The Aurora Stone by G.S Tucker Read Free Book Online Page B

a grab for her and got winded for his trouble.
    “Ooof!” He gasped, Eve quickly got off him.
    “What on earth was that?” She wondered, slightly shaken.
    “Magic…. force field…. powerful….” Caleb coughed. Helping him to his feet, they once again approached the wall. “There must be a gate somewhere,” she assumed.
    They walked along the wall keeping at least three metres’ distance. Suddenly up ahead they could see the flickering of torches. Quickening their pace, they arrived before a rather grand set of gates carved from the same type of tree as the wall. They were a masterpiece of filigree and embedded with polished stones.
    “How do we get in?” Caleb muttered to himself. He tried a couple of charms but these just caused the force field to shimmer and crackle. They tried calling and waving their arms frantically. Then in a last ditch attempt throwing stones, but this resulted in Caleb getting a black eye. “Let’s just call it a night,” he grumbled rubbing his eye. Moving out of direct sight of the gate, they made camp. Eve worked quietly over a bowl near the campfire, while Caleb went off in search of something to eat. He returned an hour later with a cut arm and two fish. Throwing them down he asked if he may borrow Eve’s dagger to gut them.
    “It’s ok Cal, I’ll cook. Here put this over your eye it will help with the swelling,” Caleb took the bowl Eve had been working over, it was full of green paste; which he applied it to his eye. Instantly he felt some relief as the cooling effect soothed his swollen skin. A sigh escaped his lips.
    “You are full of surprises, Evangeline. A warrior and now a healer, not to mention a great cook,” Caleb complemented. Smiling, she packed up her herbs and began gutting the fish.
    “My dad taught me how to make simple remedies when I was small,” she told him.
    “Well I am very grateful that he passed on the knowledge,” he praised. After their meal, they curled up in their bags and deciding to try to gain entry again at first light they drifted off to sleep.
    It was however not a restful night for either of them. Every woodland sound caused them to wake. The small creatures of the forest sounded large and dangerous in the hush of the forest; and in the early hours, a deer walked by the camp causing them such a start they decided for the rest of the night, they would take turns to keep watch.
    Eve had known another night in this forest was a bad idea. On opening her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of several sword blades and a couple of spear tips all pointing at her. Not quite what she was expecting, but she wasn’t terribly surprised. Careful not to make any sudden movements she asked her captors.
    “Where is my friend?” No answer was given, instead, large paw-like hands reached for her. Grabbing her, she was pulled roughly to her feet. “I would very much like to know what has happened to my friend,” Eve asked once again.
    “No more talk, you answer only our questions!” Shrilled one of her captors, “Who are you and why did you spend an intolerable amount of time disrupting our force field?” Understanding that these, whatever they were must be the owl riders, Eve began to raise her head to look at the creatures surrounding her. Speaking in a neutral tone and moving slowly she answered.
    “My name is Evangeline of Hermoria, I am travelling with a friend. He is a witch called Caleb. On our behalf, I would like to apologize for causing a disturbance last night. We merely wished to seek shelter. The night before we were attacked by a pack of werewolves and were rather anxious not to spend another night in the forest.” The creatures took a moment talking in hushed tones amongst themselves.
    Eve now had her chance to get a look at them. To her amazement, she found herself gazing at very large extremely muscular mice! However, they were clearly not the usual kind she found in the larder at home; these creatures stood at five feet tall