CHAPTER 8

"Hello, I see your friend has been in contact with Sharrakor" The snake shadow hissed. But have you noticed the moral of people throughout the Castle? What do you plan to do if all of your people are cowering from the shadows?" The snake hissed.

"We will fight, with the help of any brave Chosen and Icecarls. Why do you wish to help us? You are a shadow you should be trying to bring us back to Sharrakor" Milla accused.

"I do not wish to follow the master, he sees things differently to me, so I am what you may call an outcast" the snake shadow hissed in reply. "By the way you may call me Rister."

Ebitt looked confused and very comical with his quizzical look, his Ursek furs and the golden pot on his head which he hadn't taken off since the battle.

Millas mouth twitched into a smile for a second but no one noticed.

Then the group slowly made their way out for some rest, except for Crow who would watch Tal until 10 at night in Chosen time.

When everyone had left Crow looked at Tal.

"Hey Tal, are you awake?" Crow asked.

"Yes, but it hurts doing most things" Tal replied in a weak voice without opening his eyes.

Then as Crow was about to speak Ebitt opened the door and walked in, with a violet bird on his shoulder.

"What's that?" Crow asked with a confused look on his face.

"This is Seven" Tal's great uncle replied.

"Why did you name it Seven?" Crow asked.

"Because he is the seventh colour and I found him in the seventh tower on the seventh day!" Ebitt exclaimed looking at Crow as if that had been obvious the whole time.

Tal laughed softly but stopped when he felt it scratch against his throat.

Ebitt sat down and he and Crow watched Tal as he drifted back into a recovering sleep.

At 10 Milla came in and Crow and Ebitt left obviously exhausted and in Ebitts case very bored.

Milla sat down next to Tal's bed and looked at him. His eyes were closed but she knew he was awake and in pain.

Tal's mouth crept into a smile as he spoke with his eyes still closed.

"Hello Milla, bored yet?"

Milla nearly laughed but stopped herself.

After a few seconds silence Milla spoke, "How do you feel?"

"I feel like every bone in my body is on fire, but I'll get over it."

This time Milla couldn't help but laugh. Her laugh was nice, Tal noticed. He had only heard her laugh once before when she told him he had to jump back across a gorge he had nearly fell into. But she was just kidding.

Then Tal reached into his sleeve and pulled out the mirror. The mirror they had picked up back in the chambers under the ice. It had patterns along its edges and its reflective part was a mass of swirling colours, but then the colours slowly turned to black and it had a shape in the middle. But the shape seemed far off and Tal couldn't see it.

Then Milla took out the Dark Book of Ice and laid it on the bed. These were two things that they had picked up after nearly losing their lives in the chambers, but both seemed very useless right now.

Then they both sat bolt upright when they heard a footstep outside, but it didn't sound like a humans.

They quickly packed away the objects on the bed.

Then the door opened and Ferek poked his head through the gap.

"I hope I'm not interrupting things but we wanted to see if Emperor Tal was alright, we only just heard of what happened" Ferek explained as he and the other original Freefolk children walked in.

Tal told them the story after they asked many times of what had happened to him and Milla and eventually Crow.

"Crows alive!" Gill exclaimed and most of the Freefolk went running out the door to go and see for themselves.

Tal and Milla laughed and so did Gill and Ferek.

Gill and Ferek stayed in the room but fell asleep after only a few minutes slumped in a corner.

After another few hours Milla fell asleep with her head on Tal's chest.

Tal opened one eye and smiled. Then he also fell asleep.

Not too long later a dark shape opened the door and hid behind a chest of drawers closing the door behind him.

The trap was set and no one would be able to help Tal because no one would know, but they would soon find out what Sharrakor wanted with their beloved Emperor.

The next morning Ferek woke up and saw Milla sleeping with her head on Tal and he laughed to himself as he got up.

Gill woke up a few minutes later and looked around; she felt thirsty so she left.

The man who was hiding watched this with black eyes, he was just another puppet of Sharrakor, but this puppet was very determined. He would wait until there was no one left in the room but Tal and then he would attack.

After both Milla and Tal woke up and Gill got back they said their goodbyes and Ferek left.

Gill stayed because she wanted to spend the day seeing how Tal was, he didn't show it but she knew he was in serious pain.

Malen visited early with a bag of medicine.

"How have you felt throughout the night?" She asked.

"Pretty good" He said grinning.

Malen left after telling Tal to eat the few herbs she had given him, he did. When Malen turned her back Tal mimed gagging. Gill and Milla laughed and Malen spun around. Tal stopped just in time and Malen walked out.

"I will be back, I'm going to eat the morning meal" Milla said walking out of the room, "Gill, take care of Tal, don't let anyone but friends in, alright!"

"Sure" Gill said.

After Milla left Gill sat down. Only after a few minutes the shadow puppet hiding in Tal's room decided it was safe to attack now, after all how tough could a child be?

Tal had drifted back into sleep, so he didn't see the man rise out of his hiding place with a knife in his hands.

Gill only did when he was right behind her. She screamed and leapt out of his daggers range just as he swung it down. Then he advanced towards Tal.

Gill jumped onto the man's back and grabbed him around the neck.

The man thrashed about but just couldn't shake off Gill. So he rammed her into the wall and she slid off his back.

He turned to deliver the finishing blow to her when he was blown right into the opposite wall by a red ray.

Tal was sitting up and he had his sunstone pointing at the man, but he just disappeared out the door running for his life.

Milla arrived a minute later looking bewildered, she had seen a man with coal black eyes running through the halls after hearing Gill scream. Inside the room Tal was lying against his pillow again with his eyes closed and Gill was panting slumped against a wall.

"What happened?" Milla asked.

"Shadow puppet" Tal replied simply.

"What! How did it get in?" Milla yelled towards Gill.

"I don't know it didn't come through the door" She whimpered.

Milla sighed and sat down as Crow came walking in. His face twisted into a confused look when he saw Gill slouched against a wall.

So Gill explained what had happened to Milla and Crow as they watched the door.

"So Sharrakor is gathering minions' ands making them shadow puppets" Milla said more to herself than anyone.

"Tal!" Crow yelled waking Tal up, but he didn't open his eyes. "Is what Gill said true?"

Tal nodded.

Crow left a little while later. Ferek came back and he, Gill and Milla stood in Tal's room.

Just then the door burst open and in the doorway stood a group of shadows.

"We're taking the boy, so step out of the way or prepare to die!" one shadow ordered.

Milla stood in front of the doorway and simply said, "No you aren't."

Then the shadows jumped forward in attack.