Moon Chase - A Fellhounds of Thesk Story Read online

  ‘But why didn’t the others just tell the truth – two against the word of one? Surely everyone would have believed them – I would have!’

  Giles was strutting around arrogantly now. Lady Élanor looked at Wil’s outraged expression and smiled.

  ‘You are right, of course Wil, and they did try. I knew the truth because I saw it in Giles’s delirious mind in the Infirmary – he had disturbed a mountain lion who repaid him with a swipe of her claws. Then he threw his bolts away in order to create his lie.’

  ‘Yes, but you could have told them what you saw – you could have stood up for them – like you did for me - surely they would have believed you? You said that they didn’t believe me because I was an outsider – you aren’t!’

  ‘You have experienced the justice of the Order of the Magewizen of Saran for yourself, Wil – you tried to tell the truth and look where it got you!’ She made no effort to hide her bitterness. ‘Unfortunately for the two Bearers - Cae Wheeler and Ellyn Parry - their fathers were neither rich nor members of the Order– Godwyn Savidge was – and still is - both. He is a very influential man in Saran with plenty of money to spend on silver-tipped bolts, new crossbows, saddles and the leather and mail suits you see before you. He was desperate to keep his son in the Moon Chase - he made sure that the hunt believed Giles’ story!’

  ‘But I thought that if you were bitten by a Wraithe Wolf you turned into one – Giles didn’t turn into a wolf, so surely that proved he wasn’t bitten by one?’

  ‘The wolf had been drawn by Giles’s spilt blood. It might have licked Giles’s wound but in the darkness no-one would have seen that detail - but I found no tooth marks. So you see Wil, Giles didn’t turn into a wolf because he wasn’t actually bitten by one!’ said Lady Élanor in a low voice. ‘But people believe what they want to believe. The fact that I managed to save Giles from what they all thought was a Wraithe Wolf bite just gave people hope that there is a cure after all, and by the time Giles had woven his deceitful story he was a hero – no-one wanted to think anything else.’

  ‘So what happened to Cae and Ellyn?’

  ‘Cae still hunts although he has been bullied ever since – mostly by Giles and his close friend Leon Beck over there.’ She gestured to a shorter young man with tight blond curly hair. ‘Luckily Cae is an exceptional bowman and therefore very useful on a Moon Case; but as for Ellyn – her family moved away to another town shortly after and, I am told, she has not hunted since.’

  ‘So will Cae be on the Moon Chase tonight?’

  ‘No – tonight the Bearers will be Giles, Leon Beck and Fermina Fairfax’s daughter, Gisella.’

  Wil’s heart plummeted to a new low.

  ‘Oh, great – why don’t the members of the Order just come along themselves? All of the people with the deadly, silver-tipped bolts are all related to the people who think I’m guilty of trying to kill Seth Tanner! And who are the Chasers –Tanner’s cousins?’

  ‘I’m sorry Wil – the Order made the decision last night after our meeting at Lovage Hall. I have only just found out myself. But Leon and Gisella are excellent Bearers. The five Fellmen over there are Mortimer Merridown, Emmet MacPhee, Curtis Waller, Becky Lum and Olivia Drews – they will be the Chasers this time. They have been on many Moon Chases together – and no, none of them are related to Seth Tanner. Mortimer will lead – he is very fair - a true Fellman. They all know the dangers - they are not there to score points. Keep out of their way and do exactly as you are told and, I can assure you, Wil Calloway, you will come back a free man.’

  ‘Lady Élanor, would you like to bring your guest over now?’

  Morten Mortens’ deep voice boomed out - the surrounding crowd fell silent. He had joined the Moon Chasers while Lady Élanor and Wil had been talking and now stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Giles and his father. Giles turned and muttered something to the Fellmen who all guffawed; his father added to the private joke and the laughter rippled again.

  Wil tried to pretend that he hadn’t noticed and grabbed up the bag that Tally had brought down from Lovage Hall. But as he swung it over his shoulder, its weight caught him by surprise and he staggered sideways - one of the Chasers giggled.

  ‘Blimey, Tally, what on earth have you put in this?’ Wil hissed.

  Tally looked hurt.

