Remnant of Power

Chapter 7

Mal

Mal ran through the gates, out onto the plain and straight ahead till he came to a copse of birches. He found a stream, gulped a large quantity of water and then slumped to the ground, leaning against a tree. Shit. What was he going to do? He couldn't go back and ask his father for help, his father barely tolerated Yoldas, it was only his mother constantly nagging at him to let the dog stay, and her leaving scraps for Yoldas that had given the dog a home. His father didn't have a much higher opinion of Gared.

Should he go to Gared's father? That wasn't a good idea either. For some reason Gared's father was always reluctant to draw attention to himself, never wanting to risk causing trouble. The family lived very quietly, frugally, hovering on the edge of poverty, with just Gared's father's income from working as a laborer to other families in the village. Mal ran through a mental list of the men of the village, and while he knew most of them hated the King, he couldn't think of anyone who'd be willing to risk getting themselves caught to help Gared. He sat and stared at the towers and roofs of the city above the thick walls, desperately trying to work out a plan. But by time the orange sun slipped into the dark blue of the horizon, the only idea he had was to try to get back into the city and break into the castle prison when it was fully dark.

Mal stood up slowly and brushed himself off. He thought of his dog – Yoldas never went missing. The only reason for him to have disappeared must be because he was injured. He had to find him. Then he pictured Gared. His big, strong, law-abiding friend. He would help anyone, but he never put himself at risk. Too aware of his responsibilities at home to get himself in trouble. Mal rubbed his temples. He couldn't remember a time when Yoldas hadn't been by his side. And Gared – whenever they weren't working they were together. Mal shrugged his jacket on and started to walk back to the city, a few scattered lights on the parapet showing him the way.

He walked slowly; there was no point getting to the city until it was completely dark, although there was a strong breeze and clouds kept blowing across the moon. He tripped in a rabbit hole, and as he looked ahead he saw what looked like a shadow moving across the scrubland in front of him. Too big for a fox; it was probably a badger. It was doubtful there'd be any deer this close to the city, unless they were looking to end up on the King's table, they'd keep well away. Something growled ahead of him, then in the distance he heard a snarl. A chorus of howling answered it, eerie in the darkness. He shivered, but then his heart lifted. A snarl – could it be Yoldas? He turned and listened, trying to make out shapes in the shadows. A twig snapped, and he heard breathing. Something was coming towards him. An animal – he held his breath and squinted. Then, just in case it wasn't Yoldas, he drew his own dagger, and the tiny dagger the girl had given him. The animal ran up to him and stopped. It gave a low bark.

Mal let out his breath with a low huff. It was the dog from the market. The dog padded up to him and rubbed his snout against his leg, his tail wagging. Mal bent down and fussed him.

"Hello dog. Well, I don't know how you've found me out here, but it's good to see a friendly face, or muzzle, whatever you want me to call it." He stood back up and reached over to give the dog another stroke.

"Well dog, I don't know where you're going, but I've got two friends to find and I'm on my way back to the city, I..."

The dog pushed his head sharply into Mal's leg, just like it had done in the market. He trotted off away from the city.

"Sorry dog, I've got to go that way," Mal pointed, "So we'll have to say goodbye if you're not going back to the city." The dog scampered back to him, and reached his head up to grab the sleeve of Mal's jacket. But then he froze. He opened his jaw to release Mal's jacket. And if Mal didn't know better, he would have said that a "shushing" noise came from the dog's mouth. Mal looked around in the gloom, the dog nudged him and he heard the shush noise again. Mal stopped still. Then the dog ran off into the woods.