Fae-The wild hunt by Graham Austin-King. 3 Ebooks can be won.

Fae - The Wild HuntThe Riven Wyrde Saga Book 1By Graham Austin-KingRelease date - March 9th 2014

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Blurb: Fairies... The Fae... The stuff of bedtime stories and fables.But sometimes the fairy tales are true. Sometimes they hold a warning... For a hundred generations the Fae have been locked away from the world, in the cold, the Outside. They have faded out of sight and mind into myth and folklore, but now the barriers are weakening and they push against the tattered remnants of the wyrde as they seek a way to return. As a new religion spreads across the world, sweeping the old ways and beliefs away before it, a warlike people look across the frozen ocean towards the shores of Anlan, hungry for new lands. War is coming, even as the wyrde of the Droos is fading. Only by realizing the truth lost in a child's tale will the world hope to withstand the wild hunt.



Chapter OneMiriam gazed through thesmall window at the sun as it sankslowly behind the tiled rooftops ofKavtrin. Smoke was rising fromthe chimney pots, lending acontrast that painted a dirty stainof indigo across the flaming skies.It was a sunset for young loversand poets, but Miriam was blind toit. Once there had been a timewhen the sight would have strucka chord within her, but those daysseemed long gone to her now.She traced her fingertips idly overthe worn and knife-scarredworktop and sighed as she pickedup a damp cloth and began to runit back and forth over the surface.There was no dirt to clean. Thecounter was as clean as anyonecould make it, but hands need tofeel busy and the cloth workedalmost unnoticed by her as shestared unseeing out of thewindow.She caught sight of herreflection as she turned and shefroze in place, one hand comingup to touch her cheek. Her facewas lined and drawn. Her oncelustrous brown hair was tied backinto a severe bun, which onlyserved to highlight the faint touchof grey at her temples. Shelooked... old? She wondered atherself. Who was this womanlooking back at her? How long hadit been since she'd really looked atherself? How long since she'dreally been herself?She turned to stir the potresting on the woodstove, andglanced nervously at the door.The stew was catching again, buthe probably wouldn't notice unlessit was really badly burned. Shewas a good cook, she knew shewas, but there was only so much aperson could do to keep food hotonce it was ready. The muttonhad stewed for a good six hoursand she had been trying to keep ithot for the last four. She glancedat the door again and tutted asshe caught herself doing so.Sliding the iron vent in the base ofthe stove closed, she lifted the potwith a grunt and placed it onto theheavy table.Her eyes drifted to the simplecot in the corner and she paddedover on quiet feet. The only joyshe had found in the last fifteenyears of her marriage lay sleepingsoundly in this small bed. Caerlhadn't really wanted children, butshe'd hoped that it would havemellowed his temper and whenDevin came along, he'd seemed tocalm for a time. Then of course,he had taken up the drink again.Creaks and mutterings driftedin from the stairs, she turned witha smile carefully arranged on herface as the door opened, andCaerl slumped against the doorframe. She took in all of hisappearance in a single glance.The stained and slovenly clothing,the unwashed and unkempt hair,the filthy and scraggly beard.Where under all of this filth, wasthe man she had married? Theman who had stolen momentswith her, risking her father's wrathwhen she'd been little more thana child herself.“Hello dear,” she said, forcinglightness into her voice. “How wasthe marketplace? Would you likesome dinner? I made yourfavourite.”Caerl grunted, a non-committalnoise that could have meant anynumber of things, and staggeredthe three steps to the sturdy tablebefore collapsing into a chair.Miriam busied herself with thestew, spooning out a healthyportion into a large earthenwarebowl and setting a hunk of breadon the side. She put it down infront of Caerl's slouched form, andstepped quickly away to busyherself in the tiny kitchen. Notthat anything needed doing, therooms were spotless. Living in fearof Caerl's dark moods had turnedher into an efficient cleaner, andthe fewer reasons she could givehim to start off with her, thebetter.Caerl dunked the dark peasantbread into the stew and chewed.He shovelled a spoonful into hismouth, and then grimaced andspat. His dark eyes sought her outand seemed to flash in the lightfrom the fire and the oil lamps onthe walls.