As the sun began to fade from the sky—dark scarlet mixed with blue that seemed to envelop the universe—Thor walked with Reece, O'Connor, and Elden down the trail that led into the forest of the Wilds. Thor had never been so on edge in his life. Now it was just the four of them, Erec having remained behind at camp, and despite their bickering, Thor sensed they now needed each other more than ever. They had to bond on their own, without Erec. Before they'd parted, Erec had told them not to worry, that he would stay at base and hear their calls, and would be there if they needed him.
That gave Thor little assurance now.
As the woods narrowed in on them, Thor looked around at this exotic place, the forest floor lined with thorns and strange fruits. The branches of the many trees were gnarled and ancient, nearly touching each other, so close Thor often needed to duck. They had thorns instead of leaves and they protruded everywhere. Yellow vines hung down in places, and Thor had made the mistake of reaching up to push a vine from his face only to realize it was a snake. He had yelled and jumped out of the way just in time.
He had expected the others to laugh at him, but they, too, were humbled with fear. All around them were the foreign noises of exotic animals. Some were low and guttural, some high-pitched and shrieking. Some echoed from far off; others seemed impossibly close. Twilight came on too fast as they all headed deeper into the forest. Thor felt certain that at any moment they could be ambushed. As the sky grew darker, it was getting harder to even see the faces of his compatriots. He gripped his sword hilt so tightly his knuckles whitened, while his other hand clutched his slingshot. The others gripped their weapons, too.
Thor willed himself to be strong, confident, and courageous as a good knight should. As Erec had instructed him. It was better for him to face death now than to always live in fear of it. He tried to lift his chin and walk boldly forward, even increasing his pace and going a few feet in front of the others. His heart was pounding, but he felt as if he were facing his fears.
"What are we patrolling for exactly?" Thor asked.
As soon as he said it, he realized it might be a dumb question, and he expected Elden to make fun of him.
But to his surprise, there was only silence in return. Thor looked over and saw the whites of Elden's eyes, and realized he was even more afraid. This, at least, gave Thor some confidence. Thor was younger and smaller than him, and he was not giving in to his fear.
"The enemy, I guess," Reece finally said.
"And who is that?" Thor asked. "What does he look like?"
"There are all sorts of enemies out here," Reece said. "We are in the Wilds now. There are nations of savages, and all manner and races of evil creatures."
"But what is the point of our patrol?" O'Connor asked. "What difference can we possibly make by doing this? Even if we kill one or two, is that going to stop the million behind it?"
"We are not here to make a dent," Reece answered. "We are here to make our presence known, on behalf of our King. To let them know not to come too close to the Canyon."
"I think it would make more sense to wait till they try to cross it and deal with them then," O'Connor said.
"No," Reece said. "It is better to deter them from even approaching. That is the reason for these patrols. At least, that is what my older brother says."
Thor's heart pounded as they continued deeper into the forest.
"How far are we supposed to go?" Elden asked, speaking up for the first time, his voice quivering.
"Don't you remember what Kolk said? We have to retrieve the red banner and bring it back," Reece said. "That is our proof that we've gone far enough for our patrol."
"I have not seen a banner anywhere," O'Connor said. "In fact, I can barely see a thing. How are we supposed to get back?"
No one answered. Thor was thinking the same thing. How could they possibly find a banner in the black of night? He started to wonder if this was all a trick, an exercise, another one of the psychological games the Legion played on the boys. He thought again of Erec's words, of his many enemies at court. He had a sinking feeling about this patrol. Were they being set up?
Suddenly there came a horrific screeching noise, followed by movement inside the branches—and something large ran across their path. Thor pulled his sword, and the others did, too. The sound of swords leaving scabbards, of metal on metal, filled the air as they all stood in place, holding their swords out in front of them, looking nervously in every direction.
"What was that?" Elden cried out, his voice cracking with fear.
The animal once again crossed their path, racing from one side of the forest to the other, and this time they got a good look at it.
Thor's shoulders relaxed as he recognized it.
"Just a deer," he said, greatly relieved. "The strangest-looking deer I've seen—but a deer nonetheless."
Reece laughed, a reassuring noise, a laugh too mature for his age. As Thor heard it, he realized it was the laugh of a future King. He felt better having his friend at his side. And then he laughed, too. All that fear, all for nothing.
"I never knew your voice cracked when you caved in to fear," Reece mocked Elden, laughing again.
"If I could see you, I would pummel you," Elden said.
"I can see you fine," Reece said. "Come try it."
Elden glared back at him, but didn't dare make a move. Instead, he put his sword back in his scabbard, as did the others. Thor admired Reece for giving Elden a hard time; Elden mocked everybody else—he deserved to get some back himself. He admired Reece's fearlessness in doing so because after all, Elden was still twice their size.
Thor finally felt some of the tension leaving his body. They'd had their first encounter, the ice was broken, and they were still alive. He leaned back and laughed, too, happy to be alive.
"Keep laughing, stranger boy," Elden said. "We'll see who has the last laugh."
I'm not laughing at you, as Reece is, Thor thought. I'm just relieved to be alive.
