Free The Hundred: Fall of the Wents by Jennifer Prescott Page B

cousins had flown them. There was even a chance it could communicate with its own hive at this distance. Without thinking much about it, he scooped up the creature and placed it gently inside his ear—the one place that Fangor had complained of the heat. It crawled in gratefully and lay still. It was much more uncomfortable than having Fangor in there, as the bee’s body was furry. A Boring Bee would not have fit at all, but a Dull Bee was just the right size. It almost completely blocked the hearing in that ear, but if it would save the bee’s life then so be it.
    “Gads!” screamed Fangor. “You would help one of ‘em?”
    “They took us here,” said Aarvord, shortly. “It’s the least he can do.”
    “Took us…here? What is here?” said Fangor. “This place is the end. Of life.”
    Fangor now shivered on Tully’s shoulder, aware that he had abandoned his warm space. But he was fearful of the big wooden bucket. He started to creep around the back of Tully’s neck toward the opposite ear, but Tully reached back and cupped him under his palm.
    “Don’t even think about it,” said the Eft. “I have to hear somehow.”
    Fangor sullenly tucked into the collar of Tully’s robe instead , his eyes above the fold of the clothing so he could see the wide, white landscape receding behind them. Fangor wished he had never decided to take a nap in Tully’s hair. That’s where he had gone wrong. He should have stayed in the city, where it was safe. This adventure was not good. The place was riddled with bees—well, just one bee, now. And a stupid Dull Bee. But bees were awful, no matter how many there were.
    As Fangor eyed the landscape, he saw what he thought looked like a plume of smoke over the low white hills in the distance. He scrabbled around in Tully’s collar to get a better view.
    “Stop that!” said Tully.
    “I see sumpfin,” said Fangor. “Do you see it?”
    Tully turned his head, and he too saw the trail of smoke, so pale that it was almost invisible against the bleak sky. Aarvord saw it as well.
    “There’s something alive over there,” said Aarvord. “Has to be.”
    “Alive, yes, but what is it?” said Tully. He pulled the small telescope out to take a closer look. The telescope revealed the smoke in more vivid detail, but nothing else. Tully shared the telescope with Aarvord, who also saw nothing additional, except that he could make out the grey shape of a hill.
    “It may not be safe, but we have to try,” said Aarvord. “It’s all we’ve got.”
    They turned and headed off on the new course. The snow here seemed deeper and looser. It came up to Tully’s knees, and he struggled to plow his way through it. Aarvord tucked his head down into the cold wind and marched along, his eyeballs on their short stalks craning up to keep his sights on the smoke. Copernicus, inside Tully’s clothing, barely moved at all. Tully reached in and touched him now and again to make sure he was still breathing.
    Fangor complained loudly that, as he had discovered the smoke, he had a right to see where they were going. They ignored him.
    “Nobody gives me any credit,” he groused, and sank deep within Tully’s collar to stay warmer. “I know how to find my way anywhere. Never been lost!”
    It grew colder still, and the day seemed to be waning as they walked. Aarvord stopped and turned back to Tully.
    “We could make fire,” he suggested. “But there’s nothing to be burnt.” He looked meaningfully at the bucket and flicked his thumb and second finger together; a spark flew off and was doused in the snow. (Fantastic Grouts had this ability as well—their fingers could go hard as flint at a moment’s notice.)
    Tully pulled the bucket closer to his body and scowled. “It’s mine,” he protested.
    “And so are our lives,” said Aarvord.
    “But it will burn quickly, and then we’ll be cold again,” said Tully stubbornly.
    “We are cold now!” shouted Aarvord, and Fangor flinched inside