by Linda McNabb
‘The nearest one is south of here,’ Neras said and his voice sounded higher up. Seth looked up in surprise. ‘There are one or two advantages of being able to float.’
‘Lead the way then,’ Seth said, focusing hard on the air to spot the slight shimmer in the air.
‘You can’t really see me any more can you?’ Neras asked, sounding sad.
‘Only when it’s dark,’ Seth agreed. ‘Perhaps you could talk so I can follow your voice instead.’
Neras was only too happy to oblige and kept up a steady stream of chatter while he led the way through the massive corn field. By the time they came to the cottage it was completely dark and Seth paused at the edge of the cornfield and peered out. The cottage was small and there were no lights showing through the windows.
‘Do you think there is anyone in there?’ Seth asked.
‘Slide my staff along the ground so I can get close enough to look,’ Neras suggested.
Seth nodded. Perhaps this wizard was worth having around after all. He threw the staff as far as he could along the ground and it landed a few paces from one of the windows.
‘Ouch… I said slide it,’ Neras said in a cringing voice. ‘I feel what the staff feels.’
‘Really?’ Seth asked, looking at the broken, burnt staff and wondered what the wizard felt when that happened. ‘Sorry.’
Now that it was dark Seth could see the young wizard floating off towards the cottage and it looked as if he was limping in mid-air. He appeared to melt right into the wall of the cottage and a minute later he reappeared and waved Seth forward.
‘It’s empty, and has been for some time,’ he called out.
Seth walked over and picked up the staff and tried the front door. It was unlocked, like most country houses. Criminals didn’t often go into the country as there was nothing much to steal. Seth uncovered the egg and stared at the curled up dragon within for a few seconds. It really was a beauty. He noticed that it was a lot darker inside the egg now and he decided that the dragon itself was dark, rather than the light being less intense.
They explored the cottage by the light of the egg. It was indeed empty, and by the dust on the shelves it hadn’t been lived in for years. Seth found an old lamp on a shelf and lit it, holding it at arm’s length for a few seconds in case the wick had deteriorated too much and flared up.
‘First thing tomorrow I’ll have to go find some food,’ Seth muttered as he opened one empty cupboard after another. Often he found jars of preserves and cellars of stored goods, but here there was nothing. They obviously didn’t intend to use this cottage any time soon.
Seth tried the pump out the back of the house and was relieved to see fresh water pour out of the spout. He filled a jug and took it back inside. After several long drinks to attempt to fill his growling stomach he picked out a room upstairs with a comfy looking bed. He had indeed become soft living at High Gate! It was a far cry from the graveyard at Merra and he sat on the bed with a sigh. He put the egg at the foot end of the bed and took off the sheath and laid his sword next to it. He stood Neras’ staff by the wall, then remembering what the young wizard had said about feeling what the staff did, he laid it gently on the bed next to the sword. He lay down and in a few seconds he fell fast asleep.
Seth woke just before sunrise. That was something that would never change. After years of living on the streets and in the wild his natural instinct to rise before dawn was well ingrained. He looked out the window and saw a white rabbit running across the empty field behind the cottage. He wished he’d been able to bring his bow and arrows but they had been in Eagan’s room and he couldn’t risk going there to fetch them.
His stomach grumbled again and he swung his legs off the bed. He saw Neras sitting with his back to the wall. The young wizard looked over at Seth as he stood up.
‘You can sleep if you want. I’ll keep watch,’ he offered and then gave a lop-sided smile. ‘I don’t sleep so I’m a good look out!’
Seth felt a little odd that someone had been watching him while he slept, even if it was a semi-invisible wizard. He shook his head. ‘I’m too hungry to sleep.’
Neras floated up to the window and looked into the distance. The room was set into the roof of the cottage and looked out across the land. ‘I saw lights out that way in the night. Enough that it could be a small town or village.’
Seth looked longingly in the direction Neras pointed and sighed. ‘I don’t want to leave the egg here alone and I can’t take it with me. It’s too hard to hide.’
