The Flute Keeper's Promise (The Flute Keeper Saga) (47 page)

I took a seat on a bench
in front of Mr. Tully. Latticed windows cut the sunlight into crossed patterns
on the floor. I studied the golden patches and tried not to think about the
dark, stony figure at the back of the room.  

Lord Finbarr got down to
business as soon as he called the meeting to order. The past few weeks had
taken a visible toll on him. Dark circles showed under the rims of his spectacles.
He smiled as always, but it looked forced.

“We’re going to have to broaden our
hunting grounds,” he said. “Our supplies are running short. I’ll let our
resident cook explain.”

Anouk stood up nervously. “We’ve
run out of smoked meat,” She said. “All the small game has left the area. We
might have some luck with fish, but all that we can find in the stream outside
is minnows.”

Behind me, Mr. Tully cleared his
throat. “Going upstream is risky,” he argued. “It’s too far out of our safety
zone. We may not run into any red capes, but there are trolls and sasquatch out
there that wouldn’t hesitate to break your neck if they caught you in their
hunting ground.”

I stood up. “I suggest that we send
Valory. She’s great at fishing. I’m sure she could get us a whole week’s supply
without having to go too far upstream.”

“No. Not her.”

Everyone turned to look at Hugo. He
was standing with his arms crossed. He wore a frown that dared anyone to
challenge him. The Slaugh who were with him looked equally displeased.

I bit my tongue before I could say
anything inflammatory. This was a council. I had to be diplomatic even if he
wasn’t. “What are your objections?” I asked evenly, staring him down.

He met my eyes with one heated
glance and then looked away. “She’s loud. She’s too rough. It’s asking for
trouble sending someone like her into unsafe territory. I’d rather send some of
my people.”

True, Valory could be loud when she
was in company, but when she was out in the wilderness she was quiet and deadly
swift as any Slaugh. The poor girl had been chomping at the bit to stretch her wings
for weeks. A fishing trip was perfect.

“I disagree,” I said in a neutral
tone. “I’ve never seen anyone better at fishing and hunting.”

Hugo’s expression turned so dark
that he seemed to seep some of the light out of the room. “That is only your
word, though.”

Everyone else remained silent,
watching the exchange. I savored the moment. It was perfectly fine if they all
came to an agreement to send somebody else, but it had to be a fair decision.
Hugo couldn’t dismiss my suggestion on his opinion alone.

Quietly, civilly, without even the
tiniest speck of cheekiness, I turned to Lord Finbarr. “What do
you
think, Sir? You have had time to become acquainted with Valory and you have
known me for years. Have you any reason to doubt me?”

In spite of the dark circles there
was an amused sparkle in Lord Finbarr’s eyes. “No, Miss Wren, I trust your
judgment. However, we have to consider what will make everyone most
comfortable. I suggest that you accompany Valory, and that King Hugo select two
of his people to go with you as well.”

A murmur of surprise came from the
others. I gulped. What had I gotten Valory into? Perhaps I had pushed too hard.
I was about to speak up and withdraw my suggestion, but I heard an agitated
scuffle of wings.

“Fine,” Hugo said in a tone that
was the opposite. “Be ready to leave in one hour.”

“One hour?” I blurted before I
could stop myself.

Hugo glowered at me like I was an
impertinent child. “Yes, if you are to return by supper time.”

I considered it and decided it
wasn’t unreasonable. My only worry was whom Hugo would pick to accompany us.

Lord Finbarr gave me a questioning
look. He was waiting on my agreement before calling the meeting.

“Okay,” I said, nodding. “We’ll be
at the drawbridge in one hour.”

Valory was ecstatic.

“Finally we get to get in on some
action! I’ve felt like a loafer around here, ya know? Back at the cabin I had to
do everything and here I’ve just been lazin’ around.”

I tucked some supplies into a
daypack along with a few nibbles of food. I wasn’t sure what to take or how much
help I’d be to three Slaugh. Somebody had to be Valory’s handler, though. I
would rather do it than let anyone else.

“Just tone it down a little, okay?”
I pleaded. “Those Slaugh don’t like you, so don’t give them any reason to try
something. This isn’t some kind of fun field trip. We’re doing this for
everyone at Woodman’s Hall. They’re depending on us.”

