The Bones of the Earth (The Dark Age) Read Online Free PDF

closer, chafing her arms to try to warm her up. When her trembling subsided, she nuzzled her head under Javor’s chin.
    “ I could not see anything but the trees. There was a lot of commotion, movement, I could tell men were running this way and that. There was sound, like branches breaking, but … wet. I think it was the arms and legs of the men, breaking.” She buried her face in his chest, like she had after Vorona’s celebration. Her tears dripped onto Javor’s skin.
    Eventually, Elli fell asleep, but Javor could not. He listened intently, but the only sounds were crickets, frogs and birds. Once, far off, a wolf howled.
    When the sun rose at last, Javor woke the others. They silently set off again for home, leading the horses, conscious of how hungry they were.
     
     

Chapter 3 : Coming home
     
     
    The girls couldn’t walk very fast, and it took all day to get home. Grat cried all the way and by afternoon developed a limp.
    Hrech tried to cheer the girls. “Everyone is going to be thrilled to see you back at the village. There’s going to be a big party!”
    The girls did not look any happier. Javor chimed in with “Yah, everyone is going to celebrate. They’ll be so happy!” He put his arm around Elli and patted her shoulder like his father used to do to him when he was small.
    That surprised Hrech—Javor had never been able to follow his lead spontaneously like that before.
    “ My mother,” Grat sobbed. She fell to her knees.
    “ I’m sure she’s okay, Grat,” Hrech lied, his hands on her shoulders. “I saw her with the other ladies before Javor and I left. She was just a little roughed up.”
    Hrech’s words did not reassure Grat. She sat in the tall grass, weeping. The boys could not get her to stand.
    Elli put her head on Javor’s shoulder. Like a pot boiling over, her grief finally came out, but unlike Grat, Elli cried quietly. Once she sniffed “Papa, oh, Papa,” but nothing else was intelligible.
    They stayed in that spot until the boys pulled the girls toward a stream and made them drink cool, fresh water. The girls stopped crying, but Grat could not look at either of the boys.
    Finally, Hrech managed to get them moving again. It was a sombre journey. Grat wept almost continuously, but at least she managed to keep walking. Elli followed her, eyes unfocused.
    A rabbit suddenly hopped through high grass. “Hey, look at the bunny!” Javor cried out. “I hope she’s not too far from home! Hey, bunny—why do you wiggle your nose? Do I smell so bad?” He laughed and looked at the girls, but they did not respond.
    “ Look, the bunny is running toward those trees,” Javor continued, trying hard to break through the girls’ mood. “Hey, do you think it wants to climb the tree?” He looked at the others, grinning.
    The girls ignored him, and Hrech just gave him a strange look. No one ever gets my jokes, Javor thought.
    Javor had another idea. “Hey, do you girls want to climb a tree?” They all stopped and stared at him. Javor jumped to the closest tree, grabbed a branch and pulled himself up. He loved climbing trees. He looked down at the others. “Come on up. It’s nice here among the leaves. You can see far, it’s comfortable. Come on.”
    The other three looked at him with expressions that he could not read—he could not read many expressions. He jumped down and gave up trying to cheer anyone. The walk home continued in silence except for the sound of wind in the leaves and the calls of birds. He looked up at the sky, at the high, wispy clouds fanning out like white hair, and below them, another layer of puffy white clouds, like small loaves of flat bread.
    His mind drifted forward, and Javor pictured coming home with the unhurt girls. He imagined a shout from the circle of huts as a lookout saw them approaching. He could see a crowd running out to greet them at the foot of the hill below the village. His father would clap him on the shoulder and say “My boy, my boy !” He