Stormwielder - Chapter 10
Enala crouched in the damp grass and stared into the shadows beneath the trees...
The Sword of Light is an original fantasy novel, packed with gods, dragons and magic. Leap into an epic adventure as a young man cursed with terrible power must master his abilities in order to save the world. You can find my other books on my website.
For five hundred years the Gods have united the Three Lands in harmony. Now that balance has been shattered, and chaos threatens.
A town burns and flames light the night sky. Hunted and alone, seventeen year old Eric flees through the wreckage. The mob grows closer, baying for the blood of their tormentor. Guilt weighs on his soul, but he cannot stop, cannot turn back. If he stops, they die.
For two years he has carried this curse, bringing death and destruction wherever he goes. But now there is another searching for him – one who offers salvation. His name is Alastair, and he knows the true nature of the curse. Magic.
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Enala crouched in the damp grass and stared into the shadows beneath the trees. The first rays of the morning sun were just peeking above the treetops, and puffs of steam rose from the rain-soaked earth. The barren slopes of the volcanic peaks towered above the treeline that started where the earth finally flattened out.
A shiver ran through Enala as she straightened; not from the cold, but exhaustion. They had walked for two nights now, fighting to put as many miles as they could between themselves and Chole. They had finally crossed the mountains last night, walking the treacherous path in the cover of darkness. Her legs burned from the effort and her shoulders ached with the weight of her pack. They had filled their bags with enough supplies for a week on the road. If everything went to plan, that would be all they needed.
Taking a swig from her waterskin, Enala sent up a silent thanks to the Goddess that they had made it into the forest before sunrise. With the sun out, the mountain hike would now be unbearably hot.
Enala breathed in the fresh mountain air, savouring the scent. It had been years since she’d last come this way with her parents, though once it had been an annual trip. The trail was almost indiscernible now, so overgrown she had almost missed it as they descended the treacherous slopes.
The way would be easier now, at least for the next few hours. The trees were thin around the base of the mountains, but would quickly grow denser as they worked their way into the rainforests on the floodplains of the Onyx River. That was their destination. Once they crossed the river, she doubted her unknown pursuers would dare to follow her further. It didn’t matter who they were, few had the courage to brave Dragon Country.
Her thoughts darkened as she thought of her parent’s murderer. Shaking her head, she turned her mind to Gabriel. They had said little during the three days they’d spent hiding in the abandoned house. They had wandered its empty corridors in silence, listening to the pounding rain outside, each lost in their own thoughts.
Slowly, Enala had risen from the chasm of her grief. Free of its weight, her wits had returned, and with them a plan had formed. Though she said little to Gabriel, she at least managed to break the silence between them, and together the two of them had prepared for their escape.
Now, while a gulf still stretched between them, Enala drew comfort from his presence. She feared being alone, feared her own mind. When she was alone, her thoughts would turn inwards, drawn into an unending cycle of self-interrogation and blame. In the quiet of the cellar, she had found herself trapped within her mind, lost in the darkness. Even now she feared to sleep, feared the nightmares it brought. Each night she woke screaming, desperate to escape the darkness, and the faceless men that stalked through her dreams.
Flicking the copper lock from her eyes, Enala pushed the black thoughts away, and forced her mind back to Gabriel. The boy was an enigma. He had appeared from nowhere—with a wolf—and plucked her from the darkness. Then he had saved her from his own beast. And she still had no idea who he was, where he had come from.
“How are your legs?” she jumped as Gabriel sat up and stretched his arms.
“Fine,” she replied.
An awkward silence followed, and Enala frowned, unable to find the words. Speaking with Gabriel inevitably returned her thoughts to the wolf, or the bloody nightmare that had becoming her living room floor.
“Enala, it’s been five days. Enough. Listen, I know what you’ve gone through–”
“You know nothing of what I’ve been through,” Enala found herself shrieking. Fists clenched, she turned on Gabriel. “How dare you. My parents were murdered right above my head!” the words tumbled from her mouth in a torrent, ending in a half-choked sob.
