Loremaster - Palace Of Kings Part 25

'My Captain is hungry, but he is kind, he will save some for you!'

'We are better off dead!' gasped Elionbel as she tried to

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keep pace with the Nightmare. 'Father is dead! Thane is dead!'

'No!' whispered Martbel. 'That hand he threw at you. It was not Thane's!'

Dawn streaked the sky and the Nightbeast had slowed down. Elionbel and Martbel moved closer. 'Whom did it belong to? Do you know?'

'Do not ask, child. Names are dangerous things to utter when Nightbeasts are near.'

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Nerds of Kr7vlshards

Dawnlight had spread the jewels of morning all along the Greenway's edge. Skylarks climbed into the early sky and sang of the new daylight. Thane slid quietly to the ground, easing his weight out of Stumble's saddle and thanked him for a great run against the darkness.

'You are as bold as a Warhorse, and as tireless as a greyhound,' he laughed, running his hand down the horse's sweat-soaked shoulder and he fell silent for a moment, remembering that the little relay horse had none of Esteron's fine breeding. 'Forgive me, I have ridden you too hard in my haste to reach Woodsedge before the Nightmare, Krulshards.'

Stumble snorted, his eyes full of fire, and arching his aching neck he lengthened his stride to keep pace with Thane.

'You have a great heart,' he laughed, 'just like your brother, Sprint. He knew nothing of defeat and ran tirelessly for Kyot.'

Thane was quiet again, hoping against hope that Kyot would find and understand the message he had left at Stumble Hill. He sighed gently, pulling at Stumble's ears as he took the reins over his head and led him forward through the gra.s.slands. Stumble's coa.r.s.e coat dried quickly in the fresh morning breeze and s.h.i.+mmered, reflecting the sun from the fine layer of salt he had sweated on their night gallop. The quiver of steel-tipped arrows, clipped on to the pommel of the saddle, rattled with each measured stride he took and the

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oiled wooden bow hanging next to it sang out a haunting music as the wind tugged at the fibres of the bowstring.

Thane listened to the bow.

'Follow me, Kyot, with new forged arrow-heads from Clatterford,' he whispered, wondering what and where was

Clatterford; he certainly had not pa.s.sed it on his way to Underfall.

Looking ahead he could see a faint smudge on the horizon's edge; a dark line that marked the eaves of the black forest. 'Elundium is a limitless place,' he muttered between panting breaths as the sun climbed across the sky, shrinking his hurrying shadow. Thane slowed to a walk and chose a solitary clump of trees for a short noonday rest. The Nightbeasts'

tracks would still be there to follow, blackened footprints burned into the Greenway, no matter how long he rested. Even the heat of the sun had not dispelled the foul odour of death that Krulshards had spilled on to the gra.s.s as he pa.s.sed through Elundium. And Tombel had been right in his counsel; he could not match the Nightbeast's pace no matter how hard he tried.

But Thane could not rest while Elionbel's life was at risk and he fidgeted in the shade of the trees, waiting while Stumble took a long drink from a shallow pool. 'I will run until the sun sets,' he said, brus.h.i.+ng the salt out of Stumble's coat with the flat of his hand, 'and I shall only mount you for our ride through the night. Come, we must take the road again, or arrive late.'

Evening time had drawn Thane's shadow out far behind him before they reached the eaves of the black forest and pa.s.sed beneath the trees. Thane climbed wearily up into the saddle and Stumble forged bravely ahead, cantering hard over a m.u.f.fling carpet of leaf mould. Twilight had darkened the forest floor and Thane slumped forward in the saddle, his head nodding in half sleep to the rhythm of the horse's stride.

Suddenly Stumble halted, whinnying fiercely, jolting Thane awake. He reached for the dagger and searched the

shadows. Two figures crouched at the edge of the Greenway.

Clearly he could see their Marching swords glittering in the darkness.

'Who, in all Elundium, hides in the darkness?' he challenged, squeezing Stumble forwards.

'Thane?' a voice called as the figures rose.

'Arbel! Rubel!' Thane cried, recognising Tombel's sons.

He jumped quickly to the ground. 'What brings you this far from Woodsedge? Is the Wayhouse safe?'

'The Nightmare! The most fearsome, terrible ...' Arbel began.

'Woodsedge! Has he overrun the Wayhouse? Is Elionbel safe?' Thane interrupted, but he could not finish, his voice shook with fear and he gripped Rubel's arm painfully.

'No! We saw it at Gildersleeves. It has destroyed the gardens and the baskets. Only the stoop of owls that flew overhead saved us.'

'Where did the Nightmare go?' Thane asked, remounting

Stumble.

'It was on the lawns when we fled, less than two hours ago.'

'Run! Gallop as fast as you can. Krulshards, the Master of all Nightbeasts, is on his way to destroy Woodsedge. Run!'

Thanc spun Stumble back on to the crown of the road and urged him forward. Arbel and Rubel followed, running as if all the Nightbeasts ever dreamed of were at their heels.

Thane hardly drew rein as they entered the lawns of Gildersleeves, and even in the night darkness before the moon rose above the trees he could see the destruction in the gardens and the galleries. The suck of the fencing master's home seemed complete. He looked in anger at the empty windows, circled the house once before returning to the Greenway.

Bending low in the saddle he searched the road, sniffing at the night air. Behind him Tombel's sons entered the lawns.

'They are before us on the road!' Thane shouted, pointing to the burnt footprints and asking Stumble to gallop as he had

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