Nicholas Raven and the Wizards' Web - Volume 1 (68 page)

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Authors: Thomas J. Prestopnik

BOOK: Nicholas Raven and the Wizards' Web - Volume 1

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“It will be if we don’t get out of here,” Aaron said. “That means we have to pay attention. No more sleeping the hours away.”

“I don’t think we could help taking that last nap,” he replied, tossing Aaron an apple. “It sneaked up on both of us. We desperately needed rest. But now that we’re refreshed, let’s think logically about our predicament. We haven’t much time–and neither do our friends.” William sat down and munched on an apple himself. “So, any ideas?”

“I was hoping you might start the discussion,” Aaron replied.

“Very well,” he said as a stream of air escaped his lips followed by a protracted and anxious silence. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a long and dreary night.”

Meklas trudged to the barn the following morning beneath a cold, gray sky, carrying a sack of food and muttering under his breath. Another man from the house followed him with a wooden pail filled with water, equally irritated with their task.

“Bosh better send word today about what to do with these two urchins or I’ll start taking matters into my own hands,” Meklas said as he approached the barn doors. “Are you with me, Hank?”

The man behind him shrugged. “I don’t know. If swords are about to be unleashed near the capital, I think we’ll be safer here until it’s all over one way or another.”

Meklas scowled, disappointed by his associate’s attitude. “I’m dying of boredom on this farm. I’ll take my chances back in Melinas. You can sit here and rot for all I care.” He removed the wooden bar from the doors and opened one of them wide enough to let in some daylight, dropping the food sack on the ground. “I want to see what all our hard work has been building to over this last year or so.”

“I just want to be paid,” Hank bitterly replied.

“That’s all you ever think about. I…” Meklas paused as he scanned the interior. He opened both doors as wide as he could, allowing the full light of day to flood inside. His heart pounded when he saw neither one of his charges. “
What
?”

“What’s wrong?” Hank asked, stepping up beside him. When he saw no sign of either boy and noticed that two long boards from the horse stalls had been pulled apart and were leaning against a wall below one of the windows, he expected nothing good to come of it.

Both men rushed in, fearing that William and Aaron had escaped through the window during the night. Meklas held up a hand, signaling Hank to be quiet. “Those openings are too small even for them,” he said, studying the boards placed against the wall. “And even if they had managed to shinny up those planks, they still couldn’t have reached the window.” He smiled like a snake. “They’re still in here.”

As Hank surveyed one side of the barn, Meklas scouted out the opposite end, quickly drawn to a large pile of hay near one of the busted stalls. As he cautiously approached, he noted a small, dark patch protruding from the hay, guessing it was the tip of a boot. He snapped his fingers to get Hank’s attention while at the same time leaning in closer, his hand reaching for a dagger at his side. But before he grabbed his weapon, a narrow length of board suddenly shot out from underneath the hay like a fist and hit Meklas squarely in the jaw, sailing him backward onto the hard ground where he wailed and writhed in pain. William jumped up from beneath the hay and brandished the piece of wood like a sword as Hank stormed at him with his dagger unsheathed.

“I’ll fix you!” he cried, his face contorted in anger as he prepared to lunge at William.

“That’s what I was hoping for,” William said with quiet confidence, raising the piece of wood as if ready to strike.

But just as Hank was about to leap onto the hay, Aaron burst out from beneath another pile behind him, wielding a piece of wood from the horse stall. With all his strength, he slammed it against Hank’s upper back, causing the man to stand up straight as if an electric shock had surged through his spine. William didn’t miss a beat and heaved the end of his weapon into Hank’s stomach like a battering ram an instant later, collapsing him to the floor.

“Let’s get out of here!” William cried, swiping Hank’s dagger. He leaped off the pile of hay and grabbed Aaron by the arm and headed for the doors, taking the sack of food with them on the way out.

They slammed the barn doors shut and barred them closed with the heavy piece of wood, the cries and groans from Meklas and Hank fading in the background. Without a word, William signaled for Aaron to follow him into the nearby woods where they ran through the trees and undergrowth for several minutes before stopping for a brief rest.

“Why didn’t we grab their horses?” Aaron asked when he caught his breath.

“Thought about it,” William replied, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead. “But I didn’t want to risk getting the attention of that other man still inside the house. We’ll be safer in the trees until we put a few miles between us and them. If they don’t know which direction we went in, it’ll be impossible for them to track us down.”

“Do you know which direction we’re going in?”

He looked around and shook his head. “Not really. Do you?”

Aaron offered the same answer. “Still, we’re better off lost than imprisoned.”

“Absolutely. Now we have to get
unlost
,” William said encouragingly, “and find our way back to Melinas. We have to warn King Basil that the enemy will strike first. Let’s go!”

Like a pair of jackrabbits, the two young men raced through the woods, hoping that time and good fortune were on their side.

Eucádus and King Cedric met with King Basil on the night before the combined armies were to set out north and south. If everything went according to plan, they would engage Drogin’s troops two days from dawn tomorrow in surprise attacks. The trio went over the particulars one last time as they enjoyed a light dinner in King Basil’s room. The monarch was highly alert and acutely aware of the details regarding the upcoming maneuvers, yet an air of distraction hung over him. Eucádus and King Cedric empathized with his state of mind for they were experiencing it as well.

“No word on either of them?” King Basil asked after they finished discussing military matters.

“Nothing,” Eucádus said. “Another scout returned and made a report less than an hour ago. There are no signs of William or Aaron anywhere in Melinas.”

“It has been two full days since they left for their walk,” King Cedric added. “Dozens of people have been questioned in the streets and along the shore, and though a few knew who Aaron was, none reported seeing him or William on the night of their disappearance. It is most troubling. Are they hurt, lost or abducted?” He paused, not wanting to vocalize the one thought on everyone’s mind. “Or
dead?”