Enala turned away, running her hands through her filthy hair as she gasped for breath.
“I listened to them for hours,” she went on, her voice barely a whisper. “For hours as they screamed and screamed and screamed. I listened to their murder, to the endless questions about children, about relatives. By the end, I was praying for their deaths, just so the nightmare would end,” the words were out before she could take them back.
There was silence for a moment, and she looked back at Gabriel, daring him to speak.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Sorry for what?” her words dripped with acid. “What do your sorries mean to me? My parents are dead. I wished them gone, and still they kept me a secret. Yet even that did not last, and now there are people hunting me. I can never go back, my life is over.”
“I have no life to go back to either,” Gabriel ventured.
Enala blinked, thrown off-balance. “What?”
Gabriel stared at the ground. “My home was destroyed by a storm. My parents, my fiancée, they didn’t survive.” He looked up then, and now there was steel in his voice. “I may not have lost them as you lost yours, but don’t you dare tell me I have no idea of loss.”
Enala watched as a tear streaked down Gabriel’s cheek. She remembered him in the cellar then, the tears as he’d held her, and for the first time she felt a connection with him, a slender bridge spanning the chasm between them.
“I’m sorry,” she spoke without thinking.
Gabriel laughed softly. “Ay. I guess in the end, we’re both just sorry orphans. Friends?” he offered his hand.
Enala found herself smiling. Gabriel had a personality after all. In that brief moment, the day seemed just a little brighter. She took his hand. “Friends,” she agreed. “It seems like a long time since I’ve had one.”
“It is a lonely life without them.”
“Yes. But then, before I had my parents,” she frowned as her sorrow returned.
“We’ll have to make do with each other now I guess,” Gabriel forced a smile. “Shall we press on?”
Enala glanced at the sun, her anxiety returning. They had been sitting there for close to an hour. Gabriel was right. Though her body ached from the hike, they needed to move on. The hunters were coming.
She nodded, and swinging her pack onto her shoulders, started off down the overgrown track.
“Where are we going?” Gabriel asked from behind her.
“Somewhere safe.”
Gabriel chuckled. “You know, that doesn’t really tell me much. I thought we were friends now?”
“We are,” Enala smiled to herself as they pushed deeper into the trees, leaving the morning sun behind. “It’s just…”
“Aren’t friends meant to trust each other?”
Enala sighed. She ducked her head to avoid a low hanging branch, and swore as her shirt and hair caught in the prickly scrub. Disentangling herself, she pulled up her hood, but it did little to protect her.
“I trust you,” she grinned, though Gabriel could not see it. “Now trust me when I say it’s better you don’t know.”
Gabriel fell silent then, and Enala could almost picture the frustration on his face as they continued through the forest. Even so, she didn’t think he’d like to hear the truth. Though she was sure she could keep them safe, Dragon Country was not for the faint hearted.
Behind her, Gabriel quickly began to puff, his fitness nowhere close to measuring up to hers. He was no forester, and his heavy footsteps announced their presence to the forest creatures long before they appeared. The trees rustled in the morning breeze, and they heard the soft howls of monkeys in the distance. Tiny insects flew at their faces and bit wherever their clothes did not cover.
It was a few hours before Gabriel broke the silence again. “Can you at least tell me how far off we are?” he puffed. “This is not an easy trail!”
Enala laughed. The canopy was above their heads now, and they no longer had to fight their way through the undergrowth.
“It’s a good day’s walk through this forest. We should reach the river late tomorrow morning, if we can keep up the pace,” she brushed a leafy branch from her face as she moved, and then ducked beneath it.
As she released it again, the branch swung back into place, and a yelp came from behind her.
Enala glanced back and chuckled. The branch must have struck Gabriel in the face. Somehow he had lost his footing and toppled to the ground. Dirt covered his clothing as he picked himself back up.
“Sorry!” Enala grinned. “But you shouldn’t walk so close.”
Shaking his head, Gabriel shot her a cheeky grin. “I’ll get you for that one. And if I follow any further back, I’m afraid I’ll lose you. I’m a smith, I’m not used to all these trees. I prefer roads.”
