Talon: The Windwalker Archive (Book 1) (24 page)

“
Her ribbon,” said Talon, showing Azzeal the dirty ribbon around his wrist.

“
May I?” Azzeal asked, reaching out.

Talon gave him his arm and the elf touched the ribbon with three fingers.

“This has been in your possession for a time?” he asked, closing his eyes.

“
Yes,” Talon confirmed.

The elf’s fern-like eyebrows shot up and concentration turned his face.
“It was hers so long ago, she has changed so much since then…I feel her…it is faint,” Azzeal said; then he released the ribbon and rubbed his forehead.

“
Would it be faint if she were dead?” Talon asked.

“
It might, if I were close to her body. I believe it is faint because she is far away.”

“
How far can you…
feel
someone?”

“
Depends on my bond to them. I have no bond to her but through you. If the feeling is faint to me here, then she could be as far as one hundred miles away,” said Azzeal.

“
Which direction?” Talon asked, getting excited.

Azzeal seemed to ponder.
“South, I believe”

“
Well then, she ain’t lost in north sea of ice,” Gretzen put in. Talon hadn’t even noticed she had returned. She handed each of them a bowl of roots and mushrooms. “You’ll find her; first you eat your shrooms.”

What is done is done; I shall proudly stand for judgment of my actions.

—
Azzeal, 4996

Talon’s
wounds had been mended weeks beyond what would have been possible naturally, though he remained sore. Most of his life he had spent sore or in pain; he was used to it. His amma urged him to rest longer, but Talon could not sit idly by whilst Akkeri was out there in the world, alone. He decided to set out immediately, and Gretzen respected his decision.

“
Thanks for everything you’ve done for me, Azzeal,” he said at the mouth of the cave.

“You are quite welcome,” said Azzeal. “Do not worry about your amma, it is too dangerous for her here, I have spoken with her about it, and she has decided to accompany me to Elladrindellia.”

Talon was relieved to learn that she would be safe.

“There is a woman in the village, a healer.”

“Mahjree?” Azzeal guessed.

“Yes,” said Talon. “I worry for her as well.”

“I will see what I can do,” said Azzeal.

“Thank you. I am sorry that I lost your ring,” said Talon.

“Things are only lost until they are found. Go to the waters, speak words of truth, perhaps Kyrr will answer.”

Talon lit up
, excited at the possibility of finding the ring.

“
If you are ever in Elladrindellia, near the city of Cerushia, ask about me. I may be around,” Azzeal said. Talon promised he would.

Amma Gretzen acted much like she had the day he left for his
Miotvidr. When he gave her a hug, she held him tight and bent down and kissed his cheeks. “Your amma Gretzen is proud of you, boy. You hear me?”

At first
Talon was unable to answer.

“I love you Amma,” he finally said.

He left the cave with only the timber wolf figurine and the sack of food and waterskin Gretzen prepared for him. Azzeal had gathered Jahsin’s ashes, though Talon knew not how. Those he carried in a small jar.

Through the
vine tunnel and out past the abandoned mine he went. He reached the road where Vaka Groegon attacked him, and pulled out the wolf carving.

“
Come, Chief! Come, boy!”

Mist once again swirled out of the figurine
, and his first friend came to life before his eyes.

“
Hey, boy, you ready to get off this island?”

Chief gave a playful bark.

Together they traveled up the road to the Skomm village under cover of darkness. Chief ran ahead and behind, scouting the way. When someone came, he returned to Talon’s side and gave a small growl. They had to hide in the woods three times on the road to the village to avoid Vaka on horseback. Talon learned by listening to their tired grumblings that they were looking for him.

“
I says the feikin chiefson gets his arse out here himself if he wants the Draugr so bad,” one said.

“
Gonna be pullin’ double duty ’til the runt is found; get used to it,” said the other.

Other
patrolling Vaka he came across spoke of Gretzen—how she had been missing since Talon disappeared. She was wanted also. Talon was glad she would remain with Azzeal in the cave until he was finished with his work on Volnoss. Then she would go with him to the Elven lands for the rest of her days. She had been so impressed with Azzeal’s nature magic, and she couldn’t remain here anyway. Fylkin was looking for both of them; the chiefson knew she had something to do with his escape.

