Thursday, June 20, 2019

Thursday's Fourth Scene Havens Affinities Book 2 #MFRWAuthor #BWL Publishing INC #YA #Fantasy


Valcon

     Valcon pulled a knit cap low to hide his hair and wrapped a scarf so his mouth and nose were covered.  He opened the door of the stone house and peered across the barren garden.  Only a skim of snow lay on the ground.  The weather had been strange this winter.  The heavy snowfall that had aided his friends’ escape had melted.  Since that day only flurries had fallen.  He’d heard the farms in the northern section of the princedom had experienced one storm after another.  The bitter cold made him shiver.  Leaving the warmth of the house hadn’t been his idea.  Svana’s begging to visit Cook for sweets had finally pushed him to the door.
     He checked to see the little girl was bundled before he lifted the basket of fruit and vegetables that had been gleaned from the growing house this morning.  Svana danced outside ahead of him.
     “Hurry, Valcon.”  She used her heavy stick as a sword.  Finchon and Larkea waited near the wall.  Larkea pressed the stones in the proper sequence and a segment of the wall slid inward.
     “Do you have the list?”  Valcon asked.
     “In my head,”  Larkea said.
     “Make sure to take care when you return.”  Valcon followed the three children into the lane.  “We don’t want anyone to suspect the wall isn’t part of the city’s enclosure.  Make your purchases and hurry back.”
     Finchon nodded.  “I’ll be careful.”  He turned to Larkea.  “So will she.”
     Larkea watched the gate close.  “Keep an eye out for guards.  They seem to favor Cook’s tavern.”
     “Do you blame them?”  Valcon asked.
     Finchon laughed.  “If I could I would  eat there every day.”
     Svana tugged on Valcon’s hand.  “Come on.”
     Larkea made a face.  “You need to teach her caution.  Ever since you and Bran fixed her foot, she doesn’t listen.”
     “And you’re so obedient.”  Finchon danced away from her raised fist.
     Valcon hated the heat of anger he heard in Larkea’s voice and saw in her eyes.  How could she be envious of the little girl?  The mite was their joy.  Lately Larkea had been moody, especially since he and Genira had been rescued from the palisades and their friends had left.
     “We’ll be fine,”  Valcon said.  “The most we have to worry about is the pack of hounds that hang about the alley.  They’re becoming bolder.  I’ll beg some meat scraps or bones from Cook and toss them into the pack.”
     Larkea laughed.  “Clever.”  She ran after Finchon.  “See you.”
     When Valcon and Svana reached the alley leading to the rear door of the tavern, he and the little girl waved to the others.  Svana raced to the door of the tavern and knocked.  Just as the door opened, Valcon reached the stoop and took her hand.

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