by Linda McNabb
The dragonet turned out to be very little trouble as she ate anything and slept a good deal of the time. They took turns carrying her when she slept and even Kheron took a turn every now and then. He seemed to be more interested in the dragon as a specimen rather than a baby that needed caring for.
They had stopped for a rest and the dragon was bounding about the forest with far more energy than any of the children.
Band, the dragon said, coming over to nudge against the band of gems that Dyahn still wore around her waist. She looked longingly at the glowing gems. Mama’s band.
‘She needs a name,’ Dyahn said as she picked up and cuddled the scaly creature. ‘We could call her Tiny.’
‘Her mother called her Tryx,’ Rhonan pointed out.
‘Okay, Tryx is a good name,’ Dyahn agreed.
‘Anyway she’s a lot bigger than she was two days ago. She’s not really tiny any more,’ Kheron added. ‘If she grows at this rate for long we’ll need a wagon to hide her in. It’s just as well we’re only a day out from the crossing.’
‘We are?’ Dyahn asked excitedly as she let the dragonet jump down and run off ahead of them. ‘Do they really have boats with glass bottoms?’
‘Some of them have glass bottoms, but they’re just for looking at the fish. The one we’ll be going on is much bigger,’ Kheron replied then he looked at Rhonan who sat rubbing his ankle. ‘How is it today?’
‘Getting better,’ Rhonan replied truthfully. It only ached if he walked for more than three or four hours without resting it.
‘Good,’ Kheron said with a satisfied nod. ‘We need to keep a steady pace now as we’ll be on the main road in an hour or two.’
‘How are we going to keep Tryx out of sight?’ Dyahn asked.
‘She could go in one of the packs,’ Kheron suggested. ‘She seems to sleep most of the time so it won’t do her any harm.’
The packs were strapped to the side of the horse now and they all walked when they set off through the last stretch of forest. There were plenty of low branches that made riding more of a hazard than walking. They all stopped short of the glaring daylight that peeped between the trees ahead of them. They were so used to the green moonstone light that it seemed unnatural and too colourful, as well as overly bright.
‘Come on little Tryx,’ Rhonan said as he snuggled the dragonet down into one of the packs and stuffed the extra items into another pack. ‘We can’t have anyone seeing you.’
‘You’d better cover that gemband with your shirt,’ Kheron suggested to Dyahn. ‘That’s likely to bring us more attention than we want.’
Dyahn untucked her pale blue shirt from under the dimly glowing band and let the soft fabric fall over it. It barely covered the gems but nobody would notice unless they knew what to look for.
They stepped forward as the moonstone dimmed quickly and Kheron put it back in his pocket just as they emerged onto the dirt road. Rhonan began walking down the road, not even needing to check the direction as north was obvious to him, but Kheron and Dyahn paused at the edge of the trees and looked up and down the road. Then Kheron began to follow Rhonan.
‘It’s this way,’ Rhonan called back to his sister. ‘Do you want to ride for a while Dyahn?’
‘I know it’s that way,’ Dyahn replied irritably and made no attempt to move. ‘There’s something odd here.’
‘Odd?’ Kheron queried and turned back towards her. Dyahn was still frowning and walking backwards and forwards across the road when Kheron reached her. ‘What sort of odd?’
‘It’s like a grey wisp of smoke, that tingles when I pass through it, but I can’t see it if I move a few steps away,’ Dyahn explained with a confused frown.
Kheron looked oddly at Dyahn for a few seconds and then he turned away, looking far more distressed than Rhonan had seen him in the last few days, even when confronted by a large, angry dragon.
‘Uncle Bryn has been past here already.’ Kheron seemed distracted as he stared up the road. ‘He must be waiting for us at the crossing already.’
‘How do you know?’ Rhonan asked, touching the elf stone as he thought about his father.
‘Dyahn is feeling your father’s trail,’ Kheron said woodenly.
‘I am? But…’ Recognition of what it meant seemed to seep into Dyahn’s face and her expression twisted as she fought the inevitable. ‘But I don’t want to be a hunter… I want to be an elf!’
