Knights: Defenders of Ollanhar

  ***

  After lunch, however, the Knights rode on for a few hours and then encountered the boy again. He was muddy and standing alone in the foggy road. Taith still had the defiant look on his face, though there was a shadow of pain and fear as well. There was no sign of his father.

  "Leave me alone!" the boy snarled at them.

  Aldreya sighed. "Where is your father, Taith?"

  Taith shrugged. "Don't know and don't care. He abandoned me and rode on. Shoved me right off his horse, and I hurt my arm." He rubbed his forearm. "I think that's the last I'll ever see of him. He told me he didn't want to raise me anymore, that I was worthless. He's right--I am worthless." His hands knotted into fists. "I don't care, though. I don't need him or anyone else."

  "You'll need food and shelter," said Lannon. "We will look after you until we find your father. I'm sure he couldn't have gotten far."

  "You won't find him," said Taith, "and even if you do, he won't allow me to stay with him. He's done with me forever. I don't have a father anymore." For an instant, he looked like he might cry. Then he shrugged it off and glared.

  Aldreya nodded. "Regardless, you will be cared for. If we can't return you to your father, we will find you a suitable home. If nothing else, you can serve as an Orange Squire at Ollanhar Tower."

  "I won't serve anyone," Taith snarled, "and I don't want any stupid family. If you take me with you, you'll regret it soon enough."

  "We won't regret it," said Lannon. "And neither will you."

  "Climb on my horse," said Aldreya. "You can ride with me."

  "Better do as they suggest, lad," said Jace, leaning toward him. Taith shrank back from the sight of the huge, cloaked sorcerer. "I've seen this sort of thing before. A boy like you could starve to death out here or be eaten by Goblins."

  "I'm not afraid," Taith insisted.

  Aldreya motioned to him. "Come and join us, Taith."

  He didn't move. He simply gazed at the muddy road with a sullen expression. Some of the Knights began to grow impatient.

  "How are you going to eat?" Lothrin asked him. "Can you hunt for food? Where will you sleep? I know all about wilderness survival, my young friend. I am a Ranger. I can tell you that if you don't ride with us, you do indeed stand a good chance of dying out here."

  "My cousin speaks true," said Prince Vannas. "Heed his wisdom."

  "I'll make do alone," Taith said, but his eyes showed uncertainty.

  "Very well," said Jace. "Stay if you must, alone and unarmed, and we will ride on. I wish you luck--for when the darkness comes, as it surely will, you will need all the luck you can get. Sometimes the darkness is hungry in these lands. It creeps up on those who walk alone. You should know the truth of this."

  Taith gazed at Jace and shuddered. Then he hurried over to Lannon. "I'll ride with you. Not her."

  Lannon nodded, then lifted him onto the horse.

  Jace winked at Lannon, and they set off.