Only You

“I’ll come back for them,” Rastaban promised. “Andrev, please. It’s not safe here.”

Andrev was torn between keeping his life and letting Dalinor die. Maybe Dalinor was a monster, but he was the same kind of monster Andrev was, and Andrev wasn’t going to let Kir and Savva and the other hunters just murder him like they’d always wanted to do to Andrev.

No.

Andrev stood up, scooped up a fallen spear. It was finally his time to fight.”

“Leave him alone,” he said, “before someone gets hurt.”

“The only one who’s going to get hurt is you,” Kir said.

Right Back At You

Hunters swarmed out of the tallgrass, ululating into the night, spears whistling through the air. Andrev leapt at Kana and knocked her down, shielded her body with his. Wolf-snarls broke over the din above him, and then Rastaban tugged on him.

“Come on - we have to get out of here!”

Andrev dared to lift his head. He saw Dalinor encircled by hunters. Their spears dripped with blood. Dalinor was limping.

“We have to stop them,” Andrev said. “They’ll kill him.”

“And they’ll kill you right back,” Rastaban said. “We have to run. Now!”

“But - the other Wanderers,” Kana began.

Chaos Followed

It was Kir. Dalinor strode out of the shadows, carrying Kir by the neck as if he were a disobedient kitten.

“This one was skulking about with a spear. I think, Andrev, he meant to kill you.”

“Monster!” Kir shouted. “My father should have let you die!”

Dalinor shook him. “He’s right, you know, about the monster bit. Perhaps you should show him just how much of a monster you are.” And then he flung Kir aside.

Kir managed to roll and scramble to his feet, spear at the ready, but then Dalinor was a giant wolf, and chaos followed.

The Tell-tale Rustle

Andrev awoke to the sound of footsteps in the grass. They were so soft that he might have imagined them, but after all those tests with Rastaban Andrev’s control of his senses was better, and he was sure he’d heard something. He reached for his spear and then rose to his feet as quietly as possible.

He heard it again, the tell-tale rustle of tall grass.

“How many are there?” Kana whispered.

Andrev almost jumped out of his skin.

Kana was on her feet beside him, clutching her own spear.

“I don’t know,” Andrev said.

“I think it’s Kir.”

What She Sees

“This isn’t going to look good on your field report,” Kana said.

She and Rastaban walked under the stars.

“My field report? You’re the one who hasn’t made him fall in love with you,” Rastaban said.

Kana tossed her head. “The heart is a fickle thing. Besides, a good general has a back-up plan. What’s yours? I haven’t seen it. All I’ve seen is Dalinor derail it.”

“What have you seen?” Rastaban asked.

“You don’t get to know what I see unless Old Master says,” Kana said.

Rastaban eyed her. “How did you learn to see like that, anyway?”

What None of Them Saw

Between Rastaban’s charm, Kana’s guileless madness, and Andrev’s stubbornness, the strange man - whose name was Dalinor - agreed to sleep in the tent nearest to Rastaban’s for security’s sake.

That tent was Kana’s, which made Andrev feel sympathetic for about two seconds before she gathered up her nest of furs and announced that she would sleep under the stars with Andrev, a respectable distance away from his fur pallet.

Andrev saw Dalinor smirking.

None of them saw Kir and his fellow hunters lingering on the edge of the camp, watching the argument unfold.

One of the hunters ran to tell Savva.

We Interrupt This Program...

...to bring you an important message:

Merry Christmas!

Greater Than Those

“The humans will not accept you for much longer. Your power is growing,” the man said. He cast Rastaban a look. “Perhaps some have their own peculiarities, but no human can compare to the gods of the sky.”

“Gods of the sky?” Andrev asked.

The man smiled. “Indeed. The dragons are the gods of the sky.”

The tension, the hope and anger and fear that had been building in Andrev’s chest, dissipated. “A dragon? That’s what I am?”

“You have no tail and no wings,” Kana said, and sounded like a puzzled child.

“A dragon is greater than those things.”

So Convenient

“If we had known of you, we would have raised you as one of our own, trained you,” the man said. “Something must have happened to your father when you were born, for we would not have let you slip through our grasp.”

