As it turned out, the fox spirit hunted deep into the mountains. Nikola had been on his tracks for a day now. He was in gray robes and whistled as he walked. The spirit attacked travelers at night, so Nikola looked down at the small animal trail he was following.
The paw prints were fresh in the mud. He had made sure that it would rain for an entire day. He had asked Bjorn to supply the rain, since he wanted to be at full strength when he met the fox.
The former emperor let loose his magic and watched as a bush disappeared and a fork in the trail appeared. The paw prints turned into human footprints. They looked small, so the fox spirit must have changed into a woman.
That explained why none of its victims, men, all of them, had run away from it. For it to have set an illusion, it must have an idea about what Nikola was. It was such a pity it wouldn't be enough to get it out of harm's way.
