 
                          --===CHAPTER 9===--
 
Chapter 9
 
 
 
    Don fell, flailing his arms, until he bounced off a rock. 
Quickly, he grabbed for it, finding a purchase and holding on for dear
life.  He could still hear the beating of Dan-Gelmer's huge wings.  He
knew he had to get back up to help his friends.  He took one more look
behind him, to see if he could spot Annie, but she was lost in the
undergrowth.
 
    Taking a deep breath, Don began his chant.  In seconds, he
was floating upward.  He'd fallen only ten feet below the edge of the
road, and he was soon standing on top of the wagon, which appeared to
be the easiest place from which to fight.
 
    Susan, who had been stunned by Don's disappearance over the
edge, was galvanized into action by his reappearance.  She grabbed the
reins of Jeremy, and wheeled him around to face the direction that
Dan-Gelmer had flown off to.  He could be seen turning around for
another attack.  Gill patted Susan on the shoulder before slipping off
the large horse, and nearly hurting himself.
 
    Susan paid no attention as she stood herself up on the
horse and drew an arrow.  Nocking the arrow to the bow, Susan waited
for a clean shot.  Don, seeing that she was ready and had the best
weapon, chanted an incantation to power her arrow.  As the dragon got
near enough, Susan let loose with her projectile.  It arced a blue
streak through the sky, and embedded itself in the monster's soft
underbelly.  The creature screamed in rage, and flew off into the
distance.  They knew it was not seriously wounded.  The same could not
be said for their team.
 
 
 
-----
 
   

    The entire team took a large, collective breath, and then
they began to look around at each other to spot problems.  Don looked
over at Gill and Susan, to see that both of them were uninjured, as was
their horse, Jeremy.  He nodded to Gill, to let him know that he, also,
was okay.  He next inspected the wagon he was still standing on, and
Nightmare.  The wagon was fully intact, and Nightmare appeared
uninjured, though it was hard to tell since she wasn't moving around.
 
    He spotted Katie near the edge of the road, and she was
staring off at something, but he didn't know what.  What mattered to
him at the moment was that she was fine, and that was a vast relief to
him.  He had to look around to find Julie, and that's when he became
worried.  Julie was sitting on the ground, her back against the rock of
the cliff that rose above them.  She was holding the back of her head,
and she looked a little dazed.
 
    Don swiftly climbed off the wagon and went to her side,
kneeling down to look her over.  He looked into her eyes, and they
seemed to focus on him, but her expression looked a little dreamy.
 
    "Julie?  Who am I?"
 
    "You're cute," she said with a smile.
 
    Don smirked, but shook his head at the thought.  "C'mon, no
kidding around.  What's my name?"
 
    "You're Don," she said, as if to a backward child.
 
    "Where are you?"
 
    "Beats the fuck out of me.  I haven't known that for weeks."
 
    "What just happened?"
 
    "This big fuckin' lizard just tried to cut my head off. 
Weren't you paying attention?" she said exasperatedly.
 
    Don sighed in relief.  He smiled at her.  "I was checking
to see if you had a concussion.  You wouldn't have been able to answer
that if you did."
 
    "Oh," she said, and then smiled.  "You were worried about
me."
 
    "Yeah."
 
    "Thanks."
 
    "Is it just your head?"
 
    "I hurt everywhere.  That damned horse threw me when it
died."
 
    Don knew that only Julie could blame a dead animal for
hurting her.  He tried not to smile at her.  "Let me take a look at
your head, okay?"
 
    Very slowly, Julie leaned forward and took her hand away. 
Don looked closely, but saw no shining white bone, which was a relief. 
He could tell that it wasn't indented, so he figured she didn't have a
skull fracture of any kind, just a lot of blood and pain.  Closing his
eyes, he began a healing chant.  It took him over a minute before the
wound was closed, and he was sweating with the effort by the time he
was done.
 
    Opening his eyes, he said, "There.  It's probably going to
hurt like hell for a few days, though."
 
    Julie reached back to feel it, and winced at her own touch,
but she still smiled at him.  Then she gave him a big hug.  When she
let go of him, her smile faded.  He could see she was looking over his
shoulder, at about where Katie was standing.  The pain he saw in her
eyes was easy to read.
 
    "We're going to find her, Jules," he said quietly.
 
    "Promise?" she asked with tears in her eyes.
 
    "It's pointless," Gill said, having overheard their
discussion.  Don stood up to face his friend.
 
    "Excuse me?" Don asked incredulously.  "I don't see going
to find a friend as pointless."
 
    "She's almost certainly dead," Gill said, and immediately
regretted it, as Julie started sobbing.
 
    "And if she's not?" Don asked with barely controlled
anger.  "You'd desert a friend on a *maybe*?  I made her a *promise*. 
I wouldn't leave you down there, and I'm not leaving her.  We are
*going to look for her*."
 
    Gill held up his hands in surrender.  He knew when he'd
been out-shouted.  When there had been three boys, they could possibly
have outvoted Don, but Gill did not have the willpower to go against
his friend when he'd made up his mind.  He didn't relish the thought of
spending up to an extra week in this place trying to find what would
almost certainly be the remains of a dead body.  Still, he would not
argue with his friend on this point; it was obvious there were more
feelings there than Gill was aware of.
 
    Don turned away from Gill, angry at him for bringing up the
ugly possibility, and disgusted by his disloyalty.  He knelt back down
to comfort Julie, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into
him, hoping to settle her sobbing.  It took a couple of minutes, but
she did eventually calm down.
 
    "We are going to find her," Don told her quietly.  Julie
just nodded, not confident in her ability to speak.
 
