Dawn (22 page)

“
I’ll give you about five minutes to loop around,” Gavin whispered, “Then I’ll make myself known and try and draw them away so you can get in. If anything goes wrong, don’t worry about me, just worry about the little girl.”

“
I know just how little Astrid feels right now, and that really makes me both mad and sad. Time to show them what Stratford girls are made of.”

They quickly hugged each other and then Dawn started her long spiral through the underbrush. All her life she had envied the gorgeous coats of Aurorans, but now she was glad for her own black coat as she crept ever closer to the old house.

The house looked like it hadn’t been used in over a hundred years: trees were already invading it and one wall had collapsed.
But where is the little girl?
She stopped to think. There were several people in the house; how could she pick out the girl? She wouldn’t be talking probably….
Smell. She was a little girl from a nice house, not a thug living in the woods. She would smell like soap or perfume.
She strained her nose to pick out a hint. Nothing. Desperately she thought back to the kartivalds at the party.
What had Gavin said? Inhale through the mouth and the nose.
She relaxed and tried again. This time she could make out the faint scent of lilac, and lilacs didn’t grow wild up here! She had her cue, now she had to close in on it. She started to climb a tree next to the wall when she suddenly heard Gavin beyond.

“
Excuse me, but did anyone see a little girl run by here?” Gavin asked innocently.

A series of hoots and hollers were his response and Dawn could tell many of the men inside had been drinking. Many people indeed! How many were there?

“
Which of you lazy bums was supposed to be on look out? He walked right up!”

“
Hey boy, this might not have been a good place for you to be.”

Good! They were, in fact, leaving the house!
Dawn peered through an open window. Finding the room beyond empty, she carefully crawled through and crept to the door. It was off its hinges so she peeked around the corner. She could smell the lilac more strongly now. She had to be close!

“
I didn’t mean to cause a commotion, I’m just looking for a little girl about three years old. Have you seen her?”

“
Maybe we have, maybe we haven’t. Does she have a name?”

“
Her name is Astrid.”

Bingo!
The far door had a strong scent of lilac and was closed from the outside by a simple bolt rather than a far noisier lock. Dawn slid the bolt back and surveyed the room. In the far corner was a huddled weeping mass that had to be Astrid. She carefully crept into the room and whispered to the little girl, “Hey! It’s okay. I’m going to get you out of here.”

The little girl’s face lit up as Dawn picked at the knots on the rope. They were quite tight. After a moment she gave up and, shielding the door with her body to limit the flash of light, winked a small Live Steel blade into her hand. She quickly and carefully cut the rope and was hugged vigorously by little Astrid in response.

“
You really shouldn’t have wandered out here, kid. Now I think you may need to stay with us for a while,” started a new, and very grumpy voice.

“
That’s fine, sir. I will happily leave and not cause you any more trouble,” replied Gavin eloquently.

“
Not really a request, boy. Unless you think you can fight your way out.”

“
If I must fight, I will.”

That sparked a whole series of laughter and Dawn used the noise to sneak Astrid back to the other room. As the laughter died down, Dawn slowed her pace with the youngster. Slowly she started to work her over to the open window.

“
I’m Eric Fechner, you little punk. You don’t want to cross paths with me,” bellowed the nasty sounding individual.

“
I’m only here for the child. I don’t wish for a confrontation, but I will do whatever it takes.”

“
You think you could last ten seconds fighting a Silver?”

“
I lasted far longer than that last Tuesday against Llewellyn.”

That set off an even nastier tone, “Don’t try and drop names, boy. Unless you want to be in even more trouble. I checked―there are no Ravensfords in town, that means no Llewellyn. He and Tarl’s sister Beatrice were inseparable. She ain’t here; he ain’t here.”

“
Sorry to disappoint you, but Llewellyn Silverglade is here. He married into house Stratford, not Ravensford. It may very well be the fact that he had to kill Beatrice’s brother that drove them apart.”

Dawn suddenly froze.
So THAT is why Father left planet. He and his childhood sweetheart broke up after Tarl’s death.
She lifted Astrid out the window and carefully balanced her on the tree branch before carefully following her out. Suddenly the conversation below percolated to the back of her brain and her fur stood on end.
Beatrice. Beatrice was her Fourth Mother. Her maiden name was Ravensford. Her Fourth Mother was Llewellyn’s old sweetheart almost fifteen years ago. And Dawn was a bit more than fourteen years old herself. Was Llewellyn her real REAL father? Too many question for now. Must concentrate on getting the little girl out.
Dawn carefully helped the little girl back to the trunk. Astrid was unwilling to climb down on her own, so Dawn simply had Astrid climb on her back and then the pair safely descended.

“
Making things up will only get you in more trouble,” she heard Eric hiss.

“
The mistake you are making, sir, is assuming that just because you are a liar, everyone else is as well,” replied Gavin in an even tone.

That set off a firestorm of obscenities that was interrupted only by someone reporting bad news.

“
Eric, forget the kid. Someone left the latch open on the girl’s room!”

“
Is she still there?” screamed Eric.

Dawn shifted into high gear, the edge of the falls were only two hundred yards away and she started running through the forest as fast as she could with her precious cargo on her back. She plowed through briars and bushes ignoring the cuts and tears to her dress and into her fur.

“
Girl is gone! Someone cut the ropes!”

More obscenities followed, “Someone grab the boy, everyone else spread out and find the little girl! Now move it!” Eric was obviously livid.

