Evil Arises (Roland Of The High Crags Book 1) by B.R. Stateham

Author:B.R. Stateham [Stateham, B.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Next Chapter
Published: 2021-07-31T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

To Trust and Love

In a world filled with such violence as ours

Requires us to have some measure

Of Faith.

Even though, for many of us, this Faith

May reap untold heartaches.

FROM THE BOOK OF ST. ALBANS

Two days after escaping from Parian, the six of us sat around a large fire burning brightly and well fed. Unafraid we were from being seen by searching eyes since we were deep in a cave hewn from the side of a large bluff overlooking a river. Our enemies combed the woods in large numbers hunting for us. A hundred or more of Mulin Pah’s Great Wings and their riders fanned out across the high mountain valleys and rode the winds, waiting for us to make an appearance. We were forced to fly our birds at night and only under the cover of an overcast sky thick enough to obscure the moon’s light.

Our flight from the city of thieves had not taken us far. Hiding in caverns and waiting for the warlord’s men to divert their search patterns to a different mountain valley was our only choice. So, on this night, we sat warming ourselves in front of a large fire and waited for the propitious time to continue our journey.

Even in the summer the nights in the High Kanris become quite chilly. There is nothing like the feeling of comfort from a well-built fire with kindling from the hardwood Balak tree to make the fire burn fiercely. Balak wood burns with a bright light and an intense heat and yet without much smoke. In each of our hands was a sharpened stick, heavily laden with the white meat of freshly roasted fish. Gawaith and Gawain sat on their haunches ravishing their meals. They were youths who simply could not eat enough and be satisfied. Yet they were strong and healthy and growing by leaps and bounds. Already, the two had grown at least an inch taller and were ten pounds heavier. Their baby fat was turning into hard muscle. Their fair skins were being tanned and weathered by the primitive living conditions we continually found ourselves in. Their frames were filling out with the promise both would soon be and soon, tall Vik warriors hardened and prepared to meet any challenge.

If, that is, the Dark Powers would give them time enough to reach maturity. Eyeing them through the fire, watching them eat, my heart grew heavy. I wanted them to live. I wanted them to grow up to become the warriors and the leaders the Vik would need. But I feared the luxury of time was not on our side. Their destinies were tied to mine. My destiny appeared to be written in a book with very few blank pages remaining.

My attention turned to tiny Ursala. She, too, had grown before my eyes. No longer the tiny, almost brittle, doll-like dragon princess she first appeared, she too was tanning and filling out. Her dragon’s skin was still the dark white as all Pearl Princess were, but it was not the whiteness of an albino.

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