I was less certain of it, for it seemed to me it was not wilfulness or stubbornness that made Gavyn refuse to ride but a desire to run on his own feet. Certainly he seemed as tireless as Rasial. Not that the wolves were setting a fast pace. Rheagor had led us in a serpentine route across the dreadful dark monotony of the terrain, and I wondered if the ancestor he had mentioned had come the same way, or if there were many different, less tainted routes to be found, for one who had the senses to discern them.

Analivia said nothing, and I reflected on the changes wrought in her by the death of her brother. She was not withdrawn and shattered as she had been before she made her fierce, brave speech when we first looked down on the Blacklands, but she was less inclined to offer her bright speculations and I had not seen her smile once since she had set eyes on Moss.

Sometimes the wolves travelled so straight and swiftly that Gahltha was able to trot, but more often we walked, and once we even turned back for a time. I had begun the ride with apprehension edging on fear, but as the hours passed, the sheer monotony of the dire terrain dulled my fear and I realised incredulously at one point that I was in danger of falling asleep. It seemed an obscenity to be crossing this savaged land while struggling to stay awake. Nor was I alone, for after a time, Analivia slumped against me and I realised she had nodded off.

Rather than shaking her awake, I steadied her now and then and let her sleep, stifling yawns and pinching myself occasionally. Half stupefied by the endless gritty wind blowing into my face, it took me a moment to realise that Rheagor was calling a halt. I told the others that we were to stop for a half hour even as the wolves wheeled and coiled together.

It was impossible to say what hour it was with the sun hidden behind a barrier of dark clouds, but I reckoned it to be just past midday and wondered what sort of rest we could have on tainted ground. Yet Darga beastspoke me to say that we were on a patch of clean ground. I conveyed this to the others but was not surprised that, in spite of this, no one wanted to eat in the midst of the windswept wasteland under the lowering sky. Aside from all else, the grains of sand and the dust were doubtless tainted, and were we to eat, we would sup on that with every mouthful.