The Youngest Mage [Completed]

(9) Spies

Mr. Nunn took Dalbreath to the inn in a horse and buggy right after Maurinn and Fieatra left to go shopping. Leanha was sitting on the steps of the inn, and seemed to be waiting for him.

"Where were you last night?" asked Dalbreath, after Mr. Nunn had turned the buggy around and rode away.

"I was about to ask you the same question," said Leanha.

Dalbreath looked puzzled. "I don't remember," he said.

"I do," she said with a smile. "Don't believe everything ghosts tell you."

"Ghosts?" he asked.

"It'll come back to you someday."

Leanha told him then that she was going to be too busy with the animals to teach him anything, but he soon found a friend. The owner of the stables had a son who was about Dalbreath's age.

"Come on, let's play scout," said Deearo, after they had made their introductions.

"What is a scout?" asked Dalbreath.

"Someone who spies on people," said Deearo with a mischievous grin.

"That sounds like fun," said Dalbreath. "Whom do we spy on?"

Deearo grinned. "The old man over the hill."

"What hill?"

Deearo pointed to a mound in the distance covered with trees that were obviously planted in a spiral around it clear to the top.

"Wow!" said Dalbreath. He hadn't noticed the mound before. "It seems far."

Deearo laughed and punched him in the arm. "Don't worry, I know Mrs. Nunn; you won't see your mommy until tonight."

Dalbreath looked helplessly at Leanha in hopes she would rescue him. "Never pass up a chance to go on an adventure, I'll come get you if you're gone too long," she said.

So without even a goodbye they were off down the road that lead right past the mound and on into the forested hills that surrounded Sylnaberneath. They ran until their sides hurt, and then they left the road and walked across the cleared land that went up to the base of the giant man made mound.

"How old are you?" said Dalbreath as they walked from the road to where the mound started.

"I'm seven, and I'm all my da has left since my mom died shortly after I was born. But enough about that, let's plan."

"Plan?"

"Yeah," Deearo snickered, "we're not spying on just anyone. He'll bonk us on the head if he catches us on his property."

Dalbreath frowned. "Why are we doing it then?" asked Dalbreath.

Deearo laughed and patted him on the back, hard. "Because, it's fun."

It took another fifteen minutes to reach the sacred grove on the mound, which was what Deearo called it.

"What do we do now?" asked Dalbreath as they came to the foot of the mound.

"That's easy, we climb through the trees to the other side and find a tree to climb, one that overlooks his treehouse, and then we spy on him. Then we steal something from his front porch. He's a tree man, they don't hardly own anything."