    "Donny?" Kate called from the edge of the road.  He looked
over at her, and she had turned to face him, but she had been staring
rather intently down into the ravine.
 
    "Are you going to be all right?" he asked Julie quietly. 
He didn't want to embarrass her in front of everyone.  She nodded
again, and he slowly released her.  Don stood up and walked over to his
sister.  "What's up?"
 
    Katie turned back to the ravine and pointed.  "She
disappeared right about there.  When I came off Whirlwind, I flew down
into the ravine - I figured the safest direction to go was down - and I
saw her roll into the underbrush right about there."
 
    "Roll?"
 
    "If you look at it, it's not steep enough to actually fall
very far.  She bounced, fell, and rolled.  She's got to be pretty
banged up."  Katie refused to admit that she might be dead.  She did
not believe that something that bad would happen to her brother. 
Although she liked Annie, she knew that Don felt a lot more than that,
though he hadn't admitted it to himself yet.  She knew he'd be
devastated if they didn't find Annie alive, and so she simply refused
to accept the concept that they wouldn't.  She pointed over to their
right.  "If you look real careful, you can see a path into the forest. 
The only thing is, I don't know if it's big enough for the horses."
 
    "We'll find out when we get down there."
 
    "Okay."
 
    Turning to the rest of the group, Don raised his voice to
be heard.  "I wish we could take a longer break here, but I don't think
it's safe.  There's no telling when Dan-Gelmer'll be back, now that he
knows for sure where we are.  We've got to get off this damned mountain
as fast as we safely can."
 
    Nobody disagreed with that point.  Gill asked, "What do we
do about the riding situation?"
 
    Don turned to Kate.  "Katie, I need you to play scout.  It
could be dangerous, but if you don't, we could walk right into another
trap.  I need you to fly about fifty or a hundred yards in front of us,
and keep an eye out for danger.  You'll have to be careful not to get
into trouble yourself.  Think you're up to it?"
 
    She nodded, a little uncertainly.  Her brother said she
could do it, so she could do it, but that didn't make her happy about
it.  Don gave her a warm hug and a kiss, and that made her feel better
all the way around.
 
    "Okay, Julie can ride with me.  Keep your eyes open for
stuff coming from behind us.  I doubt he'll play the same trick twice
in a row."  Gill nodded, and moved off to his horse with his sister. 
Don walked over and knelt down beside Julie.
 
    "Jules?  Are you ready to go?"
 
    "No, but I can't expect you guys to wait for me all day."
 
    Don smiled, and helped her to her feet.  She wouldn't let
go of his hand, though, as they walked over to the horse.  Before she
got on, she turned to him and asked, "Do you really think we'll be able
to find her?"
 
    "Yeah, I do.  I don't plan on leaving here without her."
 
    Julie smiled at him, and hugged him.  When she broke the
hug, she leaned in and gave him a kiss.  It took him a second or two to
react, but he kissed back as soon as he recovered.  They broke the kiss
fairly quickly, and they smiled at each other.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    The man's name was Baruek.  Life had not been good to him,
and his choice of profession did not conspire to make his situation
better.  That, however, could not be helped.  He did the only thing he
was good at.
 
    He was not working today, however.  He was merely traveling
from place to place through the forest.  He had already been warned not
to get stuck out in the open at night, but he felt relatively safe here
in the trees.  Unless, that is, Dan-Gelmer decided to burn down the
forest for kicks.
 
    When he heard a loud rustling noise off to his left, his
first considered action was to dart off the path and up into a tree. 
Rustling noises in forests rarely brought good news with them.  He
listened carefully to the noise, and it sounded like somebody - or
some*thing* - crashing through the underbrush.  He realized that it
sounded a lot like something rolling, rather than running or walking. 
Animals didn't roll to attack people, and people didn't much do it,
either.
 
    After the noise had stopped, Baruek slowly climbed out of
the tree.  He moved silently through the forest, in the manner he had
learned many years ago.  He was also good at judging the direction of
sounds, even after they had stopped.  It took him only three minutes to
find the source of the noise.
 
    He looked down at a pretty young woman, bruised and
battered.  It was clear that she had fallen, and he wondered if she'd
fallen from the cliff above him.  He'd heard the dragon earlier; if she
had been attacked by Dan-Gelmer, she was lucky to be - he checked; yes
she was, still - alive.  He looked her over without touching her and
saw no obvious broken bones or serious external injuries.  She had to
be bruised all over, and could very well be hurt in ways he could not
see, but there was nothing he could do about either of those things.
 
    Baruek was not the friendliest of people, but even he was
not about to leave a young woman, who was obviously a traveler in this
land, lying in the woods to be eaten alive by one of the many creatures
of the forest.  However, if he intended to move her, he would need to
create some kind of sled or pallet on which to drag her, because he
would not be strong enough to carry her very far.
 
    Building such a contraption would be difficult, since all
he carried was a knife.  Using her sword would make the construction
much easier.  Cutting branches with a knife didn't sound like his idea
of fun.  Reaching down, Baruek grasped the handle of her sword and
tried to pull it free, but it didn't budge.  Figuring that it was
merely a tight fit, he pulled harder.  When the woman's body shifted,
she groaned in pain.  Baruek quickly released the handle of the sword.
 
    *Well, shit.*
 
    Somehow, he would have to get her out of here.  Just then,
the unexpected happened; the young woman began to wake up.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    The two horses were obviously still spooked by the attack,
and they both slowed before each and every corner on the path.  Kate
flew around each of them and then back into sight, so that the others
would know it was safe.  Don didn't like *this* approach at all; his
sister was the least able of them to protect herself in a fight.
 
