The Shadow Stone Read online

  Kestrel scowled. He carefully drew back Aeron’s hair and examined his injuries. “Damn. He notched your ear, all right. You’ll carry that for the rest of your days. And there’s a long cut on your scalp, too. Did he slip?”

  “Yes. I mean, I struggled, and that made him slip.” Aeron narrowed his eyes, thinking of what might have happened if he hadn’t got away from them. Swallowing, he looked up to Kestrel’s face. “It’s worse than that, Kestrel. I think I’m in terrible trouble.”

  “Why? What did you do?” asked Eriale. Like a real sister, she usually delighted in making mischief for Aeron, but Aeron could tell by her voice that Eriale was more worried than she let on.

  “Aye, Aeron. What else happened?” said Kestrel.

  “I lost my temper when Regos cut me. I used my knife. I laid open Regos’s arm … and I stabbed Phoros.”

  “The lord’s son?” Kestrel’s eyes widened in horror, and he drew in his breath. “Aeron, did you kill the lord’s son?”

  “I don’t think so. I hit him in the shoulder, pretty high, and he didn’t fall. He drew his sword after I got him, though, and he said he was going to kill me.” Aeron found he was shaking with repressed emotion from his encounter. “Kestrel, I’m scared. What are they going to do to me?”

  The woodcutter paced away, rubbing his face. He didn’t say anything. Aeron glanced at Eriale. She was watching him, her face pale. “Aeron …” She struggled to find something to say, and bowed her head. “They might hang you. It’s death to take up arms against a noble.”

  Kestrel turned and nodded. “People might think you had a good reason to defend yourself, Aeron, but I can’t imagine that Phoros and his friends are going to tell the same story you just told. That will mean three accounts against one … and your knife as proof of whatever they say.”

  “I was defending myself!” Anger boiled up to replace the fear that had galvanized Aeron into flight. “Regos scarred me and laughed about it! He’d have done worse if I hadn’t gotten away from them. What do I have to answer for?”

  “I know I always told you to be honest, boy, but use your head. Who’s going to decide your fate? Lord Raedel, of course. These are his lands, and you’re his subject. He’s never denied anything to that son of his. He might not have you executed, but I can’t see you going free.”

  Aeron whirled and stormed away, pacing in an anxious circle as he tried to think with his mind instead of his anger. He imagined himself standing in the cold stone hall of Raedel Keep, heavy iron shackles on his wrists and ankles. The old lord would be sitting above him, on the wooden dais he used when he held court. Aeron Morieth, I sentence you to swing by the neck until dead. Carry out the sentence, constable.… Aeron’s knees buckled and he leaned against the farmhouse, his head spinning. They’d kill him for what he’d done. Or, if he was lucky, maybe they’d just bury him in a lightless hole of a dungeon and throw away the key.

  “Come on, lad.” Kestrel knelt beside him and threw an arm over his shoulders. “I don’t think you can stay here.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  The forester grimaced. “This is the first place Raedel’s men will look, Aeron. You’ve got to get away from here.”

  Aeron’s head reeled. “You mean run away?”

  Kestrel nodded soberly. “Aeron, I’ve tried to do right by your father. Before he died, he asked me to look after you, to raise you like you were my own boy. Lord Raedel sent him to the gallows twelve years ago. I’ll be damned if I see you hanged, too.”

  “I don’t want to hang, Kestrel.”

  “I know the way the castle lads treat you, Aeron, and I know you. Whatever happened, you did what you had to do, and it’s wrong to die for that. But now you’d best get moving. I figure we’ve got a quarter of an hour, maybe a little more, before the constable rides up here to arrest you.” Kestrel rocked back on his heels, surged to his feet, and raised Aeron by the arm. He looked over at Eriale. “Fix up a sack of food, a waterskin, and a bedroll of some kind. And get a knife, too. He’ll need a new one.”

  “Right.” Eriale nodded and ducked into the house.

  “And get a second sack ready!”

  “You’re coming with me?” Aeron asked.

