Read The Sword and The Seven Stones: Diamond Page 6

  Chapter 6

  Sanders walked up to the men getting ready to head out. He was not what they expected at all. He was small in stature and reed thin. He walked over to the men and asked who Alman was. Gavin turned around at the gruffness of the voice. “Sir, this is the future King that you are looking for. I insist that you treat him accordingly.” Sanders backed up a bit. “He will be back soon. He just went over to the blacksmith’s.” No one told him it was the prince that he was coming to talk to. He would have cleaned up a little bit more. He saw the tall man walk out of the blacksmith’s shack. Alman saw the little man standing by Gavin and walked up to him. “So you’re the man who went into the forest and came back out alive. We have much to talk about. Did you bring your things for the trip?” Sanders backed up a bit. “What do you mean, for the trip? Even for you sir, I will not go back into that forest.” Gavin went to cuff the man across the back of the head but Alman held up his hand. Gavin turned, disgusted that this man dare to say no to his next King. “Well, let’s go inside and you can tell me what to expect.” Sanders was so glad that he wouldn’t have to go back in there. That experience would last him a life time. As they took their seats at the table, the barkeep brought over some cups of beer. As Alman watched, the man downed his in one swallow. He gestured for the barkeep to bring more. “So, can you tell me what you experienced and why you won’t go?” Sanders picked up his second cup. “I went because I was tired of the cats. Every night we have to light the candles and then one night it rained hard. My wife went out to light the candle but it just went out each time. It was getting dark fast and my son went out to help her. I heard the cats before I saw the one come into the yard. He was making his way over to my son and my wife moved in front of our boy to protect him. The cat took her and that was the last that I saw of my wife. She was a good woman. Beautiful and kind. My son has never been the same since. Not right in the head after watching his mother get taken away by those huge monsters. I went after them to kill them but by the time I got to the bottom of the mountain, I noticed that they didn’t come beyond that. As much as I taunted them, they would not budge. As I made my way through the forest, it didn’t look so scary but the more I made my way into it, things happened that I couldn’t even explain to anyone. I was lost for days then I came to the wall and thought if I could only climb it but I couldn’t even get two feet from it. There was a force that kept me back. I turned and came back home and the cats didn’t bother me as I did. I thought for sure I was going to join my wife. I don’t know how I made it back alive.” Alman listened to everything this man said. He felt bad for him that he lost his wife and in a way, his son. “She was a very brave woman to do that. Saving a life and sparing your own is a very high honor.” Sanders nodded. He knew it was but he would rather have her than her high honor. “Are you sure you won’t make the trip with us?” Sanders looked at the future King and knew he should go. “I have no one to look after my boy. I can’t risk not coming back. I hope, sir that you can understand this?” Alman did and as he stood up, he patted the man on the shoulder.

  Gavin was standing with the other men when he came out. “So, what the barkeep said is true.” He told all the men. “The cats cannot go beyond the bottom so we have to make it through the night without getting eaten and then it won’t be too far from there.” Gavin grinned, as did the others. They were up to the adventure. Harry stood there looking at how his friend had changed overnight. Alman knew that maybe the best place for Harry would be to stay right here till they got back. Walking over to him, Alman looked at his friend. “Harry, you can stay here. You don’t have to go too.” Harry knew what Alman was doing. He was giving him an out but Harry would have none of it. “You’re my best friend, King or no King. I would have your back always.” Alman smiled then walked over to his horse. Getting onto it, he felt the difference right away. His last horse he had from foal. They had a bond. The one who replaced him was a stronger horse but Alman could already feel that the agility was not there. As they walked down the street, people stood watching from the side of the road, their windows, and their door ways. Alman knew that he would come back to this place and save these people from the hell they have had to live with.

  It had been three days since Alman had been gone. Nicholis was feeling weaker as each day passed. He couldn’t understand what was happening around them. The guards were on watch. The skies remained dark and the lightning and thunder had not stopped. Looking out the window, he watched as the clouds rolled across the sky. He had never seen a storm like this in his lifetime. The rain had almost washed out most of the village. The men who live there worked alongside with the soldiers and guards from the palace to save it. They bagged dirt and made a wall to divert the water away from the village that started to raise above the river banks. There were no differences in the men as the worked side by side. Turning, he walked over to the chair that sat in front of the hearth. Looking into the fire, he thought back at all the times that he could have spent with his son. Instead, he thought he should be carefree and enjoy life. He should have had him training, learning from a young age. Gavin hadn’t come back either so the only thing he could do was hope that his son was still alive.

