was wielding one himself when he was captured. We hope
he has knowledge in the making of the weapons, so we might make our
own. Convincing him to tell us has proved difficult so far however."
Dumare's face grew hard as she spoke next, and I felt my knees almost
give in.
"This creature will talk. We will it so."
I decided I had been silent long enough. It was time to let Xaviera's
sister, and everyone else in the hall for that matter, learn the rules
of war as practised by humans.
«My name is Hans Johansen," I said in a loud and clear voice " I'm a
First Lieutenant in the Royal Norwegian Airforce, service-number
194/030193. And that is all the information you are getting from me."
The buzzing of voices increased in the hall, Kidera shook her head
slightly and Xaviera turned away. Dumare leaned forward, her eyes
meeting mine and holding them.
"We'll have to see about that.» she stated, «This meeting in council
is at an end. This creature is to be brought before us again once we
have refreshed ourselves."
Without any warning I felt two hands grabbing my shoulders, and two
lupas dressed and armed like the guards outside the hall lead me out of
the hall and down another passage. I sighted, as I was lead through a
bewildering maze. That was possible the stupidest thing I had done so
far. I fervently hoped I lived to do something even worse.

32
I blinked in the sudden sunlight. After being kept in a small room that
was barely lit for what had felt like hours, sunlight was the last
thing I had expected. I halted, letting my eyes adjust but stumbled
forwards again when one of the guards prodded my back with her blade.
The garden was fairly large, even thought high walls surrounded it.
Large bushes added to the effect, leaving only narrow walkways between
them. Here and there among the greenery I thought I saw glimpses of
polished brass and red skirts, but since I had six heavily armed guards
surrounding me I was not able to get a good look. When I was pushed
into a clearing in the centre of the garden, all the guards that had
escorted me fell to their knees. One of them tugged at my belt a couple
of times, obviously trying to get me down on my knees as well, but I
ignored her. Sitting on a bench was Dumare, and standing behind her was
Kidera. Both vixens had changed their clothing since I had seen them
last. Kidera had put on a brightly coloured short, armless robe that I
would have considered indecent if a human wore it. Dumare on the other
hand was wearing much the same as Xaviera had done the day before, with
the golden band still around her head.
"You will leave us for the time," Dumare said as she stood up, "we will
call you if there is a need."
The guards inclined their heads and quickly left. Feeling light-headed,
I shrugged and turned around to follow them.
"Not you Hans," I heard Kidera said with a smile in her voice, "her
Highness wishes to speak to you."
Turning back I looked straight at Kidera, pointedly ignoring Xaviera's
sister.
"She might talk for all I care. There are no reasons why I should stop
her."
I looked towards Dumare before I continued, taking care to keep my
fears hidden.
"There are many reasons to why I probably won't reply."
Dumare said nothing, but continued to look at me, occasionally stroking
one hand along the underside of her muzzle. Her ears, which had been
flat against her skull when she had sent the guards away, were starting
to stand up. Faking a yawn, I started to look around, noting several
flashes of red among the vegetation. Clearly, the empress did not trust
me at all. Finally Kidera broke the silence.
"It's considered insulting to turn ones back at the Empress Hans...»
she said softly, just loud enough for me to hear, «just as it's
considered well-behaved to go down on one knee when facing her."
"Really?"
I turned to look at Dumare again, but kept talking to Kidera.
"We, that is my people, considers it impolite to stare. Besides I bow
to no one, neither beggar nor empress."
Looking startled, Dumare took a step backwards and flopped down on the
bench again with her mouth wide open.
"My beloved, if sometimes single-minded, sister told me you was...
different from every other male she ever spent time with. I guess I
didn't guess how much different you would be under your skin."
I flashed her a quick smile and lazily lifted two fingers to my cap,
giving my best officers salute.
"Bang on. I must say your sister is... pretty unique in many ways."
After another awkward silence Dumare spoke again.
"I've ordered you brought here for a reason. As I think you already
knows, you posses knowledge we need. You will give it to us."
I felt a smile growing on my face, but it was a smile without any
humour behind it, only grim determination. This was, I thought, the
beginning of the final battle.
"No," I said, "I won't."
Dumare looked down into her hands for some minutes, as if she could see
something there. I noted her ears flattening again, and when I cast a
glance towards Kidera I saw her flinching nervously.
"I had a long talk with Xav yesterday, and I've promised my sister that
I would ask you nicely first,"
Dumare said when she looked up again, her green eyes looking into mine,
"and after your useful appearance and... behaviour in the High Council
today I'll honour that promise."
I tilted my head, idly wondering what she had meant. Useful behaviour?
Before I had much time to ponder, she spoke again.
"So, will you tell us what you know?"
"Two simple words Dumare;" I said, fighting to keep my voice from
quavering, "up yours."
Both Dumare and Kidera just stared at me, looking lost. Sighting, I
spoke again.
"It means 'no'. Hell might freeze over and pigs will certainly fly, but
I'll never voluntarily betray my country, my people or my oaths."
Kidera looked crestfallen, turning towards Dumare and opened her mouth
as if to speak, but then closed it again.
"I could order you to be tortured until you tell us what we wish."
Dumare's face was hard, her ears flat. The anger in her eyes was more
than matched by the determination I was sure could be seen in mine.
«You could," I admitted as I tightened my fists, "and I could attempt
to snap your neck right here and now."
Kidera's head jerked up, her eyes and mouth wide.
"You would not get out of this garden alive," Dumare calmly stated,
"you might not even get out of this clearing alive."
"But then, neither will you. And since the war between our nations is
still, from a logical point of view, going on, who might blame me for
attacking you?"
I took a deep breath before I continued, my voice dropping to a
whisper.
"All the bridges are burned behind me, all possibilities of retreat
gone. The rift is closed and I am alone on this side without any
allies. So you're right, sister of Xaviera, I might not even get out of
this garden alive. But at the same time you're wrong, because I'm not
certain that I care."
Almost before I had finished speaking two guards appeared on either
side of Dumare. A quick look behind me told me that there was no one
there, at least not yet. When I looked back, Kidera was standing
between Dumare and me.
"Your Highness," she said quickly, "I beg you to reconsider. He might
not talk of his own free will today, but his death will give him what
he obviously wants, to wit: his silenceEEE."
It had been all too simple to take one step forward, slip one hand
around Kidera's body and pin her arms to her sides.
"Call off your guards Dumare," I croaked as I drew Kidera's knife from
her belt and laid the naked blade against her throat, "or you might
have to find yourself a new advisor."
The two guards started to walk towards me, but Dumare held up her hand
when I increased the pressure on the knife. Kidera went rigid in my
grip and the two guards stopped, their gazes going from me to Dumare
and back to me again. For several seconds nobody moved, then Kidera
seemed to relax. I became acutely aware of how warm and soft she was
under my fingers, the short fur on her muzzle brushing against my hand
as she slightly moved her head.
"Xav was quite clear on a few things," Dumare said softly after a
while, "so I don't believe you will use that knife."
Cursing silently, I lowered the knife and made a quick, shallow cut in
Kidera's shoulder.
"I'll use it if I have to," I muttered as blood started running down
the blade of the knife, "but I won't enjoy it."
The two guards pulled their blades, but were stopped by Dumare.
Standing up, she raised her hand and closed her eyes. The fresh wound
closed before my eyes.
"Why even try? You cut, I heal. It's no way you can win."
I shrugged.
"No," I said simply, "it's not a stand-off. Each time you heal, you get
weaker. Xav told me abut magic; it takes as much power to do it with
magic as without."
I closed my mouth, pondering on a sudden insight.
"Logically, that would prevent you from bringing the dead back to
life... it cannot be done without, so it cannot be done with."
Dumare frowned, then hesitantly stepped forward.
"Kill Kidera," she stated, "and you'll beg for death yourself."
I remained silent, my mind racing like mad. Why was it that every time
I acted on impulse, it turned bad?
"Call off your guards, your Highness," I finally croaked, "call them
off and I let Kidera go."
Silence descended again, the only thing I could hear was my own
breathing. Suddenly Kidera's tail came up between my legs, brushing my
back. I swallowed, surprised by it.
"If... if he gives me my knife back," Kidera said softly, "I'll vouch
for his behaviour."
Vouch for me? Was this the same lupa that had repeatedly threatened to
hurt me?
"Call off your guards," I heard my own voice saying, "Kidera's proposal
is acceptable to me."
Dumare looked puzzled, while Kidera's tail kept on brushing my back.
"Do you trust her then," Dumare asked after a long time, "but not me?"
Shaking my head, I smiled grimly.
"In a way I do. I don't trust her not to hurt me, but then she never
tried to hide the fact that she might want to do it. She's been...
honest towards me, even when she had nothing to gain."
After a small eternity, Dumare waved her hand, and the two guards
retreated. When I could no longer see them, I slid the knife back into
the sheath and released Kidera. She stepped away from me, then turned
and studied my face while she idly rubbed her shoulder. Her eyes
flashed, not with anger but with a strange mix of interest and
curiosity.
"You'll pay for this Hans," she said softly, "Xav might not like it,
but you'll pay."
I shrugged.
"I'll probably regret it. But I've done many things I regret the last
few weeks."
Then I heard something behind me and all exploded into black.

33
I slowly resurfaced into a world of hurt. My head felt like I had been
to the mother off all parties, and my throat was as dry as a desert.
Carefully sitting up, I fought an impulse to shake my head. I knew that
it wouldn't help, and probably would make the room spin faster.
Focusing my eyes onto the bed, I suddenly realised I was in the nude.
Whoever it was responsible for getting me into a bed, obviously cared
enough not to let me wear my uniform while sleeping. That could be a
good sign, I decided. Moving my head slowly, I looked about. Still the
same room, for whatever that was worth. Outlined against the window was
a white-furred lupa, but I was unable to judge whether it was Xaviera
or her sister. Feeling my head throb, I lifted my hands and touched my
skull. Much to my surprise, a bandage was around it covering about half
of my skull. There was a large lump under it, flashes of pain radiating
out from it as I touched it. "Det var da som bare faan," I muttered as
gingerly touched the lump again, "det verste er jo at det faktisk
virket som en god ide." The lupa in the window turned at the sound of
my voice and walked towards me. Looking up at her, I spoke carefully.
