Chapter 1
The Rescue

The slender figure stood alone on the brow of the hill overlooking the small hamlet in the valley below, he was one of those teens that could have been a large twelve, a small sixteen or anywhere in between.

The raven black hair hung down to his shoulder blades but was cut raggedly but short over his ears then pulled back into a rough ponytail, the features were narrow which gave him the appearance of being somewhat pixie-like, his lips were thin but well formed and his nose was thin but upturned at the very tip, on each side of the thin nose were a pair of aquamarine eyes that belied his heritage as did the flashes of caramel skin that showed in brief patches when he moved.

Most foreign of all was what the teen wore and carried, for such a young teen he should not have had to have such a burden nor be dressed in such a ragged manner, on his feet were a well worn pair of calf length canvas boots that had seen better days, the soles were of roughly worn rubber and the uppers were faded green canvas they were held on by the cross hatching of different pieces of string where once laces had been.

Further up the slender tanned legs were the very short legs of an old pair of cut off jeans that had also seen better days, around the leg holes they were worn and a little tattered, over one butt cheek was a small tear showing bare butt skin when he bent over, over his torso and underneath the outer coverings of shirt and jacket was a grubby tee shirt of indeterminate colour over which the faded blue plaid shirt hung open, the small white buttons long gone and never replaced.

Over all of this the teen wore a beaten and old short leather jacket that barely covered him to the waist although it looked to be about one size to big for his thin build, the bundle on his back was the faded and worn remains of a back pack much like one used by a school kid for his books, it had a rolled up and dirty sleeping bag tied to the top with frayed pieces of rope.

All this might seem strange to someone that did not know his background but what really stood out about one so young, were the weapons he wore and carried with an ease that should not have been a part of his demeanour, slung over his left shoulder was a small .22 calibre rifle mounted with a scope for better sighting, around his waist was a narrow looped belt that was mostly filled with the small brass bullets for the rifle, along with the small calibre bullets hung a large well used knife and, over his right shoulder lay a thick wide belt loaded with shotgun shells to match the sawn off, double barrel 410 magnum gauge he held in his hands and ever at the ready, the world of 2032 was not a place to be when young, alone and somewhat good looking, and definitely not to be unarmed in.

The world as we know it was no more, major financial collapses, intercine wars, religious fervour, bigotry, hate and fear now pervaded the world, it was every man for himself, to attach ones self to someone could lead to disaster, it had become common place for people to meet only on a casual basis and part with little thought or attachment, for a young teen it was a world of solitude that led to being ever vigilant and alert.

What had led the world to this point had happened so fast that few even realised what was happening until too late, for the young looking teen it had all been over when he was born in a drafty barn on the outskirts of a small town, his mother at thirteen years of age had little chance of surviving the birth and, had it not been for one of her slightly older friends taking the small bundle as she breathed her last, the teen would never have survived, at the age of eight he was just another dirty and scruffy wild kid on the streets trying to make it through one more day.

The lessons he learned at such a young age showed in the form of scars on his knees, legs and two long scars on his shoulder blades, his youthful face was marred only by a very thin white scar running from his right eyebrow to his jaw line although it was not at first obvious under the thin layer of road dirt.

Even before he was born the world was in trouble, the various financial institutions had folded in on themselves as monstrous loans made to countries that did not have the capability to repay them, began to default, Greece was followed quickly by Spain, then came Italy, Portugal, Lithuania and most of the Slavic countries, the biggest ripple was felt when France could no longer meet her obligations, the year of the Euro was soon close to the end, at the final opening of the books it was found that the ever powerful and strong Germany had been hiding its true state for years, at this disclosure it was only a matter of months before England, Australia, South Africa and even the once mighty and powerful United States were in a worse position than the historical Depression of the 1930's.

In Asia, the might of China soon felt the loss of essential trade as the economy of each trading partner collapsed into ruin, it was not long before its millions of peasant people began to rise up against the strictness of the communist rulers, it was the beginning of the end for the once secret country as even the army began to feel the pinch of non payment of wages, within three months of the other strong countries falling into depression, China was at the start of a rebellion that was to cause the death of millions and the collapse of the Communist overlords.

As countries collapsed under their burdens of debt, the first stirrings of religious fervour took over, Governments could no longer operate as their financial base took heavy hit after heavy hit until there was nothing left but despair and a future of hunger or war, most chose war, and so a modern day crusade began with a large number of churches leading the way.

In the middle East there had been intercine warfare which turned into genocide for the losing side, Islam was not only at war within itself but with everyone else that refused to join them, the Christian religions were also at each others throat, most saw this time as a way for them to finally gain control over the populace that had once spurned there radical ways.

The lesser Christian groups could only stand back and hope for the best as the stronger ones fought for dominance in a fast declining civilisation until only two dominated the world, Islam and Catholicism, both lead by radicals, Islam was determined to be the one and only religion throughout what was left after the wars, unfortunately for them, the Catholics had the same idea which could only lead to what was now known as the 'Second Inquisition'.

The battles were still being fought on so many fronts that it was easy to get confused as too who was fighting who as different factions split away and tried to form their own little sects, this had led to many young men being conscripted to do the fighting for the older if less wiser heads that ruled the factions, a young teen like the one that stood alone on the hill top was a prime target for such conscription and it was one of the main reasons he was careful to not be seen if at all possible, even a boy his own age could be a threat to his freedom in these tumultuous times.

While the Catholics had many varied brotherhoods among their empire, there were those that still tried to follow the pacifist way like the Franciscan and St Claire but, unfortunately there were those that had other ideas, the main pogrom of the new Inquisition was lead by both the Dominicans and the Jesuits, neither were what one could call, Saintly, theirs was a way of life that could only lead to torture or death or, more likely, both.

His name was Kros and, to the best of his limited knowledge, he was fourteen years old, in the last six years since his first foray onto the wild streets and country side, he had learnt many lessons, some hard and some passed on by one or two fleeting friendships, he had also been schooled by the birds and wild animals that now seemed to pervade every part of the land now that the mighty cities were no more and the avalanche of people had stopped trying to tame the wilds as their numbers shrank due to the many wars, famines and disease that reduced the populations around the world by hundreds of millions.

In this land of his there had once been many thriving farms that were now no more than ruins, the land returning to nature and the buildings reduced to piles of broken lumber and stone, all forms of farm animals now ran wild over the open spaces and, only in small hamlets much like the one below him was there any order although that was also controlled by those who had the means to rule with an iron fist and the loud voice of religion, none of this was for the teen that stood alone on the hill.

Kros could neither read nor write but he could do his numbers and did have an innate sense of right and wrong although it was a little skewed towards his own needs, for Kros there was no one else to consider, his survival was paramount in his plans and his way of life.

Kros looked down at the hamlet, it was surrounded by a thick wooden fence made from felled tree trunks and stood as high as two men, at the gateway and buried into the ground up to the top of their now idle tracks, sat two military tanks, the movement of the turrets showed they were still able to be used to defend the town with their long cannon.

Kros could see down into the centre of the small town, at its heart sat the spire of a church surrounded by what could be small stores and other smaller buildings that could only be the homes of the townspeople, it was only in small towns like this that any currency was ever used, for the general people that moved throughout the country there was a system of barter, items could be used far more easily than some useless coins or paper although Kros did have a few silver and copper coins in his small back pack for the rare occasion that he needed them, he had taken them from those that had tried in some way to get rid of him, he had the scars to prove his ability to defend himself.

His weapons he had come by in the same manner, either by trade or by conquest of his opponent, in his pack he carried the barest of needs to cook a meal and one single change of clothes although those in the pack were in no better condition than what he was wearing at the moment, for Kros it was a matter of wearing clothes so he did not get cold, if need be, and it had happened in the past, he was just as comfortable going as naked as the day he was born, to Kros's way of thinking, one way was as good as the other.

Surrounding the palliated town were small areas of farm land, some used as a means for vegetables while other areas were fenced off and held cattle, sheep and a few goats, to all intense and purposes the small hamlet town was self supporting they even had a small fresh water stream running under the palisade and guided through the centre of town as a streamlet enclosed in a concrete channel.

What had made Kros pause before trying to enter the town was the sight of three black robed figures sitting at a table by the church doors while the townspeople went up to them and did their business, Kros could easily guess what the business was, he had seen it time and time again as he travelled through the country looking for something that he did not know the name of or the reason for his wanderings.

Kros settled down on his haunches as he watched the black robed men in the town centre, he had crossed paths with others of their ilk and had no intentions of going anywhere near these three, his last meeting had been a close call and he had had to leave two bodies behind to get away, the small hidden two barrelled pistol, along with the handful of thick stubby bullets in his jacket pocket had been the reward for his escape, those black robed priests did not go around unarmed.

The sudden sound of surprised yells from the town below brought him out of his daydreaming, the scene below was now changing as two boys were being tightly held by two of the priests, one was no more than a young boy and the other was an older teen, perhaps two years older than Kros himself, Kros could not make out the words but the priests' actions spoke loudly, the two boys were being taken for some reason, to Kros's mind it was probably because the boys' mother and father could not pay the priests' tithe, it was a common occurrence nowadays.

The older teen would be sent to be trained as a soldier for the crusade overseas, the younger boy would be for the use of the priests and their nefarious ways, it was common knowledge that most of the priests had a penchant for young boys and, once the boys were of the right age, they were also sent away to fight for the church in the many overseas battles for dominance of religion.

There were no longer any private vehicles as most of the once easily available oil was no longer produced, the many wars had seen an end to that means of money and power, most transport nowadays was done by horse or man power, only a very few lucky priests had the use of old vehicles but many had been turned into covered wagons or had the hard roofs removed to make open carriages for people or produce to be carried around.

Kros knew that what was happening below was none of his business, he had his own problems to deal with and trying to rescue a couple of farm boys was not high on his list of things to do, in his mind he had already decided not to go down to the town, he had only a need for salt and it was not worth the aggravation he could get into if he went down there, he could live without salt for a little longer, the smoked and sun dried deer meat in his pack would see him through for some time yet, the need for salt was not paramount.

Kros rose and turned to leave, suddenly something made him pause, he had developed a feral sense and awareness in his time alone and had learnt not to disregard the feelings when they came over him, standing perfectly still he let his sharp pale eyes roam the land around his high point, it took him only a little time to see the slight movement in the long grass below his hill top, there was not even the slightest hint of a breeze so Kros knew that something or someone was hiding in the grass.

His instincts told him he was in no danger as the item below was not going to be able to come up the hill without Kros seeing him first, slowly he turned back the way he had come and prepared to move on and around the small town, a sound behind him brought him to an immediate halt, Kros spun around with the speed of a striking snake, the double barrels pointing towards the slim figure that suddenly appeared at a run coming towards him.

