David Farland - The Wyrmling Horde

Talon did not have any idea how that might be done. She wasn t sure that Daylan knew. How were the wyrmlings even poisoning the land? Was it some sort of rune lore, like the reavers had used at Carris in her father s day?

The Cormar twins laughed at some private joke, then sprang off along the road, their steps perfectly matched, their arms swinging in unison.

We can t be far from Rugassa, Talon thought, though she could see no sign of it yet.

They raced on with renewed fury, running forty miles in the next hour, until sweat weighed down Talon s tunic. They stopped to drink at streams along the way, but each time it was only a gulp, stolen quickly, and then they were off again.

Soon, a mountain began to loom in the distance, dark and forbidding, its coned peak looking blue at first, and then gaining definition as the heroes neared.

From time to time, they continued to pass villages-all of the houses broken and destroyed.

We re near the town of Ravenspell, Talon realized, consulting a mental map.

It was late morning when they reached it, crossing a fine stone bridge into a walled city. The walls here were not high, only twenty feet or so. The gates of the city had been broken down, and like the villages before, the houses had been demolished, their thatch roofs pulled off, their doors smashed.

Talon had no desire to inspect the ruins. But as the three sprinted through the city streets, rushing at forty miles per hour, it was as if her mind was storing pictures-a burned hovel, a dead man sprawled on his belly while a buzzard flapped heavily into the air, a frightened dog rushing into the ruins to hide.

Suddenly they rounded a corner in the market section of town, and there she was-a girl of five or six with long blond braided hair there at a market stall, hunched over a pile of cloth.

She must have heard the noise, for she turned and shrieked, peering at them briefly in terror but not really seeing them.

The girl leapt over the counter of the market stall to hide.

The company came to a halt, and all of them stood for a moment, panting, each wondering what to do.

"Looks like the wyrmlings missed one," the emir said. He peered to Talon, then to the others. "What shall we do with the child."

The Cormar twins laughed mirthlessly at some private joke, then said in explanation, "We re not carrying her into battle."

"We can t leave her here," Talon said. "She ll starve, if the wyrmlings don t find her first."

"Nor can we take her with us," the emir said. He looked about helplessly. "All we can do is pick her up on the way back. If all goes well, we will be done with our business before dark."

"She has managed to hide from the wyrmlings well enough for at least three days," Daylan Hammer said. "She should manage well enough for a few hours more."

But Talon could not leave it at that. The girl was terrified. She had seen it in the child s face. That kind of fear can turn a person into an animal. If nothing else, Talon needed to soothe her mind.

"Stay here," Talon said.

She approached the market stall quietly. The roof of the building was made from pine poles draped with red linen curtains. The curtains were ripped and bloody, flying like banners in the wind.

Approaching cautiously, Talon called out, "Little girl? Little girl? Are you all right?"

She went and looked over the plank counter. There was a pile of cloth beneath it. The girl was hiding there beneath some rumpled cloth, trembling, so that the whole pile shook.

"Do you have a name?" Talon asked.

The girl was shaking frightfully. Talon could only see a portion of her leg.

"My name is Talon. I m here to help you. I m with friends, Runelords. We re going to go kill the monsters that attacked the city."

"You re monsters!" the girl cried. She pulled the wrinkled fabric away but merely sat there, in a fetal position, too frightened to do anything but look. Her eyes roved over Talon s face.

She sees the ridge bone on my face, and the nubs of my horns, Talon realized. I don t look human to her anymore.

"I m not like those monsters. They re called wyrmlings. They re larger than me, and they re very evil. If I m a monster, I m a good monster."

"How can I tell?"

"If I was one of them," Talon said easily, "I would have taken you already."

The girl thought about this, but kept trembling in fear.

"Do you have a family? Is anyone else alive in this city?"

The girl shook her head no both times.

"Do you have a name?"

The girl shook her head no again, and shrank back against the wall of her little cupboard.

"I think you re teasing me," Talon said. "Everyone has a name."

The girl turned her face to the wall, and just stared at it.

"I m going to have to go fight the wyrmlings now," Talon said. "I don t want to leave you alone, but I have to. I ll come for you when I get back. I ll take you to safety. You can wait for me, can t you? You can be brave until then?"

The little girl did not answer.

Talon turned to leave.

I can track her by smell if I have to, Talon told herself. She hesitated, and whispered, "Be well," then walked away.

"No!" the girl shrieked. Talon turned as the child came leaping over the counter of the little market stall. Then the girl grabbed her by the leg and held on, terrified that Talon would leave.

"Come here," Talon said, reaching down and grabbing the child.

"Don t leave me!" the girl shouted. "Don t ever leave!" She peered into Talon s face, stricken. The girl s eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, her face dirty. She smelled of dog hair and sweat. But she was a pretty thing, in a common sort of way.

Daylan and the others came over, stood at their side. "You can t take her with us," Daylan said in the tongue of the warrior clans. "We go to save a world. We cannot wait upon this child."

Talon gave him a reproving look.

"She can t just leave the girl," the emir said. "Her mothering instincts are too strong." He grimaced and looked down. "Nor can I leave her. What kind of men would we be to do so?"

"Wise men?" the Cormars said as one.

Daylan grabbed the girl and gently pulled her from Talon s arms. He set her on the ground. "We ll be back for you," he said sternly. "Go find a place to hide until then."

The girl lurched toward Talon, but Daylan reached down, grabbed her by the forehead, and pushed her onto her butt.

"Stay there," he warned. "I don t have time to be nice about this."

The child looked at him, terrified, and while she was frozen with indecision Daylan said, "Let s go."

The emir took Talon by the sleeve and whispered, "Hurry. Don t look back."

Talon ran, but her heart grew heavy as her legs stretched, carrying her away from the town. They raced through empty streets, where elms lined the path, and they leaped over another quaint stone bridge. She could hear the child screaming behind her, "Come back! Come back!"

What would I do if that were one of my own little sisters? Talon wondered. How would I want her treated?

And then she knew. She would want the soldiers who were out to save the world to turn a cold shoulder to her little sister. She would want them to fight all the more valiantly to avenge her. She would want them to do their job.

"Come back!" the girl called as they raced into the fields beyond the edge of town. Talon s keen hearing let her detect the sound two miles away.

I will, Talon promised. I will.

They had not gone ten miles when they spotted another Knight Eternal all dressed in red, flying from the south. They were walking along the road at the noon hour when they saw it coming over the treetops, not a mile behind.

"Flee!" the emir hissed.

But Daylan just stood for a second, gazing up at the Knight Eternal. It came hurtling toward them so swiftly that Talon almost didn t have time to draw her weapon.