Viper's Kiss - Lisa Smedman [76]
He sank down beside her and held his hands out toward the fire, even though her spell had made warming them unnecessary.
Karrell reached out for his left hand and turned it, looking at his abbreviated little finger. "An accident?"
Arvin shook his head. "I was young and on my own and hungry. I made the mistake of stealing on someone else's turf. The Guild cut it off as a warning." He picked up his glove, which had dried, and started to pull the stiff leather over his hand, but Karrell stopped him. She raised his hand to her lips and kissed it.
"You have had a difficult life," she said.
Arvin eased his hand from hers. "No more difficult than some. I'm sure your life hasn't been easy."
"It became much more pleasant after I pledged myself to the K'aaxlaat. They helped set my feet on the path I was to follow through the maze of life. They have become like broodmates to me."
"Do you miss your home?" Arvin asked.
"Often," Karrell said. Then she smiled. "But not at the moment."
Tanglemane stood suddenly.
"What's wrong?" Arvin asked, reaching for his dagger.
"All is well," Tanglemane assure them. "I simply go to find more firewood." Without another word, he trotted into the woods.
Karrell gave a soft laugh. "He realizes we would rather be alone."
"Does he think we want to-"
Before he could finish the question, she kissed him, answering it.
Arvin could hear the sound of Tanglemane's footsteps growing fainter. Collecting firewood, indeed. As the fire crackled beside them, filling the air with the sharp tang of smoke, he returned Karrell's kiss, wrapping his arms around her. Before his meditations, he'd been exhausted. But now…
Easing her onto the ground, he kissed his way down her throat.
*****
A rustling in the woods startled Arvin awake. It was dark, but the fire was burning brightly. Tanglemane must have stoked it while Arvin and Karrell slept. The centaur stood next to the fire, head lolling on his chest, fast asleep.
Karrell lay beside Arvin. Like him, she was still naked; they had fallen asleep, tangled together, after their lovemaking. She stirred, lost in a dream. It must have been an unpleasant one; she gasped and jerked her hand, as if trying to free it from something.
Arvin nudged her awake.
She blinked then sat up. "What is it?" she asked. "I'm not sure," Arvin said. "I heard something in the woods. I think it's-"
Eyes glinted at him from the edge of the clearing- eyes that were low to the ground and shone red from reflected firelight.
"A wolf," Arvin finished.
Tanglemane must have heard the word in his sleep. That, or he caught the wolf's scent. Instantly, his head was up, nostrils flaring. Tail flicking back and forth, he started to reach toward the empty sheath at his hip then changed his mind and turned his hindquarters to the wolf, lifting one massive hoof in readiness to kick.
Karrell sat up, fully awake now. "Tanglemane, wait. I will speak to it." She murmured something in her own language then gave a series of yips, half-barks, and growls. She was answered in kind by the wolf, which padded into the clearing. It proved to be an older animal, with a white muzzle and a lean, hungry-looking face.
"Has the wolf seen any satyrs?" Arvin asked. "Is there a camp nearby?"
"She does not know. She will ask her pack."
"Are they-" Before Arvin could complete the question, the wolf threw back its head and howled. A second wolf answered it from just inside the forest on the opposite side of the clearing. Then a third answered, from slightly deeper in the forest. Within moments, howls came from the woods on every side, both from close at hand and from a great distance. There must have been a dozen voices or more. The chorus lasted for several moments, rising and falling like a song, then one by one the wolves fell silent.
Arvin glanced at Tanglemane, who stood stiff-legged and trembling. He placed what he hoped was a reassuring hand on the centaur's flank. "Steady, Tanglemane," he told the centaur. "You were right; they're afraid of the fire. They're not going to come any