Chapter 1: Windswept
A chill wind swept through the forest, jostling the reeds lining the streams and tall strands of bracken. It kicked up rotting, filthy leaves, exposing the sleeping earth underneath. It brushed aside great tree trunks and nearly lifted mats of dried up ferns. The wind carried with it the warning of ice and snow later, echoed by the dull, grey sky. Wolves howled in the dark trees. Their jackal cousins answered on the moor and threatened a reign of terror and death.
What little sunlight slipped through the clouds didn’t break the thick, matted leaves. It lay there weakly, stuck on last year’s detritus, and waited for night to fall. A small stream trickled beside the well rutted road. It was mostly hidden by overlong grass and reeds, but one could still hear it well enough. More water splashed down the cliff face. It, too, was hidden by a nearly impenetrable mat of roots and brush.
Lord Wolf Hein pulled his coat around himself as he rode down the middle of that road. A white dog loped beside him. Mud coated her once pristine pelt and her golden eyes scanned the dark roadside for any danger. Her tail - low to the ground like her wolf mother’s - twitched every time she sensed danger. She glanced up every few moments to check on her master. Wolf mostly ignored his dog. Anya was more than capable of protecting them both.
“It’s going to snow later,” a dour man said. He urged his black gelding up close to Wolf. “You know I hate being out like this.”
Wolf laughed. “You hate everything, Jaeger.”
“True,” Jaeger replied. He tensed, the scars on his face flushing some. “Anya’s nervous.”
She was. Anya pressed her belly to the ground a few feet ahead of them, her hackles raised. Her entire body was stiff and her wicked fangs bared. Wolf cursed. He dismounted his dun stallion, looping the reins over the saddle, and rested his hand on the pistol. His green eyes narrowed as he scanned the landscape. Ahead of them, Anya growled as she crawled into the underbrush. Wolf flipped up the collar on the coat as he went after her.
“Oh, tell me you aren’t going to do that!” Jaeger said. “You idiot!”
“I’m not going to let my dog get hurt,” Wolf said. He shrugged, a stupid grin on his face. “What if it’s a wolf?”
“She’ll be fine,” Jaeger said. Still, he dismounted. “Your dog kills people.”
“That man needed killing.” Wolf stepped off the road, then nearly tripped as his foot vanished up to the ankle. “Klaus, watch your step! There’s a creek here.”
“Oh, charming,” Jaeger said as he grabbed a dark, winter dead branch. “Not only am I cold, I’m going to get wet. Fuck my life, Wolf. And fuck you, too.”
Wolf turned around. “Your wife would have something to say about that.”
“I know,” Jaeger said. He grabbed another branch and started picking his way through the stream. “Why didn’t I bring home enough to share?”
“I did not need to know about your sex life,” Wolf said. He shuddered. “Gods above, man, your wife scares the hell out of me!”
Wolf grabbed a dogwood branch before he slipped on the rocks. Thousands of them lined the stream bed. They had all been worn smooth and slick by the rushing water, making them nearly impossible to walk on safely. The rough bark tore at Wolf’s gloves. He ignored it, doing his best to get to the other side. The cliffs loomed in the background. Wolf grabbed a laurel tangle and pulled himself through it, just as Anya released a wild flurry of barking. Water swirled around his boots. It tugged at him with its icy grip and taunted him with the possibility of drowning.
“Shit!” Wolf slipped on a rock and grabbed the branch again. “Could she pick a nastier place to go off chasing rabbits?!”
“What if she’s not chasing rabbits?” Jaeger asked. He gave Wolf a long look. “Someone tried to kill you a week ago. You really need to be careful with it.”
Wolf shrugged. He’d managed to kill that one devil - mostly because Anya helped him - and he figured he could do that again. He had his pistol, after all. He had his dagger. He had his dog. He even had Jaeger. If anyone wanted to cause trouble, they were going to get more than they bargained for. If Wolf didn’t get them, Jaeger or Anya would. They wouldn’t be as nice about it as he was, either.
Anya tensed. She growled as she fastened her jaws around a thick branch. Wolf hauled himself out of the stream. He braced himself against the tangled laurel, swearing when the blossoms smeared on his blue coat. He shouldered his way through the moss covered tangled. Thorns tugged at his arms. He swatted them away, along with the late season gnats. They swarmed around him and nipped at his skin.
“Dammit!” Wolf snapped. He dropped his shoulder and ducked under a tangled bough. “Anya, Anya, Anya. What the hell are you doing?”
Anya ignored him. She focused her golden eyes on a sodden lump under the bush. Wolf swore. He grabbed his dagger and pressed it against his sleeves. His breath caught as he ducked under the tangles. They raked at his hair, threatening to rip it out. The dead leaves slipped down his shirt and chilled his warm skin. Wolf cursed under his breath. He crouched beside Anya and tried to push her aside.
Anya snapped at him, her ears pinned to her skull.
Wolf raised his hand. “I want to help you, genius.”
Anya growled. She leaned her heavy body against his, then grabbed what Wolf thought was a branch. She braced herself against the muddy ground as she started backing up. Every muscle in her lean body trembled. Mud flecked her snowy fur. Anya ignored all of that, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Slowly, oh so slowly, the lump started to move. Dead leaves sloughed off matted, filthy cotton and wrapped around a pale arm.
Wolf reared back. “Jaeger! It’s a dead body!”
Jaeger pushed him aside. “That’s worse than the dead deer.”
