Dragon Valley Trilogy

by Linda McNabb

  ‘Why do you think they’re here?’ Dyahn whispered as she paused in her sweeping and watched them walk away. ‘I didn’t understand what he was talking about in the forest.’

  ‘Neither did I,’ Rhonan replied thoughtfully. The fact that his name had been mentioned worried him a bit though. If father found out they were still going up to the moors there would be big trouble. ‘If they want us to know they’ll tell us.’

  Dyahn shrugged in agreement and went back to sweeping. Elezan bustled into the room and checked their cleaning. She seemed pleased with it and Dyahn nudged Rhonan in the ribs with the broom.

  ‘Ask about the festival,’ she whispered.

  ‘No,’ Rhonan hissed back. ‘Not right now. We need to pick the right time.’

  ‘What are you two whispering about?’ Elezan asked with a small frown. ‘Are you planning on some adventure that will get you in more trouble?’

  ‘I want to go to the Spring Festival,’ Dyahn blurted out, taking a folded notice from her pocket and rushing up to her mother. ‘It sounds like fun. There’s going to be jugglers and a circus. We could go on the stagecoach.’

  Elezan’s face was expressionless as she took the notice her daughter gave her and looked at it. It was clear that she didn’t even read it by the cursory glance she gave it before she screwed it up and threw it into the wood-basket next to the roaring fire.

  ‘We do not attend the Spring Festival,’ she said in a stilted voice that showed she was upset. ‘Don’t ask again.’

  Elezan turned and left the room without another word and the swinging door slowly closed behind her.

  ‘I told you it was the wrong time to ask,’ Rhonan said with a shake of his head as he went back to scrubbing tables. He was sure he had seen the glint of a tear in his mother’s eyes and he wondered why she had been so upset. ‘I doubt we’ll get to go at all.’

  Dyahn pouted as Rhonan put down his cloth and went over to the fireplace. He reached into the wood basket to retrieve the notice. He flattened it out, shook it clean of wood-shavings, and looked at it. It did look tempting. Stalls, entertainment, travelling merchants and a parade. There was even some sort of prize offered for Shadow Hunters, whatever they were. He folded it and handed it back to his sister.

  ‘I’m going to go,’ she said stubbornly. ‘Even if I have to go alone.’

  Several minutes later their father came in the front door of the Inn with a pair of ducks in one hand and his bow in the other. A quiver of arrows was slung over his shoulder and he smiled at them then held up the ducks for them to see.

  ‘We have to have a feast when relatives come to visit,’ Bryn said with a grin and then strode off in the direction of the kitchen. ‘Elezan! Come look what we have for dinner.’

  Bryn had almost reached the swinging doors when he paused and turned back.

  ‘Have you seen your uncle this morning?’

  ‘He’s out back of the Inn,’ Dyahn told him and their father disappeared into the kitchen. A good half an hour later, when they had all but finished cleaning, he came back and stood at the swinging door. He stared at Rhonan for several seconds, his expression unreadable, and then frowned.

  ‘Rhonan, could you join us for a minute?’ Bryn asked briefly and then retreated through the doors without waiting to see if his son was coming.

  Rhonan threw the cloth into the bucket that stood in the corner, wiped his wet hands on his trousers, and followed his father. His mind was racing though all the possibilities of what he could want and he began to rehearse an excuse for going up to the moors without permission.

  ‘We were worried that the ponies would be starving after the long winter,’ he muttered to himself and then shook his head. No, father wouldn’t fall for that.

  Bryn and Falh were sitting at a stout wooden table that stood in the middle of a grassy area. It led down to a large lake and was a favourite place for guests to drink their ale in the summer. Kheron was sitting near the water’s edge pretending he wasn’t interested in what was going on but he glanced up curiously as Rhonan arrived.

  The end of winter was a few weeks away but the sun was bright enough to make Rhonan pause in the shade of a large oak tree.

  ‘Ah, Rhonan,’ Bryn said and then hesitated and looked unsure of how to continue.

  Rhonan frowned; this didn’t look to be an ordinary telling off. He could hear Dyahn climbing up to look out the kitchen window, which was open to air out the smells of breakfast. ‘Come and join us over here.’

