Children of the Sun and Moon by P. D. Stewart Page B

smiled.
“If we wait a day before we ride again they all should be
okay.”
    “Yeses. Needs
rests.”
    Eric just
nodded. “I am going to lie down for a while. That is if it is okay
with you.”
    Nak turned to
Eric. “Forz humans whoz nots fight youz dids goods.”
    Eric smiled,
thinking about how proud Payton would’ve been to see him fight.
Exhausted, he walked over to where his horse stood, falling asleep
instantly.

    Nak watched as
Eric drifted off. It was easy for Eric to fall asleep, having had
an eventful day. The creatures, and what it meant, bothered Nak. He
knew those creatures, but didn’t say anything to Eric. They were
bolamer and they belonged to Queen Malena. He had seen them before,
in her palace. They were no more than retrievers, usually sent to
bring those who would oppose the queen into the void. They were
also used if the queen wanted all traces of someone erased. Bolamer
were very efficient at killing and always did it quickly. It was
obvious the creatures were supposed to injure them, slow them down.
If their objective were to kill them, they would be dead. Nak
wasn’t sure why Malena would want to slow them down instead of
stopping them altogether. If magic were returned to Melarandra, she
would no longer have an advantage over those in her realm. Why was
she letting them live? It was also curious that they took Dilmek.
That didn’t happen often. Things were not what they appeared to be.
When they had started this journey, Nak was quite certain of what
needed to be done. Now, there were many questions arising.

    When he was
certain the prince was asleep, Nak went about setting up the
warding spells, which he placed every night around their camp. It
amused him that Eric hadn't noticed he was never asked to be on
watch. With all the power he possessed, Nak just assumed the young
prince had more important things on his mind. When he was done, Nak
decided to get started on healing his fallen companions. Nak knew
he wouldn’t be able to heal them completely, but they would be able
to leave tomorrow. They had to get to Keenley and seek out a
healer. Dilmek just had to stay alive long enough for them to find
him. Nak wondered about how he was going to explain his companions,
somewhat miraculous recoveries to Eric. Deciding it was best to
heal first, he put the thought out of his mind.

    Eric’s dreams
were of fighting unseen creatures, losing his companions and death.
The reality of the dreams woke him with a start. The dream had felt
so real, like it was a vision into the future. It was quite
unsettling, but the longer he was awake, the more the dream lost
its hold. Although the agitation he felt was diminishing, Eric knew
he would not fall back asleep so he decided to see if Nak needed
any help. He sat up and saw Nak by Goulerick. Eric was about to
call his name when he noticed something odd. It appeared that Nak
was chanting over the injured goblin. Then Eric felt it, the magic
in the air. The hairs on his body were electrified by it and he
realized he had felt it before. In fact, every night since he had
joined up with the band. Nak practised magic.

    He knew goblins
of old had magic users among them, but didn’t know it still
happened today. He stood and went over to him. Nak was so involved
with the spell, he did not notice until Eric was beside him. He
finished the spell and turned to face Eric.
    “Somethings
youz wantses askz,” said Nak.
    “Do you realize
your magic is most likely being tracked by the Order,” stated Eric,
flatly.
    Nak stood and
turned from Eric. “Theyses nots oneses worries boutz.”
    Eric could not
believe what he was hearing. “If the Order sensed your magic use,
then they know where we are, and if they know where we are then you
can bet they have already dispatched some Magima. All could be lost
if they catch us before we can finish our task.”
    Nak stood. “No.
Alls wez doz is makes itses Keenleyses. Froms
    theres wez bez
finses.”
    Eric sighed. “I
hope you