Talon stayed to the shadows and followed the fields and low
lands between Timber Wolf and Skomm Village. The route was slower, with no road to follow, but it was safer. His destination was the harbor, and he could not risk going through the village. He worried for Majhree, but she would insist she was fine; he knew that she would not come with him.

The harbor was silent but for the slow lapping of waves. Talon waited a long time in the shad
ows before he was confident that no one was around. Chief gave no indication that he sensed anything of consequence. Together they ran down past the boats and onto the beach. He could have left on one of the unattended keiprs, but he dismissed the idea immediately. He would take the raft Jahsin made. At least that much of him would get off the island.

Talon snuck into the water
, trying to make as little sound as possible. Chief wouldn’t go in and waited on the beach, whimpering faintly.

“
Shh, Chief, I’ll be right back,” he whispered.

He w
alked out until the water reached his hips and wondered what he should say. In the cave, Azzeal had said that he could find the ring by telling it the truth.

“
Kyrr, Ring of Righteous Anger, it is I, Talon Windwalker. I am unworthy of your great power. Perhaps that is why you left me. I know I am small and weak, but I promise I will ever use you in defense of the weak, of the small.”

Talon’s voice echoed
over the water louder than he liked. He watched the water and he waited. Nothing happened. Perhaps the ring had washed out to sea. Perhaps it had been found. Was it possible that the ring didn’t want to be found?

He turned and began for the beach and Chief gave a small
bark. Talon looked back and found the waters glowing a stone throw away. He swam toward the light as fast as he could. When he was over the glow, he dove under the water and swam down, down, down. He went further than he ever had, and when he was sure his lungs would burst, he reached the ring. He took it up in his hand and frantically swam back up. He broke through the surface, gasping for air. He scoured the shoreline, but there was no one. Chief sat on the beach, scratching his ear and looking quite bored. Talon put the ring on his finger as he treaded water. A flash of energy went through his body as the ring connected with him.

“
Thank you, Kyrr.”

They returned to the shadows and bushes and skimmed along the edge of Timber
Wolf Village. After nearly two hours they came to the patch of rocky shore he had fished for so many years. Chief became excited when he recognized their old stomping grounds.

Talon worried
that the storm might have swept away the hidden parts of the raft, but it had not. Because the crashing waves had spread some parts of the raft deep inland, it took him hours, but he eventually found all of the posts and the rudder and sail as well.

Jahsin had gone over how to build the raft a hundred times, and Talon could hear his voice te
lling him each step as he worked. He took his time assembling the parts of the raft; it was the closest he would ever be to his friend again. Many times he had to stop because his tears blinded him so. He wiped them away and cursed his weakness. Real men didn’t cry, he thought, and heroes sure didn’t.

He finis
hed the raft shortly before midday and wasted no time in getting it to the water. Chief leapt onto the raft as Talon pushed it out. He climbed on also when the water got too deep and began to paddle. The wind was gentle but steady when he lowered the sail. It caught the wind well and pushed them through the small waves as Talon steered them south. The raft worked as well as he thought it would. He expected no less from Jahsin.

Talon watched
Volnoss grow smaller as they went, and the feeling of finally leaving the prison of his youth was bittersweet. He had finally escaped, but his liberation came at a great cost. He thought back on all the nights under the stars that he, Jahsin, and Akkeri had spent dreaming of their lives in Agora. How he wished his friends were with him now.

Talon
considered spreading Jahsin’s ashes in the ocean, but thought better of the idea; he would wait until he reached Agora.

“
Thank you, Jahsin, for being my friend. You were a blessing to me in a dark time. I’ll never forget you, and I’ll never forget your dream. As the gods are my witnesses, I will return to Volnoss someday and free the Skomm. I swear my life on it.”

He turned from the island and set his sights on the distant shores of Agora. Akkeri was out there somewhere, and he intended to find her.