her own despicable clan.
A wave of nausea washed over Katria. This would indeed spark a war between the bears and the wolves and even the owls. Total chaos! It was precisely what the MacHeaths wanted, for if they were to be declared
crait,
they were determined to bring the entire Beyond down with them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
F IRST W ATCH
“HURRY ALONG NOW. NO TIME to waste! You can’t be late for your first night of training.” Twist and Winks had scrambled down the steep sloping entrance of the den.
“I don’t suppose you’ve slept a wink, or should I say a Winks?” The brown wolf squinted with her good eye.
“Probably not,” Twist said. “I remember how excited I was on my first night here. But you don’t want to be late. Snowdon gets incredibly cranky if he has to stay on even a second beyond his shift, and Colleen, too.”
“Colleen? Snowdon? Are they our
taigas,
too?”
“Oh, no, dear,” Winks replied. “We are your
taigas.
They are just the Watch wolves for Morgan and Stormfast this cycle. The moon claw will be up soon.”
“Moon claw?” Faolan asked.
“That’s the first phase of the newing,” Edme said quickly. “Because it looks like a wolf’s claw.”
“Yes, indeed,” Winks replied. “You must have been studying the Bone of Bones.”
Faolan and Edme followed their two
taigas
out of the den and began trotting at a brisk pace toward the easternmost side of the Ring. It was a strange and wondrous landscape. There was a brittle crunching sound beneath their feet as they crossed the rivers of lava that had flowed down the slopes and solidified into sheets of black glass. Flames licked the night like tongues of fire. The wolves on watch seemed determined to touch the sky as they sprang into the air to look for graymalkins.
The volcanoes were becoming slightly more active. The moonless night was scored by the tracery of red sparks. High arcing streams of embers mingled with the ice-bright stars in an astral dance through the darkness. And in the background came the wild music of the Watch wolves baying. Never had Faolan and Edme heard such howling. Each cry, each voice enlarged by the other, gaining a deep resonance. It was as if Faolan’s and Edme’s ears were being opened to a new universe of sound. Oddly enough, the howling was not nearly as loud as what they’d heard living with their packs. It was of a lower volume buta more powerful intensity, as if these Watch wolves had discovered a voice composed only of the strongest chords.
Both Edme and Faolan felt their throats open up. They longed to howl and yet felt it would not be right. As if reading their minds, Twist turned to them. “Your turn to howl will come when you mount the cairns. I know it’s almost irresistible.”
“But will we ever howl as beautifully?” Edme asked.
“You will,” Winks said softly. “It takes time, but you will. The music seeps into you and settles in your marrow.”
“Well, it’s about time!” Snowdon, an ash-colored wolf, leaped down from the cairn that rose directly in front of Stormfast. At first, Snowdon appeared to be an ordinary wolf with no obvious deformity. All of his legs were straight, no paws were turned, he wasn’t missing his eyes, ears, or tail. Faolan and Edme couldn’t conceal their curiosity that this perfectly formed wolf was a member of the Watch. “Can’t figure it out, can you?” Snowdon barked in a harsh voice quite different from his howling. Then he stuck his tongue out. Edme and Faolan both jumped back. It was forked, like a snake’s. Snowdon laughed.
“He’s all about shock,” Winks muttered. “Loves shocking newcomers.”
“Snowdon’s going back to his den, and do you know the first thing he’ll do before he sleeps?” Twist said.
“What?” asked Faolan.
“He will gnaw a log to record what he observed on his watch — any owls coming for coals, any possible graymalkins. And he will also report on the activity of the volcano. But up you go now,
A wave of nausea washed over Katria. This would indeed spark a war between the bears and the wolves and even the owls. Total chaos! It was precisely what the MacHeaths wanted, for if they were to be declared
crait,
they were determined to bring the entire Beyond down with them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
F IRST W ATCH
“HURRY ALONG NOW. NO TIME to waste! You can’t be late for your first night of training.” Twist and Winks had scrambled down the steep sloping entrance of the den.
“I don’t suppose you’ve slept a wink, or should I say a Winks?” The brown wolf squinted with her good eye.
“Probably not,” Twist said. “I remember how excited I was on my first night here. But you don’t want to be late. Snowdon gets incredibly cranky if he has to stay on even a second beyond his shift, and Colleen, too.”
“Colleen? Snowdon? Are they our
taigas,
too?”
“Oh, no, dear,” Winks replied. “We are your
taigas.
They are just the Watch wolves for Morgan and Stormfast this cycle. The moon claw will be up soon.”
“Moon claw?” Faolan asked.
“That’s the first phase of the newing,” Edme said quickly. “Because it looks like a wolf’s claw.”
“Yes, indeed,” Winks replied. “You must have been studying the Bone of Bones.”
Faolan and Edme followed their two
taigas
out of the den and began trotting at a brisk pace toward the easternmost side of the Ring. It was a strange and wondrous landscape. There was a brittle crunching sound beneath their feet as they crossed the rivers of lava that had flowed down the slopes and solidified into sheets of black glass. Flames licked the night like tongues of fire. The wolves on watch seemed determined to touch the sky as they sprang into the air to look for graymalkins.
The volcanoes were becoming slightly more active. The moonless night was scored by the tracery of red sparks. High arcing streams of embers mingled with the ice-bright stars in an astral dance through the darkness. And in the background came the wild music of the Watch wolves baying. Never had Faolan and Edme heard such howling. Each cry, each voice enlarged by the other, gaining a deep resonance. It was as if Faolan’s and Edme’s ears were being opened to a new universe of sound. Oddly enough, the howling was not nearly as loud as what they’d heard living with their packs. It was of a lower volume buta more powerful intensity, as if these Watch wolves had discovered a voice composed only of the strongest chords.
Both Edme and Faolan felt their throats open up. They longed to howl and yet felt it would not be right. As if reading their minds, Twist turned to them. “Your turn to howl will come when you mount the cairns. I know it’s almost irresistible.”
“But will we ever howl as beautifully?” Edme asked.
“You will,” Winks said softly. “It takes time, but you will. The music seeps into you and settles in your marrow.”
“Well, it’s about time!” Snowdon, an ash-colored wolf, leaped down from the cairn that rose directly in front of Stormfast. At first, Snowdon appeared to be an ordinary wolf with no obvious deformity. All of his legs were straight, no paws were turned, he wasn’t missing his eyes, ears, or tail. Faolan and Edme couldn’t conceal their curiosity that this perfectly formed wolf was a member of the Watch. “Can’t figure it out, can you?” Snowdon barked in a harsh voice quite different from his howling. Then he stuck his tongue out. Edme and Faolan both jumped back. It was forked, like a snake’s. Snowdon laughed.
“He’s all about shock,” Winks muttered. “Loves shocking newcomers.”
“Snowdon’s going back to his den, and do you know the first thing he’ll do before he sleeps?” Twist said.
“What?” asked Faolan.
“He will gnaw a log to record what he observed on his watch — any owls coming for coals, any possible graymalkins. And he will also report on the activity of the volcano. But up you go now,
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