The next few days went more quietly than the lovers expected. After leaving Fort Argila, they had led their mounts into the forest, making their way carefully through the dark. At first, they started at every sound of the night, but as threats repeatedly failed to manifest, the travelers settled down. A storm swept in with the dawn and stayed with them for two days, thoroughly soaking them. The air was warm enough that the humans were not too miserable, but after two days of riding through muddy brush, both the antelopes and riders were feeling the strain of the trek.

            On the third day, the rain lifted from the area, letting the sun’s light struggle through the canopy to dry out the ground. Sanura and Celeres kept a wary watch that morning, wondering if the foul weather had kept the rumored monsters at bay. By midafternoon, they decided that the threat of the area was probably exaggerated. When they stumbled across a pond in the depths of the forest, the two decided to cut their traveling short and make a final push for the road to Mt. Clero in the morning.

            The pond was about a hundred paces wide, fed by a spring on small hill to the east. To the south, a meandering run of water too small to properly be called a stream trickled away what the spring delivered. A couple of wild antelope glanced up from across the pond when the humans came into view, decided they were too far way to be a threat, and went back to their business while keeping a wary eye on the their visitors. A small family of ducks disturbed the pond’s smooth surface, driving small waves from themselves as they paddled.

            The travelers unpacked Longstride and Grass Easter and told them not to go far. Their mounts wandered down to the water’s edge to drink their fill and munch on the long stalks growing there. Sanura worked on pitching the tent while Celeres wandered along the pond, gathering stones to ring the fire.

            The tent was half up when the noise started. The antelopes perked up, considering a rising whine from the east. The wild ones bounded into the forest, joined by the flight of the ducks from the unsettling sound. Longstride trotted over to Sanura, looking for instruction and reassurance. Grass Eater glanced uncertainly at Celeres along the edge of the pond, then retreated behind Longstride. Carrying his rocks, Celeres moved to join them, carefully eyeing the forest for movement. A few small rabbits bounded past, but there was no large movement through the trees.

            Sanura had abandoned her chores and stood on guard. The sound grew gradually, until it approached the level of an otherworldly scream. With nothing crashing through the woods to accompany the noise, the soldier began to wonder if it was coming from the sky. She pulled the antelopes under the cover of a tree, reluctant to meet the source of the sound.

            It escalated still further. The scream seemed to rip the air itself, overwhelming those subjected to it. The antelopes cowered against each other, shuddering in terror but unwilling to leave their riders. The humans clamped their hands to the sides of their heads, vainly trying to muffle the sound. Sanura resolutely watched the sky to catch sight of the source. She could see nothing but the steady shake of leaves in the waves of sound.

            Eventually, they realized the howl had peaked and was receding to the west. Sanura cautiously stepped out to the water’s edge to try to get a view in the clear sky above the pond. She could see nothing. The scream faded and faded until only the ringing in their ears remained. A few more minutes passed, and the birds in the trees began chirping again. The lovers waited uncertainly, comforting their mounts and speculating about the source. When it did not return, they decided to stick to their plan and set up camp.

            They were far more comfortable now than when they had run out of Tagerden with Khenet. Discussions with Bunri and Aikyo had yielded a more complete list of equipment than their own efforts had, although Bunri had noted they would need some pack animals to carry all they truly wanted. Still, the addition of a small tent, proper rain gear, and cooking utensils improved the wild a great deal. Jada had supplied them with enough food for a week, more than enough to reach the road. From there, they intended to use On. Bunri’s money to feed and shelter themselves until they reached the Cheldeans.

            Dismissing the screaming intruder, Celeres settled down and prepared his cooking fire. Far to his right, a raccoon wandered out of the woods to drink the water, apparently content with its safety. Sanura was a bit more cautious, setting alarms taught to her by Aikyo to warn them of visitors approaching their camp.

            Still, by late afternoon, the camp was as comfortable as it was going to get. The lovers splashed around in the pond, washing off the sweat and grime of traveling. The returned ducks complained about the splashing but otherwise ignored the humans. After a brief interlude on the grass, the lovers were back in the pond to wash off the heat of their exercise.

            Sanura paused in their play to run a concerned hand over Celeres’ shoulder. “I’m sorry, beautiful. Did I hurt you?”

            “What?” he asked, puzzled. The young man turned his head awkwardly to try and see what she was looking at.

            “You have a bruise here,” she said, brushing a spot far back on his shoulder blade.

            “Really? I don’t remember hitting it on anything.”

            “It looks old. It’s a dark brown.”

            “Must have done it a few days ago, then.”

            Sanura considered the mark soberly, wondering if she should tell him what really bothered her about it.

            Celeres caught her expression. “What is it?”

            “It’s rectangular,” she said seriously. “It’s sharp and angular at the edges. It doesn’t really look like a bruise.”

            Celeres considered that. “Ever heard of anything like this?”

            “No.”
            “Think this is the first complication from the bite?”

            “Yeah,” she said softly.

            Celeres nodded and sloshed back to the shore with a troubled expression. He sat down near their clothes. His love followed him. Experimentally, Celeres reached over his shoulder and prodded his back. It felt perfectly normal.

            “Well, it feels okay,” he said. “Wonder if it will spread?”

            “I don’t know,” Sanura said, sitting beside him.

            “It’d be pretty strange if it does. Are there any brown humans?”

            “I’ve never seen any.”

            “Let’s see. Yellow, green, blue, and gray in the empire.”