“Just wait until tomorrow. The trees near the river are younger. The seedlings grow thick beneath them. I doubt the path still exists by now, so we’ll have to cut our way through.”
Gabriel groaned. His discomfort was clear, but Enala could feel the weight lifting from her shoulders with every step. This was her home. Let them follow her here if they dared.
As the light faded and Enala’s eyes began to droop, she finally allowed them to stop. Dropping her pack, she sank to the ground. They had hardly slept in the last two days, and she was beyond breaking point. The night settled in around them like a blanket, but she resisted the temptation to light a fire, and they settled for feasting on cold beef jerky.
“Enala,” she started as Gabriel spoke. Shaking her head free of sleep, she looked at him as he continued. “I wanted to thank you. You saved me, back in the city.”
“What do you mean?” Enala frowned. “You saved me. The wolf would have killed me if it wasn’t for you.”
“I wasn’t talking about that, but I will add my thanks for the chair too,” he paused, his eyes staring out into the night. “No, you saved my soul.”
“What?” Enala asked.
“The wolf, it was given to me by a demon.”
Enala’s breath hissed between her teeth, and she saw again Gabriel drawing his sword on her. She had dismissed it from her mind, but now her heart began to race as she reached for her knife.
“Easy!” Gabriel offered his empty hands. “Let me explain. I think I’ve earned that much?”
Enala hesitated before nodding.
“The demon corrupted me,” Gabriel sighed. “It placed me under some spell, made me something else. My memories were stolen. I’m only just starting to remember.”
“That’s horrible,” Enala remained tense, but she sensed the truth behind his words.
“It was my own fault. The demon offered me aid, and I was desperate enough to take it. It gave me the wolf, although I can’t remember why. It wanted you dead though, ordered me to kill you. But I couldn’t do it; something about you broke its spell. You saved me.”
Enala frowned. “Who was this demon?”
“I don’t know,” Gabriel shivered, though the air was hot and humid beneath the trees. “I have never felt such evil. I don’t know why I was so blind to accept its offer. It wasn’t long after I lost my family. That time is all still a blur.”
Enala watched the shadows. Who am I to these demons?
In a whisper, she asked. “What did it want? Why did it want me dead?”
“I don’t know. I think you were unexpected though. I was meant to kill an old man—and a young one. Their faces are the clearest images I have left.”
“I wonder who they are.”
“Whoever they are, they’re in mortal peril.”
Like me, Enala thought. Maybe they’re just as terrified and confused as I am.
“Your parents were incredibly brave,” Gabriel changed the subject.
Enala shivered. “I don’t know how they did it. They only managed to hide me a few seconds before they were found. They withstood torture to protect me. I don’t think I could have done the same.”
The leaf litter crunched as Gabriel eased himself down beside her. Gently he lifted his arm and settled it around her shoulders. “You were brave too.”
“No, I wasn’t. All I wanted to do was climb the ladder and save them. But I was too scared to move.”
“It would have broken their hearts if you had. They died knowing they had protected their daughter, that you were safe. There was nothing you could have done for them.”
The night pressed in around them. Enala closed her eyes, leaning into Gabriel’s shoulder. She found some comfort in his words, though doubts still plagued her. Her parents had raised her to be strong, to never run from an enemy. Yet here she was, fleeing for her life.
You have no choice, she reasoned, your enemies are ghosts. They are stronger and have the advantage of knowledge. There is no choice but to run.
Even so, she wondered what her parents would have done. Their murder demanded justice, but she was powerless to seek it.
Enala felt the steady beat of Gabriel’s heart beneath her head. Breathing in the earthly scent of his clothes, she closed her eyes and thought of sleep. Though she had been plagued by nightmares since the day in the cellar, suddenly the idea no longer seemed so frightening. She felt safe in Gabriel’s arms, his heartbeat a lullaby in her ear.
She slept.
Enala stood on the banks of the Onyx river, her hands on her hips as she studied the flooded waters. To her horror they had slept late, and it was now well past noon, but they had finally arrived.