“If that should be the case…” King Basil rubbed a quivering hand across his face, unable to continue.

“We all feel responsible,” Eucádus replied, sensing his fragile state.

King Basil nodded, regaining his composure. “Yes, but maybe tomorrow will bring better news when the morning sun is high. I have no choice but to believe that.”

Eucádus watched silently as the King took a sip of tea, noting to himself how old the man appeared. He locked gazes with King Cedric, each realizing that the other had no idea if William or Aaron would ever return.

Dawn broke cold, gray and foggy the following day. A thick, swirling mist covered the lake and shoreline as it had for the past several mornings, seemingly freezing time itself in Melinas and on the adjacent fields until the sun could rise high enough to burn off the ghostly white vapor. Eucádus stepped out of the estate into the grim silence, the damp mist caressing his face upon a soft breeze. In the east, he could barely discern the outlines of the masts on the tallest ships, their tips protruding through the fog only to greet dreary, overcast skies. To his south, he noted the eerie flicker of bonfires in a sea of thick, white mist among the troops. It seemed as if hundreds of eyes were staring back, tormenting him from deep inside a restless dream from which he could not wake. Forgoing a meal inside the estate, he decided to wander among the soldiers and have breakfast with some of them, sensing an anxious expectation pervading the ranks. Everyone would be on edge today, awaiting King Basil’s order to move out and confront an uncertain fate in this most mercurial time in their history.

He found Ramsey in the midst of conversation with a group of men keeping warm by a fire. A few soldiers still slept in nearby tents, but many were waking with the change of the guard, unable to find restful sleep. Ramsey handed Eucádus a cup of hot cider and a beef biscuit, inviting him to join the discussion. The two of them would be leading one of the armies south with Captain Silas.

“Some of the men were wondering where we might expect to encounter Drogin’s troops,” Ramsey said. He warmed his hands over the flames as wisps of fog evaporated in the gush of heat.

“And will King Justin get here in time to aid us?” a voice asked among the crowd.

Eucádus heard the apprehension in that voice which matched the uncertainty reflected in many of the soldiers’ faces. He wished he had the right words to bolster their spirits and calm any lingering fears, but commanding an army was a new experience for him. Though he and others in the Clearings had prepared for this moment for years, now that it was upon him, he wondered if he could live up to others’ expectations.

“I will not pretend that I know fully what to expect in combat, nor can I foresee the time of King Justin’s arrival,” he said in a calm, steady voice. “But after meeting and talking with so many of you these last few days, I’m confident that we can face and defeat any challenge Drogin sends our way. We fight for freedom, both for your people in Rhiál and for my countrymen in the Northern Mountains. And because we know this cause is just, and because we know this fight was brought to us by tyrants, we shall seize unwavering strength from that knowledge to use in battle against even the most determined foe.” Eucádus scanned the brave faces gathered around him. “I believe such strength is inside each and every one of you gathered on this field, and it will allow our forces to hold their ground when the time comes. And mark my words–when the enemy senses your resolve, they will realize only too late that we fight from a position of power and with a sense of honor that they will never experience nor understand. So in the end, they will never defeat us. It will be you who shall stand atop the hill of victory when the day is finally done, and all of Laparia will know of your triumph.”

In the still of a gray morning shrouded in mist, the small group of men gathered around the crackling fire spoke not a word after Eucádus had finished, as if the faint echo of his words still lingering in their minds was too precious to dispel with a boisterous cheer or some clumsy remarks. Several men gathered around the other bonfires nearby also looked on, having heard his stirring address. By their appreciative expressions, Eucádus guessed he had found the right words to provide them at least a bit of hope and courage to face the long march ahead. He gently slapped Ramsey on the shoulder as he walked past, disappearing through the fog to seek out a moment of solitude as the men whispered among themselves.

Eucádus stopped at several other fires over the next hour to speak with more soldiers as the sun climbed above the lake behind a veil of iron gray clouds. But as the early morning wore on and the landscape grew lighter, the fog began to burn off, revealing the faded greens and browns of a dying autumn landscape. All across the south and west fields near King Basil’s estate, the gathered troops were acutely aware that the march to the great battle was about to begin. On a strengthening breeze, tiny patches of blue peeked out from the cloud masses above. The billowing fog upon Lake LaShear and blanketing the adjacent lands began to disperse like a frosty breath in wintertime air.

When most first heard the chorus of voices rippling across the field, they assumed that the gathered companies were eager to begin their marches north and south as this had been a moment long waited for. But when a forest of tall ship masts was suddenly revealed upon the lake in the fading mist, each one boldly flying the flag of Maranac, a temporary, leaden hush gripped the gathered armies. And to the south upon a distant ridge and across the grassy field before it, a horde of stony faces awaited silent and still, thousands upon thousands of the enemy clearly revealed as the last wisps of fog were swept away by the awakening breeze or melted in the morning light. It was as if King Drogin’s vast army had sprung up from the ground during the night like a field of mushrooms after a pounding rain. Upon cooling lake waters and across the hardened land, the opposition had arrived at King Basil’s doorstep. The enemy was prepared to end this bitter conflict and reabsorb the kingdom of Rhiál, whether by force or by surrender, into its turbulent dominion beyond the distant shore.

END OF PART FOUR

NICHOLAS RAVEN

AND THE

WIZARDS’ WEB

is continued in

VOLUME 2

~ CHAPTERS 40 - 85 ~

and is concluded in

VOLUME 3

~ CHAPTERS 86 - 120 ~

~ Books by Thomas J. Prestopnik ~

Nicholas Raven and the Wizards’ Web