Voyage of the Owl (22 page)

His hands closed on the pony’s greased black flank and slipped. Sniffer stumbled and fell heavily onto the dusty track. Ethan’s pony nimbly leapt over the fallen body, Ethan hanging on tightly.

Aisha stopped and nipped Sniffer on the leg, causing him to howl in pain. Ethan whistled sharply to call Aisha to heel, and she obediently galloped after the ponies, her tongue lolling out in pleasure.

The soldiers and Burgis leapt from their hiding places, in complete disarray because of the sudden change in the ambush, unsure of their orders and nervous of the terrifying herd of galloping hooves and flying bodies. Three tried to grab a passing pony, only to slip on the greased coat and fall under the hooves like Sniffer. Their comrades struggled in confusion, trying to rescue those fallen, while avoiding the hooves themselves. When the last pony galloped away from the ambush, it left a shambles of shocked and dazed Sedahs in its dust.

Lily, Roana, Saxon and Ethan clung on tightly, their hearts pounding and their mouths dry with
fear. They could not hear any sound of pursuit, but they knew that Sniffer did not give up so easily.

Fox did not pause the gallop for many minutes, until they came to a fork in the track.

‘Rosie,’ he ordered gently. ‘Go home.’

The leading mare of the unsaddled string of horses whickered in agreement, tossing her head, then trotted off down the right-hand path, her four unmounted companions trotting after her.

Fox turned to the left path and trotted on ahead. The four mounted ponies followed obediently, dropping into a quick jog. Another kilometre down the road he called gently to the others.

‘Up ahead are some overhanging trees,’ Fox whispered. ‘Climb up on your pony’s back and swing up into the trees. Don’t drop your packs and for the Goddess’s sake, don’t fall off.’

‘Mischief,’ Fox ordered his pony gently. ‘Go to Charlie’s.’

Mischief snorted in agreement. When Fox jumped up to stand on Mischief’s back, then swung himself up onto a tree branch, the well-trained pony did not even break her stride, but trotted on steadily, her ears pricked and her eyes shining.

One by one, Roana, Lily, Saxon and Ethan adjusted their packs on their backs, took a deep
breath, then jumped to their feet and swung up onto a handy tree branch. All five ponies obediently trotted off to the north. Fox sighed. He listened carefully for sounds of pursuit.

‘Everyone all right?’ he whispered. ‘Now we need to take the high road back to Tira.’

‘What about the ponies?’ asked Lily anxiously.

‘They will be fine,’ Fox chuckled softly. ‘They will find their own way across the moors and back to their stables. They have done these routes dozens of times, and know that a warm mash and a cosy stall wait for them at the end. Now climb carefully, stay in the trees and head away from the road. I want no sign of our passing to give us away to that tracker.’

The climb through the trees was painstakingly slow, especially laden with cloaks and packs. Aisha, of course, could only walk below the trees, but Fox hoped that the ponies’ tracks leading forward would mean Sniffer did not notice that Aisha’s tracks had left the path.

After half an hour of clambering from branch to branch and tree to tree, Fox signalled that they could climb down. From here they had a long walk of over an hour, through the forest and open moor, stumbling on rocks and tussocks in the darkness.

Finally Fox paused by a twisted old tree and hooted swiftly like an owl. He hooted again long and low. An answering hoot welcomed them in return.

Stumbling, tired and exhausted, they crept across a cobbled stable yard, finding a welcoming light set out for them. A handsome woman dressed in silken skirts, her black hair caught up in an untidy bun, welcomed them into a large kitchen.

‘Good evening, Jess,’ murmured Fox. ‘I’ve brought you some dangerous contraband.’

Jess smiled in amusement as she took in the four exhausted children and the large red-gold dog. Mia jumped off Fox’s shoulder and scampered up to kiss Jess on the cheek.

‘I doubt there’s much profit in this style of smuggling, Fox,’ Jess laughed. ‘You’ll never retire at this rate.’

‘Oh, I’ve a tidy little bundle of gold ingots tucked away after my last voyage,’ Fox grinned airily. ‘So it may well be time to find a sweet little cottage by the sea and grow beetroot.’

