Our journey down to the village takes longer than normal. That’s partly due to the alcaoris hatchlings being slower and less graceful on the ground than in the air, and partly because I can’t stop myself from checking out the damage of the invasion every time I see something new.

  I spend a good fifteen minutes trying to appease the vine-stranglers alone – unsurprisingly, the forest was outraged at the damage the invaders had done to its trees. In the end, I offer it three earth-aligned Energy Hearts as a reward for doing its best to protect my den, and it subsides into a vague displeasure rather than an outright rage.

  I doubt that it would have broken the Alliance we have – it has more to lose than I do, on the face of it at least. After all, it gains hugely from being allowed to encircle a partially-open Pure Energy stream – and avoids being turned into cinders of course. That it provides a service to me in terms of absorbing the escaped Energy and reducing the Energy density in this area, and thereby not tipping off any Tier four or five beast who might otherwise also try to invade – either to take the Pure Energy stream for itself or to just deny it to its enemies, is something I don’t let the vine-stranglers know. The knowledge would give the trees far too much leverage.

  I find myself thinking of Trinity regularly as we tread the familiar paths, finding evidence of further damage and even some bodies of herd beasts who escaped the initial slaughter but ran in the wrong direction. Anger rekindles in my chest at the sight of more carcasses and the thought of Trinity’s absence, but it’s already starting to feel tired and mournful rather than hot and fiery.

  Somehow, it feels like I’ve done days’ worth of processing during my sleep. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to make the samurans pay for the damage by repairing it and working for the good of the village, but it does stop me from wanting to just go and crush their skulls in revenge for what they did to Trinity. Especially if there’s the possibility that they weren’t entirely acting by themselves. Though, I’ll definitely miss the lovable cyran who was such a friendly soul, for all that she could charge through enemies like nobody’s business.

  There’s certainly a lot of damage to repair. If I’m willing to give them their magic back so they can repair what they’ve damaged, Plant-shaper and Earth-shaper in particular will be hot in demand to reform the earth and barriers that they sundered. It’s like, even pursuing my villagers, they were keen on destroying everything that was clearly samuran-made. Why, I don’t know. But they’ll be repairing it, that’s for sure.

  I’m leaning towards letting them have their magic back today, partially as a trial to see what they’ll do with it, partly to allow them to actually work efficiently. Making them do everything like Unevolved is pleasing in terms of punishment, but the actual Unevolved can do the same tasks far more quickly. I can always take it away again after the restoration is finished, or forbid them to use their magic unless someone else orders them to do so.

  And by the time we’re within range of the patrols that move around the village – doubled, I see – I can spot multiple members of the invading force out, already working.

  Warriors are being led by an equal number of the local Warriors and Unevolved, heading for the forest or the fields. And coming towards me are the very samurans I was thinking of earlier – Plant-shaper and Earth-shaper, with the addition of Water-shaper. They’re being accompanied by Jumpy, the Earth-Shaper from our village too – and I’ve never been more thankful for my nicknames since otherwise this would be getting very confusing – Leafy, the Plant-speaker from our village, Dusty, and Joy.

  “Going to work on the fields?” I ask Joy who seems to be leading the group.

  Yes. I wanted to ask – will you permit the Pathwalkers to use magic? It would speed up our efforts, that’s for sure.

  Evidently I’m not the only one thinking about this. I hesitate for a moment and then consent.

  “Alright, fine. With the understanding that if you are anything but models of good behaviour, you’ll be given the mana-inhibitor again at nightfall,” I warn the other Pathwalkers with a glare. They avoid my eyes.

  Good! Hopefully with all of us working together, we’ll be able to get the fields back in a decent condition. The Warriors are heading out to try to capture new prey-beasts – the few that evidently survived the attack haven’t returned. She glares at the three foreign samurans who have the grace to look away, though the Bond I have with them indicates that they are more mutinous than regretful.

  “Sounds like a plan,” I agree, that tired anger reappearing as I think about how many steps back we’ve been set by this one attack. “Do you need me to clear it from their systems?”

  No need, Joy replies with a hint of green flashing through her spikes. She pulls out several vials from her belt pouch. Herbalist thought you might respond like that, so gave us all the antidotes. I’ll pass the word around, shall I?

  “Sure,” I agree, grateful that she’s willing to do the task on my behalf – I can’t help thinking that not everyone will be pleased at this decision.

  The questions raised by the encounter rattle around in my mind as we say goodbye to the group of Pathwalkers and continue on our way. We’ll need to find ways of preventing all this from happening again. Maybe protection around the fields themselves? Though what kind of protection could prevent Pathwalkers using magic from destroying what we’ve so painstakingly built? And how am I to make sure the Pathwalkers are being punished while still putting the needs of my village first?

  I’m pulled out of my thoughts as I see a lonely figure lying off to the side of the beaten track. She’s in almost exactly the same place as we found her yesterday, and for a moment, I tap into the Bond between us just to make sure she’s not hurt.

  She’s not – physically at least, but Artemis is emotionally a wreck. Her eyes are fixed on the places where her pack members fell, the pack she had gone to find and make the effort of convincing to follow her up here. Only for them all to be lost within half a year of their arrival.

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  “Artemis,” I say soothingly, shifting to a crouch next to her. She looks up at me, but doesn’t lift her muzzle from her paws. Her gaze is bleak, the Bond between us thick with grief, hopelessness, and a dragging sense of loneliness. Each of the emotions tears at me, but it’s the last that really guts me. Because I know exactly how it feels to doubt that anyone in the world cares whether I live or die. Tasks to accomplish in the village or not, I won’t leave her to suffer that feeling alone.