  Kestrel shook his head. “If I do that, they’ll think I put you up to it. That’ll smell like a revolt to Raedel; he remembers who your father was. No, I’m going to send Eriale with you so she can tell me where you’re hiding. I can always tell the count she’s gone off to visit her mother’s kinfolk in Saden.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Kestrel sighed heavily and looked toward the stone towers of Raedel Keep, across the river. “I’m going to go down to the castle and try to set this straight. If it turns out right, I can always tell them you panicked and ran off when I left you. If I can’t smooth things over … well, you’ll be glad you’re not here.”

  Three hours later, the long afternoon was coming to an end. The sky had taken on the color of beaten copper, with red streaks marking a storm front pushing in from the south. Aeron and Eriale rested by an old trapper’s lean-to, about six miles southwest of Maerchlin. They hadn’t spoken much during the march. Aeron couldn’t bring himself to talk about what had happened, and Eriale’s gibes and barbs fell flat when he was so preoccupied.

  “It’ll be dark soon,” Eriale said, standing to gaze up at the sky. The lodge stood by a long field that stretched away to the west, and the red and gold of the sunset blazed in the soft tasseled grasses. Eriale had changed into breeches and a rough shirt not dissimilar from what Aeron wore. It was much more practical for hiking than her skirts. “Should we build a fire?”

  Aeron glanced around at the watchful woods. “I’ve seen wolf tracks in this part of the Maerchwood. And troll signs, too. It might be a good idea to have a fire.”

  They scoured the forest floor for suitable firewood, gathering dry pine needles for kindling. As darkness fell, Aeron managed to get a good fire going. They broke into their supplies and roasted a hen over the campfire, singeing their fingers and faces as they ate.

  “Do you think the constable’s looking for you, Aeron?” Eriale asked after they finished. She busied herself with banking the fire to burn all night.

  “Raedel would never let me go,” he said bitterly. “I stand up to him, and I’m going to lose everything for it. It doesn’t seem fair, does it?”

  “You’re safe as long as you don’t go home,” she said quietly. She looked up at him, her mouth tight. Aeron and Eriale had grown up together, family in fact if not in blood. He could read her moods with some accuracy. Eriale was a level-headed girl with a strong stubborn streak, confident in herself and those close to her. She didn’t worry without good cause, and Aeron could tell she was working to keep her concern from showing. She tried to put on an optimistic face. “Perhaps Father can get Lord Raedel to hear your side of the story.”

  He shrugged. “I doubt it, Eriale.”

  “What will you do?”

  “I can live off the land as long as I need to.” He reached behind him for his quiver and emptied it into his lap. Fifteen good arrows, two only fair, and the makings for a dozen more. He selected a rough shaft that was almost done and began to pare it carefully with a sharp fletching knife.

  Eriale watched him. “All by yourself? No one to talk to, no friends?”

  “You and Kestrel could come visit me from time to time. As for friends …” He met her eyes. “I don’t have many anyway. No one in Maerchlin has much use for the last of the Morieths, not after my father pushed Lord Raedel into setting Oslin’s soldiers on us. You’d have a lot more friends yourself, Eriale, if your father hadn’t taken me in.”

  The forester’s daughter smiled sadly. “People misjudge you, Aeron. They don’t know you like I do.” She spread out her bedroll by the fire and drew a thin blanket over her shoulders. “We’ll probably need to move again in the morning. Better get some sleep.”

  “As soon as I finish this arrow.” Aeron turned his at
tention to the fletching. He lost himself in his task for half an hour or more. Eriale rolled over and started snoring softly. When he finished, he stood and walked away from the fire to gaze at the stars. By night, the forest was alive with the sounds of movement. Animals rustled as they moved through the brush; frogs croaked and called to one another; nocturnal insects chirped and buzzed quietly. In the distance, a hound bayed mournfully. Aeron smiled, closing his eyes to catch every song of the night. The hound bayed again, several others joining in a rough chorus.

  Hounds?

  Aeron’s eyes flew open, and he wheeled to stare into the forest. It was hard to be certain, but he heard them to the west and slightly north, back toward Maerchlin. The dogs barked and snuffled, the sounds of their approach gradually growing into a continuous gabble of grunts and howls. He smacked one hand against his forehead and bounded up to shake Eriale awake.

  “What? What is it?” she asked sleepily.

  “The constable,” Aeron said. “They’ve got hounds on our trail!”

  Eriale sat upright, cocking her head to listen. “They can’t be more than a mile away!”

