He suddenly wanted all of it back. He didn’t care what the consequences would be, he wanted to jump up and take off running back toward his home. Then the words “forget we ever existed,” chimed in his mind. “I need you to promise you will do this.” Hyroc felt a stab of cold shoot through him. There was no going back. All that mattered now was getting away.
Hyroc leaned back against the bolder. Above, stars shone brightly through the indifferent black void of the sky. For a moment, he was seven years old again, sitting outside of the garden, staring up at the twinkling pinpricks of light as Marcus pointed out the constellations. Hyroc found himself using his eyes to trace the familiar lines between stars. Marcus had once explained when someone died their spirit went into the sky, becoming stars, and from there they watched over their loved ones, alongside the Hallowed Knights. His relationship with the deified knights was a strange and confusing one. They were said to proclaim things such as stealing, murder and other such harmful behaviors were intolerable acts and punishment would follow the perpetrator. And they were also said to protect the virtuous, along with helping them in their times of need. But at the same time, they were also said to smite evil hearted people and things of darkness. Often, he wondered if the latter applied to him. Pretty much everybody thought he was evil and it did seem like sadness and misfortune followed him. Though Marcus nor June seemed to think so. “They judge you by what’s in your heart,” Marcus had said. “Not by what’s on the outside. There’s nothing you have to fear from them.” And assuming that smiting meant something a lot worse than what he had gone through, Marcus’ words seemed more than a simple attempt to make him feel better. He stared up at the glittering spots wondering if Marcus and his mother were watching him at this very moment. The thought was comforting and seemed to lessen the lonely sensation. He yawned and a sudden wave of weariness struck him. Offering the urge to sleep little resistance, his eyes grew heavy and he slowly went to sleep.
The following day, Hyroc continued along the river. Afternoon came and went with barely a change in its course. As the day began to wax toward dusk, the air took on an unpleasant smell like rotting autumn leaves. Then the river bent off toward the south. Moving along the shore, the smell steadily grew in strength. The ground began to soften and stagnant patches of water began appearing in his path. Soon, the isolated patches merged into a web work of thin waterways. When he stepped into one, his foot sank deep enough for the dirty water to flow over the tops of his boots. He stepped back onto dry ground and dumped out his boots. Looking further ahead, the waterways seemed to widen as they headed off toward a swath of swampy land. The swampy area ran beside the river for as far as he could see. If he continued forward, he would likely be walking through waist high water and his food would get soaked. From the unpleasant smell permeating the air, he could only assume all his provisions would get ruined. This wasn’t a good place to pass through. He slipped his boots back on and began retracing his steps. When he reached the swamp’s edge, he headed north, moving away from the river. He hoped he was now far enough from Forna to safely do so.
When he stopped at dusk, the only thing of interest he found was a lonely clump of thistle growing out of the side of an indent in the ground. He laid down where he seemed most shielded from the wind.
The next morning, a gray sky greeted him. Shortly after eating his breakfast, it began to rain. Hyroc sighed angrily when he saw nothing to shelter beneath. Aggravated, he pulled his hood up and continued onward. As the day went on the rain only got worse. It was still raining hard when dusk arrived. He bowed his head and groaned. He would be sleeping in the rain, if it were even possible for him to sleep at all. The deluge continued well into the night. The rains had slowed when he awoke in the morning. It surprised him he had even managed to fall asleep. Then almost in what seemed mockery, the storm returned to its previous intensity. Then the wind started blowing, driving the cold rain sideways into his face. Just as he began to dread spending another cold miserable night in the rain, the downpour ceased and he saw spots of empty sky above.
When he eventually settled down for the night, he was glad to find a concentration of bushes with woody branches. Four days out from Forna, he expected he was far enough away to safely make a fire. The branches of the bushes wouldn’t make a very good fire, but he really didn’t care. It would give him warmth. Using his wood hatchet, he chopped off the thickest branches he could find and made a pile. Kneeling down beside it, he used his tinderbox to get a fire going. The sparks fell on the wood, but nothing happened. Perplexed, he scratched the back of his head and tried again. The wood still didn’t take a flame when the sparks fell. After several more attempts, he realized the wood was too wet to light. Groaning out in frustration, he smacked the ground with his hand. A sudden bolt of heat shot through his hand. The pile of wood burst into a blue flame. Staring baffled, he watched the flame turn from blue, to green, to orange. With a disturbed look scrawled across his face, he held his hand out in front of him and turned it over, searching for anything that might explain what had just happened. His hand looked and felt exactly as it always had. He shook his head. I must be more tired than I thought. I need to get some sleep before I imagine something really strange. Forcing the memory of what he thought he saw out of his mind, Hyroc went to sleep.
