Valkeryn 2: The Dark Lands Read Free Page A

stone in his hand, so he stood and threw it over the edge of the precipice, watching it sail outwards, then arc down towards the ground thousands of feet below. He didn’t expect to hear when it struck the valley floor.
    A small figure immediately appeared beside him. ‘That was a good throw. I think I could do that.’
    Arn looked down. Grimson stood there with his hands on his hips, looking like some sort of jerkin-wearing Boy Scout in a Halloween mask. Except it was no mask. The boy, or rather the Wolfen creature, was, or had been, the prince of a mighty kingdom. His care was now entrusted to Arn, by the king… of a kingdom that by now had probably been overrun by creatures from some lunatic’s nightmare.
    ‘Be my guest.’
    Arn picked up another stone, tossed it to him, and stood back watching the Wolfen as he drew his arm back. Grimson’s fur shone in the morning sunlight, and his silver-blue eyes stayed on Arn with an evenness that was confident, honest and sharp. They were the eyes of a hunter, a noble born, and a warrior.
    It was hard to hold the gaze of the young Wolfen and he looked away. The eyes haunted Arn, because they reminded him of the Valkeryn princess, Eilif. He felt a pang of regret, and a deep loneliness. Never had he met someone, some- thing , like her. She had disturbed and attracted him in equal measures. He had thought of her as a friend… but still couldn’t stop thinking of her as something, more. Could someone love another who is so different? No, impossible , he thought, and flung another rock. Gone now, all gone.
    ‘Are you watching, Arnoddr?’ Grimson held his arm cocked, obviously waiting for an audience
    ‘Huh?’ Arn blinked and looked at the youth. He smiled a nd motioned with his arm to the cliff edge. ‘Let her rip.’
    Grimson frowned. ‘Let her rip?”
    Arn shook his head. ‘Uhh, I mean, go on… throw it.’
    Grimson’s arm swung forward and the small stone disappeared over the cliff edge, travelling about a third as far as Arn’s. The Wolfen walked to the edge and peered down, following the tiny object with his keen eyes until it finally disappeared into the lumpy green treetops thousands of feet below. He turned and nodded. ‘Hmm, yes. I think it went a little further than yours.’ He wiped his hands on his pants and planted them on his hips. ‘I’m hungry. Can we hunt now?’
    Arn looked along the path, and then down. ‘Yep, but first we need to get down there.’
    Grimson stepped even closer to the edge and looked down over the precipice. His eyes moved over the landscape, as if seeing through the thick canopy of trees to what lay below. When he turned to Arn, his face was stony.
    ‘That’s the start of the Dark Lands. There are… things, in there.’
    Arn laughed, slapping the youth on the shoulder, and holding on to pull him back a step.
    ‘And there are things up here. They’re called Arn and Grimson, and there be no creatures more fearsome in lands dark or light. Shall we make our way down, and scare some small things onto our plates?’
    Grimson laughed, his trepidation forgotten. ‘Some large things would be even better.’
    The pair edged along the narrow path for another hour, sometimes moving just inches at a time with their backs to the rock face where the path was little more than a foot-span across. Arn closed his eyes for a moment, his foot almost daring him to step forward, knowing that one slip would mean all his fears, pressures and troubles would be over.
    A small hand nudged his, and he looked down to see Grimson urging him on, a grin splitting the Wolfen’s face. Just like a human boy, for him this was an adventure, and every day meant something new and exciting. Arn continued to shuffle along, forgetting his selfishness; he had bigger responsibilities now.
    Slowly, slowly they moved around a bulge of dark granite and then abruptly, the path ceased to exist.
    ‘Crap.’
    An ancient rock fall had scoured the side of the mountain clean