Richard Parker - The Black Horseman

“No, I think he is still in Massi,” Navarra said, spotting a rider coming very fast down the road in their direction, a long plume of dust in his wake. The Executioner pulled to a stop and waited. Lindsay signaled his men to fan out and rode forward alone to meet the approaching rider.

Navarra watched as they met a good distance away and spoke together for a brief moment, then both turned and moved to him.

“King Arsinol requests your immediate return to Solarii,” the rider spoke. Sergeant Lindsay wisely remained quiet.

Navarra’s temper flared. If they left the hunt for Sath now, his trail would go utterly cold.

“Did the King state his reasons?” he asked, openly attempting to stay calm.

The rider’s horse moved backwards, though it was not clear if the horse or the rider initiated the movement. “They have found the Massi Prince,” he said, suddenly very wary. The Executioner had a fearsome reputation for killing those who displeased him. “He is hiding on Noble Island.”

Tar Navarra sat very still, then suddenly lifted his head. “Then let us return to Solarii,” he finally whispered, much to the relief of the others.

VIII

Gwaynn’s swollen lip did not keep him from running the next day, nor did the fact that he’d worked late the previous day helping to repair the storm damage. The damage, though considerable, was less than Lane expected.

Again Gwaynn finished the run trailing only Vio, but after the finish B’dall just avoided him, and surprisingly Vio did as well. It bothered Gwaynn that she departed so quickly, but he did not have time to dwell on it because later that morning the Tars returned.

They appeared suddenly, along with a number of Travelers, several Healers and one Scholar. Gwaynn was on the infirmary roof with Lane repairing a wooden gutter when the group suddenly appeared outside the main hall.

Lane, who was perched on the very top of his tallest ladder, noticed that the lad’s attention was not on the job and turned, half expecting to see his daughter waltzing up the road. He watched as the arriving group looked about for a moment, then as one, moved into the Grand Hall, led by Tar Amon and Tar Kostek.

“Let’s hurry and finish up,” Lane said with a frown. He could not remember when so many visitors from so many different islands were all on Noble at the same time. “Master Kostek may have something else planned for us to do,” he explained.

Gwaynn nodded, very happy to see the Tars return. He hoped it meant that he would begin sparring with Vio again. All that afternoon he worked hard and fast, helping Lane fix the last of the most pressing damage. It was late in the day when Gwaynn noticed several Tars emerging from the hall, Tar Kostek was among them. Gwaynn hoped to catch his attention but Kostek walked off to the south in the direction his group of students usually trained in the early evening. He did not approach close enough to Gwaynn for him to ask about this evening.

When it was time for the students evening meal, Gwaynn conveniently found himself working on a fence, which ran along the south pasture. He was near the path that led to the student’s quarters so he was confident they would pass close by once they finished their training for the day. Lane was working in the same pasture, but nearly a quarter of a mile away.

Gwaynn was shoring up the fence posts with rocks when he could and marking those that would need additional support in the near future, but he was also keeping a very close eye out for Vio and the others. It was nearing sundown and he was actually afraid he would be called into to eat, when finally the group of tired students appeared over a rise, walking briskly home. Gwaynn could hear them talking but they were too far away for him to make out just what they were saying. He scanned the group, finding Vio and Krys, but was disappointed that Master Kostek did not seem to be among them.

As they moved closer, Gwaynn was surprised that it was B’dall who veered away from the others and approached him.

“Won’t be winning anymore races now, will you?” B’dall said with a smirk, and Gwaynn noticed that Vio, Krys, William and Tam, stopped on the road to listen, but not one of them approached closer.

“What do you mean by that?” Gwaynn asked, puzzled.

“Come on B’dall. Leave him be,” Krys said.

“Leave him alone,” Tam agreed, but Vio just stood there with her head down.

B’dall smiled at him. It was not a friendly smile. “Master Kostek just let us know. You’ll be going to Lato to live with the Scholars…hey maybe you can race them,” he added, reveling in the look of shock on Gwaynn’s face.

“You never belonged here anyway,” B’dall added, then turned to join the other students. Gwaynn stood silently as they moved off, his mind in turmoil. At first he thought Vio would pass without even a glance in his direction, but at the last moment she looked up and met his eyes, hers shining with tears unshed. The look on her face was enough to convince him of the truth of B’dall’s claim.

Gwaynn spent a subdued evening with Leek and his family. He sat, not saying much of anything, his mind darting this way and that about his possible future. Mille was concerned, but the rest of the family dealt with his silence without much thought. They were becoming accustomed to Gwaynn’s reserved personality and it was only natural for the youth to have some down times after all the tragedy that had befallen him in his short life. For his part, Gwaynn was not truly aware of the family around him; even Mille was far from his mind. One thing he was sure of however, he did not want to leave Noble Island.

After he picked at the food in front of him for the required length of time, Gwaynn stood and excused himself and went outside, desperately hoping that Master Kostek would arrive and tell him it was all a mistake and he would not be leaving. But as the evening slowly turned into night, Kostek did not appear either to let him know any news or to recommence his sparring sessions with Vio.

Mille however, did appear. Gwaynn, who was sitting on a fence out in front of the house, saw her emerge. He said nothing as she approached and stopped next to him leaning on the fence. They both remained silent for several long moments.

“Are you all right?” the girl finally asked.

Gwaynn shook his head. “No. B’dall says that I’m to be leaving for Lato Island,” he answered bluntly, seeing no point in drawing out what was bothering him. Mille gave him a stricken look.

“Lato…but why?” She finally asked.

Gwaynn just shrugged. “I was hoping Tar Kostek would come by and let me know. It could just be B’dall playing with me,” he added, hoping but not truly believing it. Krys or Vio would have let him know if it were otherwise. Mille moved closer and leaned her head against his chest, but did not say anything, and in the dark Gwaynn could not see the tears slowly sliding down her face. They waited together silently for over two hours more but Kostek still did not appear and so finally they went back inside together.

Gwaynn expected a sleepless night, but surprisingly he dropped right off and was a little disorientated when Lane nudged him awake in the morning.

“It’s time,” the man said so Gwaynn rose and pulled on his pants before he remembered that he would be leaving. He sat back on the bed, considering his options for a moment then making up his mind he stood and moved downstairs. As usual he grabbed a slice of bread, nodded to the two men sitting in the kitchen, and walked out into the early morning air. He stretched, relieved himself from the night then headed down to the beach for his morning run.

Krys, Vio, William and Tam were down on the beach when Gwaynn approached.

“Morn,” Gwaynn said.