The Griffin's Boy

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: ERIC.

  With a primeval roar, Neb sprung forwards and hurtled his full weight against his would-be attacker, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Immediately, Neb grappled to sit on his assailant's chest, grasped his ears and began knocking his head against the cobblestones.

  'No, stop, stop – it's me – Eric, oww – stop!'

  Without releasing his grip, Neb peered into his opponent's face. Eric gazed back with soulful eyes. With a snort of disgust, Neb let go of his ears and Eric's head clattered against the cobblestones one last time. Neb clambered to his feet, dusted himself off and struck out on his journey again. But now his eyes flickered from the cobblestones to the path ahead. Within minutes there was a scuttling behind him. Eric called 'wait, wait for me!'

  Muttering an oath, Neb increased his pace. Catching up with him, Eric scurried alongside. 'Don't be angry – I didn't mean to frighten you,'

  Neb shot him a sideways glance, tempted to knock him to the ground again.

  'You didn't frighten me. I almost knocked your damn fool brains out. Why didn't you make yourself known?'

  'I didn't have a chance – you jumped me!' he rubbed the back of his head ruefully, then changed the subject: 'You got us a lantern? Can we light it?'

  Neb frowned, 'There is no "us," there is no "we," go home.'

  Eric grabbed at his arm, almost dragging him to a halt. 'I'm coming with you. That's my father out there,' his Adam's apple worked in his throat, and his eyes glistened. 'You want to rescue Samara. I want to rescue my father.'

  Neb hesitated. He couldn't shake the suspicion that Alfred was in league with Kattin. But Eric was a lightweight; having him along wouldn't hurt and might help. There might be a way to use Eric as leverage against Alfred.

  He gave a curt nod, detached Eric's hand from his arm, and marched forwards.

  'Thank you Neb – you won't regret this – in any case, brown eyed people see better at night than blue eyed people.'

  Neb shook his head in disgust and scoffed: 'What?'

  'Brown eyed people have better night vision than blue eyed people.' Seeing Neb still looked confused, he explained: 'you have blue eyes, mine are brown: my night vision's better than yours.'

  Neb had never given a second thought to the colour of his eyes. He could see out of them, they worked well enough, and he'd only caught fleeting glimpses of his own reflection. He'd never felt the urge to preen in front of a looking glass, in any case, looking glasses were not a huge part of his world.

  Mistaking his silence for a rebuke, Eric continued to chatter 'not that I take notice of other men's eyes – just that …' Neb stared at him curiously, Eric flushed and his voice trailed away. Neb realised suddenly why Eric appeared to have no friends; his girlish manners made other youths uncomfortable. Deciding it was extremely unlikely that Eric would try to kiss him, Neb shrugged and continued walking.

  Earlier today, Eric could have been a deaf-mute. Now, as though sensing Neb's unspoken acceptance, Eric wanted to share his life-story and future plans. It passed the time, Eric had a pleasant lilt and a keen wit. When Eric confessed an ambition to study music in Ireland, Neb clapped him on the back: 'keep that hope alive, look at me, I'm living proof dreams can come true.' Though they both knew that Neb's short lived career as a griffin's lad was over. Eric gave him a sympathetic look, but thankfully said nothing. They continued walking, Neb's gaze continued to flicker from the ground to the road ahead. When he noted trees lining the path and branches stretching over their heads, he knew they were approaching the forest.

  A dark swath of nothingness opened up ahead to the road's right and Neb supposed the darkness indicated the track they should follow. He stopped to light the lantern.

  'Is that the track leading to Black Robes' Cloister?' Eric asked, peering into the darkness.

  'I hope so,' Neb answered and holding the lantern high, he entered the forest.

  In the lantern's flickering light, shadows morphed and changed shape. Tree branches appeared to move of their own will and once or twice Neb swore larger shadows lurked behind trees. He kept his eyes fixed on the fresh wagon wheel ruts, and tried not to think how desperate or how mad any potential ambusher would have to be. Despite Blain's cloak, he shivered and clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. Eric crept behind him, peering over Neb's shoulder and breathing heavily, unnerving him even further. Before he could complain, Eric gripped his elbow, almost causing him to drop the lantern. 'Look! Over there – a clearing.'

  Neb held the lantern higher and swung it from side to side. Eric gripped his elbow tighter and pointed 'look!' An off-shoot path led to a muddy pool, where a wagon had been abandoned. From the muddle of foot prints, it was obvious a scuffle had taken place. Neb crouched to inspect the set of wagon wheels peeling away from the clearing. The impression of a man's boot clearly showed next to the deep wagon wheel ruts. He looked up at Eric, 'It seems your father walked out of here alongside Kattin's wagon.'

  Eric's hand flew to his chest, and he breathed a sigh. He grinned at Neb, 'That's good news.' His relief seemed genuine. Neb probed a little.

  'Eric, how did you know Kattin intended to take Vander to this Black Robes' Cloister?' he asked.

  Eric frowned 'Father and I helped Kattin load Vander's body this morning. Blain was there too,' his frown deepened. 'But then Blain left. I heard Kattin telling father of her intended travel plans.' He blinked a couple of times, then demanded, 'what are you thinking? My father is in league with this woman?' his voice rose a notch, and he lowered his head as if imitating a bull again. Neb stood up hurriedly, 'I hope not Eric. But I'm glad you followed me now,' he added, surprising himself with his sincerity.

  Eric nodded, and with a new resolve, walked across to the abandoned wagon and detached one of the lamps. Without another word, they continued on their journey. But somehow the shadows appeared less menacing now that they had two lamps, and Eric walked alongside Neb instead of creeping behind him. Even the rustle of undergrowth spoke of familiar woodland creatures carrying out their nightly business. Plodding along the muddy track, placing one foot in front of the other, Neb's anxiety lessened.

  Eric stopped suddenly, holding up a hand to halt Neb, 'did you hear that?' Unwilling to admit he was less alert than Eric, Neb scoffed, 'it's only a fox, or maybe a badger.' Bears rarely came this far South, and wolves rarely attacked unless they were starving – highly unlikely in Spring. The path widened and undulated a little ahead, the tree canopy above their heads became less dense, allowing them to see more of their surroundings. Up ahead the path dipped to form a dimple in the mud. A cluster of dark foliaged trees grew to one side of this mini-clearing. Eric peered towards them and with a puzzled expression, stepped closer, holding his lamp higher. The trees' leaves gleamed brittle and hard in the lamp's light. Staring closer, Neb realised they were holly trees and wondered why they still had berries at this time of year. Then the red beads moved and leaves rustled and a ghostly white figure gathered mass as it reared up from its resting place.

  'Get back! Run!' Neb shouted. He swung Eric around in the opposite direction, spinning around himself at the same time and dragging Eric with him, sucked a deep breath into his lungs and sprinted for his life.

  ********