The Shadows of Night (20 page)

Katara leaned her nose against his shoulder, breathing in his clean scent.
 
“Could they all come to the keep and remain here?”

“No.
 
This village is too numerous, and it would be too crowded.”
 
He sighed again.
 
“At least the force fields will keep them safe in their dwellings.”

“The magic walls,” she said.

“I told you before, they are not magic.
 
They are technology handed down from the Ancestors.”

She lifted her head and frowned.
 
“Technology.
 
Not magic.”
 
Pressing her lips together, she thought about that for a moment, then spoke.

“Could the force fields be removed from the keep and… expanded somehow to surround the town?”

Hart blinked.
 
“They are only wide enough to cover the windows.”

“Yes, but could they be…
altered
, somehow?”

“I have no idea.
 
No one knows how they work.”

“Technology is simply another word for a machine, is it not?
 
Where is the machine that makes it work?”
 
Excited by the idea, she
unwrapped
her arms from his neck and strode toward the nearest room, which happened to be the living chamber.
 
She stalked to the wide arched window and reached out, feeling for the force field.
 

“Look at this,” she said, pointing to a small metal device on the stones, on the near side of the force field.
 
“Is that what creates the wall?”

Hart looked slightly stunned.
 
“I have no idea.
 
I have never wondered what makes it work.
 
It is enough that it does.”

“Your people are singularly lacking in curiosity.”
 
She stared at the device a moment longer.
 
“Let us try to remove it.”

“Will it continue to work if it is removed from the wall?
 
Does it not draw energy from somewhere?”

“Energy?”
 
She blinked at the unfamiliar term.
 
“I have no idea.”

Hart shrugged, looking as baffled as she felt.
 
She remembered he had no more idea how the magic wall worked than she did.
 
“Perhaps it makes its own energy somehow.
 
The drones seem to, after all.”

 
“The only way to tell is to try, I suppose.
 
If it can be removed, perhaps the force field can be enlarged.”

“How could it possibly be enlarged?”

“The windows of the keep are different sizes.
 
Perhaps this device can make force fields of various sizes.
 
What if we could convince it to make a very large wall?”

“If we could, we could put several around the village and render it safe from attack.”
 
He frowned as he considered the device.
 
“There is a small slot here, which looks as if a tool could be inserted.
 
Perhaps it could be removed that way.
 
But we do not have any tools.”

She considered the matter for a moment, then held up her hands, with their long nails, and smiled.
 
“What of my claws?”

*****

“There are no gaps in the wall,” Hart said as twilight fell.

The monarch frowned as he paced down the main path of the village, his consort, Prong, and the three members of the Claw Kindred behind him.
 
The Antler lined both sides of the path, watching and listening.

“How can you tell?” the monarch asked at last.
 
“The force fields cannot be seen, any more than they could be seen when they covered the windows of the keep.”

It had taken only taken a few minutes to remove the device from the wall, using Katara’s sharp nails as a tool, but Hart and Katara had spent hours trying to figure out which of the tiny controls would sufficiently enlarge the force field.
 
They had used twenty force field generators, gathered from the lower windows of the keep, and the keep and village were now totally surrounded by the invisible walls.

“When Katara and I discovered the controls that enlarged the force field, we also found that the force field becomes visible when its size is changed.
 
The effect lasts for an hour or so.
 
We were able to set up the devices around the village and ensure there were no gaps between the fields whilst they were still visible.”
 

“Hmmm,” the monarch said.
 
“And you are certain this wall you have constructed will prevent the flying fangs from injuring our people?”

Hart nodded.
 
He was confident this wall would protect the town.
 
“It is tall enough that no arrows can be shot over it, and nothing can come through it.
 
If it can keep a person in, it can keep weapons out.”
 

The monarch turned and grasped him by the upper arms in a rare gesture of affection.
 
“Our Kindred have many reasons to thank you today, my son.
 
I am grateful that I did not exile you.”

“This wall was actually Katara’s idea,” Prong pointed out helpfully.
 
“You should give credit where credit is due, Father.”

The monarch turned to look at Katara, who stood next to Hart.
 
He hesitated a moment, then grasped her by the arms as well and looked into her eyes.

“I thank you for the services you have rendered my people,” he said formally.
 
“I would be pleased to welcome you into the Antler Kindred.”

A murmur of surprise went through the Antler lining the path, and Hart felt his heart lift at his father’s acceptance.
 
Katara inclined her head.
 
“I thank you,” she responded, just as formally.
 
“I plan to reside among the Antler Kindred once Hart and I return.
 
We must let the other Antler villages know of the threat, and show them how to protect themselves.
 
We will contact as many Claw Kindred as we are able, too.”

“Your people may take refuge here, for as long as they like,” the monarch said.

“We thank you for that,” the lioness drawled from behind him.
 
“But it is not our way to hide behind walls, and we wish not to eat grass and vegetables.
 
We must have access to the forest in order to hunt.
 
Our people will continue to take our chances in the forest.
 
But if you need us to join in the fight against the Fang, you have but to ask.”

The older woman stepped forward and put her arms around Katara. “Before we return to Pride territory, my daughter, I bid you goodbye.
 
Run swiftly, and let nothing stand between you and honor.”
 
She hugged her daughter tightly.
 
“And be careful.”

“I will take care of your daughter,” Hart said.

The lioness looked him over approvingly.
 
“I know.”

Hart bent and pressed a button on one of the force field generators, and the wall flickered, momentarily visible as a rainbow of color, then disappeared as it turned off.
 

“Remember to press this button again when we leave,” he told his brother.
 
“You should not need to open it again until we return.
 
The drones can float over the top of the wall without difficulty, so food will not be a problem for the village.
 
Check every day to make certain all the force fields are functioning.
 
If the red light is on, the force field is operating.”

“You’ve explained it to me three times, brother.
 
Quit stalling.
 
The sooner you go, the sooner you’ll return.”

Hart smiled and grasped his brother by the arms.
 
“Goodbye, Prong.
 
We will meet again soon.”

He shifted into his stag form.
 
Beside him, Katara changed to her leopard form.
 
Together they darted out into the darkening gloom of the meadow, and from there into the forest.
 
Hart glanced back over his shoulder, seeing the rainbow wall of color as Prong raised the force field again.
 
A wall that he hoped would protect his people and his family until he returned.

In his stag form, Hart couldn’t speak, but everything that needed to be spoken between himself and Katara had already been said.
 
Despite the danger that threatened his people, he was warm with contentment.
 
For the first time in his life, he was doing something that truly mattered, something important.
 
Serving his people, and the people of his mate.
  

And Katara was by his side, as she would be for the rest of his life.

The smaller moon began to rise in the sky, its silvery light filtering through the tree branches, as Hart ran through the shadows of night with the woman he loved.
 

The End

Look for Prong and Star’s story in
The Stars of Dawn (Kindred, Book Two),
coming in summer 2012.