Chronicles of Carnezia (Book 2): Wilderness

Chapter 24: Metal and Ink

Chapter 24: Metal and Ink

            Bert and I were now inside the burnt-out trinket shop. He was trying to figure out the best way of fastening the chain to the mirror. In the end, with my help, he laid it down flat in the floor over two crossed chains, bolting them on with some odd version of a padlock. The next problem was getting the mirror outside for Frain to lift up in his paws; Bert had answered that before we even bothered with the mirror. He had brought his pony along with a small cart towing behind her. It took a few attempts but we eventually pushed and pulled the heavy metal and glass object onto the cart and we were ready to go.

            I did feel sorry for the pony, the mirror was heavier than either Bert or I thought and she struggled to get going at first. Once the wheels started turning, however, things got moving much easier. It wasn’t long before we reached Frain who was now stood up as tall as he could.

            ‘About time,’ he commented as he looked over the chained mirror. The pony needed holding in place as she almost bolted when he stepped closer.

            ‘Are you sure you can manage with this?’ I asked him as Bert started to collect the loose chain ends.

            The large reptile looked over the metal one more time. ‘It seems a lot smaller now but yes, I will manage. Hello, Bert,’ he finally said, acknowledging the blacksmith.

            Bert looked at me and he looked rather pale even with the black soot still stuck on parts of his skin. ‘This might work better if he hovers above then I can give him the ends to grab onto,’ the scared farrier said to me.

            ‘Think you can do that, Frain?’ No sooner had I asked had he jumped into the sky and flapped his wings quite rapidly to try and stay airborne above us. Bert threw up the chains and Frain easily caught them in his foreclaws. Once that was done, he gradually heaved himself up into the air more and tested the weight of the mirror. It began to move and soon enough it was swinging below him in the downwash caused by his wings.

            Looking and sounding pretty pleased with himself, Frain called down to me. ‘I’ll take this now but I won’t be back until tomorrow. Don’t get into any trouble.’ And with that, he flew off to the north with the mirror dangling below him; the chains’ rattling slowly dimmed and there was no sign or sound of him as his colour blended in with the night sky.

*****

            Walking with Bert and his pony all the way back to town, I tried to make another decision; whether I should find Seb and tell him I was leaving tonight or just to leave it until he found me. In the end, just as we reached the houses that formed the outskirts, I figured it might go down better if I went and found him. So, saying goodnight to Bert as he went down the side street that led to his house, I wandered off into the night to see if Seb would still be out. Highly unlikely, as it turned out.

            There had been hardly any clouds that day which meant it was quite a cold evening; as my body started its shivering, I opened the door to the inn that Seb had gotten me a room in. It only occurred to me why it was unlocked this time of night. Seb had just got in himself and I had nudged him out of the way when I opened the door; he was just about to lock it.

            ‘Ssssh,’ he muttered, hushing me though I hadn’t said anything.

            ‘Sorry, I had something to sort out.’ We had both turned to whispering.

            He furrowed his eyebrows and looked confused but humorous in a slight portion. ‘At this time of night?’ he asked as he finally locked the door. ‘I suppose that’s something you’d do so no worries. Actually, I was just looking for you,’ he added as we both walked round the tables trying not to bump into any chairs. Taking my jacket off, I began to say what I had been pondering over all day but he had tilted his head and looked at me in the most peculiar way. ‘What’s that?’ He seemed to be looking over my shoulder.