Part 9 (2/2)

The giant tried to shake Mika off his ar a cat, let alone an owl, and all he succeeded in doing was bashi+ng his elbow against a wooden strut He hissed angrily The giant tried to pass the sword to his left hand, but Mika kicked out with his foot and the sword fell to the floor with a tinny clatter

The wagon was shaking violently now, and out of the corner of his eye, Mika saw the cowhide covering behind the driver's seat start to open Then the giant swung around, obscuring Mika's view Mika bit down harder The giant grunted soundlessly and fell against the cowhide Mika heard a startled exclauessed that the driver had been knocked off his perch

Mika had only a second to hope that the fall had been fatal, for the giant was up to no good Using his arainst the owl's throat, crushi+ng hiainst his will, Mika was forced to open his beak in an atteiant ripped his ar hi froiant full in the face with all his ht and felt the man's nose squash beneath the hard, callused ball of his foot

He raiant's eye, stepped on his shaved head with his other foot, and tore free of the giant's grasp, leaving thebut a handful of snohite feathers, as he scraon and fleay

Men stood in the clearing looking upward, pointing at hi careful aim, Mika squeezed a sphincter muscle and was rewarded by the howls of the watchers below as they shi+elded their heads and ran for shelter

Mika beat the air with powerful strokes and headed back for the safety of the forest But shortly before he reached the coppice, he began feeling sick at his sto, Mika circled lower and lower, atteed back into hue tree loo his feet out, he touched down just as darkness washed over him and he saw no more

Chapter 10

MIKA WOKE TO FIND HIMSELF sprawled naked on top of a large roanwood branch, round Off in the distance he could hear h the dark forest He could see the bright light of their torches It would never do to be found like this He had to get into his clothes and make an appearance His absence would definitely be noted

As he pushed himself up from the branch, he nearly fell, but he clutched the tree with his right ar on for dear life as he stared in horror at his left arm Or, rather, what used to be his left ar from the shoulder down

Sour bile rose in his throat, and he rested his forehead against the rough bark and tried not to be sick All sense of urgency left him as he pondered this new probleot back to his clothes before he was found There was no way of concealing for long the fact that he had a wing instead of an arm

Mika's ht have done wrong, but since the spell was gone from his memory, it was difficult to reconstruct Obviously, he had fouled up some crucial part of the spell that channeled the return from one body to the other

He tried to recall ould happen in such an instance, but he could not re except the story of Grizzard, the shaman of a clan of Wolf Nomads that spenta convocation of shamans, which had taken place at their ca, exactly what, Mika had never deter son, six years of age and old enough to know better, had interrupted his father with soged the child away instantly, but the daht before their eyes Or at least part of hioose He was a oose frooose- its irritation, and when it finally caught up with the unfortunate child, it pecked him black and blue

Three days later the spell came undone and Grizzard returned to his human form But ever after, he was called Gizzard, in spite of his objections, and the child was afraid to come near him for several moonturns Grizzard also developed a fondness for worms

Mika could not wait three days He needed to be nore took place, but it was chilly and thetheir approval Then too, he would certainly be seen in the ht even if he escaped detection now

Mika could think of nothing worse than being gaped at by a crowd of curious no to hide his wing

A short bark sounded at the foot of the tree Tae of the branch he could just ure at the foot of the tree

”Good boy,” whispered Mika ”Taet my clothes and the pouch,” he directed But Ta his tail from side to side Mika hurled snored the

”Stupid wolf,” Mika et down iht the searchers He pushed hied over to the trunk of the tree

Getting doas easier than he had thought it would be Mika had been cli roanwood trees since he was a toddler, and his hand and feet found the correct place about it

”Did I ever tell you that your h the woods, deftly ducking branches and other obstacles Ta in his wolf fashi+on

Cries were echoing all around Mika, torches flashi+ng like giant fireflies as he dove into the thicket and squir wing

He had no ed from the thicket when he was met by a crowd of drivers

”No one in there,” he cried, pointing to the thicket froed ”Spread out and keep your eyes open Don't let anything slip past you!” and he plunged off to the right before anyone could speak

He kept up the charade for another hour, questioningthe, in return, their impression of what they had seen

It were turrible, Captain,” said one of the drivers with a look of distaste as he brushed at his jerkin that was now stained a peculiar whitish-green ”It were as big as a cow an' had long horns stickin' out o' its head An' it breathed fire, an' acid dripped out o' its mouth Why, I were almos' killed!”

”A real horror,” one of the nomads said soon, I think It swooped do, right in front of my face and tried to claw out htened it aith eous None agreed with any other, and almost all of the men claimed some personal encounter with the mythic beast Only one man told the truth

”It was an owl,” said the Guildsman after Mika had rounded up the last of the men and sent them back to their bedrolls

”A most peculiar owl It had human feet I think now that you must have been correct,” said the Guildsree that we are being plagued by a ic-user But I do not think that we have much to fear, if this is any indication of his ability What say you, Master Wolf?”

”I always say that it is a mistake to underestimate one's enemies,” Mika said stiffly

”Perhaps,” said the Guilds his hand he placed it on Mika's cloak, on the place where his shoulder would be, had he one, and squeezed lightly

Mika's heart sank He knew there was no way that the , not an ar for whatever would coht,” he said pleasantly ”Get to bed It's been a busy night, but I'”

Puzzled, Mika watched hi at? He had been certain that the Guildsman was his enemy and would expose him Perhaps he would yet, but for now, Mika was ht Maybe things would be different in the , he hoped so with all his heart

Things were different in theand it was necessary to keep his cloak draped around him to hide it

Further, his head and neck ached horribly froiant's sword and where the cursed h, a large patch of the curly black hair that covered his chest was gone, ripped out by the roots where the giant had gripped him as he fleay

One foot was badly swollen and throbbed constantly He knew that he would have trouble getting it into his boot,it in the stirrup He could only hope that the giant felt worse than he did

The grey was in a feistyas soon as he saw Mika Rather than fool with the animal, Mika picked up a fallen yarpick that fairly bristled with sharp, inch-long spines and waved it under the grey's nose

”You giveGot it?” he growled A group of drivers laughed, but the ani in Mika's tone, for he quieted instantly and gave hi day