John Flanagan - The siege of Macindaw

"But no more Night Warrior? No more lights and noises in the forest?"

The little man tipped his head thoughtfully to one side. "Oh, I don't know about that. Orman has agreed to keep our secret, and the Skandians will move on eventually. I think I'd prefer it if the locals still regarded Grimsdell as a place not to go."

"You're probably right," Will agreed. "That reminds me. This is yours."

He fumbled in a pocket and produced the black stellatite stone. The day after the battle, he had returned to the tower room and searched the floor until he found it.

The healer smiled. "Oh, that? Keep it if you like. It's just a pebble."

"But… it's stellatite. It's invaluable! You said – "

"I'm afraid I wasn't completely honest with you," Malcolm said, not the least contrite. "I told you mesmerism was a matter of focus.

This gave Alyss something to focus on, and that broke the power of the blue stone."

Alyss and Will exchanged puzzled looks. Then Will turned back to the healer.

"It's worthless?"

"Not completely. The fact that you both believed in it made it valuable. As I said, mesmerism is a matter of belief. You believed this river pebble was a star stone, so it became one."

Will shook his head in disbelief and slipped the pebble back into his pocket. "I'll keep it as a memento," he said, "of a very devious healer. Good-bye, Malcolm. Take care."

"Godspeed to you, Will." Malcolm smiled. "And you, Horace.

Maybe with you two gone, I'll be able to get a cup of coffee for myself."

Will turned to shake hands with Gundar. He should have known he'd never get away with such a formal gesture. The Skandian seized him in a massive bear hug, lifting him from the ground, squeezing him so that he could hardly talk.

"Good fight, Ranger! Good battle! I'll be sad to see you go!"

"Pu' me dow'…," Will managed to gasp, and the Skandian set him back on his feet again. He checked his ribs to make sure they were intact.

"Drop in and see me at Seacliff Fief someday, Gundar," he said.

The skirl roared with laughter. "We'll come for dinner!" he bellowed, delighted at his own joke.

"Just make sure you let us know you're coming," Will warned him. This time, Nils joined in the laughter.

Alyss and Horace were making their own good-byes. As Will waited for them to finish, he caught Trobar's eye. The giant looked away sadly, and Will walked to where he stood behind the assembled group. Shadow followed, of course. She looked up at Will as he stopped a few paces short of Trobar. She was too well trained to leave his side without permission.

"Go on," he told her quietly, and she went to Trobar, her tail wagging in that slow, heavy rhythm of border shepherds.

The gigantic man knelt to farewell her, fondling her ears, rubbing under her chin in the way she loved. Her eyes closed with pleasure at his gentle touch. Will felt a sudden heaviness in his heart. He dropped to one knee beside them.

"Trobar," he said quietly, "look at me, please."

The giant raised his eyes to Will. The Ranger could see the tears freely running down the big face.

"I think a dog belongs with the person who names her," Will said, his voice a little unsteady. "Shadow needs you more than she needs me. She's yours."

He saw the disbelief in Trobar's eyes. The giant couldn't speak. He pointed numbly to his own chest, and Will nodded. "Look after her. If she ever has pups, I'll come and take the pick of the litter."

He held out his hand to Shadow, palm facing her, in the motion that told her to stay.

"Stay, Shadow," he said, then he ruffled her head one last time. "Good-bye, girl," he choked, then, unable to bear it any longer, he rose and walked quickly to where Tug waited for him. His vision was blurred, and he fumbled with the reins as he prepared to mount.

The little horse turned his head and looked steadily at his master. I'll make it up to you, the look said.

Will swung into the saddle, and Tug's hooves clattered on the flagstones as he trotted toward the drawbridge. Alyss and Horace, caught by surprise at his sudden exit, hurried to complete their farewells and follow him.

They were half a kilometer down the track before Horace noticed something was missing. He looked around them, his eyes seeking a familiar black-and-white form.

"Where's the dog?" he asked finally.

Will kept looking straight ahead. "I gave her to Trobar," he said. Then he touched Tug with his heels and cantered on ahead of his friends. He didn't want to discuss it just now.

Winter was on its last frigid breaths as the three old friends rode southward. With each passing day, the snow receded further, going from a complete ground cover to isolated patches of melting snow until, eventually, it disappeared completely, and the wet, brown grass was showing the first tinges of green. Will realized with surprise that it would soon be spring.

He and Alyss maintained a facade of friendship, but there was a subtle undercurrent of tension between them. Neither of them realized, however, that the other felt it. Will thought that the slight awkwardness between them was caused by his own reluctance to bring things to a head. He had no idea that Alyss felt exactly the same way.

A perplexed Horace watched his friends as they tiptoed around the subject of the mutual affection they both stubbornly refused to admit.

They're supposed to be the smart ones, he thought, while I'm just a dumb warrior. So if I can see what's going on, why can't they? Sometimes, he reflected, people can be too intelligent for their own good. Too much thinking could confuse things. He felt tempted to knock their heads together, but Horace was not the type to intrude in such a delicate area.

Added to that was the fact that he wasn't completely sure about his own motivation. Recently, he had been seeing more of Evanlyn – as he and Will still thought of Princess Cassandra. In fact, she seemed to be seeking him out more often as a companion. Much as he enjoyed her company, he couldn't help feeling a little awkward about it – as if he were somehow taking advantage of his position to go behind Will's back. He knew that Evanlyn and Will had always had a special relationship and regard for each other. In fact, he sometimes suspected that Evanlyn might enjoy spending time with him because it reminded her of the times when Will was around.

If Will were to develop a strong relationship with someone else – Alyss, for example – it might well clarify his own position with Evanlyn. As a consequence, Horace couldn't be sure that he wouldn't be serving his own interests by intervening between Alyss and Will.

So he kept silent.

Inevitably, the little party came to the point where their paths must diverge. Alyss would head southwest to Castle Redmont. Horace's path lay to the east and Castle Ara luen, while Will had received messages from Halt and Crowley that directed him southeast to the Gathering Ground for a debriefing.

More farewells, Will thought gloomily as they stood in a silent group by the triple fork in the road. Alyss's small escort of men-at-arms, released from Macindaw's dungeons when the castle had been retaken, stood a respectful distance apart as the three old friends bade each other farewell.

Will and Horace shook hands, nodded to each other, shuffled their feet, muttered a few unintelligible words and slapped each other awkwardly on the back several times.

Then they stepped apart. A typical farewell between two young males.

Alyss embraced Horace and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks again, Horace." She smiled. "It was getting very boring in that tower. I know if it weren't for you, I'd still be there."

Horace grinned at her. He felt no awkwardness being around the tall, elegant Courier.