Revelyn: 1st Chronicles - When the last arrow falls by Chris Ward Read Free Book Online

tears upon his face.
    ‘Well done,’ said Mentor gently, ‘you do remember. This is of the utmost importance. Now sit for a moment and think on your real name, for it is with this that you must begin.’
    ‘You will rest now, night falls, and in the morning a long and difficult journey begins. You must think upon things. I will be close by. You are not permitted beyond this room. Should you wish to relieve yourself please….’ Here Mentor indicated the door which led to the grassy slope overlooking the clearing and the place he had killed the Wolvers. And then Rema was alone. He felt desperately weary now and yet full of competing thought and emotions, his mind raced with possibilities and struggled to put the events of the last hours into any sensible order. He paced the room testing his leg which seemed completely fine; although he detected an ache deep in the bone which he hoped would pass in time. He ate some  more from the tray of food which Mentor had brought some time before, wild berries and a type of flat bread he had never tasted before, but which filled his stomach with a wonderful warm glow. There was venison and more cool cordial than he could possibly drink.
    After a time he followed Mentor’s direction and stepped out into the early night to relieve himself, and having done so, stood looking down into the moonlit clearing. All was quiet, there was no wind and the sky was cloudless. The deep shadows of the forest were dark and foreboding, and he wondered what creatures lurked there, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting. As he watched he caught a movement out of the corner of one eye, then another, the vaguest of shapes, not more than a shimmer, but he squinted hard trying to make out what it was. He shivered involuntarily for a moment.
    Suddenly he saw the eyes of a creature hunting, two red eyes hidden in a deeper, darker shape which had no edges. The eyes glowed dully against the forest shadows. Whatever it was, it moved quickly back and forwards, soundlessly, like a hunting dog, sniffing the ground, and every now and then it would stop and look up as though scenting the air. Finally it stopped on the flat rocky ground where Rema had loosed his arrows at the Wolvers. It lifted its head and Rema felt a shiver of deep fear run down his back. It looked at him, he was sure of it, and it gave a small and evil cry, unlike anything Rema had ever heard. He felt transfixed, unable to take his eyes away. He could discern no real shape to the creature; it was just there, evil and malevolent, and Rema knew without doubt that it was hunting him. He stood, fearfully transfixed on the moonlit hillside. Suddenly, with another cry the creature turned and disappeared, gone in an instant, vanishing quickly into the forest, and try as he might Rema could not remember what it looked like. He had no idea what it was, but he knew it was unlike any creature he had ever encountered or read of in all of the long history of Revelyn. He shivered uncontrollably and not from the cool night air. And suddenly his leg ached.
    He lay on the simple bed having ensured the door was well secured, and the curtains to the small window were drawn close. The room was warm, and enough moonlight found its way in so that it was not completely dark. As he felt sleep creep upon him he went over the events of recent days.
    It seemed more than the twenty days which had passed since he had set out from Farview on the eastern edge of the Central Upthrust. Farview was one of his favourite places. It sat right on the edge of the great escarpment which plunged down two thousand cubits or more to the Lowland plains. On a good day you could see the distant Vigarn River shimmering in the sunlight, and beyond to the vast Plains of Amrosi, and sometimes, if the air was crystal clear and still after the rain, the top of the Eastern Upthrust could be seen just peeping over the horizon. Rema liked to think that a map of Revelyn looked a lot like an Eagle’s head