The Sword and the Dragon (The Wardstone Trilogy Book One) Read online

  A quick glance back over at the object caused him to change his mind. He was here, and he didn’t want to waste the chance the Goddess had granted him. He would retrieve it, whatever it was.

  Gerard squinted. In the shaded light, the object finally revealed itself to him. It was a ring. Golden and shiny, it had a fat, yellow gem mounted on it, and it looked extremely valuable. He rolled his neck across his shoulders. It would be his, he decided. He could reach it and still get down before dark. If not, he could even sleep on the Lip if he had to.

  He looked at the other side of the fissure and studied it intently. He took in the subtleties, the nooks, the crannies, and the shape of the stone. Then, he sucked in a deep breath, resolved himself, and leapt for it.

  Hyden was pacing nervously. His cousin was almost back down to the Lip, but Gerard was still way up in the heart of the nesting shelves. To Hyden, he seemed to be frozen in place next to a wide vertical split in the rock. As it was, Hyden figured that Gerard would have to sleep on the Lip this night. Hyden wasn’t sure that his brother could even climb that far back down by nightfall. He was about to pull his hair out with worry.

  “It’s my fault,” he told himself aloud. He knew that no one had ever made it down the cliff face in the dark, and it looked as if Gerard was running out of time. “I should’ve never let you climb for me. Damn the bravado, Gerard! Just get yourself down before it’s too late.”

  Hyden stopped pacing and stared up anxiously, as his brother stretched across the gap for the second time. He thought his heart had stopped beating in his chest, until he saw his brother shudder and slip. Then, his heart exploded like a pounding skin drum.

  “Oh Gerard, don’t fall,” Hyden pleaded to no one that could hear him. “Take a breath, and steady yourself. That’s it! Now quit fooling around and get down here before the darkness takes you!”

  Hyden’s neck muscles were raw and sore from looking up all day, but he couldn’t look away. Gerard seemed to have regained his composure, and Hyden assumed he was about to start back down. A few seconds later, when Gerard leapt into the open air, across the fissure from one side of it to the other, Hyden was certain that his heart really had exploded. So violent was the thunderclap that went blasting through his chest, that even he felt the strange and horrifying sensation of falling.

  Chapter 2

  Of the two brothers, Gerard had the better landing. His lead foot stuck perfectly into the crevice he had intended, and his fingers grabbed true in a little crack on the far side of the fissure. He paused only a moment to catch his breath, as if he hadn’t just jumped across a gap of empty space more than seven hundred feet off the ground. Almost casually, he looked down at the little gleaming prize and started after it. It was his.

  Hyden didn’t fare as well. He had been looking up at Gerard while pacing. At the same moment his brother had leapt, Hyden’s feet had found a shin-high boulder and his momentum sent him sprawling. He was so transfixed by Gerard’s leap that he didn’t even look down as he fell. It was probably for the best, because he didn’t have to see the pile of jagged rocks into which his head slammed. When he next opened his eyes, it was almost completely dark outside. Blood had leaked from the gash in the side of his head and formed a matted clot in his long black hair. He wasn’t quite sure where he was or what was happening.

  “Hyden?” a familiar voice asked sheepishly. “I thought you’d never come around.”

  Through his pain, Hyden’s world began coming back to him. It was Little Condlin who had spoken to him. His fingers found the split lump over his ear, and a sharp pain shot through him when he touched it. As he caught his breath, Gerard’s leap flashed through his mind.

  “Gerard!” he croaked in a panic while trying to climb back to his feet. “Where is Ger—?”

  “He’s nearly down from the Lip,” Little Condlin said, not understanding Hyden’s worry. He hadn’t seen Gerard risk his life like a fool jumping from hold to hold. He took Hyden by the arm and helped him to his feet.

  Hyden winced as the world swam back into focus. It took him a few minutes, but eventually, he steadied himself. In the near darkness, he found the boulder he had eaten lunch on and sat down.

  “Gerard’s really almost down?” he asked.

  “Aye,” Little Condlin grinned. “He’s as good a climber as you are; maybe even better.” He tried to suppress an adolescent mirth, but it was impossible. “What befell you down here?” With that, he burst into laughter.

