Tainn raced through the trees, sending up waves of snow as he crashed through the deep drifts. He had felt something dark enter the mountains, something he hadn't felt before. It was old, as old as the Heart of the Forest. Could it be that the dark spirit had somehow escaped? Had it found a body to inhabit? That thought caused the wolf to shudder. It wouldn't be one of Mycah's brood, so that narrowed it down to poachers who might have slipped past the patrols. That thought made him feel even sicker. Someone like that would be a real problem. And with Netto and Enzan lost somewhere on the mountains (he'd felt them appear a few hours ago) the stakes went up. If this creature got to them before the Pack could get there to help, all hell would truly break free. Howling loudly to gather the Pack, Tainn raced through the forest, praying that he would get to the boys before whatever it was that had broken into the mountains did.

****

Kichi was having a grand time trekking through the mountains, annoying Enzan to no end. Of course, that didn't take much, and at the moment it involved Kichi singing, which, all things told, wasn't that pleasant to here when she was trying.

"The first day after Christman,

my true love and I had a fight!

And so I chopped that pear tree down,

and burned it just for spite!

And with a single cartridge

I shot that blasted partridge..."

"Netto, I am seriously beginning to question whether or not your cousin is sane."

"Enzan, we've been asking that question for years," Netto replied with a laugh.

"I heard that," Kichi growled. "Hey, want to see something scary?"

"Sorry, I don't think we brought any mirrors with us," Enzan replied with a grin.

"Clever...very clever..."

If looks could kill Enzan would have been dead three years ago. Netto couldn't look at her without cracking up, so he stared at the ground instead. At any rate, that comment got Kichi to shut up for awhile. They continued to walk in silence, walking being the only way they could keep warm. And it was getting colder by the minute.

"Kichi, how much futher?" Netto asked through chattering teeth. "I'm half frozen."

"It shouldn't be to much further. Just keep moving."

There was silence behind her. Kichi turned around to find both of the boys gone from sight. There were no tracks leading away from the path they had made, but they were nowhere that she could see!

"Okay you two, that isn't funny!" She shouted. "Come on out!"

But she got no reply. "Come on you two! Nana will kill me if I don't bring you back!"

All she got back was silence.

****

Excellent, his plan to seperate them was working, and they wouldn't even realize how it was happening until it was too late. Then, once he got each of them alone, he would make sure that they suffered slowly before he finished them off. But who to start with first, Cesare wondered. Who would be the most fun... He wanted to save the wolf for last, since he was the main cause for all the problems Cesare had suffered. Perhaps the older girl. She worked with the Pack, patrolling the mountains for intruders. Therefore she would make great bait for trapping the Pack. And with those wolves out of the way, the other two would be easy targets for him...