  ‘There’s some food – chicken pie, bread and honey cake – from Martha; a flask of water, and the cloak that I gave you this morning – there’s also a chain mail tabard from Bryn – he said “Good Luck”.’

  Her normally pale cheeks were slightly flushed and her eyes were suddenly very bright. She bit her lip and went on.

  ‘I also put a small first aid bag in there… Eli and I… we made it for you last night after you’d gone to bed – sorry but its pink silk, that was all I could find.’

  ‘Er, Thanks – but I don’t know anything about herbs or potions, so, er… I’m not sure how useful it’s going to be,’ Wil floundered. He was trying hard not to sound ungrateful but Tally was now close to tears. Lady Élanor came to his rescue.

  ‘Don’t worry about that Wil,’ she smiled. ‘Trust the -’

  But the rest of her sentence was drowned by a loud cheer as the five Chasers jumped up onto their horses and waved to the crowd.

  ‘How do the Bearers travel?’ asked Wil as there didn’t appear to be any more horses near by.

  ‘They ride with the Chasers,’ answered Tally. She looked at him – a thought dawning on her. ‘You can ride – can’t you Wil?’

  ‘Er - No – and I hate heights!’

  ‘What! How can you not ride? Surely you have horses in your village?’ Tally’s expression had gone from hurt and embarrassed to incredulous in the blink of an eye.

  ‘Our horse was used for working in the field. I’ve never been great with heights so I never wanted to ride home or anything. It was never a problem!’ Wil told her defensively.

  ‘Well it could be now!’ retorted Tally. ‘We were worried about you surviving the Moon Chase, not getting there!’

  ‘Master Calloway – you will ride with Olivia – she is light and her horse will easily be able to carry the two of you,’ announced Morten Mortens, clearly wishing to move things along. He bustled over and ushered Wil towards the waiting Chasers. Olivia, the girl who had laughed at him, did not look delighted at this news.

  Not having the slightest clue what to do, Wil adjusted his back-pack and stepped forward. He watched as each Bearer was efficiently lifted by one arm to sit behind a Chaser. Then Olivia walked her horse forwards and put out her hand to help Wil aboard. He held up his right hand and took a deep breath.

  ‘If you use that hand,’ said the disgruntled Chasers loudly, ‘you will end up facing his tail!’

  The other riders and most of the crowd roared with laughter. Olivia’s horse pranced at the noise and stood heavily onto Wil’s foot. He tried very hard not to cry out. He could see Tally and Lady Élanor’s worried faces in the crowd.

  Foot throbbing, he swapped hands and grabbed Olivia’s arm; with a determined leap he managed to scrabble up and plonked down behind her. Perched precariously and clinging onto the sides of the saddle Wil was not at all convinced that he was going to remain there for long. Olivia sighed impatiently.

  ‘Unless you put your arms around my waist I will be riding alone very shortly!’

  ‘Oh, right,’ said Wil and gingerly put his hands on either side of the girl’s waist. Her bushy ponytail smelled of honey and lavender. It tickled his nose, but he was far too nervous to move.

  Godwyn Savidge stepped forward.

  ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, I call for silence!’

  Arrogance exuded from every pore as he addressed the sea of expectant faces.

  ‘The time has finally come for us, once again, to send our champions out onto Thesker Fell to defend the livelihoods of the people of Saran and its neighbouring villages. They know the danger that they face but they go with brave hearts and boundless courage.

  ‘On this oc
casion, by instruction from the Order of the Magewizen of Saran, they also take with them Wil Calloway, accused of the attempted murder of one of our precious Bearers, Seth Tanner…’

  People booed and hissed at the mention of Wil’s name. Godwyn waited a few indulgent seconds and then continued.

  ‘The Order has decreed that should Master Calloway return unharmed, he will be declared innocent and his liberty will be returned – if his body is left at the foot of Tel Harion to be claimed by the Wraithe Wolves his guilt will be proved, BUT,’ he said and turned triumphantly toward Lady Élanor, ‘if he returns injured, he will be found guilty as charged and will hang by the neck until dead!’

  A great cheer erupted from the crowd. Lady Élanor and Tally stood in stunned disbelief. Lady Élanor grabbed the Grand Wizen’s arm.