  Rhonan stepped out from the shade of the tree and put his hand up to block the sun from his eyes. Bryn sucked in a breath of surprise but Falh simply stared at Rhonan as if he had just had his suspicions confirmed. Kheron snorted in disgust, earning him a scowl from his father, then turned back to the leaf he was shredding.

  Dyahn leaned out the window to see around the corner but she leant out too far and tumbled out to the ground. She stood up, brushed the dirt from her dark blue skirt, and came over to join Rhonan.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked, looking from one face to the other and seeming confused by the mixed expressions.

  ‘I told you your son would be like you,’ Falh said with a frown and a heavy sigh.

  Bryn had gone pale and he stood up, walked over to his son and then around him in a circle. His expression was one of disbelief as he shook his head.

  ‘But he looks human,’ Bryn said to Falh, completely ignoring his son’s confused expression. ‘His hair is black, his skin is tanned and his eyes are brown – just like his mother.’

  ‘He is human,’ Kheron muttered sourly.

  ‘What human have you ever seen without a shadow?’ Falh asked a little impatiently.

  Without a shadow? Rhonan’s eyes widened in shock and he spun around so that his back was to the mid-morning sun. He could see his father’s shadow, his sister’s and even a shadow from the tree by the table, but he didn’t have one!

  ‘Whoa… where’s your shadow, Rhonan?’ Dyahn asked in awe.

  Rhonan didn’t answer. He just stared at the spot where his shadow should be. Then he turned back to look at his father and uncle.

  ‘And unless I’m mistaken…’ Falh stood up and walked quickly over to Rhonan, who took a hasty step backwards. Falh reached out and pushed back Rhonan’s shoulder-length black hair then tucked it behind his ears. ‘Do you need any more proof, brother?’

  Rhonan put his hands up to his ears as he stepped back again out of his uncle’s reach

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Rhonan snapped bluntly. He knew he wasn’t allowed to talk to adults in such a way but right now he didn’t really care.

  His father’s expression didn’t alter. He was in denial of what his eyes were showing him and he offered no explanation.

  ‘Hey, your ears are pointy!’ Dyahn exclaimed. She brushed her own black hair back and felt her ears. ‘Are mine?’

  Rhonan worked his hands over his ears and when he reached the top he felt a definite point that he knew hadn’t been there a few days ago. He wasn’t one for looking in mirrors but he had seen his reflection in the lake a few days back and his ears had been normal. Dyahn was looking disappointed that her own ears were rounded.

  Rhonan was about to demand some explanations but the arrival of his mother prevented him. Her expression was both happy and sad at the same time. She appeared pleased by Rhonan’s unusual changes but her expression turned sad when she looked at Bryn.

  ‘Will you be returning to Shaldoh?’ she asked quietly.

  ‘No.’ Bryn’s reply was blunt and final.

  ‘No way,’ Kheron hissed quietly, just loud enough for Rhonan to hear.

  ‘Yes,’ Falh contradicted them firmly. ‘You will be returning to your homeland, and so will Rhonan.’

  ‘Where’s Shaldoh?’ Dyahn asked. Her eyes were still saucer-like in surprise.

  ‘You know it as the Shadowlands,’ Falh explained. ‘It’s where the elves live.’

  ‘Elves?’ Dyahn’s eyes were now about to pop
out as she stared again at Rhonan’s ears and lack of a shadow. ‘He’s a Shadow?’

  ‘We do not like that term,’ Falh said bluntly.

  ‘We?’ Rhonan finally found his voice and he stared at his father and uncle. ‘But you both have shadows. Elves are just a fairy tale. Your ears would be pointed if you were an elf.’

  Falh and Bryn pulled back their hair but Rhonan frowned to see their ears were round and smooth.

  ‘They wear an elf stone that hides their true self,’ Elezan explained and then frowned at her husband and his brother. ‘Show him, or how else can he be expected to believe such a tale.’

  ‘But you’re not permitted to remove your elf stone, father,’ Kheron said loudly. ‘You know that.’

  ‘A brief moment would do no harm,’ Falh said with a nod of agreement and pulled a thin strip of cord from under his pale-blue shirt and looked expectantly at Bryn.

  ‘If anyone finds out there will be trouble,’ Kheron said with a tone that said he would make sure someone found out.

