Note: Mindspeech is offset with colons :like so:
The little boy huddled in the haymow wondered if he could go out now. It was awfully quiet and the bad men who'd taken the horses were gone. The bad men had never even looked up.
"Mama?" he ventured a call. There was no answer.
It was getting dark. The cows would be asking to be milked. It was getting cold.
He'd left his jacket behind when Mama told him to hide. The hay wasn't very warm, it was itchy. And he was hungry.
He listened hard. Other than the normal night sounds of the settling forest, it was quiet. Not like earlier. Maybe the bad men were gone?
He crept from his hiding place and out of the barn. There he stopped, aghast. In the village, nothing moved. Old man Reston was crumpled in a heap in the middle of the milking yard. One of the nearby houses was burning. A few dogs slunk past him with tails between their legs.
What had happened?
Suddenly afraid, he rushed through the silent village, only one thought in his head. "Mama? Mama!"
He stopped short, afraid to enter the dark cottage. The door was askew, hanging drunkenly off one hinge. The rain barrel was smashed and the yard churned mud.
"Vin?" It was barely a whisper but in the unnatural silence he could hear easily.
"Mama?" Swallowing the lump in his throat, Vin crept into the tiny house.
His mother was seated on the dirt floor near the fireplace, leaning back against the wall. Horrified, he saw the handle of a knife protruding from her belly.
"Vin? Come...here--" Her breathing was labored.
"Mama? What happened?" Vin choked out, clutching both hands around her offered hand.
"Some bad men...who were very hungry decided...to take what they wanted...instead of working for it."
"But that's stealing!"
"I know it's wrong, my Vin... So much like your father. Shhh. Don't cry. Remember, you're a Tanner."
"An' Tanners're brave." Unconsciously Vin straightened up at the reminder.
"Not...just brave...baby. I love you Vin."
"Love you too, mama," Vin wept. Awkwardly he stroked her hand, murmuring nonsense phrases of comfort in a thick voice as her breathing slowed, then stopped. He sat beside her cooling body for a long, long time.
Autumnsky crouched lower on the branch of the tree, trying to see into the village square. In the gathering gloom it was hard to make out details, but one thing was very clear. No night fires, no movement and no sounds from Settlestone.
:Karun, can you scout ahead?: she asked her bondbird. The owl had superior night vision and he could get very close without being seen.
:All quiet. Smell death.:
She considered it a little longer before climbing rapidly down the tree. The tiny village had not been heard from for days and in trade season that was unusual.
Settlestone was located at the very edges of the Clan's territory. So when the dyheli herds reported a bandit group in the area she had volunteered to check her contacts. What was unsettling was that there was no one in the forest around the village. Not even a stray dog lurked between the thatch cottages.
Huh, she thought, it's perfectly still. I think it's safe to go in.
Autumnsky hugged the edges of the village square, utilizing every bit of cover. She wanted to check the oddly shaped bundle near the communal barn.
She was more confused than ever. The village still showed no life--everything of value had been taken, the houses systematically looted. Yet everywhere she found one of the dead villagers, they had been covered with blankets. Obviously the raiders had not granted the dead a modicum of dignity. Someone else had come through Settlestone. But where did he go from there?
:Autumnsky, there is movement here!: Karun's mental shout was followed by a audible screech.
It was obvious that whoever it was wasn't a threat, or the owl would go in quiet. Hopefully, Karun would manage to pin the intruder. She turned the corner of the last house at a run and found herself practically on top of him.
A boy no more than seven years old stared up at her with wide blue eyes.
"Hello there," she said gently, crouching to put him at eyelevel.
He didn't move.
Now what?
note: this will continue in a new chapter