  ‘What! Morten – this cannot be! When did the Order decide this?’ The Grand Wizen shifted uneasily and refused to catch her eye. Wil felt sick.

  ‘I was out-voted, my Lady – I am truly sorry.’

  At that moment the evening sun was swallowed by a huge black cloud.

  ‘Savidge is behind this – I can see it!’ Tally said in a loud whisper to her sister.

  But the crowd started to cheer – the sound was deafening. The champions smiled and waved as they got ready to leave. In the excitement no one noticed Lady Élanor turn to Wil, she put her hand flat on his dangling leg – it was burning hot but he didn’t pull away.

  ‘Remember what you have been told Wil Calloway and you will come back unscathed - you will go free – I promise you!’

  The deafening cheers of support for the Moon Chase were drowned by loud jeering as Wil passed by - his arms were now wrapped tightly around Olivia. The sound was still ringing in his ears as the hunt finally rode through the town gates towards the open moor land of the Fells.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The Friendless Journey

  A very small part of Wil was actually pleased to be leaving Saran. Despite whatever lay ahead, the sight of the rolling countryside of the Fells and the dark green horizon marking the line of Mistlegard Forest somehow made him feel slightly better because he felt just a bit closer to his home.

  After only a few brief minutes Olivia shifted in the saddle.

  ‘Look, Calloway, you’re going to have to loosen your grip, otherwise I’m going to pass out!’ she said irritably.

  ‘Sorry,’ said Wil, and gingerly loosened his grip as he was jostled along. He tried in vain to grip with his knees – but they just rose higher up the saddle. He was sure that any minute he would topple off sideways. But as his legs got tired, Wil discovered that if he let his legs hang around the horse he actually felt slightly less like he might hit the ground at any moment. He even risked a glance past his foot – it certainly did seem a very long way down.

  The sun was now very low in the sky; clouds billowed overhead hiding and then revealing a silver orb rising slowly into the sky. Lower down towards the sky-line another larger orb inched up through the pink sunset.

  ‘The moons are rising!’ called the only young man riding alone. ‘If this cloud lifts we should have some decent light for the journey … and for the Moon Chase!’

  ‘How long do you think it’ll take us to get there, Mortimer?’ asked a willowy girl who rode confidently, holding her reins in one gloved hand.

  ‘The ground’s still a bit sticky from all that rain last night – I think it’ll take us a couple of hours to get up there tonight, Becky.’

  Behind Becky Lum sat the only other girl in the group – Gisella Fairfax, Wil guessed. He noticed that, unlike her mother, she was quite pretty, but – like her mother - she didn’t smile much.

  ‘Not if we strike out at a gallop now!’ shouted Giles. He was sitting behind a dark young man whose black eyes flashed at Giles’s suggestion.

  ‘I think we’d better save the horses for a while, Giles. One of the shepherds told me this afternoon that there are at least three wolves up there. And anyway, by the look of him, I don’t think our guest has done much riding – let alone galloping!’ said Mortimer.

  ‘By the way he’s squeezing the breath out of me, I’d say he’s never been on a horse before in his life, Emmet!’ wheezed Olivia. Giles seized this bit of news like a prize.

  ‘So, what have you got to say, Calloway – ever ridden a horse in your life before?’ demanded Giles.

  ‘Er, no. No, I haven’t,’ answered Wil, praying that someone would change the subject pretty soon. But Giles jutted-out his chin and sneered.

  ‘Ha! I can’t believe that! My father bought me my first horse before I could walk!’ he bragged. ‘I was jumping Minton Brook before I could talk!’

  ‘That ‘ud be last week then, hey Gilo!’

  A handsome grey horse with a thick arched neck and ears pricked forwards appeared alongside them carrying another two young men - by the look of them, Wil guessed that they were all about his age, maybe a bit older. Both were smiling wickedly. Giles’s humour evaporated. He turned on the rider, who had just spoken.

  ‘Watch what you’re saying, Waller! Don’t forget who bought the saddle your backside is sitting on!’

  Waller’s companion, Will guessed, had to be Leon Beck. He wore a leather doublet with long pockets over his leather and chain-mail and a crossbow slung across one shoulder. From each pocket of his doublet Wil could see the pointed tip of silver crossbow bolt.

