Firewalker (Worldwalker 2)

“What’s that?” Juliet asked in a shaking whisper.

The pale coyote stopped and came to rest, and a hulking shape that Lily had never seen before came out from between the now-scattering buffalo. It was twice the size of the already large coyote Woven. Its snout was elongated and its ears pointed like a wolf’s, but the dark Woven’s long forearms ended in what Lily could see were clawed, but still human-like hands. The wolf Woven had a stooped back and slightly shorter hind legs, like a hyena’s, and it ran toward the pale coyote on all fours with a strange, rocking canter. The first word that popped into Lily’s mind was werewolf.

“I think that’s a member of the Pack,” Lily whispered in response.

The wolf Woven came to face the coyote Woven and sat back on its hind legs, looking for all the world like they were engaged in a conversation. They didn’t sniff each other or circle around, like two normal canines would, but rather they sat very still, neither of them so much as twitching. After what seemed like forever to Lily, but was probably only a minute or two, the pale coyote stood up and went back the way it came. The wolf watched the coyote leave and then trotted casually through the herd of buffalo like it owned them.

Lily looked over at her sister. Juliet’s mouth was parted and her eyes unblinking. “What did we just see?” Juliet asked fearfully.

“We need to tell the rest of the tribe,” Lily said.

“Were they mindspeaking?” Juliet said incredulously.

“I don’t know,” Lily said, clenching her jaw in anger. “But we’re definitely in Pack territory now, and they definitely have more human in them than anyone’s been willing to admit.”

Lily stormed back to camp, calling in mindspeak for her inner circle to gather around the fire. By the time she got there, she had already relayed what she and Juliet had witnessed.

“I want to know why everyone seemed to leave out the fact that the Pack is half human,” Lily demanded.

“They aren’t human,” Dana snapped. “It doesn’t matter what they look like.”

“Does it matter that a coyote and a wolf just sat down across from each other like they were having a human conversation?” Lily sputtered. “See, that’s something that would matter where I come from.”

Caleb and Dana shared a tight-lipped look.

“Just say it out loud, you guys,” Lily said tiredly.

“Our people have always given human attributes to animals,” Caleb said in a rare burst of anger. “We don’t think of animals the way you do, Lily. We know they’re not dumb. They cooperate, they communicate—they do lots of things that humans do. The thing that separates them from us is that we don’t eat our dead. We bury them and we mourn them. They don’t love their families like we do, or honor their ancestors, and it’s an insult to us for you to keep saying that they’re human.”

Lily sighed and ran a hand through her hair, feeling like she’d just stepped into a cultural minefield. “And what about mindspeak? What about using willstones? Regular animals don’t do that, only Woven do. Come on, you guys. I know this is a big deal to you, but let’s stop with the whole ‘they’re so different from us’ thing, because it isn’t helping anymore. The Woven are more like us than they are like animals, whether you like it or not.”

“Even the insect Woven? The ones that eat their own offspring?” Dana asked angrily. “No. I won’t believe that. And when you see the Hive, you won’t believe it either. The Hive’s Warrior Sisters look more human than even the Pack does, but the things they do—” Dana suddenly broke off with a shiver.

“You’ve seen the Hive with your own eyes?” Lily asked. As far as she could tell, Dana was the only person apart from Rowan and Alaric who had claimed to have actually encountered the Hive.

“Yes,” Dana replied. “When I was a child, before I had a willstone. The Workers just look like bees, but the Warrior Sisters—they look almost human. All females. All identical twin sisters. I only saw them once, and I don’t know if what I remember is real or if it’s a nightmare or I’d show you what we’re about to face. I’m hoping it’s just a nightmare.”

Lily could feel herself losing the sympathy of more and more braves, and she knew that by morning her tribe would be smaller. She saw the two Tristans looking at each other, and then heard her Tristan’s voice in her head.

Leave it, Lily. The Hive is off-limits to Outlanders.

I’ve noticed. These Warrior Sisters have reached mythical proportions in their minds, even though only two or three people claim to have ever even seen them. I don’t believe in the bogeyman, Tristan.

But they do. Let it go.

“Why don’t we focus on the Pack right now, and fight the Hive when we meet them,” her Tristan said calmly.

“No one fights the Hive, Tristan,” Caleb said. “You just run.”

“Well, the Hive isn’t here. And we can still prepare for the Pack,” the other Tristan said. “They hunt at night just as well as they do during the day. We need to get ready.”

Lily stood by the fire, hands on her hips, while everyone else split up and prepared for a fight. Howls rode on the wind as the last bit of light heaved itself over the edge of the horizon.

“Lily?” her Tristan said. She turned and noticed that he was still with her. “Do you want me to stay and guard you while we fight, or do you want Breakfast?” he asked.

“You. No, him,” Lily replied, quickly changing her mind. She grinned. “Una would kill me if I sent Breakfast out there to fight something he’s never seen before.”

“He tends to lock up when he sees a new Woven,” he agreed sheepishly. “Only for a second, though. He’s getting much better.”