by Linda McNabb
He picked up his slingshot and the small pile of stones. The man looked so old he might die soon anyway – but Seth didn’t want to be blamed for it. He loaded a stone and fired, landing it exactly where he aimed it; right on the man’s boot.
The man stopped, looked at his boot in surprise, then over at Seth and took a step back. Good, he would leave. Seth settled back down against Georgo’s stone to finish his apple. A few seconds later Seth heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps on the stone path that led into the graveyard. Seth scowled; didn’t the man take the hint?
‘Go away!’ Seth yelled. His voice was thin and feeble from lack of use. He hardly ever had reason to use it and it sounded odd even to his own ears.
‘I’m not afraid of you, Seth,’ the man said quietly, continuing his advance. ‘My name is Eagan.’
Seth saw the man was carrying a basket overflowing with food. Occasionally someone left food nearby and ran off but that wasn’t very often. He felt his mouth water at the sight of the cheese and ham.
‘I thought you might be cold and hungry,’ Eagan added, holding out a blanket.
Seth couldn’t stop himself. He stood up and rushed over to take the blanket, snagged the cheese from the basket and ran back to hide behind the tombstone.
He watched the old man over the top of the stone. Eagan was looking around the graveyard with a pained expression. The dead trees and barren ground were a testament to the reason Seth had been banished. It was the sad, sympathetic look that was too much for Seth. He stood up, and threw the cheese at Eagan.
‘Get out of my graveyard!’
Eagan put the basket down and began to walk backwards. He paused as he reached the rusted metal archway that marked the edge of the graveyard and looked long and hard at Seth.
‘I’ll be back in the morning to take you away from here,’ he said, then turned and walked off.
Seth stared for only a second before diving for the food. The old man would not come back, nobody ever did.
**
Word had spread both inside the town walls and out in the new town beyond. It seemed that the entire population of Merra had gathered in the market square as the sun began to sink on the horizon. There was much chatter and excited laughter. Entertainment was rare in these parts. Not many minstrels or storytellers came this far down river and those who did were usually washed-out has-beens who had tried the other towns without luck.
So it was a very eager crowd that waited for Eagan. Torches were lit and formed a ring around the space cleared for him to use. The area backed onto the wall and Eagan smiled as he saw how close they were to the new gate. He would make good use of that. Perhaps this year he would get them to take heed of his warnings.
‘Good people of the guardian town of Merra!’ Eagan said as he turned to face the crowd. A hushed silence fell as everyone stared, with breath held. Eagan raised his arms in a swift motion and smoke filled the circle with a loud bang. A few people near the front jumped and several small children started crying – quickly soothed by their mothers. Just as the smoke began to drift off on the breeze, Eagan raised one hand and coloured sparks filled the air and rose as they drifted across the crowd.
‘Long ago in the time of our ancestors this land of Delantia was known as the Realm of Shadows; and for good reason.’
As the coloured sparks faded away Eagan stepped back to stand next to the wall and darkness spread before him, blocking him from view. Vague shapes could be seen moving about and a bright flash of lightning shot across it. Menacing looking men, dressed in red and gold glared out at the crowd and a few people shuffled uncomfortably.
‘Powerful wizards, the Yarris, ruled the land with fear and darkness alongside creatures of the night.’
As the lightning faded more shapes moved into view. They were enormous cats and many pairs of bright green eyes blinked into view as one of the creatures made a short piercing cry then began to roar. It was a high-pitched sound that grew louder and ended abruptly.
‘The night-shadows hunted in the darkness. Our very life-force was their prey. But we began to fight back. Twelve men were chosen to save Delantia. They gave up their freedom and agreed to a lifetime of service to guard the land. One of the Yarris, disillusioned by his fellow wizard’s cruelness, turned his back on them to help us.’
The image faded to a dull, empty grey and twelve men stepped into view. Each carried a wooden staff, similar to Eagan’s. Before anyone could properly make that connection, the sky above the men became a flurry of white and black wings. Jets of flame streaked across the darkness.
