The Silver Arrow (11 page)

“Mosley was badly injured, but
he’s well. The first thing he asked about when he gained
consciousness was how you were doing. When he was told you were
being taken care of next door, he got out of his bed and walked
over to check on you, ignoring the protest of Berta and her maids,
who were in the middle of removing the arrow in his shoulder. Your
safety meant more to him than his own life, it appears.

“At your side, he asked several
questions on your condition; when he was satisfied there was
nothing else that could be done, he walked back to his room with
blood dripping on the floor.”

Iseac listened while sipping
his soup. The first bite stung, as his mouth felt raw, and the
sensation was no different as it slid down his throat. Like
quicksand, it seeped into his bones, leaving him feeling warm
inside. He continued eating, not saying a word, listening, until
she mentioned a stranger who came looking for him the same
night.

“I was told a group of armed
men stopped at the Two Arrows Tavern, and another group came here.
They were looking for two dangerous men who were badly injured and
asked if they could look around. The one who led this group here
spoke with the authority of a man who expected to be obeyed, even
though he saluted Gina. This man she said had the accent of a
northerner and the mannerism of a high Lord. Gina knew that
regardless of what she said, they were going to look around. The
only thing she could do was make them feel that while they were
welcome to look around, it would a waste of their time.

‘We’ve not had any new visitors
as of late, but you are welcome to look around if you wish,’ she
told them.

“Even though the man she was
talking to was civil, the one standing behind him had his eyes
fixed on her. This man that stood behind his commander had no
warmth in his expression as he stared fixedly at Gina with his deep
green eyes while stroking the hilt of his sword, as if searching
for a reason to use it. When their commander gave the signal to
search the rooms, the men split into two groups. “The green-eyed
man walked up the stairs, his hand firm on the hilt of his sword as
he peered through the curtain on the first room, which was empty.
The man cautiously walked toward the next room. He pulled the
curtain open, and a young man, Dan, with his father, turned to see
who it was that had entered their room. The man at the door stared
at them for a minute and then turned around and left. As he
withdrew from the room, a call came from downstairs. It must have
been urgent, because he immediately ran back down to join the
others and they left. What happened next was strange; Gina said the
ground shook for a brief second after they left.”

It was obvious they came for
him and Mosley. “But not here,” Iseac said to himself. This was not
supposed to happen−people tracking him down to his family.

“So what would dangerous men
like those want with you?”

Iseac looked at her for minute,
gathering his thoughts. “I don’t know, but I have a feeling they
might be back,” he said, not expanding further.

Not satisfied with his answer,
Elena was about to press him for an explanation when Mosley walked
into the room.

They both turned to face him.
Elena’s face was a mixture of concern and frustration, which she
quickly changed, not wanting to appear impolite.

“I will leave you two alone,”
she said rising from her seat and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
Iseac knew it wasn’t over; she would be returning with more
questions, but at least this would give him some time to
prepare.

Elena was sometimes headstrong,
and this was going to be one of those occasions.

As she walked past Mosley, she
bowed her head, greeting him in their native tongue, and he replied
in the same manner. Iseac spoke up as soon as she left the
room.

“We leave for Bayshia in two
days; will you be ready?”

And while most people would
have been taken aback by Iseac’s words, Mosley appeared
unperturbed. “You look like a beat-up rug; I’m not sure you are
ready yet for the road,” Mosley replied.

“I look worse than I feel. A
good wash and some real food and I’ll be good to go.”

Iseac was loosening the band
around his head as he was speaking. His body felt stiff and his
side still hurt as he moved his hand around his head.

“What about your father and
mother?” Mosley asked “They’ve been here, worried about you, since
you arrived.”

“I know,” Iseac said solemnly.
He knew how hard it must have been for them to see him this way. “I
plan to let them know that it’s all right.”

