Chasing the Valley by Skye Melki-Wegner Read Free Book Online Page B

I slide a climbing pick from my sleeve and grip it in my hand. It’s not much of a weapon, but at least it’s sharp. If this hunter is going to kill me, I’m going down with a fight. Then I focus on the shape of my body, the weight of my limbs, and try to conjure an illusion to hide myself. It will only last a few seconds, but it might be enough –
    Too late. Something rips away the top of the log, peeling back the bark as though I’m a walnut to be shelled. Light floods across my face; I blink, eyes stinging, and slash out wildly with the climbing pick.
    â€˜Hey, whoa!’ says a familiar voice. ‘If I’d known the party games were gonna be that full on, I would’ve brought my croquet mallet.’
    It’s Teddy Nort.
    I peel myself upright out of the log. Teddy has taken a few steps backwards, holding up his hands in self-defence. Even now, he’s grinning like a madman. I wonder whether maybe he is one.
    â€˜What’s going on?’ I say.
    â€˜Wanna drop the pointy thing before we get all heart to heart?’
    I realise I’m still brandishing my climbing pick in his direction, and stuff it back into my sleeve. My shoulder is much less painful than last night, but it’s still tender. ‘Sorry. I thought you were a hunter.’
    â€˜Forget it,’ says Teddy, waving a forgiving hand. ‘I’m used to it. Wouldn’t feel like a proper morning if it didn’t involve someone poking knives at me.’
    Knowing Teddy’s reputation, that’s probably true.
    â€˜So,’ I try again, ‘what’s going on?’
    â€˜Well, it’s morning. The sun is shining down, plants are using its energy to grow new cells, birds are hunting for worms . . .’
    â€˜You know what I mean! Where are the others?’
    â€˜The others?’ Teddy claps a hand to his head, as though he’s just remembered their existence. ‘Oh, right, those others! Well, I dunno exactly. We stayed together for a while, but it was dark . . .’
    â€˜And you lost them?’
    Teddy nods.
    â€˜You don’t look too worried,’ I say.
    â€˜They’ll be all right. They’re riding foxaries, aren’t they? A few overfed Rourton guards aren’t gonna catch them anytime soon.’
    â€˜What about the king’s hunters?’
    â€˜Yeah, well, we’ve got a decent head start,’ says Teddy. ‘If we meet up with the rest of the crew quick enough, we should be able to outrun them for a while.’
    I frown. ‘Meet up? But how will you find –’
    â€˜Piece of cake.’ Teddy pauses. ‘Well, not literally a piece of cake, but tell you what, I could sure do with a chocolate cake right now.’
    He looks so hopeful, as if expecting a cake to fall out of the sky, that I can’t help smiling.
    â€˜What?’ he says. ‘For all you know, my proclivity could be Bakery Treats.’
    â€˜I don’t think bakery treats are part of the natural balance.’
    â€˜Why not? It’d be a better proclivity than Dirt, anyway.’ He gestures for me to follow him through the thicket. ‘Come on, we’d better hurry if we want to meet the others.’
    â€˜You were serious, then, about finding them?’
    â€˜Does this look like the face of a liar?’
    Yes , I think instantly. ‘In case you hadn’t noticed, Teddy, this is a big patch of forest. How are you planning to find four people in the middle of it?’
    â€˜Same way I found you, Danika Glynn.’
    â€˜What?’
    Teddy pulls aside a clump of branches, revealing a clearing. In the centre, atop a pile of boulders, lies the furry bulk of a foxary. Teddy gives a little bow and inclines his hand. ‘After you, my fair lady.’
    I stare at the beast. I’ve never seen a foxary so clearly. Occasionally one shows up in Rourton’s marketplace, but in a thickly barred cage that makes it almost