Chapter 6
Letting the Cat out of the Bag
The valley was bathed in the late afternoon glow, and a fresh breeze accompanied the songs of robins and meadowlarks as Echo and Mari helped their dad tend to the horses later that day. Oran gently applied garbin milk--a special salve taken from the prickly vines of the garbin plant--to a small cut on the chest of a red sorrel mare. None of the horses were ever tethered while they worked with them. Like all elf horses, they seemed to know when to stand still.
Echo and Mari each rubbed a different horse with soft, leather cloths. Which contained special natural oils that fended off biting insects and also polished the horses’ coats until they reflected the sun like precious metal. Mari’s horse grunted a protest at her rough movements. “I don’t see why I have to do this!” she stated distastefully. “It’s hot out here and my hands are getting filthy. Look at this!” She held up a palm for the others to see. The oil on her hand had attracted the dirt form the horse’s hide, blackening her skin.
Oran chuckled. “It’s not permanent, Mari. Besides, grooming helps you bond with the horses.”
“I don’t want to bond,” Mari mumbled before continuing her rough grooming.
Echo smiled and shook her head. How could Mari not enjoy this? It was so relaxing. She loved the tangy scent of the horses’ bodies; she loved the way their skin twitched to shoo away a fly; and she loved the crunching sound they made as they snipped the grass with their teeth and ate. And, most of all, she loved being close to Shimmer. The horse nibbled on grass close by, watching Echo intently with one of her large, glassy eyes. Echo smiled at her. “Don’t worry. You’re next.”
Shimmer raised her head and nickered. Echo felt the horse’s happiness and forced herself to finish with the colt she was working on before starting with Shimmer.
As they worked, Echo relayed what they had seen in Ulway. Oran’s expression was grim at hearing how the villagers acted and that Archer’s inn was so empty. “Times are going to get tougher before they get better, I’m afraid. I just wish there were more we could do.”
Eager to change the subject to more pleasant things, Echo mentioned Ayden Green. As she rubbed Shimmer’s coat, she quickly told Oran the story, becoming only mildly annoyed with Mari every time she corrected her if she exaggerated. Echo finished the story and looked out at the valley dreamily. “It was amazing. And then, he looked right at me and nodded!” she said, unable to contain her glee. “It made me feel hopeful, Dad. Like, by being a defender, there really is more I can do to help.”
Oran smiled at her, his own eyes shining with the adventure his daughter had portrayed with her words. “That’s wonderful, Echo. I have the utmost faith that you will make a difference in our world.” He winked at her, then turned back to salving a scrape on another horse.
“Echo already got to put her skills to work today, Dad,” Mari stated. She squeaked as a fly dive bombed toward her, narrowly avoiding her snapping rag.
Echo wasn’t sure she was ready to tell her dad what had happened. It wasn’t, after all, a very valiant story.
Oran raised his brows at her. “What is she talking about?”
Echo cast Mari a quick but deadly look, then turned to her dad. “It was nothing, Dad. A man from the village fell into the river and I helped him out.”
Mari snorted. “It was a bit more complicated than that!” She then proceeded to recount every detail of what had happened. She’d gone far enough away to avoid being hit by an arrow, but had watched everything from a distance. When the story was complete, Mari flipped her hair over her shoulder, indicating she was finished.
Echo bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how her dad would react. He studied her for a moment. Then his face broke into a smile. “Well, congratulations, Echo. Your first mission!”
Echo relaxed. Then, she poured out her thoughts. “But I didn’t do well at all, Dad. My mind was a total blank. If that man hadn’t fallen in the river, he probably would’ve shot Dorian. Then, I was so pumped up with adrenaline, my mind failed to see the obvious--the water at the rocky bank was shallow. He could’ve stood up without me even throwing him the bridle!”
Oran’s chuckle brought a contrasting mixture of warmth and hurt pride to Echo. She loved her dad’s laugh, but she didn’t love him laughing at her. She scowled and began wiping Shimmer more forcefully. “Echo,” Oran said, “I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at the situation. That poor man probably felt like a complete idiot!” He laughed again, and this time, Echo couldn’t help laughing, too. Oran continued, “What did Dorian say to all of this?”
