Entering the abandoned den was as eerie as he’d expected it to be. The huts remained where they’d been when everyone left, the tattered leather and tied-together bones looking even sadder now that he’d seen dens from the heights to the Deep. There were only twelve huts remaining, and even though some of the kobolds who’d lived in them were still alive, it was obvious that no one had bothered to return and attempt to retrieve them. Not that that was terribly surprising, given that as far as they knew, some terrible creature still stalked the level.

Kaz and Li used the rear entrance, the one that led to the small water source, since the Broken Knives hadn’t been able to find a defensible den with water in it. There were a few good-sized caverns with just enough water seeping from the walls that they produced a decent amount of yumao, duyu, toufa, and even some jejing, which was unusual at this level. Kaz had seen no sign of fulan, even here, so he hoped there was some other explanation for the burned moss in the dragon cave.

As soon as they entered the den, Li took off, flying near the high ceiling until Kaz reminded her that even the short time this area had been abandoned was enough for young lopo to move in. The ones that could still move were rarely longer than a hand, but their poison was just as effective as that of the adults. After that, Li dropped down several feet, skimming just over the tops of the scattered huts, low enough that an immature lopo couldn’t reach her with its short tongue.

she said after a minute of skimming over the area, but Kaz already knew. Death had its own scent, and though it had been partially covered by jejing and whatever had happened to the body in the last few months, it was unmistakable. There were multiple sources, as well, so Kaz had more work to do than he’d thought.

Oda’s body was where Kaz and Raff had left it. The jejing was dry, and some small scavengers had found her, but the remaining fur was a deep, familiar crimson. Her necklace still hung around what remained of her throat, but several of the beads and gems were missing, perhaps carried away by fuergar, who liked shiny things.

Kaz removed an old, dirty cloak from his pouch and placed it over her, gathering the body up into a surprisingly small bundle. He carried this back to the center of the den, where the stone was blackened from many exposures to burning firemoss. This spot had been used to burn the bodies of fallen tribe members, but also to prepare food, because there was a crack just above where smoke vanished into the ceiling.

Oda and Rega were the only females left who were strong enough to produce a good fire, and they’d needed to conserve their strength in case they had to defend the den, so cooking was done over firemoss, which infused everything with its own sharp flavor. Kaz had never really wondered about this, since few tribes at these levels had strong females, but the Broken Knives were the cast-off members of a great tribe. How was it that they had become so weak, so quickly?

Li asked uncertainly, staring at the sad remnants of the female Kaz had always believed to be his mother.

Kaz hesitated. His first instinct was to say no. Rega and the other adult females had still been preparing Oda for her two-day mourning period when the core-hunter appeared, so she hadn’t had a howl, but she also didn’t have a core any more. That essential part of her was missing, never to return. At least, not unless Katri had eaten it.

But in the end, he nodded. “Everyone deserves a howl. Without it, a spirit can become lost, and never find its way to the ancestors at all. Refusing her that won’t undo her actions, only make me no better.”

Li muttered, but nodded. She’d landed on the largest hut, the one where Oda and Katri slept, and the secret exit was hidden. Kaz had glanced inside, but even with Li’s help, he couldn’t see anything different from when he looked in here just before tracking Rega and the others down. There were even a few small scrolls scattered around, and Kaz was fairly certain Katri would have taken those if she’d returned. Kaz tucked them into his pouch to look at later.

Together, they tracked down the other sources of the smell of rot, finding two more bodies hidden down side tunnels. They were males, and it was difficult to be certain who they had been, since most of the Broken Knives had fur that was some shade of red, but Kaz thought they were Gin and Kol. Gin was older, a contemporary of Ghazt and Oda, but Kol had only become an adult a few years ago, and Kaz remembered when they’d gathered together as pups. He wouldn’t say they’d been friends, but Kol had never been aggressive or cruel, either.

Kaz carried the two back to where Oda’s body waited, then went out once more. He was still watching for any sign of the terrible hunter that had chased his tribe from their home, but he had yet to see any signs of life other than the ever-present fuergar and a few other small creatures.

The former food storage cave was utterly empty, except for a few chunks of sulfur that had been shoved out of the way, probably by the same fuergar it was meant to deter. The entrance to the fuergar nest was narrow and winding, but Li refused to remain behind, and Kaz didn’t argue. If the hunter really was here somewhere, he wouldn’t leave his dragon alone to face it.

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To his surprise, the nest was as empty as the den had been. The smell of the rodents was still strong, but not recent, as if they’d left the area at least a week ago. They must have eaten all of the metal, and moved on to a new, better seam of ore.

Rega was right where Kaz and the others had left her. The fuergar hadn’t overlooked this source of food, but they hadn’t eaten everything, and Kaz crouched beside the sad little pile of remains for far too long before he could bring himself to gather it up. Reaching out, he touched the cord around her throat. Like Oda’s, her necklace was gnawed and missing several beads, including the crystals that had been on the necklace she bore in his place.

