Ravenwild: Book 01 - Ravenwild (9 page)

Meanwhile, Erik, who had not spoken for the longest time, said, “Come away with me, Stephanie. Right now. You’ll love it. I’m a prince in a land called Ravenwild. You’ll meet my father and mother, the King and Queen. My people. You’ll get to see how we live. Our struggle. If it doesn’t suit you, merely speak the words, ‘I want to go home,’ thrice, and you’ll be right back here just one breath older than when we left. Let’s go for it.

“By the way, my family name is Fairman.”

He looked at her … with such …. longing.

She didn’t know what overcame her, but she found herself saying, “All right. I’ll do it.”

“Are you completely sure?” Erik asked. “I don’t want you to feel that I’m twisting your arm or anything.”

She laughed nervously.

“Will I need to bring anything?”

It was his turn to laugh. His didn’t sound nervous at all, but happy and confident. “Nothing, no nothing. I’m a prince, remember?”

“Yes. Yes of course,” she said.

There was a sudden flash with no light.

She found herself seated in what appeared to be a small hut. Through the open door she could see that it was daylight. It was warm.

She was wearing clothes the like of which she had never worn. It was some sort of what she presumed must be a riding outfit. The top was a fairly straight cut blouse, the palest of yellows, fastened high in the neck with the most exquisite handmade buttons that extended all the way down the front to the waist, where it was gathered in by a soft leather belt with an unusual buckle that appeared to be made of bone. Over her legs she wore soft tan pants that appeared to be some sort of skin. On her feet she wore high-laced moccasins with no sole. She noticed that in a sheath on her belt was a dagger of some sort with a long blade of about 8 inches. There was one in each of her moccasins as well.

Beside her in the hut, leaning up against the wall, was a sword that looked like it might be her size. The handle looked to be made of wound silver thread, and projecting out of the grips were slightly raised symbols. Strange symbols. And a face with ears that were pointed, like hers. As she focused on it she could have sworn she heard it whisper something to her, but it was in a language she did not understand. She shifted her gaze. Beside the sword was a solid ash bow that, again, looked like it might be just right for her, and a quiver of arrows.

She noticed that Erik was nowhere in sight. She called his name out softly.

“Out here,” he called back. His voice was so charming, so expressive, and full of the enthusiasm of youth. It was as though exiting this simple hut to join him was the most important thing she had ever done, and for the first time in her 15 years Stephanie Doreen Strong knew what it was to feel rapture. She embraced it, wrapping it about her like a protective cloak, and walked tall and strong out to her first glimpse of …

Ravenwild.

She noticed that the hut was set at the edge of a well-maintained dirt path that served as the border of a huge garden in which grew an abundance of crops. She spied corn, beans, all kinds of tomatoes, eggplants, beets, cauliflower, and several other vegetables she did not recognize. The garden, like the surrounding dirt path, appeared well cared for. But what struck her fancy a thousandfold over her delight at seeing the beauty and richness of the well-tended crops were the two horses being held by Erik. Both were huge and would have towered over the two horses she had at home.

“Stephanie, please meet Cloud and Spirit.” To her astonishment, as he spoke their names each clearly nodded in response. “I give you Spirit, to have for as long as you remain in Ravenwild.”

He let go of the reins and the horse walked calmly over to her. She reached out to pat her neck, and Spirit nuzzled her over what turned out to be a small pocket in her blouse in which she found an assortment of treats, one of which she accepted and happily crunched away, after which she thanked her with a low nicker.

“Well, my beautiful girl,” she whispered, wrapping herself around her neck, “I’m delighted to meet you.”

“Okay,” said Erik, “Let’s get you into your gear.”

“What gear?”

“The things in the tent. They too are yours, for as long as you choose to stay.”

Out of the blue Stephanie felt a pang of homesickness, for while this was the most astounding sequence of events she found unfolding around her, and truly enthralling, she found herself wishing that she had waited. Clearly her family should be a part of this.

Her face must have shown a fairly accurate representation of what she was feeling inside, for when she looked up into Erik’s eyes, he seemed to know.

“Hey there,” he said gently, “Remember, all you have to do is say ‘I want to go home’ three times, out loud, and you will be right back home with your family, asleep in your bed. Not to worry.”

“But would I be able to come back again and bring them?”

“Not the way I understand it,” he returned, “unless, of course, this is where they choose to come on
their
adventure. Remember, the whole point of it is so that you guys all know it is real, because you have to, and then your Mom and Dad have to decide if the mission to save Hemlock’s people from going extinct is something they are willing to do. See, because when
they
go on
their
way, they will not be able to return by saying, ‘I want to go home’ three times. They will go in the presence of Hemlock, and he will be responsible for transporting them back with the thing he uses to make the travel thing possible in the first place.”

“Hmmm,” said Stephanie, entirely unsure as to what to do.

“Tell you what,” said Erik, “let’s get your gear on and ride on over to the castle. I would like for you to at least meet my Mom and Dad. They
are
the King and Queen after all, and how often do you get to meet the King and Queen of a country in a different universe, and who live in a castle?”

“Sure, why not,” said Stephanie, feeling torn in two different directions. “Why do I need to get that stuff on, anyway?”

“Well, first of all, they are my gifts to you, as with Spirit.” Spirit nickered softly, and Stephanie patted her on the neck, giving her another treat. “And secondly, there is no such thing as being completely safe here in Ravenwild. Not that
you
are ever really unsafe, because you can always get out of anything by saying what you need to say and, poof, you’re gone. But the plain truth is we are a nation at war. And we have always been at war, with two nations much larger than ours. They are called Slova and Vultura, and even though we are in the very middle of Ravenwild, and as safe as it gets with only a short ride to our capital city of Belcourt, there are always a few spies about, either Gnomes or Trolls, and you never know when you’re going to have to either defend yourself or outrun someone.”

