again.
‘Yes, my lord. At once, my lord,’ barked Captain Malish, bowing low.
‘Sniffer. You had better get some rest,’ Lord Lazlac added. ‘If those brats don’t turn up as suggested, then I want you to find them first thing in the morning, and bring them to me here. They have already wasted enough of my time.’
Sniffer bowed low and scuttled after Captain Malish, before Lord Lazlac changed his mind and made him search all night.
It was completely dark and very cold when Ethan woke Lily for her watch. She sat huddled in her cloak, eyes staring into the darkness, stomach clenched with nerves. She stroked Aisha’s sleeping body beside her to give her courage and nestled closer to her for warmth.
The time seemed to crawl by. Lily made up stories in her head to help the time pass. She tried to avoid thoughts of home, her parents or the night raid ahead.
Instead she thought about the forest where she lived and the animals who lived there – the gentle deer and rabbits, snuffly hedgehogs, and the dangerous wild boar and wolves. While she did not like shooting animals, she loved tracking them and watching them play.
Suddenly a soft splash caught her attention.
Aisha woke immediately, her head raised, hackles up and her ears pricked, listening for the source of the sound. A soft growl rumbled in her throat. Lily put her hand on Aisha’s neck to calm her.
Adrenalin rushed through Lily’s blood, making her scalp tingle and her heart thump. By this time her eyes were quite used to the total darkness. Shecrept forward away from her sleeping companions, with Aisha stalking beside her.
At the water’s edge she paused, searching the darkness. There was nothing to be seen except the distant glimmer of white surf outside the cove and the soft shimmer of stars overhead. Shadows loomed large and strange in the gloom.
Her ears could detect nothing except the constant rumble of waves on rock. Then Lily heard a new noise, a soft eerie sound almost like music, yet like no music she had heard before. A haunting, piping melody, only half heard above the waves. The music made Lily’s heart surge with love, happiness and inexplicable longing. She moved closer.
‘I wonder … I wonder if that could possibly be …’
Aisha barked loudly, snapping at the soft little ripples of water on the sand.
Immediately the music, if that is what it was, stopped.
‘Shush, Aisha,’ cried Lily sorrowfully. ‘It’s stopped. That beautiful music. I wanted it to go on forever …’
There was a sudden movement from the rocks at the mouth of the cove and a shadow slipped into the water with a gentle splash. Lily laughed softly, patting Aisha.
‘What could it be? Did I dream it? Was it just a seal or something else?’ she murmured to the dog. But there were no more noises, and eventually she walked back to the others and sat down to watch the waves. When at last the half moon rose in the eastern sky at midnight, Lily woke Saxon and curled up to sleep again.
Saxon sat whittling a piece of driftwood with his dagger, his eyes peering into the darkness. He felt like someone or something was staring at him from the inky blackness of the rocks or the sea. He shook off the feeling, putting it down to nerves and the slow, boring wait.
The tide crept out, bit by slow bit. The waning moon crept up in the sky, bit by slow bit. The waves crashed in and out, in and out, in and out. From fighting nerves, Saxon now had to fight boredom and sleep and impatience.
When the half moon was finally a quarter of its journey through the star-sprinkled heavens, Saxon woke the others.
Roana was furious.
‘Why did you not wake me up for my watch!’ she whispered irately. ‘I suppose you thought I would slumber and not wake you! I bet you let Lily do her watch.’
Saxon, Ethan and Lily glanced guiltily at each other.
‘You were sleeping so peacefully, I couldn’t wake you …’ mumbled Saxon.
‘I thought we agreed that I was not to be given special
‘Yes, my lord. At once, my lord,’ barked Captain Malish, bowing low.
‘Sniffer. You had better get some rest,’ Lord Lazlac added. ‘If those brats don’t turn up as suggested, then I want you to find them first thing in the morning, and bring them to me here. They have already wasted enough of my time.’
Sniffer bowed low and scuttled after Captain Malish, before Lord Lazlac changed his mind and made him search all night.
It was completely dark and very cold when Ethan woke Lily for her watch. She sat huddled in her cloak, eyes staring into the darkness, stomach clenched with nerves. She stroked Aisha’s sleeping body beside her to give her courage and nestled closer to her for warmth.
The time seemed to crawl by. Lily made up stories in her head to help the time pass. She tried to avoid thoughts of home, her parents or the night raid ahead.
Instead she thought about the forest where she lived and the animals who lived there – the gentle deer and rabbits, snuffly hedgehogs, and the dangerous wild boar and wolves. While she did not like shooting animals, she loved tracking them and watching them play.
Suddenly a soft splash caught her attention.
Aisha woke immediately, her head raised, hackles up and her ears pricked, listening for the source of the sound. A soft growl rumbled in her throat. Lily put her hand on Aisha’s neck to calm her.
Adrenalin rushed through Lily’s blood, making her scalp tingle and her heart thump. By this time her eyes were quite used to the total darkness. Shecrept forward away from her sleeping companions, with Aisha stalking beside her.
At the water’s edge she paused, searching the darkness. There was nothing to be seen except the distant glimmer of white surf outside the cove and the soft shimmer of stars overhead. Shadows loomed large and strange in the gloom.
Her ears could detect nothing except the constant rumble of waves on rock. Then Lily heard a new noise, a soft eerie sound almost like music, yet like no music she had heard before. A haunting, piping melody, only half heard above the waves. The music made Lily’s heart surge with love, happiness and inexplicable longing. She moved closer.
‘I wonder … I wonder if that could possibly be …’
Aisha barked loudly, snapping at the soft little ripples of water on the sand.
Immediately the music, if that is what it was, stopped.
‘Shush, Aisha,’ cried Lily sorrowfully. ‘It’s stopped. That beautiful music. I wanted it to go on forever …’
There was a sudden movement from the rocks at the mouth of the cove and a shadow slipped into the water with a gentle splash. Lily laughed softly, patting Aisha.
‘What could it be? Did I dream it? Was it just a seal or something else?’ she murmured to the dog. But there were no more noises, and eventually she walked back to the others and sat down to watch the waves. When at last the half moon rose in the eastern sky at midnight, Lily woke Saxon and curled up to sleep again.
Saxon sat whittling a piece of driftwood with his dagger, his eyes peering into the darkness. He felt like someone or something was staring at him from the inky blackness of the rocks or the sea. He shook off the feeling, putting it down to nerves and the slow, boring wait.
The tide crept out, bit by slow bit. The waning moon crept up in the sky, bit by slow bit. The waves crashed in and out, in and out, in and out. From fighting nerves, Saxon now had to fight boredom and sleep and impatience.
When the half moon was finally a quarter of its journey through the star-sprinkled heavens, Saxon woke the others.
Roana was furious.
‘Why did you not wake me up for my watch!’ she whispered irately. ‘I suppose you thought I would slumber and not wake you! I bet you let Lily do her watch.’
Saxon, Ethan and Lily glanced guiltily at each other.
‘You were sleeping so peacefully, I couldn’t wake you …’ mumbled Saxon.
‘I thought we agreed that I was not to be given special
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