Sinners of Magic (14 page)

‘
Fine, I’ll
be down in a minute!’’ she yelled, slamming the door in his face.
Bemused, Tremlon made his way along the passageway and down the
stairs to where Matt sat waiting.

‘
She’s
certainly not a morning person,’ Tremlon told him a moment later,
when he joined him for breakfast. Matt shrugged his shoulders and
gulped some ale.

‘
That’s women
for you,’ he said, reaching for the bread which had just been
placed under his nose. ‘If she’s anything like my sister, I would
stay well clear; they’re all hormonal and as snappy as a croc first
thing.’ With a grin, Tremlon grabbed a slice of bread and took a
thoughtful bite. He didn’t quite understand what Matt meant, but he
believed he got the gist. The fairer sex had always been a mystery
to him; time and age had never altered that.

‘
I don’t
think she’ll be long,’ Tremlon said, taking another bite of his
bread. ‘So let’s just enjoy the peace whilst we can and be thankful
for small mercies.’

Back in her room, Crystal put
on the same clothes she had worn the day before. She sniffed at her
clothes, finding them suddenly offensive. She sat on her bed, her
legs dangling over the edge, and simply marvelled at it all.

Then she had a brainwave.

She dived across the floor and
reached out to open one of the wooden drawers in the dressing
table. She clapped her hands with delight when she looked down to
find some of her clothes from home were in there. She pulled out an
unworn jumper, a cream hand-knitted Arran brought back from the
Highlands of Scotland last year. Crystal smiled; she had screwed
her nose up at this gift, but now, here in this godforsaken place,
it was the answer to her prayers. Closing the drawer, she opened
another to reveal clean underwear and socks. She felt slightly
miffed that her underwear was in there, neatly folded, but grateful
nonetheless. She grabbed her clean clothes and headed for the wash
basin and then dressed. Once she was happy with her appearance, she
pulled open her wardrobe and sifted through the mountain of junk
lying at the bottom. She found what she was looking for, her bright
pink rucksack and filled it with clothes, a hairbrush and a few
odds and ends.

Once she was satisfied she had
everything she needed, she flung the bag over her shoulder and
closed the wardrobe door. Picking up Hercules from the floor, she
gave him one last kiss and a pat on the head before placing him on
the bed.

‘
See you
later,’ she said, with sadness slipping into her voice. ‘I’ll be
home as soon as I can.’

She descended the stairs, two
at a time, before meeting a wave of activity. She noticed Nienna
busily scurrying from one table to the next with plates piled high
with food. The smell of something that resembled bacon drifted
under Crystal’s nose, causing her to seek out the others. She
joined them with a friendly greeting. Matt was only halfway through
his breakfast, eagerly tucking in, when Crystal pointed to her face
to alert him to the fact that egg was dribbling down his chin.

‘
Did you
sleep well?’ Matt asked, pulling a piece of cloth from under his
plate and wiping around his mouth and upper jaw.

‘
Like a log,’
she mouthed, turning her attention to the shape-changer. ‘Good
morning, Tremlon, I hope you slept well?’

He cast a wary look and grunted
something that sounded like ‘yes’ before returning to his
breakfast.

‘
What’s up
with that miserable devil?’ she whispered in Matt’s ear. ‘Looks
like he got out on the wrong side of bed to me,’ she added, with a
smirk.

Matt sniggered and reached for
the salt.

‘
Never mind
about him. Tell me, what did you think of your room? Wasn’t it the
coolest thing ever? Ours was actually split down the middle and my
half was just like my old room back home, but Tremlon’s changed
into a billet, like what soldiers have, and it was very sparse and
I was so glad to have my own soft bed to sleep in.’

Crystal giggled.

‘
Yes, isn’t
this place fantastic,’ she agreed, pulling the rucksack up from
underneath the table. ‘It was so nice to have my own things around
me; I even managed to pack some of my stuff.’

Matt looked at her with a very
blank expression.

‘
Oh, I never
thought to do that,’ he said, suddenly looking down at the clothes
he was wearing from the previous day. ‘Perhaps I could pop back
after breakfast and collect a few things,’ he added, brightening
up.

