feels it must stay with you, then I should, too.”
Sele the Plump made no argument, merely shook itself back into its normal aplomb. Before Norl could reply to either of them, it spoke decisively. “Let us consider the matter settled, then,” it said. “May we, Norl?”
Norl spread his arms wide in surrender. “For now,” he said. “But only for now.”
They climbed high that day. At one point they found themselves on a kind of plateau. Another trail joined the path here, and when Norl looked back down along it he saw the city of Daunus shining in the sunlight on the valley floor far below. Dahl would be there now. As King of Taun, that was his home.
How tempting it would be to abandon this fruitless endeavour, to go down to Dahl, throw himself on his mercy. Beg for his aid. Dahl would try to give it to him, Norl knew that. But he knew equally well that it was not possible. Caulda had demanded that he return. Dahl had not been able to vanquish her before, he would not be able to help now, either.
With a sigh, he turned to follow Sele the Plump and Hhana.
CHAPTER EIGHT
T here were no villages this far up the mountain. No trees. Bare rock only, with scrubby bushes lining the path. Where there were breaks in the bushes, Norl could catch glimpses of a terrifying drop. The valley was so far below now that they were above the hawks and vultures that circled in and out of the trees and fields, hunting, always hunting. An eagle caught his eye. It was gliding, soaring easily, wings spread wide. His heart clenched with sudden pain. He forced his eyes away from the bird and set his face to the craggy heights above. Somewhere up there was Caulda’s lair. Somewhere up there she waited for him.
They paused beside a trickle of a stream at midday. Whether or not it had been his imagination the morning before, Norl eyed the water carefully, even wading ankle deep into it before he allowed the Sele and Hhana to drink from it, but it ran clear. No sign of darkness. They finished up the nuts that the Sele had brought. As it swallowed thelast of the grain, Sele the Plump gave a rueful pat to its belly.
“Where, I wonder, will we find sustenance up here?”
At that, a memory stirred in Norl’s brain. When he and Catryn had been in need of food on their journey to Dau-nus, Catryn had found fruit for them from a special tree. Deliverance fruit, she had called it. Green and lumpy on the outside, so unappetizing did it look that Norl could not believe it would be nourishing, but when he had broken it open, it was moist and sweet and had more than satisfied his hunger. It was a magical fruit, Catryn had told him. It contained no seeds and could not be grown, but if people had need, it would be there for them.
“Wait,” Norl said, then, to the Sele and Hhana. “I know of a tree that will satisfy our hunger. I will search for it.”
Before they could answer, he disappeared into the bushes above them, careful not to stray too close to the cliff edge. One misstep and he would fall to his death. He scrabbled up as far as he dared, but the bushes tore at him and seemed determined to thwart him.
Perhaps the Deliverance tree does not grow here, so close to the dragon’s lair, he thought. Or perhaps it will not appear for me because I do not have the magic. Once again he tasted the bitterness of failure in his mouth. He turned away, about to give up, but at that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of white.
“It is a small tree,” Catryn had said, “and bears both fruit and white blossoms at the same time.”
Could it be…? He pushed forward, heedless now of the thorns and branches that snatched and scratched at him.
There! Just out of reach. Hanging over the abyss below. A small, scraggly tree, hardly big enough to be called a tree, but Norl could see the lumpy green fruit nestled amongst the flowers.
Just one step more…
But it was a step into nothingness. Norl screamed as he felt himself falling,
Sele the Plump made no argument, merely shook itself back into its normal aplomb. Before Norl could reply to either of them, it spoke decisively. “Let us consider the matter settled, then,” it said. “May we, Norl?”
Norl spread his arms wide in surrender. “For now,” he said. “But only for now.”
They climbed high that day. At one point they found themselves on a kind of plateau. Another trail joined the path here, and when Norl looked back down along it he saw the city of Daunus shining in the sunlight on the valley floor far below. Dahl would be there now. As King of Taun, that was his home.
How tempting it would be to abandon this fruitless endeavour, to go down to Dahl, throw himself on his mercy. Beg for his aid. Dahl would try to give it to him, Norl knew that. But he knew equally well that it was not possible. Caulda had demanded that he return. Dahl had not been able to vanquish her before, he would not be able to help now, either.
With a sigh, he turned to follow Sele the Plump and Hhana.
CHAPTER EIGHT
T here were no villages this far up the mountain. No trees. Bare rock only, with scrubby bushes lining the path. Where there were breaks in the bushes, Norl could catch glimpses of a terrifying drop. The valley was so far below now that they were above the hawks and vultures that circled in and out of the trees and fields, hunting, always hunting. An eagle caught his eye. It was gliding, soaring easily, wings spread wide. His heart clenched with sudden pain. He forced his eyes away from the bird and set his face to the craggy heights above. Somewhere up there was Caulda’s lair. Somewhere up there she waited for him.
They paused beside a trickle of a stream at midday. Whether or not it had been his imagination the morning before, Norl eyed the water carefully, even wading ankle deep into it before he allowed the Sele and Hhana to drink from it, but it ran clear. No sign of darkness. They finished up the nuts that the Sele had brought. As it swallowed thelast of the grain, Sele the Plump gave a rueful pat to its belly.
“Where, I wonder, will we find sustenance up here?”
At that, a memory stirred in Norl’s brain. When he and Catryn had been in need of food on their journey to Dau-nus, Catryn had found fruit for them from a special tree. Deliverance fruit, she had called it. Green and lumpy on the outside, so unappetizing did it look that Norl could not believe it would be nourishing, but when he had broken it open, it was moist and sweet and had more than satisfied his hunger. It was a magical fruit, Catryn had told him. It contained no seeds and could not be grown, but if people had need, it would be there for them.
“Wait,” Norl said, then, to the Sele and Hhana. “I know of a tree that will satisfy our hunger. I will search for it.”
Before they could answer, he disappeared into the bushes above them, careful not to stray too close to the cliff edge. One misstep and he would fall to his death. He scrabbled up as far as he dared, but the bushes tore at him and seemed determined to thwart him.
Perhaps the Deliverance tree does not grow here, so close to the dragon’s lair, he thought. Or perhaps it will not appear for me because I do not have the magic. Once again he tasted the bitterness of failure in his mouth. He turned away, about to give up, but at that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of white.
“It is a small tree,” Catryn had said, “and bears both fruit and white blossoms at the same time.”
Could it be…? He pushed forward, heedless now of the thorns and branches that snatched and scratched at him.
There! Just out of reach. Hanging over the abyss below. A small, scraggly tree, hardly big enough to be called a tree, but Norl could see the lumpy green fruit nestled amongst the flowers.
Just one step more…
But it was a step into nothingness. Norl screamed as he felt himself falling,
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