There seemed to be a strange familiarity about the young teen even though he was not looking directly at Kros, the look in the eyes of the boy was one of a hunted animal and the fear was almost a palpable scent in the air as Kros tightened his grip on the stubby weapon of the 410 gauge, both hammers were cocked and ready, at this range he would nearly cut the boy in half if need be.

Kros was about to lower the shotgun when he caught sight of the boy's face, it was an ever changing facade of fear, urgency and back to fear as the boy ran helter-skelter past him, the boy gave a loud shout at the strange armed boy as he passed.

"The priest is coming, run for your life."

The boy was then off as fast as his thin legs would carry him down the back of the hill, Kros looked back towards the town and saw one of the priests mounted on a fast galloping horse coming towards where he stood, the priest's black robes had ridden up his long thick legs and Kros could see the booted feet under the flapping robe, this was no time to be daydreaming and Kros turned and sprinted after the fast disappearing teen.

As he ran, Kros eased the twin hammers back down on the shotgun, it took little thought as he had done this so often it was almost as an afterthought, with a gesture made easy with long practice, Kros pushed the short stubby gun into his belt and swung the long .22 rifle from his shoulder, again with practiced ease he made sure that the magazine on the semi automatic was well seated and then cocked the rifle as he ran after the teen.

Kros reached the edge of the stand of trees where the other teen had disappeared, he could now plainly hear the thunder of the fast approaching hooves, even as fast on his feet as he was, Kros knew he could not outrun a fast horse and it would be stupid to even try, with that thought in his mind, Kros spun around and went to one knee as he raised the small rifle to his slender shoulder, looking through the enhanced sights he lined up the bobbing figure on the back of the horse, moving targets were not new to Kros and at this close range even he could not miss, he squeezed the trigger twice and felt the slight kick of the rifle against his shoulder, through the scope he watched as a shocked look came over the face of the fast closing priest, he then saw the two small holes in the forehead of the priest as they began to dribble out the first few drops of the now dead priest's blood, both shots were within an inch of each other and dead centre of the priest's sweating forehead.

Kros knew he was in no danger of the other priests hearing his two shots, it was one of the reasons he liked the smaller rifle, not only was he able to use it without a struggle but it was much quieter than its larger cousins and at close range was just as effective if you knew how to use it and Kros knew how to use it well.

As its rider fell from its back, the horse slowed until it was no more than walking at a slow pace, the smell of fresh grass soon took hold in the horse head and it stopped to eat as Kros approached the unmoving figure now crumpled in a heap on the hard ground, Kros knew that the priest would have something on him worth taking, you could not afford to walk away from a gift horse in these times.

As he crouched over the dead priest, Kros felt something approaching him from behind, spinning around and bringing the rifle to his shoulder once gain he then saw it was the same boy that had run madly past him on the hill, Kros lowered the rifle but kept it close just in case, even a young town teen could not be trusted if you wanted to stay alive.

"Is, is he dead?" stammered out the newcomer.

"I won't be standing here if he weren't."

"Who, who are you?"

"Who's you?" Kros countered.

"I'm Danil, those priests got my brothers and were coming after me, I had to run, I didn't want to be a bum boy for them and their likes."

Kros looked the town boy up and down for a minute, deep in his belly he felt a stirring that could only mean one thing, his body liked what he saw, Kros did not have any social graces, they were something he could not afford, when he saw something he liked or wanted, he took it or traded for it.

"I'm Kros, do you boy fuk?"

"You want to boy fuk right here after that priest nearly got us, are you a mad boy?"

"Not mad, not here, my gut says it's hungry for boy fuk so I want a boy fuk, you in?"

"I would like too but I have to try to save my brothers."

"Why?"

"Cause they are my brothers, I can't let those old priests have them, it's not right."

"How you going to get them from the priests, you think they just give too you?"

Kros could see that the teen was almost in tears as he tried to find a way to get his two brothers back, the lack of any ideas was obvious, the boy had not had to fight for everything, he had been protected by the town and by his parents, Kros looked the boy over once again, he would make a nice partner for a boy fuk but Kros had no intentions of fighting battles that were not his.

Kros turned back to the crumpled body and began to search it, under the black robe the priest wore nothing but a shirt and short pants, his belly was soft and large and covered in thick black hair, the shorts showed where the priest had vacated his bowels as his life left him, he ignored the rancid smell and began to loosen the belt that held a large pistol and a long heavy knife around the priest's waist.

From one of the inside pockets of the robe, Kros took a substantial number of silver and copper coins, the roll of paper he left behind, they meant little to him, a few more bits and pieces that he found went into his own pockets, the one find he really appreciated was the small leather wallet holding needles and thread along with a few buttons, this was indeed a good find.

Kros turned back to see the look on the other teen's face, it was one of shock and a little horror, Kros could not make out what had the boy so concerned.

"What?" asked Kros.

"You, you can't do that."

"Do what?"

"Take things from a priest, specially when he is dead."

"Why not, he's dead, he can't use no more, better I have it than the crows."

"But, but!"

Kros threw the pistol and belted knife towards the teen and watched as the boy fumbled the catch until he got a solid grip on the heavy belt.

"You want to save ya brothers, you gonna need that, those other priests not going to like you just taking them."

"I don't know how to use it, we're not allowed guns in town."

"If you going after your brothers then you better learn quick, just hold it in both hands and pull back the hammer then squeeze the trigger, just make sure you ain't looking down the barrel when it goes bang."

The boy looked at Kros as though he was some sort of foreign person and not the boy who had saved him from the charging priest.

"I don't know anything about guns, can you teach me, or even better, help me get my brothers back?"

"Why would I, what you gonna pay me to help you?"

"Pay you? I don't have anything, why don't you do it just to help people, that's what good Christian people do."

"I ain't no Christian people, and no Christian people ever helped me, you want me ta help you pay me somethin'."

"But what, I told you I have nothing."

"You got you."

"What do you mean?"

Kros replaced his rifle on his shoulder and once again pulled out the stubby shotgun.

"See this here, I played bum boy for an old man for five days for this and the shells, you want my help for your brothers and you be my boy fuk for five days, you do all the cooking and watch my gears if I go out hunting then you be my boy fuk at night time, take it or leave it."

Danil looked at the hard faced boy in front of him, he wasn't averse to being a boy fuk, in fact he quite liked doing it, but was it worth five days of being this strange young teen's sole boy fuk in return for his brothers' lives, added to that he was now part of the death of a priest, he almost felt like breaking down into tears, at last he saw no other way out of it and the strange boy was not that bad looking although he did need a good wash and some clean clothes, Danil shrugged his shoulders, he was certain that his brothers were well worth five nights of boy fuks, he looked at Kros with a little more determination on his young smooth face.

"Ok, but we get my brothers back first."

"Done, now let's go further back in the trees, you need to learn to use that gun if we gonna get them back, go get the horse, we may need it later."

Kros led the way deeper into the thickening trees, when he thought they were well away from being heard, he slipped off his pack and began to show Danil how to use the heavy pistol, they only had twelve bullets so they could not go wasting any but Kros got him to fire off two shots so he would know how it felt, neither of the shots even came close to the tree trunk he was using as a target, he hoped it would not be needed but at least now Danil knew how to use it even if he couldn't hit anything.

"When can we go after my brothers?" Danil asked Kros.

"When it's dark, they won't go nowhere for now, too late in the day and they will be searching for that dead priest, when they find him they will want to search and then call for more help, how far away is the next church with more priests?"

"Two full days even at a fast gallop, maybe three if they are slower."

"So, two days to get there and two or three to get back, where will they keep your brothers?"

"Probably in the basement of the church, it's all stone down there and they won't be able to get away."

"How many more priests in the town?"

"Two more in the church, these three came from the other town to get the tithe so now there's four altogether."

"What's the townies going to do if we make some noise getting the brothers?"

"Some of them are going to get angry but most will just shut their doors and not look, the priests have stolen a lot from them and they are not liked much out here in the wilds."

"Any other way into the town instead of past those metal guns?"

"There's a small hole in the wall where most of the boys sneak out when they want to do things alone or without the elders watching."

"Do the priests know about the hole?"

"No, we hide it behind some old boxes and rubbish, only some of the older boys know about it."

"Then we go in that way when it's dark, now you can't be slow, we go in, get your brothers and get out, we try to not have troubles, if the priests try to stop us we kill them and run, ok?"

"K..Kill them?"

"Yup, theys only priests, don't mean much to anyone, we got to get a long way from here before anyone comes to look for us so no fuk about."

"Ok, I'll try."

"No just trying, you do it and run with your brothers but you stay close to me you owe me five days of boy fuk and work, you not pay you will be sorry."

"Ok, I know, you get my brothers and I'll keep my word."

"Good then let's eat and sleep until dark, follow me."

Kros led Danil a little deeper into the trees where he had the boy tie up the horse with a length of rope long enough so the horse could continue to feed, if things went wrong they would need its speed to escape, once done they looked for a place to hide until it was full night, he got out some dried deer meat and gave it to Danil before settling back with some himself.

As they chewed silently, Kros looked the teen over, the slight bulge in the boy's rough pants gave him a warm feeling deep in his own groin, if what he thought he saw was real then he was going to enjoy being underneath the teen when they had time, for now he was content to lay back and just watch the other boy.

Danil was about the same height as Kros but his body was a little thicker and showed some promise of heavy muscles when he was older, he had a crop of dark brown hair cut short all over, small ears stuck out from the side of his head, his eyes were green flecked with brown and his nose was more of a small button than Kros's own long slender one, there was the faintest smattering of freckles over the bridge of the boy's nose, Kros decided he found the boy quite appealing.

Kros awoke in full darkness, there was only the faintest of slivers of the moon showing in the dark sky above them, out of habit he knew when, where and why he was here, his ears searched the area around them while his eyes grew used to the dark, he had found out some time ago that his unusual pale eyes gave him better night vision than most ordinary people, he searched around him to make sure his weapons were close at hand, with a soft grunt he reached over and poked Danil in the ribs to wake him.

"Time to go, it's middle night and they will all be sleeping now, just stay close and follow me, don't make any noise, we aren't the only ones out at night."

Kros took the lead, the sound of Danil behind him seemed very loud in his ears, he was used to moving almost in total silence when alone and, even though Danil was born in the wild, he seemed to move like a drunken man in the stillness of the night, Kros hoped nothing hungry would hear them as he moved with confidence through the thick trees towards the distant township.

Kros led them unerringly to the top of the same hill where they had first met, down below the small town was dark and silent, it was far too late to be out and about when there was a heavy work load to do the following morning, the folk of the wilds were not late night people.

