Haven 3 Shadow Magic (Haven Series 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

fought for their very lives on this very ground.”
    “Let’s hope that we fare better than they did,” replied Brand.

Chapter Five
    Tomkin’s Freedom

    They toiled at the grille, but at first it would not budge. Then abruptly, they made progress. The grille gave a grinding screech and moved with a lurch. Stumbling, they looked up to find that Modi was at their side. He had a huge branch in his hands and was using it for a lever. All straining and working together, they managed to get the grille back into the archway. Using levers, they tumbled stones up against it to hold it in place.
    “There!” said Brand, “that’s something, anyway.”
    “Not if they jump the walls,” said Modi, stumping away into the darkness again.
    Brand and Corbin looked at one another, deflated. They had forgotten the way the huntsmen had so easily passed over the walls of the merling town.
    “Perhaps we should consider a retreat to the river,” said Corbin. “We could use Myrrdin’s craft again to escape them.”
    “But where would we go?” asked Brand.
    “Back to the Haven?” suggested Corbin.
    “It would be like the flight of the Rainbow all over again,” said Brand, shaking his head, “they would eventually run us down and slay us all. At least here there is a charm and walls that might help us.”
    “Besides,” said Corbin, eyeing him carefully, “you rather like making a stand here, in the ruins of our ancestral homeland.”
    Brand looked back at him and smiled. “You always know me best, Corbin. What better place is there for two river-boys of Clan Rabing to die?”
    Still the music of the dark bard played in the distance. It made them want to sit and listen to it, to be lost in the beautiful sounds of the world around them, but they resisted the temptation.
    “Hard physical work seems to help keep your mind clear,” Brand told Corbin. “Let’s shore up the walls where we can.”
    Tomkin perched atop the broken walls and watched them work. “We need more than stone and steel to hold out the huntsmen,” he said.
    “What do you suggest?” asked Corbin, leaning on a branch he’d been using as a lever.
    “I could go for help.”
    Brand and Corbin looked at one another. “But if we lose the Jewel you bear, our whole purpose is lost.”
    Tomkin shrugged. “If we sit here and wait, all is lost anyway.”
    Brand discussed the matter with Myrrdin, who had just come up with more wood for the fire.
    “My, but that infernal music is persistent, isn’t it?” he asked the others. “Usually, it is quite compelling and all who hear it are soon dancing until their hearts burst. The charm on this place must be working still. Any sign of the other huntsmen, Telyn?”
    “None, I can’t even make out the dark bard. I wonder how long it will take him to realize we aren’t being affected by his spell.”
    “Hopefully, a great while,” said Myrrdin.
    “What do you think of Tomkin’s idea? He wishes to go for help.”
    “I will alert both the River Folk of North End and Riverton about our situation,” said Tomkin.
    “You would be willing to endanger yourself to save us?” asked Corbin in a somewhat incredulous voice.
    “Certainly!” said Tomkin. “Thou hast no cause to call me a coward.
    Brand and Corbin exchanged glances and pursed their lips, but said nothing.
    “Well,” sighed Myrrdin, “There’s little else we can do, unless we try to flee. We can’t last long in a siege, there is little food or water here. I agree, it is best that you go get help, Tomkin. None of the rest of us could slip past the Wild Hunt…but I would require that you leave the Jewel here with us.”
    “Mistrustful witch!” declared Tomkin.
    Myrrdin held up his hand. “We need to be sure that the enemy doesn’t get his hands on that which he has sought for so very long. You must leave the Jewel with us while you go to get help.”
    Tomkin pursed his lips. “That could be managed,” he said with the air of one making a great