Pawns (The Wielders of Arantha Book 1) by Patrick Hodges

Author:Patrick Hodges
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Creativia
Published: 2017-04-20T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight

N yla decided not to tell Liana what she overheard outside Susarra's window. If what she suspected was true, she had almost no time to stop it from happening. Having Liana get involved would only slow her down.

Based on what little Nyla heard, it seemed her mother's suspicions about Susarra were correct. She was taking advantage of Kelia's absence by sending Vaxi on Sojourn. Against Vaxi's wishes, her mother's wishes, and Arantha's wishes. Vaxi was going to sneak away from the village in the middle of the night. Tonight.

It was moments like these that Nyla was grateful for her years of geography lessons under Liana's tutelage. She knew the names and locations of each of the kingdoms that lined the western, northern and eastern coasts of the continent. Assuming none of said kingdoms had vigorously expanded their borders since she was born, the nearest populated area was over four hundred miles away. There was no way Vaxi would make that journey on foot. She would travel the same way every Ixtrayu going on Sojourn would travel: by chava.

Nyla used her Wielding to brew some herbal tea for Liana, which her great-aunt graciously accepted. As Nyla hoped, Liana retired to her bedroom immediately after finishing the tea. Within minutes, she heard Liana softly snoring, and was out the door a heartbeat later.

Nyla's mind raced as she crept through the silent village. It had to be near midnight, and just about everyone was asleep by now. She descended the hill leading down to the farmlands, cutting to the right once she reached the bottom.

Here's where it gets tricky, she thought. Though she knew the terrain, she wasn't as familiar with every rock and stone outside the village as she was within it. She hadn't brought a torch to light her way, and the lights in the Above did little to guide her. Hoping she wouldn't fall and break something, she trudged carefully along a trail she couldn't see.

The dirt beneath her feet eventually gave way to grass, and as she crested another small hill, she rejoiced when she saw a campfire in the near distance, illuminating a large part of the huge corral where the chavas were kept.

Though she couldn't see the beasts, Nyla knew there were roughly forty of them, males and females, of various sizes and ages. They preferred to sleep outside, on a comfortable patch of grass. The stable, a wooden building off to the left, was large enough to house ten chavas, and this was where the keeper, Olma, not only worked but slept. She was the only member of the tribe who didn't live within the confines of the village, preferring to be near the creatures she tended.

Nyla couldn't see any lights on in the stable as she approached. However, this abruptly changed when a door at the far end of the building opened and a tall figure stepped out, leading a saddled chava behind her. The figure was holding a small, lit torch, and Nyla immediately knew who it was.

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