‘I can watch it,’ Neras offered. ‘I may not be able to do magic without an apprentice, but I can tip over a few chairs and small things like that. Enough to scare anyone off if they come in the cottage.’
Seth pressed his lips together as he considered the suggestion. He was very hungry, and although he probably could go and steal food from the overseer’s cottage he didn’t fancy his chances with the big dogs there.
‘I’ll be back as soon as I can,’ Seth said, nodding in agreement and slipping the sword sheath over his back. As the daylight was growing, the wizard was fading and Seth thought the boy looked a little sad at being left behind.
Seth found a farmer’s riding cloak in one of the cupboards. It was old and tattered, but it would cover his guard’s clothing and his sword. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself. He felt Neras close by as he left and nodded a farewell in his general direction then set off down the narrow lane that led around the field.
He followed it out onto a main road and soon he found himself walking through a small forest in the early light of dawn. He had no idea how far the settlement was but going by the well-travelled road he was at least heading in the right direction.
He was deep in thought and trying to ignore his grumbling stomach when he heard a rustling in the trees and several people leapt out in front of him.
‘Halt!’ a voice cried in a deep voice.
The sun had just risen enough that it was directly in his eyes and the figures before him were nothing more than silhouettes. Short ones.
‘Hand over your coin and we’ll let you live!’ a second voice shouted and it cracked up an octave as it tried to hold the deep gruff tone.
Kids. Seth didn’t feel any fear. He knew what it was like to be desperate enough to try to demand money or food even though he had never actually done it. He held his hands out to show he had nothing in them and shrugged.
‘I have nothing worth stealing,’ he told them.
‘What’s that leather thing on your arm?’ the first gruff voice asked.
Seth looked down at his right arm and saw that he was still wearing the leather sleeve that Dari had landed on. He felt a lump in his throat and didn’t reply. A wave of sadness washed over him.
‘He’s hiding something. Let’s get him!’
Seth stepped back. He didn’t want young people near him when he was feeling sad. He had no idea if it had the same effect as anger and he didn’t want to find out. He reached over his shoulder and pulled out his sword. He did not intend to use it but figured it should be enough to scare them off.
He stepped to the side of the road as he held the sword out in front of him. The sun was no longer in his eyes and he squinted at the shapes as they became people in the light. There were three of them and none of them looked older than ten. Each was dressed in rags and looked half-starved. They froze in place as soon as they saw the sword and the act of drawing it had flung back his cloak. Seth’s guard uniform was on full view as well.
‘We didn’t mean no harm, Sir,’ the tallest boy said in a voice that fitted his age. His voice rose to almost a shout. ‘Don’t kill us.’
‘What’s going on?’ a voice said from the trees.
This time Seth knew that the deep voice was definitely not fake. The boy had been shouting to alert someone that they were in trouble. There was a crunching of twigs and bracken as someone stamped their way through the undergrowth. An older boy, a couple of years older than Seth broke t
hrough the trees and stepped out on to the road. He took in the situation at a glance and glared at the youngsters.
‘What are you boys up to?’
‘We just wanted to help out, Kenan,’ the smallest one said in a squeaky, scared voice.
The older boy grabbed the youngest one by the collar and shoved him towards the trees. ‘And you picked him? A guard with a sword? Are you mad?’
Seth lowered his sword and let the tip rest on the ground to show he was not going to use it. ‘I was only trying to scare them. I’m not really a guard.’
Kenan looked Seth up and down and nodded then the dark-haired boy smiled. ‘Relax boys, he’s just like us. Bet you stole the uniform.’
Seth wasn’t surprised Kenan had come to that conclusion. Even with six months of easy living the gauntness had never left his face, nor the haunted expression of being a loner. He probably looked more desperate than they did. He just shrugged. He didn’t really want to start explaining himself to strangers.
‘You boys had better get off the road. The stagecoach will be coming through soon and the others are on their way.’ Kenan herded the youngsters off into the trees.