“You can count on me!” Valory said.
“I won’t mind the company no matter how bad it is. I won’t start nothing. I
promise.”

To Valory’s credit, she had no idea
how bad the company would actually be. I was already dreading a journey with
two sullen, antisocial Slaugh. When we arrived at the drawbridge, we found
Katriel waiting with Hugo.

I was stunned into speechlessness.
Valory beamed a toothy grin and offered Katriel a hand to shake.

“Hello, fishing buddy! Ready to
snag some big ones?”

Katriel sneered at the outstretched
hand. I thought for a moment that she was going to spit in it.

Hugo remained aloof save for one satisfied
sneer of his own. I felt a stab of resentment. He was setting us up for
failure. I realized what a bad idea it had been to nominate Valory for the
mission. With Katriel and Hugo along, it would surely bring out the worst in
her.

“Just keep your mouth shut and
let’s get this overwith!” I whispered to Valory.

Katriel glared down her nose at me.
“And what’s this scrawny thing? Are you the bait?”

“Oh, ha ha,” I said. “Such wit. Too
bad you don’t have the looks to match.”

Hugo passed between us, cutting off
the chance for any more catty barbs.

“I’ll fly ahead and be your
lookout,” he said to Katriel. “Guide them upstream. Go quietly.”

“Guide?” Valory grumbled under her
breath. “I don’t need no guide. I can find my way through the forest
blindfolded with both eyes poked out.”

“Let’s try it and see,” Katriel
said, tapping her rapier.

I gave Valory a warning look.
Valory sighed and started walking. She carried the baskets for our catch. I
carried the supplies. Katriel carried nothing, but she marched along the
riverbank like she was important. Hugo was just a shadow darting through the trees
far ahead.

At the furthest perimeter of
Woodman’s Hall we passed the resistance sentries. I recognized them as members
of the Terra Cartisans. Hugo stopped to speak with them while Valory, Katriel
and I forged ahead upstream.

We soon came to the part of the
forest where the resistance had no eyes. It was far enough up from shore that
it had escaped the reach of the tidal wave. The shady coolness was welcome
along with the wind rushing through conifer needles and animals scurrying
through the branches.

“Ah, I’ve missed that,” Valory
said, taking a deep whiff of the air. “It beats the smell of mud.”

“How can you tell over your own
stink?” Katriel asked.

Valory’s eyebrows drew together.
There was a flash of vehemence in her face. I tapped her on the arm and shook
my head.

With a huff Valory rustled her
wings and kept moving. Katriel smirked.

Onward in silence, we passed
through an area where the stream narrowed and became shallow. There were no
fish, but I spotted a bed of mussels among the rocks. Valory deemed them
edible, so she and I pried some off and dropped them into one of the baskets.
Katriel leaned against a tree trunk, watching us with disdain.

“This is Pixie food,” she said.
“Show me a bear or a highland deer. I’d take it down with my bare hands.
That’s
a meal worth taking pride in!”

Unable to restrain herself, Valory
shook off her wet hands and said, “What do you know about pride? All I’ve seen
you do is lick your king’s boots!”

Katriel was upon her in an instant.
“Watch your mouth you filthy country
vistkern
.”

Valory shoved Katriel in the chest.
“What’d you call me?”

I watched helplessly. Jumping
between the two of them was not a good idea. I conjured a pulse of energy and
held it at the ready just in case things got out of hand.

“Stop bickering,” Hugo said from a
branch above.

All three of us looked up. He was
barely visible among the dark green foliage.

Katriel brushed off the front of
her leather top where Valory had touched her. “What news, Your Highness?”

Valory mocked her behind her back.
I stifled a laugh.

“There is a bend up ahead where the
stream widens,” Hugo said. “There are deep pools that smell of fish and there
are also nests of wading birds. We should be able to harvest some eggs.”

“I dunno, sounds like Pixie food to
me,” Valory said, nudging me with her elbow.

Katriel turned and scowled at as. I
could tell that she had a nasty comment waiting on the tip of her tongue, but
she withheld it because Hugo was still within earshot.

As soon as he flew away Katriel
said, “You should be more respectful.”

“Why?” Valory asked.

It was a perfectly innocent question
coming from Valory. I could see that, but to Katriel it was an insult.