Kros led Danil to the rear of the heavy wooden palisade where he let the other boy lead him to the hidden entrance through the high walls, Kros had expected it to be a tight squeeze but was soon pleasantly surprised when Danil pulled aside some thick bushes to reveal two of the heavy poles had been carefully cut to create a small doorway, the two cut short lengths of pole were easy to pull away and the two boys wriggled through with little difficulty.

Inside all was quiet, the only light showing was high up on the second floor of the church, there was no need for guards in this small town except for the two men inside the hunkered down tanks at the gate, there may have been little trouble this far out in the wilds but they still took no chances and the finding of the dead priest earlier in the day only went further to prove this point.

The remaining priests had sent one of their number galloping off to carry the news and get more help, if there were bandits in the area they would need to be found quickly and brought before the board of the Inquisition for payment of their crime.

In the church the body of the slain priest lay in his rough wooden coffin in front of the main alter, there would be a special service for him on the next day, he was attended by each of the priests throughout the night in relays, one staying by the coffin at all times.

Kros and Danil quietly sneaked up to the main door of the church, they soon found that the door was locked, they would have to find another way inside, Danil took the lead and showed Kros the small back door that led to the sacristy where the young boys who attended the many masses got changed into their white smocks.

Much to Kros's surprise, the door was unlocked and they were able to slip inside without making any noise, with careful and quiet steps, Danil led Kros through into the main body of the church, they were about to walk boldly out when Kros heard a faint cough from the front of the church, with a quick fore arm he stopped Danil from going further while he looked around a thick wooden beam and down to where he saw the coffin and the figure of the seated black robed priest.

Silently, Kros, using signs, asked where the door to the cellar was, it took a few minutes to get the question through to Danil but once he understood he pointed to a thick door at the side of the church, they would have to pass right by the priest to get to it, Kros pushed Danil back the way they had come and, once inside the small room he began to take off his equipment and hand it to the other boy, keeping only his knife he gestured for Danil to stay there while he went to look after the priest, there was a sudden shocked look on the face of Danil as he realised what Kros was about to do.

Danil was now conflicted as to what he should do, it was evident that Kros was about to do away with another priest but, balanced against that were the lives if his brothers, he sighed heavily as he made the final decision, his family had too come first, he gripped Kros's possessions a little tighter and stepped back, it was the only way.

Kros slipped through the door once again and went to the floor on his belly, slithering along like a large snake, he made his way forward going around or under the many rows of seats, from below the front and final row of seats he could make out the priests shod feet, he was seated no more than five feet [1½ m] away with his back to the rest of the church as he bowed his head with his hands clasped together in prayer for his lost friend, for him there was no signal just a faint movement of air then something very sharp cutting quickly through his throat, his gurgles sounded loud in the stillness of the empty church as Kros let the body slump to the stone floor.

Kros showed no emotion as the body slipped to the floor, turning his head he gave a soft whistle that was just loud enough to reach the waiting ears of Danil as he stood behind the thick beam, quickly Danil made it to the side of Kros where he handed back the equipment he had been holding, with practiced ease, Kros replaced his gear and led the way to the thick door, he did not even give the cooling body a single glance as he tried the door.

Danil stood frozen for a few seconds as the scene of the dead priest filled his head, he now had to go all the way, it was far too late to salvage anything from this night on, he would be a hunted boy for the rest of his life, the killing of a priest was the worst thing one could do and they would never give up hunting the perpetrators.

Finally, when he could pull his eyes away from the scene on the floor, Danil followed Kros to the door which the strange boy now had open, the stone steps leading below were well worn and there was the faintest of glows in the darkness, again Kros took the lead, with a light glowing down there it could mean the boys had a guard, he gripped his long sharp knife a little tighter, he couldn't afford to use one of his guns in this confined space or within the limits of the town.

When he reached the bottom step he saw that the basement was empty except for the outline of two boys asleep in a barred area at the end of the long room, most of the area was used for storage and only the single barred cell marked off the place from the rest of the open area.

Kros whispered a few words in Danil's ear and the boy set off to where his two brothers lay asleep, Kros remained alert and on guard at the bottom of the steps, the two captured boys would need to see their brother before they would feel safe escaping from the hands of the priests.

It took Danil a little time to wake his brothers, he was glad to see that his little brother had as yet not filled a priest's bed but was curled up comfortably in his older brother's arms, finally Danil managed to awaken his older brother, at the sight of Danil, Grega gave a start then looked down at the still sleeping form of the youngest one, with a gesture, Danil finally got Grega to come to the door carrying the small figure of Davi in his arms, the young boy had not stirred even in the slightest, in a hushed whisper, Danil explained why he was there and that he had help but they had to leave straight away, Grega just nodded and pointed his head towards where the key hung on the wall.

Danil got the key and opened the door just as Davi raised his head and looked at his brother with sleep filled eyes, Grega whispered softly in the young boys ear to go back to sleep as they were going to leave this place for somewhere safe, Davi nodded sleepily and settled back into his older brother's chest as he followed Danil to where Kros waited for them.

Grega gave the young strange teen a look of askance as he followed Danil, the teen was not one of the town's boys so he did not know him but he seemed to know his brother Danil, he had to take a chance he would not let the priests take his little brother for a bed boy for the likes of them even if it meant they would forever after be on the run from the Inquisition and its tormentors, Grega just followed along as the stranger led the way back up the stone steps and into the body of the church, while the sight of a dead priest on the floor of the church at first startled Grega he soon ignored it and quickly followed the other two out of the church building.

As the group of four made it away from the now covered hole on the palisade, they suddenly heard the loud peeling tones of the large bell in the tower of the church, the dead priest had been found, the boys were now on the run as the town behind them began to awake to the sound of the loud ringing bell.

With a speed that would have been reckless to others, Kros led the boys easily through the dark and up the hill, as the furore continued behind them but began to fade with distance; Kros led the boys into the darkness of the woods on an unerring path towards where the horse stood waiting for them, he could hear the two boys stumbling behind him and had to return to help them a number of times until finally he made it to the small clearing where the outline of the horse stood waiting.

"You ride ok?"

"A little." Grega replied for them both.

Kros just nodded and then began to get rid of the single saddle, there were no bags to go through for treasure but he took the new looking rope from the horn of the saddle and threw it over his head so it sat around his neck, he would put it into his pack when they were at a safe distance from the clamour behind them.

Kros watched as Grega gave the still sleeping little boy to his brother so he could mount the horse, once that was done, Danil passed the boy up to him and, with the help of Kros and an outstretched hand from Grega, he also mounted.

Kros untied the halter from the tree branch and gave it a light tug to get the horse moving, within a few paces, Kros was loping silently through the darkness, his soft rubber soles making no sound on the soft ground and only the steady rhythm of the horse hooves as it trotted behind him could be heard.

Grega had placed the now awakening boy between himself and Danil who sat in front of him, as Davi woke he realised he had to grip onto the waist of his middle brother so he would not fall and be lost in the dark, the comforting hands of Grega around his waist also gave him a sense of safety as he bounced up and down on the horse.

The innate knowledge of his surroundings gave Kros all the information he needed to head through the darkness; he avoided the black tree trunks and large bushes with ease, in his right hand he carried the shotgun and in his left the reins of the horse, it seemed to know that the human leading it was safe and so followed along without trouble.

Kros's ground eating pace soon had them approaching a lighter patch of trees, another ten minutes and they stopped on the edge of the wood, before them was an open plain no more than half a mile wide where it then led up to the high rising cliffs that told of the looming mountains further away, it was this place that Kros was heading for, he knew of a cave they could stay in for the day and then move on during the following night, the townspeople would not try to find them during the night and he felt sure they would not be able to track them through the woods.

Breaking into his loping run once again he led the horse forward towards the cliff face, he could almost hear the boys on its back groan from the unaccustomed mode of transport, their butts would be good and tender by the time they stopped, Kros thought that Danil would be happy that Kros would be too tired to have his first boy fuk tonight.

It took another fifty minutes for Kros to find the large cave, there he had the boys dismount while he led the horse and the following boys deeper inside, he knew from before that the cave was deep and the hard stone floor would show no tracks to be followed by any hunters.

After walking for five minutes in the pitch dark, Kros called a halt, the steady sound of dripping water caught the boys' attention, their throats were by now very dry and, as the first faint glimmer of daylight filtered into the depths of the large cave, their eyes caught the site of the small pool of fresh water at the base of the stone walls in the back of the cave.

Kros led the horse to the water and let him drink; once that was done he removed the reins and looped them around the front feet of the horse so he would not run away while they all slept, Kros then started to remove his pack and lay his guns close beside him, as he watched the boys drink from the shallow pool, he got some more meat out of his pack, he would now have to be careful on how much they ate until he could get more, once he was rid of the boys he could go about his own business although he had no idea what that business was, until then he had a boy to do his work and for his fun as a boy fuk.

Once the boys had drank their fill and come to sit around Kros, he handed them all some of the dried meat and settled back to rest, he watched as the oldest boy looked him over, Kros was not used to being examined so closely.

"What?" he asked Grega.

"Why did you help us, you don't look like the type of boy who helps strangers?"

"Got a bargain with your brother."

"A bargain, what bargain?"

"Ask him, he's your brother."

"I'm asking you." The look of anger on Grega's face soon had him looking down the twin barrels of the shot gun.

"Ask your brother, you try angry at me then look out." Kros waved the shot gun for emphasis as his eyes began to burn into Grega's own, the older boy was no fool and quickly saw he was on dangerous ground, with a shrug of his shoulders he turned to his younger brother.

"So what's up between you and him?" asked Grega of his brother.

"We made a deal if he helped to rescue you."

"What deal?"

"I would do work for him for five days." Grega saw the slightly flustered look on his brother's face and knew there was something he was not telling him.

"And?"

"That's between me and him, stop being the big nosy brother."

"What else, I know you and you're not telling me everything."

Danil looked even more embarrassed as he looked into the searching eyes of his older brother, it was a dead give away and he knew it.

"I got to be his boy fuk as well."

Grega turned to Kros and eyed him up and down like a wild animal getting ready to jump; Kros just smiled and waved the shot gun once again.

"Deal is a deal, not your business."

Grega could see the truth of the matter and, while he did not like the thought of his younger brother selling himself to this boy, he was not about to make it worse by making him back out of a deal that had been agreed on, he sighed and could only nod his head in agreement, there was little he could do about it if he wanted to get well away from anyone that might try to retake them, he only hoped the boy would have some decency and not make out with his brother in front of little Davi, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Ok, a deal is a deal but nothing in front of Davi, he's too young to see that sort of thing going on."

Kros just nodded his head, he had no intention of letting the others see what sort of thing he liked to do with other boys, Kros rose and made for the entrance of the cave, as he went to sleep close to the entrance where he would hear anyone trying to sneak up on them, he turned his head towards the three boys in the faint light.

