Vital - Book 1 (On hold: to be rewritten)

9. The Downfall of Shadow Manor

“How can you possibly know?”

“Wait here.” Iris hopped off the bed and disappeared into the room opposite. She returned a few minutes later, clutching a thick, dusty book bound in brown leather. She dropped it on the covers of the bed, and flipped to the middle pages of the book, where a huge, A2 map, written out in black ink on brown parchment, was slotted. Iris took it to the desk, where she opened it out. It was a map of Layken.

“So this is the main town,” she said, tapping the large cluster of buildings in the centre of the map, grouped on either side of the canal, where it was widest. Mountains surrounded the edge of the map, where the canal sloped off to in the end. The rest of the map was a mixture of forests, huge lakes, hills and other natural landmarks, each with their separate names. Winter Wood, Death Rock, East Lake. Four rectangles were positioned randomly around the map, and Wren realised they were houses.

Iris pointed to the one furthest away from Layken. Shadow Manor, was written in sloping black handwriting.

“There were four Founding Families,” Iris said, finger still on Shadow Manor. “The Shadow’s, your family, the Brightstars, Hale’s true family, the Blackthorns, us, and the Ravenwoods, Celia’s family. As you probably know, they were all the first Triangulis ever created, like your family, or the first people to be turned from Normads to Trianglulis, like the rest of us. Anyway, each of them got a manor to themselves. Most of them are long-since abandoned, but as far as I know, and my teachers know, Shadow Manor wasn’t. Your mother and father could still be there.”

“So you’re suggesting we go there?” Asked Wren, skeptical.

“Not everyone. I was thinking just you and Hale. We have horses you can ride out on. It’s only five or six miles away.”

“You have horses.”

“Don’t judge me! It’s not like I asked for them.”

_________________________________________________________

The stables were located at the bottom of the large stretch of grass that was on the east side of the house. Four horses had their heads sticking out of the gaps, chewing slowly on bales of hay. Alec swung open one of the paddock doors, leading a completely white horse out of the stable. He fixed a saddle around the horse’s tummy, then looped the reigns around it’s neck. 

“This is Hera,” Alec said proudly, patting her neck. “She’s relatively well behaved.”

“Relatively?” Wren raised her eyebrows.

“Sure. As long as you don’t kick her too hard. Learnt that lesson the first time I rode her, at twelve.”

“Cut the anecdotes, Alec.” Hale took hold of Hera’s reign, leading her towards the gate that lead to the road. 

Hale had returned last night; she had heard his door open and close at about midnight. She never had been a heavy sleeper. After Iris had left the night before, she spent her time attempting to bump into everyone in the house to practice ‘The Box Theory’ some more. So far, it had been working.

“Have you ridden a horse before?” Hale asked, stroking Hera absentmindedly. He had his back to her. He hadn’t looked at her properly all day.

“Can’t say I have,” Wren said sheepishly. 

Hale sighed and swung himself onto the horse. 

“You get on now.”

Wren climbed easily onto Hera, digging her heels into the sides of the animal.