Unfortunately, the recent rain had swollen the river to heights beyond anything Enala had ever seen. The murky waters lapped at the edge of the banks, snatching at the overhanging branches of the nearby trees as it raced towards the distant ocean.
“We need to cross that?” Gabriel asked beside her.
“Yes,” Enala nodded.
Silently she moved back under the shelter of the trees. Out here, so close to Dragon Country, there was more to be concerned with than those hunting them. While some dragon tribes were friendly with humanity, there were many that were best left to their own company. They would not take kindly to an invasion of their territory.
“How do you plan to do that? Can you swim?” Gabriel persisted about the river.
Grinning, Enala nodded. “I didn’t live in Chole my entire life. Yes, I can swim. And I think I have a plan.”
Enala moved back into the forest, and began searching for what they would need for the swim. She had never crossed when the river was so high, but her parents had taught her how. It would be dangerous, but it was possible.
She returned a few minutes later carrying a heavy tree branch over each shoulder. Both were around the length of her body, heavy and half-rotten. Nevertheless, they would float, and that was all they needed.
Gabriel relieved her of a branch as she walked up. “What are these for?”
“Think of it as your life saver. It’ll keep you afloat in the river,” she sat down and started taking off her boots.
“Are you insane? Those currents will drag us under in seconds.”
Enala grinned. “We have two choices: cross, or wait here to be caught. You can stay if you want,” she tucked her boots into her pack. “But I’m crossing.”
Gabriel sighed and shook his head, before sitting down to copy her. Then he removed his sword belt and tied the pack closed with it.
“Let’s hope the packs keep out the worst of the water,” Enala commented as they moved back to the river’s edge. “The river runs down from the mountains. We’ll need dry clothes on the other side. Ready?”
She glanced at Gabriel, seeing the fear he was struggling to keep from his face.
He looked back at her and nodded. “Absolutely,” he replied with forced bravado.
Enala laughed and threw herself out into the river. The racing waters caught her up and hauled her down. She struggled not to panic as the muddy water closed over her head, before the wood rose beneath her. She sucked in a deep breath as she broke the surface and looked around. Spying the opposite bank, she began to kick towards it, as a splash behind her announced Gabriel was following.
The cold water raced around her, dragging her downstream. Her arms grew numb and the currents threatened to pull her from the log, but she took a firmer grip and struggled on.
Enala was a long way downstream by the time she washed up on the far shore. Clambering up the bank, she gasped in the frigid air and dumped her pack to the muddy ground. Turning back, she searched the swirling waters for Gabriel.
He was still a few yards upstream, struggling against the current to reach her. He held his branch out in front of him and his feet churned the water, but his progress was slow. His face was pale and with each kick his movements grew weaker.
Watching him, Enala realised he wasn’t going to make it. She quickly gathered up her branch and moved back towards the water’s edge.
Before she could dive back in, an ear-splitting roar came from overhead. The hackles rose on Enala’s neck as she shrank back against a tree. Peering up through the canopy, she glimpsed red scales glittering in the sunlight. The earth shook as the dragon landed, its hulking body shattering trees like toothpicks. Slitted nostrils expanded as it sniffed the air. The great yellow globes of its eyes searched the trees.
Enala slid around the tree trunk, still watching the water. Gabriel had gone still, his eyes wide as he stared at the dragon. The racing current was already dragging him back into the middle of the river. He would never make it now.
Their eyes met across the distance. Go, he mouthed.
Enala shook her head. She would not abandon her friend. Sliding forward, she edged closer to the river as the rumble of the dragon’s breath came closer.
Go, now!
Enala could see his fear, his desperation. Ignoring him, she started to slip back into the water, preparing to follow him downstream.
“No!” Gabriel shouted.
In the middle of the river, he started to thrash, sending up a spray of foam.
Shrinking back into the shadows, Enala’s eyes were drawn to the dragon. Its head had whipped around, and now the giant eyes stared at Gabriel’s floundering figure. In the open water of the river, there was no escaping the dragon’s glare. Trapped in the current, he had nowhere to go.
