Free Treespeaker by Katie W. Stewart Page A

voice so low that only Beldror could hear. “This is a village affair and I suggest you stay out of it. I’ll speak to you later.”
    Beldror still smiled, but pure hatred shone in his eyes.  A sudden pain shot through Jakan’s head, as if a clawed hand tried to delve its way into his brain. It threatened to take a hold of his mind at any moment. Beldror was doing this, Jakan knew it. At the same time, he could hear the soft whisper of Arrakesh, like a wind through the treetops, soothing him and assuring him of safety. He concentrated on that sound, all the time continuing to stare into Beldror’s eyes, refusing to flinch or show the slightest sign that he was affected. The pain ebbed. The Carlikan scowled and turned, without a word, in the direction of Grifad’s cottage, with Grifad scooting after him.
    Jakan watched them go with a feeling of apprehension. He knew now that Beldror held some power he had not fathomed, and it worried him. He must take care how he dealt with him. Somehow he must have him expelled, but obviously he had used that power on many of the villagers and succeeded. How many of the Council were under his control? Grifad for one; that much was clear.
    With an effort, Jakan brought his thoughts back to the matter at hand. He glared at the three young men. “Can you explain to me how you went to hunt rabbits and came back with a doe?”
    Maden bit on his lip before replying. “It was just there.”
    Jakan stroked his beard waiting for further explanation.
    Ferad spoke this time, looking to his cousin, Galok, for support. “Rabbits are hard to catch and only feed a few,” he said. “This will feed many.”
    Jakan gave a slow nod. “That’s indeed true. Tell me, Ferad, Do you know how many deer there are in our lands at the moment?”
    “The numbers are down.”
     “So have you, or have you not, been told of Arrakesh’s will about the hunting of deer this summer?”
    Ferad nodded, rubbing his hand around the branch on his shoulder. Jakan continued to gaze at him until at last he muttered, “The deer were to be left alone.”
    “So knowing that numbers are down and knowing that Arrakesh has told us to leave them alone, you still thought it fine for you to kill a doe? A doe that may have otherwise managed to raise a healthy fawn to adulthood ready for our tables next year? You’re so clever that you thought you knew better than Arrakesh, how best to keep the balance?”
    The boys remained silent. Ferad and Maden visibly wilted under the weight of the doe they still carried on their shoulders. Jakan felt in no mood to relieve them.
    “You’ve gone against the will of Arrakesh,” he said. “It’s only right that you should be punished. Our deer numbers are threatened, yet you saw fit to hunt them.”
    Galok’s head came up. “But we haven’t threatened our deer numbers. This doe came from Latter’s Glen.”
    Anger shot from the pit of Jakan’s stomach. Galok looked uncomfortable as his friends cast him dark looks. There were greater sins than going against the edicts of the SpringSpeak.
    “Latter’s Glen?” Jakan’s voice was ice. “You’ve hunted deer in the territory of our neighbours?”
    Behind him, he heard the nervous shuffling of the villagers as they realised the implications of what the boys had done. Jakan clenched his fists tight in front of him, knowing that his anger could get away from him at any moment. His real ire was not against these boys. The real culprit had just walked away.
    With great effort he continued. “Maden, tell me. Why were you in our neighbour’s territory?”
    “We…” Maden faltered. Jakan became aware of someone by his side and turned slightly to see Kelsha, her face pale, glaring at her son. Maden went on. “Beldror wanted to explore and we just … went there.” 
    Jakan’s anger turned to a feeling of nausea. Exploring in that region? Why? He didn’t like the answer that came to his mind. Abruptly, he turned to the villagers behind