Chapter 5

"Kel'nar!" Zaknafein screamed. "Help!" He reached back and fumbled for his practice scimitars. He tugged one free, but it slipped out of his hand and fell to the ground. "Guenhwyvar, help! Help me!" He yanked on the other scimitar, but the troll roared and swatted at his arm with one heavy hand. The troll's jagged claws ripped three long cuts down Zak's right arm, and he gasped, but didn't drop this scimitar. He yanked it over the troll's shoulder where he hung upside down over its back, and whacked the troll as hard as he could. "Help!" he screamed again.

The troll roared.

Zak whacked it again and again, but the dull blade did little more than bounce off its rubbery skin.

All at once, the troll yanked him off its shoulder and threw him to the ground.

Zak grunted, the heavy fall making him see bright spots in front of his eyes for a moment. He rolled to the side, but the troll grabbed him in its huge arms again and ripped the scimitar from his hand.

The troll pinned him under one huge arm and whacked Zak's backside with the scimitar just like he had done to it when it was small.

Zak screamed. It hurt far worse than any switching Kel'nar or Mum had ever given him.

The troll whacked him over and over.

Zaknafein screamed as loud as he could. Maybe Kel'nar would hear him. Or Guen. He kicked at the troll and sobbed. He was going to have bruises for sure. "Mielikki, help me!"

Suddenly Zak remembered his hunting knife. He grabbed it from its sheath and stabbed it into the troll's leg with all his might.

The troll let out a deafening roar and dropped Zak again. It grabbed the knife and ripped it from its thigh.

Zak stumbled, but kept his feet. He backed away across the clearing. A large cooking pot bubbled and steamed above a blazing fire. Various sizes of bones littered the ground and crunched underfoot. Zak limped to the far side of the cooking pot and grabbed a burning branch from the fire beneath it. He held it in front of him like a sword.

The troll plodded toward him, black blood oozing from its leg. It roared at him again, yellow teeth glistening.

Zak held the burning branch and backed farther away as the troll advanced. He circled, keeping the cooking pot between them.

The troll roared again and lurched toward him with arms outstretched.

Zak kept circling to the side.

The troll chased him in plodding circles around the cooking pot.

Zak's side burned like he'd been running, not just quick-stepping. His scratched arm stung fiercely, and his backside was bruised, but he couldn't stop moving. If he stopped moving, he'd be dead. But he was getting so tired. "Mielikki, help me," he prayed again. His steps were slowing.

Dazzling white light suddenly blazed between Zaknafein and the troll.

Zak squinted and thrust his free arm up to shield his eyes.

The troll stopped abruptly, staring at a figure as bright as light.

Zak backed away. He threw down the burning branch, flames singeing his hand, and scooped up his black-encrusted hunting knife from the ground.

The bright figure seemed to be holding back the troll somehow, but it was hard to tell. Looking at it was like looking at a flash of lightning that never ended.

The troll blinked a few times, then swung its powerful arm at the dazzling figure. Its fist went straight through the strange light, and the troll stumbled.

Suddenly, the shining figure disappeared.

Oh no. Zaknafein turned and scrambled up into a tree, rough bark scraping his hands as he climbed as fast as he could.

The troll blinked a few times, then charged the tree. But it could not reach him. It roared, then grabbed the tree trunk with both hands and shook it.

Zak clung to a sturdy branch, but his stomach lurched as the tree swayed.

Then Kel'nar burst into the clearing, his long white hair flying out behind him, and his scimitars bared. Those scimitars flashed in a blur, cutting and slicing.

The troll frowned for a moment, forehead wrinkling. "Unh?" it grunted out. It turned toward Kel'nar, swayed on its feet, then crashed to the ground.

Kel'nar drove both scimitars into it hard, then looked up into the tree. "Zaknafein," he choked out. He held his arms open wide.

Zak's palms tingled like pins and needles as he climbed down. His feet felt clumsy on the branches, and his breath came in shallow gasps. He dropped the last five feet and landed in his father's arms.

"Oh, Zaknafein." Kel'nar's eyes were glistening. He set Zak on his feet and pulled him tight against his chest, hugging him fiercely. "I feared you were dead. Oh, Zaknafein, thank Mielikki."

