by Linda McNabb
‘Elezan can live where she pleases.’ Bryn spoke through clenched teeth and looked to be struggling to remain calm.
Terac simply laughed as if Bryn had made a joke and he took a long drink of his ale.
‘I nearly had a couple of Shadows today,’ Terac said in a conversational tone. Bryn’s eyebrows lifted slightly and a twitch in his cheek told of his sudden wariness. ‘Young ones too. I picked up a trail going across the moors but they ran off and I lost their trail in the forest. Would have been a good pile of gold for them too!’
‘That’s a pity,’ Bryn replied woodenly as his gaze flicked over to where Rhonan stood watching. The look he gave his son was a mixture of accusation, worry and fear.
‘I know they must be around here somewhere though. They’re getting sneaky. These had their hair dyed as black as mine so they didn’t even look like shadows. I found several old trails nearby. I’ll just stay around until I pick up a fresh one and then…’ he slapped his hand on the table and laughed. ‘I’ll have them in no time at all.’
Bryn appeared to be struggling to keep his face calm and he shot a glance towards Rhonan that said he was in far more trouble than he had ever been before.
‘What’s keeping Elezan?’ Terac asked as he turned in his seat and Rhonan saw it was indeed the man who had shot at them earlier in the day. ‘I haven’t even met my nephew and niece yet.’
Rhonan shrank back behind the door and retreated into the kitchen. His ghostly white face stopped his mother as she tried to usher them both into the public room.
Kheron came from the public room and paused in the kitchen to stare at Rhonan and Dyahn with a look of disgust.
‘It would have served you right if you had been caught,’ Kheron snapped as he pushed past them all and headed for the stairs.
‘What’s wrong, Rhonan?’ Elezan asked, putting a hand on Rhonan’s head to feel if he was hot.
‘Uncle Terac was shooting arrows at us on the moors today,’ Rhonan said quietly as the memory of the event came back clearly. ‘And he nearly shot us.’
For a few seconds Elezan stared in shock at her son and then took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. ‘The arrows are mostly blunt, but tipped with a sleeping potion. He wasn’t trying to kill you.’
‘Really?’ Rhonan didn’t feel any better about being shot at.
‘He saw you both clearly then?’ his mother asked as she appeared to be thinking over what to do.
‘He did,’ Dyahn answered when it was clear that Rhonan was unable to. Rhonan felt frozen by fear that the Shadow Hunter, his own uncle, was sitting only a few steps away from him.
‘We have to tell your father,’ Elezan muttered, switching a hot bowl of food from one hand to the other.
‘I think he already knows,’ Rhonan said with a tight voice.
‘Go back upstairs,’ Elezan said firmly. ‘I’ll tell my brother you’re ill and can’t come down.’
They both headed for the stairs and Rhonan looked back once he reached the top. He saw his mother taking several deep breaths before fixing a smile on her face and going back out to the public room.
‘What happens now?’ Dyahn asked as they both went into her room and shut the door.
‘I have no idea,’ Rhonan replied with a sigh as he sank onto the bed. ‘If Uncle Terac finds out I’m an elf he’s bound to figure out that father is as well.’
Rhonan was cross with himself. His selfish desire to go and see the wild ponies had put his whole family in danger.
They waited up in Dyahn’s room for what seemed like hours. For once drawing didn’t seem to keep Dyahn busy. She lost interest after just one picture and tossed her colouring pencils back onto the dressing table. The sun had set and the moon came up but still nobody came up to tell them what was going on.
Finally, steps were heard on the wooden floorboard outside the door and Rhonan froze as he heard Uncle Terac’s voice in the hallway.
‘Tell the children I’ll see them in the morning,’ he called out and the footsteps continued down the hallway.
A minute later the door to Dyahn’s room opened quietly and Bryn, Elezan and Kheron, came in. All of them looked worried and a little scared.
‘We had to wait for all the patrons to go to bed or leave before we could shut the inn,’ Elezan explained. ‘And my brother was in the mood to chat.’
‘You can’t stay here.’ Bryn spoke bluntly.
‘But if we stay out of his way, surely he’ll leave eventually,’ Dyahn suggested hopefully.
