Free The Thunder King (Bell Mountain) by Lee Duigon Page B

her inside. At least it was cooler, although there wasn’t much to it: a little fireplace, some rude furniture, and a bed tucked away in a corner. He wondered how an old lady could live here all alone.
    “Is there anybody else here with you?” he asked.
    “Nobody human. Oh, there’s folks here and there who come by now and then and do things for me. And there’s my dog, but he’s out hunting in the woods.”
    “So you live here all alone? Aren’t you afraid?”
    She laughed. Ryons soon noticed that she laughed a lot, sometimes for no reason he could see.
    “Why should I be afraid?” she said. “I’ve been here longer than the bark on the trees. Besides, I’m going to die on the first full moon of autumn. Would you like a bit of cake?”
    So she was mad, that was it. The Wallekki believed mad people were touched by the gods, and treated them with great respect—unless they were violent; then they killed them. But usually there was nothing to fear from such a person.
    “Yes, please,” Ryons said.
    It wasn’t bad cake, and she had plenty of it. Someone who lived a few miles away had given it to her. “I can make my own,” she said, “but it tastes horrible. Tell me—how did you come to be lost, and where are you lost from?”
    “I’m lost because I don’t know how to find my way around in a forest. I was a slave with some Wallekki, and I ran away. That’s how I got lost.”
    Merry Mary chortled. “Lies, is it?” she said. She threw back her head and guffawed, revealing toothless gums. “Don’t look so surprised! I can always tell when someone’s lying. And who might you be but that same King Ryons that I’ve heard so much about? I’m surprised Helki the Rod didn’t teach you better woodcraft. He must be getting careless.”
    “Do you know Helki?” Ryons asked.
    “Known him since he was a boy like you. And he knows me—we’re friends. Only now that he has an army and a castle to play with and a king, he doesn’t come around here anymore.”
    “I’m trying to go back to him. Do you know the way?”
    She chuckled and leaned toward him with her chin resting on her hands and her hands on the cane. Ryons thought she looked like a vulture waiting for something to die. Maybe he ought to be afraid of her, he thought.
    “Listen to me, boy!” she said. “I knew you’d be coming to me; I had dreams about it. I have dreams about a lot of people, and they usually come true. Everybody knows it.
    “You can’t go back to the castle: that’s what my dream told me. You have to go to Obann and get there as quick as you can. I don’t often have a dream quite like the one you were in. I dreamed I saw the city burning—me, who’s lived in the forest all my life and never seen a city. But I dreamed that you would come to me, and I would send you on to Obann. And I don’t even know where it is!”
    She cackled over that, almost falling off her rickety chair. But it chilled Ryons. Had God sent her that dream—or had it just popped into her head because she was crazy? Was God speaking through this mad old lady, as He spoke through Jandra? Obst could have told him “yes”: Scripture spoke of such a time, when God would pour out a spirit of prophecy on those who were lowly and despised—and woe to the proud and mighty ones who wouldn’t listen. But Obst had not gotten around to teaching him about that, and he had no way of knowing that Obann itself was full of such prophets these days.
    “I have a dog. His name is Cavall,” Mary said. “He’s very smart, understands every word you say to him. He’ll go with you to protect you. Helki thinks he’s put down all the bandits, but there are still a few of them on the loose. You’ll need Cavall.”
    “But he’s yours! And you’re all alone—”
    “Pooh! I’ll show you.” Mary pursed her lips and let out a surprisingly loud whistle. A moment later, a big black crow flew in from the doorway and landed on the little wobbly table next to her. She