Call of the Herald Read Online Free PDF

the others, and many cast frightened glances at Catrin as they
passed. Osbourne regained consciousness, and a kindly old man
helped him to the edge of the clearing to await the Masters.
    Few folk had the courage to speak to Catrin,
but those who did all asked the same question: "What happened?"
    "I don't know," was the only honest answer
Catrin could give, but no one seemed to believe her. When her
father arrived, he ran to where she stood, tears filling his eyes.
Overwhelmed, she collapsed into his embrace. He hugged her and
tried to comfort her, but he seemed unable to find the right words.
Instead, he tied Salty to his saddle and pulled Catrin atop his
roan mare, and they rode home in cautious silence.
     
    * * *
     
    A pool of molten wax and a dwindling wick
were all that remained of Wendel Volker's candle, and he let it
burn. His eyes, swollen with tears, were focused beyond the blank
wall he faced. Raising Catrin alone had never been in his plans. He
had done the best he could without Elsa, but in Wendel's mind it
never seemed enough. If not for Benjin, he wasn't sure they would
have survived. All along, they had struggled, but now they faced a
danger far too great. The chill of fear crept up his neck--fear,
not for himself, but for his beloved daughter.
    Remembering the damage in the clearing,
Wendel felt goose bumps rise on his skin. More disturbing than the
damage was the look in Catrin's eyes. She felt responsible and
guilty; that much was clear. Wendel tried to figure out what might
have happened, but he found no answers. Instead, he accepted the
fact that he might never know. What mattered was that people would
be angry, confused, and afraid; all of which put Catrin in danger.
Stronger and deeper than his greatest personal desire was the need
to protect his daughter. So powerful was this urge that he went to
where she slept and stood over her, watching her breathe.
    "Help me be strong for her, my dearest Elsa,"
he said under his breath. He wept quietly. "If ever you've heard
me, hear me now. I can't do this alone. I need you. Catrin needs
you." Then he stiffened his jaw and firmed his resolve. "Watch over
her, my love, and keep her safe."
     
    * * *
     
    As darkness claimed the sky, Nat Dersinger
stood at the center of the clearing. All the others had long since
gone to their homes and were probably discussing the day's events
over their evening meals, but Nat tried to push that vision from
his mind. Such thoughts brought him only pain and misery, and this
was not a time he needed to be reminded of his loss. What he needed
was guidance on what to do next. The prophecies warned of
disastrous events, but they gave no indication of anything that
could be done to prevent the foretold dangers. There must be
something he could do, Nat thought, but he came to the same
realization he had come to in the past: It would take more than
just him. Somehow, he would have to convince those who had enough
power to make a difference. Given his past failures, he found it
difficult to be optimistic. Bending down, he pulled a blade of
grass from the ground and marveled at how cleanly it had been
broken. He let his mind wander for a time until something tugged at
his awareness and demanded his attention. A familiar yet
indefinable smell drifted on the breeze, and Nat's eyes were drawn
to the heavens. As a sailor, he knew the stars as friends and
followed their guidance, but on this night, they seemed almost
insignificant, as if their power were about to be usurped, their
beauty eclipsed. Nat had nothing more than his feelings to guide
him, and his thoughts ran in a familiar pattern. So many times his
instincts and gut feelings had caused him nothing but trouble. He
would spill his heart to save those who showed him only hostility.
"Why?" he asked himself for what seemed the thousandth time. But
then his familiar pattern changed, irrevocably, as he looked at the
blade of grass and the tangled mass of downed trees that lined the
clearing.