"Go sleep, when it's night we have a long way to go for safety, I'll sleep close to the cave mouth so we don't get caught."

That said, Kros left the three alone to find a sleeping place, he was too tired for long discussions on the morals of the agreement, Kros found a reasonably comfortable place near the entrance and arranged his guns around him, the little double barrel pistol was hidden in his hand as he dropped off to his own sleep.

The faint stamping of the horses hooves woke Kros in the late afternoon, carefully raising his head, he searched outside the cave for any odd movement or danger, seeing none, he made his way back to where the three boys were still sleeping, unhitching the horse he led it outside so it could feed on the plentiful grass just outside the cave mouth, water would be easy to come by once they got further towards the wide track that led over the cliffs, it would be well into the night before they made it to the top of the low range of hills,

Kros waited and watched as the horse first fed then spent some time vacating its bowels, when this was done he led it back inside just in time to see the three boys rising from their sleep.

"Drink plenty and I'll get some meat out, we have to leave as soon as the sun is down, we have a long way to go before we can stop again."

The boys said nothing but just followed the instructions, once they were well watered and fed, Kros led them outside and got them up on the horse again, just like the previous night, he put the shot gun in his right hand and the reins in his left, once everything was settled to his satisfaction he strode off with long ground eating strides, for one as short as he was, the ground just seemed to pass under his feet with little effort, the horse followed along at a quick walk, the three boys perched up on his back.

At the steady pace he was using, Kros was soon at the base of the wide path up to the top of the ridge, by now he had only the light of the rising moon to see by but for him it was plenty, the path was wide and reasonably clear of any rock falls or other hindrances, he led the horse upwards, it would be a long slow climb, Kros knew of a wide stopping place just over half way where they could rest for a little and eat some more dried meat, there was also a small dribble of fresh water that cascaded from above that they could use to refresh themselves and the horse.

Just after midnight, they came to the wide part of the track, none of the boys would ever know that this used to be a popular lookout spot for travellers that were going over the range of hills, for them it was just a good wide stopping place to rest their weary bodies and wet their now dry throats.

As the others rested, Kros went to the very edge of the track and looked back along their path for any signs of pursuit, much to his satisfaction there was little or no sign of anyone following them although, far away on the opposite ridge line, three yellow specks of light were showing, Kros knew they could only be made by the flames of open fires, they had pursuers although they were far away and would find it hard to catch the fast moving boys.

Kros put the new information in the back of his mind, for now he had to get the boys safely over the hill and into an area where they would be impossible to be found, this safe haven was still three days fast movement away, he would not be able to have his contract paid for a few more days yet, Kros turned back and watched the three boys as they rested.

The older boy, Grega was almost the older version of Danil, had there not been two or three years difference in their ages they would have been taken for identical twins, the little boy Davi was also going to be much like the two older ones, there was no denying that the three were brothers, Kros began to find all three attractive although the youngest had a long way to go before he would be appealing as a boy fuk but the older one certainly had Kros's hormones working.

Kros shook his head to clear away the thoughts, it was time to start moving again, calling the three boys to remount the horse, Kros set up everything as before, with a light tug on the reins, Kros had them moving forward at a steady pace, the clop, clop of the horses hooves seemed to fill the night around them.

The first faint glimmer of dawn was showing in the east as the small group came up over the top of the pass and onto the flat ground of the mesa top, Kros led the way to another hole that indicated another cave, he knew they would be safe for the rest of the morning, it was his intentions to now move during the day so they could make better time, they would rest and sleep here until midday then move on, with the lead they now had it should be easier to stay well ahead of any pursuit.

Kros watched as the three boys settled down to sleep, tossing his back pack to Danil, he told him.

"Watch, don't touch anything inside, I'll be back soon."

So saying he turned his back and began to lope towards the edge of the mesa where they had just come over, once on the very edge, Kros used his eyes and, after a few minutes, at the very furtherest edge of his visual capabilities, he saw ten small black dots moving towards the cave they had stayed in yesterday, ahead of the ten dots he could just make out two smaller ones, it was the last thing he wanted to see, the followers had dogs.

Kros could tell that the group would not catch up to them for a long time yet, the climb alone would take them close to a full day and they still had another hour at least to get to the base of the mesa, he guessed they would stop for the rest of the day and start their climb tomorrow, he had plenty of time.

Returning to the small cave he saw that Danil was sleeping with his head on the unopened pack, Kros smiled and settled down for a quick nap of his own, from here onwards it would be easier and mostly downhill, he could speed up a little and be well away before the trackers got anywhere close to them.

Kros was awoken by the heat of the midday sun, with a little stretch and yawn he went about waking the others, in only a matter of minutes the small group was moving quickly to the far edge of the mesa, once there Kros increased the pace and led them all down another track, it was easy going and they began to make good time, while it took a good ten hours to get up to the top of the mesa, it took less than three hours to make it down, by later afternoon they were all on flat ground and Kros was leading them at a fast trot towards some far off trees which would be their camp for the night, along the way Kros stopped only once to take the time to shoot a wild turkey for their dinner, as he ran with the horses reins over his shoulder, he plucked the large bird.

Kros was not worried about the line of feathers he left behind, the trackers knew they were ahead of them and the soft ground under the hooves of the horse left a very clear path, they would just have to outdistance the followers until he could get to the place he knew would conceal them more easily.

As the last glimmer of daylight left the sky, Kros took out his worn flint and got a fire going, he had got Danil to use the large knife they had taken from the priest and gut the turkey then cut it up into pieces small enough to cook quickly, they were all hungry and needed the fresh bird meat, the horse was staked out with the longer new rope so it could happily feed to its hearts content, it had had to carry a triple burden and was in need of a good rest.

Just inside the trees where they camped was a small stream that supplied all the water they needed, as a further bonus, Kros decided it was time to wash both himself and his clothes, to this end he stripped naked and, after also pulling out his other used clothes from his pack, he gave them to Danil and told him to start washing while their meal cooked, for himself he got the sliver of soap he still had and went to a slightly deeper pool along the bank and jumped in, little time passed before the river had a thin film of soap suds flowing past where Danil bent over trying to scrub dirt from the boy's clothes, Grega watched his brother then rose and went to help, little Davi could only sit and stare at the naked boy in the pool, he was fascinated by the scars on the boy's back, they looked old but must have been very painful when he got them.

Kros finished washing and looked at the now thinner sliver of soap, he would have to get more when he went for salt, his slender boyhood and small testicles had shrivelled up in the cold water but he took no notice of it as he walked towards the fire to dry off, he totally ignored the looks of the little boy as he stood over the fire drying, behind him he could hear the two older ones working on his clothes, the slap, slap of the clothes as they hit the rock was almost a calming beat as they worked.

Kros looked closely at the meat of the turkey; it had been speared onto fresh green sticks and hung over the flames to cook, the smell of the fresh cooking meat brought saliva to his mouth as he contemplated the fresh taste it would bring, they would feast well tonight, Kros turned around so he could dry his back, the eyes of the little boy never leaving his body and what it showed, Kros ignored him.

Just as the meat was ready, the other two boys arrived with the wet clothes, using some more fresh cut sticks, they set about arranging the clothes around the fire to dry, the sight of a naked Kros was at first alarming as they noticed their littlest brother eyeing the teen but then ignored him as they finished hanging the clothes, the turkey was now cooked and they were hungry.

An hour later and the turkey was no more, only a pile of discarded bones told of its existence, the four boys were now lying back, their young bellies distended almost beyond what they were designed for, the soft sound of belches could be heard in the dark night as they all settled down around the fire to sleep, Kros was still naked as his clothes hung drying.

Just before he dropped off to sleep, Danil wondered what it would like to cuddle up close to the naked body of the boy that had saved them all, while his thoughts were in that direction his body was just too tired to make anything of it and he let his eyes close and the warmth of the fire send him into dream land.

Chapter 2
Safe?

It was still dark when Kros opened his eyes, he had to get the boys moving as soon as they had eaten, with a little shove on the nearest shoulder, he rose and went to his clothes, most were nearly dry so he replaced a clean tee shirt, this one was pale green, his blue plaid and of course recovered his leather jacket from where he had used it for a pillow, once his weapons and pack were donned, he was ready to move.

After giving out some of his thinning supply of dried meat and making sure the boys had drunk their fill of water, he put the halter back on the horse and led it to where the boys waited, once little Davi and the slightly larger Danil were sitting up on the horse, Grega said.

"I can run with you, it will be easier on the horse if he only has to carry those two light weights."

"No you get on the horse; you will only slow us down."

"But I can run as fast as you."

"Maybe, but ya can't run as far as I can at speed, now get up there, we don't waste no more time."

Grega thought it better not to argue with the teen, it was better to follow his orders and argue it all out later, Grega jumped onto the back of the horse, he was barely seated before Kros led off at his previous fast loping run, the horse dutifully following his lead, Kros had once again looped the reins over his shoulder instead of holding them in his hands, those he need to be free to carry his .22 rifle, the area they were going into would give him many opportunities for meat and he did not want a good shot to be lost by having to put down the reins.

They made good time over the stony ground leaving very little tracks for the others to follow although Kros knew they could not get rid of all the traces they left behind, especially the horse, they would just have to try to outdistance their chasers.

They had been moving for more than three hours and were now going through some light woods, the ground underneath them was soft and made for silent going, the sudden crack of the small rifle in Kros's hands made the other three jump, a cough and squeal in some nearby bushes told their own story.

Kros removed the reins and tossed them to the waiting hands of Danil, he then went into the large bush, within seconds there was another softer squeal and the bushes shivered as something tried to move deeper, suddenly the moving stopped and the next thing they saw Kros dragging a small deer from the bushes, when he got next to the horse, he signalled Grega to jump down and help him throw the small deer up on the back of the horse, he would dress it out later, for now they did not have the time to waste.

The four boys were soon on their way again, Kros led them eastward with his long loping ground eating stride, they moved fast for the rest of the day, the only stop was for Kros to gut the deer and then they moved on again, he wanted to be at the beginning of the woods before dark, they were a thin dark line below the high range of hills in front of them, Kros knew that once there it would be almost impossible for the chasers to catch them, he also had a little trick to put them off the trail.

It was almost fully dark when they came upon a deep wash that was hidden from sight until you were fully upon it, Kros led the horse along the bank until he came to a narrow track leading down into the wash, moving further along the bottom of the dry stream bed he came to a place that had the look of a camp site, the remains of an old fire could still be seen under the overhanging bank.

Kros told the boys to get down, he then detailed Danil to start getting firewood while he sent Grega further along to where a shallow pool of fresh water could be found, for himself he set about skinning and cutting up the small deer, the head, once severed from the torso was put aside and out of the reach of the fire.

