The Silver Arrow by Larry Itejere Page B

Flight, then let’s explore the rest of the city before
nightfall. We can start with the Homrie-Ale, the finest drinking
house in the four Kingdoms. I heard someone inside during the show
talking about three new flavors.”
    “That is fine,” Samuel said,
“after we visit the Porters Shack. It’s on the way.”
    “Fine,” Elye replied. “Let’s
go.” They headed for the shack.
    It was around dusk, with most
of the shops closed or closing for the day, when Samuel and Elye
arrived at the Stone Hog Inn. A wave of lively chatter filled the
room with music, and laughter blazed through the door as they
walked in.
    The place was crowded, with
visitors talking and drinking as serving girls moved about with
drinks. Quite a few people were standing because there were no
vacant seats.
    “Elye,” a familiar voice called
from within the crowd.
    They both heard it and turned
in the same direction, searching as people moved about.
    Samuel spotted Faray standing
and waving one hand over his head. He was at the corner of the
room, trying to get their attention.
    “Follow me,” Samuel said,
tapping Elye on the shoulder. They made their way to a corner of
the room.
    “I was wondering when both of
you were going to show up,” Faray said. “I was just going to give
up fighting people off for these chairs. Sit!”
    “Where is Father?” Elye
asked.
    “What?” Faray replied, the
noise muting the question.
    “Where is Father?” Elye asked
again, raising his voice.
    “Oh, Father, he’s getting
things ready for the ride home tomorrow. So, how did it go?” Faray
asked Samuel.
    “He did not compete,” Elye
answered before Samuel could respond. Samuel glared disapprovingly
at him before turning to face his older brother. “Something more
important came up.”
    “What? What could have been so
important?” Faray asked, his expression almost mirroring Elye’s
when he heard the same thing, and just like Elye, he knew Samuel
had been working hard in preparation for the competition.
    “Nothing that I can explain
right now, and besides, it doesn’t really matter.” It was obvious
Samuel didn’t want to talk about it.
    “What about you?” he asked,
trying to change the conversation. “How did things go in town?”
    Faray spent several minutes
talking about the mundane things he did throughout the day, but he
had an edge of excitement in his voice. That was something Samuel
had noticed since arriving. Faray was in an especially good mood,
as if he were hiding or holding something back. It was good news,
but what?
    “Did he do it?” Samuel wondered
as Faray told them of his day.
    When he was done speaking,
Faray said, wanting it to appear almost as an afterthought, “Oh,
and I did it.”
    “Did what?” Samuel asked, even
though he could only think of one thing that could make Faray so
elated.
    “What I said I was going to do
when I saw Klair again,” Faray replied.
    “So, what happened?” Elye
asked.
    “She was at the side alleyway
by the shop, restacking some crates when I saw her,” Faray said as
he explained what happened.
    He had nodded as he said hello
to Klair, drawing her attention.
    “Oh hello, Faray,” she had
replied with a smile, turning to look at him briefly. “Father is
inside.”
    “I know. I’m actually here to
see you.”
    “Well, then, I could use some
help moving the bottles in the three crates right here,” she said,
pointing to the crate she had stacked. Faray grabbed one of the
crates and was glad for the distraction. It kept his heart from
pounding while he gathered his thoughts, which seem to have evaded
him after all the time he’d spent planning what to say.
    “How is your family?” Klair
asked.
    “They are doing well,” Faray
replied, “and how is business?”
    “Still busy, as usual; Father
had to hire more hands in preparation for the crowds that were
coming, so he had to cut down on his travel to oversee things here.
But tonight we’re getting things ready for Lord