Tyler cast his sword over the edge of the precipice, determined that they would not take possession of it. Nemeila raised her arms slightly, preparing to create a protective ward, but one of Aurek’s men noticed the movement, and believing her to be reaching for a concealed weapon, fired a sling shot at her. Taken by surprise, the smooth round pebble connected with her temple, and she fell to the ground stunned. She had been standing closest to the cliff edge, and the icy surface caused her unconscious body to slide out of sight. Horrified and afraid for his friend, Tyler pleaded with the men to climb down after her.
“We’ve no rope,” said a burly red-faced thug, “and even if we had,” he peered down at Nemeila lying in a crumpled heap at the foot of the cliff, “we can’t spare the time. Besides she won’t have survived the fall, her body will give the wild animals something to fill their bellies in these hard times. Now, sonny boy, you give us any trouble and you’ll feel the taste of this,” and he cracked a vicious looking whip in pleasurable anticipation of bringing it down across the brat’s back.
With their hands firmly and uncomfortably bound behind them, they were hoisted onto Sox’s broad back. One of the men grasped the loose reins, and they began the ride back to Aurek’s encampment. Tyler closed his eyes against his misery, but he couldn’t block the vision of the lifeless body of a very brave girl out of his mind. He swore an oath to himself that should he survive Aurek’s retribution, he would kill the man who had given the order to ride away without attempting a rescue; and the murderer who had cast the stone would not live to cast another. They rode at a canter, stopping only briefly to allow the horses time for water and to regain their wind. By the following morning, they drew alongside the first of the wagons, where the men, women and children who could not walk were being dragged along the ground, crying and moaning, and whipped mercilessly when they stumbled and fell. Hauled painfully to the ground, Tyler and Bekka stood waiting fearfully for the master sorcerer; to their dismay, they didn’t have a long wait.
“That is not the girl!” Aurek barked in mounting fury at the leader of the group. “You’ve brought me the wrong one, you fool!” The man started to wring his hands nervously, as well he might. “There were two girls, my Lord. The other fell over a cliff, when I looked down her body lay twisted in a heap at the bottom of the gorge. She was obviously dead. We hadn’t the means to climb down and thought it best to return here as soon as possible.”
Aurek damned them to eternity, before turning his sulphurous gaze on to Tyler. “The stable boy,” he sneered, twisting the front of Tyler’s shirt in his fist, almost lifting him off his feet. “You and that snot-nosed brat of a prince thought you could outwit me, but look who’s hog-tied and dangling at my pleasure now? Well it’s your lucky day, you little cockroach, I feel quite generous, considering that I’m surrounded by morons. I wonder if you’d care to actually be an insect, to be crushed underfoot or to live your miserable existence on a dung heap, or maybe you’d prefer to feed the poor starving creatures of the forest. I could have you strung against the trunk of a tree and flayed. Your bleeding flesh would attract all manner of creatures to sup on your carcass. Without warning he turned to the girl, grabbing her chin in a grip that brought tears to her eyes and yanking her head up to meet his cruel scowl. “Who are you?” he snarled. “Bekka, sir, they saved me from a beating.”
“It will be of no use and more importantly, no fun, hurting you; at least for the time being.” Aurek let her go then turned to face his second in command.
“I have word that the boy king lives,” he said, “stake these two in the lead wagon. At a distance the girl will pass for the one you lost for me. If the tadpole in the crown dares to attack us, he might think twice if he sees his beloved friends are our hostages. As I remember, they behaved as though they were brothers, neither will risk the other’s life. What a foolish and ridiculous thing love is.”
