The Jewel of Turmish - Mel Odom [8]
"The balance you're seeking to protect is false, druid," Druz said. "We seek a wolf that has developed a fondness for human flesh."
The druid shook his head slowly and carefully, without any emotion. "I don't care. A wolf will hunt those that hunt it."
"This wolf attacks children, druid." Druz made her voice hard and challenging. "Is that the kind of beast you would protect?"
"Children are lost every day. That is part of nature's balance. Only the strong survive."
"The strong," Druz agreed, "and the clever." She paused for the briefest moment, knowing her decision, but not knowing how the druid would respond. "I won't suffer to let that creature live. I saw three of the children who were mauled by the wolf. They are neither strong nor clever. That's why the wolf has singled them out."
At Druz's side, Kord shifted nervously, anticipating the scimitar's stroke that would open his brother's throat.
"Damn it, woman," Kord snarled anxiously.
The druid's eyes remained locked on Druz's, and for a moment she thought he was so cold and intent that her words wouldn't touch him.
Druz placed her hands on her hips, only inches from the hilts of the throwing daggers she had hidden under her leather armor behind her back. If the druid walked away, she intended to try to kill him. Maybe killing the other wolves they'd encountered hadn't been on her agenda, but slaying the one they'd come to find definitely was.
The time passed almost unbearably.
Druz was acutely conscious of the small sounds in the forest around them. She couldn't help wondering what kinds of creatures might be there, and if they were under the druid's thrall. Warriors who lived outside forests and drank in taverns told horrible stories about the vindictive ways and practices of druids in general and the Emerald Enclave in particular.
"One wolf?" The druid spoke softly, his attention riveted on Druz.
"Yes." She held his gaze full measure.
"He has a pack at his heels," Tethys said.
"But there's no evidence that any wolf except for the one has been part of the attacks," Druz said. Tethys was striving to keep the scalps they'd taken, as well as freeing up the way to more. "One wolf."
"Has this wolf harmed any of your kith or kin?" the druid asked.
Druz considered the question, knowing it would be easy to he, but she felt certain that somehow the druid would know. She'd never been that accomplished at lying.
"No."
"You hunt this wolf for gold," the druid stated.
"That's not the reason," Druz replied. "I saw those children. Their lives will never be the same. No matter what else happens to them, they will live with fear. I believe the wolf needs killing. Perhaps the wolf's death will give them some measure of peace."
The druid cocked his head slightly. "There is more."
"I gave my word to the shepherd when I took his gold," Druz said, not knowing if the druid would even understand the concept of payment for services.
"One wolf?" the druid said.
"Yes."
"Do you know which wolf it is?"
"He's full grown, starting to age. He has an old wound on the side of his muzzle." Druz touched the right side of her face, dragging a finger from the corner of her eye to the corner of her mouth. "It was made by a blade-"
"Or a trap," the druid suggested. "The shepherds and stockmen put out traps. A few years ago, they were successful with them, but wolves are clever and patient. They soon learned how to trip the traps then take the bait."
"Perhaps," Druz agreed, because she didn't know and because agreeing with the theory was the easiest course to pursue. "At any rate, the scars left by the wound still show, and white hair has grown from it."
"I will kill the wolf," the druid stated simply. "All of you can leave the forest."
"The hell we can," Tethys blustered. "The man who hired us expects to see proof that we carried out our assignment."
"I will kill the wolf," the druid repeated. "Not because you say it is necessary, but because the