darkness to fall or some other trigger before it returns.
It's strange but that's actually the least worrying possibility, or the one I need to worry about least anyway. If it is the case, then when the darkness returns we will stand no chance against you. Even if we leave you behind you will track us down when the hunger overtakes you. If that happens our only hope is to have reached a town with strong walls and stronger guards. Right now the best chance we have of reaching such a place quickly is to travel with you.
What really worries me though, what absolutely terrifies me, is that you may mean Mary harm. Not immediate harm, but that you may have need of her and her powers. As a sacrifice maybe, or to subvert to your will, or that of some dark demon. If that is the case then us travelling with you may be a terrible idea. It will give you the chance to be near Mary, to study her, to tempt her maybe. Once again though, our best defence is to reach a town. And travelling with you is the quickest way to do that.”
“ And what of the other option? That everything is as I say? That I simply wish to see you safely to your destination?”
She smiled at him, a smile heavy with pain.
“Then I will suspect the worst of you from now until the day we part, and for many weeks and months after. If we do not see you, hear from you, for many years, and if Mary grows to be a strong young woman free of the influence of anything dark, then – and only then – will I accept I was wrong.”
Daniel studied her face, the set of her body. Despite the tiredness still evident, the worry and the pain, he could see that she was almost burning with concern for her daughter and the desire to keep Mary safe. He smiled slightly.
“Then it seems I must help you to reach your destination as quickly as possible. That was my intention anyway, but I understand your concerns. I promise I will try not to speak to Mary out of your earshot, or Jon's, to help ease your mind.”
“ Thank you. That will certainly help.”
“ So that leaves the question of your destination. I am afraid that my memory is completely blank on the names of towns and cities, or for that matter where they lay. Where is it you are travelling to?”
She looked away for a moment, clearly embarrassed, then busied herself stirring the pot with a wooden spoon. Without looking up she spoke.
“We don't know. When we left Hammersgate we had to go somewhere, anywhere. To the south and east the land is heavily farmed, our passing would have been remembered. Any pursuit would have tracked us easily. To the west are mountains, treacherous even in summer, deadly the rest of the year. That left one direction, north.
Hammersgate is several days walk from the coast and the terrain is rocky, not suitable for farming at all. That terrain is the reason for Hammersgate's existence, it sits on a rocky ridge with a good view of the land all around. While that position means any advancing army could be seen easily it also means that very small groups of people can disappear into the rocky land to the north. The man who guided us, the injured boy's uncle, was a smuggler I think. He got us out of the city by a small tunnel that came up out of sight of any guards on the walls. From there he guided us through the twisted, craggy landscape. By the time he left us we were far from the city and any chance of pursuit.
The next three days were hard going, especially for Mary. We saw many sheep but they were almost wild, certainly we saw no shepherd, no huts, not even signs of old camp fires. We would have been hopelessly lost within hours if our saviour hadn't left us with an old, battered compass. Even with it to guide us we spent as much time travelling east or west as we did north, the land there makes travelling in a straight line impossible.
It wasn't till evening of the fourth day that the land started to smooth out. Soon
It's strange but that's actually the least worrying possibility, or the one I need to worry about least anyway. If it is the case, then when the darkness returns we will stand no chance against you. Even if we leave you behind you will track us down when the hunger overtakes you. If that happens our only hope is to have reached a town with strong walls and stronger guards. Right now the best chance we have of reaching such a place quickly is to travel with you.
What really worries me though, what absolutely terrifies me, is that you may mean Mary harm. Not immediate harm, but that you may have need of her and her powers. As a sacrifice maybe, or to subvert to your will, or that of some dark demon. If that is the case then us travelling with you may be a terrible idea. It will give you the chance to be near Mary, to study her, to tempt her maybe. Once again though, our best defence is to reach a town. And travelling with you is the quickest way to do that.”
“ And what of the other option? That everything is as I say? That I simply wish to see you safely to your destination?”
She smiled at him, a smile heavy with pain.
“Then I will suspect the worst of you from now until the day we part, and for many weeks and months after. If we do not see you, hear from you, for many years, and if Mary grows to be a strong young woman free of the influence of anything dark, then – and only then – will I accept I was wrong.”
Daniel studied her face, the set of her body. Despite the tiredness still evident, the worry and the pain, he could see that she was almost burning with concern for her daughter and the desire to keep Mary safe. He smiled slightly.
“Then it seems I must help you to reach your destination as quickly as possible. That was my intention anyway, but I understand your concerns. I promise I will try not to speak to Mary out of your earshot, or Jon's, to help ease your mind.”
“ Thank you. That will certainly help.”
“ So that leaves the question of your destination. I am afraid that my memory is completely blank on the names of towns and cities, or for that matter where they lay. Where is it you are travelling to?”
She looked away for a moment, clearly embarrassed, then busied herself stirring the pot with a wooden spoon. Without looking up she spoke.
“We don't know. When we left Hammersgate we had to go somewhere, anywhere. To the south and east the land is heavily farmed, our passing would have been remembered. Any pursuit would have tracked us easily. To the west are mountains, treacherous even in summer, deadly the rest of the year. That left one direction, north.
Hammersgate is several days walk from the coast and the terrain is rocky, not suitable for farming at all. That terrain is the reason for Hammersgate's existence, it sits on a rocky ridge with a good view of the land all around. While that position means any advancing army could be seen easily it also means that very small groups of people can disappear into the rocky land to the north. The man who guided us, the injured boy's uncle, was a smuggler I think. He got us out of the city by a small tunnel that came up out of sight of any guards on the walls. From there he guided us through the twisted, craggy landscape. By the time he left us we were far from the city and any chance of pursuit.
The next three days were hard going, especially for Mary. We saw many sheep but they were almost wild, certainly we saw no shepherd, no huts, not even signs of old camp fires. We would have been hopelessly lost within hours if our saviour hadn't left us with an old, battered compass. Even with it to guide us we spent as much time travelling east or west as we did north, the land there makes travelling in a straight line impossible.
It wasn't till evening of the fourth day that the land started to smooth out. Soon
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