War of Magic by Meredith Mansfield

Author:Meredith Mansfield [Mansfield, Meredith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2016-09-27T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 31: Unexpected Reception

Theklan was stumbling by the time they reached the Lion Clan portion of the village and made their way to the hut Thekila and Vatar shared. They’d brought nothing with them but Taleara and the spearheads, so there weren’t even bedrolls to lie down on. Those were still with the horses and the rest of their gear—and Teran and Sharila—in Tysoe. He sank down to the grass mats anyway. So did Thekila, accepting Taleara back from Vatar, who’d been carrying her for most of the walk.

Vatar remained standing just inside the doorway. “I should go and get Zavar, Savara, and Jadar from Mother and Pa. And we need something to eat—and something to sleep on.” His voice sounded like he was speaking from the bottom of a very deep well.

“I know you’re eager to have the children back with us,” Thekila said. “I am, too. But, none of us are in any condition to watch them right now. Wouldn’t it be better to wait until we’re rested?”

Vatar sagged halfway down, until he was sitting on the threshold of the door, a large step above the level of the hut’s floor. “I need to ask Pa to call for the Council of Chiefs. Anyway, Mother and Pa will hear that we’re back. They’ll—”

The hide covering behind him shifted and a foot just missed kicking him. With a grunt, Vatar shifted himself to the floor, just far enough to clear the doorway.

Danar stepped down into the hut. “Vatar, what were you doing sitting there?”

Vatar grinned wearily. “Thought it’d be a little easier to get back up from there.”

Danar stooped down. “Are you ill?”

Vatar shook his head. “Just really, really tired. And hungry. It’s not easy getting all the way from Tysoe in less than three days. And we couldn’t carry much food with us.”

“And then we had to persuade Baraz to let us stay,” Theklan put in. “Or . . . well, Vatar did most of that.”

“Three days? How many horses did you kill riding that hard?” Danar asked.

Vatar chuckled wearily. “No horses. We flew.”

Danar stood up. “You’re not making any sense, Vatar. You must be delirious. I’ll get your mother.”

“If you bring us something to eat and drink along with Lucina, we’ll explain as best we can,” Thekila said. “Oh, and something to sleep on. We had to leave our bedrolls behind in Tysoe, with the horses.” Her eyes half closed. “Though right now I think I could sleep on solid rock.”

Danar nodded and stepped up out of the hut.

“That solves one problem,” Vatar said with a sigh. “But it means more talking before we can rest.”

Theklan heartily agreed with Vatar’s distaste for more talking. Or . . . well, he would have, if he had the energy to say anything.

~

Theklan had dozed off by the time Lucina and Danar came back. It was the smell of warm meat rolls that woke him.

While Danar distributed the meat rolls and she poured fruit juice into rough clay mugs, Lucina looked around at them and shook her head.

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