“This must be the outskirts of a village. There’re probably more homes nearby,” Anders said, approaching her.
Maija hopped back onto the trail, eager to seek out more homes. Anders could tell from her reaction that she was excited to see other faces again after spending almost two weeks away from all social contact. He followed at a jog as Maija bounced her way down the trail and poked her head into home after home as they moved into the heart of the village. Each home they peeked into, however, proved to be abandoned. Each empty home left them increasingly anxious.
“Where is everyone? What’s happened to them?” Maija asked after exiting the tenth empty hut.
Anders shrugged, “I’ll try to sense to see if anyone is nearby.”
Maija nodded, scratching her head.
Anders reached out to search the lay of the land with his mind. He hadn’t used his senses to search for anyone since being reunited with Maija. He felt doubts about his ability to search when he felt no presence.
“So?” Maija asked, looking eager.
Anders shook his head, “I didn’t feel anything.”
Maija frowned, “Where is everyone?”
A sinking feeling hit Anders in the stomach. He couldn’t explain how he knew something terrible had occurred. He led Maija the short distance down the trail to the center of the village. There in a heap lay the villager elves, collected en masse, clearly slaughtered. Maija stopped when she saw the pile of bodies. Anders grabbed her, pulling her away from the horrific sight.
“Who could’ve done this?” she asked.
As he looked away from the grim scene, Anders noticed the wide swath of trampled vegetation entering the village in the distance. He pointed toward it and said, “Whatever made that trail.”
Zahara walked toward the newer path, sniffing the ground like a bloodhound. She lifted her head and said, Anders. I know what that smell is.
What? Anders asked.
Kurr.
Chapter 55
Unnecessary Risk
“Max,” Britt whispered, her voice breathy as she hovered over him. Seeing his eyes open, she sat back and waited for him to wake up. Carefully rising to her feet, she watched Max sit up and rub his eyes. Clearly reluctant to wake up, he eventually stood next to her and nodded, showing he was ready to go.
They tiptoed toward Solomon’s front door, stepping lightly over Bo and Thomas, who remained spread out on the living room floor. As a bachelor, Solomon didn’t have extra beds for everyone. Britt recalled Max offering Solomon’s bed to Kirsten, but she refused, wanting to stay near the others in this strange new place. Giving in to her wishes, they all took up residence on the floor surrounding Kirsten on the couch.
Britt heard a slight rattle when Max grasped the brass doorknob. As he slowly pulled it open, she could tell he was trying to prevent it from squeaking. Midway, though, the door jerked, sounding a tremendous creaking through the house. Max paused, lifting his shoulders slightly, and Britt held her breath. Turning, they looked to see Bo and Thomas still fast asleep. Kirsten, however, was upright immediately, spotting their darkened figures at the door. For a moment Britt thought Kirsten would shout, but she didn’t. Instead, she lay back down, waving at them as she did so. Britt gave her a two-fingered wave, then followed Max as he slipped out the door and into the night.
Once she’d gingerly latched the door, she smiled a double thumbs up at Max. He shivered slightly from the cool autumn air, the coldest of the day just before dawn. They knew they had only a few hours to get to Brookside’s aviary and borrow a falcon, preferably one native to the Rollo Islands. She didn’t think Max knew how to tell the falcons apart, but she did. Max spun away from the house and began to run at a steady jog, Britt falling in behind him. When they reached the top of a slight rise where the trail to Brookside became more clearly defined, Max slowed to let her catch up.
Puffing a bit from the run, Britt asked, “What’s up?”
“You got the crystal?” Max asked.
Reaching into her pants pocket, Britt withdrew the crystal and held it up for him to see. It glowed slightly, a light blue, so light it turned white if she stared at it long enough.
“Good. You keep it. We might need to use it if we get in a jam,” Max said in a normal voice now that they were well away from the others.
“I don’t know how this thing works,” Britt said, pocketing the crystal again.
“Me neither, but I feel better knowing you’re holding it. If it were me looking after that thing, I’d be afraid I would blow myself up or something.”
“It can do that?” Britt asked, her eyes bulging.
Britt saw him wince from her reaction, “Um, no. I’m sure you’ll be fine. Just try not to think about that kind of stuff.”
“Right,” Britt said, looking down to her side and wondering if she should even be carrying the crystal.
“Alright. Let’s go. We can’t waste much time if we want to be out before dawn,” Max said as he jogged away, Britt following his lead toward Brookside.
Within a half-hour, the flickering orange glow of lanterns came into view. Max slowed and Britt looked into the trees, keeping a sharp eye out for any watchmen possibly posted on the fringe. They began to pass homes built along the brook that ran from within the forest and directly into town.
Nearing Brookside’s formal entrance, Max moved off-trail and tucked in behind a large maple tree. Almost running past him, Britt shuffled to a stop and hopped behind the tree. Poking their heads out from the side, they examined the streets as they faded into darkness. Several shop and storefront lanterns still burned, illuminating the cobblestone in front of them.
Not sensing any movement, Max made his way quickly to the street’s edge. He stepped in close against a rectangular sign at the edge of the cobblestone. Popping his head around the slab of wood, he examined the streets from the closer vantage point. Then he motioned for her to join him.
Britt slid in next to Max, mimicking him in flattening herself against the sign. As she pressed her back into the wood, a sharp point pricked her shoulder. She winced and reached around to feel at the tack. Glancing back, she saw that the board was covered in pieces of parchment. Taking a closer look, she could see that the signs included faces. She focused on one that resembled the man who’d helped them, Rune. Keeping close to the sign, she turned to gain a better look at the posters, instantly recognizing Anders and Ivan along with several others from their group. She tapped Max on the shoulder and pointed to the posters, watching his surprise in recognizing himself and Bo on their own poster. In bold lettering above their faces, she read the word ‘REWARD’. Below the drawings of their faces, Britt read the brothers’ names, a brief description about where they’d last been seen, and the amount in coin from the imperial chest anyone would receive if they brought in these fugitives. Britt noted the words, ‘wanted dead or alive,’ across the base of many posters, including Max and Bo’s. She saw Max step back and scratch his head while he chewed on his lower lip.
“They got my nose wrong,” he whispered, pointing to the sign.
Britt stared at him blankly. She expected anger or fear; yet, this was Max, the guy with the odd sense of humor. She shook her head as he leaned in closer to the drawing.
“See,” he said, pointing to the nose. When Britt didn’t chuckle, Max smiled. “Not the right time for a joke?” he asked.
She shook her head again and pointed to the drawings of Ivan and Anders.
“Of course they have the highest reward. Mine’s not even a quarter of theirs.” When Britt remained stoic, he added, “At least I beat Bo.”
