Venom and Song by Wayne Thomas Batson

Author:Wayne Thomas Batson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2010-07-14T04:00:00+00:00

“It’s bad.” Autumn pulled her windswept hair back into a ponytail.

The others stood. “How bad?” asked Tommy.

“Whitehall has been invaded.”

“I knew it!” shouted Johnny. “Manaelkin is evil!”

Autumn shook her head. “It wasn’t Manaelkin.” The others looked on. “Not unless he has a new fascination with Warspiders.”

Tommy was stunned. “The Spider King?”

“What?” they gasped.

“But how?” asked Kat.

“I don’t know. B-but I did see”—she shuddered—“bodies. Elven bodies. Everywhere. I think the elders arrived, just as Alwynn said. But they were surprised. In any case, the place is crawling with Gwar and Warspiders. They’ve let anything that could burn, and are now destroying whatever they can with their hands.”

“I can’t believe it’s all gone,” said Kiri Lee. “Just like that.”

“It was a good home for us,” Tommy nodded. “But it is not why we’re here.”

“Agreed,” said Jett. “We have a job to do.”

Tommy looked to Autumn. “Any sign of—” But her solemn look and a gentle shake of her head cut him short. No one said anything for a whole minute, each pondering the fate of their teachers. A heavy weight fell on their shoulders, the air becoming hard to breathe. Surely Grimwarden and Goldarrow had escaped. They would have found a way. Wouldn’t they? But if the attack truly had been a surprise, perhaps there was no way.

Kiri Lee looked to their leader. “So what do we do, Tommy?”

Tommy looked to Jett. “Jett’s right. We have a job to do, and we’ve got to find that Keystone. If Grimwarden were here, he’d want us to find it. Without it, we are not equipped. And that’s what he is”—he corrected himself—“was all about.”

“Yeah, but where do we even start?” Johnny asked. “I mean, it could be anywhere.” The others nodded in agreement. The task did seem overwhelming at best.

Tommy thought for a moment. “Grimwarden didn’t send us three days north for nothing. He must have known there was something up here. Something that might help us. So”—he looked north along the river—“I say that whatever that is, we look for it.”

“A wild-goose chase, then,” said Autumn.

“Except we know our goose is a Keystone,” corrected Tommy. “So that’s at least something.”

“I’m still not too sure about this,” said Kiri Lee. Johnny also nodded. “I mean, what if Grimwarden is on his way here now? He said to wait for him after following the Spine-thingy for three days. Shouldn’t we give him time?”

Tommy shook his head. “That plan was made under the assumption it would only be Manaelkin and some flet soldiers. I fear that everything has changed now. Most likely, Grimwarden is—”

Kat reached up and put a hand on his mouth. “Don’t say it.” She suddenly realized how forward the gesture was and pulled her hand away, blushing slightly. “Sorry.”

Tommy continued. “I was just saying that every moment we waste thinking about what-ifs is a moment we waste going after the Keystone. And if anyone would know how to find us in the Thousand-League Forest, it’s Grimwarden and Goldarrow.”

Tommy walked around in a circle, collecting his thoughts.

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