I nod. People talk about wolves and bears—maybe elk—as being the lords of the forest, but the most powerful beings you’re going to find in the deep woods are the moose spirits. Like the buffalo, they don’t have a whole lot of give to them. Unlike the buffalo, they don’t have a herd mentality. They’re solitary by nature, but that doesn’t make them easy prey because nobody willingly takes on a moose. They weigh in at over half a ton, can have an antler spread of six feet, and they’re not the most even-tempered of the cerva. Easy to piss off, and impossible to shake if they get it in their heads to come after you.

Ayabe’s the oldest of the moose spirits in this area and his range takes in everything from the Kickaha Mountains down to Newford’s lake.

“You think he’d be interested in helping us?” I ask.

“If I can convince him it’d be in the best long-term interests of his people, yes.”

“Well, let’s go.”

Jack shakes his head. “No, I’ll go. I need you to talk to Lucius.”

He means Raven, the big gun of the corbae, my people. I’ve never met him, but from all I’ve heard I know what his reaction would be.

“I can already tell you what he’ll say,” I tell Jack. “He’ll say that the fairy brought this problem onto themselves, so they can fix it themselves. That’s pretty much his response to anybody who comes looking for him to get involved in something.”

And while I hate to say it of one of my own, he’d probably rationalize the whole thing along the lines of not wanting to be seen as pro-fairy when the buffalo run them over, but he also wouldn’t want to join them in case the fairy pull something out of a hat at the last minute. He’s always the mediator, the old stories say.

“I still need you to try,” Jack says.

“I’ll try. I don’t know if he’ll even hear me out, but I’ll give it a shot.”

“That’s all anyone can ask.”

“And if he won’t help?”

Jack grins. “Then stick around. There’ll be plenty of pickings for a carrion bird.”

With that, he steps away and I’m alone in the between with the sound of the buffalo ringing in my ears and echoing the drum of my own heartbeat, deep in my chest.