    *Well, maybe except for Julie*.  The girl he held onto as
they rode along was terrified and unskilled.  Whatever help she might
have been in a fight before, she would probably be nearly catatonic if
they got attacked again.  He was holding her more tightly than he
needed to; he knew that.  Every time he loosened his grip, however, she
became shaky, and that wasn't good.  He kept his left hand wrapped
firmly around her abdomen while his right hand held the reins.  Under
other circumstances, he would certainly be enjoying this, as Julie was
a knockout, but not today.  They were both worried about what had
happened to Annie.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Annie, on the other hand, was wondering who had buried an
axe in her skull, for that's what it felt like.  As she began to open
her eyes, her vision was blurry, and she couldn't make out any
details.  She thought there was a person standing over her, but she
couldn't even be positive about that.  When the blob moved, she was
reasonably sure it was an alive something.  She groaned in pain, and
raised her hand to her forehead.  Even that small move introduced her
to aches and bruises that she was sure would only get worse.
 
    Her vision eventually began to clear, but it took a long
time for her to focus.  What she eventually saw was a tall, spindly
figure, perhaps six and a half feet tall, wearing a brown tunic and a
green cloak.  She moaned again, wondering if it would snap her in half
to try to sit up.
 
    "I wouldn't move around too much if I were you," Baruek
said.  "You had one nasty fall, apparently.  Do you remember what
happened to you?"
 
    Annie grunted something, not yet able to make her mouth
create intelligible sounds.  She continued to mumble and groan for the
next five minutes or so, while Baruek kept away from her.  Finally, she
brought her hand down from her face, and turned her head to look at
him.  Her vision had cleared quite a bit, and she was ready, almost, to
face the world again.
 
    "Where am I?" she asked.
 
    "In the forest.  You must have taken a fall."
 
    "Hmph.  Yeah, you could say that.  God, my head hurts."
 
    "Do you remember what happened to you?" he repeated.
 
    "All too clearly.  I wish I didn't.  How long...  How long
have I been unconscious?"
 
    "Well, I didn't see you fall.  I only heard you rolling
through the undergrowth.  But if that's when you fell, then you've been
out for only a little while.  I'm surprised.  Injuries from a fall like
that are usually much, much worse."
 
    Annie nodded at that, and then looked him up and down. 
"Who are you?"
 
    "I'm Baruek.  I was traveling through the forest when I
heard you, like I said.  I was just about to construct some kind of
sled to carry you out on.  As I said, if you fell from where I think
you fell from, your injuries should be a lot worse."
 
    "I fell from the road," she said, pointing upward, but in
no particular direction, as she did not have her bearings.  

    "That's what I figured.  You got attacked by the dragon?"
 
    "Yeah, my friends and I... Oh, God, Don!" her clouded mind
finally realized that Don might also have been seriously hurt.  "Did
you hear anyone else fall?"
 
    Baruek shook his head.  "No, only you.  You were traveling
in a group, then?"
 
    "Yes.  I hope they're coming to look for me."
 
    "In that case, we'd better get back onto the path as soon
as we can move you.  It's the only large path through these woods, and
it's likely to be the path that they would search for you on."  In his
own mind, he was thinking, *If I work this right, then perhaps I can
get some kind of reward out of her friends.  If nothing else, perhaps I
can walk with them in safety through these woods.  That would protect
me from Dan-Gelmer, and for the other... well, opportunities always
present themselves.*
 
    Annie was only thinking about her friends, and hoping that
Don was all right.  She'd seen him thrown from the horse with her, but
she'd been a little too busy being unconscious to notice anything after
that.  She knew that Baruek was right: even if she couldn't walk, she
needed to be on the path, so they could find her easily.  She shifted
herself, trying to sit up.
 
    Baruek saw what she was trying to do, and offered her a
hand.  She took it, and got first to a sitting position.  Even that was
tough; her head was swimming from the effort.
 
    "Can you stand?" Baruek asked.
 
    "I've got to try," she answered.  With his help, she made
it to a reasonably upright position, but it took holding onto a tree to
keep her that way.  Baruek looked her over, and realized she wasn't
going to walk very far today.  The day was well over half-done, and the
sun would be setting in a couple of hours.  After that, walking in the
forest wasn't a good idea.  They would have to find a place to rest for
the night.
 
    "What I need," Annie said, "is a walking stick."
 
    "If your sword wasn't stuck, you could cut yourself a good
branch from this tree.  There are a few in reach..."
 
    Annie reached down to her sword and pulled it effortlessly
from its scabbard.  "It's not stuck."
 
    "I was going to use it to cut some branches for that sled I
was going to build, but I couldn't get it out."  In his mind, he was
rubbing his hands together.  *The Hollie Sword!  If I can get my hands
on that...*
 
    Annie shrugged, and selected a branch.  She didn't have
much strength to her swing, but with her sword, it didn't matter.  The
branch came away cleanly, and she resheathed her sword.  Baruek picked
it up and used his knife to cut off the thin end and the twigs before
handing it to her.  Annie tested her weight against it and found that
it would hold her easily.
 
    "I'm probably not going to make it very far."
 
    "I know.  But if we can at least get to the path, that will
be an improvement."  *I don't want your friends to miss us, or this
could be a losing game for me.*
 
    "Well, let's go, I guess..."
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    It took until just after sundown before the group cleared
the mountain and was once more in open grasslands.  They took only a
moment to rest the horses and allow them to graze.  They didn't even
dismount, though Katie did come to rest on the wagon's lid to give
herself a little bit of a rest.  She was surprised that she wasn't
tired, but it seemed that flying was easier than walking.
 
