Herald Spy 04: The Hills Have Spies by Mercedes Lackey

Author:Mercedes Lackey [Lackey, Mercedes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Valdemar
Publisher: DAW
Published: 2018-06-05T00:00:00+00:00

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• • •

When he woke, it was full light, and Larral had brought something unexpected. Lying between the kyree’s front paws was a mushroom the size of a small loaf of bread.

Perry sat up carefully to avoid hitting his head on the log, and he stared at it for a moment. “Is that safe to eat?” he asked, his mouth watering in spite of himself. He was very, very hungry, and he loved mushrooms, raw or cooked.

:Perfectly,: the kyree said with confidence. :I’ve already had one.:

Perry stared at him. “You eat mushrooms?”

:I eat many things besides raw rabbit. I am not a barbarian!:

Perry smothered a laugh and picked up the mushroom with both hands, biting into it. Even raw, it had a very satisfying, meaty flavor to it, and it was very filling. :We call them meat mushrooms,: Larral told him, as he reminded himself to eat slowly and carefully and not gobble. His stomach wasn’t used to eating this much raw mushroom, and he didn’t want it to get persnickety on him. :So, I am told, do the Hawkbrothers.:

He took a sip from his waterskin and another bite of mushroom. His stomach seemed happy. The only way this meal could be better would have been if he could have sliced this thing and fried the slices in butter. “I could probably eat these things for a week and not get tired of them.”

:Well, they are not as nourishing as real meat, and I would not do that. But you will be all right for a day or two eating only those, if we have to. I do not think we will have to. I will certainly catch something by this evening.: Perry nodded, and he made sure to eat every crumb. Sadly, as he knew from experience, raw mushrooms did not keep well once cut, bitten, or broken into, so there was no point in trying to save any of it for later. He’d be more likely to find unappetizing slime than anything edible.

And once his stomach was full, they set off again, at a better pace now that he could see the ground with his own eyes. There was, in fact, a very faint trail to follow. If he had not had Larral’s guidance, he might have taken it for a game trail.

And if he had not had Larral’s guidance, he would never have known how near they were to their goal until he stumbled into one of the perimeter patrols, or they stumbled into him.

But Larral scented them long before they were a danger. :Stop!: he heard, and he froze. Larral’s head was up and his ears flat. :We need to move in under those bushes. There are two men approaching.:

They both moved quickly, but as quietly as they could, and wormed their way into the middle of a thicket of bushes, in deep cover. They waited until the two men had passed and were well out of hearing distance before they moved again.

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