  Aeron turned and started stuffing his pack. “Come on! We’re going to have to run for it!”

  Eriale scrambled up. She knelt beside the fire and scooped great armfuls of earth over the embers, smothering it. “They’ll know we were here,” she said over her shoulder. “There’s no way we can hide all the signs.”

  “I know,” Aeron said. He slung his pack over one shoulder, grabbed his bedroll, and stood. “Got everything?”

  Eriale crammed her blanket into her pack. “Let’s move.”

  They set off toward the south, heading deeper into the Maerchwood. Aeron moved fast in the darkness. From his unknown elven ancestors, he’d inherited exceptionally keen night vision, and he could see quite well by starlight or moonlight. Eriale kept up with him as best she could, but she didn’t have his acuity of vision or endurance, and she stumbled over thick roots and tangled undergrowth time and time again. He hadn’t gone a mile before Eriale began to rasp behind him. “Aeron, slow down!”

  He halted on the edge of a small clearing. The moon was rising in the east, casting a silver light through the treetops overhead. Very little reached the forest floor. He caught Eriale’s hand in the darkness. Behind them, the hounds were baying with excitement. They’d found the campsite and picked up the new trail.

  He rested one hand on Eriale’s shoulder. “Let’s get off the trail. They might miss us.” They stood on the shoulder of a tree-covered ridge, surrounded by impenetrable shadows and scant traces of silver moonlight. Aeron caught Eriale’s hand and led her uphill. They crashed through thick briars and undergrowth, scuffling through thick layers of fallen leaves. To Aeron, it sounded like the passage of an army.

  At the top of the ridge, Aeron turned and looked back to the west. He could make out angry lantern light bobbing toward them through the trees. They were close enough to hear the cries of the hunters. Aeron squeezed his eyes shut and pounded his fist into his hand, trying to think. How could they lose their pursuers?

  “Aeron, they’re right behind us,” Eriale said.

  “They’re still on the trail. Come on, let’s get down the other side of the ridge.” He turned and started sliding down the hillside, kicking up dirt and dead leaves as he snaked down the hill’s reverse slope. Eriale followed, a few steps behind. The weak moonlight didn’t illuminate this side of the ridge at all. Aeron’s night vision was keen, but he needed some light to see. He lurched and stumbled as the slope steepened under his feet.

  Aeron tried to arrest his descent, but suddenly there was empty air under him. He yelped in surprise and fell, tumbling through darkness, branches and briars stinging him like whips as he plummeted down the hillside. He fetched up hard against smooth, dressed stone. The impact knocked the wind out of him. A moment later, Eriale fell heavily nearby, gasping in pain. After the clatter and rush of the fall, the sudden silence was disorienting; it took Aeron a moment to gather his senses.

  Eriale sat up, a little more fortunate in her landing. “Aeron? Are you here? Where are we?”

  Aeron raised himself on one elbow, rubbing at a badly barked shinbone. “I’m here, Eriale.” As to where they were … he looked around, trying to make out their surroundings. Gradually he realized it wasn’t completely dark. A shimmering faerie-light hovered in the air, casting an argent gleam over the place. They were in the ruins of a stone building, overgrown with green vines. The glossy marble was veined with dark moss and strands of silver. The stones seemed unusual somehow. As he peered closer, he saw they were delicately scalloped with a fine tracery suggesting living trees and animals, a bas-relief of the forest. “I think we’re in an old elf tower,” he said in a hushed voice.

  “I didn’t think there were any so close to Maerchlin.” Eriale traced the old lines in the stone. “It’s beautiful.”

  Faint and subtle, the old stones gleamed like soft silver in the moonlight. Despite the clamor of the approaching hunters, Aeron reached out to stroke the cool and perfect stone. Foxfire danced on his fingertips; he could almost hear the faraway cry of elfin horns in the forest, inhale the scents and sounds of vanished starlight. “Who were they?” he wondered aloud. “Where are they now?”

  Eriale could not reply. Her eyes wide and dark, she stood rooted to the spot. With a soft gasp, Aeron realized that he’d been holding his breath, afraid to break the faerie dream around him.

