Flight of the Nighthawks Read Online Free Page B

hard work and not enough rest. A few, like Marie, had kept their looks despite the rigors of parenthood and farming.
    But today they all looked reasonably happy, for it was the harvest festival, and if what adorned the table was any indication, it had been a bountiful year. Grain wagons would creak up the roads toward the Bitter Sea and barges would make their way from the Great Star Lake downriver to the Sea of Dreams and the trading docks at Shamata or Landreth. Cattle in the field were fat for the winter and the sheep looked healthy as their new wool grew in for the colder season. Everywhere he looked, Caleb saw signs of bounty: barrels of freshly picked apples, baskets of berries, cherries, and figs, all manner of vegetable, and at every farm he had passed, he had seen more chickens and pigs than he could imagine.
    He remembered other years when the harvest had been poor, or the times after the troll raids, and he acknowledged silently to himself that these people were entitled to a little celebration of their good fortune. Winters were mild in the Vale of Dreams, snow having fallen only once in fifty years, and already farmers were planting winter crops that would grow nowhere else. By the time the autumn traders returned from the Kingdom and Great Kesh, with wagons of toolsand other necessary items, the second crop would be ready to feed the demand for fresh food in the frozen north. Compared to most farming communities, Stardock was wealthy, but even here a farmer’s lot was not an easy one. Caleb pushed his musings aside as he turned the corner and spotted the boys. He had taken only one step before he realized trouble was about to erupt.
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    Ellie stood up and said, “If you two don’t stop this right now, I’m leaving.”
    The two to whom she referred were Tad and Zane, who stood confronting one another, ready to resume the brawling. The lithe girl positioned herself between them and started pushing them apart with surprising determination. This caused both boys to hesitate and gave Caleb just enough time to reach them and ask, “What is the problem?”
    Both boys glanced at Caleb, then locked gazes again. Ellie gave them a final shove. She said, “These idiots have decided that it’s important which one of them has the first dance with me.”
    â€œYou promised me!” shouted Tad, only a half second before Zane echoed the claim.
    Caleb lost his smile. The musicians had gathered near the ale casks and were tuning their instruments. In a moment they’d start playing, and the boys would start fighting. “Your mother asked me to keep an eye on you.” Both boys regarded him, Zane’s expression only slightly more belligerent than Tad’s.
    â€œIt seems there was good cause,” Caleb added. He reached into his belt purse, fished out a large copper coin, and showed it to the two boys. “This is the head and this is the tail. Heads is Tad, tails is Zane.” Tossing the coin into the air, he let it fall to the ground. The boys followed its descent closely.
    It landed on tails and Zane shouted triumphantly, “I get the first dance!” just as the musicians struck the first notes of the dance.
    Tad started to complain, but thought better of it as he noticed the dark expression on Zane’s face. Caleb had led Ellie out among the dancers and shouted back at them, “Winner gets the second dance!”
    Ellie laughed as Caleb escorted her through the steps of a traditional farmer’s reel. Even those not dancing were clapping their hands. When it came time for him to take Ellie’s hands and lead her in a series of turns, she said, “That was quick thinking, Caleb.”
    â€œThey’re getting as bad as two young bucks with green horns. What are you going to do?”
    She lowered her voice a little and said, “I’m going to marry Grame.”
    â€œThat’ll start a dustup,” said Caleb with a laugh. “Still,