The Farwalker's Quest Page 30
“Oh, she brims with surprises,” Scarl said. He gave her an appreciative look that she couldn’t meet for long. Instead, Ariel beamed at her soup. It always pleased her to defy expectations. Certainly no one ever would have expected a girl who had failed her Naming test to discover what she had today.
“Why do you think nobody found this stuff before?” Zeke wondered. “I mean, it’s not an actual Vault with something inside like everyone thought. Still …”
“We were too stuck on our notions of treasure, I guess,” Scarl mused. “Seeking too hard for things we could carry away. Or the problem might have been seeking itself. What was needed was … walking. Wandering, even.”
“Having a Stone-Singer helped,” Ariel said. Gratitude purred through her bones, lighting the grin she gave Zeke. She knew she would have been lost without him.
“Without doubt,” Scarl agreed. “But that’s the Farwalker’s trade—connecting people to accomplish what they could not alone. Carrying hope, crafting the future.” Aware he was embarrassing her, he tweaked a lock of her hair. “You’ve done all of that, Ariel. Whether you meant to or not.”
Ash murmured agreement. Blushing under their admiration, she could only slurp her soup. Its warmth couldn’t compare to the pride burning inside her.
Later, she took a candle and wandered the abbey alone. She discovered that the empty halls gave resonance to her voice, so she worked on two new verses for her song:
The path leads me on and on;
My feet are willing.
Follow the falcon’s flight;
Walk with the wind.
Walk with the wind and sun;
My heart is willing.
Follow the river’s song;
Walk with a friend.
As if her last verse had summoned him, Scarl came to find her.
“Ash feared your candle would burn down and you’d get lost in the dark,” he explained.
In fact, her taper was little more than a nub. She shrugged. “I know the way.”
He nodded. “I told him Farwalkers didn’t get lost. But they might need some rest.”
She agreed readily enough. The beds Ash could offer were no more than straw mattresses, but their pillows were filled with fragrant balsam-fir needles. Ariel couldn’t wait to snuggle her face into one. A night free from dew, dirt, and crawling things would pass pleasantly indeed. She thought she’d miss only the stars.
As they ambled back to the great room where Ash and Zeke awaited, Ariel sidled closer to Scarl. She tucked her hand into his.
“I’m sorry we didn’t find it sooner,” she said. It almost certainly wouldn’t have mattered, but she wanted to say it regardless.
Scarl failed to hide a wince. It would be a long time before he could smile again when he thought of Mirayna. But he squeezed Ariel’s fingers.
“If we hadn’t found it at all, my life would not be so different,” he said. “Yours has been uprooted completely. I don’t expect you to forgive me for my part in that, but I hope that one day you will feel all the joy in your song. It has changed quite a lot.”
Her ears burning, Ariel stared at the low flame of her candle. She hadn’t realized he’d heard her. A few paces later, she decided she didn’t mind.
“Where will you go now?” she wondered.
“Nowhere for a while, if Ash will allow it,” he said. “But then I’ll go find Storians to bring back, all who will come, and learn from them as much as they’ll teach me. After I return Zeke to his family, of course.”
His eyes turned to hers. “But you, Ariel? Where do you want to be? Do you know?”
The answer rose from her feet to be confirmed by her heart, but it stuck in her throat. She feared the words sounded childish. She pushed them out anyway.
“With you, walking.”
He shook his head, bemused, but his legs stopped. The hand not occupied with a candle drew her into a hug. The closeness made her think of her mother. His embrace was neither as soft nor as snug, but the rise and fall of his chest against hers stanched the leak that had sprung near Ariel’s heart on the night she’d been stolen from home. The old hole remained, but at least Ariel’s life had stopped dribbling out.
“With me.” Wonder threaded Scarl’s voice. He rested his chin in her hair. “You’ll change your mind as you get older, I think. But I told you before—I will stay at your side, if that’s what you want, or take you where you long to go, if I can. When stones speak and ghosts walk and the Vault can be found, then I guess a child snatcher can become a protector.”
“A father,” she whispered.
“Careful.” He gripped the scruff of her neck and shook gently, like a dog with a pup. “I’m a Finder, that’s all. But I can find work for a Farwalker. Many people will want news of your discovery today.”
Afraid to lay too many words on her feelings, Ariel simply nodded. She fell alongside him again, hugging his arm. But before they had taken too many steps, the elation inside her spilled out:
Wandering near and far,
My feet will guide us.
Carry the news to all;
Walk till the end.
She sang it with confidence, even knowing their path would be littered with hardships, because it would also be blazing with purpose and pride.
With Scarl matching his stride to her rhythm, they turned to collect Zeke and stretch out on the beds Ash had offered. Ariel hummed her song as they went.
Copyright © 2009 by Joni Sensel
Published by Bloomsbury U.S.A. Children’s Books
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
Electronic edition published in October 2011.
www.bloomsburykids.com
All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sensel, Joni.
The Farwalker’s quest / by Joni Sensel. — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: When twelve-year-old Ariel and her friend Zeke find a mysterious artifact the like of which has not been seen in a long time, it proves to be the beginning of a long and arduous journey that will ultimately reveal to them their true identities.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59990-856-4 (ebook)
[1. Fantasy. 2. Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. 3. Identity—Fiction.]
I. Title.
PZ7.S4784Far 2009 [Fic]—dc22 2008030523