Tears ran down Enala’s face as the dragon’s wings beat down. This couldn’t be happening, not again. She stood paralysed, her hands clenched at her side, powerless to help. Cracks spread through her fragile mind, madness threatening. Her eyes fixed on Gabriel, unable to look away.
The dragon took to the air, its scarlet wings carrying it towards her friend. Gabriel watched it come, eyes grim, silent now. The earth shook as the dragon roared, and dove towards the flooded river. Its bulk smashed the water, sending a wave rolling across the river and spilling out into the forest.
Enala gasped as the cold water swept her from her feet, while in the centre of the river, the dragon thrashed. Its jaws stretched and snapped shut. Then its great wings clawed the air once more, and it climbed above the river, circling still, before finally turning to disappear beyond the treetops.
Its roar slowly faded away.
Enala watched the roiling waters for a long time, but there was no sign of Gabriel. She sank to her knees, the cracks within her mind growing, spreading, until with a silent shriek, something shattered.
Eric shifted in his saddle, watching as the waters racing past below. Leaves and branches floated in the current, rising to the surface and then disappearing back down into the murky depths. A cold wind blew off the water, offering a welcome respite from the humid valley air. Silt and dead leaves hung from the branches of the trees on the riverbank, revealing the height the floodwaters had reached before beginning to descend.
Glancing around, he waited for someone to speak. The sun was at their backs, fading quickly into the afternoon, and if they were to cross before dark they would have to move soon. But no one seemed eager to tackle the flooded river and what waited on the other side.
Dragon Country.
He shook his head. Why had Enala come here, of all places? Yesterday they had only made it another mile along the Gods’ road before Inken called a stop. Dismounting, she had scouted around the road, her head bent low to the ground. Eric could not tell one stone from another, but the bounty hunter had insisted Enala and her companion had left the road there and headed east.
Looking at Inken now, Eric’s stomach fluttered. The last few days had passed in a daze, and he was still struggling to catch up. Memories sprang into his mind, too vivid for fantasy. The taste of her mouth, the soft caress of her lips against his. Her hair tickling his cheek, filling his nostrils with her earthly scent. Her hand on his chest, his fingers entwined in her hair as he kissed her harder.
Yet when they had finally separated that first night, Inken had only smiled and winked at him, before moving away. The next morning she had been cold and distant, her brow creased as she studied the trail, and Eric was left wondering whether it had all been a pain induced fantasy.
The party had ridden in silence for most of that first day, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Balistor’s wound had not been as bad as they’d first thought. His shoulder blade had prevented the arrow from penetrating deeper. Michael said he would heal quickly, though the Magicker silently fumed about his injury.
The doctor himself was quiet, clearly ill at ease in their presence. He had been dragged into this quest without a choice, and still had no idea what was going on. Caelin rode ahead with Inken, his keen eyes studying the trail ahead, ever alert for danger, while Alastair rode beside Michael. The old Magicker was slowly regaining his colour, though he seemed to have aged a dozen years in the past few days.
They had not made it far into the forests of the Onyx valley before the approach of night forced them to make camp. It was only then that Alastair had come to Eric, and offered to join him in meditation. The darkness had masked his expression, but Eric read the apology in his words, and nodded his acceptance.
Though they were too exhausted to touch their magic, the meditation allowed them both a chance to regain their composure. As he sank into the familiar trance, Eric had felt his tension fade away. Concentrating on each inhalation of breath, he found he could set aside the shock and hurt of Alastair’s blow. He could understand the old Magicker’s reaction—he had seen the fear in his mentor’s face.
Even so, the peace of his inner mind evaded him. To his surprise, he found it was Inken he could not put from his mind. When he finally shook his head and opened his eyes, he almost laughed when he saw Alastair had vanished.
In his place sat Inken, her hazel eyes watching him with interest. Smiling, she cocked her head to one side.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Eric took a moment to stretch his neck and shoulders. “It’s called meditation,” he tried to keep his voice steady. “Alastair is teaching me to use it to control my magic.”
