Trenwyn's revelation about the hounds was enough to send a wave of fear through my tired legs. “Why are they following us, Trenwyn?”

“They’re following you, my lady.  They can sense you, and if they find you, they’ll kill you.”

The hounds were following me.  We moved even faster than the night before, jogging down hills, scrambling up the sides of ravines.  It seemed like a very long time had passed, but it was probably only half an hour when he stopped and passed me the canteen.  I drank until water spilled down my chin.  Gasping and wiping my face with a sleeve, I returned the skin to Trenwyn but he did not drink.

“Aren’t you thirsty?”

“I’ll be fine for a while yet.  Drink all you need.”  He offered me the skin again but I shook my head.  Where were we going?  I was about to ask about this when a sound stopped my words in my throat.  The bay of a hound.  Lucian growled, deep in his throat, baring his teeth with such animosity that I took a step back, even though his aggression was not directed at me.

“Is that them?”  My belief in Trenwyn’s dire warnings of danger and death crystallized.

Trenwyn nodded and we began to run, Lucian leading.  I could hear the bay of multiple dogs as we ran but all I could tell was that there was more than one and they were getting closer.  Soon, I was sure, we would reach a cliff, just like in my nightmare.  After a few minutes, Trenwyn began to speak breathlessly as we ran.

“They are majai as well.  They can feel you.  You’ve been marked.  They will hunt you until they’ve found you and killed you.”

“If they’re majai,” I panted, “and you’re a maj,” inhale, “then why are you helping me when they’re trying to kill me?”

“They are not of my circle.”  As if that explained everything.

“And how do they feel me?  What is this sign on me?  How did it get there?”  I gasped as we topped a ridge and started down the other side.

“All majai can feel someone who has been marked.”  Trenwyn was matter-of-fact.

“You can feel me?” I demanded. 

“Yes.” Trenwyn affirmed.  “The sign on you marks you out for death.”  The hounds sounded close and above as we reached the ravine floor and came out of the trees into a small opening.   Trenwyn caught my arm and I skidded to a stop, pieces of slate and earth flying.  “They’re nearly upon us.”

Did this mean we would have to fight them?  This part was a little different than the dream.  I gazed back up the hillside, expecting to see the dogs silhouetted against the ridge top at any second.  My head jerked back around at a strange sound.  Trenwyn was letting out an other-worldly whistle.  I hadn’t known humans could make such a sound. What on earth was he doing?  He would lead the hounds and bad majai right to us with that racket!  At last he stopped and turned to me.

“Listen to me, Ethereal.  You will go straight for the village of Rhir, understand?”

I lost what he was saying as an enormous bull elk bounded into the clearing ahead of us, not ten yards away, and looked at Trenwyn and me in a manner that could only be termed doubtful.  I realized my jaw was hanging slack and promptly shut my mouth.  Instead of bounding away, the elk took two steps toward us, ears twitching madly.  Trenwyn didn’t seem at all astounded which made me doubt his sanity once again.  He was still speaking to me, nearly ignoring the massive animal.

“…meet you there tonight.  Don’t worry, I will find you.”  He began to walk toward the elk, who stayed motionless.

“Did you…call him?” I asked haltingly, keeping my eyes on the elk.

“Yes.  He will take you to the edge of the village.  Once in the village you should be safe. Now come. Quickly!” 

He was right next to the monstrous elk and even put a hand on the beast’s neck.  The thing twitched but didn’t bolt or attack.  Trenwyn seemed to want to boost me onto its back.  He was insane, no doubt about it.  Another chorus from the hounds behind us and I was right up next to him, not caring if we were both crazy.  “What about you?  Won’t they kill you, or do you have another elk around here?”

Trenwyn chuckled as if I’d made a joke.  I found this irritating.  “You’re the one they’re after, my lady, not me.  If they find me without you, they won’t touch me.  I will meet you in Rhir tonight, but now you must go!”  He didn’t wait for me this time, but grabbed me and somehow managed to hoist me half way onto the elk.  Then my horse riding experience took hold and I scrambled into place.  Sitting astride the animal, I looked for something to grasp hold of and had just gripped its little tuft of mane when Trenwyn slapped the bull on the rump and the eight-hundred pounds of muscle beneath me sprang to life.  A small yelp escaped me as we careened out of the clearing and into the forest again. It was the ride of a lifetime, hanging on for dear life and finding the elk much less comfortable than a horse.  He would change directions without notice and I tried to stay low on his back to anticipate what his next move would be as the brush tore holes in my cotton pajama pants and then began to scratch my legs.  How long had this been going on?  It could have been five minutes, but it seemed like an hour and miles and miles.  My fingers throbbed from the tightness of my grip and I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay on much longer. 