Kros worked smoothly and from long practice, after making the initial cuts in the skin to free it from the four legs and finished cutting it along the belly line, he then turned it on one side and began to punch it with his small hands as he pulled mightily with the other, smoothly the skin began to peel off the carcase with ease, it was also clear of any meat or fat, by this time Danil had returned with a large arm load of dead wood for the fire, he stood with mouth agape as he watched the ease with which Kros removed the deer skin.

This was a totally new way of skinning, usually it was just flayed from the carcase and thrown aside for the dogs, this way it would be clean and could be used for something else without having to scrape for days to rid it of left over fat and meat, Danil could only shake his head in wonder as he watched Kros work away.

Grega returned shortly with their only water skin filled with fresh water, little Davi had set about playing under the overhang that the temporary camp had been made in, Danil tore his eyes away from the sweating back of Kros and began to set the fire, he would need the flint from Kros to start it going, tonight they would again have fresh meat.

It was fully dark by the time Kros was finished but, by the light of the now roaring fire, he finished cutting up the carcase, the two long back steaks were cut up and fed onto long sticks to be placed over the flames, the two rear haunches were set on thicker sticks to cook overnight, Kros then set Grega the task of cutting the rest of the small deer into long thin strips and to hang them close to the fire so they would dry and smoke, Kros then carried the severed head to the edge of the camp and tied the small antlers with some of the old rope from his sleeping bag, he now had a length of new rope for that purpose.

After securing the head, he lifted it up onto a high boulder set in the side of the wash; he had another use for it in the morning and did not want some wild animal to take it during the night, by two hours past sundown, they had their small camp ready, the meat was cooked and the boys were feasting as they watched the rest slowly cooking over the heavily smouldering fire, Kros had added some green wood to the fire to get more smoke, he was not worried about their followers as it was dark and they would not be travelling nor would they be able to see the smoke of the fire, Kros settled back to enjoy his mornings kill.

When they had all eaten their fill, Kros told Danil to sleep with him in his old sleeping bag, Grega and Davi would sleep under the soft warm skin of the freshly killed deer, Kros saw the look on Danil's face and shook his head, he was still too tired for any boy play, they had one more day to go before they would be safely out of reach of the priests that followed them.

When the sun rose in the morning, Kros detailed the day for the other three boys, most of the meat that had been over the smoking fire was now cooked enough that it would not rot in the daytime heat, the three boys would carry it on the horse while Kros went in a different direction.

He told Danil and Grega to take the horse and ride until up out of the wash and turn to the left, they would drag a large clump of scrub bush behind them to cover their tracks, they had to ride until they came to a single large boulder sitting out on the plain all by itself, once there they were to wait for him to catch up, which could take until later that night or early the next morning, they were not too leave the boulder and had to sleep without a fire until he got there, once they fully understood; Kros sent them away with his pack and the stubby shot gun, the rifle he slung over his back and began to prepare for his own little game of cat and mouse with the chasers.

Kros recovered the deer's head and climbed the opposite side of the wash, once there he took a small leather bag from his pocket, tipping the reddish brown powder into his palm he spread it over the ground in the direction the three boys and the horse had gone, once done he took hold of the rope with the deer's head tied to it and began to trot away in the opposite direction from that of the boys, leaving a faint trail of drying blood on the ground as well as the heavy scent of a fresh kill, he well knew which direction the two dogs would go after they got a good nose full of the powder he had left behind.

Kros continued on his trotting run until he was deep in the tree line, he had been on the move for over two hours and was now ready to leave the well worn and dirty head of the deer for the dogs, after spreading a little more of the reddish powder over the ground as he moved backwards until he came to a likely tree, wiping his hands on his jacket, he jumped high and caught the first branch then swung his legs up until he was sitting comfortably above the ground and looking down at his efforts.

With a last look at his handiwork, Kros stood up on the thick limb and began to work his way higher, he had no intention of being anywhere near this place when the chasers arrived, to escape he would use the highway in the trees as, in this new woodland, the large trees were close enough together for him to make good time back towards where the boys should be waiting for him, he was confident that he could travel through the night and find them if needed.

Kros was high in a large redwood tree when he caught the first signs of the followers, they were in a tight group with the two large brown dogs out in front, although to Kros's eyes it looked like the dogs were having trouble following the scent of the deer, he smiled to himself at his smartness of the trick he had learnt a long time ago.

Kros stayed as still as a rock high up in the tree, he would be almost invisible to those on the ground but be able to follow them at all times while never having to set foot on the ground. Kros almost laughed out loud as he watched the two dogs come up on the deer's head, from then on it was a lost cause for the ten priests, the dogs would not leave the fresh deer's head for anything, combined with very sore and tender noses from the powder, the dogs just did not want to go any further much to the anger of the priests.

On the ground below him, Kros could hear the priests arguing about what they should do, the dogs could no longer find or follow a trail, it was as if they had lost all sense of smell and had little joy in tracking anymore, the dog owner was also not happy, somehow the fleeing fugitives had disabled his dogs, they would never be the same again.

The priests finally came to a decision, they would use the other man to track the hunted, that was until they found he had no track to follow, the couple of faint foot prints near the deer's head disappeared into thin air only feet away from the head, it was another disappointment, they had no leads to the whereabouts of the killers of two priests.

Kros watched as the message finally sunk into the priests' heads, he barely smiled as he watched them turn back with a resigned look on their faces and begin the long and arduous trip back to their small hamlet, Kros stayed high in the tree until the ten men had completely disappeared, he could follow their progress easily from his high point and watched them until it was almost dark, in the last faint glow of the dying sun, he shimmied down the large tree and took off at a steady trot towards where he had told the boys to wait for him.

It was an hour before dawn when he saw the boulder and another five minutes before he saw the three boys, Danil was curled up with Davi in his sleeping bag, his pack was under Danil's head as a pillow, Grega sat with his back against the boulder and the short shot gun in his slack hands as he snored quietly in sleep, Kros smiled at the sight of the guard fast asleep, he would not have been much protection for the other two.

Kros moved silently up to Grega and took the gun out of his hands before the boy could open his eyes, he then kneeled down close and slapped Grega hard on the cheek then jumped back out of the way of the startled boy as he tried to focus his eyes on the sudden attacker, Kros pushed the shot gun into Grega's face and then said.

"If I was bad you and your brothers would be dead, if you're the guard you stay awake all the time."

Grega could only look at the young teen with surprise on his face, he had been caught flat footed and had no excuse, his face reddened and he just lowered his head in shame, he had let his brothers down and it was only luck that it was Kros and not someone looking for easy pickings.

Kros was now tired, it had been a long day and night for him and he was ready for a long sleep, with little ceremony, he went to the sleeping bag and gave Danil a light kick to wake him up, when the two sleeping boys had their eyes open, Kros said.

"I need some sleep, those priests have given up so now is the time for me to get some rest, Grega, you have to get that skin laid out, take some water from the skin and start to rub it into the deer skin to soften it, if it dries too much it will be good for nothing, Danil, you and your little brother go out and find some firewood, there's plenty here abouts, get a fire going and cook some meat for us while I get some sleep, wake me when the sun is at midday, we have a lot to do before we start off again, we are about one day from full safety but for now we should be ok.

After this long speech, Kros curled up in his sleeping bag, his .22 rifle was in the bag with him, the shot gun in one hand and, hidden under the bag in his left hand was the sturdy little hand gun, Kros's eyes closed instantly and the others could already hear the soft steady breathing as he slept.

When he awoke just as the sun was at its highest in the sky, Kros could smell fresh cooked meat, Davi was playing with some stones in an age old game of Bones, Danil was helping Grega as they knelt over the deer skin and worked a little water into it, quickly, Kros scanned around their camp, all looked safe and he gave himself a good stretch just like a cat would do, it was one of the things he had learnt from his observation of the wild animals.

Rising from his sleeping bag he went straight to the fire without saying a word to anyone, cutting a large chunk of meat off the now well cooked hindquarter that was to the side of the smouldering fire, Kros sat and watched the two older boys working.

"Gather some of the fire ash and start to rub it in deep, we have no salt so it will cure the hide for now, you are going to need it for a blanket at night from now on, it's going to get colder as we move up into the hills." Kros told the two boys.

Much to Kros's surprise, young Davi came over to him with a smile on his face, without saying a word, the little boy sat down so his butt was against Kros's knees as he leaned back against Kros's chest as he ate, Davi lifted and turned his head so he was looking up at Kros.

"Thank you for saving us; can I have some meat too?"

Kros almost laughed at the small boy, it was almost like giving Kros a thank you meant Davi was entitled to some more food, Kros tousled his brown hair and cut off a slice of the deer meat and gave it to the smiling boy, Davi quickly went about eating as his eyes glinted in the midday sun.

After they had been working for over an hour on the skin, Kros told them to take a break and let the ash and water work its own way into the skin while they got some food, the four boys sat around the low smouldering fire as the sun began to sink into the west, Grega and Danil went to work on the skin one more time and now found it to be softer and more easy to work with, it would make a good blanket for Davi and Grega, there was little doubt as to where Danil would be sleeping.

Kros had decided to stay where they were for the night, not only they but the horse as well needed the rest, they had been on the run for days and, even though it was only another day or day and a half to safety, Kros felt it was better to rest now than get caught out by being too tired, he told the boys what he had decided and then looked for a soft place to sleep after he signalled Danil to join him.

As he lay in the sleeping bag with Danil behind him, Kros watched Grega pile a few more large logs onto the fire so it would burn most of the night and then curl up under the deer skin with Davi wrapped tightly in his arms, Kros knew that his own cat like senses would soon detect any intruders during the night so did not worry about putting out a guard.

As the first light of dawn broke over the eastern sky, Kros was up and about getting everything ready for their days travel, as the boys fed themselves, Kros scaled the large boulder to look behind them to make sure they were not being followed, it turned out to be either a good idea or a bad one, depending on how one looked at it.

As the dawn lightened, Kros thought he saw movement far behind them, squatting down he waited until there was a little more light, what he saw gave him pause, in the distance and tracking along their old trail were the dim figures of five people, they were not the priests he was sure of that, that left only one thing, Rogues, the last thing he wanted to see even though he knew there were plenty of them about in the wilds.

Kros stayed low as he slipped back off the boulder and down to where the three boys waited for him, the camp was clear and they were ready to move on, Danil and Davi were already up on the horse and Grega stood at its head waiting for Kros to join them, as soon as Kros got to them he took the reins and helped Grega remount then started off with his usual loping run, the horse trailing along almost at a canter.