"Morning general... or whatever time this is."
"So it's 'general' now," Xaviera said softly as she sat down beside me,
" what happened to 'Xav'?"
I shrugged, something that sent fresh flashes of pain through my skull.
"Whatever. I don't think your sister likes me much..." I muttered as I
waited for the pain to subside, "either that or she has strange ways of
showing it."
"You looks are... alien to us. I've got more or less used to your
missing fur, your flat and wide face and the fact that you don't have a
tail. To most other lupas you're scary... maybe reminiscent of death."
Xaviera sighted as she studied me for a few seconds.
"Besides," she added, "you threatened her."
I considered what she had said for several minutes, absentmindedly
pulling the sheet up to my neck.
"I considered it more a statement than a threat," I said, "mainly
intended to keep her from torturing me."
"And Kidera?"
I pondered her seemingly simple question for a long time.
"My people was once more warlike and impulsive than we are today," I
said slowly, "and from those days a great many sagas remain."
She looked at me, obviously unsure of why I was revealing this to her.
"In one of these sagas a man kills his neighbour from behind, and when
he is asked why he says 'Han sto så laglig til for hogg.' I can give
no better reason for what I did towards Kidera."
"You might speak our tongue," Xaviera said carefully, "but I cannot
understand yours."
"Word for word it works out as 'He was standing so convenient for a
stroke.' Kidera just happened to stand in front of me when I wanted to
force your sister to withdraw her guards."
"It didn't work, and Dum just get angrier when someone tries to force
her hand. She would have ordered you to the dungeons at once if Kidera
and I had not..."
She blinked and looked away, not finishing the sentence. I leaned
forward, placing one hand on her leg.
"Xav,» I asked, «what have you done?"
She took a long time before she replied, and I felt a growing fear for
what the answer would be.
"We..." she muttered in a small voice, not looking at me at all, "we
both told Dum that we wish to claim you."
I felt my mouth drop open. Even thought they had mentioned it many
times on the journey, I found myself totally unprepared for it. Before
I knew what to say, Xaviera carried on.
"Kidera was the first. She has not told me why, but I guess she wanted
to keep you from the cells until you regained conciseness."
She turned towards me again, and I closed my mouth.
"Me... I'm not sure why I did it Hans, not after I promised to back
down on the claim before Eastoak."
Looking down, she seemed to notice the hand on her leg for the first
time, and I saw her tail raise slightly.
"Maybe I did it to give you a choice. The tradition says that if two
wants the same male, he has the final word..."
I tried to get my mind around what she was telling me, but I failed.
"I need time to think," I told her as I pulled my hand away, "right now
I'm too starved and too thirsty."
Xaviera nodded, then quickly fetched a covered plate and a water skin.
"I guessed you would be..." she said as she handed it to me, "you been
unconscious for two days. That's one reason I came here."
She said no more as I lifted the covering off the plate, revealing a
healthy portion of bread and cold meat. Xaviera sat in silence as I
ate, alternately looking at her palms and me. When I was almost
finished eating she put her hands down and cleared her throat.
"I've lost three of my better officers yesterday."
I looked at her. Something in her voice told me that she considered it
important, as if she was accusing me.
"Why are you telling me," I asked cautiously, "is that the other reason
you wanted to see me? I was unable to cause it, I was flat on my back."
Sighting, Xaviera placed her hands around mine and looked into my eyes.
The long muzzle, the fur on her face and the unfamiliar angle on the
forehead... still, something inside me moved, wondering what she might
see in my face. I swallowed, and with feigned casualty I spoke up.
"What happened?"
Still looking into my eyes, as if she could see something there,
Xaviera started talking in a low yet penetrating voice.
"There are a group of highly trusted officers in the defence force
tasked with, how shall I say it, unravelling the weapons our troopers
took as spoils from your world."
I attempted to smile.
"Trial and error?"
Tilting her head slightly, I noticed her lips puling away from her
teeth.
"Sorry," I muttered, "it was a bad joke."
I looked down, breaking the eye contact.
"Anyhow," Xaviera continued, "the officers in question was trying to
learn about the green eggs that are thrown in battle. You know, the
ones that are a little larger than my fist and made of some sort of
metal?"
I shuddered involuntarily. Those lupas must have toyed around with what
sounded like a fragmentation grenade. Little wonder they had been lost.
Looking back at Xaviera, I waited for her to go on.
"They went down in the sub-basement early in the day," she said, her
voice unsteady, "and when they did not appear in the evening someone
went down there to look for them. They were still there... what was
left."
She started crying, placing her head on my shoulder. I felt the silky
fur on her muzzle brush my neck as she continued, stuttering.
"It was awful Hans... blood and pieces of flesh... all over..."
I resisted an impulse to stroke her back, instead asking "It was in a
small room, was it not?"
Feeling her muzzle move as she nodded, I shuddered. They must have been
sawed to pieces by fragments and ricochets, not to mention what the
blast in an enclosed space would have done to their internal organs.
The effect must have been almost like a grinder.
"Two of them left mates and pups Hans..." Xaviera said when she finally
calmed down somewhat, "how can you tell a young pup that her mother
will never return?"
I had no idea how to answer that, instead lamely offering
"Maybe one of them got out?"
"They were there Hans," Xaviera hulked over my shoulder, "we found... I
found five hands among the remains."
Five? Then one of them must have been holding it when it went off.
Feeling the meal I had just eaten wanting to come up again, I fought it
down when I tried to think off something to say or do. In the end I
gently put my arms around Xaviera's shoulder and muttered gently into
her ear.
"There was nothing you could have done Xav... nothing."
Lifting her head off my shoulder, she looked straight into my eyes as
she started talking.
"I ordered them to examine the weapons from your world."
Xaviera's voice was barely a whisper and she fought visibly for
control.
"I made the rooms in the basement available and soundproofed so we
might keep this secret, and I suggested they were to start with the
'egg' since it seemed like a simple device. How can I not blame myself
Hans?"
I sighted. One part of me wanted to comfort her, but I was not sure if
I was willing to give in to that part of me yet.
"You... you could blame me," I said slowly, regretting the words almost
before I said them, "if I had revealed what you, Kidera and your sister
wanted to know there would be no need to experiment like that."
Gently she placed one hand under my cheek, turning my face so she might
study it better.
"Some might do, but could I blame you? I think not..." she said at
length, "if we had made you tell us, I fear that I would have lost
you... that the fire inside you burning for what you believe yourself
to be would have gone out."
She held my head a few seconds longer before she stood up. Turning
away, she looked at me for a long time.
"I'll tell Kidera that you're awake..."
Her tail hanging down, she left the room.

34
After Xaviera had left I quickly dressed and walked over to the window.
Standing still, I stared out for a long time pondering the latest twist
of fate. I believed Xaviera might return or that Kidera might turn up,
but as the shadows started growing longer I grew slightly nervous. From
the direction of the two large structures I had noticed before weak
sounds of drums could be heard tapping out a slow and alien rhythm.
Placing my hands on the narrow windowsill, I closed my eyes and started
to review everything I had done since I had made that fateful decision
after the lupa had attacked the airbase I was stationed at. Ignoring
that decision, I searched my action for any flaws, anything I could
have done better. The rash attack once I realised I was discovered had,
I saw in perfect hindsight, dictated much of what I had done
afterwards. Ignoring the fact that humans should be rational animals, I
had acted mainly on impulse. The only exceptions I could see was my
refusal to engage emotionally with my captors, even if that refusal was
more of personal reasons than any clearly thought out plan. As the
first stars came out, I reached a decision. From this point onwards, I
promised myself, I would at least try to consider the implications of
my actions. It was unlikely to improve upon my fate, but I felt
comfortable with it nevertheless.
I turned around as I heard the door swing open. Kidera was standing in
the doorway, looking tired.
"Come," she said as I faced her, "Dumare wishes to speak with you
again."
"And if I refuse?"
I had smiled as I asked, partly to be contrary. Kidera tilted her head
ever so slightly, her eyes lighting up.
"If you refuse you will still have to speak with her," she said as she
stepped into the room, " but your entrance will be with less style."
I shrugged and started walking towards the door.
"I had... excepted you shortly after Xaviera left." I said as I drew
level with her.
"I wished to speak with you in private," she said as she turned towards
the door, "but the business of the council must precede my own. Aguna
called a meeting just as Xav reached me."
Walking through the doorway, I immediately noted that the usual
troopers were gone, replaced be four of the guards with brass armour
and red shirts but strangely enough without any weapons. Two of them
started walking before Kidera and me, and two behind. Trying to figure
out what was supposed to happen, I looked at the vixen.
"Aguna?"
Kidera did not reply at once, then leaned towards me and whispered into
my ear.
"She is representing the traders in the council. She might be seen as
the leader of the councillors that oppose the Empress and Xaviera.
Today they seem to outnumber those of us that support the current
politics."
I let myself be led through a bewildering array of passages while I
pondered. Clearly Dumare was not the supreme ruler I had guessed that
she was, and that might explain in part why I had felt like an actor in
a barely instructed play when I had been brought before her in the
great hall. Shaking my head to clear my mind, I indicated the two
guards walking in front of us.
"What happened to the usual troopers," I asked Kidera, "and who are
these?"
"Her Highness orders," Kidera replied at once, "after you... attacked
me, you are to go nowhere in the castle without an escort she can
trust. The guards in red are the Empress' personal guards."
"I see," I muttered, "but why don't they carry arms?"
This time it was no mistaking the tone in Kidera's voice, she was
clearly enjoying herself.
"Xav's orders. She insisted they must be unarmed, since each time you
have tried to fight or escape so far you have somehow managed to get
hold of a blade."
I nodded, then walked in silence for a while staring at the floor under
us. My black leather boots seemed large and massive next to the
fur-clad but unshod feet of the lupas around me.
"Kidera," I muttered as we stopped before a solid wooden door, "I'm...
I really am sorry about your shoulder. You were simply a target of
opportunity."
Looking at me for what felt like an eternity, she slowly started to wag
her tail behind her. It made shivers run up and down my spine.
"It's alright," she said softly, "I'll get even with you. No one draws
my blood without me drawing their blood in return."
"I'll...» I softly said as I raised my hand and stroked the cuts she
had left upon my chin, «remember that."
Her jaw dropped slightly, then she snapped it shut and pushed the heavy
door open.