  Hyden snarled menacingly at the fourteen-year-old boy’s wit. It was enough to make Little Condlin’s glee vanish instantly. The boy quickly averted his attention to a dark pile of rocks at his feet.

  A few moments passed in silence, but Hyden finally spoke.

  “How was your harvest?” he asked.

  Little Condlin’s eyes lit up. He was bursting to tell someone of his good fortune this year. “Five eggs, Hyden!” he held an excited hand up, all his fingers extended and wiggling. “Five!”

  “Great!” Hyden said, a little more flatly than he had intended. He was glad for Condlin, but he was still a little bitter at being cheated out of his own climb. Last year, Little Con had only harvested one egg. This was only his second year of harvest, and five eggs was an excellent yield for a more experienced climber, much less a novice.

  “I did just as father told me to do,” Little Condlin rambled excitedly. “I didn’t try to go high like Gerard does. I went way out to the sides.”

  “I saw you,” Hyden said, with a nod of respect.

  Hyden had only gotten three eggs, and had ended up nearly falling over the edge of the Lip during the descent on his second harvest. The memory made him think about Gerard again. It was almost full dark now. He stood up and started toward the base of the cliff to look for his brother.

  “What happened to your face, Hyden?” Little Condlin asked. Even though he was at a safe distance, he made sure that his voice carried nothing less than concern in its inflection.

  “I was attacked by big, hairy scufflers,” Hyden deadpanned. His expression didn’t hold though, and thinking about his earlier folly, he broke into a sarcastic grin, “What do you think happened?”

  Little Condlin took on a frustrated expression and sighed heavily. He was the fourth of five brothers, so he knew where he stood in the pecking order with Hyden and his other cousins. He had hoped his successful harvest would have gained him a little more respect. Gauging the distance between him and his older, faster cousin, he gathered his courage and prepared to run away. “I think you fell down and busted your fat head.”

  “Aye,” Hyden laughed at the boy’s well-placed caution. “I did. I was looking up, watching Gerard act like a fool, and I wasn’t watching where my feet were leading me.” He made a silly face, and his cousin relaxed a little bit.

  “Well I have to say, you look quite a bit better than you did before. That bloody knot brings out your eyes.”

  Hyden burst out laughing at the boy’s boldness. He started to say something about it, but was cut off by a welcome voice.

  “What’s so blasted funny, Hyden?” Gerard said from the darkness, near where the cliff face met the canyon floor.

  Hyden felt the wave of relief wash over him. It was followed immediately by a flood of anger. “What’s not funny is what you did up there today! You could’ve gotten yourse—”

  His voice stopped cold, and Little Condlin gasped loudly. Gerard had thrust a ring out of the darkness at them. Even in the starlight, its amber gemstone captured enough illumination to sparkle brightly. It almost appeared as if it were glowing.

  “Where did you find that?” Little Condlin asked, with a voice full of awe.

  “In your sister’s pantaloons,” Gerard replied sarcastically. He was sore, tired, raw in several places, and in no mood for silly questions. He looked at Hyden, judging his brother’s anger. “It was high up in an old broken nest by a fissure. The one I jumped across,” he said in a way that let Hyden know that he knew the risk he had taken,
and didn’t want to hear anymore about it. After a moment, he reluctantly handed the ring to his older brother.

  Hyden looked at him oddly. It took him a minute to grasp the meaning of the gesture. Gerard had been climbing for him, not for himself. He was offering him the ring. Hyden refused it with a nod.

  “You wanted it bad enough to risk your life for it. It’s yours. You earned it.”

  Gerard cocked his head and studied Hyden some more. To refuse such an offer could be considered an insult. If Hyden was refusing him out of anger for taking that jump, then he wouldn’t know what to do. Hyden had never insulted him before. He looked deeper, and saw so much love, respect, and relief in his brother’s eyes that there was no room for doubt. Hyden truly did want him to have the ring. He took it back, and a broad grin spread across his weary face.

  “If you refuse these, then I’m going to kick you where it counts.”

  Gerard unshouldered his pack and thrust it out to Hyden proudly. “Half a dozen, just like I promised.”

  Hyden passed the pack to their cousin, and grabbed up Gerard in a big bear hug. Gerard hugged him back. While his hands were close together, behind Hyden’s back, Gerard slipped the ring onto his finger. After a moment, Hyden held him back by the shoulders and looked him dead in the eyes.

