“You may be right,” admittedFredrik, “but I thought I smelled smoke a little while ago and Iwouldn’t mind some food before I fall asleep.”
They rode on for another ten minutesand Fredrik perked up again. “I know it is smoke this time,” hesaid hopefully. “If we don’t find some food at wherever the smokeis coming from, we go to sleep anyway, okay?”
Niki didn’t answer and Fredrik led themoff the road and onto a small dirt path that led into the woodstowards the East. The smell of smoke was still very faint, butFredrik followed it until it got stronger. Finally, he saw theshape of a wagon far up the dirt path. He thought he heard a slightsound like two pieces of metal tinkling against each other, butignored it. When he reached the edge of the clearing where thewagon was parked, he dismounted and told Niki to get down and holdthe horses. He surveyed the campsite and could not see anyonemoving. Other than the wagon, the campsite held a string line forhorses and Fredrik could see around a half dozen horses. He thoughthe could pick out two shapes over by the horses that might be mensleeping.
“I’m going in to see what Ican find to eat,” whispered Fredrik.
Niki nodded and tied the horses to asmall tree. Fredrik crept toward the wagon, keeping an eye on thetwo sleeping forms. He successfully reached the back of the wagonwithout waking anyone and began to ease the door open. The tip of asword touched his throat from alongside the wagon.
“Don’t you know it is politeto knock before you enter a woman’s wagon?” the steely voiceasked.
Fredrik raised his chin and the swordfollowed it up. He let go of the door to the wagon and raised hishands. “Sorry,” he croaked, “I was just looking for food. I haven’teaten in days and I am very hungry.”
Garth looked at the boy before loweringhis sword and sheathing it. As he started to open his mouth tospeak, he caught the glare of a magical projectile screaming infrom the woods. He threw himself to the ground and kicked Fredrik’sfeet out from under him. Quickly twisting his body as theprojectile screamed by overhead, Garth wrapped his muscular armaround the boy’s neck.
“One more mistake like thatand this boy’s life is ended,” he shouted. “Come out of the woodsso I can see you.”
Arik and Tedi leaped to their feet,their bows ready and arrows nocked. The door to the wagon openedand Kalina stepped out. She looked at the boy carefully and thengazed into the woods as if trying to determine who would be helpingthe boy.
“Whether you value the boy’slife or not,” she called, “do not use any more magic. There is acompany of Dark Riders only a couple of miles away and they have awitch with them. Your magic will call them down here quicker thanif you sent a rider to tell them you are here. If you want food, wewill feed you. If not, you may leave.”
She nodded to Garth and he released theboy and stood up. The boy rose slowly and looked all around thecampsite. He saw the two boys with their bows ready. He saw Kalinastanding next to the wagon in a black sleeping robe with her handson her hips and he saw Garth standing seemingly at ease, or atleast as at ease as a predator gets. Garth motioned to the boyswith a hand signal and they reluctantly lowered their bows andreturned their arrows to their quivers.
For a long moment, nobody moved andnobody spoke. Finally, Garth turned to the boy. “Either eat inpeace or leave in peace, but make up your mind,” Garth demanded. “Ido not fancy losing sleep while your friend takes the night todecide.”
Fredrik finally made up his mind andwaved Niki into the campsite. Everyone watched the redheaded girllead the two horses into the clearing.
“Tedi,” Garth called, “see toour guests’ horses. They look like they have been ridden sincefirst light. Arik, light the fire and get some coffee going.”Turning to Fredrik and Niki, Garth looked them over before heindicated that they should sit by the fire.
“You could have just asked forfood,” Garth commented. “No one but Dark Riders and bandits wouldrefuse you if they had any to spare. Who are you and where are youheading that you travel at night?”
Niki, even though frightened, appearedready to fall asleep sitting up. Fredrik appeared to be calmingdown and spoke. “We are Fredrik and Niki and we are from the south.We are traveling at night because we have not eaten in days and Iwanted to push on in hopes of finding a village. I smelled yoursmoke and followed it in to the clearing. I saw no one awake so Ithought I would just grab whatever food I could find without wakinganyone. It was wrong and I apologize.”
