Page 170 of Sun Warrior

“Yeah, it was my arrow that felled her.” Wilkes shook his head, remembering. “She was monstrously mad. Her piglets were squealing like something was killing them and she charged into camp trying to find them. When we caught them I said not to kill them—that we should raise them. But who knows what’s happened to them since.”

“Did you notice anything about the sow that was strange?”

“She was all bloody, like she’d just come through a battle, but the blood wasn’t her own. And it smelled terrible.”

“That’s it,” Nik said to Davis. “That’s how they infected the Tribe. Same as the deer that infected Thaddeus and the Earth Walkers.”

“What are you talking about?” Claudia asked.

“Davis will explain on the way.” He turned to the young Hunter.“You need to get them to the burrow. Fast. Tell Mari everything. Then tell her the leaving has been moved up to tonight at dusk. She’ll understand.”

“I hope so, because I certainly don’t,” Wilkes said.

“You will, but I promise that won’t make it any better,” Nik said. He stood and offered a hand to Wilkes, who took it and allowed Nik to pull him to his feet as Davis did the same for Claudia.

“Tell me truly—Mari can really cure us?” Wilkes said.

“She can. I give you my word on it,” Nik said.

“I’ve seen her do it—three times,” Davis said.

“Nik, circle around and approach the meditation platform from the north. Follow the path of the fire from the Channel side. Anyone who has the energy is focused on trying to make the surviving nests habitable, and getting the people back up into the trees,” Wilkes said.

“Good to know. Thank you.”

“And remember, if they see Laru they’ll know it’s you,” Claudia said. “The entire Tribe knows he chose you after Sol died. There was a lot of talk about how the canines still consider him their Alpha.”

Nik rubbed Laru’s head and gave him a fond smile. “That’s because heistheir Alpha.”

“Alphas don’t like to hide,” Wilkes said, giving Laru a look.

“Alphas are also extremely smart and they put the good of the Tribe before themselves. My Laru will put the good of the Pack before himself.”

Laru barked once, low and rough, as if to punctuate Nik’s words.

“Be careful,” Wilkes said, shaking Nik’s hand.

“Get a Mother Plant and get out of there,” Claudia said.

“I will. Tell Mari not to worry.”

“Oh, she’s going to worry,” Davis said grimly. “And she’s going to be pissed, too, about you going in on your own.”

“But she’ll understand. I’ll see you and her at the Channel at dusk, my friend. Let’s go, Laru!” With the big Shepherd by his side, Nik jogged away, heading once more toward the Tribe of the Trees.

CHAPTER 37

Nik didn’t overthink it. He ran, stopping only twice—once at a blackberry thicket where he gritted his teeth against the pain and then dragged his wrists and the backs of his hands against the knife-tipped thorns before slicing off a thick branch and doing the same to his face and neck. His next stop was at a stream that was really little more than a brackish low spot in the forest. He rubbed mud on his face, hands, and clothes. He wished he didn’t have to but decided it would be safest if he frayed the ends of his cloak and ripped holes in his pants and shirt—not holes big enough that uninfected skin could be seen through them but big enough for him to not stand out in the grim picture Wilkes and Claudia had painted of the Tribe.

He dug into his travel satchel, pulling out the large square of clean bandage cloth Mari had given him. He dunked it in the water, completely soaking it before he packed it into the woven pouch Sora had given him after he’d explained what he needed to transport a shoot from the Mother Plant.

And then he ran again. Nik was glad Sora and Mari had made him wait and heal—even if he hadn’t been able to wait long enough to heal completely. His leg ached, but it stayed strong. His back was sore, but he had no problem lifting and sighting his crossbow. His well-conditionedbody wasn’t one hundred percent, but it carried him forward, barely breaking a sweat as he jogged relentlessly north.

It seemed like hardly any time at all before Nik started to spot familiar landmarks. He adjusted his route, circling farther to the west than he would have liked, as every second was precious, before heading north again. It was only when he came to the blackened boundary that was the fire line that he slowed and left the path.

From there he focused on stealth instead of speed, but he saw no one. Where he would have expected the Tribe to be clearing the path that led through the burned remains of the forest there was only the smell of smoke, blackened debris, and silence.

“It’s like the forest has been abandoned.” He spoke softly to Laru, if only to prove to himself that sound could still exist in the barren landscape around them.