“This is burnt, woman.” Heslurred, seeming to chew out thewords from a mouth slack fromdrink.“I'm sorry Caerl,” Miriam said,hating herself for the way shesounded. “I tried to keep it warmfor you, but it must have caught.”“Dammit girl, how hard can itbe to put some food in a man'sbelly?” He pressed his hands tothe tabletop and stood in asudden burst, knocking the simplewooden chair to the floor. It madea sharp crack as it splintered. “Irun those damned carts all daylong for you. Put food on the tableand a roof over the head of youand your brat, and you can't evenmake a decent meal?”Miriam rankled at him startingon the boy. She knew she oughtto keep her head down just as arabbit will stay in the warren whena storm is coming, but Caerlalways knew somehow whatwould set her off.“Well, maybe if you had beenhome instead of in the tavernthree hours ago, it wouldn't havecaught,” she muttered, the wordsspilling from her lips before hergood sense could stop them.Caerl stopped, and stared ather with dark eyes for a longmoment. A slow smile spread overhis stubbled face.“So, it's my fault is it?”“No, Caerl. I didn't mean it likethat.” She took a step back awayfrom him and began edging alongthe wall towards the window.“I work all damned day andthis is what I get? Burnt slop Iwouldn't feed a dog!” He slammedhis hands down on the table,making the bowl jump.Miriam flinched and turnedquickly to see if Devin had woken.“Dammit, woman. Look at mewhen I'm talking to you!” Hesnatched up the bowl and hurled itat the fireplace. It shattered onthe woodstove, splattering stewover the walls and onto the hearthwhere it bubbled and hissed.Miriam cried out as the bowlsmashed, ducking involuntarily asthough it had struck her. Shecowered down, her handsshielding her face as Caerlstormed towards her with ragedancing in his eyes. She drewback as he came closer andgrabbed for her and then skitteredalong the wall towards thewoodstove and the doorway totheir own tiny room. Caerlfollowed swiftly, his movementsunimpeded by the ale he stank of,as if the rage had burned thealcohol from him.“Caerl, don't. Please?” Shebacked into the darkness of theirsmall bedroom. “You'll wake theboy. Try to calm down.”“Don't you tell me what to do.”He reached for her and managedto grab her hair, pulling it free offthe bun as she twisted and triedto dart away from him. “Who inthe hells do you think you are,telling me what to do?”He yanked savagely on herhair, bending her backwards andoff-balance as her eyes filled withtears. “You're nothing!” he spat.“That's what you are woman. Youknow it, and I know it.”He let go, dropping her to thefloor as she curled up tight, ballingher fists and pressing them to herface as if to ward off the hate.“Say it,” he whispered, but shelay silent, biting her cheek to holdin the tears.“Say it!” he roared, drawingback his foot and kicking hersavagely in the ribs with his heavyboot.Miriam gasped as the painflooded through her. Her eyesfilled with tears and she felt himcrouch down and grab her by thethroat , wrenching her towardshim. His calloused hands wererough on the delicate skin of herthroat, and she fought to draw ina ragged breath as he squeezedat her neck.“Don't you ever tell me what todo.” His spittle sprayed onto hercheeks as he spat out the wordsand the stench of stale beerturned her stomach. She began tosob silently as she fled insideherself. Her silence seemed toenrage him more than herdefiance had, and he struck herwith the back of his hand, theforce throwing her to the floor.“Da?” a small voice carried infrom the doorway.Miriam's eyes flew open inhorror and her pain was forgotten.Devin was a slight boy and thenightshirt made him seem all thesmaller as he looked up at hisfather.“Da, don't hit her.” He saidagain, a world of reproach in hissmall voice.Miriam flew to her feet as Caerlturned and bristled at the lad.“You telling me what to do,boy?” he asked in a low dangerousvoice as he moved toward thedoorway.“Don't you touch him, Caerl,”she warned. “Don't you dare touchhim.”“Boy needs to know his place,”he muttered almost to himself, ashe looked down at the dark hairedchild backing away from him.Desperately, she reached forhim and clung to his arm, trying tohold him back as he dragged herinto the kitchen again. Muttering acurse Caerl struggled to throw heroff, turning to face her once more.His face was a mask of pure rageas he struck her with his openhand across the face. This was noslap, his hand was rigid and shestaggered backwards into thewall, her head ringing. He stalkedtowards her as she dashed thetears from her eyes and looked upat him. Her face throbbed and oneeye was already starting to swell.He staggered suddenly asDevin launched himself on hisback screaming like a feral cat.Caerl's eyes went wide in shockand then pain as the boy’s nailsclawed at his neck. He reachedback almost casually, grasping ahandful of the nightshirt and threwthe boy at his mother.