Zak's eyes stung. "Kel'nar, there was an angel. I think there was an angel. I—I called to Mielikki."

Kel'nar held onto Zak as though he'd never let him go. "I believe you, Zaknafein." His voice was rough with emotion.

How long they stood like that, Zak didn't know. At last, his father released him, setting him back a gentle step to look into his eyes.

Kel'nar held him at arm's length and crouched to eye level. He shook his head. "D'anthe dalharuk," he said at last, "I don't know whether to give you the worst switching of your life for going off and being so reckless or to carry you home on my shoulders." His gaze was intent. "I have half a mind to do both."

Zak bit his lip, and his vision swam. He blinked hard. "I—I know I deserve it, Kel'nar. I should've told you. I should've thought—" He cut the words off. If he said more, he was going to cry.

Kel'nar rubbed Zaknafein's back, then squeezed his shoulder firmly. He took Zak's right arm and turned it gently, looking at the long scratches smeared with dried blood. He frowned and glanced back at the unmoving troll, then looked Zak over again. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Zak's face felt hot. He nodded, then shook his head.

Kel'nar raised an eyebrow. "Where does it hurt?" He ran gentle fingers over Zak's scalp, then his arms.

"I—I'm just bruised, Kel'nar," Zak blurted before those hands moved any farther down. "You don't need to check for broken bones. The troll just …" He looked away.

"The troll what?" Kel'nar frowned slightly and studied his face.

Zak squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"Zak." His father's voice was gentle. "You can tell me."

Zak sucked in a breath. "I just don't want you to look there."

"There?" Kel'nar furrowed his brow.

Zak nodded, face as hot as when Mum took biscuits out of the oven and he leaned in to smell their mouth-watering aroma. "It … the troll beat my backside with one of my practice scimitars." He let the words out in a rush, looking at the ground.

Kel'nar's arms encircled him in a careful hug. "Oh, Zak. With the flat or the edge?"

"I—I don't know. The flat, I think. Like when I whacked it at the campsite when it bit Violet's fingers."

Kel'nar drew back suddenly, staring at the monster that was still impaled with his scimitars. "You think it's the same troll?"

Zak nodded. "I saw it grow before, Kel'nar. I know it did. And it has the same bristly yellow hair like straw. The same wart beside its nose. It even has the same missing tooth I noticed before."

Kel'nar stalked closer to the troll and squinted at it. He crouched down near it and tipped his head to the side. "After the battle, when it was standing at the edge of the clearing …" His eyes had a faraway look. Kel'nar stared at the troll a moment longer, then straightened up. He pulled his impaled scimitars free with a quick jerk and looked at Zaknafein. "I think you're right. I've just never heard of them unnaturally changing size before." He glared down at the troll, and his face darkened. "And if it were still alive, I'd hurt it more for what it did to you."

Zaknafein breathed a shuddery sigh. "I think Mielikki rescued me, Kel'nar. There was this bright figure … and you made it on time."

Kel'nar turned back to him, shifting both scimitars to one hand. "Yes. I heard you screaming, thank Mielikki. I just barely heard it. I don't think Mum or Violet did. I prayed I'd find you before it was too late." His eyes glistened with moisture. "And I did, but not before you were harmed."

"I'll be all right, Kel'nar," Zak said. "It's just scratches and bruises."

Kel'nar closed his eyes for a moment. "I know, and I am grateful. I just wish I could always keep you safe."

Zak looked down at his boots. "I should've told someone where I was going."

Kel'nar nodded seriously.

Zak swallowed. "It was my own fault."

Kel'nar put a strong hand on his back. "Don't take all the blame. The troll was more at fault than you'll ever be. You've learned a hard lesson, and I'm not going to add any more pain to it." He looked at Zak's scratched arm again. "I wish I could bear your injuries for you. Are you sure those bruises don't need looking at?"

Zak nodded.

"All right." Kel'nar turned his gaze to the cooking pot and the fire. "Time to burn something other than just wood."

D'anthe dalharuk = dear son