Andrev stared at him for a long time. “And if I had been found as a child?”

“We would have claimed you.” The man offered a hand. “Come with me now, and I’ll take you back to your people - your family.”

“So convenient of you,” Kana said, “to seek him now that he is so very powerful.”

Rare Treasures

“Who are ‘they’?” Kana tilted her head to one side, quizzical.

Andrev pushed past her, ignored her sound of kitten-hurt. “How many others are there like me?”

“There are none quite like you,” the man said. “None with the same raw power and potential. None with the same - crippling disabilities.” He slewed a sidelong glance at Kana as he said this.

Kana clutched at Andrev’s arm, but he shook her off.

“How many more of our kind?”

“Little more than a hundred,” the man said. “We survive as best we can. Younglings are rare treasures.”

“Why was I left behind?”

Great Power, They Said

The man hit the ground with an ignoble thump. Andrev scrambled to see if it was all right, Kana on his heels ready to tug him back at the first sign of trouble.

The man sat up, rubbing his head ruefully. When he spoke, his tone was light, but he eyed Rastaban with deep suspicion.

“I wouldn’t have hurt the lad,” he said. “It’s just that I was summoned, and I came to seek my kith and kin.”

“Summoned? By what?” Kana asked.

The man looked her up and down, expression unreadable. “Great power, they said. Great power has risen.”

Not Limited

Andrev searched his memory, desperate, gasping for breath, but he was a hunter, not a warrior. He didn’t go out of his way to fling himself in the path of a ravenous beast just to get a handful of its fur.

The air hummed with energy, and then the tiger midair was a man once more.

“Are you going to behave?” Rastaban asked. His dark eyes flashed. “My powers are not limited to holding you still.”

And the man in the air began to scream.

Andrev flinched at the sound; it was raw fury and pain.

“Stop it! Free him.”

Anything Bigger

And then the world was filled with the scent of death. Predator.

Andrev bucked, trying to writhe out of Kana’s arms. She screamed and leapt, shaking his entire existence, and the roar of a giant cat-beast rent the air.

Andrev screamed. Then he was on his back in the grass, human again, staring at the giant white-and-black striped tiger suspended above him in midair. Rastaban had one hand outstretched and his spear poised to throw. The tiger made a half-growl in its throat; it was utterly immobile.

“Andrev,” Kana said, “can you turn into anything bigger?”

Oh Dear

The world went white, then blazed silver, and suddenly everything was...bigger.

Kana’s voice was loud and disjointed. Andrev was tempted to ignore it, go in search of food, because he could smell some tasty beetles, but part of his brain insisted he listen to her.

“Oh, dear, he’s a rabbit,” Kana said.

Another voice joined her’s. Familiar. Rastaban. “We don’t want anyone thinking he’s dinner. Pick him up and - pretend he’s your pet or something. I’ll deal with this man.”

This man, whoever he was, was making sounds that made Andrev’s fur stand up on end.

He was laughing.

A Single Touch

Kana said, “He can speak to animals. He’s faster and stronger than most mortals. He can see like a falcon, hear like a cat. What can you do? You only have three horns.”

“I can take the shape of any living creature I lay hands on,” the man said, and reached for Rastaban.

Andrev cried out, but Rastaban was fast, faster than should have been humanly possible, and ducked out of the man’s reach.

The man laughed. “Come now - it doesn’t hurt. All it takes is a single touch.”

A single touch.

Andrev thought of all the animals he’d touched.

Ignorance and Power

The man arched an eyebrow at Rastaban. “Are you his father?”

Rastaban laughed. “Hardly. I’m not so decent a man as to be anyone’s father. But I consider him one of my own, and I protect him. What do you want of him?”

Andrev gritted his teeth. They were talking about him as if he wasn’t there.

“We sensed gathering power in an area, and we tracked it here,” the man said. “We had not expected another of our kind. I suspect you are ignorant of his power.” He grinned, the expression cruel. “Do you know what power he has?”

Like You

“Of course not.” The man smiled patiently. “You’ve almost come into the measure of a man.”

Andrev gripped his spear. “What are you?”