As if he sensed my resolve weakening, the elk pulled up sharply, then dodged to the left and the force was too much.  Fortunately, I missed the large rocks the elk had turned to avoid—flew right over them—and hit the ground on the other side, rolling and recovering my wits just in time to see my noble steed go bounding away into the forest without me.  

Panic welled up within me and I tried to force it back down.  I was alone in a strange and dangerous place and I fought the urge to sit down and cry like Alice in Wonderland.  

Inhaling deeply to calm myself, I forced myself to take in the situation as coolly as possible.  I was at the base of a small hill, on top of which was a rock outcropping.  Maybe, if I climbed up to this, I would be able to see the village Trenwyn had mentioned.  If not, at least I could get an idea of the land or see a house or something.  Why was my left hand throbbing?  Had I landed on it?  It had all happened too fast, I couldn’t remember.  Looking down, I saw it starting to swell.  Just what I needed.  Well, there was nothing I could do about it at the moment.  I started for the rocks.  

Almost at the top, I glanced up, then gasped.  Ten feet above me, on the rocks, a man crouched.  Our eyes locked for a split second and then he was leaping down to the ledge I stood on.  As he straightened, I saw he was tall, but my attention was on his face.  A piece of dark green fabric covered his nose and mouth, revealing icy blue eyes in stark contrast to his dark brows.  He wore a green-brown cloak, a similar color to the coat Trenwyn had given me, the hood pulled up to shadow his face.  What was it with these people and their hoods?  Even with the hood, I saw waves of dark hair peeking out.  He seemed strong and the way he moved was like that of an experienced predator, all of his clothing was colored green and gray, like the surrounding forest.  I saw a long knife peeking out from beneath his cloak, but no other visible weapons.  He definitely looked like a hunter.

  He stepped toward me and I dropped in a defensive crouch.  The fingers of my right hand tingled, wishing for some kind of weapon with which to defend myself, even as I realized that defense against someone like this man would be ridiculous.  What if he was one of the bad majai trying to kill me? 

 “Don’t be afraid.”  His voice was low and calm.  “I’m not going to hurt you.”

I didn’t move.  The last time I’d trusted some weirdo it had gotten me here.  Who knew where trusting another might take me?  Then again, what were my options, really? 

“You’re hurt.”  The hunter’s voice caught me off guard and I realized that I’d been holding my injured left hand against my side protectively.  I glanced down at it.  The swelling and oncoming bluish-gray hue was obvious even if my body language hadn’t given me away.

“I’m fine,” I snapped.

The hunter’s eyebrows shot up skeptically.  “I can help you, if you’ll let me.”  Slowly, he stepped forward but his motions were cautious, not threatening, and I relaxed a bit, straightening once more.  He reached forward and I jerked my left hand farther back.

“Let me help you,” he insisted, voice still low.  This time I let him take my swollen hand as I glared, watching his every motion like a hawk.  His right hand wore a fingerless glove of black leather.  His bare left hand sported a ring of the same dull metal as Trenwyn’s, but with a different design and a black stone rather than amber.  How curious.  

It surprised me how gentle he was with my throbbing hand, running his fingers over it in an expert manner.  Who was he and what was he doing out here?  Maybe the village Rhir was close.  I winced as his fingers found a painful point.

“How did you hurt yourself?” he inquired.

“Did you see, um, how I got here?” I asked, a little apprehensive.  If he hadn’t seen the elk, I wouldn’t expect him to believe my story.  At this moment, I also realized just how I must look with my torn pajama pants and scraped legs, hiking boots, this ridiculous coat, and my blonde hair flying everywhere. 

His eyes hinted at curiosity and he nodded.  “Yes.  That was quite the mount.”

I laughed a little.  “He’s rather spirited.  Anyway, I think it happened when I, uh, when I came off.  I don’t really remember how I landed.”

“Mmm.”  He was silent for a moment.  “This might hurt a little,” he warned, continuing to prod my fingers and hand.  He was right, but pain was the least of my concerns and the many questions distracted me from the discomfort.  After a moment, I became aware that the hunter had stopped prodding and was now just holding my hand.  A small smile came onto my lips at the pure awkwardness of the situation.  Catching the hunter’s eye, I raised an eyebrow in question. 

“It’s broken.”

I nodded, biting my lower lip pensively and looking at the ground for a moment before returning my gaze to his eyes.  “Is it bad?”

“There’s only one place, from what I can tell, but it needs to be set.”

I nodded.  

“I can set it for you and make a splint to keep it in place, but it will be painful,” the hunter told me, still holding my hand.  

What an absolutely absurd day.  I was eighty-five percent sure it was another dream.  But better than my last dream since this one had a hunter whose eyes sent shivers down my spine and who smelled of pine.  “I can take the pain,” I said.  “Just be quick, please.”