The Obsidian Pillar

Chapter Seven

I ran faster than my feet could carry me, across Avorr's farmlands and through the tiny pathways between the cottages, into the village itself. I had surrendered to my confusion, my distrust and my misery. I was subconsciously following the path that I took every day, unable to break the pattern. There was no other way; the question of leaving Willowheathe perplexed me. I had never been taught of anything else and knew nothing of the world outside of Willowheathe. The little I did know of its existence had been overheard from conversations between strangers who had appeared with Avorr from the woods and were brought to live amongst us. The travellers had arrived from somewhere else, but I had been stopped from asking anything about them with a swift slap, and soon learned to forget about the strange people who arrived from the woods. People appeared, but no one ever left Willowheathe. The thought turned my stomach.

I had been mulling this over when I suddenly flew straight into a very tall, thick-set man, who had been standing with his back to me in the main street of the village. With the hour being very late, Willowheathe was still dark and I had not anticipated running into anyone. I wobbled on my feet as the largest man that I had ever seen turned to survey his attacker, before laughing heartily at the sight of me. I had to roll my neck back to look up into his face, which was hidden in the darkness. Before I could protest, or run, he pulled me gently by the hand and guided me into the inn.

I stumbled after him and was immersed in the welcoming heat of the room instantly. I was surprised to see many villagers still inside, seemingly too drunk to walk home. The large man nudged me forward and I assessed the inn, nervously looking for whatever he wanted me to see. It didn't take long for me to notice a young man who sat alone in the corner, gawking at us. He obviously knew the large man; his expression was a mixture of surprise and annoyance. He was so still in his black garb that he might have been a shadow blending into a dark landscape. But once our eyes met I could not tear my gaze away from him. The sight knocked the air out of my lungs and waves of homesickness, nostalgia and familiarity struck me with force. I was certain that he was a stranger, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we might have met before.

The large man gently nudged me once more and I took several mechanical steps forward before reaching the table that the young man was sat at. 'Take a seat, lass. I'll get you a drink,' the tall man said in a friendly tone from behind me.

I looked at him in the faint light of the inn and saw him clearly. He was not a tall man at all; he was not even a man, though what he wasI had no idea. Stunned, I lowered myself gently onto the bench next to the man in dark clothing and watched the kind figure walk towards the tired innkeeper, who was propped up sleepily on the bar.

'He's a giant,' a deep voice announced from beside me.

'He is rather large, isn't he?' I replied, amazed. I thought of Marin's whispers at Gardoff's shop: There has been talk of a giant in the village...

The young man next to me laughed quietly. It was an elegant laugh, like nothing I had heard before from the men who usually frequented the inn. I turned to him questioningly, but stopped the words before they had the chance to leave my mouth.

He was very handsome. His hair was short, thick and brown, and swept to the side to uncover the piercing blue eyes underneath. He couldn't have been more than twenty five. I took a breath and desperately scrambled for something to say, but thankfully he beat me to it.