In the morning he saw strips of grey clouds stretched across the sky, but they were far enough apart rain seemed unlikely. The day passed with barely any noticeable change in the surrounding terrain. Hyroc’s ceaseless footsteps were the only thing that told him he was even moving. Then as the sunlight began its shift toward dusk, two structures came into view. Placing one hand over his eyes to shield out the sun, he saw what appeared to be a farmstead with a house and barn. He breathed a small sigh of relief at the sight of the barn. Maybe tonight he wouldn’t be sleeping outside. He would be sleeping in a barn and it would smell like a barn, but at least he would have walls to keep out the wind and a roof over his head. He just needed to make sure he left before anyone saw him. The only thing that might prevent him from going there was if there was a dog. A dog would start its irritating barking the moment he got near and everyone within earshot would know he was there. From the way everyone treated him in Forna he didn’t expect any better of a reception from anyone out here. They would still think he was some monster. And it wasn’t difficult to imagine what they would do to a monster. The safest option would be to wait until dark before attempting to enter the barn. Even if the farm had a dog, when it started barking the people that lived there wouldn’t be able to see him. And when he moved off no one would be the wiser.
Hyroc moved a little closer to the farm before settling down behind a patch of bushes to wait until dark. When night arrived, he warily made his way toward the barn. As he drew near to the structure, after every step he listened carefully for any sounds of barking. He reached the barn without any sounds of alarm breaking the silence. Breathing a sigh of relief, he crept around the back of the barn until he came across a back door.
A single cow startled him when it lowed at him as he stepped through the threshold. The beast studied him with large lazy eyes, then deciding it was in no danger from him, turned back to staring at the boards of its stall gate. Letting out a breath, he began gathering some of the barn’s unfettered hay into a bed. He sighed happily when he dropped onto it. It seemed impossible bare hay could ever be so comfortable.
When he sat up to eat his dinner, he heard a small meow. Turning his head, he saw a group of kittens wandering toward him. He held his hand out and the group cautiously sniffed the ends of his fingers. After a long moment of sniffing, the kittens moved on to investigating the rest of him. Hyroc petted the only two kittens interested in his attention, before picking up a long piece of straw and playfully poking at them. The two kittens swatted fiercely at the hay. Hyroc played with them until one yanked the piece from his hand. He pulled his pack closer to find something for dinner. When he opened it, he was dismayed to see how little food he
had remaining. The last two nights had been so miserable he had forgotten to check on the amount of food he had. Beyond the bag of cold-flour, he only had two more days left with his provisions. He shrugged unhappily. He had enough money to buy more, but only if anyone he bought from would actually tolerate his presence without trying to kill him, and that seemed extremely improbable. He wondered if he was ever going to be able to use his money. Hunting or stealing food seemed about his only two options. Stealing was of course wrong and he would only ever consider it in a dire emergency so he had only one choice.
He ate his dinner and making sure his pack was closed tightly to avoid the kittens getting into it, he laid down to sleep. As he stared at the ceiling, trying to slow his thoughts, eerie shafts of moonlight appeared through a hole near the barn’s rafters. He studied the silver light then reached into his pack and removed the map. This seemed as good of a time as any to figure out where he was going. Similarly to what he had done in the thicket outside of Forna, he guessed his position. If he was correct, there was a town nearby named Flatwood. The town didn’t mean anything to him it was just another thing he needed to avoid. Moving his eyes past Flatwood to the north, the plains turned to forest. He glanced toward his pack, thinking of the heavy twine within. June had suggested he use it for trapping and a forested area would be best. Continuing north through the forest, he spotted what looked to be a small village named Elswood at the foot of a loan mountain. The village sat on the outskirts of the kingdom at the edge of the wilderness. The remoteness of the town would likely prevent The Ministry from having a hold there – if the things he had been able to gather from some of the school’s library books he had read regarding outskirt- settlements held true – and it was far enough away they probably wouldn’t come looking for him there.
He marked the town with a piece of straw then moved his gaze back to his current location. To the east, lay more plains and it ran for a considerable distance before encountering forest. The forest stretched all the way to the coast near the edge of the map and the only place he saw was a dot labeled Garathol. Whatever that place was, he didn’t have the supplies to reach it, so he moved his eyes back. A large swath of plain also lay to the west, but no towns or villages were nearby, just a hilly spot. North seemed the best option, he just needed to get past the town. He brushed the hay from the map, rolled it back up and placed it in his pack.
When he got into a more comfortable position to sleep in, the kittens clambered on top of him. He scratched the closest kitten under its chin and it began rumbling happily.
“Do you think I’m a monster?” Hyroc said to the kitten. It stared at him with sleepy eyes then lowered its head onto its paws and went to sleep. Hyroc smiled as he shook his head. “Well at least you don’t bark.” After giving each member of the group some attention, the kittens laid down on or beside him. Blanketed by their warmth, he quickly drifted off to sleep.