“It was wrong because you gotcaught, you mean,” Garth frowned. “Your apology is accepted, justthe same.”
Kalina emerged from the wagon withplates of cold food for the new couple and they tore into it as ifthey were really hungry. Kalina watched them eat and looked atNiki’s cloak with interest and suddenly frowned. Garth caught thelook, but gave no indication. She looked over at Garth and said,“It would appear that we are becoming a magnet for Collapsechildren. We need to keep these two from the Dark Riders, aswell.”
Fredrik looked up in surprise and thenlooked over his shoulder at Arik and Tedi. Niki just kept on eatingand mumbled, “How does everyone know?”
Kalina had been watching theirreactions closely and just smiled. Arik and Tedi stared at theredheaded witch whom Garth and Kalina had just welcomed into theircampsite and Garth strode out of the clearing to fix his trip linewithout anyone noticing.
Fredrik and Niki finished all of thefood that Kalina brought out. Garth started a pipe as he sat andwatched them finish up. Kalina made another trip into the wagon andcame back with blankets for the visitors.
“We may be having visitorstomorrow,” he began. “The Dark Riders that Kalina mentioned areonly a few miles north of here. We may have to wake you early sothat we can arrange to hide you. They do have a witch with them andany use of magic, no matter how small, could result in death forall of us. Will you listen to my orders in the morning?”
“We have little choice,”sighed Fredrik. “There are Dark Riders to the East and to the Westand I know that we cannot survive the trip back south. If you arecorrect about Dark Riders to the north, we are stuck with you oryou with us. We will not resort to magic unless our lives depend onit.”
“So, you are both magicians?”Garth asked.
Fredrik shrugged. “I have been toldthat you should not submit to interrogations when you are tired,”he chuckled. “Now, I know why. Yes, we both have the ability and,yes, we will behave.”
Garth nodded. “Then you should both getsome sleep. You look like you can use it.”
After Fredrik and Niki were settled intheir blankets, Garth and Kalina spoke in private. “Let me guess,the cloak has a spell on it?” Garth asked.
Kalina nodded. “The same type of spellthat I detected on the necklace. You did get a good look at thecloak didn’t you? Including the burn marks?”
“I saw it,” Garth said. “Thishas turned into quite a fishing trip. The Dark One would bethrilled to know where we are right now. In fact,” Garth smiled,“he would give almost anything to know.”
“There is something else,”Kalina added. “The boy has the ability to gather the power. He wasdoing so when you held him. That ability is very rare. I do notknow if she possesses it, as well. If she does, she wasn’t using ittonight.”
Chapter 12
Discovery
Tedi rose early and looked around inthe pre-light darkness of the campsite. He was sure that he hadheard something, but nothing seemed amiss. Suddenly, he heard itagain and looked towards the sound. Someone was doing somethingjust outside the clearing. Gently, he nudged Arik awake and heldhis finger to his lips. Arik took a few moments to acclimatehimself to his surroundings in the dark. Slowly the boys tiptoedtowards the sound, always keeping the trees between them and themysterious person in the woods.
Arik, who was the quieter of the twoboys, used a hand signal to tell Tedi to stay back and continuedslowly forward. After gaining a few more trees, Arik stiffened andshook his head. Cautiously, Arik turned around and retraced hissteps back to Tedi. He signaled for Tedi to follo
w and led the wayback to their sleeping areas. “It’s Garth,” Arik whispered, “and heis digging graves. He is just finishing the second grave, but I cansee two more outlined in the dirt.”
“We have to tell thenewcomers,” Tedi whispered. “Maybe with their . . . their powers,they can help us escape.”
Arik nodded his head in agreement andthe boys headed across the clearing to where Fredrik and Niki weresleeping. The first light was already appearing when the boysreached Fredrik’s side. Gently, Arik shook him and held his fingerto his lips so Fredrik did not shout.
“We have trouble," Tedi saidsoftly. “Get your friend up quietly and quickly.”
Fredrik half rolled and half crawledthe short distance to Niki’s blanket and simply put his hand overher mouth. Niki’s eyes popped open widely and she stared up intoFredrik’s face. When Fredrik was sure that she understood hiswarning, he withdrew to a sitting position.