“I am the same as you,” the man said. “Though, perhaps, not as powerful.”

“I am not like you,” Andrev said. He took a step back, instinctively tugged Kana in to stand behind him. “Stay away.” He took a deep breath, ready to raise the cry, call the alarm on a monster, but the man raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Rastaban put a hand on his shoulder. “Hold your peace for a moment, Andrev.”

No Longer a Leopard

As Andrev stared, the black leopard sprang. Rastaban reacted first, grabbing his spear, but something happened mid-air. The leopard - rippled, became formless quicksilver, and when it landed it was no longer a leopard but a man, tall and pale-skinned, with dark wavy hair. He tossed his head, shook his hair back from his face, and Andrev saw that he had three small, bony protrusions on his forehead.

Horns.

Just like Andrev’s.

Then the man spoke. “I’d heard rumors of another, but I had to see for myself. You have five horns, child?”

Andrev said, “I’m not a child.”

Black Leopard in the Grass

“What would you suggest?” Andrev asked.

“I have heard talk of gods from the sky who have the bodies of men but the heads and wings of falcons,” Rastaban said. “Or perhaps those shape-changers of old, who are leopards and wolves and foxes, sliding out of the shadows in the night to seduce young, innocent mortals.”

Andrev’s brow furrowed. “You think I could turn into an animal?”

“Why not?” Rastaban asked.

“That’s hardly possible,” Andrev said.

“Say that to him,” Kana said.

Andrev and Rastaban turned.

“Him who?” Andrev asked.

Kana pointed to a black leopard in the grass.

Something New

“Have you ever tried anything new with your gifts?” Rastaban asked.

“Tried anything new how?” Andrev knelt beside Kana in the grass, helping her weave nets.

“Sometimes I try to lift something bigger than ever before, just to see if I can.” As if to make a point, Rastaban stretched forth one hand, and water arced out of the river, curved across the sky, and spilled back down.

Kana darted a nervous glance over her shoulder, but they were too far from the camps for anyone else to have noticed.

“What would I try?” Andrev asked.

Kana said, “Something new.”

So Are You

“Well,” Rastaban said, plopping down on the grass next to Kana and watching Andrev tumble across the obstacle course he’d made, “he has better reflexes, strength, and stamina than your average mortal, but he’s still no match for you and me.”

Kana nodded, watching Andrev with appreciative eyes. “He seems to trust you,” she said.

“That’s because I’ve given him a degree of trust in return,” Rastaban said. “I cannot fathom why he trusts you. Of course, he’s a shy lad, and you’re a lovely girl, and he’s flattered.”

“I’m nice to him.”

“You’re lying to him.”


“So are you.”

Senses

“Can you hear me now?” Rastaban shouted.

Andrev nodded and waved his make-shift flag - a spear tied with one of Kana’s bright scarves. Then he opened his eyes and saw how far Rastaban was.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Rastaban shouted.

Andrev signaled with his flag, saw Rastaban nod.

Kana sat on the grass beside him, idly weaving flowers into a crown. “Most people couldn’t hear or see anything at this distance,” she said. She smiled. “But you’re not most people.”

Andrev nodded and smiled back at her. For the first time, he was comfortable with himself.

Communication

Andrev sat in the middle of the grass with his eyes closed. One of the reindeer was curled on the grass beside him.

“All right. Ask the reindeer where I am.” Rastaban’s voice hovered distantly on the air from some indeterminate spot. Andrev had better hearing than most, but Rastaban was using some of his magic to confound that.

Andrev reached toward the reindeer’s mind, received an image of Rastaban perched, comically, on the edge of the riverbank on one leg.

He laughed.

“I think that answers that,” Rastaban muttered.

The reindeer nudged Andrev, communicated more.

Andrev laughed. “You’re strange.”

Simplest First

“You’re more powerful than you or I know, I suspect,” Rastaban said. He tilted his head to one side, and the arrowhead spun lazily in the air. “Show me what you have, and I will do my best to show you more.”

“If you don’t know what I am -” Andrev began.

