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Torak allowed himself to be forced to his knees and restrained with thick twine rope. The Mage wound it tightly around his wrists and ankles, so that the fibres bit into his skin. He was then pushed into the middle of a large circle etched out with deep incision on the cave floor, nearly falling on his face in the process. Torak spat out a little blood from his bruised mouth, and tried to sit up straight, though his head was spinning after the Mage's blows.

Since Kanuk had revealed the fate of Seshru's first daughter, Renn hadn't spoken. She hadn't even cried out when Torak had launched himself at the Mage and tried to bring him down.

Torak stole a glance at Renn's bone white face, and saw her staring into space with unseeing eyes. He tried to push the words out of his mind, but they were etched into his memory like the stone circle encompassing him.

'Before your mother went off to mate with that Raven Clan man, she gave me the most generous of gifts – my own daughter to turn into a tokoroth. She blessed me with such knowledge.' He brought his face close to her. 'How does it feel Renn? To know your kin used to scuttle around these caves in the night to do my bidding? Of course, she was only the first. The clan children have long since replaced her. My own tokoroth army. How invincible will they be once I add the spirit walker to the ranks? Poor Leos has no idea!' he had laughed.

Kanuk began gathering the necessary items for the summoning. Torak's mind was racing as he sat slumped in the circle. He couldn't escape his bindings to fight the Mage, and even if he could, he was physically weaker than the other man. He knew that if he attempted another attack, that blade was going to injure or kill Renn. The Mage had been sure to tell him that as he tied him up. The only thing that could save them now was Wolf.

He had been thinking about where Wolf had gone, when with a disconnected sort of interest, Torak noted that he produced a bowl of blood, several containers of ground up ochre pigments and several gleaming white skulls – one of which was a bear skull. It was a huge bear skull at that. Torak had a strange feeling in his stomach as he stared deeper and deeper into the eyeless sockets of the enormous ivory white skull.

'Do you recognise it?' Kanuk asked, taking a break from his foraging and placing a large hand on the crown of its head. 'You should. You killed it.'

Torak had been through too much that day to be fazed by this new information, but he did find himself wondering how he came by it. 'How did you find it? It was buried under a whole mountainside of snow.'

'I have my methods,' he shrugged and moved off to collect more items. Torak reckoned that tokoroth had been involved, but kept his mouth shut.

After a while, Kanuk had a large fire going, and in it he boiled up the blood, casting strange flakes of bone and charred teeth into it as he chanted. After a while, he seemed to be lost in a trance of chanting and stirring. Torak took the opportunity whilst the Mage was momentarily distracted to contact Wolf, he only had once chance and he had no idea how Kanuk would react to him howling. He tilted his head back, exposing his Adam's apple and howled loud, deep and true into the cavernous space. The low-pitched start rose in note and changed octave as he called, echoing back and forth all around them in pure wolf song, 'pack-brother, help me!'

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Renn closed her eyes as Torak's beautiful howl washed over her troubled mind and thoughts. The concave shape of the room and the hard surface of the walls created long-lasting echoes that seemed to pass right through her. He seemed louder than he ever had before, and the emotion in his voice made the howls almost sound like they were from another world.
The spiritual ambience of the secret cave and the situation they were in made it all the more surreal.

She couldn't tell for sure because of the bouncing reverberating echoes, but she thought she could hear another voice in the howl. It can't be Wolf, she told herself, and he's far away with Darkfur and the cubs. Renn was listening to what sounded like a separate voice, when one of the howls abruptly cut off, and only one from far away continued.

She snapped open her eyes to see the Mage looming over Torak, fisting his dark locks in one hand and brandishing a flint blade in the second. He was pressing against the exposed skin of his neck as he pulled his head back by the hair.

'You know what will happen if you summon spirits to your aid or if you transform and escape little spirit walker – the girl dies!' He pressed the knife further into the skin, and to Renn's horror she saw a trail of blood trickle from the point of contact.

'Stop it, leave him alone!'

The Mage smirked at her outcry, knowing full well he wasn't going to 'leave him alone'. Once he locked eyes with her, he pushed the boy from him so that Torak sprawled out on the dusty floor. With terrifying slow intensity he moved towards her. Renn couldn't, and wouldn't look away from his dark eyes, so churning with hate that they reminded her of the demon bear's.

'You can't do anything to me,' she said, trying to sound confident. Renn knew that if she was killed, Torak wouldn't submit to his plans.

The Mage didn't reply as he neared her, but unsheathed his slate knife. Renn felt adrenaline coursing through her as he drew closer and closer. The second howl she thought she'd heard continued from somewhere deep in the cave, causing them all to stop and listen. Kanuk looked around for the sound, and for a moment a look of uncertainty crossed his features.

Renn thought fast.

'Torak's summoned the great spirits now with his power. They're coming for you.'

'Don't be stupid girl.' He made a move to slap her, when a wolf howled again – louder this time. His hand stopped centimetres from her flushed cheek. Renn couldn't help but let her hopes soar at that familiar howl. If Wolf had somehow managed to get here, he was one last chance at escape. Kanuk quickly asserted himself, but didn't realise his back was to Torak and to the entrance of the cave. 'There's no chance of escape. The howl is merely the spirits coming to help me for the true cause.'

'Well you're wrong.'

'You will learn some respect,' he hissed, suddenly drawing close and brandishing his slate blade.

Renn immediately regretted her quick tongue and watched helplessly as he lowered the blade to her arm. He wasn't going to kill her before he had his way with Torak – but he could leave a mark if he so wished. Grabbing the soft skin of her forearm, he squeezed until she felt like her ulna was going to crack. He slashed the knife across her pale flesh, drawing forth bright red blood.

She bit her tongue to keep from crying out at the sharp laceration, and looked somewhere else to remove herself from the pain. Behind Kanuk, emerging from the dark cave entrance was such a strange ensemble of individuals that Renn thought she was surely dreaming.

A stranger who looked as if he hadn't eaten in weeks stood next to Leos with a flint blade clutched so hard in his grip that his whole arm was shaking. Wolf was there as well, and was accompanied by a large gaggle of small children, watching the scene with wary large eyes.

Renn watched as suddenly, the events around her seemed to go in slow motion.

Leos dashed to Torak and helped him up, slicing his cordage from his wrists and ankles swiftly.

The wild looking, malnourished man ran up to them, followed by Wolf, and stabbed the Bear Mage deep in the back with his flint blade. Kanuk's knife clattered to the floor, leaving a trail of her blood in its path. His whole body became taut. With wide, disbelieving eyes, he tried to turn to see his attacker, but a vital nerve had been severed, and with one last shocked look at Renn beneath him, he collapsed heavily on top of her.