“
Why
? You have not seen the
things we have. You cannot conceive of the things
he’s
gone through!”

“I have a pretty good idea,” I
mumbled.

Katriel ignored me. “You see our
numbers, how few we are. We fight. It is what we know. We fight for you and
even the coddled Fay and their servants! We fight and he leads us so that we
might know greatness again one day like our ancestors. Have you done anything
so honorable?”

I held my tongue. Valory listened,
bemused in her innocence.

“You mock us now,” Katriel said,
“but one day when we rise again, all of Faylinn will know that we are noble
creatures. You—” she pointed a finger at Valory “—you sicken me with your
carelessness. You claim to be our queen, but anyone who ever saw Hagan
Winterwing knows he would not have fathered a backwards, lowly worm like you.
It insults me that we are the same race.”

Valory looked so hurt that I had to
speak up. “Just hold on a minute. You’ve done nothing but find fault with
Valory, but it’s only because she’s different from you. In my estimate that’s a
good thing. It means she isn’t shallow-minded.”

“That’s right,” Valory said. “I
can’t help it I wasn’t raised like regular Slaugh, but that doesn’t make me any
less of one! And as for my parents…” she looked in the direction that Hugo had
flown. “Don’t you think he’d have killed me by now if he knew I was wrong? I
figure that deep down, he knows I’m his half-sister.”

Katriel shook her head furiously as
though the thought pained her. “
Kekist nin
! You are the mother of all
liars and I would eat my own wings the day any Slaugh bowed before you. You our
queen?
Ivern!
”

She spat on the ground and stalked
ahead through a patch of reeds. Valory looked wounded. She dragged her feet as
she followed after Katriel.

“Don’t listen to her,” I whispered.
“You’re ten times the Slaugh she is!”

We found the deep pools Hugo had
spotted. Valory seemed driven to prove her worth by catching every moving
creature under the water. Before long, we had a basket of fish, turtles,
crayfish and one very confused newt.

Meanwhile, I raided the nests of
long-legged wading birds for eggs. The eggs were also a delicacy of the local
water sprites. I kept getting into scuffles with them that ended with tiny
teeth marks on my knuckles.

Katriel took to the trees to find
other small game. I knew that Hugo was around somewhere but I seldom saw his
shadow flitting nearby. I scanned the treetops in the distance and saw a glint
of red.

Hugo was standing on a branch just
downstream from me. His dark shape stood out from the drooping lines of the
moss-covered tree limbs. The afternoon sun pierced his outline and again I saw
the red shimmer of the dagger he’d taken from me.

He tilted his head—looking at me? I
couldn’t tell. The sun was so bright and he was so dark.

There came a triumphant cry from
Valory as she nabbed a huge fish. Katriel snorted to make it known that she
wasn’t impressed.

“That ought to do it!” Valory
exclaimed as she clasped the lid on her last basket.

I sighed as I looked at the heavy
load. “Good job, Valory. We’d better get it back before it spoils.”

With a shadow and a flutter,
Katriel landed beside me and picked up two of the baskets. “I suppose I can
carry these. I will fly ahead. No need to dawdle with you two.”

“Too bad you can’t fly,” Valory
said to me, hoisting as much of the catch as she could carry. “These will get a
bit smelly before we make it home.”

I shouldered my basket of eggs.
‘It’s okay. Go ahead. I’ll walk as fast as I can.”

Valory’s wings stretched in
anticipation. “Are you sure? I won’t leave you alone on the ground if you don’t
want. I can walk.”

 I knew better. Valory loved
flying. “I’ll be fine.”

Another shadow passed overhead. I
looked up and saw Hugo circling above.  He made a few passes and then glided
back through the forest. I took it to mean that he’d bring up the rear.

Reassured, Valory took off, leaving
me to rough it on foot. It was quiet without a companion to talk to. My basket
was heavy and the late afternoon sun cast long shadows among the trees. It made
me feel uneasy. I recalled Mr. Tully’s warning about the trolls and sasquatch.  With
the others flying high above, I felt terribly alone.

The shadows stretched longer. My
feet grew sore and my knuckles bled from my war wounds with the sprites. At
least our mission for food was a success. Anouk would be able to stock the
pantry for a while.