Chapter Eleven: The Zero Boundary
I
No matter how much of the world was overrun by war, the colors of the seasons never altered. They were simply there, at the side of all things that lived between heaven and earth.
It was the Brume Star Moon of Tempus Fugit 1001. People saw their breath grow whiter with every passing day, heralding that winter had arrived in earnest. In answer to Prince Regent Selvia’s request, Olivia and Blood set off from the Emaleid Citadel and rode for the royal capital, accompanied by a retinue of guards.
A moment after the first black droplet came down onto the sunset-red earth, the world was transfigured into a cold and forbidding place. But for Olivia, it was no more than the everyday scenery she had known for as long as she could remember. She was enjoying the evening breeze when Blood, who rode alongside her, spoke.
“Nothing seems to go to plan. It looks like we’ll be sleeping rough tonight.”
By now, they should have reached the town where they had intended to spend the night. But thanks to a landslide that completely blocked the road, they had been forced to take a detour. Now, they were taking an unplanned gallop through a forest.
Olivia considered this for a moment, then said, “If we’re going to camp, I think we should go a bit further on.”
“Why’s that?”
“Dusksight wolves get really hungry around this time of year.”
“What, so they’ll attack us?”
“Yep. Given how stinky we are, I’d say there’s quite a few hanging around nearby.”
Blood snorted and gave a small shake of his head.
A short while later, they heard a harsh and full-throated howl, followed a few seconds later by more howls in a chorus. The wolves really were close. And judging from the timbre of their howls, they weren’t young dusksight wolves like Patches, Spot, and Pooch, but old dogs hardened by years. Even unicorns avoided facing down a tightly organized pack of dusksight wolves, they were such a menace—something Olivia knew from experience.
“This is just me, but I’d say we get out of here ASAP. If we go now, we can still shake them off.”
“I sure don’t want to end up as wolf food.” With a flick of his reins, Blood urged his horse on. The guards followed after on high alert.
Just in case, Olivia reached for the miniature ballista strapped to her back. Not long after—
“They’re still there!” shouted one of the guards. “Still on our tail!”
A pack of more than twenty dusksight wolves gained on them from behind. Meanwhile, two smaller packs were in hot pursuit, one either side of them, weaving through the dense forest with ease.
As Olivia took aim at one of the approaching wolves, she wondered aloud, “That’s weird. Dusksight wolves never run with other packs. Maybe there isn’t enough to eat in the forest? Hey, Blood? What do you think?”
“Hell if I know! Does this look like the time for logical analysis?”
Olivia laughed. “Okay, fair point.” She waited until the exact moment that the wolf sprang, then loosed. The bolt stopped the attack before it began. She then went on doing the same thing over and over.
If we’ve gotten this far, we should be all right. About fifteen minutes later, Olivia, confident that they had escaped the dusksight wolves’ pursuit, picked out a rocky cave nestled in the darkness.
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