    "Did you see anything while you were up there?" Don asked
her.  It felt awkward to him to still be holding on tightly to one girl
while he was talking to another that he was usually holding onto, but
he couldn't let go of Julie.
 
    "Just some buffalo-looking animals off that way," she
motioned.  "I can't see the path into the forest anymore.  The grass is
too thick."
 
    "That's okay.  We know it's there."
 
    Gill rode over and allowed his horse to graze next to
Don's.  "You planning on going into that forest tonight?"
 
    "No.  We'd never find her in the dark, anyway.  We'll camp
at the edge of the forest once we find the path."
 
    "All right."  He said nothing more, but looked out into the
distance.  Kate and Don shared a look, but they didn't say anything,
either.  Julie shivered.
 
    After a few moments of such an uncomfortable pause, Don
turned and said, "You had your fill yet, Nightmare?"  The horse raised
and turned its head to look at him.  A single nod - there was no other
word for it - told him the animal was ready to travel.  Don patted the
horse's neck in appreciation.  "You up for more flying, Katie?"
 
    "Yeah.  It's not very tiring."
 
    "I'm glad.  Okay, let's move out.  Try to stay parallel to
the forest, but keep your distance; we don't know what's in there."
 
    Katie led off, and the rest of the team soon followed.  He
hoped that this experience would give Katie some confidence; it was
draining him to have to be confident for everyone.  He was glad that at
least Susan and Gill seemed to be settled about their journey.  He set
the thought aside, and they rode on.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Annie didn't make it more than a quarter mile before she
was completely exhausted.  Even that was farther than Baruek had
expected her to go.  Upon inspection, he could tell that she had pushed
herself to the absolute limit.  Annie was covered with sweat, and her
complexion had paled in the strain.
 
    "You need to eat," he said.  She nodded, and reached around
inside her own cloak.  She grabbed a small pouch, and pulled it out to
open it.  Inside were some treats that Yarice had given her as more of
a snack than a meal.  She looked into the pouch, and then at Baruek.
 
    "Do you have food?"
 
    "I have some.  I doubt you'd want to eat it, though.  It's
pretty disgusting.  I'm used to it, but it might even make you sick."
 
    "Oh.  Well, as long as you have something to eat... I
didn't want to eat in front of you."
 
    Baruek chuckled.  "Don't worry about it.  Besides, there's
a berry bush right over there that we can also eat."
 
    As Annie ate, Baruek set about picking a few berries and
arranging things so they would be at least mildly comfortable for the
night.  He hoped this girl would be ready to travel in the morning, or
it would be a very long trip out of here.
 
    Annie huddled against herself.  Nighttime was closing in,
and she didn't want to be in a forest, alone, at night.  Baruek didn't
count, because she didn't know if she could trust him to defend her or
if he would run away.  Besides, what could he defend her *with*?  What
kind of idiot wanders through the forest with only a small knife for
protection?
 
    The two did not converse much.  Annie was lost in her
thoughts of what might have happened to Don.  Baruek was lost in
thoughts of what he might be able to get from her friends for her safe
return.
 
    After a while, Baruek sat down and began his own meal.  As
he ate, he said, "This is about the best we can do for a campsite.  I
don't like it; there are lots of cats in this forest, and they're not
opposed to eating raw human for dinner."
 
    Annie nodded, and thought for a while.  "Are there any big,
nasty monsters in this forest?"
 
    "Not in this one, no."
 
    "But there are, elsewhere?"
 
    "Sure.  Dragons, griffins, harpies... there are a lot of
nasty creatures.  They're not common, but they're around."
 
    "So, if those cats heard a monster, they'd avoid it?"
 
    "Most likely."
 
    Annie nodded again, and closed her eyes.  She concentrated
on one of the few spells she knew she could do.  She began her chant,
and kept the sound going over and over in her mind.  When she felt she
had it right, she raised her hands and pointed them upward.  Seconds
later, a bone-chilling roar echoed through the forest for many
seconds.  Even after Annie dropped her hands, it seemed as if the sound
lingered for several moments.
 
    Baruek had clapped his hands over his ears as soon as she
had started, and now he was staring at her in wonderment and not a
little fear.
 
    "You're a sorceress?"
 
    "A bad one, but, yeah, I guess.  That's one of the only
spells I know."
 
    "That was a ghastly noise."
 
    "I hope the cats will think so, too.  I don't want them
anywhere around."
 
    "I imagine anything that heard that will be going in the
other direction."
 
    "Good for it."
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    "What was that?" Julie screamed, upon hearing the noise. 
Nightmare had stopped at Don's request.  Gill and Susan rode up
alongside to look at him.
 
    "What the fuck was that?" Gill asked, repeating Julie's
question.
 
    "A tyrannosaur," Don said calmly.
 
    "What?" Julie said shakily.  Don wrapped both arms around
her to calm her down.
 
    "Wait just a fucking minute," Gill said.  "This is supposed
to be fantasy-land, right?  Dragons, not dinosaurs!"
 
    "Would you rather face Dan-Gelmer?"
 
    "Now that you mention it..."
 
    "Besides, it wasn't real, anyway," Don said with a smile.
 
    "Then what the fuck *was it*?" Gill demanded.
 
    "That," Don said with confidence and with a squeeze for
Julie, "was Annie."
 
    "How can you be so sure?"
 
    "You know anyone from this place who would magically
produce the sound of a T-Rex?"
 
    Gill had to admit he had a good point.  "So she's alive."
 
    "Yeah.  And we're going in there to find her."
 
