Children of the Sun and Moon

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Dilmek was frustrated. He had been waiting for many days and still had seen no sign of his friends. Passing the time had been easy so far. Having to hunt for food in a forest, which appeared to be devoid of animal life, was keeping him occupied. Searching for a campsite had been just as difficult. He had wanted something he could easily defend if needed. It took a day, but he found a small alcove in the base of a cliff. It was large enough for him to be able to set a fire to cook food and no one would really notice the smoke. The opening was cleverly hidden from view by a large outcropping of bushes. They appeared to be dense, but in fact, it was overgrown. It was also away from the main road, but close enough he could check it regularly for his friends. At first, he had wondered if the cave had been a campsite for someone, but the webs inside told him no one had been here in a great while.

  The waiting was starting to wear on him. Dilmek had hoped to see at least some sign of travel, which would hint as to where his friends might be. He was quite surprised that during the few days he had been in this area, he hadn’t seen a single person. Dilmek began to wonder if Vernia had sent him to the wrong area and was going to move on, but had changed his mind.

  He woke this morning and noticed there were many boot prints in the mud near the road. It didn’t take Dilmek long to figure out who was making the prints. Within moments of his returning to his campsite, he spotted three soldiers slinking through the bush. He didn’t worry about his hiding place being found, but he did worry about his friends. It was obvious he was indeed in the right area, and these men were most likely here to find his friends. He spent the day watching the soldiers and quickly realized they were quite inexperienced. Their patrolling was so unorganized it made Dilmek snicker. Keeping hidden from their eyes wouldn’t be a problem. He just hoped his friends kept their guard up.

  Another day passed, and still no sign of his friends. The soldier’s tracks had come close to his camp, but never entered it. Their job appeared to be to circle around the road to see if anyone had passed. It was too bad that every time the soldiers passed by, they trampled all signs of anyone else. On his way back to camp, after catching lunch, Dilmek noticed a different set of tracks. Whomever left this different set of boot prints was very light on their feet. He wouldn’t have even noticed them had he not dropped his knife. They went close to his camp, circled it, and moved off. Dilmek knew they weren’t from his friends, and they didn’t appear to be from any of the soldiers. Nevertheless, he decided to check out the soldiers’ camp. If they had someone he hadn’t seen working for them, it would explain the different boot prints. Any information would be found there.

  He ate his dinner and waited for nightfall to come. Once the sun went down, Dilmek headed towards the camp. There were guards posted, but he had no trouble getting by them. Slowly he moved around the camp, getting a better idea of how many soldiers there were. He was glad to see there were only eight men in the camp. In total there were twelve soldiers, and with them being so inexperienced Dilmek knew he would have no trouble moving in closer. He crept around until he found an area where he could hide and still hear the soldiers’ conversation.

  The soldiers were discussing the horrible conditions they were forced to work in, and the terrible food. Dilmek almost laughed. The men were eating fresh deer, with all the trimmings, and they found it vile. Quietly, he started to move more into the camp, but a shout made him turn and bolt back to the bushes where he had just been hiding. Within moments, the camp was in an uproar, and Dilmek wasn’t sure what was going on. His first thought was that his friends were sighted, but the thought was quickly pushed aside when one of the guards came into the camp, dragging a young woman. Dilmek quickly, and quietly, made his way closer to the men. The guard dragged the woman into the camp, and threw her down in front of the soldiers.

  “I found this little tramp sneaking around the camp. I bet she’s the reason some of our food and supplies have been disappearing,” said the guard.

  The girl stood up and held her head up in defiance. “If your duke didn’t starve his people than I wouldn’t have to steal from you.”

  Her voice was deep and unusual for a girl so young. Every word pierced Dilmek’s skin. Her speech was common, but the way her words came out was anything but. Dilmek moved in closer to see her better and was stunned at her beauty. Her hair was such a deep black it appeared to have blue hues and her eyes were an unusual light green. She was breathtaking, for a human, and this was not lost on the soldiers.

  “Well, she is a pretty thing, isn’t she boys,” commented one of the soldiers. “I bet we could have a bit of fun with her before we take her back to the city.”

  All of the soldiers laughed, and their leering glances bothered Dilmek. He couldn’t allow such a beautiful creature to be harmed by these cutthroats. Although he wasn’t sure how he could help her escape without them finding out he had a camp close by, Dilmek was determined the woman wouldn’t be here long enough to come to harm.

  Dilmek watched as a soldier put the young woman into a tent and let out a sigh of relief when he came back out. They posted a guard in front of the tent, but went about their business. Dilmek thought it odd seeing they were so interested in her a moment ago, but didn’t pause long enough to question it. It wouldn’t be long before they would again take interest in her so he needed to act quickly. He moved over to the tent, and drew his knife. Slowly and as quietly as possible, he cut a small opening into the back of the tent. They hadn’t left a lantern for her, so he had to wait a moment for his night vision to brighten the room before he entered. The young woman was sitting to his right, but was not huddled and crying. He had always thought human women to be weak, but should have realized she was different. There was an air of confidence around her, and although he couldn’t be positive, he had a feeling she had some type of magical ability. Slowly he pulled himself into the room. The woman turned to face him, but didn’t appear to be startled.

  “I was wondering when you would show yourself, goblin,” she said. Again, it had an odd effect on him.

  “Hows yous knowses?” he asked.

  “I have seen you moving about the forest. I’m not as dumb as these soldiers,” she stated. “Will you be taking me to your camp?”

