Lupi 04 - Night Season

small, orange body anywhere, either moving or still. “Where’s Gan?”
    â€œSome of the horses spooked, ran off ahead,” Steve said. His own horse was placidly nudging the snow aside, hunting for grass to crop. “Her rider must have lost control of his mount.”
    â€œWe’d better look for her. For my stupid horse, too.” Cynna set off, limping slightly. Her hip hurt. She hadn’t noticed that until she started moving. More liniment tonight.
    Chulak assumed they were trying to escape. On foot. At a slow walk.
    She glared up at him on his horse. They were surrounded by seven of the mounted Ahk. “Idiot. We’re looking for Gan. For my horse, too, and I think you’ve got a few of those missing yourself. We’ll be sure and let you know if we see them.”
    Ahk were so armored by their own superiority that they scarcely noticed insults—at least Chulak didn’t. The big leader gave orders and his minions snapped to obey, trotting their horses toward the downhill exit from the little meadow. Rock and earth humped up at that end, with a single opening. Runaway horses would react like anyone in a panic, Cynna supposed, taking the easiest route—downhill, not up, and through an opening rather than clambering up the sides of the rocky hummock.
    As soon as the horses and their riders moved out of her way, Cynna started walking again. So did Steve and, after a moment, her father, the two men leading their horses. Chulak stared at them with that massive indifference Cynna hated. He didn’t bother to stop them.
    â€œGuess someone gave him a clue,” she muttered.
    â€œYou like to push it, don’t you?” Steve said.
    â€œSometimes.” When she was pissed all the way down. Like now. Why now, rather than at any one of a number of moments in the last days—or weeks—she couldn’t say. She just knew she’d had enough.
    Not that it changed anything.
    She heard some of the Ahk calling out up ahead, but they were on the other side of the rocky hummock, which kept the charm from working, so she didn’t know what they said. They sounded cheerful, not upset.
    A few feet beyond the opening in the hummock the trail veered left, running between masses of trees. She hurried along it. Up ahead a bunch of horses blocked the path. She heard rocks falling. Laughter. A screech—Gan’s voice. That had to be Gan. No one else was nearly that high-pitched.
    Cynna lurched into an awkward run, her hip making her slow. Steve shot ahead of her.
    More voices, and this time the charm worked: “Catch this one, then, little one!”
    Gan screamed.
    â€œArkhar, you missed! Such a bad shot you are—she can’t catch them unless they come much closer!”
    â€œTry it with a bigger one, Sithell. Maybe she can catch a bigger rock.”
    Steve shoved his way past the horses. “God damn you!” he yelled. “Stop it!”
    Cynna squeezed between big, smelly horse bodies, getting switched in the face by one animal’s tail, and came out in a wide spot in the trail. Or what used to be the trail.
    Five Ahk were gathered at a drop-off where there should have been more trail. After ten or twelve feet of hole-in-the-ground, the trail resumed. A lone Ahk stood on the other side with his horse, running his hands over one of the animal’s back legs.
    On this side, one of the Ahk stood at the edge holding a rock the size of his head in both hands.
    Steve stood beside him, quivering with anger. He didn’t seem to be aware that the Ahk was two feet taller and a hundred pounds heavier than him. “I said put it down, motherfucker!”
    The Ahk didn’t have a charm to translate Steve’s words, but he had a pretty good idea what the human was saying. That was obvious from the way he sneered when he spoke.
    Cynna’s charm said, “Maybe you want to catch it this time? But we didn’t ask you to play, human.” And he dropped the rock over the edge.
    Gan screeched again, an ear-splitting howl that mixed with the sound of the rock crashing down and down and down.
    â€œChulak!” Cynna screamed “Get your ass over here! They’re killing one of your hostages!”
    Steve wasn’t waiting on Chulak to sort things out. His fist shot out in a punch to the gut that startled the big rock-dropping warrior more than hurt him. The others started laughing even as Steve rammed his shoulder into the