“Come on,” said Stephanie, as they moved towards the hut’s entrance. “Real Gnomes and Trolls.”

“Uh-huh.”

He noted Stephanie’s look of incredulity and added, “I’m not kidding.”

He helped her put on her broadsword. The baldric slipped over her shoulders and fit perfectly. The sword was now mounted on her back, which would allow her to draw it easily even while she managed the reins. He also showed her how to fasten her longbow on her right hip with a fastener that was part of the saddle, and her quiver of arrows on her left. In no time, they were mounted and ready to ride.

“How do I look?” she blurted out awkwardly.

He laughed that easy, relaxed laugh of his and said, “It is impossible for one to look any more like a warrior princess than you do right now. Okay, my warrior Princess. Follow me. And remember to keep a sharp eye out.”

“Right,” she thought, “For Gnomes, and Trolls. Yeah, sure …”

Chapter 5

Blake and Orie were sitting with Hemlock in the kitchen. They, unlike Stephanie, had slept through the night. Orie was speaking.

“So, you’re telling us that we can journey through time to anywhere, and be gone for as long as we want and, when we say we’ve had enough, we will be transported right back here only one breath older than we were when we left, and everybody else will still be right there in bed, and the next morning we will wake up normally, all together.”

Hemlock, although he had explained the concept several times now, showed no sign of impatience and merely said, “That is perfectly right, my boy. Perfectly right.”

Orie glanced at his father, the look on his face saying he didn’t believe a word of this.

“This is too unreal to be even close to true. What are the chances? Dad, tell me what’s going on here.”

“Son, I’ve been a lot of places and seen a lot of strange things, but this redefines the concept of strange. Sheesh. I have no idea. None.”

“Well, if nothing else, you have rendered my dad speechless,” said Orie. “That …”

He was interrupted by the arrival of Jessica with Jacqueline in-tow.

“Good morning,” each said. Jessica and Blake embraced, and Jessica planted a kiss on Orie’s head. “Where’s Stephanie?” asked Jacqueline. “She’s always up before any of us.”

Hemlock answered her. “Stephanie has chosen to go to a place called Ravenwild. She met a young lad named Erik, whom I brought here earlier this morning, and decided to visit his land. He is a prince in the house of Fairman, and a thoroughly good boy. I am sure they are getting along famously.”

He was clearly more than a little surprised when Jessica was suddenly in his face, grabbing him savagely by the front of his robe.

“What do you mean she decided to visit his land? She’s fifteen years old, for the love of Michael! Who do think you are, letting her go off like that on her own? You had no right!”

It was a very tense moment in the Strong household, Jessica and the wizardly appearing Hemlock nose to nose, her face the picture of rage.

Hemlock did very well, though. He didn’t engage her anger in any way and, in the blink of an eye, he was entirely disengaged from her, and Jessica was seated in a nearby chair with Jacqueline on her lap.

Hemlock smoothed his robe and spoke quietly. “As I explained earlier, the only purpose of this preemptive travel adventure is to convince you of the reality of the technology. If I could please take the liberty of reminding you that the very future of my entire race of people hangs in the balance, and without you, or some others with talents and abilities equal to yours, my people are doomed. Extinct. Done. We’ve been over this.

“Let me say, again, these brief trips are entirely safe. I say that with a one hundred percent ironclad guarantee. And finally, if you choose, you can go to her right now and all be together, and come home the instant you wish.”

“Why can’t you just bring her back?” asked Jessica.

“That,” replied Hemlock, “I cannot do. Either she has to will it, or you have to go and get her. To do as you ask is not possible but, again, she is in no danger. She is with a young lad of about her own age who is a perfect gentleman, and will come to no harm. You have my oath on it as a wizard-of-the-first-school.”

“What does that mean?” asked Jacqueline, “A wizard-of-the-first-school. Do wizards have to go to wizard school, like in
Harry Potter
and Hogwarts?”

“Well, yes we do, as a matter of fact. But it is not quite the same as Hogwarts. Similar enough, though. For example, your father is board-certified in Emergency Medicine. He, you might say, is an Emergency Medicine doctor of the first school. That is to say, there is no Emergency Medicine schooling higher than what he achieved. Same with me, sort of. There is no more wizard training I can receive under another wizard. Once one achieves wizard-of-the-first-school, the rest of what one learns is by self-study. And, of course, one would be expected to bring the younger wizards along, but there are presently not a lot of young wizards to teach, only a handful, really. Anyway, hopefully, your Mom and Dad will help me to fix that. Meanwhile, do you wish to visit Stephanie in Ravenwild? You have merely to ask, and I shall make it so.”

“Stupid Stephanie,” said Orie. “I can’t believe she just took off like that without even asking us. Now
we
have to go there. We could have gone anywhere, anytime.” He shook his head in disgust.

“I know it,” echoed Jacqueline. “Stupid Stephanie.”

“Now, now,” said Jessica. “We’ll have none of that. It is true that she should have waited so that we could all go together, but there is no use crying over spilt milk. Hemlock, how soon can you get us there?”

“Wait a minute, Mom,” broke in Orie. “We need to talk about his. Do we all need to go there to get her? Hemlock said she was perfectly safe. Why can’t you and Jacqueline go get her, and then Dad and I could go somewhere else. Jacqueline, you want to go with Mom, right?”

“Duh,” said Jacqueline, rolling her eyes.

“Orie, don’t be ridiculous,” snapped his mother. She nodded in Hemlock’s direction. “We don’t know who this is. We are clueless about this. No disrespect intended. If one goes, we all go. And we are
all
going. And we are all going
now
. I won’t have it any other way. Help me out here, Blake.” She looked at him with a look that said, “This is the way it’s going to be. Period.”