Frayed Ties (Ties, Book 1) | ✓

Chapter 26

A thundering of hooves outside more powerful than any normal horse could muster had them all on their feet and out of the door in seconds. The soft dusk light highlighted Atticus' form and lent him a kind of quiet nobility, though the effect was dampened somewhat by the heavy load he bore: two mages, a generous amount of baggage strapped at his sides and, strangely, one medium sized dog.

The dog was the first to the ground, lifted down by Hamish, and it looked grateful to be there. It immediately backed up, tail between its legs, its eyes darting between Wyke and the rest of its surroundings. It sniffed the air and then crept closer again to cower behind Hamish.

Hamish lifted Lynna down, but Wyke declined his help and swung down to the ground on his own with ease. Before he could start unloading the gear, Zunda and Emity were at his side.

"Are you Wyke?" Zunda asked.

Wyke nodded.

"It's very nice to meet you. I'm in charge here. My name is Zunda and this is my wife, Emity. It's our son you're here to help."

Wyke nodded again, this time shooting a quick glance in Hamish's direction.

Hamish straightened up from where he'd been petting the dog. "Oh, right! Sorry. Wyke is mute. He can't talk. We might have forgotten to mention that."

Danya hadn't actually realised that himself. He had assumed Wyke was just quiet.

"Oh! I'm sorry," Zunda said, and then seemed unsure where to go from there. She turned to Atticus. "Are the others on their way back as well?"

"We are not sure." Atticus nodded at the dog. "Things did not quite go to plan."

"Is everybody okay?" Simon asked.

"Last we saw, yes," Lynna said. "The dog was the problem. I was further back in the treeline so I didn't see everything, but basically it followed Wyke outside without anyone realising and it noticed the wolves and started barking before Wyke could get to the spot away from the gates where he was supposed to be ambushed. The wolves managed to get Wyke away before the guards reached them, but the dog was trying to fight them the whole time and the guards followed them into the treeline."

"Did the dog hurt them?" Hamish asked.

"I'm sure they're fine," Zunda said. "Its mouth isn't big enough to do them any real damage."

"I saw a bit of blood, but none of them seemed worried about it," Lynna confirmed. "I deactivated Wyke's chip and Slone led us back to Atticus while the rest of the wolves distracted the guards. Last we saw everyone was safe, but there seemed to be far more of a defensive response than we had anticipated."

"A poor calculation on our part," Simon said. "Wyke's not worth much to them, but I suppose that doesn't matter. An attack right outside a military base demands a serious response."

"They'll be delayed, but I'm confident they can handle the situation," Zunda said. "When Yore first went missing I travelled alone to scout the area and I spoke to those who guard the border there. They were fae children."

Wyke had started to unload the gear, so Danya went over to help him. Wyke delivered instructions with quick, clear gestures and Danya was soon carrying some sort of a stand over to the front deck of the small building Yore was in.

"Like, baby fae?" Hamish asked as he helped Wyke get a particularly stubborn strap unknotted.

"No, no, like..." Her brow pulled together as she thought. "Have you heard the term fae touched?"

"Uhh..." Hamish looked to Simon for help, but Simon just shrugged.

"That's what I am," Danya said. "And werewolves and centaurs, I suppose, though I didn't even know they were real until recently. Humans who have been touched by the fae's magic and become something else."