‘The mighty dragons of the south were tamed and bonded to serve the guardians. Together they drove the wizards to the north.’
The scene became one of fire and lightning and the sounds of battle.
‘Then the guardians split the lands to set the wizards apart. We have come to know this as The Gap, where the land falls away and only darkness lives beyond. The creatures of the night were driven to the east and a mountain range raised to keep them there.’
Images of mountains rising from the ground replaced the battle scene. A great roaring of the creatures filled the air then the scene faded to a peaceful countryside and a farmer working happily in his field.
‘Peace settled on Delantia.’ Eagan paused and let them watch the farmer for a few seconds then continued. ‘But the darkness is growing in strength. The Realm of Shadows is almost upon us again…’
The farmer vanished from his field and the image faded away completely, leaving Eagan in full view. The crowd fixed their attention on him, eagerly waiting for more.
‘…and now we must be ready. Ready to defend the lands against what lies beyond the mountains. For one day they will come again. Treading softly through the night. Unheard, unseen, until they are amongst us.’
Eagan had let his voice grow softer and softer so that everyone was straining forward to hear him.
‘Then it will be too late to defend Merra!’ he shouted so loud that everyone flinched. He pointed his staff towards the gap in the wall. Huge black shapes, deeper than any shadow could ever be, slunk quietly into the town. Row upon row of enormous green-eyed cat-like creatures filed in until they surrounded everybody in the crowd. Some people cried out in dismay while others laughed, albeit a little nervously. Everybody knew the creatures weren’t real. It was part of the show – but they looked real enough to cause more than a few to wonder.
‘The night-shadows will steal away your children’s life, your neighbour’s life, and your own! Take up arms. Be ready to defend against the enemy!’
With one last flourish of his arms the entire marketplace flooded with light, chasing away the dark shapes. The whole crowd burst into applause.
As the light began to fade, Eagan saw Seth watching from the farthest corner of the market and there was no lingering fear in the boy’s eyes. The creatures had not frightened him. Eagan could guess what the boy was thinking and what worried Eagan most was that the boy was right. Seth and the night-shadows had a lot in common.
Seth stared at Eagan for a full minute before turning to run off. The crowd, now laughing at their previous nervousness, began to disperse. As everyone passed by the circle, coins were tossed onto the cobbles. Some had no coin to give and simply bowed in appreciation. Eagan gave the same grateful nod to one and all. The coin he earned here tonight would stock his cupboards for the winter.
‘What are you planning to do with the boy?’ Darius shimmered into view, resting against one of the tower poles. He stared out to where the small boy could be seen making the crowds part before him as he headed for the gate.
‘There’s only one place where he can do no harm,’ Eagan said with a sigh.
‘We could cast him off The Gap,’ Darius said, nodding approvingly.
‘The Gap?’ Eagan stared at Darius in shock. ‘I’m taking him to the mountains – to the keepers at High Gate. They will care for him.’
‘You’ll regret it. That boy is trouble.’ Darius shook
his head, grunted in disgust and vanished.
Chapter Two - Seth
It was barely dawn when Eagan woke the next morning. The good people of Merra always gave him a free room at the Inn and he felt rested and ready for the last leg of his journey. A full buffet breakfast had been laid out and he wandered along the line of food to fill his plate. His face creased in a small frown as he remembered the extra trip he would have to make after he reached the cottage. It wasn’t safe to go directly across the marshlands for another week so he would have to go the long way around.
‘I can see you’re still thinking of taking that boy to High Gate,’ Darius said, sitting cross-legged on the floor and juggling three small glass balls.
‘Well, I can’t leave him here. Perhaps you’d prefer if we took him back to the cottage to live with us?’ Eagan replied without even looking over at his companion.
Eagan glanced around the room to check it was empty then tipped the contents of his plate into his bag. He refilled his plate and quickly ate before adding several warm bread rolls to his bag and leaving the Inn.
