I'm sorry this is so late today, I got busy and forgot until now.

-owl

Bonding with Briggan hadn't been the easiest thing, Conor couldn't help but think. He was used to canines, yes, and there were a lot of similarities between the sheepdogs he had grown up with and Briggan, but there were equally many differences.

The sheepdogs would love to curl up with him and his brothers in the night, but Briggan would only ever settle near him, not with him. The sheepdogs hated to be stared at, and would be the first to look away in a staring contest. Briggan, however, would stare down Conor until the boy would give in.

For years Conor would sit awake at night, guarding the flock of sheep, listening to the wolves howl in the distance and hoping beyond hope that they would not attack. Now his closest companion was a wolf, and howled at the moon most nights.

"Ah, Trunswick!" Rollan exclaimed in a false happy voice. "I haven't been here since Tarik had to meet with Earl Trunswick."

Conor shrugged. "That doesn't surprise me."

They had finally made it to his hometown. After a night of little sleep, Lady Evelyn woke all three of them at dawn and shooed them away, as the others hadn't met up with them. While sleeping, Conor had dreamed of a hare hiding in a large wisteria plant, and a boar in the background.

As they got closer and closer to the city, they could smell something burning. In no way was that a good thing. Conor suggested that the farmers sometimes burned their fields, something about keeping the ground fertile, and the subject was dropped.

As they entered the gate, Conor looked up at the blue banners that held Briggan's silhouette. However, now Briggan was gone, in his place was what seemed to be a large cat, shaded in black and appearing to be more muscular than Uraza.

"Conor?" Lucette asked, confusion and a hint of worry in her voice. "That's supposed to be Briggan on the banner, right?"

Conor could only nod.

They hadn't gotten too far into the city before an alarming number of mastiffs started surrounding them. Conor recognized them as the formidable guards' dogs of the Trunswick soldiers. That was not good. Their bite was powerful, but worse, they were trained to not let go until they were given the order to do so. No matter what.

"This seems like an escort..." Rollan muttered, his head whipping around, peering into the shadows.

Lucette nodded, and Conor couldn't help but to agree as well.

Then, out of the darkness between two buildings, the earl of Trunswick stepped into their path. Beside him was Devin and a black wildcat. Both men had dangerous smiles on their faces. Devin looked like he was about to burst with glee at the situation of Conor and his friends.

"We don't tolerate Greencloaks here anymore," the earl spoke, his lip curling. "You have to understand, we can't let you go, as that would set a precedent that we don't mean what we say. And we can't have that, can we, Devin?"

"Of course not, Father."

"Why don't you and Elda escort the three of them to the Howling House. Make sure their animals are in passive state."

Well, Conor wasn't going to let that happen, with a discreet nod to Rollan, the two boys split off, in opposite directions. Surprisingly, Lucette didn't move. Conor ducked around buildings and through market stalls, until at last he was cornered. He was about to release Briggan when Rollan and Lucette were marched in front of him.

"Should we try this again, Conor?" Devin asked.

There was nothing to do for it, even Conor knew that. Reluctantly, he let them grab his arm. More guards came out from between buildings and, along with Devin and the wildcat, they brought Conor, Rollan, and Lucette to the Howling House, which had been built to handle people with the bonding sickness.

Lucette had called Bryer back into passive state as soon as the earl had mentioned it, and Briggan already was. It was decided that Rollan's bond with Essix was too weak to worry about, so they didn't bother worrying about the falcon.

Now they were in the Howling House, Rollan and Conor sharing a cell and Lucette in another, with an adjoining wall of iron bars. The floor was covered in a thin layer of hay, and the walls and floor were covered with an impressive collection of gouges made from various animals.

"I can't believe Devin has a spirit animal," Conor said. "I was there. I watched him drink the Nectar. He didn't call anything."

Rollan shrugged. "Not that I think you're lying, but he clearly seems bonded with that cat."

Conor nodded dejectedly, then changed the subject. "How did they catch you? I would have thought you would be good at evading capture in a city."

Rollan sighed. "Lucette didn't run. When I saw that they had her, I couldn't leave her. I hesitated, and they grabbed me."

"Why'd you hesitate?"

"I didn't know why she didn't run. I wasn't sure if the right course of action was to grab her and pull her along, or just yell at her to run."

"Oh. Lucette?" Conor asked, his voice soft.

Regardless, Lucette still jumped at the sound of his voice, she seemed to have been pondering something, not paying attention to her surroundings. "Yes, Conor?"

"Why didn't you run?"

She sighed. "I've never been one to argue with authority. Besides, I was still reeling from the fact that I was getting essentially sent to jail. I was supposed to be Mom's golden child."

"Will you be OK?" Rollan asked, concern in his voice.

Lucette nodded. "Yeah. I just wish Bryer could be out here with me, but I know that if I even try, they'll take him away."

"At least we're all together," Rollan offered. "Even if we're in different cells."

Lucette laughed and gave the boys a small smile.