“You both got no damnedrespect.” he spat and began toundo the thick leather belt hewore.“That's enough Caerl,” Miriamsaid snapped, her lips white withanger as she got to her feet,clutching Devin to her skirts asthey moved sideways towards thefireplace. He laughed coldly andshook out the belt. Miriamreached out blindly and took upthe first thing that fell to hand.The heavy iron ladle from the pot.“So help me Caerl, if you touchthis boy...”His laugh was frost as shethrust Devin behind herawkwardly. She shrieked as hefeinted towards her and sheswung wildly with the ladle,spraying stew across the roomand missing.He grinned and lunged again,but this time his balance or theale betrayed him and he had noneof the grace of moments ago. Shelashed out, screaming, and theladle caught him solidly on thetemple with a sickening crunch.Caerl staggered backwards andfell, crashing through the chairsand table before hitting the floor.The silence when it fell, waslouder than her screams had everbeen. She stood frozen, holdingthe ladle with both hands. Shewas dimly aware of Devin behindher, both hands gripping her dressand his face buried in the cloth.Extricating herself from his graspshe crept towards Caerl's pronefigure. Blood was seeping slowlyfrom his temple and one nostril,and his eyes were half closed. Shelooked carefully, but saw no signsof movement. He lay still,seemingly out cold. She felt a wildexultation in her breast but then,just as powerfully, the reality ofwhat she had done washed overher and Miriam was filled with afear deeper than she had everknown. He would kill her. Her andthe boy both, that much wascertain. If he didn't kill her, he'deither make her pay so savagelythat she begged for death, or he'dhave her up before the Justice.“Devin, sweetheart?” shecalled softly. “Let's take a trip, justyou and me. We'll have anadventure.”The boy looked at her withhuge dark eyes. “Without Da?” heasked in a small voice. Miriamnodded.“Good,” he said firmly.Forcing a smile onto her face,she set about grabbing clothesand what little food they had inthe house, filling bags while Devindressed. Taking his small hand,she led him to the door andreminded herself to walk normallyand calmly into the hallway anddown the stairs, even as her mindscreamed at her to run.Kavtrin was not a small cityand even at this time in theevening the streets were filledwith people. Miriam held tight toDevin with one hand, and thebags with the other, as she triedto thread her way through thecrowded streets. Many peoplewere still making their way homefrom work. Some few hawkerswere still on street corners, tryingto sell this and that. Miriamnoticed first one, and then severalevening girls coming to standunder the, as yet, unlit streetlamps with their lost and hopelesseyes.She hurried Devin along thecobbled streets, trying to keepfrom being forced into the guttersby the sheer weight of traffic.They darted over to the side fromtime to time to avoid the cartsthat clattered through with theirdrivers flicking the whip at thehorses and cursing at all whostood in their way. She was onlydimly aware of where she wasgoing. It had been so long thatshe was surprised she evenremembered the way. Devin hadbeen silent since they left thehouse, and she neededdesperately to get him into thewarm.Miriam didn't notice the rainwhen it first started, a soft mistingdrizzle that was more like spraythan rain, but which soon beganto soak through her simplewoollen dress. It slowly changedinto a steady rain that plasteredher long brown hair to her faceand her dress clung to her legswith each step. They were bothsoaked to the skin as they finallycrossed the high cobbled bridgeand saw the golden glow of thelamplight coming from thewindows of the Broom andBadger. Miriam made her wayaround to the rear of the inn andpounded on the large oak door asDevin pressed himself hardagainst her hip. The boy wasshaking, not simply shivering, buta solid trembling. Miriam drew in abreath to speak as the door finallyopened, but the girl in thedoorway pulled them both out ofthe rain with wide eyes.“Lords and Ladies, look at thestate of you two.” she exclaimed.