The Fifth Elephant (Discworld 24)

The two casualties were bedded down on blankets.

"Angua?" said Vimes.

"Yes, sir?"

"There"s wolves keeping pace with us. I can see them running between the trees."

"I know."

"Are they on our side?"

"Let"s just say they"re not on anyone else"s side yet, shall we? They don"t like me much, but they know... Gavin did, and right now that"s what"s important. Some of them are out looking for my brother."

"Would he have survived that? It was a long way down."

"Well, it wasn"t fire or silver. There"s nothing but white water for miles. It probably hurt a lot, but we heal amazingly well, sir."

"Look, I"m sorry that - "

"No, Mister Vimes, you"re not. You shouldn"t be. Carrot just didn"t understand what Wolfgang is like. You can"t beat something like him in a fair fight. I know he"s family, but... personal is not the same as important. Carrot always said that."

"Says that," said Lady Sybil sharply.

"Yes."

Carrot opened his eyes. "What... happened back there?" he said. ;How are we going to get in, sir?" said Carrot.

"How would you go about it, Carrot?"

"Well, I"d start by knocking, sir."

"Really? Sergeant Detritus. Forward, please."

"Sir!"

"Blow the bloody doors off!"

"Yessir!"

Vines turned back to Carrot as the troll gazed thoughtfully at the door and began making extra turns on his crossbow"s winch, grunting as the springs fought back. Their fight was unsuccessful.

"This isn"t Ankh-Morpork, see?" said Vines.

Detritus hoisted the bow on to his shoulders and took a step forward.

There was a thunk. Vines didn"t see the bundle of arrows leave the bow. They were probably already fragments by the time they"d gone a few feet. Halfway towards the doors the expanding cloud of splinters exploded into flame from the air friction.

What hit the doors was a fireball as angry and unstoppable as the Fifth Elephant and travelling at an appreciable fraction of local lightspeed.

"My gods; Detritus," muttered Vines as the thunder died away. "That"s not a crossbow, that"s a national emergency."

A few bits of charred door crashed on to the cobbles.

"The wolves won"t come in, Mister Vines," said Angua. "Gavin will follow me, but they won"t come, not even for him."

"Why not?"

"Because they"re wolves, sir. They don"t feel at home in houses."