Niki sat up and looked around and sawthe other two boys. “What is going on?” she whispered.
“Garth is digging fourgraves,” Tedi explained softly. “We may need your special talentsto get us out of here before he discovers that we areawake.”
“Are the Dark Riders reallycamped close to us?” Fredrik asked softly.
When Arik nodded his head, Fredrikcontinued, “That would not be a good idea. Kalina is correct thatthey would detect us if we cast anything major or more than oneminor spell. We should just sneak off and hope to lose themboth.”
“You will never lose Garth bysneaking off,” Tedi assured the newcomers. “He can track the windthrough the branches of a tree by the scent it left behind. And forsome reason, I expect that he would follow us until he found us, nomatter how long it took.”
“Even so,” Niki interrupted,“if we got enough of a lead on him, we could use magic to stop himcold once we were away from the Dark Riders and theirwitch.”
Arik smiled and nodded his head. “Thatjust might work,” he agreed.
Just then, the door to the wagon openedand Kalina stepped out. She looked around the campsite and her eyesstopped on the four children. “It is good to see the four of yougetting along so well,” she commented,” but it is time to start theday. Arik, get the fire started. Tedi, get water for coffee. Hasanyone seen Garth this morning?”
Four quickly shaking heads met Kalina’sblue eyes. “Very well,” she said. “Fredrik, observe Arik and thefire so you will know what to do in the future. Niki, you can helpme with the food.”
Arik quietly started building the fireand Tedi nervously grabbed buckets and headed off towards thestream. Niki followed Kalina as though she was going to be preparedfor cooking instead of the breakfast. Fredrik walked over to Arikand whispered, “We will have to play along until the right momentand breakfast will be welcome if we have to spend days on the trailtrying to shake Garth. He can’t really do anything until all fourof the graves are done, anyway, and you said he had completed onlytwo.”
Kalina and Niki quickly had breakfastgoing with more of the strange, large eggs and slabs of bacon. Thesmell of the campfire and the cooking bacon lured Garth out of thewoods and he came over and sat by Kalina. The four others huddledtogether on the other side of the fire and everyone ate insilence.
Finally, Garth put his empty plate downand looked across the campfire at the others. “Today is going to bean unusual day,” he began. “As you can see we are eating earlierthan normal and there will be no practice sessions. Arik and Tedi,you two have a special task ahead of you. I need you two to finishdigging some holes for me, very large holes.”
Tedi and Arik looked at each other withtheir mouths hanging open. “I am not feeling well today,” Tediquickly blurted out.
“Perhaps it was something weate or the effects of the magic last night, but I don’t feel reallywell, either,” Arik got out.
Garth looked at the two boyssuspiciously as well as the almost concealed grins of the other twochildren. Something was going on with the four of them that he didnot understand, but he would not allow it to get in the way of theplan he had for them this morning. “It is unfortunate that you twodo not feel well,” he said slowly, “because it will make thedigging appear worse than it really is, but make no mistakes, youtwo will finish the digging if it kills you.”
Niki leaped to her feet, spilling herplate and her second helping of food on the ground. Placing herhands on her hips, she glared at Garth and Kalina. Fredrik slowlyrose and placed his hand on her shoulder, but this time it was in ashow of support rather than a reprimand.
“Niki is right,” Fredrikstated clearly. “We both have powers that we would prefer not touse right now because of the Dark Riders, but we will if we have toand damn the consequences. You are not going to order Arik and Tedito dig their own graves.”
Arik and Tedi also rose and placedtheir hands on the hilts of the swords they had managed to get onwhile doing their breakfast chores. Kalina stood with a smile onher lips, but Garth rose with a scowl on his face.
“They are not digging theirown graves,” Garth said flatly, “they are digging yours. I havealready finished theirs. If you children are quite finished withyour mutiny, I will describe my plan.”
The scene around the campfire appearedfrozen and nobody spoke. Niki, who would have already attacked bynow, felt patience and reassurance from Fredrik’s hand on hershoulder. Arik and Tedi knew the minute they drew their swords,Garth would strike them down. They had been practicing two on onewith Garth for several days now and they knew they were not evenclose to being ready to take him on.