‘
You’ll not
have time now,’ Tremlon interrupted, wiping his mouth on the cuff
of his sleeve. ‘We leave in five minutes.’

Nienna walked over with
Crystal’s breakfast.

‘
Good
morning, milady,’ she said, placing the food on the table. ‘I hope
you slept well?’

‘
Yes, I did,
thanks,’ Crystal replied with shining eyes. She looked at the
goats’ milk and sugar paste that were already in bowls on the table
along with square, glass jars filled with jam and honey and gave
Nienna a warm smile.

‘
Get tucked
in,’ Matt urged, stuffing more food in his mouth, ‘these mushrooms
are sooo juicy.’

Crystal had to admit the food
did look inviting. Eggs, sizzling meats and large flat mushrooms
looked up from the huge platter, begging to be eaten, and she
finally couldn’t resist tucking in and enjoying the mouth-watering
flavours that flooded her taste buds.

‘
Come on,’
said Tremlon, finishing the last of his meal, ‘it’s time we were on
our way,’ and without waiting for them to finish, he rose from the
table.

Crystal let out a squeal.

‘
We can’t
leave now?’ she declared, her eyes rounding. ‘I’ve only just
started eating!’

‘
The king
awaits our return,’ said Tremlon, giving her an impatient grunt.
‘We simply don’t have all day to wait for you.’

Crystal turned stubborn.

‘
I’m sorry
Tremlon, but I’m not leaving until I’ve finished my breakfast,’ she
snapped, breaking off a piece of crusty bread and mopping up her
yolk. ‘I’m sure your king won’t mind if we leave a few minutes
later than planned,’ she added, stuffing the last of a juicy, black
mushroom into her mouth. ‘Why, this food is simply
delicious.’

Tremlon stared at her long and
hard. Then he said, ‘No, I told you, it’s time to leave. You may
have Oakwood blood running through your veins, but we must leave
whilst there is much light.’

‘
What’s the
rush?’ asked Matt, sensing his urgency. ‘Are we in any
danger?’

‘
Perhaps, I
cannot say for sure, but the sooner we reach elf territory the
better. Crystal, the men are waiting.’

Dragging her heels, Crystal
reluctantly ventured outside. Both the men and the horses were
ready and Matt helped Crystal into the wagon whilst the familiar
look of worry filled her eyes.

‘
We’ll be
alright, just as soon as we reach the Kingdom of Nine Winters,’ he
muttered, almost to himself.

‘
How can you
be sure?’ she asked, settling down on the hard seat and leaning the
rucksack on her leg. ‘There are no guarantees for our safety even
if we manage to make it there alive.’

‘
Then we will
just have to trust what Tremlon told us,’ Matt said, moving her
along so he could sit next to her. ‘It’s obvious to me that these
warriors would have killed us already if that was their
intention.’

Arhdel approached the wagon and
he fell silent. The warrior called to them as he walked by.

‘
All the
horses are well rested and eager to leave,’ he said, moving towards
the beasts and checking their mouths. ‘Hope you enjoy the scenery,’
he added, when he caught Crystal’s stare, ‘I’m sure you will find
it all rather pleasing to the eye once we reach the outskirts of
Nine Winters.’

Tremlon called out to the
soldier, who responded by leaving the horses and moving to his
side.

‘
My eternal
gratitude to you and your men,’ Tremlon said with unexpected
sensitivity, ‘you have all done well to keep us safe from harm.’
Arhdel rubbed at his scar; the angry red mark appeared to glow upon
his face.

‘
We have many
more miles to cover yet, sire, let’s not be too hasty.’

‘
Yes indeed,
you’re right,’ said Tremlon, pulling his dagger close, ‘I’m
speaking prematurely and we should not let our guard down too
soon.’ He jumped onto the wagon with one swift leap.

‘
Better get
your furs on,’ he shouted to his travelling companions, pulling his
own pelt closer. ‘It’s going to get a lot colder from here
onwards.’ He dropped his goatskin bag on the floor before settling
himself and picking up the reins.