“Can she help it she’s a wolf?” Wolf asked. He pushed Jaeger aside and grabbed the body’s shoulder. “All right, let’s get him out. Who do you think did it?”
“My money’s on the Xiderans,” Jaeger said. He gave Wolf a long look. “You know what they’re like.”
“I mean, I don’t think they’d do this.” Wolf crouched beside the pale, still man and brushed the leaves from his face. “He’s not even important.”
The dead man wore grey and white striped fatigues, like many low level laborers did, but he was painfully thin. Every bone jutted from his moon pale skin. His hair - matted and limp - was plastered to his scalp. Wolf looked away. He took a breath before he forced himself to look at the dead man again. He brushed away the rest of the leaves as though that could reverse the scene in front of him.
“Poor bastard,” Jaeger said. “Reminds me of the other one.”
“Other one?” Wolf cocked his head.
“That one died.” Jaeger licked his lips. “He was conscious when we got him out of the river, but he wouldn’t take any food. If they eat, even a little, they usually make it. Looks like this bastard didn’t have a chance.”
Wolf crouched beside the poor devil and brushed back his filthy hair. “We should take him back. Give him a proper burial.”
Jaeger spat over his shoulder. “Xideran bastards.”
“We don’t know it was them,” Wolf cautioned. He took a breath and grabbed the man by the shoulders. “For all we know, it was one of your own.”
He squeezed that thin, bony shoulder - just enough to make his point - and shouted when the man groaned.
“He’s not dead!” Wolf shook the man. “Come on, come on, you stupid bastard! Wake up!”
He slapped that pale, sunken cheek. Anya barked. She bit the man’s arm, them shook her head. Cloudy blue eyes opened and looked around in bewildered pain. Wolf dragged him to a sitting position. He stripped off his coat, ignoring the cold, and draped it over his shoulders. The man’s head lolled against his shoulder. He was out of it, far more out of it than what Wolf was comfortable with, but he wasn’t dead.
“We’re going to have to get him to the palace,” Jaeger said. “He can’t ride.”
“I’ll hold him.” Wolf dragged him into his arms, pressing that cold cheek against his. “He’s so cold, Klaus.”
“Get him warm. Wrap the coat around both of you,” Jaeger said. He stood and shooed Anya away. “When you get home, you need to make sure he eats. If he doesn’t, plan a state funeral.”
Wolf obeyed. He stripped the man’s coat off, ignoring the faint protesting plea, and wrapped it around his shoulders. Then he pressed the man close to him. He was so cold that Wolf gasped. Ice gripped that poor bastard’s flesh. Every inch of him was wet and cold. Had he gotten caught in the rain? Wolf stood slowly. Jaeger tucked the man’s hands into his shirt in an attempt to save them and awkwardly tied the coat closed.
“He’s going to loose that eye for sure.” Jaeger brushed his fingers over the man’s swollen, darkened right eye socket.
“I’ll call him One Eye until we can get his name,” Wolf said. He swore when he looked at the snarled laurel and the stream. “We have to get across that.” He looked down to One Eye. “I’m going to try to keep you dry. What happened to you?”
One Eye didn’t respond. This close, Wolf could see he filth ingrained in his body. His hair was stiff with it and dried mud gave his skin the perverse parody of a healthy glow. His eye reeked with infection. He was limp, so limp that Wolf feared he would die in his arms. He swallowed as he took a step toward the stream. Jaeger pushed as many branches away as he could and steadied him when he started on the slippery rocks.
One Eye didn’t stir. Not even when the wind caught his coat and sliced through filthy clothes. Wolf stepped as carefully as he could. Cold creek water washed over his boots and flooded them. He tensed as the chill stabbed him. Had One Eye experienced that? Only, he didn’t have a warm bed to crawl into at the end of the day, nor a fire to dry him. Wolf tightened his grip. Jaeger grabbed his collar and all but dragged him out of the stream.
“Think he can stand long enough to get on a horse?” Wolf asked.
“We’re about to find out.” Jaeger stepped around Anya. “Stay here with him. I’m going to get that stallion of yours.”
Wolf winced, but didn’t argue. One Eye’s ribs cut into his arms. The man moaned. His eyes fluttered open again - the injured one ulcerated and streaked with something dark - and he mumbled as he burrowed into the coat. Wolf adjusted his grip. Even One Eye’s slight weight was starting to wear on him. His grip started slipping. The worn fabric tore a little, exposing already chilled flesh to the cold.
“You have to stand,” Wolf said. He started dropping One Eye’s legs to the ground. “I can’t hold you forever.”
Then he noticed One Eye didn’t have shoes or even socks. Wolf’s heart twisted. Still, he did his best to prop One Eye up. The man swayed on his feet. Wolf held him tightly, even as he hoped against all hope he wouldn’t get too filthy.
“Get him on the horse!” Jaeger jogged over with Wolf’s snorting stallion. “You hold your little bastard and I’ll get him on there.”
“Good call.” Wolf grabbed the reins. “He’s in a bad way.”
“They usually are,” Jaeger grunted. He took One Eye out of Wolf’s grip. “All right, you. You have no idea how lucky you are. A Xideran would have left you to die, but we’re better than that.”
Wolf rolled his eyes. He stroked his horse’s shoulder as Jaeger mounted him. Jaeger grabbed One Eye by the collar and dragged him into the saddle. One Eye didn’t protest. He was as limp as ever, his eyes closed. His cheeks had a little color now, but he was still snow pale.
Wolf’s heart sank to his boots. Unless they got to the palace quickly, One Eye was going to die.