The room was much smaller than the great hall; in fact it was barely
larger than the room I was kept in. I instantly saw Dumare sitting in a
comfortable chair, busily talking in a hushed voice with her sister
standing next to her. Xaviera looked as tired as Kidera had looked, her
tail and shoulders sagging down. Dumare indicated a bench in front of
her, and I cautiously sat down. Xaviera promptly sat herself on my left
side, and Kidera lowered herself down on my right.
"Hans, wasn't it?"
Dumare looked straight at me as she spoke, something resembling a smile
playing along her alien lips. Nodding, I kept my mouth closed.
"There must be something very peculiar about you..." she continued,
"considering that both my most trusted advisor and my sister wishes to
claim you."
Carefully considering my words, I wondered how to reply.
"So I'm told. What happens if I do not choose any of them?"
As I said it, both Kidera and Xaviera laid their hands on my legs. I
decided to ignore it, concentrating instead on Dumare. "Tradition
demands that you choose..." she started, but then paused, tilting her
head slightly, "But then, you have no chance of knowing our traditions,
have you?"
Shrugging, I shifted slightly as I replied.
"Of course I haven't. Just as you are ignorant of our traditions and
laws, I'm ignorant of yours."
"Then I won't be heartless. Usually an answer is expected within a
week, but I'll let you wait until this confrontation within the high
council is dealt with. You might be more useful to me if you're not
connected to me."
"I think your Highness is misunderstanding what I meant..." I said
carefully, "what happens if I never chooses one of them?"
Dumare looked quizzically at me for a long time.
"They're among the most powerful lupas in the empire. Why would you
refuse them?"
"I'm no lupa," I coldly told her as I lifted the vixens' hands of my
legs, "therefore you are not required to understand my logic."
I thought for a second, before I added.
"How come I'm useful for you in this council of yours?"
There was a long silence, and then Kidera started talking.
"There are some in the high council that do not like Dumare's current
politics. They feels that it is... to controlling."
"And the weakening of the armed forces gives them the opening they
want," Xaviera added, "so unless we can strengthen our defence force
again really fast..."
"Aguna argues that a weaker defence force might not be able to keep the
roads free,» Xaviera said as she sighted, «so she wants the high
council to allow traders to arm themselves."
I shrugged, indicating that I did not really care.
"Several of the regional matriarchs wishes to increase the militia as
well," Kidera added, "several of the towns on the great plain have sent
their petitions to the high council."
Standing up, Dumare started to pace the room, her tail moving
restlessly. Without taking her eyes of her sister Xaviera leaned her
head on my shoulder.
"I can not allow any of this to happen," Dumare stated as she walked
back and forth, "to many blades at one time and the empire we serve
drowns in blood."
Suddenly Dumare stopped right in front of me.
"That's why even someone as alien, as frightening and as insignificant
as you suddenly are important to us," she said slowly, "even without
recognised honour, without a lineage, you possess information we
require."
There was something in her voice that worried me. Carefully pushing
Xaviera away, ruffling her fur under my fingers, I straightened up.
Keeping my voice calm and low, I asked: "You're about to ask me to
betray my oaths and the land of my fathers again ain't you?"
Dumare looked at me for a moment with her green eyes, then turned away.
"The rift is closed," she said softly, "the ones you swore your oath to
will not know that is has been broken."
"I will know," I muttered defiantly, "and I only got Xav's and Kidera's
word that the rift can't be reopened."
Dumare did not answer at once, and when she finally did reply her voice
was hard and cold.
"Then you still refuse us what we require?"
Scratching my beard as I took a deep breath, I pondered the
implications of my next step. It would surely bring me deeper into
trouble, but it might just let me keep my oaths.
"Of course I do," I said standing up, noting how Dumare stiffened,
"since when did a elephant move out of an ants way?"
"What?"
Dumare's face lost much of it hardness, and her long jaw dropped
slightly. I turned my head, looking at Kidera and Xaviera as well. Both
vixens looked perplexed, Kidera slowly moving her jaws as if she was
repeating what I had said in an attempt to understand what I had meant.
"One thing is sure at least," I muttered as I turned back to Dumare,
"you lupas really have troubles with metaphors."
None of the vixens replied to this, so I carried on, trying to get them
to understand how a human saw things.
"There are several reasons why I can't nor won't reveal the information
you wish for. Firstly, under all international laws, I'm not required
to reveal more than my name, my rank and my service-number."
Breathing deeply, I carried on.
"Secondly, I once gave my oath that I would never reveal anything an
enemy might benefit from. Thirdly, under Norwegian law I would be a
quisling if I did so."
"Quisling?"
Kidera's voice was low, yet carried well in the almost complete silence
that filled the room.
"Traitor," I muttered, "the word comes from the name of the biggest
traitor we had in Norway during the last major war... he was a retired
officer, and he sold his soul and our nation to the attackers... even
acting as their puppet and ruling Norway as a dictator and usurper..."
Almost without noticing I had started to shake, partly in anger and
partly in fear.
"If there is one single thing I do not wish for," I muttered as Xaviera
seized my arm in a firm, yet gentle grip, "then it is that my name
becomes another word for renegade or traitor."
Again silence descended in the room.
"Kidera," Dumare said after a long time, "you know where to take him."
Kidera stood up next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"You can't do this Dum," Xaviera almost shouted, "you promised me you
wouldn't!"
I looked at Kidera and then over at the door. Kidera nodded and we
started walking, leaving Xaviera and Dumare arguing. As I was lead down
a sloping corridor, I worked up enough courage to ask Kidera where she
was escorting me. At first she didn't reply, but finally she muttered
with her face turned away.
"Her Highness has ordered the old chambers to be reopened and prepared.
I really wish you wouldn't have let it come to this."
I smiled, but without any happiness behind it.
"I'm bound by my oaths Kidera. Besides, you have told me on a number of
times you believed you could enjoy this kind of situation."
Stopping abruptly, Kidera studied my face
 "I... I meant that Hans," she said sadly, "but that would be in
privacy, and for the pleasure of it. Besides, I will only be watching
tonight, making sure they don't go to far."
I shivered. Kidera turned and starting walking again, the two guards
behind me pushing me along.

35
Laying splayed out on the floor I groggily looked up at Dumare as black
dots swam before my eyes. Her mouth was moving, noises buzzed in my
ears, but I did not connect the two until I had stared at her for a
long time. It took even longer before I realized she was talking to me.
"So you still do not wish to talk? Xav will be most disappointed."
I tried to reply, but the only sound I managed to get through my
swollen lips was a hoarse groan. Dumare bent down over me, studying my
beaten face. Moving my torso slightly to so I could keep my good eye on
her, sharp flashes of pain exploded in my broken arms and legs. My
chest ached as I drew breath, and I guessed most of my ribs were
broken. I coughed, spraying fine droplets of blood over Dumare's arm
and legs.
"Has he said anything," Dumare asked as she turned towards Kidera,
"anything at all?"
I could not see Kidera from where I laid on the floor, but even if I
was far away I could hear the strain in her voice.
"Nothing, your Highness," she said slowly, "even if he did scream
much... particularly when they broke every bone in his hand..."
Kidera's voice trailed off and I lowered my head onto the floor. The
coldness of the stone was a pleasant change from the dull pain that
filled my body. During the night four guards had taken turns on me,
beating me, breaking both my arms and my left leg, kicking my sides as
I laid huddled on the floor. The thing that had hurt most thought was
that throughout the night Kidera had been standing against one wall,
obviously agitated but without saying anything to stop them.
Dumare laid her hand on my shoulder, and I winced in pain at her touch.
"We can make the pain go away," she said softly as she stroked her hand
over my raw back, "you know we can. Just tell me what I want to hear."
'To late,' I thought to myself, 'had you given me that option while
they were busy with me I would have taken it. Now I've come to far to
give in... to make my suffering a waste.'
Forcing myself to ignore the throbbing pain for a few seconds, I
motioned her to come closer with my remaining good hand. I swallowed a
few times, forcing my throat and jaws to work.
"Empress Dumare," I whispered indistinctly, my jaw hurting like hell,
"you may eat my shorts for all that I care."
She looked curiously at me.
"Eat your..." she started to ask as I coughed again, this time spraying
her long muzzle and high brow with my blood. Dumare stood up abruptly,
and I slowly closed my eyes.  The pains seemed less intense now, no
longer like white-hot needles through my nerves.
"So you say he just screamed?"
Dumare's voice sounded far off.
"He did try to sing your Highness..." I heard Kidera said, "but then
your guards dislocated his jaw."
"Sing?"
I drifted off into darkness before I cold hear Kidera's reply.
I knew I was falling with great speed, even if I could neither see nor
hear anything. I tried to speak, but no sound could be heard. I
shuddered as I spread my arms and legs to catch the wind, but then I
realised that there was no wind. No light, no sound, no wind, and still
I knew I was falling. Tumbling through the inky void, I waited. From
time to time a weak blue colour was felt rather than seen.
'There is a word for it,' a voice I recognised as my memory said after
a while, 'it's what you get when there's nothing left and everything
has been used up.'
'Yes,' my mind said with another voice, this one sounding younger, 'I
think it's called the bill.'
I smiled to myself, recognising the phrase from a book I once read.
Still I fell, but gradually I started to sense that someone else was
close by. I tried to look around, but the darkness was as absolute as
if light had never existed. Devoid of any clues, I tried to wrap my
mind around the presence I felt, wanting to learn more.
'Predator.'
The word silently appeared in my head like the first snow, bringing
chilly knowledge. Other words and concepts soon followed.
'Sometimes scavenger.'
'Shy.'
'Searching.'
I pondered. Each word matched the presence I felt, in ways I could not
explain.
'Stealthy.'
'Proud.'
'Gentle.'
Faster and faster I knew more about what was out there, beyond the
range of my senses.
'Leader.'
'Hungry.'
'Searching.'
I felt the last pieces snap into position just as the knowledge
appeared in my mind.
'Brætàs.'
'Searching for me.'
'Trying to keep her people alive.'
I wondered. Why would she have to look for me? She could keep an eye on
me through the medallion couldn't she? The medallion she had given me
and I wore around my... I froze, suddenly realising that they might
have taken it away from me as they were torturing me. I made a grab
towards my chest with my hand.
