be one?”
“No,” Elizabeth joins in, “he is not.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“The problem,” their father interjects sternly, “is people who only hear the end of a conversation.” He glares at his children, quieting them in a way only a father can achieve, then flashes James a smile that lasts only a second.
Corbin stands and stretches. “James, let’s take a walk. That is, if your leg is up to it?”
Surprised by the request, James comes to his feet and nods. “It can make it. The pain is not so bad anymore.”
“Good, come along then.”
Motioning for James to follow, he heads for the front door. As they exit, the dogs notice their emergence and run over to fall in behind Corbin as he and James make their way to the stables.
“I wanted to talk with you privately. Ceryn told me everything about your time with him. I know you’re a mage.” Holding up his hand, he stops James from commenting. “I’m a pretty good judge of people and I don’t get any feelings of evil about you, so your being a mage doesn’t bother me. I haven’t told anyone else and as far as I know, only Ceryn and I am aware of this.
“But there was more than The Empire’s thrust into Madoc that has the mayor concerned. We’ve known the Empire has been on the verge of attacking for several years. What preparations could be made, have been.” He reaches down and scratches Tor’s head absentmindedly.
“No, what I wanted to talk with you about has to do with something else. Several nights ago, Hern, a farmer that lives a few miles out of town near the Forest’s fringe has disappeared. The day before, he asked a neighbor for help in getting rid of a stump in his field. When the neighbor arrived, he discovered Hern’s front door open. There was no sign of Hern outside, so the neighbor went inside to investigate. Hern was not there either.
“The table had been set for dinner. His plate was clean, as if he had just pulled it down off the shelf. A bowl of stew sat on the table; it hadn’t been touched. The neighbor then rushed outside calling Hern’s name but never received an answer. Both inside and out, there weren’t any signs of a struggle.
“So far, no sign of Hern has been found though the entire area has been scoured. Those living closest claim they hadn’t seen or heard anything strange the night before.”
James glanced uncertainly at his host. “What does this have to do with me?”
“Nothing directly, but let me finish, please.” Getting a nod from James he continues.
“Last night, another went missing, this time a small boy. “He had gone to fetch water from the well and never returned. When his parents went to look for him, they found the pail lying on the ground by the well, but no sign of the boy. The boy’s family lives on the edge of the forest just like Hern, though about two or three miles from his place. I was hoping that there would be some way you could help in finding them?”
“I’m not sure what help I can be, Corbin. Despite what Ceryn might’ve said, I am still pretty new to this whole magic business. I will think on it and see if I can come up with some ideas.”
“We would be grateful with whatever aid you could give.”
Nodding, James thinks for a bit. Whenever detectives are trying to solve a case, they always examine the scene of the crime. “Maybe we could ride out to Hern’s place tomorrow morning and I can look around. Maybe something would turn up.”
“Ok, then. First thing in the morning. We better be getting back before Mary sends one of the young’ens to see what’s going on.”
James agrees and they return to the house where they find Mary readying the children for bed. With a round of goodnights and several kisses, they head to their rooms. James takes his leave of Corbin and Mary and goes to his and lies down. He lies awake most of the night as he works to come up with some way in which to help.
Chapter Five
The following morning looks to be another sunny, summer day. Above stretches an expanse of crystal blue only broken by a few high clouds. Coming out of the east, a breath of wind helps to ease the heat of the day.
Corbin informs Mary about his plans to take James into town to see about the reward money. He tells her not to wait lunch for them as they will eat at the Squawking Goose.
At the barn, Corbin grabs a saddle and tosses it upon his horse’s back. As he cinches the underbelly straps, he happens to glance toward James who was looking very confused at a Gordian knot of straps held in his hand. Turning it every which way, he seemed at a loss as what to do next.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, I’m sort of embarrassed to admit it but…,” Then his face turned a shade red “I’ve never saddled a horse before. In fact, I’ve never even been on one. They kind of scare me.”
Laughing, Corbin says “That’s hard to believe.” Seeing the redness of James’ embarrassment, he sobers and comes over, taking the tangled mass of straps and buckles. “Here, let me show you what to do. If you’re going to own one, you’d better learn what to do and how to care for it.”
Embarrassment turned to relief. “Thank you.”
Corbin starts by having James become acquainted with his horse. First, he has James gently stroke the face and the neck, letting the horse know that he’s a friend. Corbin then retrieves a carrot from a nearby bin and hands it to James.
Taking the carrot, James offers it to the horse that readily eats it out of his hand. Smiling, he continues petting the horse on the side of the face as it eats and soon isn’t quite as nervous around the beast as he had been.
Corbin then proceeds to instruct James in the proper placement of saddle and tack. He allows James to do the work so he will better learn what to do. When James finishes, Corbin rechecks the tightness and placement of every piece until he’s satisfied that it was done properly and will not loosen.
Once James’ horse is ready, he has him do it all over again with his. This time, James manages to do it a little faster with fewer mistakes. Once Corbin is again satisfied that everything was either done right or had been corrected, he instructs James on the proper mounting technique. Despite his stiff and sore leg, James manages to mount his horse in only two attempts. When he is up and not in immediate danger of falling off, Corbin mounts his horse and starts showing James the various nuances necessary in guiding a horse. He shows him how to use the reins and his knees to move in the desired direction. James is a quick study and soon has a basic understanding of controlling his horse. Corbin has him take the lead as they exit the barn.
In front of the house stand Corbin’s wife and Cyanna who are there to see them off. Corbin waves goodbye and begins making his way down the lane. After several feet, he realizes that James hasn’t followed. He glances back and finds him trying to get the horse to move.
James flicks the reins but the horse merely stands there. “C’mon, boy.”
The horse merely snorts and turns its head to look back at James.
Feeling slightly embarrassed with everyone watching his ineptitude, he continues his efforts, but with little success.
“Kick him gently in the sides.”
He glances to where Corbin has stopped.
“You have to show him that you are in charge.”
James nods, then gives a gentle kick. The horse snorts, but otherwise remains still. He looks to Corbin.
“Harder.”
“All right.” Then to his horse, he says, “Sorry to have to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.”
Bringing his feet outward from the horse, he jerks them back into its sides. The horse lurches forward.
“There you go,” Corbin praises as James flies by.
Barking erupts behind him as the dogs give chase; which only makes the horse go faster. Terrified and holding on for dear life, James feels himself slipping to the side. His scream of terror echoes across the fields.
“Tor! Cyne!” Corbin yells as his horse bolts forward to catch up with James. “Back home! NOW!”
The dogs break off their chase and glance toward their master with tails between their legs.
