Possessing the Grimstone - By John Grover Page 0,15
into the wild. Ride through the Wizened Forest and you will be on the path to Cardoon.”
“Yes, M’lady.” He bowed to her.
She tussled his hair, and watched him run. When she stepped from the orphanage, she stumbled, feeling dizzy. Sweat was forming on her brow. A sharp pain gnawed at the pit of her stomach. “I must take to my bed. The sickness returns.”
###
“That we can run on water and leap over trees are just stories, too, aren’t they?” Ono’s words replayed in Pim’s mind. He stared out his window into the darkness. They sky was shrouded in dark clouds. It had been a while since he’d seen clouds that dark and thick.
Sleep would not take him. He layed in bed, just staring at nothing in particular, as he heard Ono’s words again and again. When he got up out of bed and went to his door, he heard his father snoring in the next room.
Pim smirked, then skipped over to his bedroom window, and climbed out. He ran through the tall, soft grass, damp from dew, but he did not use the fleet. This run was to get rid of his energy, not work it up. He made his way to the village perimeter and circled it, slowing to a walk, watching his bare feet take each step, one by one.
He spotted someone to his left, watching the landscape beyond the village intently. Pim started toward him. It was one of the members of the Warrior Guild on watch. The warrior turned at Pim’s approach, and suddenly drew his sword on him.
“Pim?” Jun said with surprise.
“Your eyes must not be so good,” Pim joked. “How could you not know it was me?”
“Because you shouldn’t be out this late, especially at our boundaries. Besides, the skies are dark; even the moon is hidden.”
“Hmm, a likely story for a warrior.”
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in bed?” Jun sheathed his sword.
“I couldn’t sleep. Too much energy.”
“Have you been sword fighting again?”
“Just practicing. I’m not overdoing it.”
“Sure, you aren’t. You need to rest the muscles now and again.”
“That isn’t why I cannot sleep. I’m just a bit troubled…”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. Jun, do you know the misty clouds of the Red Coast? In the Fifling Sea?”
“Sure, who doesn’t?”
“What would you do if something came through the clouds to harm our lands?”
“You’ve been hearing the rumors, the ones the traders and gypsies are telling. It isn’t true, Pim.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because they’re just stories to scare people. Everyone knows the land ends at the mist. There is nothing beyond it.”
“There’s land across the Baltha Sea: the Western Isles of Norrow.”
“That’s different. There is no wall of clouds. The clouds signify the end.”
“But what if that’s not true? What if everyone is wrong?”
“The Order of Thet teaches us that it is true. Thet took the water from nothing, and created this land. That is all. The other is just a tall tale.”
“Well, Wivering running on top of water is a tale, too.”
“That’s right, because it isn’t true, no one can do it.”
“I can.”
Jun stared at him, then laughed. “Pim, you really are full of wonder. You should get to bed.”
“I’ll show you in the morning… you and Ono and Arc.”
“Pim, enough. No more stories tonight. You’re going to get me in trouble. It’s bad enough that I trained you in swordplay before you’re of age. You’re not even in the Warrior Guild, and I’m not sure you really want to be. You still want to do childish things, like run across the water, or over the roof of your house, or whatever.”
“The roof of the house…” Pim scratched his head. “What a great idea! Think of how you could outmatch your enemy. The Warrior Guild would be unstoppable, fighting from the treetops and the roofs.”
“We don’t need to Pim; we can already outrun every creature in Athora. Even the scuttle pods… and they’re pretty fast.”
Pim sighed. “Why does no one believe me? I ran across the river, I leaped to the tallest tree. I didn’t clear it, but almost. I’ll show you all. Tomorrow.”
“I really have to finish my rounds,” Jun said. “Go home, and get to bed before I wake your father.”
“You wouldn’t.”
Jun shook his head and moved on, walking past Pim and making a turn to toward the village.
“Alright, alright!” Pim dashed past him.
Jun turned back and continued his watch.
###
Hot and dry was the land of the South, home to the Painted People. The sand glittered when