  “Yeses,” he answered, realizing it was her footprints he had seen. “Ifs wantses.”

  “That would please me greatly,” she responded, rising and moving towards the opening.

  Dilmek pulled the tent open and they both crept through. Keeping a very slow pace, they both steadily moved through the camp. The young woman was in the lead, and it appeared she knew exactly which way she needed to go to get to his camp. Her steps were careful and precise and it was then Dilmek realized why the soldiers had called her a thief. Her movements were so fluid, it was clear thievery was her profession.

  Once they cleared the guards posted their pace quickened. Getting to Dilmek’s camp was most important now. It was obvious the girl had been to his camp many times. It had taken her no time at all to find the best course to get them there.

  They were both exhausted, emotionally and physically, from moving so quickly away from the soldiers. They hadn’t heard any alarm from the camp to show they were aware the girl was missing, but they still wanted to make good time back to the camp. He offered her water, which she gratefully accepted.

  “My name is Maeve,” she stated between gulps. “Thank you for helping me.”

  “I’s Dilmek. Youses welcomes,” replied Dilmek. “Youses bez safes tonights.”

  “I know,” she said and the tone in her voice confused Dilmek. He was used to people showing nothing but distrust towards him, and her voice showed no signs of that. It was as if she trusted him completely without even knowing anything about him.

  Maeve stood and moved over towards him. “You don’t need to be suspicious of me, goblin. I know your true nature and do truly trust you.”

  Her voice was so calm and soothing it made Dilmek’s appreh
ensive feelings disappear, and he knew this was someone he could trust.

  Not wanting to risk a fire, they had a cold supper. Maeve had indeed stolen food from the soldier camp, and had conveniently hidden it near Dilmek’s camp. It was becoming more apparent their meeting was more than a coincidence.

  Their meal, although cold, consisted of breads, cheeses and some wine. Quite a feast for the goblin who had been living off berries, water and whatever animal he could trap. Of course, this was better than the food he was given during his captivity.

  “You’ve been in the forest for quite some time, Dilmek. Why is that?” she asked, bringing him out of his reverie.

  Her question, although valid, made him nervous. Although he knew he could trust Maeve, a part of him didn’t want to talk about it for fear of revealing too much.

  “I’s waitings fors friendses,” he replied, hoping she would drop this line of questioning.

  “You’re a part of a larger group,” she surmised, hoping he would continue for her. When he stayed silent, she continued. “I think your friends are the ones the soldiers are waiting for.”

  “Don’ts knowses thatsss. Justs knowses theyses arez comings thisis wayses.”

  Maeve moved closer to the goblin. He was uncomfortable with this closeness, but didn’t let it show. “You're waiting for the twins to arrive to help them complete the prophecy.”

  It was not a guess; her tone showed she knew this as fact.

  Dilmek was asonished by her revelation. “Howses doz youses knowses thisis?”

  “I have a magical ability, as I'm sure you have sensed. It allows me to see the truth behind one’s words. It makes life a lot easier for someone in my profession when you know whether or not someone is lying.”

  “Whenses Izes speaks, yous seeses truths?”

  “Yes, and to answer your next question, I knew exactly what those soldiers planned for me. It was a lot more than to just have fun with me. I was going to be taken to the castle and tortured until I admitted I had magical abilities.” She paused and saw the horrified look on Dilmek’s face. “They’ve been after me for some time. Apparently, they were told I may be hiding out in this forest and used it as an excuse to set up camp here. Their real purpose is to capture the twins.”

  “Whenses lasts withs myz friendses, weses wereses justs withs princes.”

  “You must not have seen them for quite some time. The twins are together, and according to the intelligence the soldiers are getting, they're almost here.”

  Dilmek had purposely tried to block his true thoughts from her, and had found a weakness in her abilities. Vernia had informed him there was a larger group now. It was clear if you knew about Maeve’s gift you could block it.

  “There's something you aren’t telling me,” she stated, somewhat annoyed. Never before had someone been able to hide things from her. “There's a magic surrounding you, that's not of your own design. Why is that?”

  Dilmek did not answer right away, and it bothered her. She was so used to seeing the truth in everyone that being denied it was unnerving. Her first thought was someone had placed the spell on him to find her, but she quickly dismissed the thought. He may be hiding something, but it wasn’t something malevolent. Whatever it was, made him worry, and it centred around his friends.

  “Perhaps this discussion is best kept for another day,” she announced, when it had become clear Dilmek wasn’t going to answer.

  “Yeses, weses restses.”

  Maeve agreed and they both settled down for the night. They heard no signs of pursuing soldiers and so neither one had any trouble falling asleep.

  Vernia stepped away from the scrying device and sat down. The young woman was indeed of interest to her. Never had she seen someone with such a power. If Lakin ever found out about this girl, there was no telling what he could accomplish. The very idea of Lakin knowing her every thought frightened Vernia. She was going to have to keep a very close eye on this young lady. With any luck, she would move off tomorrow and Dilmek would again be on his own. She got up and made her way to Lakin’s rooms. He had ordered a report to be given immediately and Vernia didn’t want to keep him waiting. She knew Lakin wouldn’t be pleased the group had not yet reached Keenley, but she didn’t care. Her only concern right now was keeping Lakin from finding out about this girl. For some reason, Vernia knew this girl would spell the doom of all things on Melarandra if she fell into Lakin’s hands.