I expected a chewing out by my host for unwillingly smooching his son but the scolding never came. Indeed, King Pangberan offered me a smile the next morning like the one he’d given me the first time we met. It wasn’t long before I learned why I deserved such a kind greeting.

  The first child I’d treated to chocolates stood at the gate to the compound. She held a bouquet of white flowers and her mother stood behind her.

  “Someone is waiting for you,” Pangberan informed me as he jerked his head toward the pair.

  I walked down the gentle slope over to the pair and offered them a smile. “Good morning. Did you need something?”

  The mother leaned down and whispered a few words to her daughter. “Go on. She will love them.”

  The little girl shuffled forward and held out the bouquet to me. “T-these are for you.”

  “For me?” I repeated as I accepted the sweet-smelling gift. I deeply inhaled and one of the petals tickled my nose. A sneeze escaped me, or so I played out. The little girl squealed and a smile brightened her face. I set a hand on her head and grinned down at her. “They’re wonderful. Did you pick them yourself?”

  The little girl bobbed her head. “Yep! From the road near the wall! Mama helped me!”

  I gently pressed the bunch against my chest and rubbed her head. “Thank you so much for bringing them. I’ll go put them in water right away so they last as long as they can.”

  The girl puffed out her chest. “That’s alright! I’ll bring you more later! And then I’ll get some more for you every day!”

  Her mother laughed. “You’ll pick all the flowers in the land if you do that.”

  “I’ll cherish these until some more grow to replace them,” I assured my little friend.

  “Thank you again for the wonderful time yesterday,” the mother spoke up as she set her hands on her child’s shoulders. “It was really wonderful to watch all the children have so much fun.”

  I stood and shook my head. “It was nothing. I’ll see if we can’t do it again soon.”

  The child flung up her arms and bounced up and down. “Yay!”

  We adults both laughed and her mother turned her away. “I hope you have a happy day.”

  I held up the bouquet. “I’m definitely going to.”

  They walked out of sight and I turned to find an audience. Everyone in the compound grinned at me, including the king. I blushed beneath the attention and pressed the flowers against my chest.

  Arian strolled up to me and set her hands on my shoulders. “You are as much a bright star here as you were in the heavens.”

  I waved away her compliment. “I had a lot of help yesterday. You and Dian were there, too, remember?”

  She leaned to one side to catch my eye. “But without you there would not have been a reason to be there.”

  “You have all our gratitude for offering your magic to my people,” Pangberan spoke up as he sauntered over to us. “You may remain here for as long as you like and no questions will be asked.”

  I blushed as the soft scent of the flowers and the warmth of all the smiles flooded over me. “Thank you. Really.”

  Under such a bear hug of kindness, I couldn’t help but enjoy my stay in their land. The peaceful days flew by and I found myself looking forward to the fur festival for more than just my midnight ride with Dian. The rest of the city thought likewise as they made preparations. Arian and I strolled down the streets, admiring the fresh sealant on the wooden houses that glistened in the bright sun. Yards had been swept of trash and leaves. Chicken houses had been whitewashed and corrals had been fixed.

  There was only one day left before the beginning of the festival and the air brimmed with barely contained excitement. Every morning before that had been like waking up to Christmas but the adults were even more excited than the children. That was probably because of the many kegs of mead that were carried up from the bowels of the king’s mansion and deposited in a long row on one side of the courtyard.

  The other side was occupied by a high throne adorned with deer antlers and covered in furs of all shapes and sizes. I couldn’t have helped but notice that there were no gray wolf pelts among the collection. Three low seats, two on one side and one on the other, flanked the throne. No doubt the seats for the expected clan leaders.

  The twilight hour approached after a long day of helping with the arrangements, and now I found myself seated on the back porch of the kingly lodge admiring the view from a bench against the wall. The sweet scent of flowers wafted over me along with the hideous whispers that had come to dominate my days and, most especially, my nights. The sounds had gotten so bad that I hadn’t slept a wink the night before and the deep shadows under my eyes were a testament to my insomnia.

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  I started when a shadow fell over me. Arian took a seat by my side and studied me with worry at the corner of her frowning lips. “Are you feeling well?”

  I rearranged my position on the seat and managed a smile. “I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep very much last night. Probably thinking about the festival.”

  She cocked her head to one side and her eyes told me she didn’t quite believe me. “Do you need to lie down?”

  I jumped to my feet and stretched my arms over my head. “I think maybe I need to go for a walk. The fresh air will do me good.”