  Gavin rode next to Alman as they made their way towards the next mountain. They were going to go as far as they could while they had light, then build a fire before it got dark. It was the only chance that they had. They also had to give Nelvil time to go hunt and time to eat before they each took watch throughout the night. Around noon, they stopped at a river and Harry fished for them all. He was showing Reed how it was done. He tied the string to a branch and with one hand holding the branch and the other with the string, he whipped the string so it just hit the water and the fish would snap at it. He got one almost every time. Reed was very impressed with this. While Reed was learning a new skill, Jordon got the fires going. He had one at each corner so they would sleep within the square. Alman leaned against the tree and looked out at the mountain that they had to cross. It was in the distance and he knew that the timing was going to be very close in getting there. He thought back to the conversation that he had with Sanders. How did he do it, alone? After the night with the cats, he wasn’t looking forward to tonight. Churil skinned the rabbits that Nelvil had brought back. Reed tried getting the fish ready and was doing a good job of it. Harry got the others done in the time Reed had his completed. They ate well and sat around until they had to take their turn at watch. It was about an hour later that they heard the first rustle. The horses were in the square with them but seven horses and seven men in a small area was never a good idea but they had no choice. They didn’t want to risk losing them to the cats again. As Churil and Reed settled them down the cats would start all over again. They weren’t coming into the perimeter but the horses could smell them and wanted no part of it. All night they would take turns, two with the horses, three sleeping and two keeping watch. A couple hours later, the cats left but the men still kept watch.

  Another couple hours and day break would be upon them. Gavin thought back to the day before and how he watched as Alman took over the men. He wished that Nicholis was here to see the transformation that his son took on this journey. He would be very proud of him right now. There was also a need for Alman to get to the west forest that Gavin couldn’t understand. He walked over to where Harry was sitting and sat down next to him. Gavin took a drink then passed the canteen over to Harry. Harry took it and took a little sip and started choking. “What the hell is that?” Gavin started to laugh and then patted him on the back so he could get his breath back. “Rye, from the grain plant. One of the villagers was playing around with the plant we cropped last year and came up with this. Very tasty, no?” Harry felt a warmth spread over him as he looked over his shoulder at Gavin. Gavin knew that when Harry was in his cups, he would talk. Whenever he needed to know what Alman was up to, he would seek out Harry. As Gavin leaned back against the tree, he asked Harry. “Why such the urgency with Alman?” Harr
y looked over at his best friend. He was undecided whether to tell Gavin or not. Harry thought about what had happened so far to them and if Gavin knew the truth, then they might have a better chance to protect the two of them. On the other hand, Alman may not want him to say anything to Gavin. Taking another sip of rye, he decided to take his chances and told Gavin what happened when they went into the village two weeks ago. Then what happened in the cave. “When the cats come, watch the sword.” Harry told him how it glowed when they came near. Gavin could see Alman going around to each of his men and talking with them, asking them questions. Gavin just hoped that they would have the same luck as Sanders and get back out of here alive. Gavin took another sip and then noticed the sword that hung from Alman’s hip. The stone glowed bright. He jumped to his feet and looked around. Harry was on his feet just as fast. “Men, we have company.” Gavin said in a neutral voice. The other men took their weapons in their hands and took their stance. Alman noticed his sword. The steel reflected the mirrored eyes from the cats as they moved slowly around the square. The horses started to panic and as Reed and Jordon ran over to help, Jordon tripped over a branch coming out of the ground and Reed reached out to grab him but missed. Reed went down along with Jordan. One of the cat’s paws reached out and snagged Reed’s vest and pulled him out into the darkness. Gavin grabbed Alman’s arm and held him back as he started to go after Reed. “We can’t help him now.” He understands that.” Alman didn’t understand but went over to help with the horses. The cats kept them busy for the next two hours and then everything went quite. They got on the horses and started toward the next mountain. The nights were going to be long and the days were going to be longer.