CHAPTER SEVEN
HUNTING FATHER
Rhonan looked at the dirt road then walked back and forth across it, straining to see or feel this hidden trail that showed his father’s passing. There was nothing out of the ordinary that he could find and he finally had to agree that Kheron must be right. Dyahn wasn’t happy and she was sitting down with her back to a tree as she viciously ripped a leaf apart.
‘Even if Dyahn is human rather than elven, it doesn’t mean she will be like the other hunters,’ Rhonan pointed out to Kheron who was still frowning. ‘Mother is a hunter too remember.’
Kheron regarded the sad girl again. ‘But she’s a hunter and the elders of Shaldoh won’t allow her into the village.’
‘How will they know?’ Rhonan asked. ‘You didn’t know until she noticed the path and she looks just the same as she did before.’
‘I can’t take a hunter into Shaldoh!’ Kheron snapped angrily. ‘I would be cast out of the clan.’
‘And we can’t just leave her out in the forest,’ Rhonan replied defensively. ‘If we pretend she hasn’t shown any sign of which way her talents will develop they won’t be able to prove anything.’
‘I don’t want to be a hunter,’ Dyahn muttered grumpily and she shredded another leaf.
‘You don’t have to be. It just means you’re human, like mother, and there’s nothing wrong with that.’ Rhonan tried to console Dyahn but she just pouted and didn’t look convinced.
‘I’m still not taking her to Shaldoh,’ Kheron insisted and folded his arms defiantly.
‘I hear people coming,’ Rhonan said as faint sounds of footsteps on the dirt road reached his sensitive ears. ‘They’re heading for the crossing too.’
‘We can’t stay here,’ Kheron said with a sigh. ‘Get on the horse, Dyahn.’
Dyahn stood up and mounted the horse in silence and they started off down the road. The horse plodded along steadily for a good half an hour and Dyahn remained silently staring into the road ahead. Twice Rhonan tried to start a conversation but his younger sister refused to answer.
‘I think they’re catching up,’ Rhonan commented as the footsteps were a little easier to hear.
‘They might be hunters,’ Kheron said thoughtfully.
‘So that means we have to hurry,’ Rhonan guessed. His foot was beginning to ache but there was no way he was going to complain. Reaching his father before the hunters was far more important than a sore foot.
They walked faster for a few minutes but then Rhonan stopped again. ‘I hear a horse. Are you sure hunters never ride horses?’
‘I’ve never seen one riding yet,’ Kheron assured him and then tipped his head slightly sideways to listen. ‘You’re right, it’s a horse, and it’s going fast. It’ll catch up with us in a minute or two.’
‘Shouldn’t we hide?’ Dyahn asked nervously.
‘Why would you want to hide from your own kind?’ Kheron sneered then looked guilty as Dyahn appeared about to burst into tears.
Rhonan led the horse into the trees a short way and Kheron followed. They waited in silence as the sound of the horse’s hooves grew louder and then all of a sudden the horse was racing past them. Rhonan recognised the pale grey cloak of the rider just as Kheron leapt out from their hiding place.
‘Father!’ Kheron called out as he dashed out onto the road. ‘Father! Stop!’
Rhonan led the horse back onto the road and watched as Falh drew up his horse so quickly that it almost slid on the dirt road. The tall elf looked back and appeared surprised to see the three of them standing in the road. He
urged the horse into motion and hurried back to join them.
‘What are you doing out here alone?’ Falh asked tensely. ‘Where are Bryn and Elezan?’
‘Uncle Bryn is leading the hunters away so we can get to Shaldoh,’ Kheron explained.
‘He’s taken off his elf stone?’ Falh interrupted with a shocked expression.
‘He gave it to me to take care of,’ Rhonan said, holding up the leather thong from which it was suspended.
‘But why didn’t you wait for me to get back?’ Falh asked his son impatiently. ‘You shouldn’t have gone without me.’
‘It wasn’t his fault. My Uncle Terac was chasing me,’ Rhonan told him with a blush. ‘He found my trail on the moors.’
‘I’ve just been to the Inn and it was closed. I saw the mark of Shaldoh on the back of the Inn and was heading there,’ Falh said thoughtfully, stroking his chin and staring off into the road ahead of them. ‘There are half a dozen hunters on the road behind you. They must be following Bryn’s trail.’
