Wolf-speaker Read Free Page A

couldn’t escape his thick, musky odor.
    â€œDaine, is this—?” Numair sounded nervous.
    The badger looked at him, eyes coldly intelligent.—
I told her father I would keep an eye on her. So you are her teacher. She tells me a great deal about you, when I visit her
.—
    â€œMay I ask you something?” the mage inquired.
    â€”I am an immortal, the first male creature of my kind. The male badger god, if you like. That is what you wished to ask, is it not?—
    â€œYes, and I thank you,” Numair said hesitantly. “I—thought I had shielded my mind from any kind of magical reading or probe—”
    â€”
Perhaps that works with
mortal
wizards,
—the badger replied.—
Perhaps it works with lesser immortals, such as Stormwings. I am neither
.—
    Numair blushed deeply, and Daine hid a grin behind one hand. She doubted that anyone had spoken that way to Numair in a long time. She was used to it. The badger had first appeared in a dream to give her advice sixteen months ago, on her journey to Tortall, and she had dreamed of him often since.
    â€œAnother question, then,” the mage said doggedly. “Since I have the opportunity to ask. You can resolve a number of academic debates, actually.”
    â€”
Ask
.—There was studied patience in the badgers voice.
    â€œThe inhabitants of the Divine Realms are called by men ‘immortals,’ but the term itself isn’t entirely accurate. I know that unless they are killed in some accident or by deliberate intent, creatures such as Stormwings, spidrens, and so on will live forever. They don’t age, either. But how are they ‘lesser immortals’ compared to you, or to the other gods?”
    â€”
They are “lesser” because they can be slain,
—was the reply.—
I can no more be killed than can Mithros, or the Goddess, or the other gods worshiped by two-leggers. “Immortals” is the most fitting term to use. It is not particularly correct, but it is the best you two-leggers can manage
.—
    Having made Numair speechless, the badger went on.—
Now, on to your teaching. It is well enough, but you have not shown her where to take her next step. I am surprised. For a mortal, your grasp of wild magic normally is good
.—
    Numair looked down his long nose at the guest who called his learning into question. “If you feel I have omitted something, by all means, enlighten us.”
    The badger sneezed. It seemed to be his way of laughing.—
Daine, if you try, you can learn to enter the mind of a mortal animal. You can use their eyes as you would your own, or their ears, or their noses
.—
    Daine frowned, trying to understand. “How? When you said I could hear and call animals, it was part of something I knew how to do. This isn’t.”
    â€”
Make your mind like that of the animal you join,
—he told her.—
Think like that animal does, until you become one. You may be quite surprised by what results in the end
.—
    It sounded odd, but she knew better than to say as much. She had questioned him once, and he had flattened her with one swipe of his paw. “I’ll try.”
    â€”Do better than try. Where is the young dragon?—
    Kitten had been watching from the other side ofthe fire. Now she came to sit with the badger, holding a clump of his fur in one small paw. She had a great deal to say in her vocabulary of chirps, whistles, clicks, and trills. He listened as if it meant something, and when she was done, waddled over to talk with Cloud and the horses. At last he returned to the fire, where Daine and Numair had waited politely for him to end his private conversations.
    â€”
I must go back to my home sett,
—he announced.—
Things in the Divine Realms have been hectic since the protective wall was breached and the lesser immortals were released into your world
.—
    â€œDo you know who did it?” asked Numair