‘A Shadow Hunter never gives up once he has wind of a trail,’ Bryn said sadly. ‘But I have a plan to keep all of us safe.’
‘I don’t like it,’ Elezan said with a frown. ‘What if it goes wrong?’
‘I’ll just have to make sure it doesn’t,’ Bryn said firmly.
‘And when Terac goes back home and tells my father where I am? Surely you don’t think he’ll just leave me here?’ Elezan sighed heavily. ‘If only my brother hadn’t chosen this Inn to stay at.’
‘Your father can’t force you to go back,’ Bryn said gently. ‘He’ll send some of his men, he won’t come himself. He’s far too busy for that.’
‘True,’ Elezan said with half a smile. ‘He always was too busy to take much notice of me.’
‘Should we get on with the plan?’ Kheron interrupted as he tapped his soft-booted foot impatiently.
‘Yes, we don’t have much time,’ agreed Bryn with a frown. ‘But I wish we had time to wait for Falh to return.’
‘What is the plan?’ Dyahn asked, wide-eyed and clutching at her mother for comfort.
‘You two will come with me to Shaldoh,’ Kheron said stiffly as if he did not agree with it at all. ‘While your father leads Terac off in the opposite direction.’
‘How will he do that?’ Dyahn asked quietly. Rhonan knew the answer but he let his mother reply.
‘He’ll take off his elf stone so that Terac will follow his trail and leave you safe to get away,’ Elezan said and then took a deep breath. ‘Then he’ll join you at Shaldoh.’
‘When do we go?’ Rhonan asked quietly. His selfishness had caused far more trouble than even he had thought.
‘Now,’ Bryn replied quickly. ‘We must be gone before morning.’
CHAPTER FIVE
ON THE RUN
Now? Rhonan could see that his sister was just as shocked as he was. They couldn’t just up and leave in the night! How were they supposed to say goodbye to all their friends? And what about next time Uncle Terac came to visit? He was sure to see them eventually.
‘Pack just what you can carry easily,’ Kheron was instructing them but Rhonan was barely listening. ‘We’ll wait until we’re sure your uncle is asleep and then we’ll leave.’
‘I’ll leave at the same time and go a different direction,’ Bryn said, nodding his head in agreement.
‘But who will be here to help mother with the Inn?’ Dyahn asked. ‘She can’t run it all on her own.’
‘I’ll have to shut the Inn. I will go and stay with some friends in Kerra. I don’t want to be here when father finds out where I am anyway,’ Elezan said. She looked worried but she managed a smile for her daughter. ‘I’ll be just fine.’
‘Come downstairs as soon as you’re packed,’ Bryn told them and then he and Elezan left the room.
‘I guess I won’t have to wait to see Shaldoh after all,’ Dyahn said with an attempt at a smile as she took out a canvas pack and threw it on the bed.
‘I doubt they’ll let you both in anyway,’ Kheron muttered as he too walked out into the dark hallway.
Rhonan scowled at his cousin as Dyahn looked worried again then went to his room to pack. He packed quickly then picked up the quiver of arrows and bow that his father had given him for his birthday just a short time ago. If he came across Uncle Terac again he wanted to be able to defend himself. The thought of shooting an arrow at his own uncle made him feel uneasy but he slung them over his shoulder anyway and went to help Dyahn pa
ck.
They went downstairs and Rhonan hesitated a few steps from the bottom in case his uncle was about but only father and Kheron were there. Elezan came hurrying down the steps with a pack, which she handed to her husband and then she dished up bowls of warm stew.
‘You can’t go running off on empty stomachs,’ she insisted. While they ate she packed another two bags with food and handed one each to Bryn and Kheron, then she put some fruit in Rhonan’s pack.
After a brief meal they all stood up and went to leave. It seemed unreal to Rhonan that it was really happening but he knew there was nothing else that could be done.
‘How long do you think you’ll be gone?’ Elezan asked as they all stood on the porch outside the back door of the Inn.
