Richard Tuttle - Sapphire of the Fairies

“It was on top of my blanket,”Arik stated. “It must be that woman’s. Did she say what inn she wasstaying at?”

“Don’t be a fool, Arik!” Tediscolded. “You can’t possibly be thinking of returning it? Whatbetter way to lure us into her trap then to make us feel obligatedto come to her?”

Arik at first thought that Tedi wasjust arguing to keep the ring, but by the time Tedi stoppedspeaking, he realized the truth of his friend’s statements. “You’reright,” Arik agreed. “We can leave it with our fathers and if sheis still in town after we leave, they can return it to her. I haveto learn to start thinking skeptically like you.”

“You’re darn right aboutthat,” laughed Tedi. “If what your father said was true, everybodyis out to kill us and your father doesn’t lie.”

“All right,” Arik said whileslipping the ring on his finger, “let’s figure out where we aregoing before our fathers come back and we can’t talk aboutit.”

* * * *

Garth entered the Fisherman’s Inn andwalked up to his room. Kalina was sitting at the small tablestaring at her hands. “I think I gave him enough of a viewing thathe is convinced that I’m not up to anything today,” Garthstated.

“That’s good,” Kalina replied,“because they are heading south at first light. They plan to travelalong the beach as far as they can because it will be low tide andtheir tracks will be washed away in the course of an hour. Neitherof these boys are stupid, Garth. They both show a remarkableintelligence and a strong determination. Our own plans must befool-proof.”

“They may be smart,” agreedGarth, “but they are still boys. I suspect that the Black Ridersmight be here as early as tomorrow morning.”

“We will leave here thisafternoon and camp a few miles south tonight,” Kalinaordered.

“As you command,” chuckledGarth, “always as you command. You shall make a fine Generalsomeday.”

“One doesn’t need to be agreat General when you know what your opponent is going to donext,” chuckled Kalina. “That damn Arik was actually going to tryto find me so he could return the ring. They plan to leave it withtheir fathers, but if you read Konic properly, he’ll insist theboys keep it as a reserve in case they run out ofmoney.”

“That he will do,” smiledGarth.

“There is also a LocatingSpell on Tedi’s necklace,” frowned Kalina. “I can sense it, but Icannot break it. As long as he wears the necklace, the caster willbe able to find him and there is not much we can do aboutit.”

“Do you think it is Wolinda’sspell?” asked Garth.

“There is really no way ofknowing,” admitted Kalina. “We will just have to be prepared forwhatever comes.”

* * * *

“You fools!” shouted thewitch. “I don’t care how tired your men were, you are to follow myorders. Perhaps you would prefer taking orders from anogre.”

The Dark Rider shuddered at the thoughtof taking orders from an ogre. There were too many stories aboutwhat happened to a person who disobeyed an ogre order and most ofthem centered on being eaten by the ogre. “A thousand pardons,Mistress Wolinda,” bowed the Dark Rider. “I wanted the men in topform to assure your success. We will ride like the wind to make upfor lost time.”

“That you will,” scoldedWolinda. “We return to Lorgo immediately. I want those two boys andI will have them if I have to tear the town apart. And I willaccept no more disobedience from you.”

“I hear and obey, Mistress,”the Dark Rider submitted as he bowed his way out of thetent.

* * * *

“The bandit rode out of townabout an hour ago,” Alan Markel reported. “He didn’t seem to be ina hurry.”

“Well, that’s one less problemto worry about,” remarked Tedi. “I think we are all set for ourjourney tomorrow morning.”

“Alan and I will go fishingearly,” stated Konic. “No one should suspect that tomorrow is anydifferent from any other day. I did check all of the inns lookingfor your mysterious woman, Arik, but she was not to be found.Master Tern said there was a woman staying there last night who fityour description, but she left around noon. Keep the ring as areserve of money. If you run out, don’t hesitate to sell it and usethe proceeds. If the woman comes back here for her ring, Alan and Iwill promise to make amends to her. I shouldn’t worry about it,though. The ring probably has little significance toher.”

“I suggest we all get a fullmeasure of sleep tonight,” Arik declared. “It’s not likely anyonewill bother us. Everyone who has been interested in us has left andwe will all have a full day ahead us tomorrow.”

Everyone agreed and slept without aguard. Alan and Konic were up before the first lightening of thesky and had breakfast ready by the time the boys awoke. Farewellswere short but sentimental and the two fishermen left the clearingbefore the boys had finished breakfast.

Arik and Tedi each sported a longduffel bag as well as their bows, quiver, and knife. Each wore graywoolen breeches and a hooded tunic with a brown leather vest overthe top. Short soft-soled boots, newly resoled, completed theiroutfits. The boys waited until Konic’s boat disappeared in thedistance before heading south along the beach. They walked wherethe sand was still dry, but close enough to the surf that they knewthe prints would be washed away within the hour.

The coastline wove out to points and into create bays, greatly shortening the distance along the coastthat one could see at any particular time. The boys did not see anyother people, yet they walked on in silence, each lost in his ownthoughts. There had been no opportunity to say goodbye to theirfriends in the town because they could not chance the possibilitythat someone might come looking for them. Each of the boys dealtwith the departure in his own way.

Around midday the coastline started toturn rocky and the boys chose to turn inland and seek a paththrough the forest. The further filtering of sunlight made thedense forest dark and foreboding. Neither of the boys had ever beenthis far from Lorgo and emotions of excitement mingled with thefear of the unknown. The birds chirped and sang merrily seeminglyunaware of the troubles that plagued the world. Twice the boyssidetracked to the sound of small animals and ended up with a quailand a rabbit for dinner later that day. The trail started slowlyclimbing and when the boys finally entered a small clearing, it wasalready well past the last light of day. The darkness of the foresthad obscured the setting of the light. Wearily and without commentthe boys set about starting a fire and cooking dinner. Arik couldhear the pounding of the waves, but the sound was distant and belowthem. Quietly the boys ate and went to sleep.

* * * *

Wolinda rode into town wearing a redsilk riding dress and surrounded by twenty Dark Riders. This timeshe didn’t plan on being subtle with the townspeople. She would notpose as a traveler and she would not ask her questions slyly. Shewanted the two boys and no townsperson was going to deny her. Thefew people in the streets immediately fled as she rode into town.Business doors closed and shutters were flung shut. Mothers draggedtheir youngsters into their houses. Within moments, Lorgo very muchappeared a ghost town; the only sound was hooves echoing off thebuildings.

The first stop was the Fisherman’s Inn.Esta Tern saw them coming and ordered all of the workers out theback door. There were no customers in the common room as the middaymeal was an hour past and when Wolinda and her group stormed intothe inn, only Esta was there to greet them.

Wolinda stood in the common roomglaring at Esta. “Where are the two runts?” shedemanded.

Esta swallowed deeply, sweat alreadyforming on his brow. “I don’t know, Mistress,” hecroaked.