Magic Astray (The Llandra Saga) Read Free Page B

answered with another grin.
    “Show me!” Eamon ordered excitedly. “I wanna see him do something!”
    “Berry’s a friend, not a pet,” Randall chided. “He doesn’t do tricks. Now c’mon, let’s get this log off the road. We’ve got a long way to go before reaching Shaderest.”
     

Chapter 2
    Eamon kept a respectful distance as they traveled toward Paranol. He had begun the journey with enthusiasm, but now that they were on the road, he hung back several paces, keeping his distance. Must be having second thoughts, Randall mused as he looked back over his shoulder to see the troubled and somewhat puzzled expression on the young man’s face. Well, whatever’s on his mind, he’ll spit it out sooner or later.
    Randall and Berry were content to travel in silence. At one time, Randall might have been excited to have someone on the road that he could talk with. He couldn’t really hold a conversation with Berry; he didn’t know nearly enough of the donnan’s language to keep up any kind of decent conversation. Not that the sprite seemed to be interested in the same kinds of things that Randall wanted to talk about, anyway. But the years of living off the land had made their mark on Randall, and he had grown to love the peace and serenity that came from keeping one’s own counsel without feeling the need to fill the silence with needless chatter.
    After another hour’s travel, Eamon finally broke the silence. “Hey! Aren’t we going to take a break, or did you plan on trying to walk all the way to Shaderest forest in one day? My feet are killing me,” he wheezed, out of breath.
    Randall stopped, puzzled for a moment. His feet were fine. Eamon seemed fit enough, so why did he sound so exhausted? Then the realization hit him: Erliand’s healing talisman! He carried it constantly under his tunic, and had grown so used to its effects that he had completely forgotten that most people couldn’t travel from sun-up until sun-down, only taking short breaks for meals.
    “Sure,” Randall said as he moved off the road. “Now’s as good a time as any to break for dinner, I suppose.”
    “You’re not tired?” Eamon panted. There were patches of sweat soaking through the armpits of his tunic, and he sounded slightly out of breath.
    “Not really,” Randall replied. “I can pretty much walk all day. You’re going to have to speak up and tell me when you’re getting tired, because if you’re going to make this entire journey hanging back like some kind of scared puppy, I’m not going to notice when you’ve over-exerted yourself.”
    Eamon nodded and followed Randall off the path, sitting down heavily in the grass and lying back, his arms spread wide and his chest expanding as he took in deep lungs full of breath.
    “Berry, why don’t you find us something good to put in the stew while our friend here catches his breath,” Randall said.
    Berry chittered excitedly and scrambled down from his customary spot on Randall’s shoulder. Randall had grown to trust the imp’s judgment when it came to ingredients. He didn’t always know the different plants and tubers that the donnan brought back, but they almost always made a welcome addition to the stew pot. Well, almost always, anyway.
    “Hey, Berry,” he called out, causing the donnan to stop in his tracks and look over his shoulder. “No bugs this time.”
    Berry chittered and stuck out his tongue before scampering off to look for food. Randall busied himself with making camp and starting a fire as Eamon watched from his resting place. It seemed clear to Randall that the boy still had something on his mind, but hadn’t yet gotten up the courage to speak about it.
    After a few moments of watching in silence, Eamon cleared his throat and sat up. “I have a question.”
    Randall suppressed a grin—he knew Eamon would break eventually. He remembered his first trip from Geldorn, newly apprenticed to Erliand and buzzing with questions but too afraid to speak.