‘I won’t take the elf stone off until we’re well clear of the Inn so he doesn’t get suspicious. I’ll lead him on a false trail for a day then I’ll double back and head for Shaldoh. That should take another two days to get there and if… well, if things go well there we should be back in one or two moon cycles at the most. I’ll come to find you in Kerra.’ Bryn gave his wife a hug then stepped out into the night. He picked up a rock and walked back towards the Inn and began to scratch at the stone cladding. When he stepped back there was a fancy ‘s’ scratched into the stone.
‘It is the symbol of Shaldoh. It will tell my father where to meet us,’ Kheron told Rhonan and Dyahn.
They watched as their father brought two horses from the stable. Elezan hugged Rhonan and Dyahn and then, with a tear in her eye, she bade them all farewell and went inside.
Once again they doubled up on the horses and a minute later they were heading out of village. They rode out to the edge of the forest and stopped. It was totally dark under the cover of the trees and if Bryn hadn’t been there Rhonan was sure he would have been terrified. They dismounted and Dyahn was staying very close to the rest of them as she kept one eye on the forest.
‘This is probably around where Terac will start his search since he lost the trail in the forest,’ Bryn said. He removed the elf stone from around his neck and handed it solemnly to Rhonan. ‘Look after this for me.’
Rhonan took the elf stone and slipped the cord over his head. The carved black stone felt cool against his skin and he felt a shiver run down his spine.
‘If I take one of the horses I can keep well ahead of him, then I will double back and meet you at The Crossing.’ Bryn was stroking his chin thoughtfully and now their eyesight had adjusted they could see each other easily.
Rhonan had heard of The Crossing but as it was a long way away he had never been there. It was at the edge of a lake, which was so large it was impossible to see the other side and to get around it by horse would take many weeks. An enterprising family had built several dozen flat bottomed boats and, for a fee, would take anyone to the four villages across the lake.
‘Terac isn’t the only hunter around. You’ll have to keep on the move constantly if you don’t want to be caught,’ Kheron reminded Bryn.
‘I don’t intend to get caught,’ Bryn assured his nephew. ‘I’ll meet you at The Crossing in… three days?’
‘We’ll be there,’ Kheron said confidently.
There were no hugs or tearful goodbyes this time. Bryn mounted one of the horses, nodded briefly at them all and rode off at a fast trot south towards the moors.
‘Your Uncle Terac will find that trail tomorrow and that will keep him out of our way long enough to reach Shaldoh.’ Kheron turned the horse to the north and then motioned Dyahn to climb up. ‘We will have to go north a fair way before we make camp in the forest for the night.’
Dyahn looked horrified at camping in the forest and Rhonan wasn’t keen on the idea either. He knew there had been something in the forest earlier that day and it was likely to still be there!
Neither of them said anything though as Kheron led them into the forest. They were walking at such a slow pace that Rhonan was sure they would be set upon any minute. His ankle ached terribly but right now it was the least of their worries.
Kheron reached into his pocket and drew out a dull green stone. A second later the stone was glowing with a bright green light.
‘What’s that?’ Rhonan asked, shielding his eyes and trying to look at his cousin.
‘Haven’t you heard of elf magic?’ Kheron closed his hand over the stone, making his fingers shine brightly but dulling the light. ‘Enhancing the brightness of this moonstone is a simple trick that even you should be able to do.’
Rhonan stared at the stone as Kheron exposed it fully again but there was no offer of showing Rhonan how it was done. For a few minutes he even forgot that there was a creature wandering the woods, but a faint snuffling sound reminded him all too soon.
Eventually they reached a small clearing and Kheron looked around. ‘This will do. Tie the horse to a tree so it doesn’t wander off, Rhonan.’
Kheron proceeded to lay a flaxen bedroll on the twig-strewn ground and then lay down. Rhonan helped Dyahn dismount and then hovered in the centre of the clearing, unwilling to go towards the trees.
‘Don’t we need a fire to keep the animals away?’ Rhonan asked.
‘There are no dangerous animals in this forest,’ Kheron said as he cast the green moonstone onto the ground. ‘Tie up the horse and get some sleep.’
Rhonan wasn’t so sure that there were no dangerous animals as he edged over to the nearest tree and looped the reins over a branch. Just as he was about to re-join Dyahn and Kheron he heard an all too familiar snuffling sound. The horse snorted loudly and stamped a hoof.
