Children of the Sun and Moon (12 page)

Glavlin sighed.
“We are not. We are creatures of magic, without it we will not
survive. What you did not notice was the fact that there are no
children here.”

The remark was
true. Thinking back, she had not seen any children.

“We are dying,”
continued Glavlin. “There has not been a birth in many years. The
magic of the earth is failing. If you do not succeed in bringing
magic back to Melarandra, all will be lost to us.”

Koral wasn’t
certain what to say. Gillock had always told her magic needed to
return, but until now, she didn't realize how important it really
was.

“I will do my
best,” she told him, placing her hand on his. Koral suddenly
realized she still had the elven book in her hand, and Mekken had
said it spoke of the prophecy.

“What of this
book?” she asked, handing it to him.

“It does not
surprise me you were drawn to this particular book,” Glavlin
responded. “It is the mate to the one you carry.”

Koral was
surprised. She hadn’t told him she had taken the spell book from
Gillock. “How did you know?”

“These books
will be needed to fulfil the prophecy. I am not sure how, but they
are a key of some kind.”

“Do you really
think we will find Eric?” she asked quietly.

Glavlin took
her hand. “There are many things standing in our way. We know Queen
Malena is up to something and it must have to do with the prophecy.
She will most likely try to send a spy into our midst. We also know
the Order will not let what happened at Klayhern go unpunished, so
they will be after us as well. All we really need to worry about
right now is finding Eric and going as far south as possible.”

“Why do we need
to head south?” questioned Koral. “And why did you tell me to get
used to large cities?”

“You are going
to see many things, and hear many rumours,” he began, then paused
as if he were carefully choosing his words. “Keenley is one of our
destinations. There you will see a great many things, one of which
is a magnificent castle. That castle is the true home for the king
of the Central Lands.” He stopped, giving Koral some time to think
about what he had said.

This news
surprised her. “Then why do I live at Klayhern?” she asked.

“Maget tower
may be close to your home, but Keenley has a town all its own just
southwest of it which is home to many Magima and Maget soldiers. It
was the Tower’s way of always keeping an eye on the kings of the
past. They were certain some of the royal family possessed magic,
but could never prove it. Your father, knowing how powerful your
mother was, moved them into Klayhern.” Again, Glavlin paused to let
Koral take in everything he was saying.

“Duke Dubar
runs Keenley, as you know,” he continued. “But what you do not know
is that he feels since he lives in the king’s true home, he should
be king. Our going there may cause many problems. You may even have
to wear a disguise.”

Things were
starting to make sense. The reason why her father did not want any
of his children, not even Brin, who is next in line for the throne,
to go with him to Keenley.

“There is
another problem. The Magima town is near exactly where we need to
go, and magic may be needed for us to pass.”

Koral just
stared at Glavlin. He had explained many things to her, but also
created more confusion within her.

“To answer your
second question, we need to go south because we have to pass
through Death’s Boundary.”

Koral was
getting even more confused. Nothing had been said about the
boundary, but then again Gillock hadn't even told her anything
about Keenley, or the trouble brewing. Glavlin, seeing her
confusion, decided to take her to her quarters. It was late and
Koral needed to be well rested for the trek tomorrow.

Once Koral
settled in, she decided to try to learn more from her book. This
time it took less concentration to get it started, but it ended up
being more confusing. She saw images of herself and Eric standing
in a very peculiar looking hall. At the far end was a door and try
as she might she could not make herself move towards it. Eric, on
the other hand, had no problems walking towards it. She could hear
voices yelling, but could not tell whom they were or what they were
saying. Then, everything went dark and she came out of her trance.
It took her a few moments to compose herself, and she realized the
book had not shown her spells, it had shown her images of what may
come to be. With things moving even more quickly now, she decided
to get some sleep.

