Free The Wildkin’s Curse by Kate Forsyth Page A

food. She ate only a slice. It was enough.’
    There was a long silence. Both Merry and Zed had laid down their knives, unable to eat anymore, staring at her in horrified pity.
    â€˜But why?’ Merry asked at last.
    â€˜Because we were wildkin? Because we were loose threads the starkin wanted tidied up? Why does one man ever murder another?’
    â€˜But . . . you were only a child . . .’
    â€˜A wildkin child.’ She stood up abruptly. ‘Come, the day is getting on. Let’s climb Stormfell and find our first feather.’

    The peak of Stormfell rose more than a thousand feet, straight into the air. Clouds blew over its hoary head, and dark green pines clustered about its stony base. Far above, eagles soared in the high currents, occasionally shrieking out as if in pain.
    â€˜That looks like a pleasant afternoon stroll,’ Merry said.
    Zed rolled his shoulders in their sockets and cracked his knuckles. ‘Lovely.’
    â€˜You don’t have to come,’ Liliana said. ‘Why don’t you two stay home and darn your socks, and I’ll get the eagle feather.’
    â€˜Oh, no, that’s all right,’ Merry said. ‘We love a nice little saunter, don’t we, Zed?’
    â€˜Do it twice before breakfast,’ Zed said.
    â€˜Wonderful,’ Liliana replied. ‘Because for a moment there I thought you looked rather pale.’
    â€˜It’s hunger,’ Zed explained. ‘A man my size has to eat rather often, you know, to keep his strength up.’
    â€˜A man?’ Liliana said scornfully. ‘You’re nothing but a boy.’
    â€˜But a big boy,’ Merry pointed out. ‘Well, come on then, princess. All this chitchat is making me think you’re the one who’d rather go home and darn her socks.’
    Liliana looked at him disdainfully, then strode off through the rocks. Soon the path became a rough scramble, and then a climb, and then they were crawling their way up the cliff by means of narrow ledges and outcrops and tiny cracks. Below them, wisps of cloud half-concealed the dizzying fall to the valley below.
    The wisps grew thicker as they climbed into cloud. ‘Don’t worry, boys, it’s a rare day Stormfell doesn’t have a wig on,’ Liliana called. ‘It’s always a sign of a bad storm coming if he’s bare.’
    â€˜Oh, we’re not worried,’ Merry called back, his breath rather short. ‘We love a bit of a cloud. Nothing like a nice jolly climb in the mist, hey, Zed?’
    â€˜My favourite thing to do,’ Zed replied. ‘After playing knucklebones by the fire while a pretty maid pours me a cup of apple-ale.’
    They did not speak much after that. It was too hard a climb. More than once, Merry found himself spread-eagled, his heart hammering against stone, his fingers barely gripping a tiny ripple of rock far above his head. Only his determination not to show weakness and fear before Liliana drove him on.
    It was clear Zed felt the same way. He climbed with grim determination, occasionally pausing to offer Liliana a hand which she spurned scornfully. As he was much longer and stronger than either Liliana or Merry, he was soon far above them, and it was clear from Liliana’s scowl that this did not please her. She began to climb recklessly, and Merry did his best to keep up with her, though sweat rolled from him in great droplets and his heart laboured painfully.
    Kee-kee-kee!
    The scream of an eagle overhead made Merry flinch. A pebble spun sideways under his grasping fingers and tumbled down into space. He pressed himself to the lichen-silvered rock, his heart pounding so hard he could hear nothing else for a moment or two. Looking down between his feet he could see the green floor of the valley, far, far below.
    â€˜Come on!’ Liliana whispered. ‘Just up here.’
    Inch by slow inch, they crept up the last steep gradient. They heard