“What?” he asked.
“You’re easily distracted,” she replied.
“And you’re quick to change your mood,” Max said, wishing he hadn’t phrased it quite that way.
“Careful, Max, you don’t want to say something you’ll regret,” Britt teased.
Max blushed, “I only meant,” he started.
“What?” Britt asked.
“That you sure seem happier all of a sudden,” he said.
“Can’t I be happy now that my friend isn’t going to die from goblin venom and I’ll get to warn my crew of the dangers here in Westland?” she asked, turning on her heel and walking away once again. Over her shoulder, she asked, “Aren’t you coming?”
Max nodded, allowing his eyes to linger on her form before joining her on the trail to Solomon’s house.
When Max and Britt came back to the house, the mood hadn’t changed. Max saw their attention shoot to the door as they walked in. Despite her fatigue, Kirsten bolted up off the couch, only to sit down as soon as she’d risen. Thomas helped her stand up again and they stared at Britt and Max with eager expressions.
“Well, did you?” Bo asked, meeting his brother’s gaze.
Max blushed, thinking of their kiss, “Did we what?”
Bo shook his head and asked, “Did you convince her to stay?”
Max exhaled and looked to Britt, seeing the relief on her face as well, “You could say that.”
Max watched their stares lock onto Britt, waiting for her confirmation. “Well, Kirsten, it looks like you’re not going to be the only woman going on this next adventure,” she said. Max saw their postures relax with the news.
Kirsten grinned, “Now you can show me more of your fighting moves,” and she pretended to recreate one of the warrior stances she practiced, pulling Thomas off balance as he struggled to keep her upright.
Britt chuckled, “I’ll show you a lot more than that.” Max noticed her hands move to her waist, and she said, “Which reminds me, we need to get some weapons. I can’t believe I almost went into a town full of enemies without so much as a butter knife to protect me.”
“Good luck finding any weapons here,” Bo said.
“Yeah, Solomon didn’t believe in using weapons for fighting,” Max said.
From her expression, Max could tell this way of thinking was new to her. She asked, “How did he think people should fight without weapons?”
“I don’t think he thought anyone should fight,” Max said. “But I know he used to tell me about some magic tricks he could do to render an opponent useless.”
Britt frowned, “That helps us a lot.”
“If there are any weapons here, they’ll be down in the cellar,” Max said.
“He’s got a cellar?” Bo asked.
“Yeah,” Max replied. “Mostly to store his produce from the garden, but he’s got a few chests down there that might have things from his younger days.”
“If he ever had younger days,” Bo said.
Max chuckled, but quickly stopped as he realized that nobody else in the room understood what that meant. They hadn’t ever met the old wise man so how would they know how old he was. “I’ll show you,” Max said. “Then we should come up with a strategy of what to do next, including finding you a falcon.” He saw Kirsten and Thomas’ reaction at the comment, but didn’t explain further as he moved to show them the cellar.
Encased in the wall on the far side of the living room was the outline of a door, which looked like tree bark. If you weren’t looking for it or didn’t know it was there, the cleverly hidden cellar door would be easy to miss. Max kicked at the base of the door and the top corner popped out slightly, enough so he could pull it out. Once the door was out of the way, a small person-sized opening revealed a set of stairs descending steeply into a darkened room. Bo handed him a lit candle sitting atop the nearby potions cabinet. Max took it and led them into the cellar.
The dark dirt walls under the tree were damp. The air was thick and dank. Handmade shelves lining the walls were crammed with canned goods and potatoes. Several trunks lay at the foot of the shelves.
“Score!” Bo said, eyeing the food. The bread and jam had been the only edible things in the kitchen. Max set the candle on a shelf as his brother began to gather the canned goods.
“Might be something in here?” Max said, bending down to open one of the trunks.
The trunk was full of totems from Solomon’s past. Drawings, maps, elegant robes and jewelry, no doubt gifted to him from a person of exceeding wealth, but, just as he had suspected, no weapons. Another trunk held spare kitchen utensils, but no such luck with anything that could do a person harm. Ending their search, Max and Britt helped Bo carry food from the cellar up to the kitchen. They got to work outlining a plan to sneak their way into Brookside, break into the aviary, retrieve a carrier falcon, and send Britt’s crew a message. After accomplishing Britt’s task and giving Kirsten time to recover, their small band would seek out the Resistance Rune told them about.
Chapter 53
Natalia
Natalia stopped to catch her breath, watching the blackened figure as it flew outlined against the blue sky. Her battered and bruised ribs still throbbed from the orc’s war hammer. Keeping her gaze fixed on the now-distant dragon, she was reminded of the last time she’d seen the rider pair. The loss of her dragon and their bond cut deeper than any physical injury ever could.
One day, I’ll get back at them for what they did to me, she thought as Killdoor flew from view, continuing to burn the forested areas along the Drakeshead.
A touch to her shoulder startled her from her memories of that night over two months ago when she faced Merglan over the Eastland Mountains. Spinning around, Natalia’s brilliant green eyes found the old wise man’s wrinkled face.
“Natalia, are you okay?” Solomon asked as she continued to stare at him in surprise for too long. “We can rest if you need more time to heal.”
Natalia saw him searching her face, trying to read what she was thinking. Touching the side of her body where the hammer had struck hardest, she said, “I’ll make do. I can keep going.”
Stepping around him, Natalia joined the line of Lumbapi hurrying through the forest. The Southland natives followed trails little known to anyone on the island; only a random hunter might stumble his way across the interior network of lightly traveled paths the Lumbapi used in secrecy. She continued on, pushing through her pain, using her magical talents sparingly now that she was the only one among them who could wield the energy. Natalia knew she was weakened physically as well as in magical strength from the battle they’d just fought.
