“He?” Jig asked.

Ryslind nodded. “He is one of Straum’s . . . servants.”

“How would you know this, brother?” Barius had returned. Arms crossed, he glared down at the wizard. “What reason do we have for trusting your word?”

Ryslind chuckled. “Believe me or not, it makes no difference.”

The pit in Jig’s stomach grew deeper. For despite everything Ryslind had done, Jig believed him.

They untied Ryslind’s legs so he could walk with the party. At first, Barius had argued, preferring to build a travois to drag the wizard along.

“And how am I to fight if I’m lugging your brother behind me?” Darnak snapped. “I’m doubting the enemy will want to wait while I unstrap a blasted travois.”

For once Jig agreed with the prince. Tie Ryslind up and leave him that way. They all knew the wizard was mad. What was to stop him from killing them all? He had promised to use no magic, but who could trust the mind behind those eyes? As soon as their guard dropped, he would attack. Starting, Jig guessed, with the goblin who had insulted him back in the Necromancer’s throne room.

But as they reached the woods, it looked like Ryslind would keep his promise. He had not spoken a word, and his hands remained bound behind his back. Darnak walked at the end of their line, so he would see if Ryslind tried anything. So far, Ryslind had been content to follow along.

He still made Jig nervous. Especially the way he smiled at them. Like this was all a game, and only Ryslind knew the rules.

“The trail goes deeper into the woods,” Barius said. He squatted by a patch of bare dirt. “See here, the creature has left a partial print.”

Jig stared at the brown, scuffed dirt. He saw nothing, and wondered if Barius was hallucinating. To make his frustration worse, he had already become disoriented. He thought he could find his way back to the clearing if he had to, but he wasn’t certain. Being lost made him feel uncomfortably dependent on the others.

“Clawed, as we guessed,” Barius muttered. He stretched a hand out over the dirt. “Toes spread for balance. The print is deep, so I would guess we face a beast nearly as massive as the ogres. A lion, perhaps. But longer of toe.”

He eventually tired of studying dirt and said, “Come, let us continue.”

Jig waited for the others to pass by. He took an extra step back to let Ryslind go by, but the wizard only smiled at him. Falling into step beside Darnak, Jig whispered, “Are both of them mad? They prod one another like children. And the only reason we’re chasing this beast is because Barius refuses to back down in front of his brother. What’s wrong with them?”