Read Online The Last Stand of Daronwy by Clint Talbert - Free Book Online Page A

unfocused. He kissed her forehead and got to his feet, following his brother.
    â€œDon’t worry about her, she’ll be okay.”
    She and the Midnight Wizard disappeared, leaving only a warm, sulfurous wind behind.
    Jeremy and Daniel fell silent, wandering side by side into the darker part of the wood, each trying to conjure the image of the great city of Tarakyn and its library. Jeremy grabbed Daniel’s shoulder.
    â€œWhat is it, Eaglewing?” Daniel said.
    â€œNo.” Jeremy shook his head, then pointed with the stick that served as his sword. A nylon cord ran across the trail, just inches above the ground.
    â€œWho put that there?”
    â€œRemember? I told you the other day; I found Loren and Roland back here cutting this trail and they warned me to stay off it.”
    Daniel nodded, remembering the name Jeremy had given it. “Faker. So, they weren’t faking, huh? Do you think there are more traps out here?”
    Jeremy shrugged, unsheathing his Rambo survival knife and chopping the cord in half. “But if there are, we should take them out. Somebody could get hurt.”
    Daniel nodded. His voice dropped unnecessarily. “Let’s see what else is here.”
    Eyes swiveling down, left, right, up, down, they picked their way from leaf to leaf across the gray mud. Anything could be a trap, so they moved as though everything was. Jeremy held his knife before him in two hands, like a short sword. Daniel held his staff cocked in both hands. He would reach out and poke at a pile of leaves tentative, investigating. The Midnight Wizard would have approved.
    The magic of the dark part of the forest walked up Jeremy’s nape on spider legs, each fuzzy touch a shimmering line from his scalp to his toenails. Daniel nodded toward another line of nylon that crossed the trail ahead. A hasty disturbance of leaves attempted to cover something on the far side of the rope; obviously Loren and Roland had not finished this trap yet. Jeremy nodded and crept to it. He raised the knife and brought it down in a quick chop.
    â€œWait! Wait!”
    Jeremy glanced up as his swing finished the cord, startled by the outburst. A young tree lashed across the trail, suddenly freed. Daniel ducked, lost his balance, and fell. The branches crashed into Jeremy’s chest, sending him whirling backward into a bank of pine needles and mud.
    â€œAre you all right?” Daniel stood, trying to dust the clay off his pants.
    â€œYeah.” Jeremy’s hand massaged his shoulder. “How did they have that tied?”
    â€œI don’t know. I looked up and realized that the cord did all this crazy stuff over there around that tree, and didn’t know what would happen once you cut it.”
    Jeremy laughed. “I guess we found out.”
    â€œI guess so.”

Chapter Six
    Jeremy watched the sun cast multicolored shadows across the floor from the stained glass windows of the church’s sacristy. He was waiting for Father Pat and the second acolyte; he’d already donned his robe and wooden cross. Tomorrow would be another day of school. His bruises hadn’t quite faded from his last run-in with Travis on the playground.
    Father Pat swept into the room, flinging a vestment over his head. “Good morning, Jeremy!”
    Jeremy forced a smile. “Good morning, Father.”
    Father stopped, head cocked. “What is it?”
    Jeremy looked down. “Nothing.”
    Father crossed the room, laid a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. “Nothing?”
    â€œIt’s just Travis,” Jeremy sighed. “I can avoid him in Twin Hills, but I can’t hide from him at school. And I have school tomorrow.”
    â€œLet me tell you a secret,” Father Pat said, settling into the chair next to Jeremy. “Boys like Travis are the way they are because something very basic is amiss in their life. If you can stand up to him in a way that lets you connect with that boy deep