Dawn of Wonder (The Wakening Book 1) by Jonathan Renshaw Read Free Book Online Page A

means Kalry and me.”
    Everyone nodded.
    “But how will we watch without being seen?” Thomas
asked.
    “At the front there is the timber-shed roof – it’s
flat and one of you could lie there and not get spotted. At the back there’s
the treehouse. Just remember to pull up the rope ladder. We don’t know which way
they’ll come, so you should split up.”
    Aedan looked at Dara. Her chin was trembling. This
was asking a lot of anyone, but for a nine-year-old girl, waiting alone in the
dark for a band of thugs to abduct everyone she cared about was too much. He
realised this could not work.
    Kalry had seen it too. “Shouldn’t we at least try
to tell some of the adults? At least warn them?” she asked.
    “Even after we were told not to?” Aedan put his
ear to the door. “Your father is down there now. He’ll be watching and he’ll put
a stop to anything we start. Anyway, I don’t think a single adult will believe
us.”
    “Then who do you think will believe us in the
town?”
    “Nulty.”
    Kalry nodded. “Yes, I suppose he would. But can he
help?”
    “I don’t know, but it’s the best I can think of.”
    “Aedan,” she said, looking at the little girl
beside her, “we can’t ask Dara to wait alone outside. She’ll be terrified.”
    “I know. I was thinking that maybe you should stay
with her and I’ll go alone.”
    “I’m the better rider,” she replied. “And I know the
horse trails better. If one of us goes it should be me.”
    “You can’t go alone. You hardly know Nulty. If I
let you go and your father finds out, he’ll hang me.”
    “Wait,” said Dara. “I’ll do it. I’m scared, but
I’ll be brave for my mum and dad.”
    They all looked at her with proud eyes.
    “You are brave,” said Kalry, hugging her
tight. The little girl leaned in, trying to control her shivers.
    “We need to pretend to be asleep,” said Aedan, “so
we’d better put cushions under our blankets in case anyone peeks inside.”
    Once they had set the room up, he pushed the
shutters open, tied the rope to the central beam of the window and turned back
to give some final advice.
    “Dress warmly and paint your faces with soot.
Don’t come down from your hide-outs until we get back, and whatever you do,
don’t shout out or they will find you and take you too.”
    Thomas and Dara both nodded, though she was
shaking visibly. Then Aedan and Kalry climbed down the rope and stole away
through the darkness.
     
    A half-moon was drifting somewhere up in the heavens, but the
mist was thick enough to engulf almost all the light. They felt their way along
the stone walls to the corner, then followed the next wall until the courtyard
was before them. They crossed this swiftly and headed in the direction of the
tack room, feeling their way along the wall again until stone gave way to the
familiar touch of wooden panels.
    Hinges screeched at them as they edged the door
open. They waited. Nobody raised the alarm. Inside the dank little room the
smells of waxed leather and saddle soap were almost strong enough to see by,
but Aedan was no mole and he groped through the utter blackness of the room,
bumbling this way and that until something poked him in the eye. Fortunately Kalry
knew the room well enough to locate what she needed by feel, and soon she
dumped a saddle and bridle in Aedan’s arms.
    Saddling the ponies proved to be more complicated.
Aedan had to quietly upend a water pail to make up the height he lacked. He
hoped Kalry wouldn’t see from the adjacent stable. Bluster, his pony, was quick
to mimic the nervous manner. Aedan had to dodge stamping hooves while feeling
about in the darkness for the girth strap. Finally the saddle was on, at least
it felt like it was, and it looked to be facing the right way too.
    The bridle presented a new problem. Bluster was
swinging his head and shaking his mane with obvious anticipation. Aedan had no
idea how to bridle something that was whipping through the air like a