But he didn't bother saying it; he knew that nothing he could say would change Elden's hatred for him.
"Look!" O'Connor yelled. "There!"
Thor squinted but could barely see what he was pointing at in the thickening night. Then he saw it: the banner of the Legion, hanging from one of the branches.
They all began to run for it.
Elden ran past the others, brushing them aside roughly.
"That flag is mine!" he yelled.
"I saw it first!" O'Connor yelled.
"But I will get it first, and I will be the one to bring it back!" Elden yelled.
Thor fumed; he could barely believe Elden's actions. He recalled what Kolk had said—that whoever got the banner would be rewarded—and realized why Elden sprinted. But that did not excuse him. They were supposed to be a team, a group—not every man for himself. Elden's true colors were coming out—none of the others ran for it, tried to outdo the others. It made Thor hate Elden even more.
Elden sprinted past after elbowing O'Connor, and before the others could react, he gained several feet on them and snatched the banner.
As he did, a huge net appeared out of nowhere, rising from the ground, springing up into the air, entrapping Elden and hoisting him up high. He swung back and forth before their eyes, just feet away, like an animal caught in a trap.
"Help me! Help me!" he screamed, terrified.
They all slowed as they walked up close to him; Reece began to laugh.
"Well, who is the coward now?" Reece yelled out, amused.
"Why you little crap!" he yelled. "I will kill you when I get down from this!"
"Oh really?" Reece retorted. "And when will that be?"
"Set me down!" Elden yelled, turning and spinning in the net. "I command you!"
"Oh, you command us, do you?" Reece said, bursting into laugh
ter again.
Reece turned and looked at Thor.
"What do you think?" Reece asked.
"I think that he owes all of us an apology," O'Connor said. "Especially Thor."
"I agree," Reece said. "I'll tell you what," he said to Elden. "Apologize—and make it sincere—and I will consider cutting you down."
"Apologize?" Elden echoed, horrified. "Not in one million suns."
Reece turned to Thor.
"Maybe we should just leave this lump here for the night. It would be great food for the animals. What do you think?"
Thor smiled wide.
"I think that's a fine idea," O'Connor said.
"Wait!" Elden shrieked.
O'Connor reached up and snatched the banner from Elden's dangling finger.
"Guess you didn't beat us to the banner after all," O'Connor said.
The three of them turned and began to walk away.
"No, wait!" Elden cried. "You can't leave me here! You wouldn't!"
The three of them continued to walk away.
"I'm sorry!" Elden began to sob. "Please! I'm sorry!"
Thor stopped, but Reece and O'Connor continued to walk. Finally, Reece turned.
"What are you doing?" Reece asked Thor.
"We can't leave him here," Thor said. As much as Thor disliked Elden, he didn't think it right to leave him there.
"Why not?" Reece asked. "He brought it on himself."
"If the tables were turned," O'Connor said, "you know he would gladly leave you there. Why should you care?"
"I understand," Thor said. "But that doesn't mean we should act like him."
Reece put his hands on his hips and sighed deeply as he leaned in and whispered to Thor.
"I wasn't going to leave him there all night. Maybe just half the night. But you do have a point. He's not cut out for this. He'd probably piss himself and have a heart attack. You're too kind. That's a problem," Reece said as he put a hand on Thor's shoulder. "But that's why I chose you for a friend."
"And I," O'Connor said, putting his hand on Thor's other shoulder.
Thor turned, marched toward the net, reached out, and cut it down.
Elden landed with a thud. He scrambled to his feet, threw the net off, and frantically searched the ground.
"My sword!" he yelled. "Where is it?"
Thor looked down at the ground, but it was too dark to see.
"It must have flown into the trees when you were hoisted up," Thor answered.
"Wherever it is, it's gone now," Reece said. "You'll never find it."
"But you don't understand," Elden pleaded. "The Legion. There is just one rule. Never leave your weapon behind. I can't return without it. I would be ousted!"
Thor turned and searched the ground again, searched the trees, looking everywhere. But he could see absolutely no sign of Elden's sword. Reece and O'Connor just stood there, not bothering to look.
"I'm sorry," Thor said, "I don't see it."
Elden scrambled everywhere, then finally gave up.
"It's your fault," he said, pointing at Thor. "You got us into this mess!"
"No I didn't," Thor replied. "You did! You ran for the flag. You pushed us all out of the way. You have no one to blame but yourself."
"I hate you!" Elden screamed.
He charged Thor, grabbing him by the shirt and knocking him down to the ground. The weight of him caught Thor off guard. Thor managed to spin around, but Elden spun again and pinned Thor down. Elden was just too big and strong, and it was too hard to hold him back.
Suddenly, though, Elden let go and rolled off. Thor heard the sound of a sword being extracted from his scabbard, and looked up and saw Reece standing over Elden, holding the tip of his sword at his throat.
O'Connor reached over and gave Thor a hand, and pulled him quickly to his feet. Thor stood with his two friends, looking down on Elden, who remained on the ground, Reece's sword at his throat.
"You touch my friend again," Reece, deadly serious, said slowly to Elden, "and I assure you, I will kill you."