‘What’s up with the horse?’ Kheron asked, sitting up and frowning. ‘He’s not usually jumpy.’
‘I think he heard something,’ Rhonan said as he backed away towards the light. ‘I heard it too.’
The sound came again, this time from the very edge of the clearing where the light faded into shadows. Two small green eyes peered out at them from the darkness and Rhonan nudged Kheron and pointed to them.
‘I’ve seen it in the forest several times,’ Rhonan told him.
‘Several times?’ Kheron asked. He didn’t seem afraid of the unblinking eyes as he stood up and walked slowly towards the trees.
‘Um… well,’ Rhonan knew he had just given away the secret that they had been in the forest before without permission. ‘Earlier today and the day you arrived.’
‘Really.’ Kheron’s voice was dry and hinted he was likely to tell Rhonan’s father but for now he continued walking towards the watching eyes.
‘What if it attacks him?’ Dyahn muttered quietly as she huddled close to her brother.
‘We could throw the moonstone at it,’ Rhonan suggested without looking at her. He couldn’t drag his eyes from Kheron and he wondered what was about to happen. Rhonan’s elf cousin didn’t even pause before he stepped into the shadows and disappeared. Seconds later the green eyes blinked shut and a strange squeal filled the quiet forest. Both of them held their breath and Rhonan’s hand crept towards the moonstone.
‘Well, I never would have believed it!’ came an exclamation from the darkness, then Kheron strode into the light with a small golden creature cradled in his arms. He carried it over to them and then placed it on the ground. Rhonan almost laughed at himself for having been afraid of it.
Dyahn bent down and stroked the small creature. It wasn’t much bigger than the cat that spent its life by the kitchen fire and it seemed just as willing to be petted. Its golden skin was scaly but soft and it had a long, powerful-looking tail, which ended in the shape of an arrowhead. Bright green eyes peered curiously at them and two short horns shone in the light from the moonstone. Small leathery wings were tucked back against its body and it was purring softly.
‘What is it?’ Rhonan asked.
‘It’s a dragon,’ Kheron replied with a delighted grin. It was the first time Rhonan had seen his cousin smile and it changed his looks completely. ‘I’ve never seen one up close. I didn’t realise they could be golden. I w
onder why it is so far from the mountains.’
‘I didn’t even know dragons were real. I thought they were just in stories,’ Rhonan said with a disbelieving frown.
‘Like elves?’ Kheron asked with a raised eyebrow and the return of his sour mood.
Rhonan flushed with embarrassment and looked at the little dragon again. ‘What do we do with it now?’
‘It’s just a baby,’ Kheron replied thoughtfully. ‘I’d guess its mother is somewhere nearby.’
‘Its mother?’ Dyahn said, turning in a circle as if she expected another dragon to appear instantly. ‘How big will she be?’
‘Very big,’ Kheron replied with a frown. ‘And she won’t like us being near her baby. Why is it following you anyway?’
The little dragon waddled over to Rhonan’s backpack and snuffled around it.
‘Well, I guess I fed it the first time it came near us. I thought it was after our food so I threw some apples to the ground.’ Rhonan flipped open the backpack and pulled out an apple. The tiny dragon launched itself on the apple and began crunching loudly. The apple was down to the core in seconds and the dragon even ate that, spitting out the seeds with a scowl.
‘Maybe it’s lost?’ Dyahn suggested. ‘A mother wouldn’t let its child get that hungry, surely?’
‘Unlikely,’ Kheron said bluntly. ‘We’ll get some rest first. I don’t think her mother is nearby or we’d hear her.’
‘Is it a girl?’ Rhonan wondered how Kheron could tell.
‘Males have another small horn on their snout,’ Kheron said with a yawn. ‘Get some sleep, we’re perfectly safe here.’
Rhonan looked around at the edges of the green light that bathed the entire clearing. The little dragon, having found another apple, was munching loudly.
Kheron picked up a flat grey stone and appeared to be scratching it with a rock then he put it down and stood back. ‘Watch this. It’s a child’s trick but it should work.’