Although man was the most prolific predator, given to the slaughter of any and every species, including his own, there were others who were feared almost as much as man. The pack of slavering wolves that now circled the unmoving body at the foot of the cliff assumed it was theirs by right of discovery. Food was scarce since the hearty fall of snow had sent their usual prey into virtual hibernation, and this meal was ready and waiting with no need to first chase it down. The largest wolf edged closer, snarling a warning to the others to keep clear. As it was about to close its frothing jaws around Nemeila’s leg, a second massive animal raced to intercept. It charged the first wolf, knocking it aside, then took up a protective stance in front of the girl, its muzzle drawn back exposing fangs that snapped a threat of death if challenged. The first beast shifted uncertainly, a growl dying in its throat before it was fully formed; the animal was smart enough to realise it could not hope to survive a battle with their leader. Amber lifted his head and let forth a mournful echoing howl that resonated in a fading echo throughout the surrounding silence. The rest of the pack backed off sullenly and resentfully to allow their leader the first taste of the succulent flesh, before they scavenged whatever remained. Scenting the subservience of the other wolves, Amber pawed gently at the figure lying on the ground. He could not understand why she didn’t move. He nosed her face, the memory returning to him of how he had done this before, many years ago. The coldness of her skin was not the chill rigor of death, at least not yet. The bitter icy wind gnawing at his own hide, even through his thick coat, brought the realisation that if he didn’t warm her, he would lose her. Sensing no immediate danger from his pack, he lay down alongside her, blanketing her body with his own. While he could detect life throbbing in her veins, he would not leave her side. Having no conception of time, only understanding the rising and setting of the sun and moon, his faithful eyes saw that the moon was on its downward cycle and anticipated the rising of the yellow orb. The purple streaks of dawn had long passed before Nemeila finally twitched into consciousness, which had Amber on his feet immediately. She blinked open her eyes, squinting in the sudden sunlight, seeing only a grey fuzziness before her. As her vision cleared familiar amber eyes came into focus. She sat up groggily, clutching her aching head, which felt as if it belonged on another planet. But the pain in her head was nothing to the raw throbbing tremors shaking her whole body. She could still feel the residue of Amber’s body heat and realised he had kept her from freezing to death in the night. She crushed the big wolf to her, despite his whines of protest at being cuddled, by a human, in front of his pack. Scrutinising the height of the cliff face and the scree onto which she had fallen, it was no wonder her body hurt. A nearby-flattened bush, and the thickness of the snow, which had cushioned her fall, testified to the reason that she was not badly hurt.
Leaning on Amber, she stood shakily and brushed herself free of the loose clinging snow. But her clothes were soaked through and the bitter wind cut into her like a hundred knives. Amber began pawing impatiently at the ground, eager for some kind of action and attempting to draw Nemeila’s attention to Tyler’s sword lying by his feet. Retrieving it, she tied it to her belt and set off towards the tree line ahead.
“Are you coming, or what?” she tossed at Amber over her shoulder.
Grateful that this time he wasn’t required to carry her to safety in a blanket, the wolf bounded to her side, which Nemeila took to mean yes. Although thankful for the snow’s depth when she fell from the cliff, she now cursed the treacherous stuff, which hindered every footstep. It was slippery, wet and very cold, and turned her boots into lead weights.
The tree line, which had appeared quite close, had been deceptive and had taken most of the morning to reach, by which time she was exhausted chilled to the bone and famished. Having gained the refuge of the trees they were sheltered from the biting wind, but her clothes were now completely sodden. She scanned the area for dry twigs and, having stacked them into a wigwam of wood, she directed a bright flame that appeared at her fingertip towards it. When the fire was burning and sparking merrily, she removed her outer
garments and making a tripod out of three branches, stood it over the fire and draped her clothes over it to dry. Huddling close to the fire to absorb its comforting warmth, she noticed that Amber had crept up to it and was basking in its glow, his paws almost barbecuing in the embers. She wished that some of the food they’d carried had also fallen over the cliff with the sword. Her stomach growled frustratingly at the prospect of hot food, but without a bow and arrow, meat would be impossible to come by, and her stomach wouldn’t be satisfied with berries. In an attempt to escape her gnawing hunger pangs, she rested her head on her arms, and was soon asleep.