He knew it was not safe for him
to remain here for his family’s sake, but more importantly, he
needed to get to Bayshia fast. He had seen the face of the first.
While there were lots of inns and taverns in Bayshia, all he had to
do was find the building where he took cover and start from there.
Hopefully, he would be able to sense his presence when they got
close enough.

Elye was among the crowd
exiting the show when he spotted Samuel sitting on the ground with
his back toward him.

“What happened to you?” he
asked, walking over to stand next to Samuel. “I told you I wasn’t
going to wait, but I waited. I was one of the last ones to go
in.”

“I was held up helping
someone,” Samuel said, turning to look up at Elye.

“For almost an hour?” Elye
asked suspiciously, a smile creeping onto his face. “She must have
been very pretty, then, for you to have lost track of time.”

“No, it wasn’t a girl,” Samuel
said, getting to his feet.

He reached out and grabbed Elye
by the head, locking it under his left arm. With his right, he
began ruffling Elye’s hair as he tried to pull his head free. They
both started laughing, with Elye tickling Samuel’s side, and he let
go.

After a few minutes of playing
around, Elye reminded Samuel, “We better get going, then, before
you miss your competition.”

“Not this time,” Samuel said
with little interest in his voice.

“What?” Elye looked at him,
perplexed. “You have been practicing for this competition for the
last two years, and I know you are far better than you were
before.”

“Maybe…” Samuel replied. “But
something more important came up.”

“What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t really matter now,”
Samuel said, not wanting to discuss it any further.

“Are you sure?” Elye asked
again.

“Yes…” Samuel replied with no
irritation in his voice. The competition no longer seemed so
important.

“Well, if we aren’t going to
the Ramthon Flight, then let’s explore the rest of the city before
nightfall. We can start with the Homrie-Ale, the finest drinking
house in the four Kingdoms. I heard someone inside during the show
talking about three new flavors.”

“That is fine,” Samuel said,
“after we visit the Porters Shack. It’s on the way.”

“Fine,” Elye replied. “Let’s
go.” They headed for the shack.

It was around dusk, with most
of the shops closed or closing for the day, when Samuel and Elye
arrived at the Stone Hog Inn. A wave of lively chatter filled the
room with music, and laughter blazed through the door as they
walked in.

The place was crowded, with
visitors talking and drinking as serving girls moved about with
drinks. Quite a few people were standing because there were no
vacant seats.

“Elye,” a familiar voice called
from within the crowd.

They both heard it and turned
in the same direction, searching as people moved about.

Samuel spotted Faray standing
and waving one hand over his head. He was at the corner of the
room, trying to get their attention.

“Follow me,” Samuel said,
tapping Elye on the shoulder. They made their way to a corner of
the room.

“I was wondering when both of
you were going to show up,” Faray said. “I was just going to give
up fighting people off for these chairs. Sit!”

“Where is Father?” Elye
asked.

“What?” Faray replied, the
noise muting the question.

“Where is Father?” Elye asked
again, raising his voice.

“Oh, Father, he’s getting
things ready for the ride home tomorrow. So, how did it go?” Faray
asked Samuel.

“He did not compete,” Elye
answered before Samuel could respond. Samuel glared disapprovingly
at him before turning to face his older brother. “Something more
important came up.”

“What? What could have been so
important?” Faray asked, his expression almost mirroring Elye’s
when he heard the same thing, and just like Elye, he knew Samuel
had been working hard in preparation for the competition.

“Nothing that I can explain
right now, and besides, it doesn’t really matter.” It was obvious
Samuel didn’t want to talk about it.

“What about you?” he asked,
trying to change the conversation. “How did things go in town?”

Faray spent several minutes
talking about the mundane things he did throughout the day, but he
had an edge of excitement in his voice. That was something Samuel
had noticed since arriving. Faray was in an especially good mood,
as if he were hiding or holding something back. It was good news,
but what?

“Did he do it?” Samuel wondered
as Faray told them of his day.