“Let us just say that you aren’t my first student,” Rastaban said. He cast a significant glance at Kana, who was showing some of the children how to make sculptures of ice.

In the summer.

“What is the simplest thing you can do?” Rastaban asked. “We’ll try that first.”

Who, What

Andrev was weaving snares to catch rabbits when Rastaban sat beside him.

“Tell me,” Rastaban said, and held up an arrowhead, “can you speak to any animal?”

Andrev blinked at him.

Rastaban let go of the arrowhead - and it remained floating in midair, over his palm. “Or is it just animals you can see?”

Andrev lifted his head and pushed his hair out of his eyes. “Kana told you.”

“Only some. I wish to know more.”

“Are there others like me?” Andrev asked. “Someone once said that - five horns is rare. Most have three. Most who, Rastaban? What am I?”

Teach and Listen

“Kir doesn’t seem very jealous,” Rastaban said.

Kana shrugged and sharpened her sword with easy strokes. “Andrev showed me some of his power when he thought I was in danger - I suspect he would be more likely to use it to protect than in anger. He’s spent so long suppressing his anger.”

“Which means that when he finally becomes angry, his power will be magnificent - and out of control,” Rastaban said. “We don’t want to end him too early.”

“Maybe you should try to teach him,” Kana suggested. “I think he still thinks me faintly mad. He’ll listen to you.”

Other Things

The rest of the dinner passed in uncomfortable silence, occasionally broken by Kana’s inane chatter. Kir retreated back to Savva’s camp without making any further pursuit of Kana, but Andrev recognized the determination in Kir’s eyes.

Once Kir was gone, Kana and Andrev returned to the Wanderer camp.

“You can’t just go telling people things about me,” Andrev said.

Kana shrugged. “He didn’t believe me.”

Andrev knew she was was wrong, had seen Kir’s gaze fix on Andrev’s forehead, on his horns unseen when Kana made her declaration.

Kana asked, “Why don’t you see what other things you can do?”

She Jests

Andrev promptly choked on a piece of chicken at Kana’s easy declaration of his power.

Kir blinked. “Pardon?”

“Andrev. Speaks to animals. They bend to his will. How do you think he always knows where to find food? The animals speak to him and he finds them and they sacrifice themselves for him because they respect him,” Kana said, and she sounded so utterly rational that Andrev might have believed her if she didn’t have it so utterly wrong.

Shadows crossed Kir’s face and Andrev knew he was thinking the worst.

“She jests,” Andrev said lightly. “I’m only a hunter.”

Also

Kir opened his mouth to speak, then snapped it shut. He wouldn’t dare say it aloud, that everyone in the tribe thought Andrev was demon-born. Savva’s tribe had been living the lie so long, pretending that they were blessed to have taken on a child who was a gift from the gods, that even now, when Kir so desperately wanted Kana’s favor, he could not bring himself to speak the words.

Finally Kir settled on, “What did he do to earn your favor?”

“He went hunting with me,” Kana said. “And he is kind. Also, he speaks to animals.”

Why Wouldn't He

Kir swallowed hard. “Where did you get that?” he asked.

Andrev glanced down at his wrist, doing his best to keep a straight face. “Kana gave it to me.”

Kir slewed a glance at Kana, who was delicately picking her drumstick apart and laying the bare bones in a neat row at the bottom of her bowl. “Is this true?”

“Is what true?”

“That Andrev wears your favor,” Kir said.

Kana smiled, that brilliant, blindingly sweet and utterly lucid smile of hers that made it hard for Andrev to breathe. “Of course it is. Why wouldn’t he wear my favor?”

On His Wrist

“Of course,” Kir said and reached for the pheasant, but Andrev was faster.

He plucked off a drumstick and held it out to Kana. “Ladies first,” he said.

Kir gaped at him. Men always ate first - that was the way of the tribes. Andrev resisted the urge to smirk, because that was not the way of the Wanderers.

Kana smiled. “Thank you.” She set the drumstick in her bowl and then plucked off a wing, handed it to Kir. “Please, eat.”

Andrev served himself, watching Kir with wary eyes. He noticed the moment Kir spotted Kana’s bracelet.

On Andrev’s wrist.