Amber lay with his snout resting on his forepaws, his eyes were half closed against the firelight, but he was not asleep. A sudden scuffling noise amongst the trees alerted him to an uninvited guest, and he raised his head, listening intently and sniffing the air to pinpoint the intruder’s exact position. Silently, he scrambled to his feet and crept away from the fireside. One of nature’s most accomplished hunters, he stayed downwind of his prey until he was close enough to pounce. When Nemeila woke, she found a large wild turkey at her feet, and saw the smug and satisfied expression on Amber’s face.
Refreshed from her sleep, and with a full belly, she set off again, Amber trotting alongside her. Dry clothes added to her feeling of well-being. They kept to the shelter of the forest for as long as they could, but it was still a gruelling march, and she began to fear she would never catch up to Aurek before he reached the shore and sailed away. She wanted to let Tyler know she was still alive and would have communicated her safety to him telepathically, but she was afraid that Aurek would also pick up her thoughts. If she could withhold using any of her gifts, she might be able to surprise him, thereby gaining a small advantage. Once out in the open, the bone-shattering churl of the wind almost stopped her breath in her throat. They had a long slog ahead of them across open ground before they achieved the relative sanctuary of the hills, where she hoped to find a cave or, at the very least, a crevice to pass the night in. As she dragged herself along, fighting the force of the wind, Amber sometimes gambolled on ahead, other times lagging behind, before feinting a charge at her, which she would counter by lunging at his head. It was his way of relieving the boredom of the journey, but it helped to pass the time for Nemeila too, and also kept her warm. It was dusk when they reached the first of the trees in the foothills, but she decided to press on a little further before stopping for the night. Amber halted without warning, a menacing growl in his throat. His hackles rose as he tensed his muscles ready to spring into a defensive attack. A sudden dread seized her and set her heart quaking, imagining a party of Aurek’s thugs roaming the woods. She peered into the purpling twilight and finally made out an enormous creature blocking her path. Its shining scaly body reared over her, its towering neck stretching into the farthermost treetops. As she trembled in awe and fear, the creature lowered its head and blinked warily at her; it unfurled its membranous wings, not yet sufficiently developed for flight, and attempted to shift away. The rattle of a chain revealed its lack of success; it had stepped into a vile trap, the jaws of which had slammed shut round its leg. Nemeila had never in her wildest dreams believed she would ever see a dragon, although she had heard exciting tales of old, when daring adventurers would hunt dragons for sport and for their skin, which could be manufactured into armour. Legend went that if you found a dragon’s lair, you would find a king’s ransom in gold, but anyone with half a brain knew it was just a fairy story.
So here was a dragon in front of her; the next worry was whether they could really breathe fire, and at first she was going to detour very widely around it. But she realised that unless it was freed, it would die. She reached down and stroked Amber’s head to calm him and heart in mouth, inched her way cautiously towards the agitated monster.
“I won’t hurt you,” she whispered desperately to the beast, thinking as she said it, how ridiculous it sounded, “but don’t breathe your fire at me. I may be cold, but not that cold.”
The dragon proffered its head to Nemeila, a sad, pained expression, mingled surprisingly with fear etched on its face. No one ever approached one of its kind unless it was to deal a death blow. Nemeila stretched up and nervously patted its steaming nose; huge teeth dripping with poisonous smelling drool, protruded from the sides of its jaws, strong enough to snap her arm off with a playful bite. Iridescent green scales rose and fell along its spine as it inhaled and exhaled its evil smelling cloudy breath, ripe with the scent of sulphur and carrion.
“Hey, Scaly,” Amber growled at the creature before him, “don’t you dare hurt this girl, or I will have my pack hunt you and your kind down until there are none of you left.”
Keeping her eyes on its jaws, Nemeila bent down and examined the trap. It was old and rusty, but the teeth were still sharp, and would have to be prised apart to allow the dragon its freedom. She gripped the jaws putting all her strength into it as she tried to open the trap, but it would not budge. If Aurek wasn’t so near, she would have used magic and woven a ward, but she would not put her friend’s lives at risk, not even for an injured animal. Luckily, the armoured scales on the dragon’s leg had prevented the teeth severing it, so Nemeila scoured the ground for two pieces of branch to lever the jaws apart. Finding two appropriate pieces of wood, she returned to where Amber was trying to comfort the dragon with his presence.
