The dire wolf turned toward him and opened its jaws to bare its fangs. Saliva dripped to the dirt in anticipation of a kill. Lilli’s cry registered vaguely but he could not hear the words. Instead, he lunged forward to attack the beast with whatever he had left.
As the animal left his mother and turned to meet his feeble assault, another blinding flash gave both adversaries pause. Was it his mother’s cantrip again? He could see, even with the bright light, and frowned when he realized it had come from his hand. Something solid settled in his palm—the hilt of a weapon, as impossible as it seemed—and he grasped it instinctively in both hands.
Without looking to see what he held, he arced it to deliver as powerful a blow as he could. The beast was in the middle of its lunge and unable to break away. Devol slid along the dirt, breathing heavily, and grimaced when he felt something warm along his neck, hands, and face. Blood? He felt no pain, though, so he checked himself quickly and looked at his hand. It was indeed blood, but it appeared to not be his.
The dire wolf sprawled in a crumpled heap a few yards away, the front half of its body cut in half. His eyes widened as he checked his other hand, which still clutched the weapon that had appeared so suddenly.
Not unsurprisingly, it proved to be a long, ornate sword, but he could not discern the details as it glowed far too brightly. This was no ordinary blade, he could tell that much, but the way it looked, encased in the celestial light, he couldn’t make out the finer features. Still, it felt right in his hand and although it seemed strange, it filled him with a sense of warmth and comfort.
Devol snapped to his senses and glanced at his mother to check on her. He wondered if he wore a similar shocked expression as she did when she looked at the blade and then at him. Something appeared in her eyes—a similar look of concern bordering on sorrow to the one she’d had when he had discussed his future.
She stood with a grimace, walked closer, and hugged him before she drew back and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Thank you, Devol,” she said and looked at the blade. “We will…need to talk to your father about what is to come.”
Chapter One
“Hey, mister, can I have seconds?” a boy shouted above the loud chatter of the Hearthfire Inn. It was barely morning, but many men and women crowded the tables and ate their fill at the start of their early day.
“Aye, boy,” the innkeeper nodded, took the empty plate with large, plump hands, and stroked his beard to the side. “As long as you got the cobalt for it, of course.” The child offered a bright smile, slid his hand to his belt and into his purse, and withdrew a small piece of a blue metallic material in the shape of a jagged line. With an arched eyebrow, the proprietor asked, “A whole splinter? You only need a few bits for one plate, my friend.”
His young patron nodded and placed it on the table. “Well, I might order more. Plus it’s my attempt at recompense after I kept your kids awake far later than intended.”
The man chuckled although the boy was fair and had the right of it. He had spent the previous evening regaling his children with tales of his old man, who was a captain of the guard in the capital city of Monleans. When the innkeeper had tried to shoo his brood away and stop them from disturbing the customer, the boy quickly defended his temporary playmates and continued, and his stories had eventually delayed the children’s bedtime by a good hour.
“You did keep my children entertained, for sure, if a little too long.” He placed the empty bowl on the bar and nodded to the chef, his chipper wife, through the window to the kitchen to let her know to prepare a second omelet and toast as he turned to the boy again. “You would think I had forced them to do hard labor with the way they whined getting out of bed this morning.”
With a rather sheepish frown, the youngster pushed the splinter toward him. “Guess I did stretch it too long. Take it, please.”
A little hesitantly, the innkeeper picked it up and examined it. The inert piece of cobalt would be far more valuable if it was charged, but even a splint like this was far more than was necessary. His young patron would have to stay another day and enjoy a couple of large meals to come even close to the value held in his hand. “Oh, not now,” he retorted with a smirk as he sat across from the youngster and put the splint on the table. “I should be thankful. If the truth be told, I haven’t seen my kiddies sit in one place for that long in many days. I was able to finish my list of chores for once instead of chasing them around.”
The boy shrugged and smiled again as he gestured at the splint. “Well, I’ll leave this here,” he stated quietly and took a sip of water from his white clay cup. “I should be thankful as, well…you’re the first innkeeper who welcomed me without a
