The Anvil (64 page)

Tom
put
his
now
clean
and
sharp
axe
in
a
corner
and
went
to
sleep
.
A
few
hours
later
he
woke
,
ate
dinner
then
walked
around
the
castle
,
he
found
Bryn
on
the
walls
looking
out
to
the
Ilemart
camp
.
It
seemed
impossible
that
they
could
not
be
overcome
.
He
stood
beside
her
and
said
in
a
sarcastic
tone
“
Well
you
seem
very
happy
and
full
of
energy
.”
she
looked
over
at
him
“
Look
who
’
s
talking
.”
she
replied
and
they
both
smiled
. “
Come
on
.
It
helps
to
do
something
.”
Tom
told
her
and
climbed
a
ladder
nearby
.
She
followed
as
he
led
her
away
from
the
walls
,
towards
a
part
of
the
castle
she
didn
’
t
know
.

Tom
knew
how
hard
it
was
to
kill
men
,
especially
the
first
time
.
They
went
to
the
back
of
the
keep
,
where
Tom
knew
many
of
the
teenagers
and
kids
who
lived
in
the
castle
played
.
Bryn
looked
at
him
as
they
turned
the
corner
and
saw
some
kids
playing
soccer
.
She
shook
her
head
“
I
can
’
t
play
now
.
Not
this
soon
after
a
battle
.
Maybe
later
.”
she
said
and
started
to
turn
away
,
but
Tom
stopped
her
“
At
least
watch
.
You
don
’
t
have
to
play
,
but
it
really
helps
to
be
with
others
and
be
doing
something
.
Trust
me
.”
he
told
her
and
they
sat
down
against
the
keep
wall
and
sat
in
silence
for
a
while
.

Tom
waited
for
her
to
start
talking
,
he
knew
that
she
wouldn
’
t
want
him
to
push
her
into
talking
.
Soon
Bryn
broke
the
silence
“
Why
are
you
doing
this
,
Tom
?
You
could
be
playing
or
doing
so
many
more
things
,
but
instead
you
come
sit
with
me
.
Why
?”
Tom
thought
for
a
moment
,
then
looked
at
her
. “
Because
,
I
have
been
through
some
of
what
you
have
.
Killing
is
awful
.
I
only
had
Alex
most
the
time
to
talk
to
,
and
he
is
a
Dragon
Guardian
,
so
I
didn
’
t
want
to
talk
to
him
about
it
.
So
I
know
how
important
having
friends
is
,
and
you
are
my
friend
so
I
want
to
help
you
.”
he
replied
,
Bryn
smiled
“
Well
,
thanks
.
I
guess
I
do
need
to
be
with
people
.
But
let
’
s
not
talk
about
battle
or
war
.
It
is
bad
enough
living
in
it
.”
she
told
him
,
Tom
nodded
“
True
,
that
is
a
very
good
idea
.
So
,
how
have
you
been
?”
he
asked
,
and
for
about
an
hour
they
just
sat
and
talked
.

             
Above
them
on
the
roof
of
the
keep
,
Alex
stood
watching
his
apprentice
with
approval
.
Sometimes
,
he
thought
,
they
robbed
those
kids
of
their
childhood
.
They
get
them
from
their
families
and
train
them
to
fight
and
kill
barely
ever
having
time
to
make
friends
.
And
if
that
wasn
’
t
bad
enough
,
these
kids
were
fighting
in
a
war
.
They
needed
friends
,
and
along
the
road
,
friendship
making
skills
would
be
about
as
valuable
as
fighting
skills
.
Maybe
even
more
important
.
And
Tom
already
had
some
great
friends
.
Alex
had
a
feeling
that
Tom
,
Zack
and
Dejoni
would
be
the
future
of
the
kingdom
,
if
they
survived
the
war
those
three
would
be
some
of
the
greatest
warriors
and
leaders
of
their
generation
,
perhaps
the
greatest
of
the
century
.
At
fourteen
they
were
fighting
a
war
.
Alex
thought
about
the
feeling
he
had
and
decided
it
was
right
.

Chapter
21

             
Two
days
later
Tom
,
Bryn
,
Zack
and
Madison
were
regularly
playing
in
the
soccer
game
.
Dejoni
of
course
was
too
big
to
play
,
but
he
often
sat
watching
them
.
Since
the
last
big
attack
,
it
had
been
relatively
peaceful
.
The
Ilemart
seemed
to
be
waiting
for
something
,
but
the
Arstanians
still
carried
out
small
raids
.
As
the
group
of
friends
walked
through
the
courtyard
to
the
kitchen
,
hoping
to
get
something
to
eat
,
a
man
on
a
horse
galloped
into
the
courtyard
.