His roaring laughter filled the air as he clapped Taran on the shoulder. “I may know how to forge a fine weapon, but ye know best how to wield it. May the good Lord grant us the luck not to need it during our travels. Still, it puts my mind at ease knowin’ ye’ve got it, just in case the winds turn foul.”
Taran turned the sword over and over in his hands. “I ken ye’ve hoarded bits of steel for years, but I never dreamed… ’Tis the finest thing I’ve ever seen. The engraving. The hilt. I dinnae ken how tae thank ye. Ye’ve been hiding yer talents, my friend.”
“There’s far more need for the practical side of my talents in this place. A good cooking pot outweighs a bit of shiny steel any day.”
“A sad truth, for sure. What about you?” Taran asked, barely able to tear his gaze from the sword. “Have ye something like this for yerself?”
“I have what I need,” Finn stated, putting one hand on a wicked-looking knife and the other on a small double-edged hatchet, both hanging from his thick belt.
“Aye,” Taran grinned. “I ken ye do.” He glanced at Noah. “I ken ye both do.”
Paige stepped out of the cottage with a small hide-wrapped bundle while Brody followed, his small arms grasping a leather water flask.
“I’m sorry, Da, but I cannae go with you,” Brody said solemnly as he handed the flask to his father. “Ma said she needs me to stay and take care of the women.”
Noah hid his smile as he watched the interchange. Brody was so much the image of Taran in every way it was almost eerie. He had no doubt he’d fill the assigned role to the best of his five-year-old ability.
“It eases my mind tae ken ye’ll be here, watchin’ over ’em,” Taran replied, kneeling to give his son a handshake before pulling him to his chest for a farewell embrace.
When he stood, Paige moved into his arms, the two of them whispering private words to one another.
Noah wondered, not for the first time, what it must be like to love and be loved so fully. He knew what it was to love his family, deeply and completely. But the love between a man and woman…it must be a different kind of love, indeed. Perhaps someday he would find it. He prayed if he did, it would be as deep and enduring as Taran and Paige’s.
“’Tis but a temporary goodbye, Love,” Taran said as they separated. “I’ll be back as soon as we’ve found the answers we need.”
Paige stepped back and placed a hand on Brody’s shoulder, blinking back the glimmer of tears in her eyes. “Safe travels. All of you.”
None of them voiced the fact that no one had ever returned from this quest.
As they gathered the last of their packs and turned toward the distant, unknown southern mountains, Noah heard her parting words. “Come back to us.”
Taran stoodat the edge of the tree line, his expression carved from stone. “Once we’re inside, we move fast, we move quiet. Understood?”
Finn and Noah exchanged a look before nodding, then followed Taran past what they considered the safety zone, into the forest and the unknown territory The Others were suspected to occupy.
Noah had barely ventured into the untamed wilds beyond Havenwood to hunt or trap. Never had he penetrated this deep. Tales of The Others kept the men of the village vigilant and on guard. And out of the deep parts of the forest.
Despite posted sentries, there’d been regular thefts in the village, stolen and destroyed crops, all presumed to be the work of The Others. But no one had been seen or caught since the encounter with their leader, Cam, and ironically enough, Paige’s brother, Austin, six years ago.
Paige and Taran were here because of her search for Austin, who’d ultimately abandoned her. Noah had heard the story often enough to know Paige’s devastation. She loved Austin as much as he loved Emily. She’d never stopped hoping he’d want to be part of her family again.
She and Taran had stumbled onto the portal that brought Austin, and later them, here. But despite all their subsequent searches, they couldn’t rediscover the opening. Finally, they’d given up and embraced Havenwood and its inhabitants and built a life here. A happy one. They had each other, friends, and a family Noah felt lucky enough to be part of.
According to them, there was little more a person could want. Not until now. Not until staying in this world could mean losing Emily.
Moving as quietly as possible in single file, Noah followed Taran through the forest as Finn brought up the rear. The dense woodland seemed to take on a life of its own, closing in, swallowing the light, leaving the air thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying foliage.
Though Taran had taken advantage of a narrow game trail, they were taunted by the unsettling sounds of something moving just out of sight, beyond the branches that seemed to clutch at them as they passed.
Noah’s instinct was to tighten his grip on the hilt of his knife since there wasn’t sufficient room to expand his bow, but it took both hands to push through the thick underbrush.
At the outset, Taran had set a steady pace, but the deeper they penetrated the forest, the slower their progress became. Behind him, Noah heard Finn’s occasional grunt or mumbled curse as he, like Taran and Noah, fought his way through the forest.
Suddenly, Taran paused in an area Noah deemed too small to be called an opening. Signaling for silence, Taran indicated they should stand back-to-back, though there was barely room for the three of them to do so. When he pulled out his dirk, they followed suit.
Listening intently to the sounds of the forest, Noah strained to separate and identify each one, alert for anything that seemed out of place, knowing Taran and Finn were doing the same.
Time stood still. The sounds that had been moving around them like a vortex abruptly stopped. Finn gripped the handle of both blade and hatchet. “I don’t like this.”
