The falcon's daughters

Chapter 11

The mountains grew more inhospitable the further they went. The cliffs shot high and had collapsed a part in front of them. They stopped and Lace frowned his eyebrows as he looked at the small passage that was left before them. Kit couldn't help but to feel a bit anxious about it.

- Lace. Should it really be like this?

- Don't worry about it Kit. It is big enough for us to get through.

The darkness swirled around them as they came further into the pass and they could barely make out the light on the other side of the pass.

- Something doesn't feel right. Are you sure you remember the way after all these years?

- I admit that it was a while ago but I do know where we're going. Mountains don't usually change that much over this amount of time.

The dim light from the far side of the pass lit up their path so they could see the stones lying on the path. Dorcha found a ledge that followed the inside of the pass. She jumped up on it and monitored their journey from the top. The strong sunlight blinded them for a moment when they came out of the pass. 

- Kit watch out!

Dorcha’s warning came a second too late and when their eyes had adapted to the bright light a group of mountain men had blocked the road in front of them. Sharp spears were pointed at them. One of the men stepped forward between the spears. He was dressed in dark leather clothes and held a short spear in his hand. Short brown curls covered his head and beneath a pair of thick eyebrows, his brown eyes looked suspiciously at them.

- Who are you?

His voice was dark and threatening.

- My name is Lace and the girl is Kit.

Kit looked surprised at Lace. How could he be so calm? They had over a dozen spears pointed at them and he just stood there next to his horse like it was something that happened every day. She thought about grabbing her knife just in case but the leader looked at her and she decided that it would probably be a stupid idea.

- Why are you here?

- I'm looking for a girl.

- Well you got one right there.

He stared coldly at Lace as he gestured towards Kit. With a grin, he turned his back on them and began to go back to the others.

- You can leave the same way you came.

- I'm looking for another girl. A girl with a white panther.

The man stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. A low murmur erupted in the group and they took a few steps forward before he raised his hand to stop them. His brown eyes shifted from suspicion to growing so icy that Kit felt the chill to her very core. 

- What do you want with her?

- We have to find her.

- Why?

- To find out if the dream was true.

- A dream?

A curious gleam lit up in his brown eyes and they softened a little.

- Tell me about this dream.

- Almost eighteen years ago, I was in these mountains with two panther cubs. One was white and the other black. I lost the white to an underground river. The black one led me to the girl here. A while ago she had a dream where she saw both panthers and another girl.

- If you are telling the truth then where is this black panther?

Lace glanced at Kit, who nodded and called for her friend.

- Dorcha!

The black panther jumped down from the ledge and walked up to her. She stopped next to Kit, who softly put her hand on her head. The man looked at the panther and then raised his dark eyes to Kit. A smile formed in the corner of his mouth before he started laughing.

- I'm Dortinum. We have been waiting for you.

He made signs to the men to lower their weapons and motioned for them to follow him.

- Come on. This way. Tonight you are guests in our village. Your journey can continue tomorrow.

Curious Kit looked at Lace before they followed Dortinum and his group into a cave that led to one of the mountain's winding paths. As the darkness receded over the mountains, they emerged from the cave and reached a small village. Kit gasped when she saw the village which was located on the mountain walls. Hundreds of caves were carved out of the solid rock and placed on different levels. Wherever they looked, the rock walls with their caves towered around them. Above them, the stars began to sparkle against the dark sky. Lace was fascinated with the village’s layout.

- This was an interesting way to build a village. How did you come up with that idea?

- Actually we didn't. She did. When we first moved our village here, we built our houses on the ground. And then when the spring flood came that year, we lost all the houses and a lot of our supplies. You see the only way in and out of this valley is through these two passages.

Dortinum pointed towards the other side of the valley where another cave appeared.

- The water also takes that route out. After the first spring flood, we got the advice to move the village from the valley to the mountain walls.

At the paths leading to the different levels of the village torches were placed in the walls. Dortinum showed them the way to the caves on one of the lower levels. He stopped in front of one of them and proclaimed proudly.

- This is my home.