Kenton shook his head. ‘Not so much. The Harths have a bunch of sliding walls built into their keep. Apparently, Janak can change the layout half a hundred times in an hour.’
‘Ah,’ Annev said, ‘we’ll be on our own once we’re inside.’ Annev wondered if Sraon would have a solution to that problem. Thinking of the man, Annev looked past the celebrating villagers towards the smith’s shop. In the fading light and from this distance, he couldn’t see much of the open-air smithy, but he glimpsed enough to confirm the forge fires were cold and Sraon was gone, likely attending Sodar’s Regaleus service.
‘What about the outside?’ Annev asked, turning back.
‘Huh?’
‘Can it move, too, or does it stay the same?’
‘The same, I guess.’
‘So we just need to find the right place to enter. The interior walls might move, but it takes more effort to shift a whole room.’
Kenton grunted. ‘True.’
Annev nudged his horse towards Kenton. ‘When we get there, we’ll survey the place. Discuss what we see and decide where to enter. After that, can I trust you to follow me?’
Kenton studied him then slowly nodded. ‘For now, I’ll follow you.’
Annev smiled, pleased to win his companion’s support, and saw Fyn returning with three pitch-soaked torches.
‘Here are your damned torches,’ Fyn said, passing the first to Kenton and the second to Annev. ‘Can we go now?’
‘Of course,’ Annev said. ‘Thank you, Fyn.’ Before the boy could toss off a reply, Annev looked to Kenton. ‘Which way?’
The dark-haired avatar pointed towards the setting sun and the trees surrounding the village. ‘We ride for the hill. It’s five miles before we leave the Brake and another six to Banok.’ He looked at their unlit torches. ‘Now that I think about it, we should take lanterns. These will be fine in the Brake, but once we leave the wood we’ll be visible.’
‘The light will be visible from miles away,’ Annev agreed.
Kenton nodded. ‘We could douse them, but we’ll be travelling over rough terrain. Lamps would be helpful in the castle, too. Keyish said it’s nearly as large as the Academy.’
Fyn huffed. ‘If you want a lantern,’ he said, mounting his speckled gelding, ‘you can get it yourself.’
Annev considered it then realised he had the answer in his saddlebags. ‘Don’t worry about it,’ he said, wheeling his horse about. ‘I’ve got a solution in my pack. Let’s go.’
The sun had sunk beneath the horizon by the time they entered the forest, and Annev worried that the shadows would lengthen their path, as they often did around dusk and dawn. But this part of the Brake was thin compared to the eastern side, and its peculiar magic was less powerful. They’d gone north-west a quarter of a mile when Annev called a halt next to a small hill overlooking the village. He asked Kenton to bring out his torch then, and its light was enough to illuminate the path for all three of them. As they passed the western hill, Annev noted the standing stones that marked the perimeter of the village and realised he’d never been this far west in his life. A similar thought seemed to strike the other boys, for they looked at each other in a rare moment of fellowship.
They rode three abreast through the forest with Kenton in the middle, and for the first half-hour Annev stayed taut as a bow string, his eyes searching for signs of the feurog or other monsters that could be hunting them. When nothing manifested, he began to relax, allowing himself to enjoy the thrill of this new adventure.
With the Brake’s shadow magic drawing out their pace, it took an hour to escape the Brakewood’s treeline. Once they did, Kenton snuffed his torch and they climbed a large hill overlooking a wide plain. Annev crested the hill first and Fyn and Kenton pulled up beside him.
Together, for the first time in their lives, they gazed at the world beyond Chaenbalu.
Chapter Fifty-Two
The wide plains of Daroea stretched away in all directions ahead, barely illuminated by the afterlight of sunset. Though night had come, Annev could still make out the shadowy copses of trees that dotted the landscape, gradually growing in size and density to the north and south. He could also see the shadowed walls of Banok ahead of them, yet his eyes drifted west, away from their destination and towards the silhouette of a much larger town perhaps a dozen miles away.
Not a town, he realised. A city. The capital city – Luqura.
Annev stared at the distant lights for a long moment then reluctantly turned away. Farther south the land became hillier and more forested, the thickets merging to form a dense wall of trees. A wide road from Luqura skirted the forest and then dived straight into the trees, forming the line that separated the Vosgar from the Brakewood.
To the north, wide plains extended beyond the Brake and Banok until a dense swathe of foliage sprang up in the north-east. In the dusky light, this new forest appeared a spring green, with bright dots of colour that might have been flowers or fruit. Annev blinked, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Kenton nodded at the wood. ‘That’s Fertil Hedge. Master Keyish says it’s haunted: the forest is always in bloom and fruit constantly hangs from its boughs.’
Fyn laughed, swinging his dreadlocks out of his face. ‘Doesn’t sound so bad.’
‘The ghosts keep the trees in fruit to lure in travellers.’
Fyn rolled his eyes in response while Annev turned in his saddle to see the extent of the green forest. ‘It looks almost as large as the Brake.’
‘It’s three times as large. About half as big as the Vosgar. You can’t see, but it extends all the way to Paldron.’
‘And it’s all haunted?’ Fyn said, his tone mocking.
Kenton shrugged. ‘Folum said something about Druids, too. It doesn’t matter, though. We’re headed to Banok.’
Annev turned back to the town a few miles ahead. ‘That’s right,’ he said, ‘and that means we need light – something they won’t see coming.’ Only a last band of reddish-pink remained at the horizon and the stars were coming out overhead.
Annev hoped he was making the right decision as he reached into his saddlebags and pulled out the phoenix carving. He placed his thumbs on the feather and the flame, preparing to twist … then stopped. The boys eyed him, curious. Instead of surprising them both by turning on the lantern, Annev tossed the block of wood to Kenton.
‘What is this? Why are you giving it to me?’
‘It’s a lighted puzzle box,’ Annev said, remembering Crag’s name for the artifact. ‘See if you can get it to work.’
Kenton stared at the carving, his fingers tracing its lines. ‘This feels …’ He looked at Annev, a single eyebrow raised. Annev nodded, wanting to see what Kenton would do.
The dark-haired avatar closed his eyes and ran his hands over the block of wood for the second time. His fingers slowed as they reached the feather within the flame. He prodded the unseen button, sensing its purpose but not knowing how to activate it.
‘Here,’ Annev said, extending his hand. ‘I’ll show—’
Kenton twisted the artifact and light blazed from the phoenix lantern.