When he was done speaking,
Faray said, wanting it to appear almost as an afterthought, “Oh,
and I did it.”

“Did what?” Samuel asked, even
though he could only think of one thing that could make Faray so
elated.

“What I said I was going to do
when I saw Klair again,” Faray replied.

“So, what happened?” Elye
asked.

“She was at the side alleyway
by the shop, restacking some crates when I saw her,” Faray said as
he explained what happened.

He had nodded as he said hello
to Klair, drawing her attention.

“Oh hello, Faray,” she had
replied with a smile, turning to look at him briefly. “Father is
inside.”

“I know. I’m actually here to
see you.”

“Well, then, I could use some
help moving the bottles in the three crates right here,” she said,
pointing to the crate she had stacked. Faray grabbed one of the
crates and was glad for the distraction. It kept his heart from
pounding while he gathered his thoughts, which seem to have evaded
him after all the time he’d spent planning what to say.

“How is your family?” Klair
asked.

“They are doing well,” Faray
replied, “and how is business?”

“Still busy, as usual; Father
had to hire more hands in preparation for the crowds that were
coming, so he had to cut down on his travel to oversee things here.
But tonight we’re getting things ready for Lord Alum’s party,”
Klair said as they continued working.

“Come on. Think. Say
something,” Faray said to himself. “You can best most men your age
in a duel, so why are you so worried and tongue-tied with her? You
will not hear the end of this from Elye…now say something.” He
braced himself for whatever was to happen and opened his mouth.

“Klair,” he said, placing one
of his hands over hers to stop her for a minute. She looked up at
him expectantly, and everything around him seemed to stop. “She is
so beautiful,” he thought as he spoke. “I want to be the person
that makes you smile the way you did a minute ago,” he said,
looking into her eyes.

Those words made her smile
again as she tried to stop herself, seeing that he was looking at
her. She blushed and looked down, pushing a strand of hair back in
place. She knew exactly what he meant.

“But Father, he−”

“I know I need to speak with
him,” Faray said, cutting in as someone else called.

“My Lady, your father needs you
inside.” They both turned to see one of Klair’s family maidservants
standing in front of the side door.

“I’ll be there in a minute,”
she said, returning her attention to Faray.

“When do you leave?” Klair
asked.

“Tomorrow morning…but meet me
at the Stone Hog Inn. I have something for you.”

“I can’t promise that I’ll be
able to make it tonight. Father is expecting me to help, but I’ll
try.” Klair kissed him on the cheek before rushing away.

Faray stood there, stunned with
excitement after all this time worrying about being rejected. She
had not drawn her hand away from his when he held it, and she had
kissed him. He raised his hand to touch his face, grinning as he
walked away.

Samuel and Elye listened,
impressed with Faray; he finally did it.

“So what are you going to do
now?” Elye asked.

Faray looked at him, his
expression not slighting. He knew Elye's youthful exuberance
sometimes got the best of his tongue.

“Well,” Faray said, “I’ll be
speaking with Father to see if I can stay another day, and we’ll
see how things go.”

They spent the rest of the
night making small talk while enjoying the music performed by a man
who played the flute, accompanied by a young female singer old
enough to be his daughter.

They went to bed that night
reflecting on the events that had transpired during their day.
Faray had finally taken the next big step with the girl of his
dreams, which, for him, was the beginning of what he hoped would be
the start of his new life; he hoped her father would approve.

Elye went to sleep dreaming
about the great magic show, while Samuel’s thoughts were consumed
by the stranger he had helped along the alleyway, a young man about
his age named Jayden. He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled
out the necklace that held an emerald ring. It reaffirmed what had
happened to him; it hadn’t been a dream after all.

After two long days on the
road, once setting camp overnight in the woods, Harold, Samuel, and
Elye made it home to Chartum-Valley. Their father had agreed to
Faray spending another night in Bayshia. He arrived the following
day just past sunset, exhausted but bright-eyed.