            “Red’s pretty common among the islanders.”

            “Degans are what-blue and orange?”

            “And indigo. They say there are people who are violet on Parteria.”

            “Will you still love me if I turn completely brown?”

            “Of course,” she reassured him.

            “What if I’m covered in stripes and polka dots?”

            “Yes.”

            “What if I wear stripes and polka dots?”

            “That’s another matter,” she said firmly.

            They matched each other’s gaze, then burst out laughing. The moment of levity quietly passed.

            Celeres sighed. “What will we do if it gets worse? What if the Cheldeans can’t help?”

            “I don’t know. We’ll have to deal with it then.”

            “Wonderful,” he said snidely.

            “We all die eventually, beautiful. You may have to get used to the idea sooner than most, that’s all.”

            Celeres felt a chill grip his heart.

            “Sometimes I wonder if I have, once,” Sanura continued quietly.

            The young man shoved aside his own apprehensions, latching onto her comment to distract himself.

            “Gawlchmai taught that death takes us beyond time, and there is no return,” he challenged.

            “He’s a Firstborn, like Thacker back on the throne at Whisper Point. You really want to take the word someone like that?”

            “Well, let’s hope Cheldar and his disciples are better.”

            “Yes, we shall,” she said and kissed his cheek.

            They sat close together for a long while, matched in their silence.

            Unlike the scream that had passed overhead, the lovers missed the singing when it first started. It sounded like just another bird song, slowly weaving its way into their unconscious. When the voice shifted into more alien tones, they were lightly in its grip. Its song turned sharp and hooting, pushing them further into their reverie.

            Convinced the lovers could not escape its enchantment, the minhoca rose from the water, driving the ducks again to wing. The two tentacles on either side of its mouth whipped high into the air, raining drops of water onto the lovers. The tentacles ran back into a long worm-shaped body that glistened green in the sun. Two bumpy eyes hovered above the fang-filled mouth at its head. The eyes settled on the humans, blurredly considering its next meal.

            Distantly, Sanura felt the wrongness of its song. Her subconscious turned to fight the invasion, trying to match the insinuation with the experiences of her short life. A croaking sound escaped her throat, a guttural noise she coughed and hacked as she fought the minhoca’s proxy.

            The fog lifted from her mind as its tentacles wrapped around her torso.

            Cursing, the soldier lurched back and tried to escape the slick limbs. She grabbed at the clothes on the ground as it pulled back, raising her into the air. Miraculously, Sanura found she held Celeres’ belt in her hand. Shrugging off the insistent tug of the minhoca’s song, she pulled the dagger from the belt and shoved it ruthlessly into a tentacle. The hooting song dissolved into a shrill scream.

            Celeres snapped free of the proxy, stunned to see a hideous worm-thing looming over him, Sanura in its clutches. He leapt to his feet but hesitated, unsure of how to tackle such a beast.

            The antelopes had no such doubts. Free of the proxy that had caught them along with their masters, they dove past Celeres to attack the monster. Sensing the threat, the minhoca flipped backwards into the pond and began trashing. The move plunged Sanura into the water, the snap of the descent robbing her of precious air. Grimly, she stabbed again, clumsily striking the beast with every second or third blow.

            Grass Eater and Longstride ruthlessly pressed their attack, leaping into the minhoca’s body and whipping their horns across its hide. On the shore, Celeres scrambled through the scattered clothes, looking for Sanura’s sword.

            Hurting from Sanura’s resistance and the antelope’s efforts, the minhoca started to roll, whipping its body over and over again. In the water, Sanura abandoned her fight, trying desperately to hold her breath and orientation in the wild spinning. Grass Eater received a hefty blow from the thrashing worm, throwing the antelope deeper into the pond. He wallowed in the water, trying to recover. Longstride was knocked aside but leapt right back, landing dangerously close to Sanura. Two strikes of his hooves actually hit the woman. Only luck kept her bones intact.

            Now armed, Celeres waded into the pond. He slogged to the minhoca’s nearest point and plunged the sword into its body, driving down again and again. The beast struck back with its tail, knocking him from his feet. Celeres got up and resumed his attack, a bit less steady than before.

            Finally pressed beyond reason, the minhoca released Sanura and reared high into the air. Blood gushed from a dozen cuts on its body. The monster plunged down, hoping to catch its newest tormentor in its teeth.

            Celeres ignored the threat and used the opening to plunge the sword into the beast’s midsection. He connected solidly but quickly lost his footing under the oncoming rush of its body. Only the timely arrival of Longstride kept him from being crushed. The antelope charged into the minhoca’s side, driving his steel-sheathed horns into the beast and pushing it sideways.

            The monster flopped over, drawing a squawk from Sanura’s mount before he could pull his horns free. The minhoca shivered for a few moments before settling into the water for the final time.

            Sputtering, Celeres regained his feet to find Sanura and Grass Eater leaning weakly against each other. Longstride continued to lash out against the immobile monster, satisfying himself that it would not rise again.

            “I think I owe you a dagger,” Sanura said.

            “S’okay. It was garbage anyway,” he said. “Do you think there are more of those things here?”

            Her eyes swept across the pond. “No. I don’t think there’s enough room for more.”

            “Do we really want to find out?”

            “No,” she answered promptly. “I’ll pack the tent.”

            “Right,” Celeres said and waded over to the corpse to retrieve her sword.

            Evening was coming on, but the travelers stopped only when their bruised and battered bodies would let them go no further.