Sleep didn’t
come easy. Her dreams were filled with betrayal and the images the
book had shown her. When Glavlin awakened her the next morning,
Koral felt she hadn’t slept at all. The entire dream had felt so
real. As Darly had said the night before, her things were packed
and already on Swift. Leaving made her feel sad. Koral wanted to
see more of the elven town, but there were too many things
happening. Koral couldn’t believe how safe she had felt, and now
they were leaving the forest area, a strong feeling of trepidation
was creeping in. It was as if something very evil was surrounding
her. She was going to mention it to Glavlin but decided against it.
It was probably just her dream from last night affecting her
judgment.

It took Koral a
few moments to get used to how fast they were travelling. They had
ridden for mere moments, but had travelled half a day. They had
headed south from the moment they left the forest surrounding the
elven town. Koral wished she could figure out what in the south
could be so important. Glavlin had told her about the boundary, but
she knew there was more. Deciding enjoy the scenery before things
got hectic, she let the idea slip from her mind.

Glavlin, riding
behind Koral with Darly, had been watching her closely. He could
tell she had not slept well and was curious as to what could have
plagued her dreams.

“You have not
told her what is in the south, have you?” asked Darly.

“No,” he
answered. “Gillock does not want her to know quite yet.”

Darly frowned.
“Keeping things from the one person who may be able to restore us
is very unusual.”

Darly’s comment
was an accurate one. It confused Glavlin as to why they needed to
keep this information from her. Gillock had been quite adamant
about letting her know too much about the Wizard’s School. Glavlin,
knowing Gillock as well as he did, knew there was a very important
reason and he would reveal it when he felt it was prudent.

“Do not worry,
Darly. She will know when the time is right.”

Darly just
shrugged her shoulders and rode to the head of the group to speak
with Mekken.

They rode all
day and made camp in a clearing. “We are almost out of the Cyprian
Forest,” stated Glavlin to Koral.

“Already,” she
responded, shocked. “I thought you said it was at least three days
from your village to the south edge of the forest.”

Glavlin smiled.
“I told you we would be travelling fast.”

“So how long
until we meet up with Eric?” she asked.

“If we could
keep riding like this, we would be passing by a dwarf mining town
just before we make camp tomorrow.

Unfortunately,
starting tomorrow we will have to travel at a normal pace. It may
take us five or six days, if the weather hits. Still, with any
luck, someone there will have heard something,” he replied.

“I am certain
General Traug has dispatched someone after us,” remarked Koral. “I
just hope my parents are all right.”

Glavlin could
see the pain in her eyes. She had no idea where her mother had gone
and her father may be in prison by now. “Well, you should get some
rest. Tomorrow could get interesting.”

Koral smiled.
“Yes, I will see you in the morning.”

Glavlin watched
her walk to where she had set up her area. She looked very worried,
and he hoped tomorrow would bring some good news.

The next day
was very gloomy. Rain was a definite possibility, which did not
please the group. It would most likely hinder their efforts to
reach the dwarf town. They packed up camp, and were preparing to
leave, when there was a shout from the front. One of the elves came
up to Glavlin. “There is a woman up ahead. She looks like a gypsy.
She has asked if it is alright to ride with us.”

Glavlin was
suspicious. “Bring her back here. I will speak with her.”

Koral was
worried. What if this was a trick? Her suspicions disappeared once
she saw the woman. She was not much older than Koral. Her deep
brown hair sat braided down her back, and her eyes showed signs of
worry.

“Your
highness,” she said as she approached Glavlin. “My name is Adora.
It would be a great honour if I could ride with you as far as
Keenley.”

“How is it you
know that area is our destination?” asked Glavlin, still
suspicious.

“The trail you
are on only leads to Keenley. You are either going to the dwarf
town or heading to Keenley. It was an obvious deduction,” she
replied.

Glavlin smiled.
“You may ride with us, Adora, but stay close. We may have some
trouble headed our way.”

“Thank you
greatly,” Adora responded with a slight bow.