It wasn’t far to the main drawbridge and Eagan hurried over to the graveyard. He saw Seth was still asleep under one of the dead trees and the empty basket was sitting by the small gate. Eagan refilled the basket and headed back to the town as he had a lot of shopping to do before he left.
‘He won’t thank you for it,’ Darius argued quietly, but it was more of a mutter just to show he didn’t approve.
Eagan found Nyal sweeping the yard of his small house which backed onto the market.
‘Good sunrise,’ Eagan said, nodding a greeting to Nyal’s mother. She nodded back absentmindedly as she counted eggs into a bag. ‘I was wondering if I could pay Nyal to deliver my supplies again this year?’
At that, Nyal’s mother abandoned her counting and grinned at Eagan. ‘Of course. I believe we agreed on three silvers last year, Your Wizardness.’
Eagan smiled. It had been two silvers but he didn’t argue. Nyal may be slow-witted but he was honest and loyal. There were only a handful of people who knew where the guardian lived and he liked it that way. He wasn’t fond of visitors when he was spending the winter at the cottage.
‘I should be ready to go by high-sun,’ Eagan told her and handed her three silver coins.
She pocketed the coins then hurried off, wiping her hands on her apron and calling out to Nyal.
Eagan checked the coins in his small money bag as he looked up and down the stalls. Some were still setting up for the day and there were very few people milling around the market at this early hour.
‘Look behind you,’ Darius said, right next to Eagan’s ear as they stopped at one of the stalls.
Eagan blinked in annoyance. Why did he have to take such delight in frightening him? A quick glance behind him made him forget his anger as he caught a glimpse of Seth slipping behind one of the stalls.
‘I think he’s following us,’ Darius added. ‘He doesn’t seem to learn from past experiences.’
Sure enough when Eagan glanced around the boy was watching them. He was making his way under the stalls as quiet and stealthily as a cat. Eagan bought goods and gave instruction to deliver them to Nyal’s mother then moved on to the next stall. Seth crept along as well.
Eagan pretended to be looking over the late season apples as he watched how Seth blended into the background. Nobody noticed he was there as they walked past and some even paused to chat right next to him. He sat so still in the shadows that even Eagan had to look twice to make sure he was still there. What fascinated Eagan the most though, was that nobody appeared to be suffering any harm from being near him.
He was still watching the people around the market place when two children rushed past him. They were bouncing a ball to each other and laughing as they ran.
‘You almost missed that one, Waide,’ the younger girl shouted as the older boy jumped up to grab the ball.
‘No I didn’t, Rhana,’ Waide replied as he overbalanced and fell, upturning the nearest stall and sending goods flying.
It just happened to be the stall that Seth was hiding under and he rolled out into the main walkway as the stall collapsed. Waide jumped up, looking guilty, and reached down to help Seth to his feet.
‘Sorry about that,’ he said, pulling them both away from the crowd as the stall owner looked around for the guilty party. ‘Are you hurt?’
Seth just stared at the boy. It was obvious that Waide had no idea who Seth was.
‘Waide! Mother is coming!’ Rhana whispered as she tugged on her brother’s shirt sleeve.
Eagan stepped clear of the debris from the stall and moved so that he could see Seth again. Waide and Rhana’s mother was pushing her way through the crowd and Eagan saw that she was heavily pregnant.
‘Rhana. Waide,’ she called and her tone said that she knew they were responsible for the damage. ‘You can’t run through…’ She reached her two children and was about to launch into telling them off when she stopped mid-sentence and stared open-mouthed.
She clearly had no trouble identifying the boy her son was standing next to and she went visibly pale within a few seconds.
‘Seth!’ the stall owner shouted as he also spotted the boy. ‘Seth is in the market!’
Everyone began to yell at once. Waide’s mother grabbed hold of her two children and began to drag them away. Several apples were launched in Seth’s direction and one scored a direct hit on his shoulder.