‘
Once we get
over that group of hills,’ he said, pointing to the north, ‘the
change in the weather will be dramatic.’ Tremlon clicked his tongue
against his teeth and the horses jolted into life. The soldiers
walked two in front and two behind, and only Arhdel walked by the
side of the wagon. The sun, a pale ball of orange, was just peering
over the horizon ready to claim the day, its rays unable to
penetrate the chill in the morning air. The wagon lolled from side
to side and the travellers were soon deep in their own
thoughts.

*

It was early afternoon when the
weather turned cold; the cloud thickened to form a grey blanket
over the sky and the horses snorted in disapproval.

‘
How much
further?’ asked Matt, when the chilly effects of the weather made
his hands ache with cold. The bitterness was starting to penetrate
through to his bones, even with his fur pulled tight.

‘
A few more
hours, if we’re lucky,’ answered Tremlon, clicking his tongue at
the horses. ‘We’ve just crossed into dwarf territory, so we haven’t
got much further to travel.’ The horses stepped up their pace with
a crack of the whip but within minutes, snow began to fall, making
visibility extremely difficult. The white snowflakes fell thick and
heavy on the ground, the wheels of the wagon falling
silent.

As they rode deeper into the
chill, the two soldiers walking in front could barely be seen and
Arhdel called out for them to wait when they started to blend into
the foreground, camouflaged by the thickening snow. However, after
only a short while, Arhdel’s concern grew when they disappeared
from view altogether. Hitting the side of the wagon with his fist,
Arhdel signalled for Tremlon to stop and the shape-changer pulled
hard on the reins, halting the horses with a snort of warm air.

‘
What’s
wrong?’ Tremlon shouted, realising the soldiers were no longer
visible. The wind was whipping around his ears, creating a frenzy
of noise, making it almost impossible to hear what Arhdel was
saying.

‘
I’m not
sure,’ Arhdel shouted against the wind, ‘but I need to go and take
a look.’ He signalled to the two soldiers at the rear of the
wagon.

‘
You, stay
here,’ he said to the elder of the two, ‘and you, come with me,’ he
commanded the other. Without looking back, Arhdel marched off with
the young warrior close at his heels. They carried on for only a
few yards before Arhdel dropped to the ground. He pulled off his
thick leather gloves and stroked the surface of the snow with his
fingertips, searching for the soldiers’ footprints and a wave of
unease swept over him when he realised they had ended abruptly. The
heavy snowflakes fell onto their tread, covering the tracks in a
matter of seconds; Arhdel sensed that more than bad weather lay
ahead.

A delicate crackle, almost
inaudible to the human ear, caught Arhdel’s immediate attention. He
turned his face, straining to locate the sound, before a blow to
the head sent him to the ground. A second later the soldier lay
unconscious by his side with a slow trickle of blood oozing from
his head, staining the crisp, white snow.

Back at the wagon, Tremlon
waited for Arhdel’s return. Apprehension was niggling at his senses
and anxiety was making his shoulders stiff with tension. He twisted
his neck from side to side in a gesture to relax his tightening
muscles but they refused to ease and he glanced over to Matt and
Crystal, who were huddled together for warmth like two newborn
lambs. A sudden shrill cry split the solitude and echoed through
the air, taking Tremlon by surprise, and before he knew what was
happening a pair of large, brawny hands was upon him and something
fierce and dressed in dark clothing was clinging to his throat,
threatening to throttle him where he sat, momentarily stunned and
unable to transmute. Instinctively Tremlon grabbed the strong hands
and tried to prise the huge fingers apart. He pushed the attacker
with all his might and forced him to stagger backwards. Tremlon
reached down for his blade. It flashed when he drew it from its
hilt, but his attacker had already recovered and was upon him yet
again. A fierce fight broke out and his dagger was no match for the
attacker’s skill at arms and within seconds the knife left his hand
and lay buried in the snow.

Tremlon punched his attacker
full in the face and then tried to reach the goatskin bag. The
horses whinnied their confusion and pulled at their slackened
reins, frightened by all the commotion. They gave a sharp tug as
their nerves jangled, causing Tremlon to lose his balance. In an
instant he fell from the wagon and landed with a dull thud on the
ground, the snow breaking his fall, but his attacker was still
attached. Crystal screamed, terrified. She clung to the side of the
wagon, cowering away from the fight, unable to digest what was
happening until she came to her senses and screamed for Matt to do
something to help the shape-changer.