The Stonekeeper's Daughter by Linda McNabb

Author:Linda McNabb
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: magical adventure, magical fantasy, Dragon fantasy, fantasy for all ages, fantasy for middle grade, fantasy adventure, fantasy for teens, Easy Read Fantasy, Dragon stories, how to train your dragon, Anne McCaffrey, Tui T Sutherland, Rick Riordan, Wolves of the Beyond, katherine kerr, Kathryn Lasky, Eion Colfer
Publisher: Southern Star Publishing
Published: 2016-01-03T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

‘PRINCE OF THE REALM’

For several seconds nobody moved. It was a statement that had taken them all by surprise and all eyes stared at the old man in disbelief. Surely this old man wasn’t a prince of the realm. Nakita, not knowing the royal family or how old the prince might be, was as sceptical as the guards looked. If it was a stalling tactic then it was a good one.

All of a sudden one of the guards gasped in shock and, laying his sword on the ground, he dropped to his knees and touched his forehead to the frozen ground. The others followed quickly, including Valdar, until Nakita and Farac were the only ones left standing.

‘What did you go and do that for?’ Caleb said with a scowl as he stood up and Nakita realised that it was Caleb the men were kneeling towards, not the old man. ‘Word will reach the queen in no time and we’ll never finish our quest.’

‘But we already have,’ Farac replied solemnly as he stepped over the still prone body of Gil and bent down to pick up the battered old walking stick. He held it with all the reverence of a treasured piece of china that had just been rescued from a toddler. He pulled a bag of coins from his pocket and tossed them at the prostrate figure of Valdar. ‘For you trouble.’

Valdar snatched up the bag, not even opening it to count it, and got to his feet. He backed away from the clearing, along with the guards, and soon there was just the five of them left.

‘How can we have completed the quest?’ Caleb argued defiantly, still angry and he walked over to join the old man.

Gil and Meric, seeing that nobody was watching them, got up and crept off into the trees. Nakita didn’t bother to bring it to anyone’s attention though. She was still watching the bag on the ground. Prince or not, she wasn’t interested. She moved slowly over towards the bag while the two of them were arguing. She had just reached it and snatched it up when Farac turned and pointed at her with the walking stick, almost hitting her in the nose since she was so close. She pulled the bag to her chest and felt the voices of the stones vibrating through her heavy shirt.

‘There is the end of our quest,’ Farac said quietly and Nakita took a step backwards.

‘Kita?’ Caleb queried with a confused and surprised look directed at her.

‘Why don’t you show the prince what you have in the bag?’ Farac suggested. He had a knowing look on his face and Nakita’s mouth dropped open again. He knew! From the look on his face he could hear the stones as clearly as she could.

‘They belong to my village,’ Nakita protested as she stepped back one more pace and clutched the bag even tighter.

Farac frowned for a second and then lifted the battered old stick in front of him. A

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