By late morning of the next day everybody knew. Rei must have told Shaleigh, and from there the news had filtered out.

"Khiladri!" said an excited Gryrne. He had talked about them every day in the days since.

He and Rial were walking together a little behind the rest of the group. They had been forced to leave the path of the stream, which disappeared into an impassable ridge of sharp rocks, and were working their way around to regain it further up. The terrain had become easier now, an area of little vegetation except gnarled old trees and dry, cracking bushes that ran upwards in a wide swath between the green forests. It was important to keep an eye out for stones underfoot that could twist an ankle, but other than that the going was smooth.

"I've never seen one!" Gryrne continued. "How many do you think there are?"

Rial shook his head, but Gryrne was in many ways having a conversation with himself and the lack of response didn't faze him.

"Well, I mean, there was Aruka..."

Aruka was a khiladri pup that had been part of the village when they were small children. She had been found half-starved by a hunting party deep within the forest, lost and alone. Nearby the hunters discovered the corpse of the mother, mauled to death by something much bigger than her; they never knew what.

One of the huntsman gave the pup a portion of the cured meat they carried with them, and that was that. The pup followed them when they left, staying on their heels for the journey back to the village.

There was much discussion in the village in the days after the pup arrived. Though still only a baby the animal was larger than a human toddler, with fangs that could easily rip through flesh. The village's relationship with the khiladri had always been one of respect and goodwill, but this was with the pack, with the group of animals that never strayed close to the village nor its domesticated food-beasts. They had never encountered a solitary one, and many greatly feared the animal. Even more so, many worried what the pack's reaction would be.

It had all come to a head one night when Rial was no more than two suns and barely out of swaddling. He remembered how he and a boy who would turn out to be Gryrne had stood open-mouthed at the shouting in the square, as furious adults screamed at each other as the pup cowered in the corner. Many of them held long, sharp farming implements.

The argument was threatening to bloom into violence when the gates of the compound opened and the Kotaku stepped out. Silence descended as he walked towards the baby khiladri, crowd parting before him. He seemed not to notice the villagers frozen in mid-fight, keeping his eyes focused on the animal.

The animal growled at the strange figure that approached in crimson robes, haunches up and teeth bared, but the Kotaku took no notice. Coming to a stop directly in front of the animal, he leaned down and with a smile offered a hand.

There was a collective gasp as the animal extended its claws, and screams when its jaws opened and it bit down on the hand, but the Kotaku did not flinch. There was a long silence, only the pup’s growl audible, and then... the jaws opened, the claws retracted, the fangs receded.

The pup whined, sniffing at the blood that dripped from the Kotaku’s still-outstretched hand to the ground. A pink tongue emerged and licked tenderly at the wounds, and suddenly the Kotaku was stroking her head with his uninjured hand.

The atmosphere changed at once, lightening and turning merry. The villagers cheered as the young khiladri stood and followed the Kotaku back into the compound. Later, she was named "Aruka;" the one who follows.

She was rarely seen from then on, and only ever at the Kotaku's side. She survived three years before some malady took her[1] and she passed away on the lantern-lit ground of the courtyard. The Kotaku held a large service in her memory, and the body was burned above a pyre.

Rial remembered how strange the village had seemed for a while after that, without Aruka's calls joining the chorus that resounded across the mountains at nightfall. It was as if the village had been cut off from some part of the living web that lay across the land.

"...almost certain to get there in time, aren't we?"

Rial returned to reality, memory dissolving into the present.

"I said, with their help we'll definitely get there faster. Are you ok, Rial?" asked Gryrne with a look of concern.

"Just thinking about her. About Aruka."

"She was a good animal," said Gryrne. "Rial?"

Rial's attention was on Rei, ahead and to the left. She was staring intently into the trees, towards a patch of thick foliage that remained dark and hidden even in the midday light. Her hands toyed unthinkingly with the knives at her side.

Rial paced over to her.

"You think they're in there?" he asked.

Rei glanced at him, then back to the darkness.

"At least one is. I saw him go in a few minutes ago. It's unusual - they don't usually move around in the middle of the day."

"They can't really be... dangerous, can they?" Rial said, imagining fangs appearing out of the dark and flying towards his throat. "That's just stories the plains-folk tell."

"I don't know about plains-folk, but I do know that khiladri can become demons. I do not yet know why."

Rial wanted to ask her what she meant, but at that very moment the animal stepped out of the shadows.

It was gorgeous; that was the only word for it. Sleek and grey, with a long, finely-proportioned snout, hair shining and full, the creature was the very image of the storyboards the grandparents of the village produced for the children. It must have stood 17 hands high or more, as tall as Rial's shoulders, and half that again in length. The eyes shone a deep violet in the dappled light.

They stood, mesmerised, as the creature took several long, slow paces into the sun, then stopped and sat on its haunches. It stared right at them. Rial was sure it was looking into his eyes.

"What the...?" said Gryrne, coming up beside them and seeing the creature for himself.

Gryrne stared in awe at the animal, then turned and called to the others.

Those ahead turned at the sound of his voice, following his frantic gestures until they too stood staring at the calmly poised khiladri. They stood there in a line, Gryrne, Rial and Rei, then Eselwol, Brin, Shaleigh...

"Where's Tomasu?" said Rial, breaking the spell.

The others span around, searching for a companion they very soon realised was missing.

"Tomasu?" called Brin, then when there was no reply called again, louder. "TOMASU!"

They began to spread out, moving down the trail they had been following and calling out his name. All except Rei.

"It's still there," she said.

Rial stopped and turned to her.

"It hasn't moved," continued Rei, gaze locked on the silvery creature. "It wants us to look at it. It wants our attention."

"Hey!" came Gryrne's voice, shouting from further up the trail. "Look at this!"

They ran towards him, even Rei. Rial noticed Brin had drawn his sword, and Rial did the same.

"Down here," said Gryrne, tone low.

He leaned down and used a fallen branch to push back a collection of thorny leaves that covered the ground.

"What is that?" said Eselwol, staring at the wet, dark patch below.

"Blood," said Brin.

Howls came from all around.

[1] Some said the sickness was due to being so far from her own kind,