“He told me, ‘Well done’.”
“Well, if you receive a ‘well done’ from an elf, then I’d say you must’ve done things properly.” Oran’s face sobered. “But, Echo, things won’t always be that simple. Being a defender is about helping others, true. But it’s also very dangerous. There are some who would kill you, just for being a defender.”
Echo swallowed. She knew her dad spoke truth. “I can’t turn my back on it, Dad. It’s something that I feel pulling me--something I can’t deny.” She wished she could explain better.
Oran walked over to her and gave her a warm and gentle hug. “I understand, love. I really do.” He pulled away, cupped her face in his hands, and smiled at her. She smiled gratefully back at him.
The moment was broken as Brecker’s voice reached them. He rode his horse toward them, its greeting starting a chain reaction of whinnies. Echo felt a charge of negative energy emanate from the man who had been so tender just a moment before. Oran stood stiffly, waiting until Brecker came close and dismounted. Brecker was excited, his blue eyes flashing. “I’ve just had the most amazing discussion at Ulway!”
Oran scowled at his son, and Echo and Mari looked worriedly at each other, ready for their dad to let loose his temper on Brecker. Brecker seemed oblivious to his dad’s stern gaze and rushed ahead, telling everything he’d heard from Mavel and Moodey. “They have a great plan, Dad. A solid plan to protect the villages and the valley. They’re asking everyone to join together, form a type of army where we can be educated about shadow dwellers and sorcerers and el--I mean, everything.”
Echo knew he’d been about to mention the elves. What was he thinking? Dismay weighed heavy in her heart. Was Brecker seriously going to go against his friends and join those crazy people?
“Brecker,” Oran’s voice was quiet, but firm, “Mavel and Moodey are no longer in their right minds. The loss of their son was too much for them. They’re not thinking clearly, accusing others wrongfully, and luring inexperienced people into dangerous positions. I’m not convinced that their plans are in the best interests of the people.”
Brecker’s smile dropped and his dark brows dove toward the center of his face. “Just because it wasn’t your idea, doesn’t mean it’s no good. You may be content to sit here and pamper horses, but I want to do greater things, Dad! I want to protect our home! You’re always telling me ‘Watch out for your family’. Well, that’s exactly what I intend to do!”
Echo’s insides lurched unpleasantly. Never had she seen her brother defy their dad with such reckless disrespect. The horses had pranced away nervously, all except Shimmer. Midnight Sun was close, too, stomping, snorting, and pawing up earth with his sharp front hoof.
Oran’s jaw clenched and he spoke through his teeth. “Your attitude will get you nowhere but in a lot of trouble. You’ve just earned yourself an evening of milking!”
Brecker breathed heavily and clenched his fists and jaw. Echo braced herself for the worst. Milking the garbin vine, with its many sharp thorns, was the most detestable chore ever. Surprisingly, after Brecker gave Echo a sidelong glance, he turned stiffly away, toward the garbin patch a quarter of a mile away. Their dad seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, took a step forward, then shook his head in frustration, and headed toward home.
Echo didn’t see Brecker until
dinner that night. Her mood was dark as she thought of Mavel and Moodey, the cloaked figure, and Brecker’s rebellion. Thoughts of shadow dwellers kept attacking her imagination as she looked out the dark window over a sink full of dirty dish water. She absentmindedly handed a dish she’d wiped over to her mother.
“This is not clean, Echo. Please wash it again.” Echo took the dish grumpily from her mother. She hated indoor chores nearly as much as Mari detested working outdoors. She felt so confined while being forced to wash dishes, sweep floors, and help her mother with book work.
Brecker sat at the table, turning one of Jiggers’ necklaces over and over in his fingers. is face was solemn, and Echo had the feeling he wasn’t really seeing the object before him. She wanted to talk to him about what had happened earlier with their dad, but not in front of their mother.
