Free Aenir by Garth Nix, Steve Rawlings Page B

that I get sleepy."
    "Then don't sleep," said Milla. "But be quiet."
    Odris sniffed. She really did wish she'd picked the other one. It was typical of Adras. He wasn't smart, but he was lucky.
    They sat in silence for a long time after that, listening to the sounds around them. The Nanuch settled down, too, except for the occasional bout of beak-clacking. There were other, more distant noises the calls of strange creatures. Once something flew past, too quick to be seen.
    The sun set, and the stars came out. Milla stretched and paced, her legs still sore from the Hugthing.
    Hours passed, but when the time came for Odris to watch, Milla did not go to sleep. The more she paced upon the top of the tower, the more she felt like it was not a refuge but a trap.
    Finally she decided they should try and sneak past the Nanuch, before the dawn. Immediately she felt better. Taking action was the Shield Maiden way. She would never be one now, but at least she could act like one. And die like one, if that was how it ended.
    Once again they went down the stairs. Milla trod as lightly as she could, and the only sound Odris made could be mistaken for the wind through the tower windows.
    At the bottom, Milla drew her dagger. Her sword's natural luminescence would alert the Nanuch.
    Unfortunately there was no dust or dirt she could smear her furs or Selski-hide breastplate with, but at least the armor was fairly dark. She didn't put on her face mask. It was white bone and would shine too brightly under the stars. It felt strange going out to fight without it.
    Milla crouched by the door for quite a long time, letting her eyes adjust to the starlit forest outside. It was bright enough to make out the shapes of trees and several Nanuch. They stood completely still, never moving. Milla hoped this meant they were asleep.
    She slid out through the door.
    At least that's what she thought she did. But somehow she ended up back inside the lower room, looking out.
    Puzzled, she stepped forward again. For an instant she was in the doorway, with her foot about to land on the bare earth outside.
    Then it came down on a wooden floor. She had stepped through the door, but it didn't lead outside. It took her back inside.
    There was some magic at work. Dire magic, Milla thought. Worse than anything she'd expected. Now she was sure it was a trap.
     

 

     
     

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
     

    Tal heard the slither of the sand pouring back behind him, but he didn't look around. The light walls on either side of him stayed steady and comforting. The stairs continued down in front.
    They came to an end in front of a tall doorway. Obviously it had once been blocked by the enormous stone door that lay half across it, as if someone had ripped it open and let it fall.
    That made Tal stop for a moment. But the Codex had told him to come here, he reasoned.
    Finding the Codex meant finding Gref.
    He who hesitates heads Redward, she who seizes opportunity soars to Violet.
    Ebbitt used to repeat that back to front and laugh his head off, but Tal took the saying seriously.
    He climbed over the fallen door and through the doorway.
    The room beyond had walls of stone and light, both holding back sand, judging from the piles that had oozed through gaps where the magic barriers intersected with the stone.
    In the middle of the room, a boy sat cross-legged, staring at Tal. A boy not much older than Tal, dressed in white trousers and a white shirt with blue cuffs. A Chosen boy.
    Tal even knew who it was: Lenan of the Blue. He had disappeared last year. Every Day of Ascension all the Chosen children who had come of age would go forth to seek a Spiritshadow to bind. Not all of them came back.
    But what was Lenan doing here? And where was Hazror?
    "Greetings, Chosen," said Lenan. His voice sounded a little strange. Too high-pitched.
    Tal had started to walk forward to greet Lenan properly, but when he heard the voice, he stopped.
    The voice wasn't the only thing that was strange. Lenan was