Read Online The Thunder King (Bell Mountain) by Lee Duigon - Free Book Online
Authors: Lee Duigon
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the beast a minute sooner, his own life would have been at risk. There might be two trampled bodies lying under the stars right now, instead of one.
“Did you see the animal?” Jack asked.
“I saw it loping away. I couldn’t tell you what it was. Nothing like I’ve ever seen before. But it might not have harmed anyone if Ivor hadn’t suddenly screamed and run away.”
“Jack thought it was a giant hog,” Ellayne said. “Wytt says it was something like that, but not quite.”
“Whatever it is,” said Martis, “let’s just hope it doesn’t come back.”
After the children finally fell asleep again, Martis lay awake all night, wondering what had gotten into him.
At first Ryons’ only thought was to get as far away from the castle as he could, as fast as he could. As a slave of the Wallekki, he’d traveled on the plains, in the desert, and even visited a city or two; but he knew absolutely nothing about forests. The whole time he’d been in this forest, he’d been in the care of the men who’d made him king.
But it was God who made me king, he thought. Obst said so, Jandra said so, and everyone believed it. He shook his head and kept going.
He pushed through ferns, through places where watery ground tried to suck the shoes off his feet; made wide detours around sticker-bushes; and followed paths wherever he could find them. Gnats flew into his eyes; jays and squirrels scolded him from the treetops. But he didn’t want to be in any more battles, and he certainly didn’t want the Thunder King to put his eyes out with a red-hot iron, so he just kept going.
At last, when the sun was low in the sky and it was beginning to get dark under the trees, he stopped to rest. As a slave he’d learned things that most children didn’t know about: he understood that in another hour it’d be too dark to go on, and he’d need a safe and comfortable place to sleep.
He found an old tree that had been blown down, forming a sort of cave in the ground where its base used to be. The roots, still packed with earth, made a roof for the cave. A few armloads of ferns tossed into the hole would make his bed. He’d slept in worse. And having done that, he gathered wood and made a fire, and settled down to have his supper—dried meat, some berries, and a drink of water. A city boy from a good home might have thought it a miserable supper, but Ryons had often gone to bed hungry.
It was dark before he’d finished eating, a deep dark that you could almost reach out and knead with your fingers. He heard all kinds of strange noises—birds, insects, frogs—things that came out at night and that no one ever saw. He’d heard them at the castle, too; but now, without any people around, they seemed louder, closer.
He hoped there weren’t any dangerous animals nearby. He remembered Helki said, “The most dangerous animal in the forest is a man. The others—wolves and bears and catamounts—hunt when they’re hungry and leave you alone when they’re not. After a while you learn to stay out of their way, and they stay out of yours, and you don’t have to be afraid of them. But you can never tell what a man is going to do.”
It dawned on Ryons then that he liked Helki, and would miss him. And Obst, and Jandra, and his Ghols. Now that he thought of it, he missed them already. Obst was going to teach him how to read and teach him all about God. Now that wouldn’t happen.
“Why did I do it?” he wondered. Run away, just like I was still a slave! And they were all so good to me, too!
Up above, somewhere, some unseen creature of the night made a noise like a woman trying to sing with her throat cut. Down below, Ryons regretted what he’d done.
If a slave ran away from the Wallekki, and they caught him, they usually killed him as a lesson to the others. At the very least they flogged him. Ryons didn’t think Obst or Helki would let anyone do that to him if he went back to the castle the next day and said he was
“Did you see the animal?” Jack asked.
“I saw it loping away. I couldn’t tell you what it was. Nothing like I’ve ever seen before. But it might not have harmed anyone if Ivor hadn’t suddenly screamed and run away.”
“Jack thought it was a giant hog,” Ellayne said. “Wytt says it was something like that, but not quite.”
“Whatever it is,” said Martis, “let’s just hope it doesn’t come back.”
After the children finally fell asleep again, Martis lay awake all night, wondering what had gotten into him.
At first Ryons’ only thought was to get as far away from the castle as he could, as fast as he could. As a slave of the Wallekki, he’d traveled on the plains, in the desert, and even visited a city or two; but he knew absolutely nothing about forests. The whole time he’d been in this forest, he’d been in the care of the men who’d made him king.
But it was God who made me king, he thought. Obst said so, Jandra said so, and everyone believed it. He shook his head and kept going.
He pushed through ferns, through places where watery ground tried to suck the shoes off his feet; made wide detours around sticker-bushes; and followed paths wherever he could find them. Gnats flew into his eyes; jays and squirrels scolded him from the treetops. But he didn’t want to be in any more battles, and he certainly didn’t want the Thunder King to put his eyes out with a red-hot iron, so he just kept going.
At last, when the sun was low in the sky and it was beginning to get dark under the trees, he stopped to rest. As a slave he’d learned things that most children didn’t know about: he understood that in another hour it’d be too dark to go on, and he’d need a safe and comfortable place to sleep.
He found an old tree that had been blown down, forming a sort of cave in the ground where its base used to be. The roots, still packed with earth, made a roof for the cave. A few armloads of ferns tossed into the hole would make his bed. He’d slept in worse. And having done that, he gathered wood and made a fire, and settled down to have his supper—dried meat, some berries, and a drink of water. A city boy from a good home might have thought it a miserable supper, but Ryons had often gone to bed hungry.
It was dark before he’d finished eating, a deep dark that you could almost reach out and knead with your fingers. He heard all kinds of strange noises—birds, insects, frogs—things that came out at night and that no one ever saw. He’d heard them at the castle, too; but now, without any people around, they seemed louder, closer.
He hoped there weren’t any dangerous animals nearby. He remembered Helki said, “The most dangerous animal in the forest is a man. The others—wolves and bears and catamounts—hunt when they’re hungry and leave you alone when they’re not. After a while you learn to stay out of their way, and they stay out of yours, and you don’t have to be afraid of them. But you can never tell what a man is going to do.”
It dawned on Ryons then that he liked Helki, and would miss him. And Obst, and Jandra, and his Ghols. Now that he thought of it, he missed them already. Obst was going to teach him how to read and teach him all about God. Now that wouldn’t happen.
“Why did I do it?” he wondered. Run away, just like I was still a slave! And they were all so good to me, too!
Up above, somewhere, some unseen creature of the night made a noise like a woman trying to sing with her throat cut. Down below, Ryons regretted what he’d done.
If a slave ran away from the Wallekki, and they caught him, they usually killed him as a lesson to the others. At the very least they flogged him. Ryons didn’t think Obst or Helki would let anyone do that to him if he went back to the castle the next day and said he was
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