Dragon Tamer - Book 1

Chapter 64

Marcie awoke when sunlight filtered through the window onto her face, she buried her head under the blanket with a groan and tried unsuccessfully to go back to sleep.

Habitually she reached out for Dara but while he was closer he was still shielding himself from her, all she knew was that he was in the cave still, he had not left for many weeks. The loneliness seemed to have become apart of her.

After a moment of basking in the tiny amount of heat the sun brought on the otherwise chilly morning she climbed stiffly out of the cot, them not being made to be particularly comfortable, swung the blanket around her shoulders and tiptoed into the hall.

She passed empty rooms and heard voices downstairs, belonging to the three outsider, she yawned and started towards the stairs when she heard,

"Then where is is?"

She stopped in her tracks, then turned and crept back to the room, lay back down on the cot, closed her eyes and concentrated on the sound of voices from under her blanket.

"...looked everywhere, its hidden very well"

"Someone must know about it, someone must be able to tell us"

"I don't think so large a group of common people are able to keep such a large secret"

"You'd be surprised what 'common' people can keep from you"

There followed some grumbling at this.

"The Tavern wench as no ideas, none of shop keepers, even The Birth Mother"

"Maybe you should ask them outright eh? None of this 'know any plants round ere that can cure anythin' stuff, just say we know bout it and want it"

"That sounds like a nice easy way to get thrown back in the forest, an this time I don think they'll give us Marcie to save our skins"

There was a long pause.

"We need our swords"

"Yer thats right, three swords against hundreds of stranger shy woodsmen, that'll work"

"We could confront the witch?"

"Pst, bitch is stonier than the cave she lives in, wont get nowhere with her"

"I will not return without-"

"Yes yes we know how important it is to you...maybe you could simply use Basti as an example of the effects of the mystical plant"

"That is no proof"

"His scars are"

"It is not enough!"

Another silence.

"Maybe...The Witch lives apart from the rest of the village, we could, ya know, go ask her straight, 'look, we know you got The Aroam so if you could just hand it over, we'll be on our way"

Marcie had heard enough, she threw off her blanket and pounded across the hall and down the stairs.

Aldren, Jin and Sebastian stood up, Jins chair fell over.

Marcie trembled with anger, she placed herself in front of the door, facing the men, but she spoke only to Sebastian,

"So" she said, the word landing like a heavy stone in a still pool of water. "So this is how you repay us for saying your life, I should have told Dafne not to bother"

Sebastian had the sense to look at his feet, Aldren and Jin did not. Aldren glared at her,

"You knew all along" he accused,