“Boy'll catch his death out in that.So will you! An' what's wrong withthe front door anyway?”“Shalin said I could call on herif ever I needed anything,” Miriamtold the blonde girl in a tinybroken voice. The girl looked ather, taking in the deepeningbruises, and her face softened.“Ah darlin', you've been through it,haven't you, love?” She hurriedthem through into the warmkitchen, still filled with the aromasof dinner, and sat them close tothe fire set in the long wall.“You two sit here and I'll findShalin. I expect you could usesomething hot inside you too.”She bustled around and set alarge bowl in front of Devin,before leaving through the doubledoors that led into the inn proper.The kitchen was long and lowbeamed,with huge cast-ironovens set against one wall and along table filling the centre of theroom. It was well-lit with oil lampson the walls shedding a warmcomforting light. It smelled ofchicken, fresh baked bread, andhope. Miriam let the warmth fromthe fire soak slowly into her bodyand watched Devin devour a largebowl of warm apple pie as only aten year old boy could.“My stars, Miriam, I neverthought I'd see you again!”exclaimed a slim blonde womanfrom the doorway. Shalin seemeddetermined to overcome everystereotype about innkeeper'swives. She was tall and willowy,with a figure that made otherwomen hate her on sight. She wasneither matronly nor blousey,though that was not to say shewas not beautiful. She had longhair the colour of good honey, andpiercing blue eyes. It would beeasy to assume that she was justsome pretty thing the Innkeeperhad been lucky enough to end upwith, but Shalin was far more thana pretty face. She ran the inn witha brisk efficiency that showed inher eyes. This was a woman whobrooked no nonsense anddemanded both order and respect.This was a woman thatcommanded loyalty and who noman with a whit of sense wouldcross. She had once been Miriam'sclosest friend, and the last thingsMiriam had said to her had beenlies. “Shalin,” she breathed as shemade her way to the doorway.“Lords and Ladies woman, lookat the state of you,” Shalinmuttered as she drew Miriamclose into a fierce embrace,ignoring the water that waspooling by her feet. “What'shappened to you?”Miriam sucked in oneshuddering breath before spittingout, “Caerl.” The name tore fromher throat and carried all theyears of venom and fear. All thelove and betrayal, the hurt andevery bruise. She clung fiercely toShalin, taking strength from theembrace and the simpleknowledge that another adultcared for her. Shalin stroked herhair softly, making hushing noises.“Deena,” she called through intothe hallway. “Why don't you getthe lad a warm bath and wrap himup in Thomas' old room?”The girl nodded, smiling atDevin as she held out her hand.“That pie was good wasn't it? Ialways feel better after coming infrom the wet, when I can getsomething warm inside me. Now,how about we get you out ofthose wet clothes, into a hot bath,and then find you a nice warmbed?” Devin nodded sleepily andallowed himself to be herded fromthe room.“He'll be fine,” Shalin said,stepping back to look at Miriam.“Now, how about we get youwarm and you can tell me what isgoing on? Go on with Deena andshe'll get you one of my robes.You can wrap up in that for nowand get dry.”The blonde girl led them bothup the stairs and pointed Miriamtowards a bedroom door, “Thereshould be a robe or two on theback of the door. Just leave yourdress in there and I'll see it'scleaned for you.”Miriam nodded her thanks andcrouched a little to give Devin aquick hug before stepping into theroom.Shalin smiled at her as shecame back into the kitchen andwaved her back into the chair. Therobe was soft and with thewarmth from the fire she wasbeginning to thaw. “Now then,now that you look more like thewoman I knew and less adrowning kitten, why don't you tellme what's going on? The last timeI saw you, your Caerl had gotten anew job in Savarel and you weremoving up there.”“We were never going toSavarel,” Miriam admitted in asmall voice. “I lied because he'dlost his job again and we werebeing thrown out of our home.”“Why didn't you saysomething?” Shalin gasped. “I hadno idea! You know I would havehelped you.”“When you've got nothing,Shalin, sometimes pride is all youcan to cling to,” Miriam saidsimply.“Hmm, you're right.” saidShalin. “We were so poor, wemade the birds look rich when Iwas a little'un, but our doorstepwas scrubbed daily.” She foldedher arms across herself. “So,what's happened now? I mean, it'sbeen what, eight years? Nine?”