"It is his share of the payment from the village," she whispered to Sprint, kissing the velvet-smooth skin of his muzzle. Reaching out to the Border Runners she playfully
pulled their ears. "Guard my Archer well, and bring him safely to Clatterford," she whispered before leaving as quietly as she had arrived.
Kyot stretched out feeling the early warmth of the morning sun touch his face. Opening his eyes he looked down at the arrows he had fixed into the ground and smiled. "You have great magic, Lady of Clatterford."
He took her arrows out of the ground and rubbed the damp earth from their smooth gla.s.s blades. "Magic enough to silence even you, Rockspray, a sharp-eyed Lord of Owls, and brave enough to risk your hooves, Sprint, and the teeth of two savage dogs."
Sprint snorted, rubbing his head against Kyot"s arson, and Rockspray ruffled his feathers and hooted quietly, his eyes half closed. Kyot sighed, collected the other two arrows and rose to his feet. Looking at the base of the mound he saw small cloven hoof prints that led away into the gra.s.slands.
Kneeling, he examined the prints and measured their stride. "She rides a great beast! Come," he called to Sprint.
"Today we will follow the Lady of Clatterford."
Sprint lifted his head, smelt the morning breeze and
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snorted in alarm. Rockspray lifted from Kyot"s shoulder and shrieked a warning. Kyot turned and ran quickly to the top of the mound. He gazed out across the gra.s.sland, shading his eyes against the morning sunlight. "Nigh/beasts!" he hissed, quickly counting the line of dark shapes running towards him as he saddled Sprint. "Follow the lady"s hoof prints!" Kyot whispered, mounting and urging him forwards. "We do not have enough arrows to stand and fight."
Sprint cantered down the mound, kicking over the wooden bowl that Eventine had left. In his haste to flee from the Nightbeasts Kyot saw the grains of wheat scatter across the ground and laughed. "This will be our cornfield, Lady, and we will harvest it for the village in better times. Now, run, Sprint, run!"
Sprint bounded forward, galloping hard to catch his shadow as the gra.s.slands swallowed them up. Only at noon did Kyot slow the horse to a trot and stood on the saddle looking back at the distant line of Nightbeasts He could see that they were blind to him in the noonday glare by the way they beat the tall gra.s.s with their spear blades and cruel hooked scythes.
"We must run again," he whispered to the Border Runners,
"but I will run beside you for as many leagues as I can, as they are spread wide to catch us and follow close on our scent.
There is no way but forwards."
Sprint neighed and waited while Kyot tied the reins in a
knot. Rockspray took to the air and stooped on the line of Nightbeasts, tearing off two sets of wolEskin eye shields before Kyot called him back. "Stay with us, Lord of Owls, and fight beside us when we can run no further. Fly ahead now and find us a place where we can face the Nightbeasts with the dying sun on our shoulders. A hill or a mound where Father"s bow can sing out against the darkness."
Rockspray lifted silently and flew far ahead. Sprint, Kyot and the dogs followed, running side by side, heads bent in effort, over the rough gra.s.sland. Behind them the line of
Nightbeasts lengthened their stride and gradually, as the afternoon wore into evening, they closed the gap between them. Kyot could hear them now, roaring and screaming just behind him. Sprint flattened his ears and rolled his eyes in fear, the dogs turned, hackles up, ready to fight. Rockspray stooped out of the late afternoon sky to the cantle of the saddle, hooting about the place that he had found.
"Follow, follow," he shrieked, rising up and hovering just above Kyot"s head. Kyot looked up and saw through the long gra.s.ses a long low mound of bare-trodden earth. Running to the base of the mound he reached back into his quiver and nocked one of the Lady"s arrows on to his bow. Six laboured strides took him to the top and there he stopped, the arrow resting lightly against the bow, and stared with wide eyes at the neat rows of arrows, ready-pressed into the earth to form a makeshift arrows stand.
"The Lady of Clatterford is with us!" he cried, taking arrow after arrow from the stand and loosing them into the advancing line of Nightbeasts.