  My friend blinked at me and turned her attention to the sprawling scenery that stretched out before us. “Is this not enough?”

  “I need some moving air,” I corrected myself. That didn’t wail and whine. I sauntered toward the door and winked at my friend. “Don’t wait up for me. I plan on enjoying the moonlight.”

  My warning only made her look more worried and made me feel a little more guilty about lying to her. Still, I had to figure out what those stupid voices were about. Now I just had a sneaky brother to find so he could fulfill his promise.

  I scoured the compound and came up empty. He was nowhere to be found. I paused beside the large stone fire pit and put my hands on my hips. Calling out his name would have brought too much attention to me. Unfortunately, the clock was still ticking away and night would soon inhibit our travel to the stone wall and the barren field beyond it.

  “Psst!”

  The hushed whisper made me shoot up. I whipped my head to and fro.

  “Over here!”

  The sound came from the opening to the compound and I discovered Dian peeking around the corner. He beckoned to me before he ducked out of sight. I tried to look as nonchalant as possible as I sauntered over to the gate and stepped to the left, disappearing out of sight from anyone in the compound.

  Dian stood with his back against the thick wood posts. Doubt filled his eyes and his pursed lips. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  A soft breeze blew over us and the wailing wrapped around me. It beckoned stronger to me the closer I traveled to the wall. “Definitely.”

  He grasped my hand and pulled me in the direction of the river. Very few citizens had dared to build so close to those unreliable waters but high grass grew along the banks. We used the grass to scamper past the lodges and we soon reached the outskirts of the city.

  Dusk had fallen and the sweet scent of night enveloped us as we slipped into the woods. I was surprised at how quietly Dian led me through the grass and fallen twigs. We wound our way around treacherous branches and uneven ground like stealth fighters. This then was the capabilities of one of the bears trained to protect their clan.

  Dian tightened his grip on my hand as we neared the high wall built by Arian’s naive grandfather. The huge stones loomed up on us like faded soldiers guarding a war that finished long ago.

  I moved toward the archway, but Dian tugged on my arm. He shook his head and pointed at a low point in the wall. “Through here. They might be watching the arch.”

  We kept low and used the deepening darkness to hide us as we made our way over the wall. Dian eased me over first and I landed with a hard thud on the other side. He dropped down beside me on both feet and his yellow eyes glowed softly in the dim light.

  He nodded in the direction of the feld. “Are you still sure you want to go see it?”

  The wailing had only grown louder the closer we came to the barren battlefield. “More than ever.”

  He pursed his lips but grasped my hand and led me onward. We tiptoed through the sparse brush and soon arrived at the edge of the desolate wasteland.

  That’s when the wailing stopped. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end at the eerie silence. I froze and my eyes flickered over the empty area.

  Dian scooted close to my side and his worried gaze studied my face. “What’s wrong?”

  I shook my head. “I-I don’t know but I think-”

  That’s when it came. A faint fog. It stretched out from the far corners of the field and swooped over us, enveloping Dian and me in its cold, merciless embrace. He tightened his grip on my hand and I grasped his arm.

  “Does this usually happen?” I whispered.

  “I have never seen fog on the battlefield.”

  Oh God. I couldn’t stop my shivering as I fruitlessly tried to see through the thick white wall that surrounded us.

  “Easy there,” Dian whispered. “We’ll just go back the way-ah!”

  Something had wrenched him backward. We lost our grip on one another in our mutual surprise. I stumbled in the direction I thought he had gone. “Dian!” I shouted as I waved my arms around trying to find something hard to grasp. “Dian!”

  I didn’t notice where I was going until my foot tripped on uneven ground. I toppled over onto the earth and a faint cloud of dust sprang up around me. Battlefield dust.

  Sweat pooled on my brow and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I kept my eyes focused on the fog ahead of me as I waved my hand about searching for Dian. A faint black shape emerged from the mist ahead of me.

  “Dian!” I shouted as I stretched out my hand. “Grab my hand!”

  The figure stretched out their arm and our hands joined. My fingers wrapped around something cold and clammy. I stiffened and slowly inched my eyes up. My blood froze in my veins when I saw what I held.

  It was the hand of a very dead soldier.

  The man’s translucent body faded at the edges but there was no mistaking the torn and bloodied clothes of a fallen warrior. A huge hole stood out in his gut and went all the way through to the tattered back. Rotten flesh hung loosely about the thing’s face as it opened its mouth and showed off fangs dripping with cobwebs and dust.

  That’s when I let out a scream that echoed over the field.