Entombed in Glass by Stacey Rourke

Author:Stacey Rourke [Rourke, Stacey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-03-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

The wood flute’s tune flooded the space, its melancholy notes reflecting the mood of their troubled musician. At the orders of Sergeant E’toil, we had been assigned a shanty at the edge of camp. It was little more than four walls and tin roof, with a small hearth on the far wall to ward off the night’s chill. Orange sparks sprayed from the fire within as I stoked it.

Setting the poker aside, I pivoted in my squat and dropped one knee to the ground. Eye level with the pensive boy, I ducked my head in attempt to catch his stare. “Phin? Are you well? We can talk about what transpired out there, if you like.”

Shaking his head, he played on.

Dragging my tongue over my chapped lower lip, I tried again. “I found what happened unsettling. That doesn’t make me weak, merely human ... of sorts.”

A haunting reprieve via that flute was his only response.

“You remember I can make things happen here, don’t you?” Shifting on to both knees, I sank back on my heels. “In my mind I see the shadows around this dusty hut becoming our soldiers. Massive, heaving warriors that would keep us safe if the crocodile were to come back. Would it grant you a bit of peace if I made them real?”

Finally, Phin pulled the flute from his lips, and rested it carefully in his lap. When his gaze dragged up to mine, it was not one of traumatized angst, as I expected, but a quiet stillness. “I appreciate your concern, sir. Truly, I do. Yet in that moment, when the beast appeared, I felt no fear. Do you know why?”

My head tilted with interest. “I couldn’t begin to fathom. At your age such a thing would have had me shrieking until my gills collapsed.”

While the hint of a smile toyed at the corners of Phin’s thin lips, a cloud of sadness blew in to darken his eyes. “When my mother was alive and in good health, she used to tuck me in with a story every night. Perched beside me on the bed, she would stroke my hair, and tell tales of gods and goddesses with unimaginable powers. My favorite was the god Pan, who ruled over nature and the wild. The forest and its residents, both big and small, eagerly bent to his command.”

“Sounds like a fun bloke, to be sure.”

Resting his elbows on his knees, Phin leaned in. His voice dropped to a secretive whisper. “I wasn’t scared of the monster, because Pan was there … with me. I walked with him through this land, watching nature respond to his every whim. It was he that threw me to safety in the face of harm, assuring me there is nothing here for me to fear.”

“Me?” I squawked, pulling back in shock. “You think me to be Pan?”

Phin’s brows lifted to his hairline, daring me to argue. “Do you have another answer for being capable of such marvels? Whom, except Pan, could accomplish

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