‘Beetroot,’ Jess cried with a grimace of disapproval. ‘I can do better than that. Come in and try some hot sausages and mashed potatoes. I was hoping there might be visitors tonight.’

Soon the four children, Fox and Jess were sitting
around the white pine table, in front of a blazing kitchen fire, eating spicy hot sausages, splitting out of their skins, buttery mashed potatoes, caramelised onion rings and fresh minty green peas, all washed down with frothy ginger beer.

Mia sat in Fox’s lap, surreptitiously stealing peas from his plate and eating them delicately with her tiny fingers. Aisha crunched contentedly on a large bone by the hearth, her whiskers nearly singed, she was so close to the fire, while Charcoal lapped at a bowl of warm milk.

Fox was telling Jess all the adventures of the latest voyage of the
Owl
. Jess raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

‘Fox, they may believe you in the taproom of the White Horse Inn, but you can hardly expect me to swallow all your fanciful tales,’ Jess teased.

‘Oh, Jess, believe me,’ Fox grinned. ‘One day, they will be telling the tale of the voyage of the
Owl
all through the land of Tiregian, and we will be household names! Then you can tell your bonny grandchildren that you helped the child heroes escape from the dreaded Sedahs.’

Jess laughed and smacked Fox playfully on the shoulder, her green eyes dancing.

‘Now have you solved my riddle yet, children?’ demanded Fox. ‘How does the farmer get his fox, goose and corn across the river safely?’

‘I thought you’d never ask,’ replied Saxon, his eyes alight with mischief. ‘It’s easy. The farmer takes the goose across first, leaving the fox with the corn. The second trip he takes the fox across the river, leaving just the corn. On the opposite side, he drops off the fox, but picks up the goose again. He takes the goose back to the first side, leaving it there while he ferries over the corn. Then he comes back for the goose. That way he gets everything across the river safely.’

Roana, Ethan and Lily laughed uproariously, clapping Saxon on the back.

‘Saxon, you’re a genius,’ crowed Ethan.

‘Well done, Sax,’ smiled Lily.

‘Oh, of course. That is
so
clever,’ added Roana.

Fox raised his foaming tankard to the children.

‘I would like to make a toast to you four – the most courageous, tenacious and resourceful children I have ever met.’ Fox smiled at each one. ‘And to you especially, your highness.’ He winked at Roana. ‘May the Moon Goddess bless you and keep you all safe on your quest. I have the feeling that if anyone can achieve the impossible, it is you four.’

Lily, Ethan, Roana and Saxon grinned in delight, then crashed their tankards together with Fox’s, foaming ginger beer sloshing onto the table.

‘To the Sun Sword,’ Roana pronounced proudly.

‘To the Sun Sword,’ everyone chorused, then drank deeply. The moon had set on the voyage of the
Owl
and tomorrow was a bright new day.

B
OOK
T
HREE IN THE
S
UN
S
WORD
T
RILOGY

Even with the Sun Gem and the Moon Pearl safely sewn into the hem of Roana’s cloak, the quest is far from over. Lord Lazlac is planning to marry Queen Ashana to secure his rule of Tiregian, and the queen cannot escape or rebel against him – not when her young son, Caspar, is being held captive by Sedah priests in the snow-covered mountains to the north. It is up to Ethan, Lily, Saxon and Roana to travel deep into the mountains to find Roana’s brother before it is too late. But have they forgotten about the uncanny tracking abilities of the persistent Sniffer, who would stop at nothing to find his prey?

Out now!

Belinda has worked as a writer and public relations consultant for nearly twenty years. Her overseas adventures inspired her travel stories for the
West Australian
newspaper and
Out & About With Kids
magazine, amongst others.

Belinda comes from a very literary family, with a history of Australian writers stretching back 180 years – her great-great-great-great grandmother Charlotte Atkinson published the first Australian children’s book in 1841, and her sister Kate Forsyth and brother Nick Humphrey are both published writers. Belinda’s passion for children’s books was reignited when she had her own three children and began telling and writing stories for Nick, Emily and Lachlan. Belinda is currently writing the final title in the
Sun Sword Trilogy
.

Belinda lives in a tumbledown cottage overlooking the sea in Sydney with her husband Rob, three gorgeous children and lots of animals, including a beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback called Asha (the real-life inspiration for Aisha).