    "Okay.  I hope you know what you're doing..."
 
    "Katie, go ahead.  But be careful."
 
    "Donny, I thought I saw something moving, out that way. 
But it was small, I mean too small for me to make out what it was.  All
I saw was the grass moving like there was something in there, you know?"
 
    Don nodded to her.  "Keep your eyes open."
 
    The team led the horses off at a trot, but soon it was
obvious; they were being followed.  Don encouraged Nightmare to go a
little faster, and she was soon in a slow run.  He knew she couldn't
keep up this pace for all that long with the weight she was pulling,
and truth be told, it was probably going to shake the wagon apart.
 
    Then, Don saw them.  A dire wolf.  Perhaps half again as
big as the wolves ridden by the Wolfriders, these animals were meaner,
and they were obviously hungry.  He only saw six of them, so far.  He
was sure there were more.
 
    He turned out to be right a few minutes later when they
rode into an area of shorter grass.  The wolves broke from the tall
grass, and there were more of them than he could easily count.  He
estimated at least fifty in the pack.  Don pulled up short, stopping
Nightmare.  Gill rode up beside him.
 
    "What now?  Outrunning them is out of the question with
this wagon."
 
    "How did Jeremy feel, following me?"
 
    "Truth?  I don't know.  Susan?"
 
    "He feels burdened.  I don't think he could outrun them
with us on his back."
 
    "And without?"
 
    "Easily."
 
    Don wasn't so sure about the "easily" part, but he had to
take her word for it; she was the only one who knew horses.
 
    "So, we have three choices; try to fight them off here,
ditch the wagon and go with the horses, or ditch the wagon, let the
horses draw off the wolves, and stay with the wagon."
 
    "I don't think the first two will turn out very well," Gill
said morosely.
 
    "Neither do I.  But can we continue without the horses?"
 
    "Can we continue without our heads?  We started out here
without horses."
 
    Don sighed audibly.  He noticed that the wolves were
circling, but were not closing in.  He didn't know what that meant.  It
was almost as if they were waiting for the humans to make up their
minds.
 
    Finally nodding in surrender, Don said to Julie, "Jules, I
need you to climb down off Nightmare, and then climb up onto the top of
the wagon, and you *stay there*."
 
    "Okay," she answered, her voice quavering with fear.  She
did as he instructed, and he quickly dismounted, as well.
 
    "Susan, what about the saddles?"
 
    "Remove them.  Any added weight will slow them down."
 
    Don looked it over, and figured out how to take the saddle
off, but he couldn't get it off the horse, because the animal was too
big.  He took off the horse's bridle, and unhooked her from the wagon.
 
    "You'll have to shake it loose yourself, girl," he said to
Nightmare.  Nightmare took three steps forward, and then reared up. 
The saddle flew off her back to land on the ground.  She was
immediately joined by Jeremy, and they whinnied together, charging
toward the ring of wolves.  When they were about ten feet away, they
leapt.  Don swore they both cleared a fifteen-foot-high jump, and
probably fifty feet in length.  They landed well outside the ring of
wolves, and sped away.  All but two of the wolves split off and began
chasing the horses.  The two remaining separated and began to circle in
on the people.
 
    "Susan..."
 
    "Already on it."  She drew an arrow with a large, serrated
head and nocked it to her bow.  She drew the bow and took careful aim
at the moving animal.  This would be a tough shot, and she missed with
her first attempt.
 
    "It's getting hard for me to see him," she said.  Don
immediately cast a light spell, and a large orb of light filled the
meadow with near-daylight conditions.  "Thanks," Susan said.
 
    Fitting another arrow to her bow, she aimed, and fired. 
The arrow penetrated halfway into the animal's body, and it was thrown
onto its side.  The animal howled in pain, but it did not rise.
 
    "Oh, shit!" Gill called, as the other wolf charged.  He had
his sword out already, and he held it before him, hoping he could fend
off the wolf, but this animal weighed more than he did.  The first
attack caused him no injuries, but it knocked him to the ground.
 
    Don saw his friend in trouble and quickly cast a spell,
letting loose a red ball of magical fire.  The fire hit the wolf square
on the noise, and the animal's fur was quickly set ablaze.  The animal
yelped in pain, and continued yelping as it ran off into the distance,
trailing magical sparks that disappeared, rather than catching anything
else on fire.
 
    The entire group took a deep breath.  Don went over to help
Julie down from the wagon.  She embraced him as if he were her lifeline.
 
    "Does anyone else think that was way too convenient?" Gill
asked.
 
    "Yes," Don answered softly, since he was a little too close
to Julie's ear.
 
    "What?" Julie cried, pushing herself away from him.  "This
is *convenient*?"
 
    "Not for us.  But that's his point.  Those animals weren't
really trying to kill us.  Something tells me that, if we'd run away
from the wagon, the other two wolves wouldn't have followed us.  They
weren't trying to kill us.  They were trying to take away all of our
tools."
 
    "And it worked," Gill said.  "Shit."
 
    "Yeah."
 
    "What does this mean, Donny?" Katie asked.
 
    "It means," he said, looking around uselessly, "that we're
being watched."
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Annie sat uncomfortably and watched Baruek as he slept. 
She couldn't manage to get to sleep herself; she couldn't find a
comfortable position.  She wondered what else she could do.  She'd used
the tyrannosaur call because she knew that her friends would recognize
it as something not of Zemlia Nov.  She didn't really expect it to ward
off wild animals, and that, too, worried her.
 
