The Cold Light Fades - Book 1 of the Crystal Chronicles

Chapter Fourteen - The Snowy Village

Linta stared in wonder as the two boys wolfed down their stew. She could not understand how they managed to find time to chew, swallow and breathe, while quickly shovelling in the hot food.

While the boys were eating, Garlent and Deltain had begun to construct a litter to carry Narlia. They had also started to pile up any supplies they had come across near the campfire.

"Do you think we still have enough food to get us to Antar?" Linta asked Narlia who was eyeing the small pile of sacks suspiciously.

"I don't think so my child," Narlia said softly as she lay on the thick shaggy blanket near the crackling fire. "The problem is that a lot of the things we have left are pretty useless without the correct equipment."

Linta looked blankly at the bandaged woman as she failed to comprehend what she meant.

"What would be the point of having a bag full of wheat without a millstone to grind it down?" Narlia said to the confused girl.

"Oh, I understand now," Linta replied and she felt her cheeks redden slightly.

"We'll be lucky to last more than a couple of days at the most," Narlia said, and she grimaced as she shifted her broken arm.

"Is there somewhere else nearby that we could go, to get more food?" Alesson said between mouthfuls.

Narlia gestured towards Garlent's map, which was laid out on another grey blanket. "There's a village at the end of the gorge but it really does depend on how long it will take us to climb out of these caves."

"Has the Soul given you any idea of how long it will take, Linta?" Alesson asked his sister.

"No, all it's said is that it can get us out of here," Linta answered regretfully. "Hasn't it said anything to you?"

"Not since the fight with the dragon," Alesson replied. "I think it's still angry with me."

"That's strange. The Soul told me that it was guiding you back here to meet us," Linta said puzzled.

Alesson fell silent and then his head shot up suddenly and his eyes lit up. "There were a couple of times when I felt something, a kind of confident suggestion when I looked at certain tunnels. Maybe the souls not that angry at me after all, but I do wish that I could talk to it and say sorry for acting like a spoilt child."

"Apology accepted," the smooth voice said and Linta saw that Alesson had heard the Soul's words as well.

"Thank you." Alesson said aloud which caused Rakk and Narlia to look at him strangely because they were unable to hear the voice.

"Don't worry. My brother's not gone crazy," Linta said happily. "He's just resolved his little squabble with our guide finally."

Alesson sighed and grinned back at his sister, he looked relieved, and he seemed to relax until a twinge of pain made the prince grimace.

Rakk finished his stew, stood up and then he stretched and looked over at Garlent and Deltain.

"I'm going to go see if they need any help. Alesson you better let the ladies have a look at your injured ribs," Rakk said as he pointed at the boy's sore ribcage.

Linta quickly patched up her brother's ribs under the tutorage of Narlia and she also gave him some of Lar's special medicine to help deal with the pain. Alesson seemed to perk right up, and he too got to his feet to help extract supplies from the pile of rubble.

The princess watched keenly as Alesson and Deltain pulled out various packs and presented them to the ailing Narlia, who would either dismiss or accept the offering. Linta marvelled at how the plump lady could organise their left-over resources, especially considering how pale and worn out she looked.