KORAMITE

A

fter consuming the goats, Hunger chased the female. She was keeping to less-used roads. Of course, it wouldn’t have mattered if she had ridden on well-used ones: he still would have been able to sniff her out of the mix. Up hill, down dale he went, all the time the scent getting stronger, which meant he was getting closer. And then he found that she had separated from her horse.

Perhaps she’d been brushed off by a branch. Or it had run off on her while she’d gone to get a drink or relieve herself. Or maybe she’d run it too hard. He didn’t know. He didn’t care. He was getting closer. He would have her soon.

The road he was on now wasn’t so much of a road but a wide wash for the spring rains. Only the smallest trickle of water ran down the bed of the wash now. The last stretch had been rocky. It would slow her down, but it wouldn’t slow him.

Trees grew thickly along the banks of the wash. Hunger raced around a bend and saw a trail split off the wash and rise up and over one of the banks. He saw one of her muddy footprints at the base of the trail. He splashed through the tiny brooklet and prepared to charge up the bank. But before he could start up the trail, he caught the stink of magic on the wind.

He ran a few more paces and then stopped. The female had left the wash. He could smell that. He followed her trail up. The trees along the banks immediately gave way to mown oat fields. He could not see her, but he could see that the trail ran straight for some distance through the middle of the fields.

However, the stink was weaker at the top of the bank. He descended back to the bottom of the wash. Yes, it was here. He had found that the human’s magic all had a slightly different taste to it. River’s had carried a slightly different odor from Argoth’s down in the cellar. And the scent of the burning boy had carried, yet again, a tinge of something else. He thought he recognized this one.

He took his time, opened his mouth wide, and followed the scent a few paces up the wash. Hogan, the Koramite, had been here. And his scent had been kept in the shade from the sun. Hunger crossed the wash.

It didn’t take him long to puzzle out what had happened. Many men on horses had come this way, traveling from the fields where the female had gone, down into the wash, and then on to a trail that led up the opposite bank.

He’d smelled no magic on the female. He’d hoped she’d lead him to Sleth. And she had. He had a sure trail now. He would follow it. Besides, the female was on foot, which meant she’d leave a stronger trail. She wasn’t that far ahead. Maybe a mile or two. He could come back here and resume his chase later.

He breathed in the Koramite’s scent. Yes. He would take the sure thing first.