Free Call of the Herald by Brian Rathbone Page A

the while raising his hand, which was held
like a claw and moving toward Petram's throat. Just a hand's
breadth away, he stopped and slowly closed his fingers. Petram's
eyes bulged as if he were truly being choked. When Jensen finally
lowered his hand to his side, Petram ran from the room, leaving a
stunned silence hanging over the common room. All eyes were trained
on Jensen, and he searched for words, suddenly unprepared. He
thought a moment about the little girl who brightened his life and
those of everyone around her. "She's a good girl," was all that he
could say through his sudden tears. Those who had been gathered now
lowered their heads and dispersed.
    "I guess you might as well eat since you
chased off all my customers," Miss Mariss said as she brought him a
platter of cured meats and cheese. "Fools they may be, but a fool's
gold is as good as any other."
     
    * * *
     
    Crouched in the darkness, Benjin listened.
Only the sounds of frogs and the barking of a distant dog broke the
stillness. Creeping into Wendel's cottage, he checked on Catrin and
Wendel. Both slept soundly and neither woke. He left as stealthily
as he had come.
    Feeling silly, he walked back to his cottage.
Only moments before, he had been sleeping soundly, but dreams of
terror and loss drove him from his bed, demanding he check on those
he loved. Assured of their safety, he returned to his bed, but the
dreams returned.
    When morning finally came, the harsh sunlight
seemed to mock the warnings of his dreams. Still he could not shake
the sense of foreboding that pressed in on him, suffocating him.
With a deep breath, he stood and prepared himself to face the
day.

Chapter 4
     
    The mind can travel farther in a single day
than the fastest horse could traverse in a lifetime.
    --Trevan Dalls, Master of the Arts
     
    * * *
     
    Dense fog hung over the land, holding
Catrin's world in its damp embrace. Days like this never seemed
real to her, as if, on rare occasions, she left her usual world and
stepped into the world of dreams. Even the calls of the birds and
the noises of the farm sounded different, almost magical. Catrin
suspected she was not the only one who had such feelings, as her
father and Benjin also seemed changed in this other world.
    "G'morning, li'l miss," Benjin said.
    Her father stood behind him with a lopsided
grin. "Go in and get Charger harnessed and bring her out to the
wagon," he said. "We're going to make a trip to the cold
caves."
    Catrin nodded and went into the barn, a
feeling of anger and shame building in her gut. Going to the cold
caves had always been an adventure for her and Chase. Some of her
fondest memories were of them playing there as children. It had
been like a world of their own, a place where adventure and magic
were real and where they could explore the depths of the
underworld. The rooms filled with blocks of ice had always drawn
them, despite the lectures her father and uncle had given about
avoiding those very places. She and Chase had climbed on top of
them and slid across their slick surfaces, which were always wet,
as the ice melted slowly yet inexorably. As they grew older, much
of their time was spent moving stores in or out of the caves, but
there were special times, in the winter, when they would gather
fresh snowfall to be stored in the caves. Catrin and Chase had
spent wonderful days packing the snow into all kinds of shapes and
storing them within the caves.
    As she harnessed Charger, tears gathered in
her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. By the force of her
will, she held them in check, determined to be strong. It was
something she had learned from Chase, and it seemed that now it was
a skill she would need to master. Only the tremble of her chin
escaped her control, and she hoped her father and Benjin didn't
notice.
    Outside they waited in the preternatural
light that gave the world an almost greenish hue. Heavy clouds
threatened rain, and it seemed unlikely that the fog would burn off
as it did