Call of the Herald by Brian Rathbone Read Free Book Online Page A

would not allow it. He
had been ready to face the repercussions of his actions, but he had
not been prepared for Osbourne and Catrin to pay the price in his
stead. He decided he didn't like the taste of guilt and
remorse.
    Catrin was gentle and fragile, and he was
supposed to protect her. He had promised Uncle Wendel that he would
always look after her, but when she and Osbourne had needed him
most, he had failed them. Running his thumb over the locket that
hung around his neck, he vowed to do better. Somehow he would
shield her from the harshness of this world.
     
    * * *
     
    Wendel sat upright as he woke with a start.
Darkness covered the land, and the wind made the rafters creak. But
he was accustomed to hearing those noises; something else had
disturbed his sleep, but he no idea what. Straining his hearing, he
listened for anything out of the ordinary but heard nothing
distinct, only brief hints that someone was moving outside the
cottage. Creeping through the darkness, with the precision of
intimate familiarity, he dressed and reached beneath his bed to
retrieve Elsa's sword. Touching it normally brought tears to his
eyes, but this was the first time in more than a decade that he
unsheathed it with the intent of using it, and he moved with
purpose.
    Using skills he had long since abandoned,
Wendel crept without a sound to where Catrin slept. Her chest rose
and fell, and her eyelids twitched as they do only when one dreams.
Seeing her safe relieved much of his anxiety, but Wendel was not
yet satisfied. Perhaps the noises he'd heard were made solely by
the wind, but he knew he would never be able to sleep without
checking.
    The predawn air carried a chill, and dense
fog hovered above the ground. As Wendel emerged, the air grew
still, as if he had somehow intruded on the wind and chased it
away. The world seemed more like the place of dreams, and Wendel
wondered if he could still be asleep. The snap of a branch in the
distance startled him, but he could see nothing from where the
noise had come. Could it have been a deer?
    After checking around the cottage, he checked
the barns, careful not to let the horses hear him, lest they give
him away. Shadows shifted and moved, and the fog constantly changed
the landscape, but Wendel found no signs of anyone about. Still his
anxiety persisted, and he waited for what seemed an eternity for
the coming of the false dawn. Across the barnyard, a shadow moved,
and Wendel froze. Shifting himself from a sitting position to a
more aggressive stance, he watched and waited. Again he saw
movement, and he moved in to intercept. Out of the night came a
blade to match his own, but before the blades met, he knew whom he
faced. "Was that you I heard sneaking around the cottage?" he
asked.
    "You woke me while you were out here stomping
around," Benjin said with a lopsided smile.
    "We're getting old," Wendel said.
    "I may be fat, lazy, and out of practice,"
Benjin said, "but watch who you're calling old."
    "Catrin will be up soon. I don't want her to
know we were both out here like a couple of worried hens."
    "She won't hear it from me," Benjin said, and
with a wave over his shoulder, he wandered back to his cabin.
    Catrin was still asleep when Wendel returned
to his bed, but it seemed only moments later that she began to
stir.

Chapter 3
     
    Anything worth having is worth working for.
Anything you love is worth fighting for.
    --Jed Willis, turkey farmer
     
    * * *
     
    Catrin woke, feeling oddly refreshed, happy
to have slept well, and ready to face the day with more optimism
than she would have thought possible. After dressing, she stirred
the stew, which hung over the banked coals of the fire. More
flavorful than it was the night before, it made for a good morning
meal.
    She stoked the fire and hung a pot of water
over the flames, warming it for her father, who said washing with
cold water made his bones ache. Benjin wandered in from outside,
looking barely awake but smiling appreciatively as