Inken leaned in closer. “Can a normal person do it?”
Eric pulled back. “Am I not normal?”
A mischievous grin stretched across Inken’s lips. “Hardly. Most people can’t control the weather.”
At that, she reached across and pulled him to her. A tremor swept through Eric as their lips met, and he could scarcely believe they were kissing again. The sweet tang of orange lingered on her tongue.
“And I don’t do that with most people either,” she whispered as she drew back.
Eric laughed, his heart still pounding in his ears. Grinning, he leaned across and kissed her again.
When they finally drew apart, Eric frowned, thinking back to her question. “I’m sure there’s nothing stopping a ‘normal’ person from meditating. Come on, I’ll show you.”
For the next hour, they sat together, practicing the exercises Eric had first learned the night he’d met Inken. They were light hearted and playful at first, but as the night grew late, they quieted, becoming serious. As they both closed their eyes, Eric sought again the inner calm that had escaped him earlier. This time it came easily, his thoughts no longer distracted by doubt.
When he finally slipped from the trance and opened his eyes, he found Inken staring at him again. There was a softness to her eyes.
“You were so peaceful,” she whispered. Reaching out, she stroked his cheek. “The sadness on your face was gone.”
Eric shifted uneasily. “You should have roused me. How long was I out?”
“Long enough, but it’s okay. It was calming to watch,” she paused. “Eric, I have a question.”
“Yes?”
“Who is Enala? Why are we tracking her?”
“That’s two questions,” Eric teased.
“I’m serious,” Inken said.
Eric sighed and nodded. “I know, but I can’t give you the answers you want. It’s Alastair’s secret to tell, though I can say he doesn’t mean her any harm.”
Inken frowned. Noticing a leaf in her hair, Eric reached out and brushed it away before continuing. “It’s not my secret to tell,” he repeated. “But without you, we would never have gotten this far. You deserve to know—I’ll make Alastair tell you if necessary.”
“Now?”
He nodded. They moved back through the woods to where the others sat. Balistor and Michael had already retired, but Caelin and Alastair were speaking softly to each other as they walked up.
“Ah, the young couple returns,” Caelin grinned.
Eric flushed and Inken shot Caelin a warning glare, but Caelin only laughed.
Squaring his shoulders, Eric decided to ignore the sergeant. “Inken wants to know about Enala,” he stared at Alastair as he spoke, daring the man to refuse.
But Alastair only nodded. “I was wondering how long it would be. Inken, I have been speaking with Caelin about what happened in Chole. Without your skills, we would already be dead,” he took a deep breath. “You have a right to know what you’re fighting for—as does Michael.”
Moving across to the doctor, he shook him awake. Michael grumbled at the disturbance, but his complaints quickly trailed off as Alastair began to speak. Slowly, Alastair laid out the tale Eric had put together over the last week.
Eric watched the two as the old man spoke, wondering how they would react. Archon was a nightmare whispered of by old men whose grandfathers had fought in the war. Only the Gods could rival the dark Magicker’s power. If they failed, if Enala died, they would pay for their defiance. Eric could not blame them if they decided to turn back now.
Michael’s mouth slowly dropped open as Alastair spoke, and open fear shone from his eyes. Inken’s expression did not change as Alastair finished. Instead, she stood, silent, and offered Eric her hand. Drawing him up, she led him into the trees. Only when they passed beyond sight of camp did she turn and throw herself at him.
Shocked, Eric almost lost his balance. Pain lanced from his side, but then her mouth was pressed hard against his, and it no longer seemed to matter. She kissed him with an almost violent passion, and Eric felt himself swept away.
“You’re either incredibly brave, or insane, Eric,” she told him when they broke apart.
Eric couldn’t help but smile. “When you work out which it is, could you let me know?” he paused then, staring into her big hazel eyes. “Will you help us?”
