on.” She said, her voice growing stronger with nostalgia. “And when you want to have that dream again you open it right before going to bed. But you have to make sure the windows and door are closed or it might get out.” She giggled. “Then someone else might have your dream.”
She looked at the jug longingly. As if it might hold mysterious powers. “I think I’ll bring it down. Maybe she left me a good dream.”
Cerise wasn’t in the mood to look through all the stuff that night. She locked the door, checking several times to make sure it was locked. She gave a meaningful glare to Thora’s door and together they went back downstairs.
They went all the way back to the first floor in hopes of finding some food—they hadn’t had any dinner yet—when Yinnib ran into view. He was out of breath and looked frantic.
“There’s a storeroom—” Jarn began.
“Not now. Morzha, come quick.” He ran out of sight down the hall.
Ackerley followed at a brisk walk. He hoped it wasn’t another feud starting up.
They found Yinnib standing in the doorway of one of the rooms down the hallway where the nobles stayed. He waved them forward wildly.
Ackerley nervously took a look in the room and gasped. His brother lay in the bed.
21.
One of the few nobles who had stayed busily cleaned and bandaged the sleeping Kenton. Ackerley stood over him, watching his brother’s labored breathing.
“He arrived right after you went up to see Chellion.” Yinnib explained, tears rolling down his face. “He barely made it in the gates before both him and his horse collapsed. The horse is in the stables being looked after.”
Ackerley nodded, not sure what to feel. The wounds didn’t bother him; he was alive after all. Jarn and Cerise stayed in the doorway, looking curiously in. After a few minutes of wringing his hands anxiously Yinnib sent them to bed. Ackerley stayed, sitting in a chair in hopes his brother would wake up and give them all whatever news he had. When Kenton was properly bandaged Yinnib and the noble left Ackerley alone.
He sat there for several hours waiting for his brother to wake up. Sometime deep in the night Yinnib returned and sent Ackerley to bed, promising to wake him as soon as anything happened.
It was hard to sleep with the the idea that his brother held some dark secret that they all needed to hear. He woke after just a few hours and took his position next to his brother.
Kenton woke up around noon that day. Ackerley stared at him, expecting him to suddenly shout out that Chell was dead and the Welgos were only minutes from the castle. Instead Kenton took in his surroundings slowly, and smiled when he saw Ackerley.
“How have you been?” He asked.
“Good.” Ackerley said timidly. “It’s been nice. I’m glad you took me here.”
“I like your outfit, you look like a real noble’s kid.”
Ackerley tried not to smile as he looked down at his fancy tunic. He hadn’t even noticed that he had gotten used to wearing it.
Yinnib burst in the room. “You’re awake, how wonderful.” He stood expectantly by Kenton’s side.
“Yep, just woke up. This is a nice room.”
Yinnib seemed absolutely delighted for some reason. It quickly made sense as he pointed to Kenton’s coat, which had been neatly displayed on a nearby chair.
“I couldn’t help but notice your new jacket, Morzha. It gives me such great joy to know I am in the presence of a commander.”
Ackerley took in the shabby black coat with yellow stripes on the shoulder. It didn’t look like much to him.
Kenton looked at it sorrowfully. “It’s just a coat.”
Yinnib guffawed in an unsettling way. “Oh, you’re just being modest. It’s a true achievement. The only one with more power than you in the entire kingdom is the king himself.”
“I suppose.” Kenton said weakly.
Yinnib was simply beside himself. “If only we could have a sumptuous dinner to celebrate your arrival. If only we could . . . But don’t worry. We shall cook up what we have and it will be delightful in its own right.”
Ackerley had forgotten how annoying Yinnib could be. The past few days had sobered him up and made him somewhat pleasant to be around. He assumed that was all over now.
“So,” Yinnib said, clapping his hands together, “what great news do you have for us?”
“Actually, could you give me a few minutes alone with Ackerley? It’s been a long time and I want to catch up with him.”
Yinnib bowed deeply and backed slowly out of the room. “Absolutely. You two talk and I’ll be back with some wonderful food. The best I can find.” He gave a joyful grin to Ackerley and pointed at the jacket again as if he might have missed it. And then he was out the door.