‘They are. He came right down this road,’ Kheron replied.
‘How do you know that?’ Falh asked suspiciously.
‘I told you the other one was human,’ Kheron said bluntly and pointed at Dyahn as if she were a slug he had just scraped of his shoe.
‘Dyahn’s a hunter then?’ Falh said in a matter-of-fact manner but before he could continue, Dyahn interrupted.
‘Mother went to stay in Kerra.’ Dyahn clearly wanted to change the subject.
‘Good,’ Falh replied with a sigh. ‘It’s best if she’s far away from Bryn right now.’
‘I can hear the hunters getting closer,’ Kheron said, pointing back down the road. ‘Are we just going to stand here and wait for them?’
‘Where is Bryn meeting you?’ Falh asked as he jumped down off his horse.
‘At The Crossing,’ Rhonan told him.
‘I think there might be a way to slow the hunters down.’ Falh reached into his shirt and drew out his own elf stone. ‘Strictly speaking this sort of thing isn’t allowed but I think it will be the least of our problems if I don’t do it.’
‘Father!’ Kheron exclaimed but Falh ignored his son as he handed the elf stone to Dyahn who took it but looked surprised at the offer.
‘How will this help?’ Rhonan asked, confused and a little worried.
‘Hopefully the hunters will follow my trail. Take my elf stone up to the fork in the road. Put it behind the large rock that splits the road. The right-hand fork leads to the crossing,’ Falh instructed as he stepped away from them.
‘Why don’t we just wait there for you?’ Dyahn asked. She looked like she would prefer the tall elf to be with them. Already the illusion of human features had faded as the red-haired elf stepped back towards the forest.
‘I want you to follow the trail and make sure you are first to find your father. With Dyahn’s new-found talent you should be able to go straight to him rather than trusting to luck in being first.’ Falh looked at Dyahn with a firm expression. ‘We need you, Dyahn. Your father needs you.’
‘Okay,’ Dyahn said quietly and clutched the elf stone tightly.
‘All of you ride from here,’ Falh said as he paused by the trees. ‘You need to go as quickly as you can. We don’t know if other hunters are ahead of us. If anyone asks you are heading for Melva to visit relatives.’
Falh melted into the darkness of the forest and Rhonan could see by Dyahn’s expression that the shadow trail was clear to her.
‘If I were following this trail,’ she said sadly. ‘I’d go after Falh’s because it is far stronger and obviously fresher.’
Dyahn didn’t look pleased that her natural hunting instincts were coming so easily but Rhonan simply nodded and mounted the horse behind her. Kheron scowled and mounted his father’s horse without comment.
‘That’s what we want,’ Rhonan pointed out as he nudged the horse forward and into a fast trot. ‘You take the reins and keep to father’s trail.’
Dyahn did so, reluctantly, and a short time later they came to the rock which Falh had told them about. It was almost as tall as the horse and twice as wide. The road narrowed as the rock divided it into two and then widened again.
‘I’ll put the elf stone there for Falh,’ Dyahn said as she slipped from the horse and headed around the back of the large rock. She came back out and turned in a circle. ‘Father stopped here too.’
‘Can you tell how long ago?’ Rhonan asked hopefully. Perhaps they weren’t too far behind him.
‘No, but it’s not as new as Falh’s so it must be at least half a day,’ Dyahn guessed. Kheron was waiting a few dozen paces ahead of them and looked unimpressed at having to let Dyahn lead them.
It was almost another hour before the road narrowed and the trees thinned, then sounds of civilisation could be clearly heard. The dragonet was still peacefully sleeping inside the backpack.
A blacksmith’s hammer was the first sound they heard, followed by the unmistakable babble of voices from a marketplace. Finally, the village itself came into view and a large sign just at the edge of the buildings said ‘The Crossing - Population Thirty Five’
There seemed to be far more than thirty five people in the market alone and Rhonan assumed they must be travellers, either on the way to or from somewhere else. Several other roads led into the village and these were busy with carts and people. The only road that wasn’t busy was the one they had been travelling. Obviously the forest road wasn’t the first choice of most people.