I awoke screaming as bone moved against bone in my lower arm. Breathing
heavily, I tried to calm down. When the pain had subsided, I tried to
work out my surroundings. Flat on my back, I had been moved from the
floor and onto a hard, lumpy mattress. Still the same room, as far as I
could tell. In the barely lit cell I saw something move in the corner
of my eye. Slowly moving my head to take a closer look, I noted as my
gaze travelled over my body that somebody had put my lower arms in
splints. Peering into the gloom, I could not see what had attracted my
attention at first. Then there was another movement, and suddenly
darkness and shadows resolved themselves into a lupa huddled against
the wall. I studied him slowly. A male, with fur that was almost black
and hair that matched. He was shaking visible with his tail sticking
out between his knees, hugging the wall as if he tried to push his back
into it. I tried to smile, but my gesture did not seem to make any
difference. For some reason this irritated me.
"So why are you here," I snapped, the pain in my jaw making my voice
harsher than I had intended, "to have fun watching the stranger form
another word?"
Slowly he walked closer, his knees trembling like mad.
"N-n-no," he stuttered, "I was s-s-sent to t-tend your wo-wounds."
As he came closer I took a closer look at him. His muzzle was shorter
than most lupas I had seen so far, and his fur was specked with grey
hairs.
"So why was you trying to claw your way through the wall then?"
I grimaced as I spoke, my jaw hurting like nothing I've ever had
experienced before.
"Y-y-you screamed..." he muttered apologetically as he fell to his
knees and lowered his head, "even if t-t-they said you was p-p-put to
sleep with magic."
"Who?"
The pain made me clip my questions short, making me appear angrier than
I was.
"T-t-the guards t-t-that fetched me."
I lay quietly for some time, considering this latest piece of
information. Finally I forced myself to sound less harsh.
"Are you finished?"
"N-n-no," he said, sounding surprised, "I s-s-still has to s-s-secure
the s-splint on your arm."
"Can you do it from down there?"
I tried to bring a little warmth into my voice. If somebody cared
enough to send someone to tend to my injuries, I would probably live a
little longer. Still shaking, he nevertheless got up and started
securing the splint, all the time keeping an eye on my face, looking
like he was ready to bolt at the slightest motion.
After a long time he stepped back and spoke again.
"I'm d-done."
"That's good," I told him slowly, "How long do you reckon it will take
before they heal?"
He looked at me, then transferred his gaze to the floor.
"I d-don't know," he said softly, "usually a s-splint is just t-there
until a m-m-magicuser can heal t-the bone."
Taking another step backwards, he started shaking violently.
"P-please..." he stuttered, "d-don't kill me. I have p-pups t-to raise
home... my m-mate was k-k-killed beyond..."
I just stared at him for a long time.
"Why on earth should I kill you," I said at length, "if I could that
is?"
"T-t-they say y-you drink b-blood..." he stuttered, "t-they say y-y-you
have k-k-killed more t-than t-t-three t-thousand troopers w-when they
w-went t-through the rift..."
Wanting to laugh, I suppressed the urge.
"They lie," I told the shaking figure, "I didn't defeat more than one
lupa I know for certain and she still lives."
His shaking did not stop, but he lifted his head and looked straight at
me, disbelief in his eyes.
"Now, if your finished," I said softly, "would you be so good as to
find either Kidera or Xaviera and send them down? I want to talk to
them."
He almost recoiled.
"Me? T-talk to t-the highest t-t-trusted counsellor and t-t-the General
of t-the D-defence f-f-force?"
"Yes," I said, "it's really easy. You just open your mouth and words
come forth."
He stood as if he was rooted to the spot. I was starting to get
irritated; the throbbing pain in my entire body did nothing to help.
"Or I might be lusting for more blood," I said sharply, "it's your
choice."
He was out of the door almost before I had finished speaking. I laid my
head backwards and stared at the roof above me. There was something I
ought to remember, I knew, something about Brætàs.

36
Silence rang in my ears when I opened my eyes. Darkness. Total
darkness. I tried opening my eyes again. Still darkness and I wasn't
sure I had eyes to see with anymore. I wanted to scream, but no sound
emerged. I tried flexing my arms and legs, but my mind went numb as I
realised that I had neither arms nor legs. Panic filled my mind,
drowning it with white-hot static. I mentally battered against it,
fighting to find a way out. Slowly, step by minute step, I managed to
get my control back, but continued to search my mental enclosure for
any crack or weakness. I knew deep inside that there had to be a way
out. There? Was that the way out? Could I... What was that?
Something... touched me?
I opened my eyes as I felt two warm hands grab my face, holding around
my swollen jaw. Xaviera was leaning over me, her long white hair
hanging lose framing her face. A brief tingling, and I felt the pain in
my jaws lessen. As I started to thank her she silenced me, placing he
finger over my lips.
"Shhh," she whispered, "just... just be quiet while I see what I can...
can do."
She seemed to have trouble with her footing as she knelt down, taking
my right hand in hers. The pain as bone ground against bone made me
gasp for air, and I noticed a smell I could not place at once. It was
strangely familiar, and seemed to be out of place for some reason. I
glanced down at Xaviera. She had closed her eyes and was breathing
evenly, but I could not sense any reaction in my hand. Suddenly she
giggled, sending shivers down my spine.
"What's..." I said as I lifted my head slightly to look at her, "what's
so funny?"
"Nothing..." she said slowly without looking at me, "except that this
would be... would be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of you.
Maybe I... I should do that first?"
She turned her head and looked straight at me, her eyes slightly
unfocused. The pieces slowly fell into place, like continental drifting
in reverse; her trouble with her footing, the suddenly recognised smell
and her eyes all pointed towards an inevitable conclusion.
"Xav," I asked softly, "have you been drinking?"
She giggled again, laying her head on my side.
"Yes," she murmured, "I was... I was feeling quite angry and very
alone"
She let go of my hand and ran her hand over my side.
"You... disapprove?"
I noticed the slight change in her voice. "No," I said after a short
pause, "in fact I could need a little distraction from the pain
myself."
She just laid still for a long time, a strange smile playing over her
inhuman lips.
"Oh..." she muttered as she straightened up, "I guess you didn't mean
that kind of distraction."
Taking my hand in hers again, she closed her eyes and hunched forward.
After a few seconds I felt a week tingling spreading from my
fingertips, gradually replacing the pain. I lowered my head and
relaxed, trying to bring back the moment where I had almost found a way
out of the darkness of my dream. Something told me I had almost
stumbled over something important, that there was a pattern I ought to
recognise. Xaviera sighted, bringing me out of my contemplation.
"I'm too tired..." she muttered and dropped my hand, "if I'm to get you
back in shape I'll... I'll fall asleep right here."
She burped gently as she rose unsteadily.
"I don't think Dum will like that... I don't think I'll like that
either."
Looking away, I closed my eyes as an old memory rose unasked in the
depth of my mind.
"At least you came when I needed you...» I muttered, «that's more
than Tina did..."
Blinking rapidly, I fought back my tears.
"Maybe..." Xaviera said, obviously not listening to what I said, "do
you think you can walk?"
I shook my head.
"I think my leg has been and gone."
Seeing her puzzled looks, I explained.
"It's broken."
Smiling faintly as she pulled me up from the hard bench, Xaviera rubbed
her muzzle against my arm.
"Sometimes you say things...» she said carefully, «I understand every
word, but I can't... I can't see how they fit in."
Placing one arm around my waist, she draped my partly healed arm over
her shoulders and started walking slowly towards the door. I had to
lean on her and skip on my good leg to keep up, each small jump sending
a shudder through me. Slowly we worked our way throughout the winding
passages, often stopping to rest. Xaviera's condition did little to
improve our pace, but at least she had stopped giggling by the time we
reached a door that she opened and helped me into the room beyond.
I looked around. The room was spacious, and a row of windows along the
far wall let the light of the sunset into the room. A couple of more
doors could be seen on the other walls. Looking down on Xaviera I spoke
for the first time since we had left the cell.
"I believed you was taking me to the room I was kept in before."
Guiding me down on a low, well-padded bench, she shook her head
slightly.
"Why should I," she said softly as she ran her fingers through my
beard, "I prefer sleeping here."
I shuddered slightly and did not reply. Xaviera poured an amber liquid
from a small amphora into a wide bowl, then drank deeply. The smell was
unmistakable; brandy. Refilling the bowl, she held it out towards me.
"I can't take it," I said quietly, "my arms and hand are broken,
remember?"
Sighting, she put the bowl down and sat next to me.
"I remember," she murmured as she picked up my mangled hand again, "I
just thought that maybe a few bowls might... but then, you wouldn't
have let me anyway."
Her voice carried a note of sadness, but I was to busy feeling bad for
myself to offer her much sympathy. Closing her eyes, she leaned her
head on my shoulder as the tingling once again spread in my hand. After
a long time she let go of my hand, but kept leaning heavily towards me.
I tried flexing my fingers, not feeling any pain as I did so. For the
first time since I had been taken to see Dumare the first time I felt
joyous. Carefully I moved my arm, draping it over her shoulders and
giving Xaviera a gently hug.
"Thank you," I murmured, "it's amazing what you can do with that
magic."
Xaviera slid her arms around my chest as she murmured slowly.
"I'm tired Hans, tired and a little drunk. I need some rest before I
can heal your other injuries."
For reasons I did not know myself, I lowered my head to hers, leaning
my forehead onto hers so my nose rested on her muzzle.
"Take your time," I whispered, "I don't plan on going anywhere."
"Neither did I," she murmured softly, "but then a guard found a very
frightened male standing outside..."
She pulled herself closer, pulling her legs up under her on the bench.
Her tail moved from side to side, brushing my arm lightly from time to
time.
"Once I heard you wanted me..." she continued, "I hoped you meant
wanted... and not wanted..."
I remained silent, uncertain whether she really meant it or if it was
the alcohol that was talking. Pulling herself together, she
straightened up. Lifting my leg into her lap, she clasped her hands
around the splinter and sighted. When she closed her eyes, I reached
out and picked up the bowl she had offered to me. Holding it under my
nose, I inhaled deeply.
"Mmm," I murmured as the now familiar tingling spread through my leg,
"this smells like good stuff."
"The best."