Kenton waited several seconds to make sure Yinnib was sufficiently gone.
“So what’s going on out there?” Ackerley asked, bracing himself for the answer.
Kenton sighed. “It’s a mess. The farms are gone, there’s no food. The manor region is . . .” He suddenly became very interested in his bandages. “It’s gone too.”
The fear and dread Ackerley felt the night before came back with full force. “It’s—it’s gone?”
“The Welgos burned the whole thing to the ground.” He undid and retightened a bandage around one of his fingers. “It didn’t take them any time at all. They got in and destroyed the place. I got out and came straight here. Poor Sidestep barely made it.”
Ackerley wanted to run from the room, out of the gates, and straight to Vloraisha. If only it didn’t take so long to get there. “What do we do now?” He said faintly.
“Everyone said the manor region was going to be perfectly safe. They said no invader could get in. That’s what they said about here too.”
“Mmhmm.” Ackerley mumbled, rocking back and forth, racking his brain to figure some way out of this mess. “They’re . . . um, they’re coming here?”
“Eventually—probably.”
“Then we should run.” Ackerley suggested shyly.
“I’ll have to talk to Chellion. I don’t think that everyone can make it, but I saw whole towns moving that direction with little to no problems. It may be the best bet. Only . . .”
“What?”
“Only I don’t want to take everyone.”
Ackerley didn’t like the idea of leaving anyone behind to face the Welgos, but he knew his brother was right. A small group, maybe only a few, would fare much better when they got to where they were going, and be much quicker.
“Just us.” Kenton said.
Ackerley looked at him with wide eyes. “No. I can’t leave Cerise and Jarn.”
“Who?”
“Cerise is the princess of—was the princess of Indigo. Jarn’s my friend, Jarn Rogerseen.”
Kenton bit his lip and stared at the wall. “Four might not be so bad.”
The door opened and they both jumped. Yinnib bounced in jauntily and set a tray with bread and soup on Kenton’s lap. “It’s not much.”
“It looks great!” Kenton said, and he was serious. “I haven’t seen much food recently.”
“Oh, wow.” Yinnib chuckled, positively flushed with excitement. “If you say so.”
“Now if you please.” Kenton pointed to the door.
Yinnib looked crushed. “Of course, take your time.”
When he was gone again Kenton’s frown returned.
“I—I’ll have to tell everyone.” He said, looking forlorn. “When everyone knows the situation we can figure out how to proceed.”
“What about—” Ackerley paused, unsure if he should continue.
His brother looked at him expectantly.
“What about Vloraisha?” Ackerley said, becoming very interested in the design on the carpet.
“That’s what I was thinking. It’s really the only place to go. But I don’t want to go just yet. I need to find a way to strength
en the defenses here. I can’t in good faith run without at least trying to protect it.”
“I’ll be ready for when the time is right.” Ackerley said.
Kenton pushed himself up a little more in bed. “I’ll take a look around today, talk to everyone, and see if there’s any way to further Welgo-proof this place. For now get on with whatever you usually have to do today.”
Ackerley went out to the hall where Yinnib waited.
“Does he need anything?” He asked eagerly.
“I don’t know, go ask him.”
Yinnib bounded into the room.
Cerise and Jarn were down in the basement handing out bread and butter to everyone for breakfast. Ackerely joined in, and after handing it all out they climbed back up the stairs, eagerly awaiting an update.
Ackelrey didn’t want his friends to have to wait to hear the news from Kenton. So when he thought they were completely alone he stared at the floor and told them everything his brother had said.
Cerise grabbed her necklace and gasped. Jarn leaned against the wall for support, he looked distraught, his breathing shallow.
“He’s a commander. Which—which means . . .”
“He didn’t say.” Ackerley said quickly. He completely forgot that Rogerseen was the old commander.
“I think I’ll go lay down for a bit.” Jarn said, slowly walking away, keeping one hand on the wall.
Cerise turned her expression of fear into determination. “We’d better go see if we can find any food under the fountain.”
On their way out of the castle he did his best to talk of happier things.
“Did you have any insightful dreams last night?” Ackerley asked, thinking about the jug Cerise found.
She smiled serenely. “No, just