  ‘There will be trouble anyway when Rhonan goes to Shaldoh,’ Falh said bluntly.

  Both men drew the cord over their heads. On the cord Rhonan’s father held was a stone, no bigger than Rhonan’s thumb. It was a smooth, flat, black, oval stone and a small design, which looked a little like an upside down house, was scratched into the surface of it.

  They carefully placed the pendants on the ground and stepped back a dozen paces. Almost instantly their faces blurred, their shadow flickered and began to fade, and then two different people stood before them.

  Bryn was still tall, thin and good looking, but his hair was now red instead of black and his ears were definitely pointed. His shadow had disappeared and even his hands looked thinner and longer.

  Falh’s hair had gone such a bright shade of red that it was almost painful to look at it and he too looked thinner. They both stepped forward and picked up their pendants and their old images shimmered back into place.

  ‘Why do you have to hide your real appearance?’ Rhonan asked, feeling slightly better that he wasn’t the only one without a shadow.

  ‘So the Shadow Hunters can’t find us,’ Falh explained. ‘Elves and humans used to get along just fine. But some humans were jealous of our magic and things went from bad to worse after that.’

  Rhonan’s eyebrows lifted at the sound of magic but he said nothing.

  ‘The humans began to hate us so we went into hiding. We have stayed hidden for a long time but the hunters keep looking for us. They never give up,’ Bryn added.

  ‘There was something on the Spring Festival notice about Shadow Hunters,’ Rhonan said thoughtfully. ‘It was offering a purse of gold. I thought it was some sort of joke.’

  ‘It’s no joke,’ his mother assured him sadly.

  Dyahn brought out her crumpled parchment and handed it to her father. All around the edges she had drawn pictures, mostly of horses and cats. He pointed at the bottom, underneath the part that announced the date of the Spring Festival and handed it to Rhonan. Dyahn crowded in close to see as well and Rhonan read it out aloud.

  Attention Shadow Hunters.

  A purse of gold is once again offered for information leading to the capture of all Shadows.

  Shadows must be hunted down and delivered to the castle before or during Spring Festival.

  Twenty gold coins for each Shadow.

  Two hundred gold coins for location of their clan.

  By Order of King Lewis

  ‘What’s a Shadow Hunter?’ Dyahn asked, looking confused.

  ‘Some humans have the ability to feel when an elf is near,’ Falh explained. ‘It’s a sort of tingling that draws them. These humans are known as Shadow Hunters and the hunting instinct is passed on to their children. The king thinks an elf tried to kill him and fears us. All Shadow Hunters are hunting for elves to be punished for trying to kill the king.’

  ‘Not all of us,’ Elezan corrected him. She turned to face her children and at a nod from Falh she continued the story. ‘My father was a Shadow Hunter and he trapped a young elf who had thought it safe not to wear his elf stone while he swam in a river. He was the eldest son of the chief of the elf clan and my father intended to use him to expose the hiding place of the elves. That elf was your father.’

  ‘Your mother helped me escape and we fell in love. I took her back to Shaldoh but the elves would not allow her to stay - so I left with her.’ Bryn looked upset as he told the story.

  ‘Are you a Shadow Hunter too?’ Dyahn asked her mother.

  ‘I am,’ Elezan said quietly. ‘I have felt a few tingles lately but I though perhaps your father had been swimming again and I ignored them. It never occurred to me that it could be Rhonan.’

  ‘So will I lose my shadow too?’ Dyahn seemed excited by the prospect of it and she kept staring at her shadow as if it would fade before her eyes.

  ‘Elves do not begin to develop their magic before they turn twelve or thirteen,’ Falh said patiently. ‘You won’t know until then if you are human or elven.’

  Dyahn looked annoyed as she had only recently had her eleventh birthday.

  ‘Isn’t one of them enough?’ Kheron asked bluntly. Dyahn stared angrily at her cousin but he just shrugged and turned away.

  ‘But what does this all mean?’ Rhonan asked. He was confused now and had no idea how this would alter his future, or if it would alter it at all. Kheron looked to be about to comment but stopped when his father glared at him.

  ‘The Shadow Hunters are going to come looking for you!’ Dyahn said with a suddenly pale face and a scared expression. ‘They’ll lock you up in the dungeons at the castle!’