Xaviera's voice sounded far off and preoccupied. I carefully sipped the
amber liquid, letting it roll around in my mouth.
"It reminds me of cognac," I said softly as I swallowed, "but somewhat
fruitier and with more kick."
Gently pushing my leg down on the floor Xaviera reached out and
snatched the bowl away from me, draining it. She pointed towards the
amphora, and I reached out and handed it to her. Discarding the bowl,
she opened her jaws and bit down around the slender neck of the clay
vessel. Tilting her head back, I saw her throat ripple as she
swallowed.
"Eh..." I said carefully, "I really think that isn't very wise... How
much have you really been drinking today?"
Dropping the empty amphora on the floor, she looked unsteadily at me
and shrugged.
"I'm not sure," she whispered groggily as she leaned towards me,
locking her arms around my chest, "three or four amphorae I guess."
She pressed herself closer to me, her hands causing dozens of small
wounds on my back to reopen.
"Hold me Hans," she whispered pleadingly, "even if you won't do... or
can't do anything... just hold me tight tonight..."
I placed my good arm around her again and held her head against my
chest. After a few minutes she started snoring, her hot breath washing
over my face. I remained still, my mind working on other issues. What
was it I had to remember? I knew it involved Brætàs in some way.

37
Carrying Xaviera to bed with one broken arm had been difficult, but I
managed without waking her. I stood motionless above her recumbent form
on the bed until the darkness made it hard to see, then I made my way
back to the main room of her suite and laid down on the bench. If I
dreamed anything, it was gone when I awoke. Predawn light filled the
room, and I sat up on the bench and stared at the wall as I pondered
over the previous day. Had Xaviera told anyone that she had taken me
away from the cell? Not that I knew about. Had she told anyone that she
was going down there? Considering how drunk she had been, I guessed
that she had not done that either. So... when Kidera or someone else
entered the cell, they might believe that I had escaped in spite of my
condition. That could be both good and bad, I thought, all depending on
who found out that I was gone. Sighting, I walked softly over to
Xaviera's bed. She was laying on her side, curled up, and with her tail
draped over herself. Sitting down on the very edge of the large bed, I
reached out carefully and softly stroked her long white hair. Biting my
lower lip, I then moved my trembling hand to her side, marvelling at
how soft her short fur felt under my fingers.
"Hadde du vært våken Xav," I whispered softly, "så hadde jeg aldri
våget å gjøre dette."
I blinked a couple of times and looked away.
"Og hadde du forstått norsk," I continued, "så ville jeg aldri i
verden våget å si høyt at både du og Kidera får ting til å røre
på seg som jeg trodde jeg hadde mistet for lenge siden."
There was knocking at the door. Almost before I had heard it I was on
my feet, looking for a way out. A doorway closed with a simple curtain
seemed like the logical choice, so I dived inside as I heard the door
open.
"Xav?" Kidera's voice called out; "You awake?"
I heard her soft footsteps coming closer, obviously moving toward the
bed.
"Xav," she said again, "you must wake up. He has somehow managed to
escape."
I smiled to myself, then looking around in the small room. No other
doors or windows, only a nightstand. I felt my smile fade away. Seemed
like I had placed myself in a trap. Putting my ear to the curtain again
I heard Xaviera grunted something I could not make out, but it sounded
like a question.
"I don't now how," Kidera replied, moving around the room judging from
the sound, "he was gone when the guards arrived this morning. Dumare is
sealing of the inner city to prevent him from running away."
There was a sound of pottery falling onto stone, and then Kidera called
out.
"How much did you really drink last night? There are half a dozen
amphorae here..."
"Three or four I remember," Xav muttered, "but he can't be gone... he
was here last night, holding me as I went to sleep... wasn't he?"
There was a sound of shuffling feet.
"I think you must have imagined it Xav, three or four amphorae might
make you see things..."
"But... but..." Xaviera's voice trailed off, then came back stronger,
"can't you smell him?"
There was a long, drawn out pause.
"You're right," Kidera muttered at last, "even through the smell of
drink his smell is strong."
I cursed beneath my breath, then peered through the curtain. They were
both standing in the outer room, with their backs against me. Walking
as softly as I managed with my heavy boots, I moved towards them. I was
halfway there when they both turned towards me.
"Damn," I said smiling, "I had hoped to surprise you both."
"Did you?" Kidera said after a little while, "Why?"
I looked at her blankly, my train of thought derailed.
"Never mind," Kidera continued, "we better go and see Dum before she
does something... unwise."
I looked at myself, noting how badly the last night had treated my
uniform.
"Dressed like this?» I asked softly, «The... hospitality I received
last night has utterly ruined my uniform."
Running my healed hand across my tattered uniform, I continued.
"See? The trousers are riddled with tears and rifts, and my jacket is
more or less a collection of holes. Even my T-shirt is fubar."
The two vixens looked at me, then at each other.
"T-shirt?" Xaviera asked at almost the same time as Kidera said
"Fubar?"
"My undergarment," I explained, "is fucked up beyond recognition."
Kidera frowned.
"Fucked up? I understand every word, but..."
"You don't understand what I mean. It's a way of saying 'very
destroyed'."
I shrugged and scratched my beard. Xaviera stared at the floor, while
Kidera gazed at me.
"Yes," she said, making the word sound three times longer than usual,
"I think you must talk to Dumare even if your clothes are a mess."
She came closer, running a finger lightly over the splinter on my left
arm.
"It might make this easier."
Xaviera slid her arm around my waist as I was being led through the
corridors once again.
"Tell me one thing Hans," she said softly, "who's Tina?"
I stopped dead in my tracks, looking straight at Xaviera's eyes. "Where
did you hear that name?"
I asked bluntly. Xaviera held my gaze for several seconds before she
looked down.
"I know I was... intoxicated," she whispered as one of the guards
prodded me, "but I recall you mentioned that name last night."
I nodded slowly, then shrugged. I was stranded among strangers, so it
did not matter.
"She was a girl I once knew. She meant very much to me... I thought I
meant as much to her as well. I was mistaken."
I shook my head sadly, then turned towards the guard who prodded me
again.
"Stop bugging me..." I snapped as I looked at her, my voice trailing of
as I recognised her. "You're the one who used the cat-o-nines, aren't
you?"
The guard shook her head, while I saw Xaviera tense in the corner of my
eye.
"Yes you are," I continued slowly, "tan fur, black spot over your right
eye and short brown hair... I recognise that face everywhere."
The guard dropped her eyes to the floor. "Forgive me," she muttered,
"but I was only following orders."
"They said that at Nürnberg as well, " I said as I shook my head, "but
it didn't help them either."
Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I looked around and saw Kidera.
"The Empress is waiting," she reminded me, "and you better not get her
impatient."
Shrugging, I turned and started walking again. As we entered Dumare's
suite, I saw her sitting in front of the fireplace again, toying with a
medallion I instantly recognised.
"That is my medallion," I said before she even had opened her mouth,
"and I would like it back."
Xaviera's grip on my arm tightened, and I heard Kidera gasp.
"Do you really?"
Dumare smiled at me as she put it away under her brightly coloured
tunic. I remained calm, even though I raged on the inside. Walking up
to me, she seemed to study me for a long time.
"We'll talk about it later. Now, we believed you had managed to
escape," she said as she sat down again, "even if you were severely
injured. What happened?"
I smiled grimly but remained silent.
"I found him in Xav's suite," Kidera injected, "but I don't know how he
got there."
Dumare glanced at her sister, but Xaviera simply held my arm tight with
both hands, pressing her muzzle close to the torn cloth of my uniform.
"He needed me," she said in a small voice after some time, "how could I
refuse him?"
Dumare threw her hands up.
"Fine," she muttered as her ears flattened, "never mind that you ruined
our best hope of making him talk without torturing him any more."
I looked first at Dumare, then over to Kidera.
"Dumare had plans to heal you," Kidera said softly as she stroke one
hand over my still bandaged left arm, "and she hoped you would be
grateful enough to talk, to tell us how to use the weapons we have
conquered."
I opened my mouth to reply, but Xaviera beat me to it.
"I... I think you was mistaken in assuming that he would dear sister,"
she said as she straitened up, "the only result would have been that he
would have suffered the entire night."
Letting go of my arm, she shuffled over to a chair and sat down.
Leaning her head on her hands, she spoke slowly, as if to drive home a
point.
"I like to believe we're too civilised to let anybody suffer because
they keep their oaths, whether their oaths suit us or not."
Kidera sat down in the remaining chair, looking closely at me.
"I'll grant you that Hans," she said as she pulled her legs up under
her and draped her tail across her lap, "you keep on surprising me with
your resilience."
I shrugged.
"I'm sorry I can't help you," I said softly as I smiled weakly, "but
the last few days have only served to harden my decision."
I noted that both Dumare and Xaviera closed their eyes, looking
concentrated. I glanced at Kidera.
"Mindspeak I believe," she whispered, "at least I guess that's what
their doing."
"Magic?"
Kidera just nodded to my question.
"Tell me one thing Hans," Dumare said softly after some time, "you say
you will not tell us what we wishes to know. What if we could find out
without you telling us?"
I was puzzled.
"Eh..." I said, "are you referring to the officers Xav told me about?
The ones that ble... died?"
In the corner of my eye I saw Xaviera shudder as I mentioned it.
"In that case I can only quote a song from my world;" I continued,
"playing with fire gonna get you hot, playing with guns gonna get you
shoot."
All three vixens looked at each other, then back at me.
"Your speech is full off riddles," Dumare said after I while, "but I'm
not taking about the ones that laid down their life."
She stood up and came towards me, suddenly looking much more alien and
wolfish.
"I'm talking about gaining your knowledge by magical means," she said
in a hard voice, "I talk about reading your mind."

38
I stepped backwards as I raised my hand in front of me.
"Uh-uh," I breathed, "I don't want that at all."
I paused as my back touched the cold stones of the wall.
"Clearly you understand that I must do what I can to stop you
Dumare..."
I tensed as Dumare came closer.
"Why?" she asked softly, "You won't tell me anything... I'll just read
it out of your mind."
Dumare's green eyes seemed to glow as she looked up into my face.
"No..." I whispered, "I can't allow you to do that."
"Why not Hans?" Kidera said as she stood up, "You get to keep your
oaths, we get the knowledge that you possess..."
