approaches.”
“You’re talking about the Dark Knight. What do you know about him?”
“The Cold One in his castle,” Felsafell continued. “He wants you. And he will have you. By his power you will fall. But fall you must, to open your eyes.”
“You mean I’m beaten?” Gewey cried out. “I lose?”
“Beaten, yes,” Felsafell affirmed.
Gewey’s face dropped in despair. “What’s the point of all this if I can’t win? Why even tell me?”
“Now you know,” said Felsafell. “You know what you didn’t. Will you stop? I think you will not. But more to tell before the dawn greets us. Would you hear it?”
Gewey sighed and looked up at the old man. “Yes, I’ll hear it.”
“Your friends are true,” he declared. “But be warned. One will leave this world. The one who is bravest will give all. This friend will save you with courage and love.”
“Who will die?” Gewey demanded. “Tell me.”
“I know not. If the spirits know, they refuse to say.”
“But they must,” Gewey said in anguish. “You have to make them.”
“I cannot,” he replied. “Love me they do indeed. I stay with them and talk to them when others flee. But I am not master here.”
“Is there anything I can do?” begged Gewey.
“There’s always something to be done,” he answered. “But change what is to be? I cannot say. The spirits are clever, but they only see. They do not push and pull the world as men and elves. But more there is to tell before dawn greets us. It comes soon, and as it comes you must go.”
“Tell me then,” Gewey said, “do my friends still live?”
“Good news I have for you. Indeed they live, but be warned: The child of two worlds and the child of one. Their future is uncertain. By your words, you will see one live or die. You must see this approach before time runs out.”
“I don’t understand,” Gewey implored.
“You will when the time is right. Some secrets are not for me to tell. But soon enough you’ll see your friends. They wait for you.”
“Where are they?”
“They’re not far,” he said. “You need not search. They will find you. Take comfort. There is one more thing to tell that you must hear. The dawn is saying hello, and your time with old Felsafell is at an end.”
Gewey leaned forward. “What is it?”
“Before the time when good and evil take up arms, you must decide. To seek the friendship of your mother’s child, or leave to fate that child’s future.”
“My mother?” Gewey exclaimed. “My mother didn’t have any other children. First, you tell me a friend will die saving me, and then you ramble on about my mother. You know what I think? I think you’re just a crazy old man.”
Gewey got up and stormed off the porch and toward the forest.
The dawn light began to filter through the trees, revealing a light mist that covered the surrounding hills.
“Old for sure,” Felsafell laughed. “Crazy, yes. But that changes nothing. No it does not. You know what I say is no lie. Deny it as you wish; it matters not to me. My time nears its end and old bones will rest at last. But come inside and take repast. You must go before the dawn turns to day.”
Gewey stifled his anger and followed Felsafell inside. Dina was just waking. Gewey thought she looked beautiful as she sat up and stretched her arms.
“Good morning,” she said. “You slept well, I hope?”
“Yes,” Gewey replied. “But we need to get moving soon. I think I’ve had enough of this place.”
Dina looked concerned. “Did something happen?”
“Nothing important,” Gewey answered. “But I want to get out of these hills by tomorrow.”
Felsafell had already laid out two bowls of porridge and cups of water.
“Eat first,” Felsafell insisted. “But eat fast. You must go if you would see your friends.”
Gewey and Dina ate breakfast and gathered their packs. As they left the cottage, Felsafell handed each of them a loaf of bread and a few slices of roast pork wrapped in cloth. They thanked him, though Gewey was still clearly upset by their conversation.
“Head west from here,” Felsafell instructed. “The path you find will lead you safely away. Farewell.”
Gewey nodded silently, and headed in the direction Felsafell had told them. Dina followed close behind, humming sweetly.
“What’s that song?” asked Gewey. “It sounds familiar.”
“I doubt you know it,” she said. “My mother sang it to me when I was very young.”
“Where is she now?”
“She died when I was a small girl,” she said sadly. “I don’t remember much about her.”
“I’m sorry,” Gewey replied. “My mother died when I was young, too.”
“No sad talk this morning,” she said, smiling brightly. “Did the old man talk to you?”
“Yes,” Gewey said, shaking his head. “Turns out he was just a crazy old man.”
“Really? I’m not so sure. There’s something about him.”
“Did he speak to you?” Gewey asked.
Dina nodded. “He woke me up in the middle of the night while you were still sleeping. He knew things-things nobody else knows.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing I want to tell right now,” she answered. “Some of his words were troubling, and I would prefer to have a pleasant morning.”
“I agree,” Gewey said. He tried to put it out of his mind, but he couldn’t stop thinking about what Felsafell had told him. He would fall to the power of the Dark Knight. Even worse, one of his friends would die. He swore he wouldn’t let that happen. They found the trail Felsafell had told them about and headed south. The rest of the day was uneventful. Gewey kept their conversation light, saying nothing of his talk with the old man. The trail seemed to defy the rugged terrain, staying level and smooth, and by the evening they had managed to cover many miles. They decided not to camp and instead continued on; they were both remarkably still full of energy. Gewey attributed it to sleeping in a soft bed and eating a hearty breakfast, but Dina told him she thought it was the spirits urging them on.
“I think they’re trying to help us,” she remarked. “It’s almost like they’re giving me strength.”
“I don’t know,” said Gewey. “But I do feel rested.”
“At your age, you should always feel rested,” she teased.
“How old are you?” Gewey snapped. “You can’t be much older than I am.”
“You’d be surprised,” she laughed. “I’m older than I look.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No it’s not,” she said with a wry smile. “But you never ask a lady her age.”
The night air was near freezing, but Gewey and Dina didn’t seem to notice. They walked cheerfully down the trail, talking and laughing.
Daybreak came and went, and still neither of them felt any hint of fatigue. They were nearing the southern end of the Spirit Hills, and Dina guessed the road leading west, to the hillside village of Vine Run, was less than half a day away.
“Once we reach the road, it’s a straight shot to the village,” Dina explained. “If we hurry, we should get there by midday tomorrow.”
This lifted Gewey’s spirits. He hoped Lee would be waiting in the village so he could talk to him about what Felsafell had said.
By noon they had reached the road and headed west. The path was cut straight through the hills, and spanned as wide as thirty feet in some places. As they traveled, Gewey saw immense stone carvings of ancient kings-some standing twenty feet high-lining the road. They sat down to eat in the shadow of one of the massive carvings.