  Slowly, I reach out to her and start stroking her behind her ears, digging into the feather-like fur to scratch at the skin beneath. She makes a pitiful sounding whine and leans against my leg. I shift to kneel next to her, letting her lean even more against me.

  Movement catches my eyes and I see Bastet pad over to lie next to her, pressing the length of her body against Artemis’. She lies with her head near Artemis’ tail, perhaps indicating that she’s watching the deri’s back. It doesn’t take long before Storm and Ninja lie on the other side of Bastet. Lathani, having decided to come with us instead of staying with her mother, lies down nose to nose with Artemis. Noir comes to press himself against my other side, the solemnity in his Bond indicating that he understands more of what’s happening than I was giving him credit for. His siblings start romping around, though – more interested in playing than joining the cuddle pile. Fenrir also stays standing, though it’s obviously to guard us rather than to play.

  River settles herself near me, also combing her claws gently through Artemis’ fur. Catch, however, hesitates.

  Markus, I feel I should… he indicates the village vaguely.

  “Yes, sure, go ahead,” I tell him understandingly. Given the situation, they probably need every pair of hands on deck and staying here with Artemis isn’t helping anyone but her. That won’t stop me from staying here to comfort her, but Catch ought to go. “If you want to go too, River, go ahead,” I say to her next, twisting around to face her.

  I will return with you, she tells me firmly. Our sister needs our support.

  I smile at her, warmed by her putting the needs of Artemis ahead of the village even if I know that logically that would be the better use of her time.

  “Alright,” I agree, then look up at Catch. “Good luck. And I’m sure Pride will be there waiting for you,” I tell him, sensing a hint of wistfulness as he looks at Artemis.

  That he will, Catch agrees, then tips his chin up briefly before turning and loping off to the village itself.

  We stay next to Artemis for a while, just sending her feelings of support and our presence, both in the Bond and physically. We don’t say anything, but that seems to be exactly what she needs. I allow my thoughts to wander, finding them mostly centring around what I’ve learned about the black Core now hidden in my Inventory. It’s something that could potentially offer incredible benefits to our village – or terrible consequences. But surely a few experiments wouldn’t be too dangerous? Potentially, I could learn something valuable that I could leave behind when I go. But is it worth the risk?

  I don’t keep track of how long we’re here, but the sun has moved noticeably by the time Artemis shifts. When she pulls her weight away from me, I’m broken out of my thoughts – I was attempting to work out how I might put a Skill into a Core. Blinking, I look down at her, seeing her eyes gleaming with a new sense of resolution.

  The loneliness which was here when we arrived has faded, the deri clearly taking heart by our presence. The grief is still present, but the hopelessness has been replaced by determination. As if Artemis has spent this time thinking through her options, and deciding that they aren’t as bad as she had originally thought.

  “How are you feeling?” I ask her gently.

  I am sad, packleader, she responds bluntly, not shying away from her own emotions and, for once, speaking in longer phrases than absolutely necessary. I have lost my pack and my mate. But I realise I have not lost all of my pack. She stands and looks me straight in the eyes – with her standing and me on my knees, our heads are about the same height. She then moves forward slowly and presses her forehead against mine for a long moment. Pulling away with a final lick, she moves to do the same with each of those surrounding her. She starts with Lathani, then moves to Bastet, Storm, Ninja, Noir, Fenrir, River, and then the two other alcaoris hatchlings. This is my pack, she says firmly. You may not look the same as I do, and I still want a mate, but you are my pack.

  “I’m sorry you lost your pack, Artemis,” I say earnestly. “But this time I promise I’ll help you find another mate.”

  No, she responds, surprising me. I will go. It must be me. But I will return, she tells me with a fierceness that makes my eyebrows rise into my shaggy hairline. I smile at her and reach over to stroke her the feather-fur on her head for a few more minutes, the softness of it utterly irresistible. I hesitate for a long moment.

  “You do know that I’ll be leaving this world in a short time, right?” Artemis looks at me piercingly.

  Pack-second said you are leaving this forest, yes.

  “Yeah, we could say it like that. You can come with me or stay, but if you come, we will never return to this forest again. You don’t have to decide now, but if you want to come with me, you must be back here in two moon cycles. Alright?” I do my best to send her the impression of the moon cycles which include the moons moving through a phase of advancing across the sky together, to moving separately, to returning to moving together again. I don’t know how good her sense of time is, but hopefully this will help.

  I understand, she responds slowly. I will return with my mate.

  “Then good luck with your hunt and I hope to see you back here soon,” I smile at her and then push myself to my feet. The deri presses herself against my legs, rubbing her chin on my hide trousers, and then moving off to do the same with the rest of the pack. Then, without a backward glance, she takes off, loping at a steady pace towards the treeline, heading down the mountain.

  I look around my pack, feeling a little mournful, knowing that it’s quite possible I’ll never see her again, regardless of her intentions right now. And I wonder how many of those beside me will also choose not to come at the last minute.

  But I don’t say any of that. Instead, I call for Daphne and Ivor to stop playing and to join us again as we head towards the village.

  Just as we’re approaching the mountainside gates, the village busy with samurans all over the place, Sirocco notifies me of movement in the treeline beyond the valleyside gates. Stopping, I close my eyes, focussing on the feed she’s sending me. A group of samurans emerge – Warriors, led by a single Pathwalker.

  But fortunately, these are ones I recognise. Earth-former has arrived – and hopefully brought her village with them.

  here!

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