Nightpeople by Anthony Eaton Read Free Book Online

those nightfellas should or shouldn’t be doin’. They got no rules as far as I know.’
    â€˜Don’t usually see them out this close to daylight.’
    â€˜True.’ The old man turned his head slowly. ‘Gone now. I reckon they must have been hurrying home.’
    â€˜Wherever that is,' Dariand agreed.
    Both men were still tense.
    â€˜What’s happening?’ Saria tugged at the sleeve of Dariand’s robe, but he pushed her gently away.
    â€˜Should we bunk down?’
    Dreamer Gaardi thought for a second.
    â€˜Go a bit on first, I reckon, and walk real soft. This land’ll hide our path.’
    â€˜Right.’
    Dariand grabbed Saria’s hand and started along the base of the dune, pulling her with him.
    â€˜Aren’t we going nightwards?’
    â€˜Too dangerous climbing over the dunes. We might get seen going over the crests.’ Much safer down here, out of sight.’
    â€˜Seen by who?’
    â€˜All sorts of characters. We’re in the Darklands and I’d rather not let anybody else know you’re here. Not yet, anyway. Once we get to Woormra, then things’ll be different.’
    â€˜How come?’
    But Dariand didn’t answer and they slid around the base of one sand dune after another, while the vault above grew steadily brighter. Eventually, when they came across a clump of desert bush, Dariand stopped.
    â€˜This’ll do.’
    Thankfully, Saria collapsed on the ground.
    â€˜Here.’ Dariand threw her a water-skin and she drank deeply.
    â€˜You did well tonight.’ He reached out as though to touch her hair, but then thought better of it and dropped his hand. ‘Let me get those things off your feet.’
    Saria had forgotten all about the tightly bound shoes. Dariand fiddled with the leather lacing for a couple of moments then slid them off. The early morning air was cold on her toes.
    â€˜You’ll need to rub them for a bit, then you should get to sleep. Here.’
    He passed her some dried meat.
    â€˜Eat and drink.’
    â€˜I don’t eat meat.’ Saria pushed the hard stuff away.
    â€˜It’s all there is. Now eat it.’
    His tone made it clear there’d be no arguing, and she was hungry, so, finally Saria slipped a piece into her mouth and chewed wearily.
    Dariand watched her while Dreamer Gaardi stood a little way off, not moving, his eyes closed.
    â€˜Crawl right in under those bushes and get to sleep now. I’ll wake you when it’s time to move again.’
    â€˜What was that thing?’ she asked.
    â€˜What thing?’
    â€˜You know. In the sky.’
    â€˜Nightpeople.’
    â€˜Nightpeople? Who are they?’
    Dariand sighed.
    â€˜They’re the reason both you and I had to grow up hiding in that valley.’
    Saria opened her mouth, but before she could speak Dariand held up a hand to stop her.
    â€˜You keep asking me big questions, girl, and right now I don’t have the time or the energy to answer them. For now, just believe me when I tell you that if the Nightpeople find you, then it’s the end of all of us. I’ll try and explain more tonight, eh? But for now I want you to climb in under here and go to sleep.’
    Saria noticed for the first time how tired he appeared. His eyes were drawn and he rubbed stiffly at the back of his neck.
    â€˜That run across the lake with you on my back wore me out a bit,’ he told her ‘So let’s try and get some rest.’
    Realising that she was exhausted herself, Saria lay down. The sand was cold and slightly damp.
    â€˜Further. We’ll need to get under too.’
    Saria scraped a hollow depression deep in the shade and allowed herself to sink into it. Despite all the questions running around in her mind, tiredness rushed over her and she was only vaguely aware of Dariand and Dreamer Gaardi clambering quickly under the bush beside her. And when the distant, high-pitched humming echoed