Barb Hendee - In Shade and Shadow

Wynn blinked as the black figure shrank away one pace, and the wolf, so tall—too tall—spun to one side.

She saw its pointed ears and long muzzle. And its glittering eyes, like pale and faceted sapphires… like Chap's eyes.

It was a majay-hì, but it wasn't Chap.

A hiss of unintelligible whispers filled the street in answer to the animal's threat. The dog lunged in.

"No!" Wynn breathed. "Don't!"

The air's chill waned as the figure pulled farther back.

Wynn stared at the snarling dog.

How could it be here, and why? Chap was the only majay-hì that she knew of beyond the bounds of the elven lands. Unlike his silvery gray, this one's charcoal-colored fur was almost inky, though faint shimmers rose within its coat.

As much as for herself, Wynn feared for this animal so far from its native land. And all she had for defense was the sun crystal staff. She'd brought that more for show, in case she needed to threaten Chane. She'd promised il'Sänke never to attempt to use it without his guidance. And honestly, she wasn't even sure if she could.

The black figure slid sideways, trying to get around the dog, and the pure silence of its movement terrified Wynn. The majay-hì darted quickly to cut it off, and the figure swung one hand down at the dog's head.

"No!" Wynn shouted, though it came out voiceless and strangled.

She'd seen this creature kill three city guards with little effort.

The dog twisted its head clear of the strike and whipped back with a snap. Its jaws bit into—through—those wrapped fingers. The majay-hì's teeth clacked, as if they'd closed on nothing at all.

The figure snatched its hand back, fingers quivering as if in pain.

An eerie, hollow screech erupted around Wynn. And the dog's yelp rose over that. The majay-hì backed toward her, shaking its head in whimpers.

Wynn was so startled that she forgot about the staff and crystal.

An undead mage, with the skill to become incorporeal, and yet the snap of a Fay-descended majay-hì had hurt it in turn. Both dog and figure recovered quickly and fixed upon each other with caution. Wynn tried to block out the threatening snarls and hissing.

She ripped the sheath off the sun crystal.

Letting it drop, she gripped the staff with both hands and shut her eyes, trying to remember what little Domin il'Sänke had taught her.

Not a spell, but more a series of thoughts—symbols—matched with plain words so that her voice reinforced her intent. She leaned the staff's head out and concentrated, seeing the long crystal's shape in her thoughts.

"From Spirit…" she whispered, and a circle surrounded the crystal in her mind's eye. "To Fire…" And she added a triangle within the circle. "For its light" — and another inverted triangle appeared within the first—"of life!"

A final circle filled the inner space of the pattern, overlaying the crystal's image. Wynn held her focus, keeping the pattern alive in her mind.

A soft warmth spread upon her face.

The insides of her eyelids brightened slightly—as if a candle had been lit before them. Clinging to the mental pattern, Wynn turned her face aside.

"Wynn!"

She snapped her eyes open at the rasping voice.

Only the barest light showed around her. Horror flooded Wynn at the sight of Chane running toward her, his sword drawn—and the pattern vanished from her thoughts.

Light, like a noon sun, ignited before Wynn's face.

Three sounds struck her ears amid sudden blindness—a dog's startled yelp, a hiss rising to a wail, and Chane's grating shout of agony. Everything washed white, erasing Chane from Wynn's sight.

And a last sound smothered the other three.

A shriek filled Wynn's skull, riding on the searing light's pain lancing through her eyes. She felt herself hit the cobblestones.

That last sound had torn from her own throat.

Ghassan il'Sänke heard a howl and followed the sound, half leaping and half floating from rooftop to rooftop. When he reached the next street, Wynn stood with a dark wolf between her and the tall black-robed figure.

A cloaked man was running toward her, gripping a sword. "Wynn!" he cried in a rasping voice.

Then a glimmer rose in the long crystal of Wynn's staff.

"No!" Ghassan growled, and extended his hand in the air, aimed toward the staff. Not one symbol or shape came quickly enough into his mind.

Yellow-white light erupted, turning night into instant day, and Ghassan ducked, raising a sleeve before his eyes. He heard a hissing wail, a yelp, and a rasping shout. Wynn's shriek smothered all three.

Daylight winked out.

Caught half-blind between colored blotches over his sight and the sudden return of darkness, Ghassan dropped quickly over the eave's edge. But when he landed upon the street, still blinking and squinting, the black-robed figure was nowhere in sight, and neither was Wynn's armed protector. Both had fled in the crystal's flash—but not the wolf.

It shook its head, whimpering, and Ghassan ran to kneel where Wynn lay.

Curled upon the cobblestones with her eyes shut, she shuddered in a growing sweat with the staff still clutched in one hand. He jerked it from her grip, but when he tried to touch her damp brow, the lanky wolf charged at him.

Ghassan slapped his robe's skirt aside and spun away on his knees with the staff in hand. The wolf hopped straight over Wynn's quivering form to block him from reaching her.

He raised a hand, symbols and shapes forming in his vision, and prepared to cast the animal aside as easily as he lifted himself to the rooftops. The wolf pulled up short, head low and jaws parted in a snarl, but it didn't advance.

Ghassan paused and studied this aberrant animal.

It stood its ground, directly between him and Wynn, as if guarding her. And the more he saw of it, the more it seemed too oddly formed. Wolves were not found in his homeland, but its legs, ears, and snout seemed exaggerated, from what little he knew of them. And its eyes… glittering crystal blue eyes…

There was something familiar about this beast.

Ghassan had little time left if he were to free Wynn from the effects of a failed attempt with the staff. He turned his gesture from the wolf to her, closed his fingers tightly, and jerked his fist back.

Wynn's curled form slid sharply across the cobblestones—right into the wolf's legs. The animal toppled in surprise, tumbling over her. Wynn came to a stop in front of Ghassan.

He pointed the staff's crystal outward as the wolf thrashed to its feet. It hopped aside, trying to get around, but Ghassan already had his free hand on Wynn's fevered brow.

He sank into her thoughts—and erased the lingering trace of the patterned shapes submerged in her mind.

Wynn went limp and still, moaning softly as she tried to roll over. Ghassan already felt excessive heat fading from her forehead.

"The dog…" she whispered weakly. "Bring…"

She fell unconscious, and the wolf ceased rumbling, staring at her as its ears rose. Then it turned its eyes on Ghassan.

Its jowls curled, exposing teeth, as if warning him away from Wynn.

When he set the staff down, prepared to lift Wynn, the dog lunged at him and snapped.

Ghassan froze as his brow wrinkled in impatience. Wynn needed more care, and his first instinct was to just slap this animal aside—or perhaps he should kill it. Tonight had already been filled with enough nonsense.

Some form of nonsense always circled around Wynn.

But the wolf, or dog, puzzled him, as much for its sudden appearance as for its strange form. And when the black-robed mage had come after Wynn, this wild beast had tried to defend her.

He gripped the staff with his right hand, rose slowly to his feet, and swept his left hand across his sight of the wolf. More symbols formed in his mind.