Welcome to chapter 10 =)

I was going to get this to 2000 words but I got bored and I wanted to get it up today, so…

By the way, please check out the companion piece to this, written by my friend Pernicia. It explores what Maerad's getting up to in our world. I know she would love some reviews =) (second chapter now up) wwwDOTfanfictionDOTnet/s/4871690/1/Lost_Beyond_Croggon

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Late that night, I was woken by Cadvan shaking me by the shoulders. I squinted up at him blearily and tried to smooth my hair down, as it looked as though I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. He gave me my own clothes to wear, and I shivered as I pulled them on blindly. I was only vaguely listening to what Cadvan was saying, but I gathered that we were leaving that night. As I dragged a brush through my hair and pulled on my coat, Cadvan went downstairs to pick up some supplies.

When I was packed and ready, we went to the stables together to get our horses. Cadvan was to ride Darsor, as I had expected, but as Indik had been putting me on different horses the whole time - saying the experience was good for me - I had still to choose one. Indik suggested I ride a small, slim pony I'd been getting along with recently. She was an elegant white horse, and went by the name of Swift. I held out my hand to her nervously and she snuffled at my palm.

Indik watched me tack Swift up with a critical eye, and as I mounted I saw him give a tiny nod. I felt proud to have his approval. Cadvan rode in majestically on Darsor, and I couldn't help but laugh at my own inadequacy. I felt awkward and uncomfortable atop my mount, but Cadvan and Darsor looked as though they were an extension of a single being.

"Are you certain you wish to come with me?" Cadvan asked for the tenth time. "Our road will be long and hard, and there will be no turning back once we start."

"I'm sure," I assured him. "Just go already!" He flashed me a grin and Darsor moved off. The hooves of our mounts clattered noisily on the ground as we left the stables for the open road.

I was annoyed by having to leave in the middle of the night, without even a proper sleep, but I thanked my lucky stars that it wasn't raining as well. That didn't, however, stop me from wanting to kill him.

Just two hours out of Innail, Cadvan stopped us at the very same inn in which he and Maerad had stopped.

"Let's pretend we're lovers," I giggled to him, remembering what the innkeeper had inferred about he and Maerad travelling together. It felt strange to say 'lovers', but I knew it was the word he would understand.

Cadvan regarded me with amusement as we approached the inn. "It would certainly give us a due reason for discretion," he noted with a smile. "And though Grall would keep our secret either way, I think it would be no bad thing if he had a ready story for people who came asking."

I couldn't hide my grin as I watched him trying to rouse the innkeeper, feeling somehow closer to him now that we shared a secret joke. As he caught my expression, he winked, and I was struck yet again by how good-looking he was.

Grall opened the door for us at last, and his grumpy expression was replaced by a smile as he saw Cadvan.

"What brings you here tonight a-travelling?" he asked, after he had settled us into our room. For some reason, though there had been rooms to spare in the Gift, there was only one room for us.

"We make our way to Lirigon," Cadvan lied smoothly. "It is a long time since I have been there, and I would like my beautiful girl to see it." He said this last with a twinkle in his eye as he took my hand. Grall's eyes flickered from Cadvan to me and back again. I could almost see the penny drop.

"Aye, I see," he replied, in a voice which assured us that he had taken the bait.

"We would appreciate a little discretion," Cadvan continued. "Some people are a little too nosy for my liking." I rested my head on Cadvan's shoulder, stifling a smirk as Grall agreed with a wink.

I listened to them speaking about rumours then started getting bored and my eyes began to droop with tiredness. How to get rid of him? I raised my head and looped my arms around Cadvan's neck.

"I'm really tired," I said sweetly, daring to plant a kiss on his lips and nearly fainting with fangirl excitement. Might as well go the whole hog, I thought, I'm not going to get any other chances. "Let's go to bed, darling," I said, before kissing him deeply.

Grall took the hint and left the room faster than a rabbit presented with a wer. The moment he was safely out of earshot I collapsed into laughter.

"Did you see his face when you called me my beautiful girl?" I cackled.

Cadvan chuckled with me, but after a while he said, "Come, Kayla, we should get some sleep." His eyes swept over the one bed. "I'll sleep on the floor," he offered gallantly, but I told him not to be stupid and to get in, which he did. I lay on my back at first, but soon the urge to laugh out loud at the absurdity of the situation overcame me and I had to turn away from him to hide my grin.

I was sharing a bed with Cadvan! Me, sharing bed, with Cadvan.

I listened to his breathing, which sounded so different to Nathan's, and realised with a shock that I had hardly thought of my boyfriend since speaking about him with Silvia. He'd been distant lately, and I was worried that he was thinking of leaving me. The prospect of it felt as though I was dangling over a large cliff, so I closed my eyes against the thoughts and slept.

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Nothing of interest happened to us until the next day, when the sun was high in the sky, though a chill still lingered in the air.

We were riding away from the second inn when a black raven flew down in front of us. Cadvan pulled up Darsor and I felt an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew who this raven was. I knew what he was going to say.

"Hail, Lord Cadvan," it said in a man's voice.

"Hail, Lord Kargan," Cadvan replied. "What brings you here?"

"Evil tidings. I come from the Lady Silvia, who bade me tell you this. Last night, two Hulls entered the School of Innail. They tried the door of the House of Malgorn and Silvia, but the ward repulsed them. Then they questioned Dernhil of Gent." The raven paused for just a moment as Cadvan watched it grimly. "Alas, Dernhil told them what they wanted."

"Is he alive?" Cadvan asked in a quiet voice.

"Most thankfully, he is. Dernhil called for Malgorn and Silvia in his mind, and the Hulls left."

Cadvan closed his eyes for a second. "I am glad to hear that Dernhil is safe, though I am sorely displeased to hear that the Hulls may know of us."

"Dernhil asked me to give you this," Kargan continued. He flew up to stand on Darsor's withers and held out his leg. I saw that there was a small piece of paper attached to it, which Cadvan removed.

"My thanks, Lord Kargan," he said respectfully. "You have done much, but I seek your help still. We neeed to pass through the Innail Let, and I know not if the Dark has gathered its spies there. It may be yet unwatched, but in the light of last nights events, I think it more likely not. I would be grateful if you could fly there, and tell me what you see."

The bird fixed Cadvan again with its unblinking stare.

"I will be happy to do this thing," it said, and we watched it fly away.

As we continued along the road, I began to wonder why Dernhil had given up. The only conclusion I could come to was how I had upset him, but did he feel no loyalty to Cadvan? Perhaps he had expected he, Malgorn and Silvia would have been able to stop the Hulls. Perhaps he knew Cadvan would get around the problem anyway. Perhaps he was simply too scared to die for a friend he hadn't seen in years and a virtual stranger who had slapped him.

Whatever the reason, they knew who we were and probably where we were going. For some reason, I thought back to the inn we had stopped in the first night. Why had there been less rooms? And then the answer hit me.

Because there had been hulls in the other. We had stayed in the same inn as two hulls and not even realised. The thought made me feel sick, nausea rising up in the back of my throat. We had been so close to them and felt nothing. They must have strong shields to hide themselves. I shuddered, a cold chill making its way down my back.

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