  Dogs howled and bayed on the hillcrest above them. Slowly Aeron rolled to his knees, then pushed himself to his feet. “They’re still on our trail. Keep moving.”

  Eriale nodded and drew back from the stone wall. She turned to pick up her pack, then halted. “Aeron, wait.”

  “What? What is it?” He glanced over, alarmed by the strange tone in her voice. In a jumbled gap in the opposite wall stood a white wolfhound, an ethereal shadow of gray and pearl with dark, intelligent eyes. It watched them without moving. Eriale slowly backed away as Aeron straightened, facing the apparition.

  “What do we do?” she whispered.

  Aeron started to reply, but he noticed the spectral illumination was growing brighter. The entire place was glowing with pearly light. He blinked as a tiny mote of coruscating radiance danced and darted a handspan in front of his nose. The sphere retreated in the blink of an eye, hovering beside the white hound, and then it began to grow, expanding and dimming until it had the outline of a man-shaped white radiance.

  The light brightened one last time, and then flashed silently, revealing a tall, thin man with fair skin and long silver hair. He was dressed in pearl gray hose, over which he wore a soft white doublet embroidered with silver designs. His face was long and expressive, with a sad wisdom hidden in his perfect features. He reached down to stroke the white hound’s head. “Cuillen de fhoiren, Baillegh,” he said softly, in a voice like liquid music.

  “Aeron, he’s an elf lord,” Eriale whispered. “We’ve trespassed in his house.”

  Aeron glanced at her, then back to the tall elf. “Who are you? What is this place?”

  The elf gazed into Aeron’s face with a hint of a smile. He started to speak, grimaced, and then tried again. “I am called Fineghal Caillaen, though some know me as the Storm Walker. I have been waiting for you, Aeron Morieth,” he said. An odd inflection weighted his speech, as if he hadn’t spoken a human language in a very long time. “Who is your companion?

  “This is Eriale, daughter of Kestrel the forester,” Aeron replied. A moment later, he realized the import of the elf lord’s words. “Waiting for me? How do you know me?”

  “The Morieths are known to us of old,” the elf answered, ignoring the rest of Aeron’s question. “Why do they hunt you? You seem too young to be an outlaw.”

  “I wounded two noblemen. I’m just a commoner. It’s death to take up arms against a lord.” Aeron had the uncanny feeling the elf prince could read the truth of his words, seeing the events he alluded to. The baying of th
e hounds grew louder, and he could hear men cursing and calling out as they came nearer. “Damn, they’re almost on us,” he hissed. “Come on, Eriale. We have to flee!”

  The silver prince raised his hand. “None will find us here if I do not wish to be found.” He looked at Eriale, and back to Aeron. “You and your friend may shelter here tonight under my protection. I will see to it that no harm befalls you.”

  Aeron turned to look up the hillside. Red-faced soldiers in Raedel’s colors picked their way down the slope, dragged on by hounds that strained at their leashes. He quailed in fear as he realized the soldiers must be close enough to spot them, but the eerie silver radiance seemed to attract not the slightest notice. “Why don’t they see us?” he asked.

  “An enchantment on this place,” Fineghal replied. “I’d better help the hounds along, though. They’re not so easy to fool as men.” He lifted his hand and muttered a liquid phrase under his breath. Silver motes danced around his hand. Aeron was acutely conscious of a thrumming in his heart, a prickling sensation that tickled the center of his chest. He realized he had sensed Fineghal’s magic at work. When the feeling faded, he had a sudden and fierce wish to bring it back.

  Outside the moss-grown walls, the hounds bayed louder and surged ahead, sweeping past the ruins of the elven tower and crashing off to the north. In a matter of moments, they had vanished into the silver night. More than a dozen men had almost walked right through them without even glancing in their direction. Aeron breathed a heavy sigh of relief as they disappeared. “Will they be back?” he asked aloud.

  “Not tonight, they won’t,” Fineghal replied. He returned his attention to Aeron and Eriale. “I seem to recall that humans require sleep,” he said. “Rest now. In the morning we can decide what must be done.” He gestured with one hand and whispered softly in the elven tongue. Despite his resistance, Aeron found his eyes growing unbearably heavy. Beside him, Eriale sank slowly to the stone, laying her head on her pack. He didn’t remember reaching the ground.