  ‘So, did you get any more bolts, Savidge?’ called Leon, who ignored Giles’s sudden mood change.

  Giles’s face broke into a malicious grin.

  ‘Yep – old Draxton wasn’t too happy about giving them to me though – stupid old fool! Reckons I owe him eighteen shilling! I told him my father would pay – shame I forgot to mention it to him!’ he answered.

  Both Savidge and Beck exploded into laughter. Wil was beginning to understand why no one at Lovage Hall liked this arrogant young man.

  ‘So, how many bolts have you got?’ Leon asked Giles.

  ‘Twenty-five – every one sharp as a pin!’ Giles replied.

  Leon raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Hm, I brought fifteen – I recon that’ll be plenty if everyone does their job right - and no-one gets in the way!’

  Giles missed Leon’s pointed reference to Wil and went on, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

  ‘Well at least we haven’t got that oaf, Tanner and his stupid friend, Cae Wheeler. After what happened to me, I can’t believe they still let him hunt!’ he said.

  ‘Cae is good with that bow, mind you,’ said Beck with a very slight note of envy in his voice.

  ‘Huh - I don’t think so! He certainly wasn’t good when I needed him to be!’ objected Giles. ‘Father tried very hard to have him thrown off the hunt but that blasted Mortens, the ever sooo Grand Wizen – wouldn’t hear of it!’

  The party rode along in silence for quite a while. The night closed in around them; each deep in thought. Either side of the group five Fellhounds lolloped along, covering the ground easily with their big, rangy strides. Occasionally one would stop to sniff the air before springing off again after its master.

  Wil’s arms stayed clamped around Olivia.

  At last, the clouds lifted, revealing a huge expanse of darkness, speckled with bright stars. Two bright moons glowed high in the sky.

  The black shape of a large bird darted across one of the moons, turned a somersault and, seconds later, landed only a few feet away on a large rock.

  ‘Crronk, Crronk,’ it said as they passed by.

  ‘Erch, crows. I hate crows!’ said Olivia and steered her horse in a wide arch past the raven. ‘They eat dead things – eew!’

  Wil smiled in the darkness.

  ‘Pricilla,’ he muttered under his breath, delighted to finally see a friendly face.

  ‘What did you say?’ demanded Olivia.

  ‘Oh, eh, I said, “Still here” – I’m still here - in case you thought I might have fallen off or anything,’ Wil answered, cringing.

&nb
sp; ‘Look Calloway, there is no way that I could possibly have suspected that you might not still be behind me – my crushed rib cage is a constant reminder,’ Olivia retorted.

  ‘If you are going to remind us regularly that you are still with us it’s going to be a very long night!’

  ‘Sorry,’ said Wil and with a smile he watched Pricilla launch into the sky, tumble across both moons and disappear into the black night.

  After what seemed to Wil’s thighs like hours, Mortimer reined in his horse and put his hand up for everyone to halt.

  ‘This is it!’ he announced in a voice edged with excitement. ‘We’ll make camp and go up to Tel Harion from here.’

  Wil looked around. Huge rocks loomed out of the darkness towards them. Nearby a small copse of ancient pine trees rustled in the late evening breeze – a crop of cones already scattered on the ground below.

  Mortimer was first to dismount.

  ‘MacPhee, can you get a fire going? We don’t want to attract any stray wolves down here before we’re ready!’ he said as he tethered his horse to a nearby bush.

  Emmet MacPhee jumped to the ground and lopped off into the darkness. Giles was already swaggering around as if he owned the Fells.

  ‘We really should get father to employ someone to come with us on these hunts – someone else should be doing all this boring stuff before we get here! I’m starving – anyone got any food?’

  ‘Honestly, Giles, how many times have we told you – you really do need to bring some food with you!’ scolded Olivia. But she dismounted and, with an affectionate smile, handed over a small bag. Giles plunged his hand straight in and pulled out a loaf of bread. Then, without asking, he took a huge bite from the middle.

  ‘That was supposed to be for both of us, Giles!’

  Giles ignored Olivia’s hurt look and took another enormous bite, then opened his mouth wide to show her the half-chewed bread.