Ice Blink

33: Howl of the Wolf

Nuna found Amarok outside the circle of shelters Keeonah's group had built, far enough away that they couldn't hear any voices, and the flicker of firelight seemed small against the darkness of the world. He sat on the bank of a frozen river, staring into the night with empty eyes.

"I don't think you should be out here," she said, sinking down beside him.

"I couldn't stay in there." His voice was thick and choked.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain?" Nuna reached out to him, her healer's instinct taking over, and he jerked away. Too sharply. He doubled over with a hiss, hands going to his stomach.

"You idiot." Luckily she'd brought a salve Keeonah had provided. Pulling his arms away from his abdomen, Nuna lifted his parka. An angry red gash marred Amarok's stomach, which was ridged with muscles tense against the pain. "Didn't they treat this one? Did you even tell them about it?"

She had to work fast if she wanted to stop an infection, but she had no bandages. She pulled her parka over my head, and her undershirt swiftly after it.

"What are you –?" Amarok's face flushed and he instantly looked away from her bare skin.

"I'm trying to help you, since you don't seem to be bothered about helping yourself," Nuna snapped, dragging her parka back on. The brief exposure had already set her teeth chattering. She tore her shirt apart with her teeth, soaked a strip in the salve, and dabbed Amarok's wound gently.

His entire body quivered.

"Hold your parka up so it doesn't get in my way." Nuna had no sympathy. He shouldn't even have climbed out of bed.

To her surprise, Amarok obliged, and when the wound was clean she wrapped the remains of my shirt around it, tying the makeshift bandage as tightly as she could.

"There. That might help for a little while, but it'll need proper bandages soon. It shouldn't need stitches, but I'll have to reconsider if it refuses to close."

Amarok blew out a long breath that smoked in front of his face, and turned to stare at the river again. He was being unusually silent.

"Aren't you going to thank me?"

"I should be dead," he said, his voice cracked.

Nuna opened and closed her mouth. "What? No."

His face twisted with pain. "Captain Tanat and I trained together. He was one of the finest Takaani I knew, not because he was strong, but because he was good. He always tried to help people. When I became Commander, I felt proud to give him that legion. All those brave men and women would have followed him to the end of the earth. And now they're all dead, and I should be too."

"Amarok." She gripped his arm. "It wasn't your fault."

"I should have realised it was a trap and stopped them. They'd have listened to me if I'd given the order."

"We were moving too fast, there wasn't time."

"Battles do move fast, and as a Commander, it's my job to be ahead of the soldiers. To have a plan."

"Don't do this to yourself," she said. "Just like Illulik, it isn't your fault."

He shook his head. "I lost them. Nuna, I lost them. Why are we still alive?"

She couldn't give him an answer. "Let's get you inside, where it's warm."

Forcing Amarok to lean on her, she led him carefully back to the largest hide tent. She'd always thought of him as the strongest Inua, and this new, fragile shell was frightening. How could they keep going after this if Amarok didn't recover?

They entered to find Iki walking gingerly while Toklo watched, bleary-eyed but sat up in bed. "Amarok, you're all right." His face fell when he noticed his expression. "You're hurt."

Amarok pulled away from Nuna, his eyebrows lowering, and she stifled a sigh. Here it was. He was going to try and pretend he was all right.

Before he could deny it, Nuna wrapped her arms around his broad frame.

Toklo blinked. Niju's eyebrows rose until they nearly disappeared beneath his hair. Iki automatically averted his eyes.

For a moment Amarok stood stiffly. Then, as if something inside him had snapped, he melted against Nuna, returning the embrace. He pressed his forehead against her shoulder, his hands curling to grip the back of her parka.

Keeonah cleared her throat and they jumped apart. The woman was eyeing Amarok like a hawk. "You're lucky we were in the area and willing to save you and your followers, Amarok."

His eyes narrowed. "Bad or good luck? Don't tell me you want something in return, Keeonah. Those were our companions who died back there."

"Our companions – don't make me laugh." She tossed her head. "If you and the Takaani had run into us under different circumstances, you'd have locked us in chains."

"And rightly so."

"Uh," Toklo said. "What's going on?"

"I thought you were going to tell us about the Ikkuma," Iki added.

Fury heated the air between Keeonah and Amarok as their gazes locked.

Nuna looked between them, baffled.

"Keeonah," Amarok said coldly, "is the leader of the Kadzait. They were once part of the Takaani until they betrayed us, and betrayed Illulik."

She scoffed. "Oh, come on, we didn't betray Illulik and you know it."

Nuna assumed whatever had happened explained why Amarok hadn't wanted to stay in the camp.

"What was that black stuff?" Toklo asked, loudly cutting through the tension.

"I don't know," Keeonah said. "Some kind of explosive, evidently. Whatever it was, it could turn the tide of the war. If they're using that as their secret weapon, no wonder Annoatok is expanding so fast. That was how we found you – we saw the explosion and went to get a better look."

"So you haven't sided with Annoatok yet?" Amarok folded his arms. "Surprising, considering you don't have a scrap of loyalty left in you. Why should we believe anything you say?"

"Amarok, sit down," Niju snapped. "They saved us. They've been looking after us for the past three days, and I for one am willing to thank them for it." He guided the Commander onto a bed, and Nuna sank onto Toklo's. Her legs ached and her ribs burned.

"Thank you," Keeonah said sweetly. "We could have let you die at any time, you know."

"This doesn't rule out what you did," Amarok said.

"Please stop being so hostile, or they'll throw us out into the cold," Nuna begged.

"We aren't that cruel. We aren't criminals, or the Nigak, no matter what you may think," Keeonah said. "Ignore your Commander. Anyway, as I was saying, it was the Ikkuma you were fighting back there, without even knowing it. They're an elite force who take commands directly from Mortu, some of his best soldiers, and their reputation is spreading." Her hair shimmered in the light when she moved. "They're known for fighting with fire."

"How do they bend fire to their will? Its spirit can't be tamed," Nuna said.

"Pray you never find out. Pray you never see the Ikkuma again."

So they had finally met Mortu's elite. The thought of her family in the hands of fire-wielding warriors robbed her of breath, and she vowed to search every inch of North Ice until she found them.