Eloy's Challenge by Kara Timmins

Author:Kara Timmins [Timmins, Kara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780692199282
Publisher: Kara Timmins
Published: 2018-11-11T21:00:00+00:00

34

Neasa took the lookout for half of the night and gave Eloy, Malatic, and Goodwin extra sleep. She may have let them sleep longer, but she woke them up sometime in the middle of the night. They had set up their camp close to a small drop-off—a depth no more than a foot-length higher than Eloy was tall—on the decline of a steady slope.

Neasa shook Eloy. “Wake up. There are fighters,” she whispered and pointed toward the drop-off.

Malatic was already sitting up on the other side of the now-dead fire. He was closest to the edge. “They’re stumbling and throwing up,” Malatic whispered. “These two fighters are well into a jug of the hot stuff. There’s no need to worry about them as long as we don’t draw attention to ourselves.”

The sick fighters moved on, their gurgling and heaving sounds dwindling as they moved away toward Anso’s mountain.

Once they were gone, Eloy looked at Neasa sitting next to him. “You should get some sleep.”

“I’m okay.” Her heavy eyes gave her away.

“I won’t be able to go back to sleep,” Eloy said. “Rest.”

She was reluctant, but after a little coaxing, she dropped down to sleep.

None of the four looked refreshed in the morning, but they were all rested enough to have sharp senses for the task ahead. They resumed their formation: Malatic in the front, Goodwin behind him, then Neasa, and Eloy in the back. Unified, they walked down into the forested area below.

The area could have been beautiful were it not for the detritus of Anso’s careless fighters. The snow had let up in the last few days, but it didn’t fall as much the lower they descended. Only a few clumps of white bunched in small mounds among the yellow tufts of grasses. The woodland lacked the vibrant hues of Valia, the trees free of the soft mosses, and the density couldn’t compare, but without the current inhabitants, Eloy sensed a latent peace in these woods. He hoped it would find it again.

Neasa dropped back to Eloy’s side at midday. “He keeps muttering stuff up there.”

“Who?” Eloy asked.

“Malatic,” she said.

“What’s he talking about?” Eloy asked.

“I don’t know,” Neasa said, “but it’s along the lines of something not seeming right.”

“I’ll talk to him,” Eloy said.

Eloy sped up to a slow jog and closed the gap between him and Malatic. He gave Goodwin a pat on the back as he rushed past and got a friendly smile in response.

“What’s going on?” Eloy asked as he reached Malatic.

“Huh?” Malatic looked over at Eloy now at his side. “What do you mean?”

“Neasa said you were muttering to yourself,” Eloy said. “Anything the rest of us should know about?”

“It’s just too quiet down here,” Malatic said. “It’s the same as I was saying last night. There should be more people.”

“Any idea why there aren’t more fighters?” Eloy asked.

“Not one,” Malatic said.

“Are we walking into a trap or an ambush?”

“It’s possible,” Malatic said, “but I don’t think so. Why would they go to the trouble

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.