The Prophet of Panamindorah, Book One Fauns and Filinians by Abigail Hilton Read Free Book Online Page A

the
cats.”
    “Cheetahs are outcasts,” said Syrill
dismissively. “They were evicted from the council of Filinia years
ago for treachery. They survive as a breed, but all the king
cheetahs were killed, and they have no say in government. Laylan
himself is not a faun. Some say he is half wolfling.”
    Corry’s eyebrows rose.
    “Laylan looks by his fur to be a fox shelt,”
continued Syrill, “but foxlings are small of stature. Laylan is
tall—too tall, some say, to be pure fox shelt.
    “Whatever his pedigree, Laylan is the best
bounty hunter in the wood. In his vendetta against the Raiders,
Chance offered Laylan a fixed salary—a high one—if he would abandon
his wholesale trapping and concentrate on Fenrah’s pack. So far
Laylan hasn’t caught any Raiders, but he’s come closer than any
faun and has saved many merchants their cargos.”
    “What will the Raiders do with us?” asked
Corry.
    “Hold us for ransom. If they intended to kill
us, they would have done so by now.”
    Corry smiled. “You’re not angry that there
was a raid on Laven-lay, are you, Syrill? You’re only angry that
you were the one taken hostage.”
    Syrill glanced sideways at him. “The Raiders
hate cats as much as I do. They are the real enemy. If they hadn’t
pushed the wolflings out of their own country and into ours, we
wouldn’t be having this trouble. Fenrah is right: wolflings have
nowhere to go.”
    “And you really don’t think she’ll harm
us?”
    Syrill pursed his lips. “Fenrah is
unpredictable. It is to her advantage to be so. But I can say for
certain that she will do nothing that would hurt her struggling
nation, and Filinian conquest might do that. I am one thing that
stands in the way of that conquest.”
    “What is she like?” asked Corry.
    “Fenrah?” Syrill closed his eyes. “They say
she dresses in black. Her weapon of choice is not a sword, but a
huge dagger. She rides an enormous black wolf named Dance. Some
even claim that he is a durian wolf.”
    “What is a durian wolf?”
    “A talking wolf. The wolves that most
wolflings ride are called lupin wolves. They are like our
deer—understanding some speech, but themselves incapable.”
    “So Dance can talk?”
    “I said that rumors claim he can talk. As far
as I know, no faun has heard him. Cats can talk too, you know. It’s
a skill that once existed widely among four-legged creatures,
although many of them lost it under the rule of the wizard,
Gabalon.”
    For some reason Corry was not surprised to
learn that the cats could talk. The idea made him think of
something else. “Who was that snow leopard following you the day we
met?”
    Syrill turned to look at him. “How did you
know about that?”
    “I saw you in the wood. You jumped right over
me.”
    “I never saw you . The leopard was one
of Demitri’s generals—Ounce. I led a scouting party to examine a
village they had destroyed. We were discovered and pursued.” He
frowned at Corry. “You are truly a fortunate iteration. You could
easily have been killed by cats yesterday.”
    Corry thought a moment. “So who is the cat
king, and what kind of a cat is he?”
    “The tigers rule Filinia these days. The
lions were better, if you ask me, though the only good cat is a
dead one. Technically, the king now is Demitri, but Lexis is his
alpha cub. Demitri is rumored to be ill, and Lexis leads the army
now.”
    Before Syrill could say anything else a shelt
dropped into the cave and moved toward them. “Wake up, you two,”
came a deep male voice. “Chief is ready to see you.”
    “They’re not asleep, Xerous.” Corry
recognized Talis’s voice from the entrance. “They’ve been prattling
like geese the whole time.”
    Xerous was larger than either Sham or Sevn.
The wolfling came close and peered at Corry. “Iteration… How
interesting.” He turned to Syrill. “On your feet, faun.”

Chapter 7.
Fenrah
    Fauns say I wear black to blend with the
shadows. Wolflings know better. They say I