Kiani folded her towel into a precise square and set it down in its specified place on the counter. “Be sure to put that dish away once it’s clean. I need to help Mari finish the documents for the elders before tomorrow morning.” She left Echo alone at the sink. Echo re-washed the dish, set it on the counter, and drained the water. Then, mustering up a little courage, she sat down across from Brecker.
“How you doing?” she asked quietly. Several small cuts covered his hands from milking the vines.
“Huh?” Brecker seemed to snap out of trance, and then said, “Oh. I’m okay. Just a few cuts.”
“I wasn’t talking about the cuts,” Echo said. She felt a twinge of nerves in the pit of her stomach. It had been a long time since she and her brother had talked about serious things. She unconsciously grabbed her braid and twirled the end around her index finger.
Brecker glanced up at her. He put a hand through his hair and sighed. “I don’t know, Echo.” He cast his gaze back at the necklace. “Too bad these don’t really work.”
Echo’s shoulders slumped at the change of subject. She’d been hoping for a little more from Brecker. She wanted to know about Mavel and Moodey. She shrugged, attempted a chuckle, and said, “Yeah, too bad. They’d come in handy when we’re out there defending.”
Brecker was looking past her shoulder, his lips pressed together and his body tense. The churning in the pit of Echo’s stomach told her she’d just done something terribly wrong. She hadn’t realized that their mother had re-entered the kitchen and was standing just inches behind her.
“What did you just say?” Kiani stood holding a neat pile of papers, her face pale and stern.
Echo opened her mouth, but any thought or word fled the scene. To her relief, her dad walked in from outdoors at that precise moment. Kiani jerked her head toward him and he stopped in his tracks at her expression. She slammed the papers on the table, causing Echo to jump. Flinging her blond hair dramatically from her eyes, she began the interrogation. “What is going on, Oran?”
Their dad looked like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He gazed into his wife’s eyes and said slowly, “Maybe you should tell me.”
The tension in the house grew like an invisible weed, choking the life out of the air. “I just heard your daughter say something about defending.”
Oran glanced at Echo, who suddenly wished she was invisible. Her dad spoke again. “Calm down, Kiani. The kids have been doing a little training with Dorian. It’s really nothing to worry about.”
Brecker gulped and Echo refused to turn around to see what her mother’s face looked like. Kiani’s voice was steady, but carried a deadly undertone. “Nothing to worry about? How can you say that? People die defending this cursed land, Oran! Do you want to lose your children, because I don’t!”
“Mom, it’s okay,” Brecker piped in. “We’re good at it. We know what we’re doing. Besides, we have to start learning to defend ourselves. You know how bad things are getting around here.”
This time, Echo chanced a glance at her mother’s face. To her surprise, Kiani’s eyes were glossing over with tears. She shook slightly and breathed heavily through her nostrils. “I will NOT allow this to continue! You can’t be defenders and that is final!” she screeched, and then stormed out of the house.
Oran dropped his chin to his chest and sighed heavily. Raising his head again, he said sarcastically, “Well, glad that’s out of the way.” He looked at Brecker and Echo and smiled. “Don’t worry about your mother. I’ll have a nice, long talk with her and soften her to the idea. Besides, you’re pretty much trained, so there isn’t much she can do.” He gave them a wink, turned toward the still opened door, and walked out with another heavy sigh.
Echo ran to her room before Brecker could scold her for letting the cat out of the bag. After reaching her pitch-black room, she suddenly wished she’d stayed in the bright kitchen. The darkness swallowed everything like a hungry beast. Echo breathed slowly, trying to calm herself. This was her room, after all. Nothing scary. She squinted into the darkness, allowing her eyes to adjust. She could just make out the lamp on the stand beside her downy mattress. Quickly, she walked over to it, meaning to light it. She felt a creeping sensation on her back and spun around, dropping the matches. Her eyes had adjusted to the room, but her dark window loomed on her wall. She gasped as she turned to face it. Something was moving quickly and quietly toward her from the window.