“It's been eleven, Shalin,almost twelve.” Miriam walkedover to the fireplace and stareddeep into the flames. “He drank,”she began. “Most men drink, buthe drank and then he got meanwith it. I could cope with that wellenough, I suppose, but it wasalmost every day in the end.” Herhead bowed as if she werespeaking to the floor, like theconfession of a naughty child.“And he would hit me. Nothing Idid would be good enough, Shalin.I tried. I really tried! There wouldbe days when he would comehome and it seemed like he wassearching for something to startoff on. Then tonight, he beat meand Devin woke up.”“Your boy?” Shalin askedquietly.Miriam nodded silently. “Caerlwas always careful not to wakehim, either that or Devin alwaysmade out like he was sleeping.He'd never stir.” She breatheddeeply before pressing on. “Caerlhad me on the floor and he justkept kicking me. All I could thinkwas, this was it. This was thenight that he's finally going to killme. Then, Devin was there,throwing himself on Caerl and hegrabbed him and threw him atme. He actually threw my boy,Shalin! He was taking his belt offto beat the both of us.”“How did you end up like this,Miriam? You were always sostrong, when I knew you.”“He wasn't always like this.When we first met, he was sosweet you wouldn't believe hewas the same person.”“How did you meet him? Younever did tell me, you know?” Shestood and took down a kettle froma hook, filling it from the pumpover the double sinks. “I expectyou could use some tea to startwith?” She cocked an eyebrow atMiriam over one shoulder.“He was a caravan guard. Heused to come in to my father's innevery few months, doing the routefrom Savarel to Kavtrin.”“And I bet you thought he heldthe sun in one hand and the moonin the other didn't you?” Shalinsaid as she set the kettle to boil.“And then some,” Miriamadmitted. “He was everything myfather hated, and of course,everything I wanted. I was all offifteen when we started sneakingabout together.” Her face twistedas she spoke. “Eventually, hetalked me into running away withhim, and that was that. I snuckout of the window one night withnothing but a small pack ofclothing and keepsakes.” Shepicked up the mug and blew softlyat the steam curling from the top.“At fifteen, I knew all there was toknow, and so I turned my back onmy family, friends and my home.All for a man I'd really, barelyknown.”“You don't need to tell me ifyou don't want to,” the womansaid softly.“No, it's good. It sort of helps,you know, to talk about it? I don'tthink I've ever told anyone thewhole thing before.”Shalin nodded, setting thesteaming mug down in front ofMiriam and moving back to herown chair, cradling her cup in herelegant hands.“We settled here in Kavtrin. Hefound work easily enough in themarketplace and on the docks. Ifound easy work in a tavern. Wehad a lovely room in a nice areaoverlooking some of the gardensby the park. It wasn't anythingespecially wonderful, but it wasours, and it felt like a home.Things were wonderful. I meantruly storybook wonderful, until hestarted drinking.” She cleared herthroat and looked down at thetable as she continued. “First, hestarted drinking after work withthe boys from the marketplace. Ididn't mind or blame him. It's hotand heavy work, and a man needsto spend time with the folks heworks with.“Then, he started drinkingduring lunch with the dockhands.Before long, he was drinking morethan he was working. That waswhen he lost the first job. He wasso ashamed that he hid it from mefor almost a week before he finallyadmitted it. He'd been still goingout to work in the mornings andnot back until dusk, but I'd knownsomething wasn't right. A womanalways knows. So, he'd sworn offthe drink and we'd muddledthrough. He found more work andthings were back to normal, untilit happened again.” She drew in adeep shuddering breath andsighed it out slowly. “This isharder than I thought,” she said,looking at Shalin with anapologetic smile.“You're doing fine Miriam, justtake your time.”Miriam nodded and drained hertea, setting the mug down andcurling her hands in her lap. “Afterwe lost the third home, I told himstraight. One more time, one lasttime, and that was all the chancesI was giving him.” She sighed andgave a wry smile, “We hadn'treally planned for a family. Oh, wehadn't exactly avoided it, I'dstopped drinking moon-tea soonafter we settled down again. If I'mhonest with myself, it had beenmy price for keeping us together,and that had been the idea really.Maybe I thought that if weconcentrated on starting a family,then things would be better. Ofcourse, you need to be home tostart a family. It helps if you areconscious and not snoring alefumes into the kitchen floor. I'dbeen right on the verge of tellinghim we were done, when alongcame Devin, just like that.” Shelaughed a bitter little laugh.