Pendant of Fortune (63 page)

Volle shook his head. “You made up quite a convincing story about it.”

There was a very long pause, so long that Volle thought at first that Tish was not going to respond. And then the black wolf spoke, very slowly. “The only part I made up,” he said, “was about Archer getting away.”

Volle swallowed. “Oh.”

“
I suppose I told it convincingly because I still, all these years later, wish with all my heart that it had been true. They found us…broke open the wardrobe…”

“
It’s okay,” Volle said, shuddering. “I don’t need to hear.”

“
No, you don’t. You already know. And so you can understand why, for all these years, I have worked and worked to undo the damage done both by Bucher and by those who deposed him. I don’t want any more killing. War between Ferrenis and Tephos will probably happen again, but we have staved it off for a good long time. This embassy will be a wonderful thing, and more good will come of it than anything else I have had a hand in, I think. And you are a Lord of Tephos—legitimately, I might add—and your children will be Lords in their own right.” He looked at Volyan, and his muzzle stretched into a faraway smile. “I would not be surprised if, in a hundred years or so when the wheel turns to Canis again, the crown settles on the head of a fox who counts proudly among his ancestors the famous Lord Volle of Vinton.”

Volle felt a swell of emotion and pride in his chest. “You really think so?” he whispered, looking at Volyan climbing over a kneeling Streak.

“
I do.”

“
And you’re saying you planned all this? The embassy, the nobility?”

“
Planned is a curious word, Volle. If you had asked me when a bright-eyed fox arrived here over six years ago whether events would have unfolded exactly as they did, then I would not have been able to tell you. But I seized opportunities when they arose, and made slight adjustments where I was able, and always kept my goals in mind.”

“
You can’t have known about the embassy, though. The King told me he was afraid of going to war, and that’s why…” His voice trailed off, and he looked thoughtfully at the wolf.

“
That’s why what?” Tish leaned forward. “Volle?”

“
I was just thinking of something the King said. Something funny.”

Tish leaned back, folding his arms. “What was that?”

“
When he told me about the embassy, he said he was about to tell me some things not even you had heard.”

The wolf shrugged nonchalantly, but his ears were perked and his demeanor wary, and the humor was gone from his tone. “Believe it or not, I had not heard about it. I told you that.”

“
That’s true.” Volle rubbed his muzzle, watching Tish, not wanting to believe what he had just put together. “But the funny thing…the funny thing is, he said that
after
he told me about Dereath’s trap.”

He read the truth immediately in the wolf’s eyes, and Tish knew he did. The wolf sighed. “Yes. I knew about that. Volle, listen. It was as much a trap for me as for you. They knew I was your friend. If I’d told you…”

Volle tried to keep the sense of betrayal from his posture and voice. “You said you didn’t know. You let me…I could have been caught, or killed.”

“
I had shown you the hiding place, conveniently near the office of Defense. I knew nobody else knew about it because I made it myself, some years ago. I had confidence that you would not be caught. I had to seize the opportunity. I knew the King was hesitant because of the danger should the false plans leave the palace, and I thought there was a good chance that you would not only get away, but get away with them.

“
As it happened, I was taken in by Dereath’s story and I thought you’d gotten away. Seir assumed you’d fled the city as quickly as possible, without contacting her, and gone straight to Caril. We thought you might have gotten lost in the mountains, delayed by the winter. It wasn’t until after three fruitless months of searching for you that we realized you had not gotten away. I visited the prisons, but they are large and it is not easy to arrange visits there. They tend to arouse suspicion. And then, Dereath returned with the news you had escaped.”

“
You just let me walk into that office.”

“
I had confidence in you. And you justified that confidence and then some. I cannot tell you the relief I felt when I heard you were safe.” The paw on Volle’s shoulder gripped him. “If you had been caught and lost, I would have accepted it as part of the life we lead. It is a hard world, and I know you know that. But it would have hurt.”

Volle nodded. “So I was just a means to your goal,” he said, trying not to sound as bitter as he felt. “You didn’t even tell Seir that you just wanted to establish the embassy. That’s all we meant to you.”

“
Haven’t you been listening?” Tish removed his paw and folded his arms. “You are much more than that. I wasn’t sure about you when you arrived, but I am now. If I put you through challenges, it’s because I believed with my heart that you were strong enough to withstand them. If you had been caught and there were anything I could have done about it, I would have. I promise you that.”

“
It’s just a little hard to hear.”

“
But you have to know it. There will be a day when Volyan, rebellious and young, will look to you for the support you’ve always given him, and you will have to cast him free. You have learned what it is to have a pack; you have not yet learned how to let your pack grow up with you. But you will. And when the time comes, you will know it, and even if he doesn’t believe he can succeed without you, you will know he can, and you will let him prove it to himself.”

Volle smiled then, looking at the cub. Volyan met his eyes and started running back toward him, with Streak following, both panting white breaths in the cold air. Perhaps it was not possible to hold both concepts of the Pack in one’s life. Tish had chosen the larger Pack of country, while Volle had chosen the smaller Pack of family. He didn’t feel like arguing with the wolf now, but he told himself in his heart that he would never betray Volyan, nor Streak either. “I’ll look you up in twenty years and tell you if you were right. Until then, I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“
I look forward to hearing about it.” Tish smiled and stood aside as Volyan arrived and leapt up, grabbing Volle’s robes.

“
Daddy, Daddy, come play with me an’ Daddy Streak!”

Volle knelt and smiled. “How about if we go inside instead? I bet we can get some warm milk from the kitchen.”

Volyan pondered that. “Can we come back out after?”

“
Of course we can.” Volle smiled and nuzzled Streak as the wolf walked up.

“
Hello, Tish,” he said, and Tish bowed, smiling at the other wolf and at the cub.

“
Daddy, carry me!” Volyan reached his arms up imploringly.

Volle bent down and hefted the cub into his arms. “Oof. You’re getting too big for this.”

“
Daddy Streak carries me!”

Volle grinned at the wolf. “Of course he does. He’s bigger than I am.”

Volyan looked at the statue, now at his eye level, and creased his brow. “What’s that?”

“
That’s a lion.”

The cub studied the statue for a second. “He looks scary.”

“
They can be.” Volle smiled and turned toward the palace. Tish had already waved and was heading back down the path. “But things aren’t always what they seem. Come on, let’s get some warm milk.”

Tails wagging behind them, the little pack walked back through the garden, into the palace, and home.

About the Author

Kyell Gold writes anthropomorphic erotica from an undisclosed location rumored to be in California. This is the second of two novels about Volle; the first, titled “Volle,” is available from Sofawolf Press (www.sofawolf.com). His other works appear regularly in Sofawolf Press’s “Heat,” Osfer’s Joint Publications’ “FANG” (www.osfer.com), and his own LiveJournal (www.livejournal.com/users/kyellgold). He is currently working on an anthology of stories set in Volle’s world, including the seminal story “The Prisoner’s Release,” initially published in “Heat.” He lives with his very patient partner and their dog.