‘Which way?’ Rhonan muttered as he climbed down and led the horse through the increasing crowd.
‘He went through the market…’ Dyahn replied then paused. ‘Then he doubled back and went off through the village.’
Dyahn dismounted as well and was about to lead them off though the houses when a rough, angry looking man shoved them aside and strode ahead of them.
‘He’s following the trail too,’ Dyahn whispered.
Rhonan stared after the man. A stab of fear for his father froze him to the spot for a few seconds.
‘We can’t let him know we’re following as well,’ Rhonan whispered back. He looked back at the forest road to see if Falh was coming but it was empty.
‘Where would you go if you knew you were being followed?’ Kheron asked as they walked slowly after the hunter.
‘I guess I would try to lose them by constantly crossing my path and then head for somewhere I was safe,’ Rhonan replied. He thought hard as to where a safe place would be and as they reached the middle of the village the answer was obvious. ‘The lake. That’s where I’d go. I doubt the hunters would be able to follow a trail through the water.’
‘So we’ll take a chance and leave the trail. Hopefully we’ll be able to pick it up near the water.’ Dyahn turned away from the hunter and they hurried down towards the water.
Four long wooden jetties shot out from the lake edge and boats of varying sizes were tied to most of them. People milled about along several of them, apparently waiting for passage across the lake.
They walked along the shoreline and up near the jetties, hoping that their gamble would pay off. They were almost at the last one when Dyahn grabbed Rhonan’s sleeve.
‘I see it, and it’s a fresh trail,’ she hissed and steered them towards the second to last jetty. Rhonan and Kheron quickly tied the horses to a long low railing. Several other horses were tied up as well, and Rhonan knew they were on the right jetty when he saw his father’s horse tethered there.
‘Dyahn, I can see that hunter from the marketplace over there,’ Rhonan pointed back behind them. The man was walking quickly but had his head down as he followed the trail so he didn’t see them looking at him.
‘We’d better hurry then,’ Dyahn said and walked as fast as she dared without drawing attention to them. Several dozen people were milling about on the jetty and Rhonan expected to see their father among them. There was no sign of him though and they reached the end of the jetty without finding him.
‘Where is the trail? Did he jump off and swim for it, or maybe he’s already left on one of the boats.’ Kheron was scanning the water for any sign of a swimmer.
Dyahn ignored Kheron’s questions as she turned slowly in a circle. ‘Can you two go back up the jetty a little? I think your elf stones are blocking something.’
Rhonan and Kheron backed up a dozen steps and stared in wonder as Dyahn turned in another circle, then lay down and looked under the wooden jetty. A second later their father’s head popped into view and he clambered onto the jetty. Rhonan rushed up, yanked the elf stone off his own neck and shoved it at his father.
‘Thank you, son,’ Bryn said with undisguised relief as his hair shimmered back to black and his features softened into more human ones. ‘Let’s get off this jetty shall we?’
They walked off, at what Rhonan thought was the slowest walk he had ever experienced, and passed the hunter as they stepped onto the sandy beach. Bryn had his arms draped around his two children and he even smiled at the angry looking hunter as he passed by.
They sat down on the sand and watched the hunter walk to the end of the jetty and then scowl as he stared out into the lake.
‘Hopefully he’ll think I went on the last boat out,’ Bryn said with a sigh. ‘They’ve been on my trail ever since I left you. I never knew there were so many just wandering around on the off chance of picking up a trail.’
They sat silently, pretending to be looking out at the lake, as the man left the jetty in a bad mood.
‘Why do you have Falh’s horse?’ Bryn asked. ‘And how did you know I was under the jetty?’
‘He’s leading some more hunters off on a trip through the forest,’ Rhonan replied but ignored his father’s second question.
Bryn pulled out his elf stone and held it tightly. ‘I don’t think I’ll take this off again, ever!’
‘Where should we wait for Falh?’ Rhonan asked, sitting right next his father. He wasn’t going to risk being away from the elf stone with so many hunters around. Another man walked up the jetty, then back again with a frustrated scowl.