Rockspray stooped at their eyes, ripping and tearing at their wolLskin shields, the dogs leapt at the Nightbeasts" throats, tearing them down and Sprint turned, rearing and plunging through the broken enemy line.
Behind them, beyond the mound, a shadow crossed the low evening sun, making Kyot pause and turn his head. Laughing, he raised his bow hand in salute.
"I thank you, Lady of Clatterford," he cried, watching for a moment as the mighty stag she rode halted and lifted its crown of sweeping antlers up towards the first evening stars. "I thank you, Lady!" he cried again, looking at the slender figure in the flowing cloak that held a bow as large as the great Bow of Orm.
"Follow me to Clatterford!" she called in a voice that cut through the Nightbeasts" screams. "Follow me when the last arrow has found its mark!" She urged her mount forward and
vanished amongst the tall gra.s.ses.
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Rockspray stooped roughly to Kyot"s shoulder and dug his sticky blood-soaked talons through his cloak, shrieking a warning that the last swarm of Nightbeasts were crouching at the base of the mound. Kyot shook his head, scattering the memory of Eventine"s beauty, and set about destroying the remaining Nightbeasts. He could smell their foul odour and see the scales of their armour rattling and swaying as they breasted the mound. He loosed arrow after arrow until only one beast was still rushing forward. Taking the last gla.s.s arrow he knelt and released it, turning his head from the blinding flash of light as the blade sheared through the armoured scales, shattering the breastbone.
"Die, Nightbeast!" he shouted as the arrow strike forced the beast backwards, tumbling it to the bottom of the mound.
Kyot rose slowly from his knees and looked out across the heaps of Nightbeast dead into the silent empty twilight. "We have won!" he whispered to Rockspray, ruffling the owl"s chest feathers. Sprint snorted, the dogs barked as they picked their way through the Nightbeast carca.s.ses and wearily climbed the mound.
"We will follow the Lady!" he laughed, clipping the Bow of Orm on to the saddle, and led Sprint down off the mound in the direction she had taken.
Midnight slipped by unmarked before the Border Runners led Kyot and Sprint through the edge of the gra.s.slands and pa.s.sed unheralded into Clatterford. Kyot yawned and stopped, sniffing at the night air; kneeling he touched the ground, feeling the difference in the length and texture of the gra.s.s.
"Hush!" he whispered, putting his finger to his lips and listening to the night.
Rising to his feet he looked across a rolling moonlit landscape that stretched away to a dark horizon of tall trees.
"This must be Clatterford. Smell the new-mown gra.s.s and
listen to the Nightingales."
Turning his head he heard the noise of shallow water
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rushing over gravel. "There must be a stream close by. Come, we will find it and rest there until the new sun rises."
Sprint nickered and trotted off into the darkness. Kyot wearily followed the noise of the stream, which grew louder with each step he took, until he came to the bank. He slipped down and drank deeply, splashing the crystal-cold water on to his face and hands. It tasted better than the wine of Stumble Hill and slightly sweeter on his tongue. Smiling, he dried his hands and settled back against the bank. Thinking of the Lady"s beautiful face silhouetted against the setting sun he fell
into a trouble-free sleep.
After sunrise Sprint roughly woke him by snorting fiercely into his face, Rockspray perched at his side, preening his feathers. Sitting up, Kyot stretched, yawned, then quickly dropped his arms to his sides and scrambled to his feet. "We are at Clatterford!" he hissed, brushing his fingers through his hair and trying to straighten his travel-stained jerkin and cloak.
"Welcome to Clatterford!" called out a voice from beyond the stream.
Kyot looked out across the stream towards a hall of glowing crystal set amongst neat lawns and flowered walkways. Brightcoloured peac.o.c.ks strutted on the lawns, and between the flowers that swept down in neat rows to the water"s edge and filled the morning with a heavy scent. Upon the first step of the Hall of Clatterford stood a tall, white-haired figure dressed in robes of pale sky-washed blue.
"Welcome," he called again, beckoning to Kyot to come across the stream to the hall. "There is a ford," he said, pointing away to Kyot"s left.