Kros had given the shot gun to Grega so he could make use of his rifle if he had too, Grega could defend the other two boys if it came to that, Kros was well aware that the Rogues behind them were just as capable of chasing them at the same speed Kros was able to make, he had to get well into the looming hills before them, once there he had a good chance to either hiding from them or using a cave that he knew of for defence.

Rogues were not ones to spend a lot of time trying to fight with others, they would gladly take any easy mark but one that fought back and could do some harm to them was another matter, Kros was one of those matters, the two scars on his back had been the result of a run in with Rogues two years ago when he was only twelve, it was also only the second time he had killed a man with a knife, as it happened, he still had the knife, it once belonged to the man he had killed.

Kros kept up the fast pace, the three boys bouncing on the back of the horse found it hard to ease the pain in their butts but knew Kros must have a good reason for the faster pace, by this time they had full confidence in his ability to keep them safe.

The hours passed and soon they were at the base of the high hills of the central divide, with hardly a pause, Kros led them upwards and then along the top of the first ridge, as they came to the brow of the ridge, Kros looked back, he could just make out the faintest of dots far behind them, the Rogues had lost a little ground, this would give him time to get to the cave he was aiming for, it would only be another half hour.

Kros led the small group along a deep ravine, the sides towered over them by a good fifty metres, it was narrow and only wide enough for two people side by side, the horse just made it through the tightest parts, at the end of the ravine the three boys saw the mouth of the cave, they were now in a dead end but there was no way for anyone to get to them without being seen, Kros led them into the cave mouth and then knelt down to catch his breath, he had been on the run for over four hours as well as the climb up the ridge.

Once he had his breath back, Kros sent Grega out with the second knife to cut as much long grass for the horse as the boy could carry, the bottom of the ravine was well overgrown with course grasses and a thin stream ran down its length for water.

After Grega had left, Kros asked Danil to light a fire with some of the dead wood inside and at the mouth of the cave, with a small fire going, Kros sat and checked his weapons, little Davi was trying to help Danil with the wood, soon Danil had a fire going and some of the meat was put close enough to cook slowly.

Kros stood and then led the tired horse outside to drink, once done Kros then took him back inside, he had too much meat on his bones for the Rogues not to want to kill it and Kros had found it handy to have the animal along with them, not only for carrying the three boys at his pace but also for carrying the extra weight of the meat which would have had to be left behind had they not had the horse.

An hour later and they had all been fed and were now resting, it was then that Kros told Grega and Danil about their new followers, after talking it over with the two boys, they sat Davi well back in the cave in case there were shots fired, he then gave the shot gun to Grega and told Danil to strap on the large pistol that Grega had been wearing, Kros kept his .22 rifle, his little hide-away gun was still in his pocket.

For the next four hours they watched their back trail, it was only an hour until dark when they heard the men coming down the ravine, they seemed to be making little effort to hide themselves as they came towards the cave, when the first Rogue came around the last bend, Kros put the small rifle to his shoulder and fired off a single shot, it was followed by a loud yell and the Rogue stumbled as his leg went out from under him, the soft sound of the small rifle almost hidden by his loud shout.

Kros watched as the other four stumbled over the Rogue on the ground who was by now holding his damaged knee and yelling every filthy swear word he could think of, Kros watched as another of the Rogues stood up and looked towards the cave mouth where he eventually made out the dim figures in the shadow of the cave mouth.

"Who the boy fuk are you; why did ya shoot?" The Rogue yelled loudly towards Kros.

"Why ya chasing us?" Kros yelled back.

"We wasn't chasin ya, we was just coming this way is all."

"Cow shit, ya was following us, now ya know we can get ya, ya can take him and get out, I hear ya anytime soon and the rest of ya gets it as well."

Although the Rogue could easily tell that the voice belonged to a young man he also knew that the young one hiding in the cave could shoot straight, to their way of thinking it was a no win situation, better to leave them and find something easier to take, with a lot of swearing, the men helped the injured Rogue to his feet and they staggered away leaving the boys alone in their cave.

Kros told the other boys that from now until the morning they would have to take turns on guard, he told them most Rogues were cowards but you could never be too sure, he also looked darkly at Grega when he said they would have to guard the sleeping boys tonight, Grega understood the look and even blushed a little, he would not sleep on guard tonight.

It was first light and the four boys in the cave were already making their final checks before leaving the protection of the cave, while there had been little disturbance from the Rogues of last night, Kros had little doubt that they had not entirely left the boys alone, he would still have to be on full alert as they made their way back down the ravine and turned towards the waiting high hills and safety, or as safe as one can be in these times.

The quiet trip back along the ravine seemed peaceful, there was no sign of the Rogues and they made good time to the entrance, Kros was about to step out and lead the others to the trail that led to the top of the next ridge when his inbuilt alarm system went off again, with the speed of a feral cat he stepped back and ducked behind a boulder as, just where his head had been, a shower of dirt and small stones erupted from the ravine wall, the heavy booming sound of the rifle coming a fraction of a second later.

Kros gestured for the others to stay back and get down behind cover as he snaked his way on his belly to the edge of the boulder and carefully glanced around in the direction he thought the shot had come from, he was not surprised to see the five Rogues stand up from their place of ambush, their heavy rifle being able to out-distance his smaller .22, Kros now knew he was not in a good position except for defence, he could not get to them and they could not get to him, stalemate.

Kros looked back at the other boys as they hid behind another large boulder, his only main advantage over the Rogues was the need for water, he now controlled the only water for more than half a days walk, as the sun rose over the ridge and revealed a clear blue sky, Kros smiled, it was going to be a long hot day and the Rogues would need to drink sooner or later whereas he had water and plenty of food, if needed they could stay here for a number of days, the Rogues did not have that luxury.

Kros decided to try to find out what they wanted, as if he didn't already know, three young teens and a little boy were a temptation to any Rogue gang.

"What ya want?" Kros called out loud enough for the watchers to hear.

"Ya shot the boss man, we want one of the boys for us ta use."

"Which one?"

"The little one, he be good for years and easy to teach his place."

Kros looked behind him at the startled faces of the two older brothers, did they really think he was contemplating giving up the little one; Kros almost smiled to himself at the look on the boys' faces.

"Nah, he's no good for nothing, what about me or one of the others?"

"Too old, we want a youngun."

"Not gonna happen, one of us older ones will come to you but not the little one or you can sit out there in the sun for a few days, we got plenty of food and water in here, you got nothing."

Kros could almost hear the mumbling as the Rogues discussed the proposition, he knew eventually they would cut their losses and accept one of the older ones, he was going to make sure he was the one that went out, Kros waited patiently, the longer they sat in the rising heat of the morning sun, the more their minds would turn to agreeing to his offer.

Kros stayed hidden and just relaxed as he waited for the Rogues to make the first move, the other three boys stayed where they were but with worried looks on their faces, like the Rogues, they did not have any idea who they were dealing with, the conundrum that was Kros would soon be revealed to both parties.

Just before the midday heat fully came into effect, Kros heard the first words from the hiding Rogues, by the sound of the man's voice he was getting very thirsty, Kros smiled as he listened to the croaking sound when the Rogue yelled out for him.

"OK, we take an older one, which one you gonna send out ta us?"

"Them is useless, I can do everything, I'll leave my guns here and come out unarmed and go with you, we leave them to go find their own place."

"We still likes the little one, you want to come then he comes too."

Kros looked around behind him at the faces of the three brothers, there was a fear there that caused the very air to fill with tension, he could almost see what they were thinking, Kros smiled at them and then turned back to his negotiations.

"Nah, he's no good for nothing, I'll come and do everything for ya."

"Ya got boy hair yet?"

"Nope."

There continued a further discussion among the hiding Rogues, Kros knew fairly well that they would agree, in their present position they could not really argue as he held all the food and water.

"Ok, you come but bring water for us and some food and no guns, take off ya shirt and things, you can carry them in your hands, ya can keep ya pants on for now, we'll get them off tonight."

A deep sounding chuckle sounded from behind the rocks where the Rogues were, Kros looked at the boys behind him and signalled for Danil to come too him, Kros waited until the other boy was beside him.

"Gimme your long pants and then get me the water skin, when I go out there I want you to give my guns to your brother, you keep my pack on and guard it, I'll be back in no time."

As he was speaking, Kros was also stripping off his little shorts and shirts, he gave his leather jacket to Danil along with the rest of his things with the pack, slipping the longer pants up his legs he first slipped his long knife into his boot then covered it over with the pant leg, he was now bare-chested and anyone looking could see he was supposedly unarmed.

Kros sent Danil back behind cover as he looked warily around the boulder that had been his cover too make sure he was not going to be just shot out of hand by the Rogues, he tried to keep a neutral look on his young features as he stood upright with his arms outspread so the Rogues could see he was not armed.

When he heard a yell from the Rogue leader, he stepped well clear of the boulder and began a nervous walk towards the waiting men, only the water skin filled one hand as he stumbled slightly on a loose stone, he straightened up and continued his short walk.

When Kros came up close to the five men he saw they had only the one rifle, the rest of their arms were a roughly made cross bow and each had an old knife at their waist, this may be easier than he had thought it would be, Kros walked up to the Rogue holding the large rifle.

"You the boss man? What ya want me ta do?"

Kros still held his hands out from his side, the tempting water skin hanging from his fingers; he almost smiled as he saw all five sets of eyes turn to the skin.

As they watched the skin in the boy's hand, none saw the subtle movement of the boy's feet as he got ready to move with speed, Kros lowered the water skin and stepped close to the leader with the rifle, as the skin lowered past the Rogue's face, there was a sudden muffled thump and the leaders face exploded in blood and gore, as the other four tried to work out what had happened.

Kros dropped the now holed water bag and revealed the small two barrelled gun, with consummate ease he turned on the next man who had been standing close to the leader, Kros's reactions were far too fast for the stunned man.

Kros turned on the man with the cross bow, he looked as though he had turned to stone as he watched his boss man fall with most of his face missing, when the heavy .44 calibre bullet from the little hideaway gun hit him in the mouth and entered his brain, the bowman just crumpled to his knees, the other three rogues could make nothing of it all, they just stood there stunned as Kros went for his ankle and came up with his large hunting knife, another Rogue was dead with a gush of blood from his opened stomach before the last two could react to the sudden assault by a young boy that should have been easy to intimidate by their own larger size.

With a glance at each other, the remaining two Rogues joined forces, they were not going to be easy pickings for some little shit like this one, drawing their knives they circled the young teen as he stood trying to watch them both, he had speed and youth on his side but he was not sure how he could deal with the two men at the same time, a sudden booming sound helped him make his mind up.

A shaking voice called from behind Kros.

"Drop your knives and sit down."