  Rhonan gulped and looked angrily at his sister for scaring him. ‘I’ll just wear an elf stone like father and they’ll never find me.’

  ‘Now there’s part of the problem,’ Falh said as he sat down on the top of the wooden table and looked thoughtful. ‘You need to go to Shaldoh to get one.’

  ‘And you can’t go there because I was cast out of the clan for leaving and for marrying your mother,’ Bryn added sadly.

  ‘So what do we do?’ Rhonan asked.

  ‘Nothing. I must continue to check the few elves that live further south before I return home,’ Falh said. ‘I may be able to convince the clan to let you have a stone. So, in the spring your father and I will take you to Shaldoh.’

  CHAPTER THREE

  THE HUNTER

  Doing nothing was harder than Rhonan had thought it would be. Falh had been gone for a week and wasn’t due back for a few more days. He had left Kheron behind and Rhonan was sick of the sight of his red-haired cousin. He followed Rhonan around, staring and scowling most of the day.

  At least he would escape Kheron for several days as it was almost time to fetch supplies. There was no big merchant in Tulon and they had to travel to Kerra, a day away, to restock the Inn. Even the barrels of ale had to be brought in and they were running low. He had made the trip many times with his father and the last two times Rhonan had gone on his own.

  The Inn was quiet as it was getting late and most of the patrons had gone to bed. Rhonan needed to make sure the stable boy would have the wagon ready to go at first light tomorrow. He hurried down the stairs to find his father and get the list of supplies. He wanted to be able to head off in the morning as early as possible - before Kheron was up.

  ‘Father, I’m just off to check the wagon will be ready in the morning,’ Rhonan called out to his father as he hurried through the kitchen. ‘I’ll be back for the list in a minute.’

  Bryn was having a late dinner at the small family table in the corner of the kitchen and he looked up as his son rushed through. ‘Come back, Rhonan. We need to talk.’

  Rhonan stopped, mid stride, and reluctantly turned back towards his father. He could tell instantly from the expression on his father’s face that it wasn’t good news.

  ‘I don’t think you should go,’ Bryn said, scraping the last of the stew from his wooden bowl w
ith a crust of bread.

  ‘I know what to do,’ Rhonan argued, desperate to get some time alone. ‘I remembered everything we needed last time, didn’t I?’

  ‘Yes, and I’m sure you are more than capable,’ Bryn said, nodding his head in agreement. He paused and put down his bowl. ‘But without an elf stone you cannot travel alone. There are bound to be hunters in Kerra.’

  Rhonan pouted slightly but did not argue. He knew his father was right. ‘Then we can go together,’ he said, shrugging and trying to see the positive side of the situation. At least he would still be away from Kheron.

  ‘I wish I could,’ Bryn said sadly. ‘Spring weather has come early this year and the Inn is filling up with fishermen coming to try their luck on the lakes. I cannot leave your mother with the Inn so full.’

  ‘Then how will we get the supplies?’ Rhonan asked.

  ‘You can go, but you will have to take Kheron with you,’ Bryn said, nodding his head at such a satisfactory solution. ‘It will give you time to get to know him better as well.’

  Rhonan bit his lip to stop himself saying what he was thinking. He knew his cousin as well as he wanted to. The red-haired elf did not like him and the feeling was mutual.

  ‘I need you to help out at the Inn for the next couple of days though. I’m taking Kheron hunting tomorrow,’ Bryn continued. ‘Would you like to come?’

  ‘I’ll stay and help mother,’ Rhonan replied. He kept his gaze on the floor so his father wouldn’t see how disappointed he was. Normally he loved to go hunting with his father but he had no desire to spend more time with his cousin than absolutely necessary.

  ‘You can go to Kerra in a day or two. The supplies will last for another week,’ Bryn said, standing up to take his bowl to the sink.

  Rhonan nodded, not trusting himself to speak, and headed back up the stairs to bed. He lay awake for hours, frustrated and determined to find a way to be alone for a while. Finally he nodded off to sleep with a plan that made him smile.

  **

  ‘Dyahn,’ he whispered to his sister from the door of her room. It was still a few hours before dawn and everyone else at the Inn was sleeping soundly.