“He changed. Overnight hechanged, and it was like none ofthe strife or struggles had everbeen there.” She glanced up atShalin and smiled with tearrimmedeyes. “He helped throughthe pregnancy. He worked harder,was home earlier and looked afterme like I was made of glass.Sometimes too much! When Devinwas born he was there, though hebolted outside as soon as themidwife arrived and wouldn'tcome back into the building untilhe heard the babe squall. Life wasback to the storybook for almostfour years, four blissful years.”“So, what happened? Whatchanged?” She heard Shalin ask.“Honestly? I have no idea.”She shook her head. “I wonderedfor a while if he'd been having anaffair and it had ended orsomething like that. Between onemonth and the next he shifted, hebecame distant. He came hometwice with ale on his breath,though I pretended I hadn't smeltit. The following week it wasspirits he reeked of. Then itseemed it was every night. Youknow the funny thing?” Shalinshook her head quietly and Miriamsmiled a sad smile. “It was onlythen, that I began to realise howalone I'd become. We lost most ofour friends when we'd had tomove the first time. There'snothing quite like pride to rob aperson of their good sense isthere? Oh, I'd reached out acouple of times, but after we'dmoved the third time, I was soashamed I never bothered tryingto keep in touch again. ThenDevin came along and my dayswere filled with him and whatwork I could find. Caerl had beenso good to me that I almost didn'tnotice that I never really sawanyone else. Until of course, Ineeded somebody else. Until it allbegan again. And then I wasalone. So, so alone.”Shalin moved to take her in herarms as the tears began to fall.Her body shook with silent sobs,and she allowed the willowyblonde to pull her head into hershoulder. For a time they just satin silence, until Miriam pushedherself away with a sniff. “Look atme, crying like a babe.”Shalin just looked at her insilence, a faint smile on her face.“Where were you working?”Miriam sniffed. “I still workedin a couple of taverns. It was hardto find one where I could bringDevin. But then when he got oldenough he worked as a scullion,while I worked in the kitchen orthe laundry. I'd tried working as aserving girl again, but any manwho smelled of ale reminded meof Caerl. I tried a few places, butin the end I realised it wasn't theinn, it was me. A girl working in aninn needs to be able to laugh andbanter and flirt a bit. I couldn't doit. I couldn't find it in me. Any manso much as spoke to me and I ranoff to the kitchens like a startledrabbit. So I stayed in the kitchens,preparing meals and washinglinens.“Through all of it, Caerl wasthe same. He ran in cycles. Hewould drink himself to almost rockbottom before swearing off thestuff. He was true to his word too.He wouldn't touch it, or go to theinn with the others. He'd comeback from his work early. He'd becalmer, kinder, more attentive,and then it would begin again.Always the same, every time. Itwould start with one drink withthe boys on a Friday. Then itwould become Wednesday too,then a touch of wine with dinner.Before too long, he'd be cursingthat we had nothing in the placeto drink. He'd be coming backfrom the marketplace later andlater and stinking like the bottomof an ale barrel. The more hedrank, the blacker his moodseemed to get, and then beforelong I was back to never knowingwhen he was coming home, orwho he might be when he arrived.“Some men are happy drunks.We've both seen them, laughingand carrying on. Some becomedepressed and snuffle into atankard in the corner. Caerl wasn'teither of these. He would fall inthrough the doors with a shadowin his eyes, and then it wouldstart. It seemed some days, healmost had to search forsomething to get angry about, buthe always found something.Everything was meant as a hurtwhen the mood was on him. If thefire was built too high, I wassquandering his money. If thefood was too simple or the roomsnot spotless I was failing as awife. But it was rare for him toactually hit me, until just lately.”Her hand crept unnoticed to herface and she fingered the bruises,probing the sore flesh absentlyshe spoke.“Always before, even in hisdarkest place he stopped athurling things across the room orkicking over the table. He'd rageand curse at me as I stood in frontof Devin's cot and eventually, itwas like he'd suddenly see me.Maybe he saw how scared I wasor something. But he'd turn andstorm out of the door. He'd beback later, stinking of cheap ginand slurring apologies as hepawed at me in the bed.