The Archer's Hollow

Chapter 9 Sleepless Night

Siri and Master Kael watched his grandmother climb the stairs to the upper chambers and disappear behind a curtain. He sighed and ran a hand through his tousled hair. Distracted by his movement she wondered what his dark locks would feel like sliding through her fingers. Quickly she dispelled that thought as he faced her.

"I am sorry, Siri."

Not wanting him concerned on her account she reached up and patted his arm. "Please, don't worry about it." Then, remembering his reaction to Osette, she dropped her hand, "Anyway, about tomorrow, how soon can I get to work in the morning?"

"When the sun is over the mountain."

"What should I do about the dead trolls?"

"They are gone."

"Gone? How? Did you carry them off somewhere?"

"No," he chuckled. "When they are exposed to light, whether from the sun or from fire it does not matter, their bodies quickly disintegrate and leave nothing but dust behind. The two I shot with fire arrows were completely gone. The one you killed was still there when I went back so there are probably no more trolls in the valley—otherwise they would have taken the body. I am not sure why they were here in the first place. Like I said before, they generally do not come that far down and usually the perimeter is lit. Somehow a part of it must have been blocked which allowed them to pass."

Nodding she pushed away the suspicion that Signora Nia had a role in the evening's drama.

"Don't you worry about burning the forest?"

He smiled, "Actually, it is lit with enchanted rocks. Far away they do not do any damage to the trolls, but when the trolls come near them they work. Anyway, enough troll talk." He turned and started out of the room calling over his shoulder, "I will get you a blanket in case it gets cool tonight. You have had a long day and another one is ahead of us, so we need to sleep."

Siri sat on the cushions and waited for Master Kael. When he returned she looked at him and then at the floor.

"Do you teach tomorrow and can I go to your class if you do?"

"Yes, I teach and of course you are coming with me. We will leave here an hour after sunrise."

She raised her head and smiled, "Thank you for everything today and I'm so sorry things went awry." Her gaze dropped to the floor. She would rather look at the beautiful stones than at his aggravated face.

He surprised her by chuckling.

"Please stop apologizing. It was the most adventure I have ever had, so how could it be a bad day . . ." his voice became serious, "except you were almost killed."

She looked up to see his scowl change to a smile as he tossed the blanket to her.

"Get some rest, morning comes early."

The lights dimmed until the room lay in darkness and Siri sat alone on the makeshift bed. Her senses awakened her imagination and every corner and deep shadow harbored a pair of glowing red eyes. Each sound the night created, revealed sharp claws stalking and creeping around the room.

Her heart pounded inside her chest and she squeezed her eyelids together to dispel the images. She focused on breathing and thought of the archery lesson of that morning but soon she stood in the lane, frozen to the flagstones, as an army of trolls streamed through the mountain trees. An angry Signora Nia led their march toward Siri.

Her eyes flew open and she sat straight up. Something had to get her mind off the trolls and the signora. Her thoughts turned to her mother. She pictured her sitting close with her arm tucked around Siri's waist. She would have said, "Let's do something to help Signora Nia, it looks like she is dealing with a lot right now." Siri usually grumbled when her mother said those things, though she knew her own problems would seem smaller if she did. And right now she wished her troubles would disappear.

The signora's comments about tomorrow's preparations popped into her head. She had said the chairs sat on the back veranda. The signora's warning word followed the thought, "...if you make any movement, I will know."

Did she dare risk the signora's wrath? Red eyes glowed again in the corner before receding. Her heart jumped, pounding in her throat. Controlling her breathing, she made her decision. Sleep would not come anytime soon and working would be better than this silence and the company of her overactive imagination.

As she stood and moved quietly toward the rear of the house, the lights glowed brighter as if sensing her presence. Glancing behind she expected to find the signora, but no one followed. Walking through the arch to the veranda, she saw the intricately carved chairs lining one wall. A long waist-high table, holding bars and cloths, started the procession.

Selecting a large wax chunk and a linen rag Siri started on the first chair. Soon the patina shined bright under the muted lights. Moving from one to the other, her arms and eyes grew weary with the repetition of her actions but she worked until the final chair matched the others.

Siri examined the chairsfrom where she sat on the ground near the recently finished one. Satisfied bytheir soft radiance she rested her head and arms on the seat in front of her. Asmile played about her lips and with fleeting concerns of Signora Niadiscovering her, her eyelids drifted shut.