    Sitting there, she thought about what she could try to do
to help herself.  She really wanted to know if Don was all right.  She
suddenly remembered that she wasn't just a sorceress: she was also a
psionic.  She wondered if she could contact him telepathically.  Surely
telepathy would be the easiest of skills, wouldn't it?
 
    Annie closed her eyes, and she began to concentrate.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    The team had waited to see if the dire wolves would come
back, but they didn't.  Then, they each got out their backpacks and
began sifting through the wagon's materials.  They had packed an
inordinate amount of equipment into the wagon, and there was no way in
hell they were going to carry even a quarter of it.  Katie couldn't
carry anything at all, save a few small pouches tied to her waist. 
Julie was almost as useless because she had no strength to carry a
load.  Susan and Gill would pack the heaviest loads.  Don also packed a
somewhat heavy load, but he spirited his backpack away into another
dimension.
 
    "Hell, if you can do that, why don't you just disappear the
whole fucking wagon?" Gill asked.
 
    "Because it takes a certain amount of energy to keep each
object in place.  I'm trading magical energy for physical energy.  I'm
not in as good a shape as you guys are, and I don't want to slow us
down."
 
    "Oh.  Damn.  I thought I had a good solution."
 
    "I wish."
 
    After everyone had sorted their gear and filled their packs
to the maximum, they began to walk.  Julie walked right beside Don,
close enough that he felt it necessary to wrap his arm around her waist
to make her comfortable.  Katie flew beside them.
 
    "You know, you can walk now, if you want," he told his
sister.
 
    "I've found flying is actually easier.  It takes less
effort."
 
    "Hmph.  Must be nice."
 
    The group walked on in silence from there, with Katie
slightly ahead of everyone else, and Gill bringing up the rear, as he
watched Susan's rear swaying as she walked.  It made him horny, but
there was nothing he could do about that.
 
    Suddenly, Don's head snapped up and twisted to the left. 
His eyes looked a little glazed, but he kept walking.  This was a
problem, because he needed to pay attention to where he was going.  He
stepped right into a gopher hole and fell, twisting around until he was
lying on his back.
 
    Luckily for Don, his ankle did not get caught in the hole,
and so he didn't wind up with so much as a sprain.  However, since he
had been holding onto Julie when he'd fallen, she had lost her balance
and fallen right on top of him.  He had the presence of mind to catch
her, not that it improved the impact on himself any.  She lay on top of
him, looking him square in the eye for several seconds.
 
    When their lips met, it was a long and heartfelt kiss.  She
was expressing her thanks to him for all he had done, and he was
expressing his caring for her, to make sure she was safe.  It lasted
for several seconds, and was long enough to bring a sarcastic comment
from Gill.
 
    "Would you like us to just erect the tent around you two?"
 
    The couple broke their kiss, and they both blushed.  Julie
lifted herself off of Don, and then helped him up.  He tested his leg
gingerly, to see if it was broken or sprained, but it was merely sore. 
He looked up at the sky and shook his head.
 
    "Thanks a lot, Annie.  Like I really needed that?"
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Annie opened her eyes.  *Oops.  Sorry, Don.*  She smiled at
what she had seen through his eyes, though.  Finally, with a grin on
her lips, she dozed off to sleep.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    The group traveled for another half-hour before finally
spotting the path into the forest.  Immediately, they all found a place
to sit down.  They'd forgotten what walking through this world had been
like.  The horses were so much faster...
 
    Don called forth his pack from the dimension he was keeping
it in.  His pack was roughly twice as big as everyone else's, because
he felt there were some things that they just absolutely had to have. 
One of them was the tent that Gill had mentioned earlier.
 
    While Julie and Katie began preparing dinner, the other
three began erecting the tent.  It was large enough for six people to
sleep in, and for a small fire in the center.  The material, Darnell
said, was non-combustible, and the tent was designed for this kind of
use.  The material also would not let light out, so that their campfire
would not give them away.  The tent packed away into a very small,
light package, but that only meant that assembly was a bitch and a
half, and it took them until dinner was ready to get it accomplished.
 
    The five sat quietly for their meal, on opposite sides of
the fire.  Julie remained by Don's side throughout.  It was something
of a strained situation, which seemed odd to all of them, since they
had not been arguing or at odds, especially now that they knew Annie
was alive.  Gill was very surprised that she was, but knowing that,
there was no way he'd leave her here, either.
 
    The meal finally passed, and then the team had to decide
what to do about the night.  Don had a suggestion.
 
    "You guys rest first, and we'll take the first watch. 
We'll wake you in six hours."
 
    "Six?"
 
    "We're walking again.  That means we're going to be more
tired.  We're going to need more sleep."
 
    Gill nodded, understanding.  He didn't think they really
needed six hours a night.  On the other hand, perhaps Don was simply
covering 'other things' with that six hours.  Gill grinned just
considering it.
 
    "Jules, you better grab a jacket.  It's getting windy out
there."  Katie was already putting on her warmest clothes.
 
    "See you two in six hours," Don said before heading out the
flap of the tent and fastening it behind him.  Susan was half-naked
before Don had finished hooking the tent closed.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Nothing happened during their six-hour watch, and all three
of them were thankful for that.  They'd stood far enough away from the
tent that they first could not hear what was going on inside, and then
so that they could not be heard from inside, so as not to disturb the
happy sleeping couple.  Once they'd fallen asleep, Don had gone over
and unfastened all but two of the hooks keeping the tent flap closed. 
He did this because he wanted them to be able to get out quickly if
they were needed.
 
    Once his timing orb, which was very dim, had gone out, he
sent Julie in to wake up the other two.  That left Kate and him alone
for the first time all day.
 
    "Are you okay, Katie?" he asked.
 