  “Don’t scare me like that again.” He pointed to the gash on his knotted head. “You almost killed me.”

  It was too dark even to think about starting back to the harvest lodges. They ended up building a fire where Hyden and Gerard had camped the night before. The three of them exchanged stories, and had a great laugh at the fact that Hyden was the only one who hadn’t left the ground, but was the only one who had fallen.

  While Little Con boiled some dried beef into a stew, Hyden inspected the eggs his brother had brought him. He was pleased beyond words at what he saw. All six of them were safe and sound and nestled in a bed of fresh keep moss. He made up his mind to buy Gerard a whole wizard’s costume—the robe, the hat, and even a staff, if that was what he wanted. He didn’t think it would be though. Gerard seemed to have matured a great deal since just that morning. The sparkle of the ring in the firelight, and the tired, serious look on his face made him look anything but youthful. Hyden saw a man, where only this morning, he’d seen a boy. It was a strange sight to see, because most of the time he didn’t even consider himself an adult yet.

  “Wendlin, Jeryn, and Tylen are the only ones left to harvest now,” Little Con informed them. “They’re camped at the other end of the canyon. They probably think I fell, since I didn’t come back to camp tonight.”

  “If they thought you fell, they would be out looking for your carcass,” Hyden said matter-of-factly.

  “Or dancing a jig,” Gerard added with a laugh.

  “They probably saw you come down,” Hyden reasoned. “Same as I did.”

  “How could you have seen him knot-head,” Gerard smirked. “You were busy kissing rocks.”

  They all laughed heartily at that. Little Condlin dished the stew into Hyden’s and Gerard’s bowls and then waited for one of them to finish. His bowl was back at his brothers’ camp. Hyden had eaten a healthy meal, while Gerard and Little Condlin had been busy climbing, so he only slurped a few mouthfuls, and then passed his bowl on to his young cousin. Gerard, on the other hand, attacked his meal like a starving dog.

  “Are you going back to the lodges with us in the morning or what?” Hyden asked.

  “Back to Tylen’s camp,” Condlin answered. “Wendlin and Jeryn climb early in the morning. Tylen goes last, since he is the oldest in the clan who’s not on the council.” Little Condlin always spoke of his brothers proudly, but when he spoke of his oldest brother Tylen, his chest swelled bigger than usual. “Tylen’s gonna break my pap’s record this year.”

  Hyden knew in his heart that Gerard could have brought back a dozen eggs today, if he hadn’t been sidetracked at that fissure by the ring. A climb that high up into the thick of the nesting band was rare. Gerard had gone higher than anyone Hyden had ever seen. The weather had been exceptional, and the hawklings themselves were far less aggressive than most years, but he still wasn’t sure if even he could have climbed as well as his brother had today. He would have never risked that leap, that’s for sure. Another thing he knew for certain was that Tylen could climb like a lizard too. If tomorrow was as perfect a day as today had been, then Tylen really might have a chance to break Big Condlin’s record. Hyden kept his thoughts to himself though, because Little Condlin’s chest and head were already swollen enough.

  As soon as he finished eating, Gerard lay back and went to sleep. Little Condlin wasn’t far behind him. Hyden took the time after he ate to clean the dried blood from his head. He covered Little Condlin with his blanket, and lay down close to the fire. It had been a long and eventful day, and sleep found him quickly.

  The next morning, Little Condlin was anything but quiet as he gathered up his things in the predawn light. He woke up Hyden and Gerard with eyes full of excitement and pride. With a mouth full of chatter he wasted no time leaving. He was off to his brothers’ camp in the hopes of catching them before they started their climbs. Gerard wanted to throw a rock at him for waking them for no real reason, but he couldn’t find one that wouldn’t crack his head in half if it hit him.

  The day started with much moaning and groaning from both brothers. Hyden’s head hurt badly. It was not so much the actual wound that bothered him, but a deep inner ache that felt like a hot rock was loose inside his skull. Every little move he made caused the rock to roll around and scald another part of his brain.

  Gerard was no better off. Like burning wires cutting through his muscles, his pain spread throughout his shoulders, back and legs. His movements took great effort and came with audible strain, but he didn’t dare voice a complaint. He didn’t want to hear Hyden razz him for whining.