“This may hurt,” she called out, wondering if dragons understood human speak. “Just don’t tread on me, crush me with your wings, or toast me for breakfast,” she muttered under her breath. She patted the leg reassuringly as she placed the pieces of branch in such a position that if she stood on them, her weight would, hopefully, spring the trap. Clasping the dragon’s leg for support she bounced once, then twice rather gingerly, and when nothing happened gave a third heavy bounce. The jaws of the trap clanged open with a reverberating snap and as the dragon yanked its leg free, Nemeila overbalanced and fell. The creature looked vast as she lay on her back, the hooked obsidian claws alone could shred her body in seconds. But the lumbering dragon carefully stepped around her. She examined the tears in the flesh where the trap had pierced the leg and was relieved to see that no lasting damage had been caused.
“Off you go then,” she said breezily, craning her neck to look into its luminous eyes. A forked red tongue lolled from the dragon’s mouth, and a plume of tarry smoke gusted from its nostrils. With one last look at the girl who had saved its life as though committing her face to memory, the dragon heaved a fetid sigh, side stepped Amber and limped back into the forest towards the hills.
Caught up with freeing the dragon, more time had passed than Nemeila realised and whereas it had been dusk when she first encountered the creature, complete and velvet darkness now claimed the sky. They had no choice but to stop for the night, she was tired and her feet hurt. She had never walked so far in her whole life, although her companion was still lively. “It’s all right for you,” she grumbled, shoving him playfully away from her, “you’ve got four legs to walk on. At the rate we are travelling, Aurek will have sailed twice round the world before we even reach the coast.”
Chapter 16
Goldie
The trees began to thin out, and there were fewer sheltering branches overhead. Ahead of her lay a wide-open space of ground that offered no protection at all, but it would have to be negotiated in order to reach the cloister of trees on the far side. It was now too late in the day and the darkness too deep to attempt the crossing of the treeless expanse, so she decided to call a halt for the night and start her journey afresh in the morning. There was a bitter frost in the air, snow still feathered down from a bruised sky and remained deep enough to cause her hardship. Amber had frolicked on ahead, but now re-joined Nemeila, bouncing up at her excitedly.
“What is it?” she asked, irritated that his claws had caught some threads in her tunic.
He grasped a mouthful of her shift and tugged at the cloth. “This better be good,” she warned the frenzied wolf
, as she set off in his wake.
Amber led her to a natural cave that had been eroded by time and the weather under the hillside. He had already investigated the hollow and established its freedom from snakes, trolls or other dangers to his mistress.
“What would I do without you?” she apologised for her earlier gruffness with an affectionate cuddle. She hunted around for bracken and twigs amongst the shrubbery and using the talent she possessed sparked a glowing fire into life. Towards the rear of the cave it was not so bitingly cold, and the fire gave out just enough heat to keep her from freezing. Lying down, she was soon sound asleep from exhaustion.
Amber lay close by her side until her rhythmic breathing signalled deep sleep, at which time he emerged from the cave into the icy darkness. On the pathway leading to the barren strip of land, he had detected a recognisable scent and was now seeking the animal that had exuded the odour. On his own he could travel quickly; the human he was guarding would never catch up to the horse, so he had no choice but to bring the horse to her.
When Nemeila blinked her way back to consciousness the following morning, she found herself alone. At first she didn’t worry, but having summoned Amber repeatedly with no response, an uneasy fear crawled into her heart. She wondered if whilst out hunting, he had fallen into a trap, or possibly Aurek had sensed her presence and had harmed her wolf as temporary revenge. Without using her unique talents, there was no way to know. She continued to call Amber’s name, until finally she had no option but to move on. With tears blurring her eyes, she gazed dispiritedly out at the uninvitingly bleak stretch of land before her. Knuckling the already freezing tears from her cheeks, she began the trek alone.
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