Dawn kept running, hoping that Gavin knew what he was doing. She made her way to the trail and tore down it like a hare being chased by an eagle. She rounded the corner and found a rough looking man on the top of the falls.

“
Oh, no you don’t, girl! You are staying here,” barked the man. He pulled a sword from a scabbard and charged the pair.

Dawn kept her speed up even though a collision seemed imminent. As they closed to striking distance, the man reared his sword back for a powerful smashing blow. Dawn winked in her trademark pair of swords and expertly parried his clumsy attack before retaliating with a long gash to his upper arm. The surprised man shrieked out as he recoiled in pain and shock, dropping his sword to the ground. Dawn kept running until she could see the edge of the cliffs.

“
Astrid, I need you to get off my back and let me carry you across the front!”

The little girl dutifully crawled down and around, grasping Dawn around the neck from the front while Dawn quickly undid the back of her dress. “Hold on tight and don’t look down.”

“
You aren’t going to jump, are you?” whimpered the little girl.

Dawn fought for the right thing to say, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. I do this all the time. You will be perfectly safe,” she lied. Well, it wasn’t a big lie―she did fly all the time, just never with passengers.

Just as Dawn got Astrid settled and her dress adjusted, a large band of men broke into the open ground and quickly started closing on Dawn. She started her run for the cliff face, holding off on deploying her wings until the last moment so she could run faster on foot. Oh! it was much more awkward trying to run with the girl across her chest. The mob was closing fast and Dawn wasn’t sure if she could make it to the cliff on time. They were much faster than she expected, but she wasn’t going to back down now. She had come too far, and the little girl had been through too much already for her to give even an inch. She screamed like a madwoman as she made for the edge, but they were getting close. Way too close.

An echo flowed through her skull. It was an eerie but familiar sound, a sound that made no noise but she could hear it nonetheless.
Forest Wall.

The ground behind her exploded into thick bushes and tall trees. Bursting to life on the otherwise barren rocks of the top of the falls, they shot toward the sky, green and tall. In just a matter of seconds, the trees and bushes had formed a barrier between her and the mad mob behind her.
Gavin!
She smiled. Gavin had bought her that last little bit of time she needed and she made good use of it: her wings erupted from her back in blue flash and she leaped off the edge of the cliff.

Astrid’s eyes went wide and her claws dug painfully into Dawn’s fur, but Dawn didn’t mind: they were free and clear and she was flying! The updrafts along the falls quickly filled her wings and she was able to make stable flight even with the extra weight. She pumped hard and was actually able to climb. She was going to need the extra altitude--once she was clear of the updrafts, she would be on her own power. Dawn wasn’t worried; she knew she could do it. She had made a perfect launch and any landing that she could walk away from would be fine with her, so long as little Astrid was safe.

She banked as she pumped her wings and made her way down into the valley below. She scanned the floor below looking for anyone, and there in the distance, she could see someone coming up the path. Several people as it turned out. As she got closer, she could make out Owen and several of the constables. With a quick turn and a hard tuck, she descended to the path below. She pumped hard as she neared the ground, but not quite hard enough to be stable on her feet. As she landed, she fell forward, but caught herself arms extended. Astrid didn’t even touch the ground.

Owen and his men stared at Dawn, total flabbergasted. Word of her flying had gotten around town, but few had seen it for themselves, and no one had seen her with a passenger!

Dawn winked her wings away and peeled an awestruck Astrid from her chest. “Are you okay?”

“
You can fly! I mean, really FLY!” exclaimed Astrid. Suddenly her ears flushed and she doubled over and hurled.

“
Gavin is still up there!” began Dawn, “You’ve got to get him! Where is Llewellyn?”

Owen, still somewhat struck, replied, “He left a few minutes ahead of us. He should almost be there by now. How many were there?”

Dawn’s mind raced, “About eight to ten adults and about another five or so teenagers. It was all a blur!”

Owen looked at his three other men, “That’s quite a mob. We had no idea he had gotten so many people together again after his last fiasco.”

“
Then we need to move faster, don’t we?” Dawn winked her wings in again with a flash and pumped them hard as she took to the sky.

“
Dawn, wait!” called Owen, but Dawn wasn’t listening. She had to find Gavin!

Dawn was grateful that Gavin had insisted they pause for water; she was very hot and parched. Between the running and the flying, she was all but exhausted, but she was going to find Gavin. She climbed high enough to be safe and followed the trail back up the falls keeping an eye out for Llewellyn and Gavin. Two High Silvers in their element―finding them was going to be hard. Or was it?

At the footbridge by the fountain she could make out the surly mob and there was Gavin! He was standing there in plain view with swords at the ready as he held his ground on the bridge. It was narrow enough that they could only approach him one at a time. Excellent use of terrain! She closed and landed behind him.

“
Llewellyn’s almost here,” she assured him.

“
Good, I’m not sure how much longer I can stall them.”

“
Get them! Kill them! I don’t care which!” screamed Eric from the far side of the bridge.

The mob pressed hard toward Gavin and he held his ground the best he could.

“
When we hit the back of the bridge, I’m going to change color and run into the woods. You just need to take to the air and get clear.”

Dawn nodded. Wasn’t much of a plan, but it was the start of one.

“
Is this a private party or can anyone join?” asked a voice behind them. They both relaxed visibly as Llewellyn stepped out of the woods and onto the bridge behind them. “Excuse me, Dawn, coming through,” he gave a fatherly smile as he passed her on the narrow bridge. “Gavin, Gavin! I told you,
no pick up fights!
Tsk, tsk.” He smiled broadly as he passed Gavin on the bridge.