"You let him what?" Zaknafein's voice rose, and he stared at his grandfather, eyebrows at maximum elevation.
Grandpa Bruenor patted one hand in the air. "Said I agreed to let him stay."
"In Mithral Hall." Zak glared at his grandfather, and he felt a firm grip on his shoulder from behind.
"Yer grandsire deserves yer respect!"
He twisted away from his mother's hand and scowled. "Just whose side are you on?" Zak was out of the kitchen before she could respond, before any of them could respond.
"Let 'im go." His grandfather's words drifted through the screen door.
Zak's scowl deepened. His booted feet were silent on the grass, then kicked up puffs of dust as he started down the road. The dry air made his throat tighten, or maybe it was the sour taste in his mouth.
Across the yard, Kel'nar emerged from the forest path, a wild grouse dangling from each hand. "Zak?" he called out.
Zak didn't slow down or turn, but he knew better than to pretend he hadn't heard. "I'm going to Mithral Hall!" He proclaimed it like a challenge.
For once, his father didn't pursue it. "Be watchful."
Zak threw a glance over his shoulder and gave the barest nod.
Drizzt shifted both game birds to one hand and wiped his fingers on his breeches before slipping the panther statuette from his pack. "Guenhwyvar," he whispered. Something told him to give his son space, but in the Dale, one couldn't be too careful.
Gray mist swirled, and Drizzt held a finger to his lips before Guen could roar a greeting. The panther blinked up at him with intelligent yellow eyes, and Drizzt rubbed the short, bristly fur on top of her head. He gestured down the road. "Guard Zak, would you Guen? From a distance."
Guenhwyvar blinked again and bumped her head against his hand. Then she took off, as swift and silent as a hawk's shadow.
Drizzt exhaled a slow breath and put both wild grouse on the chopping block by the fire pit. He was cleaning the second one when the screen door banged open.
"Elf!"
Drizzt turned his head. Bruenor strode toward him, his craggy face wearing a frown above his long gray beard. Drizzt's eyebrows knit, and he straightened up slowly. "Zaknafein just went to see you. I didn't know you were here."
Bruenor stopped two paces away. "Don't think he went to see me—I'm the reason he left. Boy's probably off sulking somewhere."
Drizzt frowned. "What?"
Bruenor huffed a breath. "Told 'im I'd agreed to let Jack Hayworth live at Mithral Hall. Guess he didn't like that much." The dwarf shrugged. "Is what it is. Anyhow, I was hopin' you'd go with me to explain the situation to the Hayworth lad's father."
Drizzt froze for a moment, staring down the road. Then he picked up the freshly cleaned birds and jerked his head toward the house, already moving in that direction. "Then Zak's not going to see you, he's going to see Jack Hayworth."
Bruenor raised his eyebrows. "Think he has the gumption? He's probably out grumping in the woods."
"He's going to Mithral Hall." Drizzt spoke between clenched teeth. Bruenor's assessment of his son's usual behavior may have been accurate, but it wasn't pleasant to hear it pointed out.
"He said that?"
Drizzt nodded.
"Oh." Bruenor thrust an arm as thick as a tree trunk in Drizzt's way. "Then what's your hurry? Let 'em have it out. Might be the best thing for 'em."
Drizzt looked down at the arm and shoved it away. "I've got to get there."
Bruenor raised his bushy eyebrows. "This be somethin' Zak's gotta do for himself, don't ye think? You always gonna go out rescuing him?"
A muscle jumped in Drizzt's jaw, and he clenched the wild grouse so hard that a drumstick cracked in his hand. "It's not Zaknafein I'm worried about."
Bruenor's eyebrows drew together. "He's the smaller of the lads."
"Yes." Drizzt controlled his voice. "But he knows where the swords are kept."
Bruenor's eyes widened. "And he knows how to use one. Or two." He flashed a grin. His feet were already moving. "I'll handle this," he called over his shoulder as he marched toward the road. "It's me home."
Drizzt elbowed the screen door open and put the cleaned birds on the counter. He was following Bruenor before the door swung shut. "I can get there faster."
Bruenor turned around, walking backward as Drizzt caught up, wiping his hands on his breeches. "Me boys will have the situation in hand."
Drizzt frowned, jogging past his old friend. "Zak knows those mines. He can find a quiet spot if he wants to."
Bruenor stopped walking and set his hands on his hips. He wasn't used to defending his grandson, he was used to questioning the boy's bravery and Drizzt and Cattie-brie's methods. But this time the words just came out. "You really think me grandson is just gonna cut that boy up? Or kill him?" He shook his head. "Ain't gonna happen, elf. Zak will make it a fair fight."
The dark elf looked back over his shoulder, his steps slowing. One hand went to the unicorn pendant. "I've tried to train him well, but I don't know if it's stuck. He has a temper—"
"Bah!" Bruenor caught up and walked beside his friend. "He ain't gonna kill him."
Drizzt frowned, but then he nodded, looking ahead at the trail. "Not intentionally," he agreed at last. He glanced at Bruenor sidelong. "He might cut him."
Bruenor nodded, unperturbed. He looked at the smoke in the distance, rising from the chimneys of Mithral Hall. "He'll do what he'll do, and we're jist guessing." He lifted his chin to point toward the mines. "One way to find out."
