Aster Wood and the Blackburn Son by J B Cantwell Read Free Book Online Page B

he said.
    “We have to do something,” I said. I started rifling with my boots, hastily cramming them onto my hot feet. “We have to break the spell.”
    Kiron’s hand reached out, covering my chest.
    “We got time,” he said. “And I need to rest.”
    “We don’t have time ,” I said angrily. “Those kids don’t have time.”  
    Kiron laid his head back against the trunk of the tree.
    “I need to rest ,” he said again. “If you want to run off and fight this Coyle person on your own, be my guest. Laughter and merriment for three months straight ain’t no easy task.” He closed his eyes.
    I stood up and kicked a larger rock into the fire in frustration.  
    One eye opened, glared, and then shut again.
    I huffed. Couldn’t he see that we had to move now ? That every minute that passed brought Rhainn and Cait closer to death?
    But I let him be. I knew better than anyone that Kiron was not to be forced into anything. And he would be no use to me exhausted, his powers spent.
    I turned and walked out of the clearing, unable to sit still after his strange tale. Far in the distance, Stonemore’s walls were visible. But the enchantment cast upon them was not. I looked out over the fields, but Kiron was right; the army wasn’t on the move, at least not anywhere close. It would take them time to get to the city. They could wait and attack at their leisure, knowing full well that it would be an easy fight.  
    I paced.  
    It would be a horrible fate for the Stonemorians if the army succeeded in reaching them before we figured out how to break the spell. They would be confused, not understanding why one second they were dancing and free, and the next slaughtered and in pain. Stonemore had become a world without pain. How would the people react to war?  
    I had been hoping to raise the alarm, to get the people to assemble and prepare to fight. But this would be impossible now. We didn’t even know if we’d be able to get in and out again without succumbing to the unnatural happiness that filled the place. If we failed at that first and easiest task, we would fall to the enemy as well.
    That couldn’t happen. We were the only ones who knew about Rhainn and Cait. I was the only one who fully understood the peril they were in. The peril I had put them in.
    Finally after over an hour of walking around, anxious and impatient, I went back to Kiron’s tree. I was surprised to find that he was no longer there. The flames of the fire had gone out, and now all that remained was a bed of hot coals.
    “Kiron?” I said. Then louder, “Kiron!?”
    “Over here, boy,” his grumpy voice answered. “No need to shout.”
    Just out of sight behind the trees, he sat on a large boulder, gazing out at the city beyond.  
    “How will we do it?” I asked.  
    He chewed thoughtfully on a twig, not breaking his gaze.
    “There’s eight of ‘em in there,” he said. “We’ll get ‘em one by one. Then, when we got everyone, we’ll jump. Together.”
    “But, I don’t see how that will work. It was hard enough with just you and me.”
    “It’ll work,” he said, swinging his legs over the boulder and climbing down. “I know where to go to find ‘em, but I need you to focus on the task, keep me from breaking concentration. Can you do that?”
    “Can ten people really jump out of there? All at the same time?” I asked.
    “Dunno,” he said, shrugging. Then he turned back to the city, still chewing on the stick. “Guess we’ll find out.”
    Historically, people put walls around cities to protect them from their enemies. Now, the enemy was using the city walls to imprison its people. The fact that they were happy within their cage didn’t seem to matter. I wondered if the Coyle would do the same to them as he had to all of the other villages in his path. I thought of the children running through the streets down there right now, their colorful clothing and bright faces unaware of the danger that lurked outside.
    Kiron