    "Right now I'm cold and tired," she answered with a yawn.
 
    With a little concern, he asked, "anything else?"
 
    "Nope.  I just want a warm bed."  She smiled at him.
 
    He stepped a little closer to her.  "Did what happened
between Julie and me earlier... did that bother you?"
 
    Katie giggled.  "Nope."
 
    He hugged her tightly.  "I love you."
 
    "I love you, too."
 
    In another minute, Susan and Gill made their way out to the
other two.  Don sent Katie back to the tent, but he stayed for a
moment.  "Susan, could you give us a minute, please?"
 
    "Sure."  She walked off a little ways, but not so far that
they couldn't see her.
 
    "What's up?" Gill asked.
 
    "Is there going to be a problem between you and me over
Julie?"
 
    "Hell no!  I never wanted her in the first place!  Not that
she doesn't have a great body or anything, but...  To tell you the
truth, I'm glad I don't have to deal with her anymore.  More power to
you."
 
    Don released a sigh.  He had been worried about that. 
After all, she'd been the cause of the split in his group, and he
didn't want a repeat of that situation.
 
    "You tell me now, is there going to be a problem over what
I said about not going to look for Annie?"
 
    Don shook his head.  "No.  I could see your point then. 
I'm just glad you turned out to be wrong."
 
    "Me, too, man.  Go get some rest.  We'll see you in the
morning."
 
    Don cast another timing orb, since it would probably be
daylight before their six hours was up, and then he headed back to the
tent.  Susan, seeing that the conversation was over, came back to her
brother.
 
    "Trouble?" she asked with concern.
 
    "No, just guy stuff."
 
    "Mm.  I like your guy stuff," she purred.
 
    Gill hugged her, but said, "Not now!  Besides, it's much
too cold out here for you to get naked!"  They both laughed.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Inside the tent, the three were settling down for sleep. 
Katie kissed her brother good-night, and slipped a little way away from
the other two.  She knew that Julie needed Don even more than she did,
and she accepted that.  She knew the toughest part would be for Annie
to accept it all when she was found.  It wasn't really Donny's fault;
everyone was depending on him, and he was so willing to give of
himself.  Kate worried that he would wear out before they got home, so
she would try to take care of herself as much as possible.
 
    Don settled onto his mat next to Julie, who had removed
some of her clothes because they were simply impossible to sleep in. 
She had replaced them with a sleeping gown, and Don had not been in the
tent when she changed.  Now, she turned to him with fear in her eyes.
 
    "Are we going to be okay?" she asked.
 
    "We'll be fine," he answered, with more confidence than he
felt.  He reached out to her, and she came to him, snuggling against
him.  He knew that his sister really did accept things; her kiss had
told him that.  Given that, he couldn't let Julie suffer her fear
alone.  He kissed her softly, and brushed her hair out of her face with
his hand.
 
    "Try to get some sleep.  Tomorrow's another day."
 
    "Good-night," she said, laying her head against him.
 
    "G'night," he replied, already half-asleep.
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
    Don was awakened a few hours later, but at first he didn't
know by what.  Then he felt her shudder again.  He looked down at
Julie, and it was obvious that she was suffering a nightmare.  Her
movements must have awakened him.  He wondered whether or not he should
wake her up or not.
 
    The question was answered for him just a few seconds later,
when she let out a short scream, and sat upright on the mat.  Don sat
up next to her.  Her chest was heaving, and she had broken out in a
cold sweat.  Her nightgown clung to her, and Don had to try to ignore
that for the moment, since he was trying to calm her down.  He reached
around her to embrace her, pulling her to himself.  He brought his one
hand up to her head, and gently pulled it to his shoulder.  He brushed
her sweat-dampened hair out of her face, and he spoke very quietly to
her, trying to comfort her.  He took a moment to glance over at his
sister, but she had not even stirred.  That worried him: a scream could
have meant an enemy.
 
    He set that thought aside as he tried to comfort the girl
in his arms.  Julie began to settle after a couple of minutes.  She
shifted somewhat, however, turning herself slightly away from Don's
embrace.  That move caused Don's hand to slip upward, ultimately
landing on her breast.  Instinctively, he cupped her breast and
squeezed ever so gently.  Julie sighed at the feel of his hand on her
body.
 
    She turned her face to him, and their lips sought each
other out.  Don did not move his hand as they began to kiss.  It wasn't
long before her tongue slipped out, seeking and gaining entrance into
his mouth.  Her tongue slid along his, and the two of them remained
lip-locked as they lay back onto their mat, still kissing and with Don
still fondling her tit.
 
    Don continued to squeeze and fondle Julie's breast as they
kissed.  After a minute, he rolled on top of her, supporting himself on
knees and his one elbow.  He allowed his hand to stray from her tit and
down her body, until he found the hem of her gown.  He pulled it up as
far as he could, and then slipped his hand underneath it, allowing his
fingers to dance along on bare skin.  When his hand reached her breast
again, she moaned into his mouth as his fingers found her nipple and
brushed over it lightly.
 
    Julie reached down, and finally found the fastener for
Don's robe.  She fumbled with it for several seconds before managing to
get it undone.  When his robe fell open, she pushed her hands inside,
to run up and down his bare sides, and feel his soft skin against her
hands.
 
    Eventually, the couple broke their kiss.  Julie moved her
hips to pull her nightgown up far enough, and then she sat up to pull
it off.  Meanwhile, Don shucked his robe and pulled off his underwear,
something that Julie had not been wearing in the first place.  Now,
with both of them naked, they came back together, embracing
passionately and their kiss beginning anew.  Don loved the feel of her
large tits pressed against his chest, her nipples digging into his
skin.  He once again carefully laid her down onto the mat, with himself
above her.  They continued to kiss as he now brought both his hands to
her tits, caressing and massaging her tender flesh.
 
