Read Etherwalker for Free Online

and he found it easy to maintain the cool serenity of pensa spada .
    Master Gershom nodded and tilted his head to the other side. His eyes were closed.
    “How far away?”
    “Hard to say. I don’t hear footsteps, man or muridon.”
    “Rewn’s Fork is aflame.”
    Enoch turned his head. Sure enough, the clouds far to the south seemed strangely low and heavy. There was a flash, and their dark bellies flickered orange and red. The light played across Master Gershom’s features, and his shadowed eyes slowly opened.
    “Raiders. Or worse. They’ll be burning the eastern farms next. Quickly, let the animals loose. Go to the stream and wait for me on the bank where it passes the large saproot. Go.”
    Enoch sprinted to the fence and unhooked the latch, letting the gate swing wide. The sheep, now fully awake and nervous, crowded into the back corner of the fold. Enoch ran toward them, waving his arms and hissing, as first one, then the entire flock poured around him and out. They milled around the side of the cottage for a few seconds until he was able to get them moving towards the open hills to the west. Hopefully they’d be safe foraging through the blue pine scrub until this danger passed over.
    Gritting his teeth against the odd thought, Enoch changed his mind and ran around to the front of the herd. Now he pushed them toward the forest, scattering them into the verdant darkness in little groups of two and three.
    Raiders will be hard pressed to find two people in a forest full of skittish sheep.
    And another thought froze him in his tracks.
    Why do I assume they are hunting us?
    Disregarding the thought, Enoch plunged ahead, avoiding the path and weaving a serpentine trail through closely growing trees as his master had taught him. As soon as he could hear the gurgling sound of the stream, he cut left toward the ghost shapes of the white mountains visible through the trees.
    He reached the looming shadow of the saproot and collapsed as his afilia nubla slipped back into its subconscious lair. Panting heavily, Enoch looked down to find that he had torn the skin on the side of his right foot as he ran. It wasn’t too deep—his feet were tough and well-calloused—but he pressed a fallen leaf against it anyway to prevent the wound from leaving a trail of blood. The leaf stuck, although it did sting a little. Master Gershom had still not arrived. Enoch’s last recollection was of seeing him bolt toward the house.
    Where is he?
    Thinking quickly, the boy leapt to his feet and grabbed the branch nearest him. He swung himself up and then grabbed the next branch—long summers of climbing now proved to be of some use. In a matter of seconds, he was near the top and could see over the other trees all the way to the cottage. It looked small and cold, huddling alone in the distance.
    His gaze moved upwards at some half-imagined movement, and then he saw them . Two shapes in the night sky, blacker than the blackness surrounding them, and swiftly growing larger. As they swept low over the trees, he had to choke back a gasp. Each of the beasts was at least twice as long as the inn at Rewn’s Fork.
    As he watched, one of the beasts swung off to the west.
    Old Aaron Kaspit’s farm is at the fork of the stream over the next hill. I hope he is sleeping lightly tonight.
    The other beast continued on toward him. In another few seconds it would be upon the house, and Master Gershom had still not emerged.
    What is taking him so long?
    Enoch tightly gripped the branch under him as the beast buzzed over the thatch roof, the nearby trees bending under the hellish wind of its approach. From his perch high in the tree, Enoch could see movement all along the ebony back. A man, no—nearly a dozen men in black armor rode astride the creature, and one of them held something glittering in a raised gauntlet.
    The beast circled around, forcing Enoch to cling to the branch, praying that he wouldn’t be seen. As it passed over the house again, he saw