"I might keep the wording of my oath," I said slowly as I tried to find
a way out, "but if I co-operate I will most certainly break the
intentions of the oath."
I edged along the wall towards a window.
"Disclosure is disclosure, no matter how it's disclosed."
Dumare reached out, but I side-stepped and evaded her arm easily.
"Please Hans," Kidera pleaded as she blocked my way, "it won't hurt at
all. You'll hardly notice that it is happening, most of the time the
one being read just see flashes of his memory speed past."
"Sure..." I muttered as I considered making a mad dash for the door,
"so how can I be sure one of you bitches hasn't already done it?"
"It's not that easy," Dumare said softly as she inched closer,
"physical contact makes the reading easier, or if the magic-user is
closely attached to the..."
She snapped her jaws shut, her eyes darting towards Xaviera. Suddenly I
understood what was going on. Xaviera had not moved the entire time,
except that her tongue hung out. Her eyes were closed, and
concentration was written in every feature.
"You bastards!" I said with feeling, "You utter, complete bastards!"
Both Kidera and Dumare looked shocked. "But my parents were..."
Kidera got no further before I was next to Xaviera, lifting my healed
arm towards the ceiling. My hand was halfway through its arch as it hit
the side of Xaviera's head, sending her tumbling out of the chair and
onto the floor. She opened her eyes and looked bewildered at me. Behind
me was the silken sound of someone drawing a blade. Breathing hard to
control my anger I stared at the figure crumpled on the floor before
me.
"General Xaviera," I growled, "you just misused every little bit of
trust I had in you. I hope you're pleased with that."
Something sharp poked me in my back, but I ignored it as I kept staring
at Xaviera. She looked at me with wide-open eyes, then hid her eyes in
her hands and folded up completely. Her tail crept between her legs and
her ears hung as she sobbed quietly. I turned my back towards her, and
faced Kidera instead. Glancing down at the blade she held against my
stomach, I shrugged.
"Use it," I said slowly as I stared down into her eyes, "or lose it.
I'm getting tired of this game."
"You did cut me..."
Kidera sounded uncertain, as if she was not sure what just had
happened. Her ears twitched, and I noticed a small tremor along her
muzzle.
"True," I whispered as I leaned slightly forward so the point of her
knife almost cut my skin, "and you sliced my cheek. You attacked me
from behind on the day I was captured. You could have stopped the
guards yesterday, but you didn't. You let them tear my uniform to
pieces, and me with it."
I took a deep breath, feeling the point of her knife dig into my skin,
before I continued.
"But you're right Kidera, I did inflict a minor wound on your shoulder.
A minor wound which, I might add, Dumare healed at once."
Kidera's eyes widened, then there was the sound of her knife hitting
the flagstones. I blinked, and then looked at the half a dozen heavily
armed guards that suddenly had appeared in the room.
I stood motionless for several minutes. The only sound that could be
heard in the room was Xaviera, sobbing softly.
"Give in Hans," Kidera sighted as she stepped away from me, "there is
no way you can fight everyone and win."
"Depends on how you define victory,» I muttered as I shrugged, «it
might be that I consider my knowledge important enough to die for."
Silence filled the room again.
"Back down," came Dumare's voice from behind me, "back down or you will
live to regret it."
I pondered.
"I might back down," I finally said, "but there will be certain
conditions that must be meet first."
Kidera shook her head.
"You're in no position to..."
She was clearly about to say a lot more, but Dumare interrupted her.
"What conditions?"
Licking my lips, I spoke carefully.
"Send your guards away first... they don't need to witness this."
Dumare hesitated.
"All right," she said at length, "I assume that you have good reasons
not to want any witnesses."
She moved around and stopped in front of me. "On the other hand," she
continued, not looking at me, "I see many good reasons why they should
stay."
"Blame yourself," I said as I shrugged, "even if I was considering your
possible reasons as to why you might want to send them off. Anyhow,
these are my..."
Dumare held up her hand stopping me.
"My possible reasons?"
"I'm sure you have considered every possible reason you might have," I
said smoothly, "as for my demands..."
She stopped me again. Leaning forward, she lifted her head so her
muzzle almost touched my face.
"Tell me," she whispered, "what possible reason?"
I remained silent. Dumare stared into my face for a small eternity,
then drew back.
"Very well," she said to the room at large, "I'll dismiss the guards...
if you give me your word of honour that you will not attack me nor
Kidera."
"He cannot give you that, your Highness."
Both Dumare and I turned towards Kidera.
"He told your sister and myself while we were travelling here," Kidera
continued, looking everywhere but at me, "even if he wants to he isn't
allowed to. He's bound by his oath."
Dumare nodded slowly as she stared first at me, then behind me.
"I'll... I'll stand responsible for him if he allows me to."
I felt my eyes widen at the sound of Xaviera's voice.
"I might have... misused his trust when I tried to read his mind," she
went on, "but I still have trust in him even if he has none in me."
I fought to keep my face free of emotions as Dumare nodded again, then
turned to face me.
"General Xaviera offers to extend her honour to cover you," she
intoned, "will you accept her custody?"
My mind raced, trying to find any verbal traps in what I just had
heard.
"If Xaviera wishes to take the blame for my actions," I said carefully,
"then I'll let her do it for a limited time."
Dumare looked puzzled for a few seconds, her ears twitching.
"Then so be it... for a limited time."
Without any further words being said, the guards left the room. Dumare
sat down again, while I remained upright.
"So..." Dumare said uncertainly, "You mentioned conditions. Right now
however, I'm uncertain."
I looked at her, lifting an eyebrow. She seemed to miss the unspoken
question completely.
"Me too," Kidera said after a while, "after all, now that the guards
have left it would seem that you have achieved what you wanted."
I thought for a while. I had achieved what I wanted, or at least part
of it.
"Not everything," I said softly, "as I've said; I'm tired of this
game."
Sighting, I allowed myself to relax.
"I'm a stranger in a strange land» I pointed out, «I'm, however you
might perceive it, a prisoner of war. I have no real hope of ever going
home."
I turned my head and glanced at Xaviera before I continued.
"It's tiresome to be surrounded by enemies all the time."
Dumare remained silent, her green eyes seemingly staring into my very
soul. I shuddered.
"I can... offer a truce."
The very sound of my own voice made my spine shiver.
"How?" Kidera asked, "You said earlier that there could never be peace
since the rift was closed. Our nations would remain technically at
war."
"That is right," I muttered, "but as the highest ranking Norwegian
officer on this side I am allowed to negotiate a cease-fire."
Both Dumare and Kidera looked slightly baffled.
"A what?"
"A respite," I explained, "an agreement to cease hostilities for a
time."
Dumare stroked one hand under her muzzle.
"A strange idea," she said after several minutes, "and I can't see why
anyone... surly, once in a fight one fight until the end?"
"Maybe lupas do," I said softly, "but I'm no lupa."
Kidera walked slowly around me, looking at me. Stopping she glanced at
Dumare before she looked back at me.
"I find the idea hard to fathom» Kidera said, «but there is one thing
here I don't understand."
I turned to look at her fully, but did not open my mouth.
"This sounds like your moving close to what you once referred to as
'the edge'..."
"Yes," I said sharply, interrupting her, «this is damn close to the
edge.»
There was a long drawn out pause while I tried to figure out what to
say.
"As I said," I murmured at last, "I can offer a truce. The conditions
are simple enough: the end of your interrogations, both Xaviera and
Kidera are to withdraw their claims and the return of my medallion."
Dumare shook her head.
"We will not end our interrogations until we know what you know," she
said with a hint of sadness in her voice, "and I can not order any
vixen to withdraw a claim."
"I'll... I'll withdraw..."
"No Xaviera," I said softly, "it must be both of you."
 I glanced at Kidera, but she shook her head slightly. Shrugging, I
muttered halfway to myself.
"Shoot down in flames..."
Seeing the look in Kidera's dark eyes I spoke in a slightly louder
voice.
"There will be no truce then."
"It may still be," Dumare said slowly, "just deliver what we need and
we'll let you have your truce."
This time I shook my head.
"When you're standing on the edge," I said quietly, "it might not be
advisable to take a step forward."
"Have it your way," Dumare said as she stood up, "I'll send for you
later. Xav will escort you to your room."
As the guards started to fill the room again, I opened my mouth again.
"One last thing, your Highness? My medallion; I want it back."
"Why should I?"
"There are three reasons that I can see...  although I have doubt that
you agree with them."
Scratching my beard, I watched Dumare carefully as I spoke.
"First, according to international treaties no personal items are to be
removed from a prisoner of war. The only thing you may take are weapons
and items that are judged valuable for intelligence reasons, and my
medallion are neither."
No reaction.
"Secondly, I would be grateful."
As soon as I saw her ears rise, I felt I had to clarify on that.
"But not grateful enough to break any oaths."
She turned her back on me, but I plunged on.
"Lastly, it might turn out to be vital to keep peace in your empire."
Dumare said nothing. After several seconds Xaviera placed her hand on
my shoulder, but I brushed it away and started walking towards the
door. I felt that my future was not boding well.

39
The entire evening and the next day I was left alone in the same room
as I had been kept in before. Early in the morning two guards had
appeared with a tray laden with food, then they had left without a
word. I spent much of the day sitting on the bed pondering on the last
couple of days, only interrupted by a couple of long bouts of physical
exercise. Alternating between sit-ups and push-ups until I tasted blood
in my mouth left me drenched in sweat, but it took my mind off the
hopelessness of my situation. As the sun dropped behind the outer wall
of the city, I flopped down on the bed. Staring at the roof I idly
wondered why I had not seen any of the vixens all day, and whether it
was good or bad for me. Suddenly the door opened and one of the guards,
a short female with black fur, entered the room. She looked around the
room, her nostrils flaring. I noted her tail twitching as she faced me,
a strange look in her face. Then she left as quickly as she had come
in. I stared at the door for several heartbeats, then shrugged and sat
up. "Samme hva det gjaldt," I muttered to myself, "men jeg vet hva hun
luktet." Quickly I discarded my dirty, torn uniform and pulled on the
grey clothing I had worn on the journey.
Just as I pulled the shirt down over my head the door opened once more.
Once I saw whom slowly moved through the doorway I went over to the
window and kept my back to the room. I did not wish to talk to Xaviera.