    After a few minutes of this, Julie had to gently push him
away.  She looked up at him, and then down his body, to his hard cock. 
She looked back up at him and gave him a certain look, which he
understood completely.
 
    Don reached down and positioned himself at her entrance. 
Julie held completely still, waiting for him to penetrate.  Slowly,
tenderly, Don pushed his dick into her, allowing it to sink, inch by
inch, into her depths.  Julie sighed at the feel of his hard cock
entering her; it made her feel so much better than she had in days.
 
    Don moved slowly out of her, and slowly back in.  Julie was
moaning lowly and running her hands along his chest.  He continued to
play with her tits, rubbing them softly and molding them in his hands. 
His cock moved in and out, without rush but with plenty of feeling.
 
    After a few moments, the two of them began to move more
rapidly together.  It was still not hurried, but their passion was
growing.  Don leaned down and kissed Julie, their tongues entwined, and
soon were doing their own wet dance of pleasure.  Don rolled to the
side, pulling Julie with him.  They rearranged themselves slightly, and
continued to couple in this position.  Now, Don's hands were freer, and
while one of them cupped her head as they kissed, his other hand
reached around to fondle her ass.  Julie groaned into his mouth as she
felt his fingers plying her butt. He continued to press his cock deep
into her cunt, and she was in heaven.
 
    Don rolled once again, bringing Julie on top.  Now she
broke their kiss and sat up.  She continued to move on him, though,
allowing her tits to bounce freely, until he brought his hands up to
cup them and squeeze them.  Julie moaned at the wonderful feelings Don
was causing her.  She could feel her own orgasm coming, and she sensed
that he was close, as well.  She pushed herself, reaching down to
finger her clit, raising herself closer to her own climax.
 
    Don bucked up at his lovely partner, enjoying every second
of their lovemaking.  He continued to fondle her breasts, tweaking her
nipples and rolling them between his fingers.  She began to grunt in
her passion, and he knew that she was ready.  He thrust harder, and
tugged on her nipples, hoping to bring her over the edge.  She reached
down again and frigged her clit quickly, and then she was there.  She
cried out in her passion, but softly, moaning lowly.  The squeezing of
her pussy on his dick was more than he could take, and he let loose,
blasting his cum deep into her cunt.  The two writhed together for
several moments before they finally came down.
 
    When she came down from her high, Don pulled Julie down
into an embrace.  They kissed again, more tenderly this time.  When
they parted, Julie had a smile on her face.
 
    "Thanks," she said softly.
 
    "Any time," he replied, with a smile of his own.  Julie
rolled off him, and turned over, snuggling back against him.  He could
tell that she was asleep in seconds.
 
    Don closed his eyes, but found that sleep had deserted him
for the moment.  Suddenly, he felt something warm and wonderful engulf
his dick.  He opened his eyes to see his sister's head bobbing up and
down on his hardening shaft.  Even after the wonderful encounter he'd
just had, his sister's mouth could raise his prick from dormancy.
 
    Not wanting to be ungrateful, Don reached over and gently
pulled his sister's body around so that her pussy was over his face. 
He noted that she wasn't wearing any panties, and that was fine with
him.  He pulled her hips down until his tongue could reach its target. 
He began to lap at her pussy lips, and she moaned on his cock, sending
shivers throughout his body.
 
    Don let his lips wander up toward his sister's clit, and he
pushed a finger deep into her cunt.  As his finger began to move
rapidly in and out of her, his tongue assaulted her clit in a most
pleasant manner.  They both moved rapidly against each other, their
fever growing.
 
    Suddenly, Katie sat up, bringing her cunt out of his
reach.  She moved off him, and turned to face him.  "I can't stand it,"
she said lowly.  "I need you to fuck me!"
 
    As she lay on the mat, Don rolled over on top of her.  She
brought her wings around and upward, as if to block off the rest of the
world from view.  He looked down at her sweet pussy, and he slid his
dick easily into her waiting opening.  She mewled in pleasure at the
feel of her brother's wonderful dick.
 
    There was no preamble for these two; Don began to rut
against his sister, and her hips were bucking upward to meet his every
thrust.  The two of them grunted and groaned in their pleasure.  Don
leaned down, taking his sister into his arms and kissing her hotly as
they fucked.  Their tongues were soon dancing, and their bodies became
as one, moving in unison toward the ultimate pleasure.
 
    Don lifted Kate off the mat, and pulled her with him until
he was sitting back on his ankles.  She wrapped her legs around his
waist, and rode him for all she was worth.  They continued to kiss as
they screwed in this position, riding the wave higher and higher.
 
    Eventually, the wave had to crest.  Katie went over first,
screaming her passion into Don's mouth.  Her cunt squeezed and milked
his cock, trying to pull the cum from his balls.  It worked, and he
spewed his load into her, his body jerking with the orgasmic pleasure
of it.
 
    The two held tightly to each other throughout their climax,
and when they came down, they continued to hold each other.  Finally,
they broke their kiss, and smiled, breathlessly, at each other.
 
    Don finally laid Kate back down on the mat, and kissed her
one more time.  She looked up at him with love.
 
    "Sorry we woke you up," he said very softly.
 
    "I'm not.  That was wonderful," she answered.
 
    "I love you, Katie."
 
    "I love you, too."
 
 
 
...---=== http://netwolf.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
...---=== http://netwolf.wolfpub.org ===---...
 
 
 
