Pursuit

CAIVAN

There is a reason these back roads are not plied regularly, or at all, for the same reason the valley is called Delagad. They are not the safest to follow, especially not when winter is close, even if they are removed from clear sight. Gazens constitute a major part of my angst, however; one or two we can handle, but a herd?

Lian; the name had come naturally to me, the Sneyan name for Lupion's forerunner, and he seems to like it; sniffs at a cluster of purple flowers beneath a large tree to my left. I'm about to point out that curali are not exactly nose-friendly when he sneezes violently, backing away from them with a snarl. 'Keep your nose to yourself,' I caution. Not that I should bother. This wolf is particularly bull-headed.

I squint down the path that winds through the tress ahead of us like one giant snake, crossing my fingers with superstitious instinctiveness at the thought of the dreaded creature. I've only taken the back roads this far south once, and I had been wi