Koral was not
sure what to make of this woman. For some reason, Adora made her
feel at ease, and the fact disturbed her greatly. Sighing, Koral
decided not to dwell on it. It had started to rain, and it
threatened to push back their arrival at the dwarf town.

The rain came
down hard so they made camp early. While Koral was unpacking her
things, she could feel something strange. It was as if someone was
staring at her. She looked around the campsite and everyone,
including Adora, appeared to be busy unpacking. “It must be my
nerves,” Koral muttered to herself. Laughing, she turned back to
continue unpacking her things and almost fell over. Sitting on
Swift’s saddle was a squirrel. It was completely grey and looked to
be quite interested in her. She tried to shoo it away, but the
little creature wouldn’t budge. “So you are the one who has been
watching me,” she stated. The squirrel tilted it is head sideways
as if acknowledging her, then ran off towards Adora. Koral watched
as Adora let the creature climb onto her hand. It looked as if she
was talking to it. When Adora noticed Koral was watching, she
scooped up a few things and went off into the forest.

“There is
something odd about that woman,” said Glavlin's coming up behind
Koral.

Koral turned to
him. “Yes, but it does not appear to be anything evil.”

“I know,” he
remarked. “And that is what bothers me.”

Koral smiled
and went back to work unpacking. It was going to be a long, wet
night.

“My queen, I
have something to report,” came a call from her mirror.

“Yes Moray,
what is it?” asked Malena.

“We are nearing
the dwarf town, I expect us to be there within a few days,” replied
the demon.

It had been
four days since the group had started their journey, and Malena was
wondering if they were ever going to make it. She thought the elves
foolish to ride at a regular pace.

“Call me again
once you have arrived. I am sure Glavlin means to ask if he can
travel through their mines to Elma’s Pass,” she stated.

Moray did not
share her assessment, but said nothing. “I will report to you as
soon as the plans are revealed.”

“Have you met
up with Eric yet?” she asked.

“No, my queen,”
he responded, and he could sense she wasn’t happy.

“Inform me at
once should you find him,” she spat, then let the mirror go dark.
Apparently, she had not slowed down the prince and his band as much
as she thought.

CHAPTER NINE

Grund
Stonecutter was not a happy dwarf. The land had been changing, and
food was hard to come by. Being one of the few dwarves, who ever
left the safety of the mines, Grund was one of the few who were
aware of the changes. After seeing what it was like in Keenley,
Grund knew this was something the dwarven council needed to hear
about.

It had been
just over a week since he left the town of Keenley and in that time
he had only seen one deer, and it was dead. This was one of the few
times he wished he had Drundle with him. He preferred to make these
trips alone, but her presence would have been comforting. It was
still a day until he would reach the mines. Glad he had packed
extra food when leaving Keenley, he decided to take his afternoon
meal. Finding a place which was partially hidden from the trail he
had been travelling, Grund sat down and pulled out some of the
dried meats he had packed.

Not long after
he had started eating, he heard a noise. Grund knew no one had been
following him, and whomever it was, they definitely weren’t trying
to be very quiet. Moving slowly through the bushes, Grund made his
way towards the voices. What he saw almost made him laugh. There
was a small band of goblins and a human. They were pulling a cart,
which held two injured goblins. Goblins and dwarves are not very
friendly towards each other, but Grund could not help but feel
sorry for the troop. As they drew closer, he could hear part of
their conversation.

“I do not
understand why we have not gotten to Keenley yet,” remarked the
human.

“Gots pushed
fars downs Rivers Ragez. Wez lostes horses alsos onz wrongs sides
of rivers,” said the goblin with him. “Wez gots finds places to
crosses.”

“I guess not
using the ferry was not such a good idea after all,” said the boy,
his voice showing annoyance. “Now it is going to take forever to
get there.”

“I be thinkin’
ye’ll be wantin’ me help,” stated a voice from the bushes.

Eric jumped at
the voice. Neither he nor the goblins had heard anyone in
approaching.

“Not be meanin'
to startle ye boy. Names Grund.”