The shrieking morning call of a rooster woke Hyroc. Knowing the arrival of the barn’s owner was not far behind, he pushed a sleeping kitten off his chest. The kitten yowled in protest, digging its claws into his cloak. After dislodging the snagged feline, he collected his things and left the barn, quietly closing the backdoor behind him. Using a stand of scrubby brushes behind the barn as cover, he made his way behind an incline. He stopped to eat his breakfast while taking another look at his map. Farther to the east lay a river. Following it north with his finger it eventually flowed around the eastern side of the town like Forna’s river. Farms would undoubtedly line the sides of the river close to the town, so unless he wanted to get soaked swimming across the river, east was out of the question. Looking to the west, he found a road running toward the town. He would need to cross it to get around the town. He felt some apprehension at the thought, but he knew at this point, there was little chance of running into anyone from The Ministry. Or at least he hoped not.
Re-placing the map, he made his way around the farm until he found a path that should lead to the road. Keeping an eye out for people, he made his way down it. When he arrived at the road, he followed it until the angular structures of the town came into view. Just as he had expected, numerous buildings lay near the river. He sighed. It would be so much easier if he could go there to buy some food. He wondered if he was ever going to taste anything baked once his provisions ran out. Shaking his head gloomily, he left the road and started navigating around the town.
Short lumpy grass covered hills came up in front of him, along with sporadic groupings of trees and bushes. By the time dusk arrived, he had about made it past the town. Close to when he was about to stop, he spotted a rabbit foraging at a grassy knoll. In the fading light, he silently slipped off his pack, strung his bow, and crept into position for a shot. He nocked his arrow and let it fly. It whistled through the air, catching the unsuspecting hare between the shoulders. The hare collapsed without a sound. Hyroc breathed a sigh of relief. Hitting things on the ground apparently was about the same as shooting ducks. At the carcass, he bled and gutted the hare the way he remembered seeing Marcus do it to the garden thief years ago. After collecting his pack, he stuck his kill on a spit made from alder branches and got a fire going on the side of the hill facing away from town. When it was done cooking, he eagerly bit into the meat. He ate as much as he could nibble off the rabbit, then a piece of bread before settling down for the night.
The morning sky arrived with a wavy film of white clouds and a front of thicker ones coming in from the west. A breeze carried a hint of the familiar scents of a town. Hyroc felt a pang of loneliness as the memories of his home in Forna washed over him. He quickly pushed them aside. That wasn’t his home anymore. He stamped out his fire and resumed his journey north. Coming over the rise of one hill, in the distance he saw the edge of a vast forest. He smiled at the sight. Once he reach those trees, he would be safe from The Ministry. Then somewhere within, he would make a new home.
As he stood there, he became aware of movement off toward the northern edge of the town. Looking toward it, he got a start when he saw a crowd gathered around a large tree. He quickly backpedaled behind the top of the hill. Glancing ahead, he was dismayed to see a gap in the hills directly in front of the crowd. If he tried moving through it he would be seen. He would have to wait for them to leave. With nothing else to do, he settled into a more comfortable position to see what the crowd was doing. Beneath the tree, he saw a woman sitting atop a horse with a rope around her neck. Several members of the crowd were waving their arms angrily through the air. They were clearly unhappy with the woman. Hyroc suddenly realized they were going to hang her; she was a witch.
A man standing beside the woman at the tree slapped the horse on its rear. The horse jerked in alarm and took off running. The noose went taught and the woman was pulled off the horse’s back by her neck. Hyroc felt sick as he watched. For an instant he saw Marcus’ lifeless body lying in the bed at the boarding school. Hyroc knew, this was probably what would have happened to him if The Ministry had found him. That was what June was protecting him from. She knew it would be hard on him, but making him leave was the only choice she had if he was to have any chance of staying safe. And his safety was the most important thing to her. That was the only reason she could make such a choice.
The crowd began to disperse back toward town, leaving the woman’s body behind. Hyroc waited until they were gone, before running through the gap in the hills. The woman getting yanked off the horse appeared repeatedly in his mind’s eye. Eventually the images faded enough for him to concentrate on his surroundings. In front of him lay a small clear stream. He took a deep breath. Checking his water skin, it felt about half empty. Crouching down at the water’s edge, he began filling the skin. A sloshing noise caught his attention. Looking in the direction of the sound, he froze when he saw a young girl on the opposite shore, filling a container with water. Quietly he slung the skin over his shoulder and slowly rose to his feet. Then the girl looked up at him.
CHAPTER 16
Witch Hunters
The girl looked at Hyroc, then she returned her gaze to the container she held within the stream. Hyroc wondered anxiously if she had actually noticed him, but an instant later, she sharply looked up at him again. Her eyes began to widen into the familiar look of alarm people usually showed when they saw him for the first time. Making sure he avoided exposing his teeth with what he would have intended as a friendly smile, he waved at her. She stared at him without moving as the color drained from her face. Hyroc knew what she was about to do. “Please don’t scream,” Hyroc pleaded in a calm voice. The girl screamed, bolting in the direction of a grouping of buildings. Hyroc chided himself for blindly walking up to the stream. He splashed through it to the other side and broke into a run. It would be mere minutes before the girl informed someone of his presence. Then not long afterward, people would be out searching for him. Out on the flat open terrain it wouldn’t be hard for someone to spot him. His only chance was to make it to the forest ahead of him. If he reached it, he would be able to lose any pursuers.
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