“The Dark Riders will mostcertainly be here this morning,” Garth continued. “If any of youare seen, we will have to do battle and destroy them all. Thegraves that you speak of are holes for you to hide in. I havealready cut strips of wood to hold canvas over the holes, so thatthe dirt piled on top of you will be very thin. You will be able toeasily get out if something should happen to Kalina and myself. Ihave cut long reeds for you to breath through and the excavateddirt will be spread evenly over the ground just before I repositionthe horses to ring the area. The Dark Riders will not give it asecond glance.”
Fredrik and Niki looked stunned and thetwo boys from Lorgo sported deep red faces as they sat back down.Kalina went around and refilled the coffee mugs as Fredrik and Nikialso sat back down.
“Niki cannot stand enclosedspaces,” Fredrik stated. “We will have to devise something else forher.”
Garth nodded thoughtfully and resumedhis seated position. “Just as well,” he finally said. “We havealready wasted too much time arguing about the two incompleteholes. I think I can arrange to strap the two of you up underneaththe wagon so that you will not be noticed. The only danger is ifthey ask us to move the wagon. The strapping would hurt severelyand perhaps even break if we had to move it over any distance. Itwill have to do, though, and we had better get to it.”
Arik was sent off to arrange a stringline for the horses that would screen the two holes, while Garthslid under the wagon and began fastening leather straps that wouldhold Fredrik and Niki tight to the floor of the wagon. Kalina andNiki cleaned up the campsite and removed all traces of anythingthat might indicate that there were more than two people here. Tediand Fredrik worked to spread the dirt that was extracted from thetwo holes.
Everything took around two hours andafter the children were all secure, Garth collected his blackstallion and the white mare and tied them gently to the side of thewagon. Less than half an hour later, three Dark Riders rode intothe campsite and stared at Garth and Kalina who were sitting idlyat the campfire.
“What brings gypsies this farinland?” asked one of the Dark Riders.
Garth looked up lazily from his cup ofcoffee. “Lack of people chooses our path,” Garth said. “If you wisha moment’s rest on your journey, you may have a cup of coffeebefore you depart.”
One of the Dark Riders dismounted andwalked over to Garth while the other two let their eyes roam overevery inch of the campsite. “I am called Klarg,” the Dark Riderannounced a
s he sat by the fire and waited for Kalina to get him acup of coffee. “Have you seen any people come by thisway?”
“We are gypsies,” Garthstated. “We have not even seen you come by.”
Klarg did not smile at Garth’s remark,but seemed to be studying the man in black. “You are rather wellarmed for a gypsy. Do you not fear traveling alone?”
“The world is an unsettledarena,” Garth reflected. “We all know fear from time to time, butfear does nothing to change the facts. You travel this same landwith only three of you and you are also well armed. This only showsthat we both know that to travel this land in small numbersrequires at least a show of strength.”
“I do not care for riddles,gypsy,” Klarg stated impatiently. “Where have you traveled from?Have you been near the coast?”
“We have been here for sometime now,” Garth answered. “I have seen the coast before, but noton this trip. There are too many people along the coast and banditscongregate where people live.”
Klarg chewed his lip and stared back athis men. One of the Dark Riders nodded towards the woods at the farside of the clearing and Klarg’s eyes followed the directionindicated. Even from where he was, he could see the stand of horsesonce he knew where to look. Klarg rose and walked across theclearing to the horses. He stared at the string of horses andreturned to the campfire.
“You have many horses, gypsy,”Klarg declared, “and unless my eyes grow weary, I recognize some ofthem as having belonged to associates of mine. How is thispossible?”
“All things are possible,”Garth stated dryly. “We have been fortunate on this trip to runacross horses roaming free. Some of them did, indeed, have saddles.Gypsies are known for taking what other people abandon. If yourassociates care to claim their horses and come to us, we will beglad to return their animals for the cost of caring for them. Forthat matter, we will gladly sell you the horses and you can dealwith your associates as you like.”
Klarg snorted at the comment of thegypsies finding the horses. Gypsies were well known for stealinghorses and reselling them to their previous owners. The occupationof horse thief suited this armed man more than traveling gypsy, buthe would let Wolinda decide.
Sapphire of the Fairies soh-1 Page 14