Stagecoach? Seth looked back down the road and realised what was going on. The stagecoach was about to be robbed.
Kenan looked at the sword and then at Seth with a calculating stare. ‘If you want to help out we’ll give you a share of the takings.’
Several more youths came out of the trees. Each was armed with either a rusty old sword or a poker from a fire. They looked at Seth and then at Kenan.
Seth thought through the situation while Kenan quickly explained to the others. It seemed a quick way to get real coin that he could use to buy food instead of stealing it for once but it felt wrong. He knew it amounted to the same thing as when he stole food but it somehow it was different to demand money from strangers.
‘Well?’ Kenan asked.
‘It’s not what I do,’ he replied with a shake of his head. The boys all looked more disappointed than angry that he wasn’t going to help them.
‘Well how else are we supposed to feed ourselves?’ one of the other boys asked.
‘I’ve managed for years without it,’ Seth said with a shrug. ‘Isn’t there a village or something up ahead?’
‘South Valley is about a ten minute walk,’ Kenan agreed with a nod. ‘But the food all costs money.’
Seth shrugged again. He’d stayed too long already and his stomach was complaining loudly. He nodded goodbye and turned towards South Valley without another thought for the group of boys. He didn’t recognise the name of the town so he must be much further south than he’d ever been before. At least that meant people were not likely to send him packing as soon as they saw him.
He was well around the bend by the time he heard shouting behind him and South Valley was in sight. Several roads converged at a crossroads and the smell of fresh baking reached his nose. He hurried to join several market gardeners heading into town to sell their produce. He didn’t want people to think he was part of the group in the forest.
A minute later the stagecoach went past and the driver didn’t appear to be upset or angry. Clearly the holdup hadn’t been successful.
By the time he reached the bustling market he had already lifted several apples from a cart and pocketed a dozen plums. Pickings were easy here and he felt a rare smile lift the corner of his mouth. Perhaps he could find somewhere nearby to stay long-term and if he kept his temper under control nobody would ever know what he was capable of.
A frown flattened his smile as he remembered the dragon egg. How was he supposed to hide the dragon when it hatched? People were sure to notice a large dragon had moved into the area. Perhaps it would be a small one? Seth almost laughed at the notion and shook his head then headed towards the bake house. The woman tending it never even noticed as he slipped two loaves under his cloak and he headed through the market to check it all out.
It was obviously a market that catered for a large area as nobody chatted in a small-town way or even looked twice at Seth. Strangers were accepted without question and Seth liked that. He found a small grassed area near the well and sat down under a tree to eat. He put one loaf down on the grass next to him and pulled off a hunk. He popped it in his mouth and began to chew, slowly, letting the taste run through him and he let out a sigh of delight.
Now that the sun had fully risen he could see the mountains were not far away. They looked similar to the mountain range that High Gate had been built into. But he was far away from there now though and on the other side of the marshlands. Mountains all looked the same. Seeing them gave him an idea though. Perhaps there were caves there that he could raise the dragon in.
‘You made that look easy,’ a voice said from right next to him and he flinched in surprise. He went to grab the loaf and run when he glanced sideways and saw Kenan pulling a hunk of bread off for himself.
‘You followed me,’ Seth said in a slightly accusing tone. He was more annoyed that the boy had managed to follow him without being noticed.
‘You have your skills,’ Kenan said, pointing to the bread, ‘and I have mine.’
‘How did the holdup go?’ Seth asked, taking the bread back.
Kenan scowled as he chewed. ‘The stagecoach didn’t even stop. It nearly ran us down.’
Seth didn’t comment as he tucked the rest of the bread under his cloak. Kenan watched and licked his lips. He appeared to be thinking for a minute before he spoke again.
‘How about you teach me to do that and I …’ he said and paused and seemed to be struggling to come up with something he could offer in return.
