Hoverhair readied another arrow.

Prune Pit linked the minds of the wolves with that of the second allo. They circled close.

The allo growled again and made a feint, opening its mouth wide—and Hoverhair dipped her arrow and fired it.

She scored on the inside of the mouth. Now the allo roared, trying to spit out the fiery barb, but only burned its tongue. The tar was stuck in its mouth, blazing.

Unfortunately, this new commotion attracted several other allos. They came in a monstrous wave, big ones and small ones, smelling the blood. The elves had to flee.

"There are so many!" Softfoot exclaimed. "Every time we kill one, more come!"

Prune Pit nodded. The problem was so much more complicated than he had supposed it could be! He had thought that when they killed one allo, that would be the turning point.

Instead, the problem had grown with each success.

Hoverhair rode close again. "You know why you're having so much trouble?" she asked.

"It's because you're not thinking like a chief."

"I'm not a chief!" he replied.

"You showed how to deal with the allos," she reminded him. "That makes you chief. But it will never work unless you believe it yourself."

"But I can't just declare myself chief!" he protested.

"Why not?"

"They would laugh!"

"If you don't, they will die, as the allos overrun our holt."

He was very much afraid she was right. He had taken on this mission because of the need; he had not thought beyond it. Now he appreciated the greater need: for a continuing leadership, that could handle problems as they came, whatever they might be.

Still, he did not feel competent, because he couldn't solve the problem of the numbers of allos. What good was it to slay one, or two, or three, or ten, if more always came?

He mulled that over as they rode, outdistancing the reptiles. He felt ashamed, because so much of his thinking had been done for him by the woman who didn't want to share his life, Hoverhair. A chief didn't let others do his thinking! For that matter, what chief had a name like Prune Pit?

Then he suffered a major realization.

Stop at the next good resting place, he thought to the wolves. That was the elven version; the actual message was simply a vision of a nice spot, with wolves relaxing.

When they stopped, Prune Pit called out to them to gather around. "We agreed that whoever solved the problem of the allos would be chief," he said. "I have shown how to solve it, so I am declaring myself chief. I admit that the problem is not over yet, but I will dedicate myself to dealing with it. I am the only one who can unify the minds of the wolves with the mind of the prey, and that is what we need to do this job."

He paused, but there was no reaction. They were waiting to hear him out before drawing their conclusions.

"To signify this determination, I am taking a new name," he said. "I enable the wolves to link with the prey, to pace it, moving before it can move. Therefore I will call myself Prey Pacer, and that will be my name as long as I am chief."

Still they did not speak. He hoped he was not making himself ludicrous. The key element of his assumption was coming up.

"But I do not know all the answers to all the problems. I never expected to be chief, before my mother died, and have had no practice in it. I know I will make mistakes if I try to decide everything myself. So my decision is—to make no significant decision without first getting the best advice I can. For example, I don't know how to stop the allos from taking meat of whichever ones we kill. Does anyone here know?"

They considered. "Why don't we kill one and butcher it?" Dampstar asked.

"That sounds good to me," Prey Pacer said. "Does anyone have an objection?"

"Yes," Hoverhair said. "Those reptiles track by the smell of blood as much as anything else. They could collect under that tree and never leave."

"But then we have a way to stop them!" Softfoot pointed out. "We can hang flesh in several trees, and the whole horde will stop right there."

The elves pursed their lips, thinking about that.

"Well, either they'll stay by the tree, or they won't," Prey Pacer said. "If they stay, they won't bother us elsewhere. If not, we have a cache we can return to. I think it's an excellent suggestion, and I'll do it if a better one doesn't come along. Thank you, Dampstar."

Dampstar grinned with pride, just as if a real chief had complimented him.

Hoverhair nodded, gazing at Prey Pacer with new appraisal. He was making it work.

But Softfoot was looking at Hoverhair. What was passing through her mind? She must be suspicious that Hoverhair was reconsidering about keeping the secret, and might decide after all to be the lifemate of a chief. He was suspicious of that too—and knew that as much as he loved Softfoot, he would not be able to deny Hoverhair if she decided to take him.

That single mating with her—already he felt the yearning returning. Perhaps it was only the Recognition, asserting its hunger to generate the baby it had chosen. But perhaps it was his own fickle male nature, vulnerable to beauty no matter what his mind said.

There was a roar. Another allo had come across them, and was charging in.

The elves leaped for their wolves. But Hoverhair reached for an arrow first, dipping it in the firepot. She took aim at the monster bearing down on her.

Prey Pacer, astride Halfhowl, looked back, abruptly realizing that she had not mounted. He had never witnessed an act of greater courage! But it was foolish courage, because she had no way to escape the reptile in time. Already the allo's huge head was orienting on her.

Sweeping down as the terrible jaws opened. Curlfur remained close to her, but could not make her mount before she was ready.

Hoverhair fired into that open mouth. The flaming arrow went right into the throat. The allo choked, but its momentum was such that even as it stumbled, it was coming down to crush the woman. It was far too late for Prey Pacer to do anything, even if he had been able to act.

Then a shape shot by, passing almost under the falling monster. It was a wolf and rider, leaping to intercept Hoverhair. The rider launched from the wolf, pushing off to tackle Hoverhair and shove her out of the way as the allo's head and neck whomped down at her.

The monster struck the ground. Hoverhair stumbled clear, safe by the narrowest margin.

But her rescuer had not made it; her legs were pinned under the fallen allo.

Then Prey Pacer realized who it was. Softfoot lay there, unconscious.

Prey Pacer was the first to reach them. "Why did she do it?" he gasped, horrified.

Hoverhair swallowed. She was not so cold as to overlook the narrowness of her escape.

"Because she loves you," she said, awed.

"But you are her rival!"

"And she was protecting your child—whoever carried it," Hoverhair added. "I think I could not have done that."

Softfoot groaned. "She's alive!" Prey Pacer exclaimed.

"But will be lame, I fear," Hoverhair said. "She never was apt on her feet, and now will be worse. She will need a lot of attention." She gazed down at Softfoot, and a tear rolled down her cheek. It seemed that her cold heart had at last been touched. Then, as the other elves arrived, she raised her voice. "Get sticks! Lever this monster off the chief's lifemate! She saved my life!"

Then Prey Pacer knew that no matter who bore his child, no one would try to separate him from Softfoot. One woman had acted with measureless courage, and brought down an allo single-handed. The other had acted with similar courage, and with measureless generosity, and won the respect and gratitude of two who would not forget.

Prey Pacer was indeed chief, and was known as the most superlative of elven hunters despite his seeming inadequacies of weapon and of sending. It took time, but he succeeded in abating the menace of the allos, and they retreated to their former obscurity.

He sired not one but two children. The first was Hoverhair's daughter, to be named Skyfire, inheriting the beauty and nerve of her mother. The second was Softfoot's son, to be named Two-Spear, trained in his mother's weapon. But for a long time, only the second was known as Prey Pacer's offspring, until the secret no longer mattered.