‘I told you the boy was trouble,’ Darius said, appearing next to Eagan, totally unaffected by the people who walked straight through his transparent form.
Seth was looking around for an escape route and by the panic in his eyes he wasn’t finding one. Another apple made contact and tears welled up in Seth’s eyes. He pushed part of the broken stall in front of him and glared angrily at those around him.
‘Aaarrgh!’
A cry of pain drew Eagan’s attention and he saw Waide’s mother bent over and clutching at her distended belly.
‘Seth?’ Waide said, looking at the terrified boy and then at his mother. A look of horror crossed his face and he raised his hand to strike the older boy.
Eagan and Darius exchanged a knowing look and both yelled.
‘Freeze!’
Everything around them stopped. Nobody moved. Nobody made a sound. Even the birds in the sky hung motionless.
‘I don’t want to say I told you so…’ Darius began, shaking his head.
‘We don’t have time for that,’ Eagan said, rubbing his grey beard thoughtfully as he gazed at the frozen scene before him. He knew they only had a dozen heartbeats before time restarted. ‘Seth is about to kill the unborn child by taking life from it.’
Darius produced the large leather book from the folds of his cloak and flicked it open. A long, feather quill pen appeared in his hand and he began scratching words in the ledger.
‘What’s it to be then? Transportation of the mother and child to a safe distance? Might be better to move the boy instead.’ Darius looked up, feather quill poised and ready.
‘Two spells,’ Eagan said firmly. ‘One to subdue Seth and the other to give back the stolen life to the child.’
‘Give back life?’ Darius said in shock and stared at Eagan. ‘That’s worth a dozen spells. Do you want to end up in this staff tomorrow? You’ll do so, the way you go through my magic.’
‘It’s a baby so it is very little to give back. It’s no different to helping a plant to draw life from the earth,’ Eagan argued, ‘… three heartbeats left.’
‘It’s your choice,’ Darius said with a heavy sigh that said he disapproved. He scratched a single word in the ledger and shut it with a loud thud. ‘Let’s get this over with then.’
In the same second that life burst back into motion, Darius spoke several his spell and light flashed from the top of the staff. It was so bright that it flooded the entire market place.
‘Sleep among those at rest – Renew the life within.’
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By the time Eagan’s eyes recovered from the light everyone in the marketplace was looking at him.
‘What was that?’ he asked, looking innocently around and then at the rising sun. ‘Was the sun reflecting off a mirror somewhere?’
He knew the explanation was weak, almost as weak as the early winter sun, but it was the best he could come up with at short notice. His reputation as a wizard was already bad enough. He wanted them to see him as a guardian, not a magic man. Nobody was going to take a magic man seriously.
He glanced at Waide’s mother and saw that although she was sitting on the ground, looking stunned, she didn’t appear to be in any pain. She had her hand on her stomach and a smile lit her face as her hand rose from being kicked. Waide’s swing had missed its target and Waide looked around for Seth, seeming confused that the boy had gone.
‘Where’s Seth?’ someone asked and all attention turned to hunting for the boy. Waide looked around for him briefly then rushed to check that his mother was unharmed.
Eagan knew they wouldn’t find him and he moved off to carry on his purchasing as if nothing untoward had happened.
Half an hour later he wandered out of the town at such a slow pace that nobody would suspect his inner turmoil. He carried a basket of food and a chicken in a cage.
**
Seth heard noises nearby. Was he in the afterlife? If he was dead, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. If the afterlife did exist then how could he harm people who were already dead? Seth lay still and listened feeling a little nervous about opening his eyes. He could hear two voices and they were arguing.
‘Just give me a chance to prove my point.’
‘And if he kills you? What then? I’ve spent two hundred years training you and I don’t get a second chance!’
The first voice sounded familiar and Seth searched his memory for a face to put with it.
‘You’re over-reacting as usual. He’s too young and too weak from years of hunger to do harm to an adult. Besides, I have you to protect me.’
A short silence was followed by a long sigh.