Kros recognised the unsteady sound of Danil's voice; he turned and looked at his saviour, Danil stood with the big pistol in his two hands, a small wisp of blue smoke emanating from the shaking barrel, behind Danil, Grega was stooping down to pick up the larger rifle of the leader, where the bullet had gone Kros had no idea but it did not hit anything even remotely close to the three combatants, the two remaining Rogues quickly dropped their knives at the sight of the large smoking gun in the boy's hands.

Kros smiled at Danil and stooped to replace his knife in his boot where he had hidden it, from his right hand pants pocket he took the small two barrelled gun, ejecting the two empty casings, he walked over to Danil and reached into a small pocket of the pack, withdrawing two new bullets, he reloaded the little gun and put it back in his pocket.

The weight of the big pistol had dragged Danil's hands down but by now Grega had the large rifle in his hands and was keeping a close watch on the two Rogues sitting on the ground.

"What are we going to do with these two?" Grega asked Kros.

"Leave them out here naked so the sun can cook them a bit, strip them of everything as well as the dead, they may have something we can use."

Grega just nodded his head, at his age he was faster to understand the new rules of the wilds, it was Danil that still found it hard to understand what was what, Kros walked over to the two Rogues as they sat on the ground watching intently as the boys stripped the dead of everything they had.

Kros stopped in front of them, he now had the vicious looking double barrelled shot gun in his hands, the Rogues did not like the look of those two barrels pointed right at their faces.

"Strip." Kros told the startled Rogues, with little option but to obey, the men soon sat naked on the bare ground, Kros took the coil of rope he had also taken from his pack, with a few well practiced slices, he had four lengths of rope, Kros then called Grega over to take the shot gun and cover the two men while he tied them up tightly.

Once the men were tied up and lying naked in the sun, Kros took back his possessions and replaced his borrowed pants with his little shorts, he now felt comfortable, he had always wondered why others would want to wear the long pants and cover their legs, not only was there more to wash but they felt very uncomfortable to him.

As before, Kros led the three boys mounted on the horse at a steady trot, behind them the loud yells and pleas of the naked Rogues slowly faded with distance until there was no sound from them.

After leaving the ravine, Kros turned to the North, after over an hour of a steady pace, Kros came to the wide and high entrance to a canyon, he turned into it with the horse and other boys close behind, by this time Kros was carrying only his two weapons, his pack was now being carried by Danil while Grega kept a tight hold on Davi as the three bounced up and down on the horses back, Kros still maintained a hold on the reins as he led them deeper into the ever growing canyon, its sides getting taller and taller the deeper they went.

The three boys had no idea how far they had gone when Kros stopped and told them to dismount, to their left was a narrow track leading upwards, it would be just wide enough for the horse but not the boys on its back, once they were on foot, Kros led the way up the track at a slow pace, he kept one eye on the horse to make sure it would not balk at the narrow trail.

They were not quite a fourth of the way to the top when Kros stopped at a point slightly wider than the rest of the trail, there was a flat area and, close to the canyon wall was a tall boulder which had a large dry bush at one side, Kros dropped the reins on the path while the three boys looked on.

Next Kros went to the bush and knelt down as though looking for something, after a minute he stood back up with a thick rope in his hands, leaning back he pulled on the rope and, much to the boys' surprise, the bush started to move away from the huge boulder to slowly reveal a hidden cave mouth beyond.

Once the bush was far enough away from the boulder for the horse to walk through, Kros motioned for the boys to take the lead with the horse and just keep walking into the cave, they would see the grey light of the end of the cave once they were about halfway, he would follow them after he had replaced the bush.

Grega led the horse and his two brothers into the dark confines of the cave, as he stepped clear of the entrance he started to see the faint glimmer of grey light far ahead, Grega kept walking slowly towards the distant light source, the sounds of the horses hooves echoed in the emptiness around them, there was also the faintest sound of water dripping from somewhere in the darkness, Grega walked on.

Slowly they came closer to the distant light, it was now a lot brighter and they could all see sunshine and what looked like open spaces beyond the exit of the cave, Grega gave a slight shiver as he came into the full light of the sun, behind him the echo of the horses hooves died as they all stepped out into a wondrous park like valley.

As the three boys stood and looked at the scene below them, Kros appeared from behind, a shimmer of sweat on his brow told of his exertions in closing the entrance again.

"How did you find this place?" Grega asked Kros.

"The man I got the gun from brought me here for the five days I was his bum boy, he has two more like it in other places, wait you'll see when we get to the cabin, for now you have to help me close the door."

"The door, what door?"

Kros turned and pointed to the side of the exit, leaning against the canyon wall and held upright by a thick post dug into the ground was what looked like split logs stacked one on top of the other with a cross brace holding them together like a wooden wall on its side, Grega looked more closely and could just make out some sort of rippled metal sheets fixed to the other side, at their feet was another thick rope that went to the opposite side and was wrapped around what looked like an old wheel rim from some type of vehicle, it was fixed to the stone sides of the canyon with the thick bar running through the centre and driven into the solid rock wall, on the outer rim it had a large wooden handle.

Kros handed his guns to Danil while Grega placed little Davi down on his own feet, the two boys then took hold of the long wooden handle and began to turn it slowly, it was far heavier than Grega would have thought but the scraping sound of the strange door told him they were being successful.

It took a lot of energy to finally get the large thick log door closed, it was now braced between two thick logs buried in the ground, for anyone attempting to break through it would be almost impossible, for now and for the first time since their escape, the three brothers felt safe, there was only the matter of finding a nice warm place to stay in, Kros led them forward and down into the bottom of the hidden valley, there was no need to lead the horse as it had smelt fresh grass and water and was already picking its way to the bottom on its own, the boys followed along behind, their mouths agape at what they saw, for Kros it was all familiar and so he only watched where he was placing his feet.

When the small group got to the bottom, they could see the horse already with its head down and its jaws working on the clean fresh grass, Kros lifted his arm and pointed towards the far wall of the little valley, Grega could almost make out a small cabin nestled hard in against the back wall, it was no palace, in fact it was not even as good as the small home they had had to leave behind but, after what they had been through the last six days, it looked very inviting and above all else, Safe.

Kros led them on towards the small rough cabin, around the valley the canyon arched upwards, it was so high that it was a natural barrier, there was no other way in or out of the valley except by the cave mouth, Grega was suddenly startled by a running sound and, at the very edge of his vision, he saw a large rabbit scampering away from their path, as they moved silently over the green grass, Grega also thought he heard the faint cough of a deer in the thick trees at one end of the small valley, they would have plenty of meat while they stayed here.

Kros led them up to the cabin, at first glance it seem a little derelict but on closer inspection it was only how the cabin had been put together with bits and pieces, the main thing Grega saw was that the roof was solid and sound, they would not be getting wet under that roof, it was thick pieces of slate stone laid over thick wooden rafters, the back wall was the wall of the canyon, the two sides were a mixture of slate and split logs and, except for the single doorway that was positioned to one side of centre with a long window covered by another wooden shutter, the front wall was much the same, there was also a small window cut into the logs on the two sides and covered with shutters that could be pulled up with rope to let the light in, the door was heavy split logs, it would not be knocked down easily.

Grega inspected the work on the cabin, it was rough but it would be almost impossible for anyone trying to get in un-invited and with all the slate work it would be impossible to burn out anyone inside, it was a perfect safe haven, Kros pulled on a short length of cord and the front door swung open, he led the boys into the dark cool air of the long closed cabin, there was a thin layer of dust over everything, it had not been lived in for some time, in the dim light the three boys could not make out anything inside.

Kros went and opened the two side shutters, next he opened the long shutter covering the front window, sudden bright sunlight filled the small cabin and the three new boys could now see what they had, Grega stood still as he looked around, he watched as Kros went back to the door and began to hang his guns on some conveniently placed wooden pegs, he saw Kros gesture for them to do the same.

When they stepped back there were the two rifles, the small stubby shotgun and the two pistols along with the old rough cross bow, above the door on two more pegs was another rifle with a lever action, they now had quite the little arsenal, this made the three brothers feel even more safe, also on the wall opposite the weapons pegs was a roughly drawn map on a deer skin, Grega would have to look into that later.

They now had a solid roof over their heads and enough weapons to defend themselves with, for the first time in six days they felt themselves fully relax, the fear of the last days leaving them shaking all over, Kros seemed totally unconcerned, for him it was just another day of surviving but now he had some benefits.

The interior of the small cabin was not as rough as the outside; on the back wall was a large cut niche for a fire place with a thin pipe leading outside to take the smoke away, it had an open wire frame over where the fire would be to hold any pots or pans, to the left of the fireplace was a wooden bench, underneath it had shelves with pots and pans along with tin plates and a box with knives and forks, it had a large metal dish set into it for a wash basin.

Under each of the two windows were rough made beds wide enough for two people at a time, they were also just at the right height for someone to use for benches when trying to defend the cabin, the rest of the cabin floor was filled with a rough wood table with a bench on one side and two stools on the other, there was a single large rocking chair that was crudely made and was strung with thick strips of tanned leather for springs, below the long window at the front was another roughly made cabinet that seemed to be filled with boxes of ammunition for the guns, Kros pointed to the chair and then himself, it was obvious to the others that he was claiming it as his own, they didn't argue.

"Where is the man that built this, won't he come back and throw us out?" Grega asked Kros.

"Nope, he won't be back, that map on the wall shows his other two places, they're not as good as this one but are ok if you need safety in a hurry."

"How do you know he won't be back, no one leaves a great hiding place like this and all the things he did to make it, he would not leave it for nothing."

"I told you I was his bum boy for five days, at the end of the five days he didn't want to pay me so I killed him while he was sleeping, he always fell asleep after doing it to me, he was a mean bastard, hurt me a lot he did, so its all fair, he's buried under the garden out back, same as he did to other boys when he finished with them."

The three brothers could only stare at Kros as the short tale unfolded, there was little if no emotion in the young teen's voice as he related what he had done to the man, as far as Kros was concerned, this cabin and the other two were now his, it was the way of the world that they now lived in.

"Danil, go get some wood for a fire, there's plenty of deadfall in the trees, Grega, take the bucket under the bench and get some fresh water, there's a spring just off to the left, Davi and I are going to get some of the dust out of here and make the beds ready."

The two older boys just stood and looked at Kros for a second then turned and left to do as they were asked, after all, it was his house, Kros and little Davi started to take the thick animal pelts off the two beds and take them outside to shake any dust off, it would be close on dark

by the time everything was once again ready for them to move in.

Chapter 3
The Knights of the Rose Croix

The boys worked hard until late in the day, after collecting the water, Grega took an old axe from behind the door and began to chop up the larger pieces of wood that Danil had found, Kros and little Davi worked away inside until the cabin started to look half way decent and clean, the beds were freshly made and the stone floor swept clean.