I heard the door close softly, then the almost noiseless patter of
unclad feet on flagstones.
"Hans?"
Xaviera's voice was shaking, as if she had no real control over it. I
did not reply, instead I stared out of the window.
"Hans," she repeated softly, "I'm... I'm sorry."
I fought an impulse to turn around and face her, instead reminding
myself that I had almost trusted her before she had... broken that
trust.
"Can I... can I do anything to help you," she asked, "maybe I could...
could heal your arm?"
I heard her move closer.
"I thought..." she begun before she paused, "I really believed it was
the best thing to do... to stop my sister from hurting you."
She paused for a long time, then continued with a voice that almost
cracked.
"I... I didn't understand that you could be... could be hurt in other
ways as well."
Still I remained motionless, willing myself to be hard.
"But then Kidera told me," she said softly, her voice sounding as if it
originated closer to the floor, "that your... people view private as
something apart from public, in the same way you differ between what
you see in your dreams from than what you see when you're awake. So she
says... that maybe you see the word of an oath and the meaning of it
differently too..."
I clenched my hands as her voice trailed off, my nails digging into my
flesh.
"Please Hans," she whispered as she began to sob, "can you... can you
forgive me?"
I felt my jaw start moving, like it often does when I'm angry. So that
was what she wanted? For me to forgive her so she might hurt me again
later? I stared unseeing out at the city while Xaviera softly sobbed
behind me. After a long time her sobs quieted down.
"I... I never thought I was going to say this Hans," she whispered
hoarsely, "but there is something in my bones that tells me that my
place is next to you."
I heard her swallow before she continued.
"I'll... I'll yield to you Hans. I'll place myself under you... in all
things."
This time I turned to look at her. Xaviera was kneeling less than a
meter away from me. Leaning backwards, she had turned her face to one
side and held her arms outwards and behind herself. She had closed her
eyes, but I could clearly see the wetness in the fur on her shaking
muzzle. Her tail thumped uncertainly against the floor. I swallowed as
I realised she exposed her belly, chest and throat to me. I turned back
to the window, sighting heavily.
"We have a word among my people for a wolf who wants to live with
humans," I told her softly, "and that word is 'dog'."
There was a long, drawn-out silence behind me. Then I heard Xaviera get
to her feet and walk toward the door. The hinges creaked as the door
slowly swung shut behind her. As the dull thump of the bolt resonated
through the room, I turned around. It took me several minutes to note
that my uniform had gone. I stretched out on the bed and stared at the
roof until it disappeared in the darkness.
It was still dark when a guard rudely awakened me. Slowly scanning the
room, I noted several other guards standing around me.
"Great," I muttered, "so what's this? Is it time for another round of
'beat the strange looking, tail-less fellow'?"
None of the guards said anything, but the one who had woken me up
pointed at the open door. Quickly making up my mind I swung my feet of
the bed and stood up. I stretched my joints making little cracking
noises, then looked down at the guard. Recognising the black furred
lupa that had been inside the room just before Xaviera had visited, I
grinned in the half-light. She looked back at me for a split second,
and then dropped her eyes. Again she pointed silently towards the door.
Shrugging, I started walking towards it.
I had not been completely surprised when the guards escorted me back to
Dumare's suite. I was, however, taken aback when I saw Dumare. Sitting
on a large fur in front of a roaring fire, propped up by many pillows,
she turned and looked at me for several seconds. Then an eerie smile
passed her inhuman lips, and she patted her hand on the fur. One of the
guards pushed me forward, and I sat down on the fur. I swallowed as I
saw Dumare slide her tongue over her lips, her fangs catching the light
from the fire.
"Your Highness," I muttered, "this was... unexpected."
"I could not sleep even though I was tired," she said softly, "and I
wanted to talk to you in private anyway."
I glanced around the room at the handful of guards that stood along the
walls. The firelight made their brass armour shine like torches in the
shadows.
"Hardly what I call private," I pointed out, "and besides I had no
trouble sleeping."
She moved closer to me, her short, almost translucent robe riding
higher up her legs.
"Without Kidera or my sister present I meant. She is quite captured by
you, you know..."
I looked away, but felt her green eyes burn in my neck.
"So she claims," I said sourly, "but I'm not sure I believe her."
In the silence of my own mind I added; 'or dare believe her'. Dumare
was silent for several minutes, then softly raised her voice as her
fingers lightly traveled up my back.
"Isn't it warm with that heavy shirt in front of the fire?"
I hesitated for a second. Xaviera was bad enough at times, but this was
even more direct.
"Maybe you forget," I said softly as I looked over my shoulder, "I
don't have the fur your people has to keep me warm."
Dumare's eyes narrowed.
"I'm the Empress," she said softly but sharply, "and when I ask a male
to take his shirt of I'm used to they doing as they are told."
I looked straight at her, acting surprised.
"I'm sure they do," I said innocently, "but then they are lupas."
I smiled weakly to her as I continued.
"But I'm not, I'm a human. I don't acknowledge you as a superior in the
way they do."
Dumare tilted her head slightly, her ears laying flat.
"No offence meant," I added quickly, "but you're not in the Norwegian
chain of command. How would you react if your guards started taking
orders from me?"
Her ears returned to their normal position as she stroke her hand along
her muzzle. For a long time the only sound that could be heard was the
crackling of the fire.
"I think I understand what you're saying," Dumare said at last, "you're
still loyal to your previous mistress, right?"
I glared at her, then glanced around the room.
"If you hadn't filled the place with your guards," I growled, "that
sort of comment would have earned you a fist in your face. I'm no
slave, I'm a free man."
I hesitated, then added.
"At least my mind is still free."
Shrugging, Dumare moved even closer, placing her hand on mine
"Then I don't understand," she whispered softly, "why won't you take
your shirt of?"
I yanked my hand away from hers.
"I refuse to believe it,» I muttered, «you dragged me out of bed just
so you could look at my furless body?"
Pulling slightly away, she sighted.
"You're right," she said in a slightly disappointed voice, "even if I
must confess to being curious."
Staring into the flames, she remained silent for a long time. When she
finally spoke, her voice was far away, as if she was not listening to
what she was saying.
"I spent many hours pondering on our last meeting, hours I could have
used for better things."
Again she held her mouth as she stared at the fireplace.
"I think I can understand your two first reasons, or at least I
understand that you find them important," she said softly, "but I fail
to see why your medallion could help me keep the peace."
Running my finger through my beard, I wondered how to tell Dumare in a
way that would convince her.
"What's the real reason for the present trouble?" I asked at last,
"Find that and you might see what I mean."
"That's an easy one," she muttered, "Aguna and her fraction wants more
power."
I shook my head.
"That's is only a symptom," I said softly, "not the cause of the
problem."
"You're right," Dumare sighted, "the problem is that we lost nearly
three-thousand troopers and you won't teach us to use the weapons from
your world."
"That's merely the trigger of the current conflict," I muttered, "not
the real reason.
 Scratching her muzzle in much the same way I scratched my beard,
Dumare just stared at me.
"The way I see it," I said at last, "the problem is that you are in a
constant low-grade war with the el'ane, whom you call the dark ones."
Still Dumare remained silent.
"If you could make peace with the dark ones," I continued, "then you
wouldn't need a large standing defence force. Aguna would lose her best
argument for arming the merchants."
Laughing mockingly, Dumare stood up and walked over to a shelf. I heard
the sound of pottery being moved under the sound of her voice.
"Sure," she said, "just end the war with the dark ones. Easy... except
that we have been fighting for all known history without ever seeing an
end to it."
She turned back, holding two small bowls in her hands. I noticed her
tail slowly swishing back and forth as she continued.
"If we doubled the size of our defence force, maybe we could drive them
back for a lifetime or two. But that would also mean to many blades in
the empire."
"Have you considering talking to the dark ones?"
I accepted one of the bowls, gently swirling it around and watching the
amber liquid within.
"No one has ever tried talking to them and survived."
I raised the bowl to my nose and inhaled deeply as my mind raced.
Clearly Dumare was not aware of what had happened in Dourwood.
"There are lupas who have talked to the dark ones," I said carefully,
"and lived to tell the tale."
I saw a slight smile in Dumare's face as she drank deeply.
"The sisters and the lone one," she murmured, "a lovely story but
that's all it is... a story."
Slowly sipping the burning liquid, I decided to take the plunge.
"Lupas have talked to the el'ane and lived," I repeated as I put the
bowl down on the floor, "I know because I was there."
Dumare's eyes widened as the bowl tumbled from her hand, the amber
liquid quickly spreading on the floor. She grabbed my shirt and pulled
herself closer until her cold nose touched mine.
"Tell me," she demanded, "tell me and pray I believe you."

40
"I believe you," Dumare said as she stared into the smouldering remains
of the fire, "or at least I believe that you believe this to be true."
I shrugged. My throat was dry after talking, but still I raised my
voice again.
"It's true. If you don't believe me, how else will you explain the
medallion and Xaviera's rapid healing after she was wounded in
Eastoak?"
I turned my head towards the windows, noting that the sky was
lightening.
"I just can't see why they choose to keep this from me," Dumare said
after several minutes, "but I intend to find out."
Silence fell as I watched the last log in the fireplace crumble into
ashes. Dumare was quiet, her face turned towards the dying fire, but
her eyes vacant.
"You may leave me..." she said gently as she turned towards me, "I need
to think."
I held out my hand, and looked Dumare in the eye.
"My medallion?"
She nodded and pulled it out from beneath her robe, then suddenly
smiled.
"One condition," she said slowly, "I see that you still haven't taken
your shirt off..."
Cursing softly, I pulled the shirt over my head. Feeling a sudden urge
to impress, I flexed my muscles. Dumare studied me for a few seconds,
then shrugged and tossed the medallion to me.
"Not completely without fur I see," she muttered, "I'll admit my sister
could have chosen worse males to fall for."
I pulled the shirt back on and stood up. Looking one more time at
Dumare, I turned and shuffled toward the door. A number of the guards
followed behind me. As I reached out for the door, Dumare raised her
voice again.
"Tell me; when I can't trust my sister or my best friend to tell me the
truth, whom shall I trust?"
I paused, then I turned to face her.
"I always used to say that I didn't trust anyone further than I could
toss him," I said slowly, "and that would include myself."