Inken smiled, laughter on her lips. “The Hunters Federation will be hunting for me by now. There is nothing for me to go back to. And even if that weren’t the case, I couldn’t leave this girl to die. She had no choice in any of this,” she paused. “And I won’t abandon you to this madness either.”
Then they were in each other’s arms, lips locked, tongues tasting, her body pressed hard against his. She groaned and a shiver ran through him. His arms encircled her, his blood throbbing in his ears. They fell, down, down, down…
Now, Eric sat staring at the river, his face growing hot at the memory. Watching the icy waters, he prayed to the Goddess that Enala and her companion had made it to the other side. According to Inken, they had entered the river several hours ago, when the flood waters would have been even higher. How they could have reached the other side without horses, he couldn’t guess, but Inken had found no sign of other tracks on their side of the river.
And on the other side, Dragon Country waited. Few travellers came this way, and even less returned from adventures across the river. This was the last territory of the ancient dragon tribes—and most were no friend to humans. Only the Golds still honoured the pact that had been forged by the kings of old.
“Let’s go,” Alastair said finally.
Inken nodded and edged her mount forward. Eric followed close behind her, bracing himself as the glacial waters lapped at his boots. A shiver ran up his legs as the water climbed higher, drawing level with his waist. He tightened his grip on the reins as Briar’s hooves left the riverbed, and the horse began to swim. Briar snorted beneath him and shook his head. The whites of his eyes showed, and Eric patted his neck, silently willing him on.
When they reached the far bank, Eric let out a long sigh of relief. Slipping from the saddle, he led Briar up into the trees and began to towel the horse dry with a blanket from the leather saddlebags. As he worked, he quietly whispered his thanks to the horse.
When he finally looked up from his task, the others had gathered around him, but Inken had vanished. He opened his mouth to call out for her, and then shut it again. This side of the Onyx river, it was best if they kept their presence quiet. Inken would be checking for Enala’s tracks—he would have to trust the wily bounty hunter knew how to look after herself.
Even so, he couldn’t help but worry, and when Inken finally returned almost an hour later, he was close to charging into the trees after her.
“Only the girl reached this side of the river,” Inken announced as they gathered around her. “And there are signs of a dragon where she came ashore. Her tracks head east, but I’m afraid there may be a dragon on her trail.”
“There was no sign of the boy at all?” Alastair asked.
“No. Do you know who he was?” Inken asked.
“Unfortunately, he is a mystery. We’ll have to ask Enala when we find her. Let’s go. If the dragon reaches her first…” there was no need for him to finish the sentence.
Inken took the lead until they reached Enala’s trail. From there, she dismounted and continued on foot, her eyes fixed to the ground. She said little as she studied the signs, though it was obvious Enala was no longer attempting to hide her trail. She had left deep footprints in the soft soil, so clear even Eric could have followed them.
Even so, he could understand Inken’s concern. A dragon was not to be trifled with.
Eric’s eyes swept the forest as they rode, his hands tense on the reins. Around them, the woods had changed since crossing the river. Here the forest was untouched by the axes of man, and the trees grew to massive sizes. The canopy stretched high above, blotting out the sun and stunting the undergrow beneath, leaving wide open space between the trunks. The temperature fell as they climbed up from the river valley.
They made good time following Enala’s erratic path through the giant trees, but it wasn’t until the last light began to fade that Inken suddenly drew to a stop. Dropping to her hands and knees, she frantically inspected the earth around the trail.
“Stay back!” she warned.
Eric swatted away an insect buzzing at his neck. He stared as Inken searched the forest floor, his anxiety growing. The undergrowth was still; not even a breath of wind stirred the leaves beneath the canopy.
Scanning the trees, Eric started to notice signs of disturbance. To the right of the trail, a fern had been crushed against the ground, while bark had been scraped from the nearby trees. Freshly broken branches lay on the forest floor, and there, right next to the trail, a long indentation marked the soft earth.
Something big had crossed Enala’s path.
“No, no, no!” Inken hissed. “Where did she go?”
Eric dismounted and moved to Inken’s side. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him, tears in her eyes.
“She’s gone.”
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