Seth didn’t need anyone owing him favours but he did need someone who knew the area. He needed to find somewhere safe for the dragon to hatch. It might be ready any day and he didn’t think the cottage by the corn was a good place to be when it was time.
‘… and you and your boys show me around the countryside up towards the mountains,’ Seth suggested.
Kenan looked surprised and nodded immediately as if he couldn’t believe he’d made such an easy deal. ‘Sure, we know every place there is to know around here. I knew you weren’t from around here.’
‘How did you know that?’ Seth asked.
‘For one thing the uniform is the wrong colour,’ Kenan said. ‘The guards at South Gate wear blue, not grey.’
South Gate? Seth tried not to let his unease show. He had heard the guards at High Gate talk about it. He knew Eagan went there too. Perhaps he wasn’t far enough away after all.
‘Where is South Gate?’ Seth asked, trying to sound casual.
‘Oh, about half a day’s walk south from here,’ Kenan replied. ‘Are you looking to work up there? I hear they’re taking on anyone that shows up. This mad travelling magician came to town a few months ago going on about shadows. He wanted us to build a wall around the town or something daft.’
‘Let me guess,’ Seth said, frowning a little and pointing in the opposite direction to the mountains. ‘The marshlands are that way?’
‘Well, you had to come through them to get here, so you already know they’re about a day by wagon to the north,’ Kenan said with a laugh as if Seth was joking.
Seth looked around the town. He was getting an uneasy feeling about this town and knew it wasn’t the place to stop. He would have to wait until the full moon though and cross back to the other side of the marshland. There was plenty of countryside to get lost in without being so close to the mountains.
‘Right, let’s get this done,’ Seth said, standing up and waiting for Kenan to join him. He had a strange desire to go back to the egg and run away from here as fast as possible. But for now he was going to need a cave to hide in.
Kenan wasn’t a fast learner and they were chased away from a dozen stalls before he managed to steal anything. By the time the sun was well up in the sky Seth had to admit that the boy was improving.
‘Just don’t hit the same stall twice in a day,’ Seth cau
tioned Kenan as the taller boy carried a large sack of food down a narrow alley.
Seth was just about to tell Kenan that he had to go when a voice out in the street made his heart skip a beat.
It was a hollow, echoing voice. It was a wizard.
‘I tell you there’s something different here today, Ryker,’
‘Different how?’ a man’s voice asked in a bored tone.
‘There’s someone here.’
‘Really, Oran. You’ll have to be a lot more specific than that. We’re in a market place full of people.’
Seth swallowed the lump in his throat and peered out into the street. It wasn’t hard to spot the speaker as there was a hazy disturbance in the air just in front of the man. He didn’t look anything like Eagan though. There was no way this man would be mistaken for a travelling magician. He wore expensive, well-tailored clothes that gave him an air of importance and wealth. Seth wouldn’t have looked twice at him, except as a possible mark to rob. The only things that gave away his identity were the hazy wizard accompanying him and the staff he carried.
This staff was shorter than Eagan’s, more of a walking stick than a staff, but Seth saw the gem glint in the sun as the man’s hand lifted off slightly. The walking stick had been polished to a deep brown but there was no mistaking what it really was. The apprentice had his head slightly down and Seth recognised it as the way Eagan walked when he was talking to Darius. It would simply appear as if he was mumbling to himself.
‘It feels like there’s another wizard nearby,’ Oran replied.
Ryker stopped in the middle of the street and several people had to go around him. He looked around the market place with a suddenly uneasy glare. Seth shrank back into the shadows as the man’s gaze passed him by.
‘It can’t be Darius. They didn’t come here before the mists settled and even that old fool wouldn’t travel the marshes at this time of the moon.’
‘There isn’t anyone else it could be,’ Oran said in a dry, sarcastic voice. ‘We’re the last two.’
‘Well, we’ll just have to deal with Eagan for good this time,’ Ryker said, lowering his head as a man stared at him oddly. ‘Just like we did to all those other apprentices.’