I turned and walked away before Dumare could say anything more.
Once I heard the bolts on the door close behind me, I pulled the
medallion out from my shirt again. Holding around it I tried to reach
out with my mind, trying to reach Brætàs and tell her everything was
okay. But instead of Brætàs I reached... nothing. It felt as if the
one that should be listening had left the phone off the hook and left
the house. I shuddered and tried again and again until the sun dropped
from the sky once more.
Again someone shook me awake before dawn, but this time it was not the
black furred guard. Rubbing my hand over my face, I peered into the
darkness.
"Bantam," I said, "is that you?"
Bantam nodded as he lighted a couple of candles.
"Haven't seen you in a week or so," I muttered as I sat up, "what you
been doing?"
He turned and looked at me for a long time, and I took the opportunity
to return the favour. His grey fur had lost all its gloss, and I
noticed that several patches on his face and arms were bare.
"I'm sorry Lieutenant," he said at last, "but Kidera said I wasn't to
tell anyone."
Taking the candle in one hand, he led me through the door and down a
corridor, guards both in front and behind.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Kidera told me you had to be in the outer courtyard an hour before
sunrise," he said, "I guess she will be waiting for you there."
Torches burnt along the walls of the courtyard, but they did not as
much spread light as illuminating the darkness. Near the gate a group
of guards huddled together, and Kidera was pacing up and down. She was
dressed in a grey robe similar to the one I was wearing, and her tail
swished through the air as she angrily swung it. As she spotted me she
walked briskly up to me.
"At least you're here Hans," she said in an impatient tone, "then we
just have to wait for Dumare and Xav."
I yawned.
"What's the rush?"
She gave me an odd look, then sighted.
"We got to be in place before dawn, and it's a long walk."
I scratched my head, trying to make sense of what I had just heard.
"Eh," I said after a while, "would you run that past me one more time?"
Kidera looked at me for a long time, her jaws moving slightly. Then she
suddenly grinned.
"I see. Since I don't make any sense to you," she said softly, "you use
words that you know don't make sense for me. That's clever."
I shrugged.
"Whatever," I muttered, "so will you try again? Where must we be before
dawn, and why?"
Keeping one eye on the door behind me, Kidera started speaking softly
and quickly.
"We must be in the temple of the faceless god before the sun rises. I
believe you might have seen it from your window?"
I shrugged again, waiting for Kidera to go on.
"Anyhow, today it will be one month since the rift closed... today
every soul caught on your world will be counted dead in the empire
according to our traditions."
"I think I can understand why lupas would attend such a ceremony," I
said slowly, "but I utterly fail to see my role in the proceedings."
Kidera scratched her muzzle, her ears twitching. "It's hard to explain
properly..." she said at last, "but the important thing is: you are
from your world."
"Yes... and?"
"Well, you see..."
Suddenly Kidera stopped talking, instead dropping to one knee. In the
other end of the courtyard, the troopers kneeled too. I turned and
stared straight into Dumare's face.
"Your Highness," Kidera intoned, "we are almost ready to leave."
"Almost ready?"
Dumare's voice was hard and hinted at anger. Her green eyes seemed to
glow faintly as they reflected the torches.
"Yes your highness..." Kidera said softly, "we are waiting for your
sister. I was just sending my attendant to fetch her."
Before Dumare could answer I saw in the corner of my eye Bantam get to
his feet and run out of the courtyard, his tail streaming behind him.
"He won't find Xav..." Dumare whispered softly after she had stepped up
to me, "I have tried to reach her all of yesterday with no luck."
I shrugged, indicating that I had no knowledge of where she was.
"Some of the guards saw her enter your room the evening before we
talked last," she continued, "and I wonder; might you have something to
do with her disappearance?"
"I saw her," I whispered back as I looked at Kidera, still kneeling on
the flagstones a few feet away, "but I hardly spoke to her. Eh, what
have you done to Kidera? She seems somewhat terrified by you today..."
There was a low, growling sound that bypassed my brain and went
straight to my spine, turning it into jelly.
"She dared to withhold information," Dumare growled between her fangs,
"important information..."
Raising her head slightly, she went on in a slightly more normal voice.
"But I can handle her. Right now my sister is more important... so what
did you say to her?"
I squirmed as she kept her eyes on my face.
"Nothing much...» I muttered as I turned slightly away, «she kept
whining about how she wanted to be close to me... so I told her what
we, that is my race, calls a wolf that want to live with a human..."
Dumare reached out and grabbed my jaw with one hand, turning my face so
she could look me into my eyes.
"Wolf?"
"No offence Dumare," I said softly, no longer giving a damn if Kidera
could overhear me or not, "but your people are in many ways like the...
predators we call wolfs."
She kept staring at me as I continued, her jaw dropping slightly.
"A wolf is... well, it's many things but in essence it's a four
legged, furred mammal that looks much like you... muzzle, ears,
tail..."
My voice trailed off. Closing her eyes for a second, Dumare let go of
me.
"Never mind," she muttered, "to your eyes we look like a beast from
your world even if we use the word for something else. Now, what do you
call a... a wolf that lives with a human?"
"We call it a dog," I said softly, "a tamed wolf is a dog..."
Dumare just stared at me for a very long time, her ears flat against
her head.
"We'll leave now," she snapped at Kidera as she abruptly pulled my hood
up, "Xav is in the temple already if I know anything about her."
I ended up walking next to Kidera, with Dumare in front of us and the
troopers spread out on all sides.
"Kidera?" I asked quietly as we walked briskly, "What's a wolf?"
"Everybody knows what a wolf is," she muttered, "a lupa that has...
gone bad."
I pondered long enough to cross two streets, seeing how the large black
and white building came closer. Finally I raised my voice again.
"Gone bad?"
"Gone bad," Kidera repeated, "removed themselves from our society."
"Shit," I muttered, "and what is a dog then?"
We were turning into the square between the two buildings before Kidera
answered.
"A dog is a lupa whom serve the Faceless One in some way... why do you
ask?"
I sighted as the group paused, then turned towards the massive black
structure.
"Well," I muttered, "I said something to Xaviera which might imply that
she was a wolf and that she might ought to be a dog..."
The sun was almost up as we entered the massive doors into the black
building, and a drum somewhere in the building started to beat out a
slow rhythm. Waiting for us was a dozen or more lupas, dressed in short
white robes which left their arms and most of their legs free. Dumare
bowed deeply to the elderly female who was standing in front of the
others, and without anything being said we were led deeper into the
temple. The torches did not provide much light, but the vaguely seen
shapes were unpleasant enough. The air was stale and tasted of earth.
Suddenly the corridor opened on a large room, open to the sky. The
troopers halted, but I continued onward with Kidera and Dumare.
Standing in silence, I saw how the lupas we had meet inside,
priestesses I guessed spread out in a semicircle in front of a deeper
shadow against one wall. The only sound that could be hears was the
drum, still beating slowly. Just when I was about to ask Kidera what
was supposed to be happening, the first rays of the sun struck the top
of the wall directly ahead of me. The effect was stunning. What I had
believed to be smooth, black stone lighted up, as if there were
thousands of small mirrors buried an inch or two below the surface. At
the same time the clergy started chanting, and it was several second
before I realised they were all reciting names. The names of the ones
lost on my world I guessed, even if I was hard pressed to understand
how reading their names might help.
'Gode gud,' I thought to myself after a few minutes, 'dette kommer til
å ta dagevis.'
Slowly the light crawled down the wall, making more and more of the
stonework glow. Noticing movement to my left, I turned and saw Xaviera
next to me. I opened my mouth to great her, but she placed her soft
hand over my lips and shook her head. Shrugging, I turned back and
studied the chanting lupas. As the light increased I could clearly see
what had looked like a shadow as we entered. It was a huge statue,
easily more than twice my size. It was clearly of some sort of
humanoid, but it was depicted wearing a heavy cloak not unlike the one
I was wearing. Maybe, if the light hit at the right angle, I might be
able to get a glimpse at the face of the faceless one. I moved into a
slightly more comfortable position and waited.
When the sunlight reached the floor I got bored and looked first at
Xaviera, then quickly turned towards Dumare. Both vixens had their eyes
closed and the lines around their muzzles were hard. Were they using
mindspeak again? If so, what were they talking about? This made me
ponder so deeply that I hardly noticed that the chanting slowly ended
and most of the priestesses quietly leaving the room. The only one
remaining was the elderly one Dumare had greeted when we had arrived.
Standing before the vixens and me, she seemingly tried to peer through
the shadows of my hood. I returned the favour. She was fairly old, I
guessed, with hair as white as her robe and greying fur.
"So," she said after a while, "this is the outworlder?"
"Yes mother," Dumare said softly, "this is the one from the other
side."
I glanced at Dumare. Mother? Was that just a title, or was it something
more? Before I had time to think more about it Xaviera reached up and
pulled my hood away from my face.
"Behold," she whispered, "behold the one who cost us so many."
The old lupa stared at me for several minutes without moving, then half
turned and looked towards the statue.
"He is not born on our soil," she said at last, "and the faceless one
can not bring him to heel. Fate must have brought him here with a
purpose."
As she turned towards us again, she continued.
"Find his purpose on our soil Empress Dumare, and you'll know what to
do."
"I believe his purpose is understood Mother," Dumare said after a long,
"but if I do the one thing that will aid him I might unleash a greater
harm for both our people and for him."
I turned to face Dumare, trying to work out what she meant.
"There is anger in the outworlders heart," the old lupa said slowly,
"and it is justified for a great unright has been done to him. But I
also sense a deep love for all living things, and you must make a
choice."
Again Dumare was silent for several heartbeats, but when she spoke
again there was a strange clarity to her voice.
"The choice has been made," she said, "and I'll stand or fall by it.
I'll pronounce him untouchable, and I'll pray his purpose is benign
toward my empire."
I lifted an eyebrow. Dumare looked at me then lowered her gaze.
"I'll... I'll set you free Hans," she whispered, "and no one might lift
a hand against you as you strive to fulfil your purpose on our soil."
"I no of no purpose," I said with a shaking voice, "but only a fool
would refuse."
I turned to look for the old lupa, but she had disappeared.
"Come on Hans," Xaviera said softly as she put one hand on my arm,
"there is a whole world waiting for you outside."

-+-+-+-

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