  Hyden managed to boil some water over the fire. At least Little Condlin had built the blaze up before he left. Hyden added chicory root and some gum leaf to the pot, and the warm, thick smell of the brew brought Gerard to the fire with his cup in hand. The dark, flavorful liquid put a little energy into their bodies and helped leech out some of the aches and pains. After a few cups, they felt well enough to break camp and start back to the harvest lodges.

  While Hyden doused the fire, Gerard was waiting to go. Hyden went to grab the shoulder pack that held the eggs his brother had harvested for him, but stopped suddenly. He heard a sound coming from inside the bag.

  “Oh no!” he said, thinking that one of the eggs had broken.

  “Are they all right?” Gerard asked with concern. He watched Hyden’s face from where he stood, trying to gauge his brother’s reaction to what he saw as he peered into the bag. He expected to see either relief or anguish spread across Hyden’s face, but what he saw was a strange, somewhat confused look. The odd expression slowly morphed into a wide-eyed grin full of wonder and amazement. The curiosity to know what Hyden was looking at overwhelmed Gerard, and he hurried over to his brother’s side to see for himself.

  Hyden reached into the bag carefully. His cupped hand came out with a squeaking little hawkling chick in it. As Gerard knelt down beside him, Hyden worked a piece of jerked venison from his pack with his free hand. He tore a piece off with his teeth and chewed it vigorously.

  “Do you think it’s the prophesy bird?” Gerard asked, with a look from the bird to his brother and back. “Or was it just bad keep moss?”

  “I—mmm—don’t—mmm—know?” Hyden answered as he chewed. Once the venison was softened, he spat a wad of the chewed-up meat into his hand. He dangled the meat over the little gray chick’s snapping beak and it gobbled the stuff up greedily. Immediately, it started squawking for more. Hyden bit off another piece of the meat, chewed it up, and fed it to the hungry bird. With Gerard’s help, he made a makeshift nest out of his rough spun shirt. Once the little chick was nestled in, it immediately fell asleep.

  By all rights, it was Hyden
’s egg that had hatched, but it was Gerard who had harvested it. Hyden turned to his brother with a serious look on his face.

  “You brought it down from the cliff, but it hatched after you gave it to me. I don’t know if it could be the legend or not, but if it is, who is the chosen one? Me or you?”

  “The Elders will know,” Gerard said, trying to remember the exact words of the prophetic campfire story. He realized after a moment that it was no use. He had heard the story told a dozen different ways.

  The most common version of the legend stated that one day a clansman’s harvest would be blessed by the Goddess in the form of a special egg. Even keep moss wouldn’t keep this supposedly blessed egg from hatching. The lucky clansman and his hawkling, were supposed to bond, and then go off into the world to do extraordinary things together. They would have adventures far beyond imagining. They would travel beyond the mountains and across the seas, and their lives would be exciting. They would serve the Goddess abroad, and possibly earn a place in the heavens at her side.

  After Hyden shouldered the pack with the five remaining eggs in it, he carefully picked up the shirt nest with both hands. Gerard led the way out of the canyon, and as they skirted the forest, he took extra care to make sure no branches or footfalls hindered his brother’s way. The trail wasn’t long, but it was rocky in places and awkward. It was meant to remain hidden, so it took them a while to make the short journey to the harvest lodges.

  They made it to the small group of crude, huts by midmorning. They tried to make it to their grandfather’s hut with as little notice as possible, but it was impossible. Tales of Gerard’s leap from the day before had made it back to the lodges already, told by clansmen who had been watching the cliff face from afar. A handful of younger boys rushed forth to question Gerard about it. Because the clan women weren’t allowed at the harvest, the boys who weren’t yet old enough to climb were starved for attention and ran wild like a pack of scavengers. They wanted to know how well Gerard’s second harvest had gone, and if Gerard and Hyden knew how well Little Condlin had done. Gerard shooed them away as best he could, but a few of them spied the hawkling chick in Hyden’s hands and grew overly excited. It took only moments for the tale of the gift the Goddess had bestowed upon Gerard, or maybe Hyden, to reach every set of ears at the lodges.