Li said gently, resting her chin on his shoulder as he slumped beside what was left of his mother. She held out her nimble hands, flexing her clawed fingers, and Kaz chuffed a tiny laugh.

“I know you could,” he quickly reassured her, “and I appreciate it. But this is mine to do.”

she told him, curling closer as they looked at the pile of white bones and garnet fur.

Slowly, Kaz nodded and took a fresh, clean tunic from his pouch. He tied the bottom together, and then he and Li filled it with Rega’s remains. To no one’s surprise, they didn’t find her core.

After that, they returned to the abandoned den, placing Rega with Gin and Kol, while keeping Oda to the side. Kaz used Oda’s remains to teach Li what he knew of the traditions surrounding death. As a male, he hadn’t been included in the preparation of female bodies, but he tucked fresh jejing around Oda as best he could, placing the long bones of her arms at her sides. Only then did he step back and call his ki, setting her ablaze in a burst of ferocious heat.

He kept the howl simple. It started off low and rough, and since Oda had no living mate, and Kaz wasn’t truly her son, he used the howl of a tribe member, short and simple, then called to the ancestors. He knew the call well, had participated in the howl too many times to count. Usually, he added only the smallest parts, howling as an unrelated pup, but he’d heard the lead, and when he threw back his head and raised his voice, it sounded exactly as it should. Li joined in at the end, just in time to return to the original sound, a soft, raspy whine that tore at the throat.

Only when Oda’s body had been reduced to a smear of black ashes did Kaz call back his power. Smoke coiled away through the crack in the ceiling, and when the air cleared, there was no sign of her body except a lingering heat rising from the stone.

“Fair howls, Oda Broken Knife, Oda Magmablade,” he said. “Find peace with the ancestors.” This was the mildest and most impersonal thing he could think to say, and he found that he meant it. Oda was a complex female, and she had had little to recommend her by the end, but at one point she had been someone that Rega loved, and for that alone, he found that he couldn’t hate her.

At last, Kaz turned to Gin, Kol, and Rega. The ceremony for the males was even simpler than the one for Oda. They each got a bundle of jejing moss that Kaz placed on top of their ribs, along with their arm bones. They should get a weapon, as well, but Kaz didn’t have any extras, so he had to forgo that, though not without a whispered apology. Li roared along with him the whole way through the howl this time, and if she didn’t always get it right, that was fine.

When the bodies were nothing more than ash, Kaz let the fire die again, saying, “Kol, may you have all the tanuo you can eat, and Gin, I hope you find your mate quickly.” Kaz remembered Kol sneaking bites of tanuo when they found a cluster, many years before. Gin’s mate had died years ago, sometime in the mid-levels, and Gin had never seemed truly happy since.

Which left only Rega. Once again, Kaz packed some of the jejing he’d gathered on their way down to this level around her, and placed her arms at her sides. Family members often brought trophies and food for the deceased to take to the ancestors with them, and Kaz laid several soft rabbit skins beside her, along with a loaf of bread, half of a cooked rabbit, several berries that had been carefully preserved in his pouch, and a large chunk of cheese. He hoped she and the ancestors could enjoy these strange items together. If any of his human ancestors were there, they might even remember these things and be able to explain them to the others.

That done, Kaz brought out Ghazt’s firestriker. He’d considered leaving this with Rega, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do it. Instead, he laid it in his hand so the smooth metal curved along his palm. With a sharp click, he brought the flint and the metal together, sending a bright spark through the air. It was unnecessary, of course, but he thought both Rega and Ghazt would have appreciated it, and together, Kaz and Li urged the fire to burn.

It did; larger, brighter, and hotter than any of the others. It spread across bare stone, which cracked in the heat. Huts began to blaze, sending everything the Broken Knives had left behind up with the female who chose to remain, hoping to delay their stalker long enough to allow them to escape.

This time, Kaz used the howl of family. It was longer, higher, more mournful, and his voice ululated above the fierce crackle of the flames. He held a shield around himself and Li, holding back the worst of the heat and smoke, and around them the den burned.

When everything was gone, leaving the stones themselves shattered and black, Kaz allowed his ki to withdraw. He and Li were both drained of red ki, though it was already pouring back into their channels from their powerful cores, but even as he blinked against the dizziness caused by throwing off his balance so badly, he couldn’t regret it. No one would ever enter this cavern without knowing something terrible had happened here.

“Bright howls, Rega Broken Knife, Rega Magmablade, Rega, mate of Ghazt Woodblade, mother of Katri and Kaz. Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for taking on the burden of a life-debt when even Ghazt believed there was no choice but to place it on me. I don’t know why you made the choices you did, but I believe they were made because you loved your sister, your mate, your pups, and your tribe. I hope you find happiness with our ancestors. Say hello to Ghazt for me.”

The stones beneath his paws were still hot, so Li climbed up on his back, wrapping her tail tightly around his middle as she rested her head on his shoulder. Together, they walked out of the den, leaving it to the darkness.