“And then one time, he did it.He hit me. And it was like, nowhe'd crossed the line and seenthat nothing came from it, hedecided it was okay. He never didit in front of the boy, though. Itwas like he thought beating mewas fine, it was okay. But childrenshouldn't see it. Then tonight, hewoke Devin with all his shoutingand Devin saw him hit me. My boyactually tried to protect meShalin.” Her voice was filled with afierce pride.“What have you done, Miriam?”Shalin asked, as understandingsuddenly dawned on her.“He was going to beat us both.He was taking off his belt!”“What have you done, Miriam?”she repeated in a soft voice.“I went for him with a potladle. It caught him in the face,just here,” she touched hertemple. “He fell hard. And…and,we just left.”“Is he dead?”Miriam gasped. “I don't know,”she admitted as her hand flew toher mouth. “I didn't think to check.Oh, Lords and Ladies! What if I'vekilled him?”Shalin took her by the hands,and looked at her firmly. “Now,listen here. You did what youneeded to do. Nobody in this roomis going to blame you or think lessof you for that. You were keepingyour boy safe, and that's whatcounts. If he's dead, well then hegot what was coming to him. Lessthan I would have given him!” Shestood abruptly and left the room,returning quickly with two glassesand a dark bottle.“Take this, you look like youcould use a good drink,” she said,pressing the brandy into Miriam'shands.Miriam drank the fiery liquiddown without comment and heldher glass out for another. Shalinchuckled and poured, beforeturning back with a serious look.“Have you thought what youmight do?”Miriam shook her head.“I'd have you here, Miriam, youknow that. But you must know it'sgoing to be one of the first placeshe looks, if he comes looking foryou. If he's dead, well then, betteryou were gone from Kavtrincompletely.”“Maybe I should just go to theJustice, Shalin. I mean, if he'sdead?”“Now don't talk stupid, girl!”Shalin snapped. “You've done theright thing. You got yourself out,you looked after your lad. You'vewalked all the way here, and nowyou talk about going to theJustice?”“If he's dead though...” shetrailed off.“What? Because it's the law?”Shalin scoffed. “You know as wellas I do, that people die in this cityevery day. Caerl wasn't rich orimportant, they won't bat an eye.IF he's even dead!” she took adeep drink, and set down herglass again. “Now, before youstarted on that nonsense, I wasabout to ask if you have anywhereyou could go. Somewhere outsideof Kavtrin, until you get on yourfeet? Are you in touch with yourfamily at all?”Miriam shook her head. “No.And it's been too long. I couldn'tjust turn up, not now. To behonest, I don't even know ifthey're still there.”“It's a start, Miriam. Go thereand see. It gets you away fromany... problems here. And it getsyou moving off your behind, girl!”“I don't have any money,Shalin. I hadn't really thought pastmaybe someday getting awayfrom Caerl, and finding a jobsomewhere with just me andDevin. It was all just rainy daydreams, but now...”Shalin took a deep breath,visibly biting back words whichwere too harsh for the moment.“Wait here,” she said tersely andstrode from the room. Miriam satby the fire, listening to the soundsof raucous laughter and merrimentfrom the common room. She wasdimly aware of Shalin's voice inthe hallway. The words wereindistinct, but the tone spokevolumes. A few moments later shestepped back into the kitchen.“I've a few things to organise,but we will sort you out, Miriam.For now, I think you probablyneed a bed. You look like you'reabout to drop off your feet. Whydon't you head up and climb inwith your boy? We'll talk more inthe morning.”


Graham Austin-King began his writing with children's stories to entertain his children when walking them to and from school. When he started getting demands to repeat the same story over and over again he decided to write them down.Liam and the Grump was soon followed by Captain Pegleg and the Greatest Treasure.Fantasy is the genre which has always appealed to him, a result of reading too many books and playing too many roleplaying games and computer games. Having weaned himself on Tolkein he cut his teeth on David Eddings and Raymond E. Feist.Finally the keyboard beckoned, there were worlds to create.Graham lives in Kent in England with his wife and three younger children.

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