In the darkness, Ethyn reached for his small sword. While most of the men in the village used practice swords or wooden rods to train, Silver had decided that was not enough for Ethyn. With effort and a little help, he had procured a shortened sword perfect for a boy of Ethyn's age.

The Guardian knew having Ethyn live at the cottage was risky, and he made up his mind to make sure the boy would be able to defend himself. With Aiden's training, the redheaded boy had at least rudimentary skills. Ethyn dragged the sword by the hilt and set it beside him. Holding his knees, the boy rocked back and forth on the bed to pass the time, his ears straining to hear any sign of a struggle.

All too soon, fear gave way to curiosity and boredom. Yes, he was worried for Silver still, but he had heard how the Guardian could do unexplainable things, and he wanted to be a part of it. At first Ethyn stood on the bed and looked through the small slit between the wall and the roof. Silver had cut out these small nooks along the roofline for exactly this purpose, though he never imagined Ethyn would be the one to use them.

Ethyn scanned the area, but his limited view only showed the faint glow of snow and shadows of trees. He imagined he could see the next house a little distance off, but he was not sure. He looked for a long time, but nothing in the landscape moved. Frustrated, he slid off the bed, grabbed his sword and snuck into the main room. He tried to peek out of the small window as quietly as he could, but his motions were far from graceful.

With boyish reasoning, he decided speed would be better than stealth. Popping up quickly, he surveyed the land and then dropped back to the ground. He saw a brief glimpse of disturbed snow right below the window outside and what looked like tracks trailing off into the wood. Although their seemed to be no immediate danger, his heart sank as a new fear griped him.

The boy raced to the door, sword in hand, but stopped as he touched the wood. After a moment of consideration, he headed back to his room, donned his warm clothes and cloak, and belted his sword around his waist. Deciding the front entrance was probably being watched, Ethyn reached under the bed and inched his fingers around in the dirt.

To his surprise, he felt a square section of wooden planks shallowly buried. He pushed the bed aside and cleared the dirt over the door. How had he not seen this before? Perhaps Silver really was magic.

Ethyn reached for a small hole in the planks and pressed his finger inside. He heard a faint click. Carefully he removed the boards and headed into a narrow tunnel. After what seemed like an eternally long length to crawl blindly in the dark, his head bumped into a second wooden door.

Groping to find the doors release, he pushed up with all his might. The snow and layer of dirt made the door cumbersome, but at last he broke it loose. Moonlight streamed in as dirt and snow pelted him from above. After the pitch of the tunnel, the soft light was actually blinding. Ethyn paused to get his bearings. Then with a deep breath and a nod of determination, he headed into the night.

It was not long before Ethyn ran into someone in the darkness, but it was not who he was hoping to see. "What do we have here?" the strong figure asked as he grabbed the boy by the shoulder.

-----------------

Silver surveyed the foot prints from the shadow of the trees. Someone had been at his window. No, three people, he amended. Should he track them? It was possible the intruders were harmless, maybe some boys from the village who were carrying out a dare. But they were far too quiet. There were no giggles or shushes which come with the excitement of being naughty.

No, these actions had a distinctly sinister feel. These people were after something, and he had to know what.

Silver scaled a tree and looked at the snowy path. He had two choices: follow the path directly or follow a path parallel. Option one would disguise his footprints in the snow and keep the intruders from seeing his tracks, but he could run into them directly and that would be a problem. Running parallel to them would mean he would be less likely to be spotted, and by the time morning came, he would not care if they found his tracks. By then this would be over, one way or another.

'There's always the trees,' he mused. 'Imagine them looking up and seeing a large bat hovering. That would strike fear.' Silver gave a dry laugh. He could do it if he wanted. It was within his abilities to bound effortlessly between the trees like a squirrel.

This maneuver had worked once before, but he had been being tailed that time. He imagined the surprise when the soldiers followed the muddy trail and then the prints just vanished into thin air. It had helped add mystery to his name when he was starting out. But moving through trees could be noisy and there was no guarantee that the branches would be sound after a chilly winter. It would not do for a tree to be the source of his demise.

His mind made up, the Guardian set out along a path parallel to the tracks. Silver was far enough off that he should not be seen, but still the hooded figure clung to the shadows as he sought out his prey. The snow was becoming slush, so that it gave more of a soft slushy sound instead of its usual crisp crunch. Silver placed his feet carefully, knowing that in the quiet a snapped branch would sound like a falling tree. Moving swiftly, it was not long before he caught up to the group.

Assuming they were far enough from the house, the three men had relaxed and were plodding along at a slow pace. These men are fools to be so careless. A child could follow them easily.

"What'll we tell the boss?" one of the men asked. He was unusually short and had long dark hair that dangled chaotically around his face.

"Da truth, Curtenus. We lookt in da window and no one was inside. He don't need ta know we saw a fire or nothing. No use making 'em mad." The second man with pale skin and a scar on his cheek responded.

"I don't see why we didn't check inside. The three of us could have taken him." The third man spoke of his displeasure. He was broad shouldered and clearly the muscle of the group. He was at least two heads taller than the first man who had spoken.

"Cause Axel, ya don't know what he can do. He's a ghost o' sorts. Appears outta nowhere and takes as he pleases. We wouldn't a stood a chance. I value my neck." The scar-faced man held his hand to his throat.

"Who made you in charge, Ruadh?" Axel asked with more than a hint of defiance.

"The boss did, cause the two o' ya got no brains." Ruadh answered with a smirk.

Silver listened intently as he came even with them. 'I know that accent, and it's not from here,' the Guardian realized. A memory came to mind and Silver's eyes flashed in the moonlight.

The men stopped for a moment and looked in the Guardian's direction warily. They knew that they had seen something in their peripheral vision. Silver cursed himself for getting too close. He froze. The men scanned the forest, holding their breath. Axel took a step toward the copse of trees where he has seen the light, but the man with the scar grabbed his arm firmly.

"T'was probably nothing." Ruadh spoke barely above a whisper. "Maybe a rabbit or a bird. Let's get goin'. I got the spooks."

Curtenus grunted, "What a scaredy cat you are! If you are the leader, maybe you should investigate. Those of us with no brains may be too stupid to see anything."

Ruadh shivered, but his pride got the better of him. "Fine. I'll go. You ninnies are no help anyway." Stepping away from his companions, Ruadh tiptoed toward the tightly knit trees. In the back of his mind he knew he should fear whatever he found. But he was not going to show his fear to his comrades even if it cost him his life. "Those fools'll be the death o' me." He muttered. Ruadh caught a glimpse of movement. It was slight and quick, but he was sure it was there even in the dim moonlight.

"Did you see that?" Curtenus asked from behind Ruahd, a trace of doubt in his voice.

"Hush! Yes, I saw it. Probably scared da bird that caused all this commotion. Hold on." Gathering all the courage he could muster, the man with the scar rushed into the trees. He spun around quickly, brandishing a long knife to ward off any incoming threat. But the area seemed deserted. Ruadh let out a sigh of relief. "Got me scared of my shadow, they does…"

Something tumbled down and stuck in his hair. A sinking feeling came over Ruadh as he reached up and retrieved the bit of snow and bark fragments from his scalp. Someone or something was above him. He could feel its presence.

Slowly he looked up just in time to see a large black blur fly from a branch high above to the one just north of his head. At least he thought it was flying. It was far too large to be any native bird. He stood stock-still as the face of the creature came so close to his, he could feel its breath. That's when he saw it: a faceless beast with piercing silver eyes. The creature crouched itself on the branch, ready to strike.

A low tone almost like a growl came. "Boo."