Kros sent little Davi outside to play while he set about cleaning their weapons and making sure there was ample ammunition close by; next he set the fire ready and then looked under the back bench to make sure the long thick candles were also ready on their wooden bases for the coming night.

As the first chill of night began to make itself known to the boys, Kros lit the fire and dropped the shutters after lighting the two thick candles, he then got the last of the deer meat and began to set about making a thick soup for their dinner, he had collected vegetables from the garden at the side of the cabin, as he had no salt he used the reddish brown powder from the small bag that had fixed the dogs, he was careful not too use too much as the boys would not be used to it.

It had been a long day and all the boys were tired and ready for bed, all they needed now was a full belly and they would sleep the clock around, Kros soon had their wish fulfilled and was dishing out the thick soup into four metal bowls, the boys sat two to a side at the table and started to eat, Kros watched their faces as they tasted the strange powder for the first time, he laughed as he watched the three boys run for the water bucket.

"What the hell is that hot stuff?" Grega asked when he could speak without tears.

"Don't know its name, it's a small fruit thing that grows on a bush in the trees, looks a bit like a little boy's fingers, when its green its not very strong but when it gets red then it's like fire in your mouth, I got no salt so used that."

"Next time use less, my belly feels like it's on fire but at the same time it tastes strangely good."

"We got no salt till I go out to another town so you better get used to it."

"Why don't you have salt here, I would have thought it would be the first thing you would buy?"

"Why you think I was coming to your village but you boys changed all that with upsetting the priests and making things hard."

"Sorry, so where is the closest village for you to get salt?"

"Only one I can go too now is about three days fast run away, I'll rest up here for a few days then go get some, you boys stay here till I get back."

"But that means I will have to do more than the five days I promised." Danil said.

"Nope, I keep my word, today is your first day, we work things here for the next four days and your contract is finished, I'll go for the salt later, the days will count as part of our contract, if you want to stay then fine but if you want to go, well it's up too you."

Danil looked at Kros and the sincerity on his young face told them all the truth of the matter, he was a boy who kept his word, that was plainly obvious now, the three brothers looked at Kros and smiled, it was a fair deal and the teen would keep his end of the bargain, they all set about the hot soup once again only this time they were ready for the very hot burst of fire in their mouths, each had a very large metal cup of water close by just in case.

Once their supper had been finished, Kros told Danil to wash up while the others got ready for bed, nothing needed to be said as to where Danil would be sleeping, Kros stripped naked as he was wont to do in this cabin and, with a sigh he got into one of the large beds and watched as Danil did his work, tonight Kros had no intention of playing boy games as they were all too tired from the long day, tomorrow night would be another matter.

As Danil did his work, Kros watched Grega and little Davi strip and slide under the thick animal pelts, he was not surprised to hear their breathing settle into a steady rhythm as the hard day caught up to them, they were well into their sleep before a naked Danil joined Kros in bed, Kros leaned forward and wrapped his slender arms around Danil's warm body and fell instantly to sleep with the boy in his arms, as he drifted off he had a feeling of contentment, it was nice to have someone share his bed for a change.

It was still dark and an early morning chill was in the air, Kros had woken with the feeling of something hard and plump pushing against his warm belly, lowering his hand he felt the heat of Danil fill his hand, Kros almost broke out into a smile as he yawned and squeezed the plum piece of meat, it stiffened a little more and Kros stroked it slowly, he was in one of those moods and the time seemed right.

Spitting on his free hand, Kros buried his fingers in his rear to place a little more moisture to go along with the natural sweat of being in a warm bed, rolling over he placed the now hard plumpness close to his hole and pushed backward, as the thick crown pierced his sphincter, Kros heard a low growl from behind him and then felt two short jabs at his rear, in no time at all, that thick plumpness was making its way inside him, he sighed with pleasure as he felt the soft tickle of sparse pubic hair brush his butt, from then on it was only a matter for nature to take its course as Danil rolled him onto his stomach and settled down to his morning time work with alacrity.

Kros could not stop the loud moan from escaping his lips as Danil worked with gusto, the slap, slap of moist skin on skin filled the small cabin and their moans soon had them completely oblivious to anything around them, they failed to see Grega lift his head and frown as he covered little Davi's ears with the thick animal skin and then turned back over and tried to drift off once again, even though the sound of the two boys was hard to put aside, his own hand went where any boy's hand would go at a time like this, it turned out to be a close run race between him and Danil as they both groaned loudly at the same time, the last thing Grega heard was a satisfied sigh from the two boys in the other bed before he once again drifted off.

Kros awoke just as the sun sent a sliver of light through the large window shutters at the front of the cabin, he could still feel the sticky residue of his early morning jaunt with Danil, he smiled as he got out of the bed and looked down at Danil who was still fast asleep, his thin mouth slightly open but a more relaxed look on his young face, Kros scratched himself then headed for the door, he need to wash away the nights fun and his butt felt very full and ready to explode, Kros took off running towards the long drop at the side of the cabin.

When he returned, Kros saw that the two older boys were just stretching and opening their eyes, he walked naked over to his bed and looked down into the sparkling eyes of Danil.

"You gonna get up now, we got to get that skin finished and we need some food." Kros said to Danil.

Danil looked up at Kros and nodded his head as he lifted the soft skins from his body, his slender figure slipped from the bed and Danil started to look around for his few clothes, Kros turned his back and slipped on his pair of small shorts as he heard Grega gently awaken Davi, he also noticed the Grega had a slight frown on his face when he looked at Kros.

Kros shrugged his shoulders and got some flour out of a large bag under the bench, next he sent Danil out to find some eggs from the few chickens that were in a fenced off area a little distance from the cabin, as he mixed the batter for pancakes, Kros looked at Grega watching him as he worked.

"You could get the fire going." Kros said.

Grega nodded his head and turned to make sure Davi was up and about, he then told his little brother to come with him and help him with the fire, the little boy smiled at being given the chance to be helpful to his big brother, there was now only the three of them and he needed his two brothers around him for safety, as yet Davi was not totally sure of Kros although he did like the teen but as yet it was too early to tell if he was going to be a good man towards Davi.

When the pancakes were all cooked, Kros took a solid piece of fat that hung on a wire, from the side of the fire place, he then rubbed it in the pan until there was a thin veneer covering the bottom of the pan, just then Danil returned with five eggs, Kros broke the eggs into the pan and stirred them around until he had something resembling a thick omelette, once it was cooked he divided the pancakes and eggs into four tin plates and set them on the table while the kettle over the fire heated water for coffee, the beans he had ground by hand as the eggs cooked.

To the burgeoning smell of fresh coffee, the four boys sat and ate their breakfast, the lack of salt was noticeable but nothing was said by any of them, Kros knew he would have to go and get some, the village he would go too was about three days fast walk or steady trot away but now, with the horse he could do the whole trip in two days, he would leave soon after breakfast and leave the three boys to settle in.

Kros found it amusing to watch the scrunched up face of Davi as the little boy took his first taste of coffee as the four sat outside in the rising and warming sun, he then told the others what he had in mind, they could look around the valley and then decide if they wanted to stay with him for a while or leave and make their own way in the new world, it took only a minute for the boys to decide to stay for a while longer, Kros then told them he would leave to get some salt but would be back in two days.

When the coffee was finished, Kros told Danil to clean up while he went to get the horse, he would leave shortly, the boys were to close the large gate behind him and wait until he knocked three times on it on his return to be let back in, he told them not to open the gate for anyone unless they heard his three knocks, they were safe behind the gate and also had the extra weapons just in case.

As mid morning approached, Kros took the boys and showed them the hidden root cellar, first he moved aside the heavy table and the bench in front of it, next, by lifting one of the thin pieces of slate from the floor, he revealed a dark hole with four wooden steps leading down, with a candle in his hands, Kros led the way, what the boys saw surprised them, neatly stacked on stone shelves were a multitude of different vegetables, some looked a little old but Kros told them they were for seed, from the low roof hung two legs of smoked pork and one rear haunch of smoked venison, Kros took down one of the pork legs and pushed it into an old flour sack, he would use it to trade for salt although he would take a few coins with him as well, just in case the pork was not enough.

Returning to the upstairs, he told the boys what to do while he was away, he would be back as soon as he could but, in the mean time he wanted them to go around the valley so they were familiar with it all, they would soon find the garden, the smoke house and they already knew where the few chickens were kept, Kros pointed to some wire snares hanging on the wall and told Grega to set them, they could have some fresh meat as there were plenty of rabbits and wild turkeys around the valley.

Kros stopped as he got through the gate to make sure they closed it tightly behind him, leading the horse he made it outside once again and led the horse down the narrow trail, at the base he mounted and turned southward, there was no way he was going in the direction of the previous trip out.

Kros had to use his coins to buy a pair of old saddle bags to carry the four large heavy blocks of salt, he had decided at the last moment to also purchase some more of the sugar blocks, they were only half the size of the salt blocks and cost him three silver coins, this had been one of the most expensive shopping trips he had ever taken but he thought it would be fun for the boys to have the extra, Kros began his return trip with a lighter heart, for some reason he felt happy to be going back to see the three boys once again.

Kros had travelled throughout the night so that he would be back to the valley before midday, as he came up over the last major hill top before home, he saw a large group of what looked like priests, there had to be nearly twenty of them and they looked to be searching for something, Kros took no chances and jumped off the horse before he was seen.

With a few sharp tugs on the reins, Kros managed to get the horse to lie down just under the hill top, he then went to his belly and squirmed his way up until he could see the large group on the flats below him, two or three priests he didn't worry about but, twenty of them was another story, as he watched them he could see they were definitely trying to track something or someone, Kros stayed still as he watched, this did not feel good.

Kros watched from his hiding place what were they after, surely they would not have tried to follow his small group all this way, he looked again at the long straight line of riders, the appearance of four dogs further out from the line of priests told him another story, perhaps they had not given up on catching him and the boys, true he had killed a number of them but there was always more of them so why would they bother with a small group of boys, Kros was now very puzzled, he continued to watch the long line, they were spread across the flat with about ten yards between each rider, the dogs far out in front had their noses to the ground as they all worked their way towards the cliff face where Kros's narrow track went up, he was cut off and could only wait it out and see what they would do.

Kros went over his weapons, his .22 had eleven shots, his shot gun had two and his little hideaway had two so he was out gunned, he couldn't hope to take on such a large well armed force, each rider carried a large rifle and around their waists hung a pistol, these priests were armed for bear, or boy, Kros could only shake his head and hope they did not find the hidden entrance to the valley although he knew that the narrow trail up to the entrance was solid stone and would show no prints, there was little he could do now but wait it out and hope they all lost the trail and moved on, Kros settled down to wait.

Kros continued to watch and wait, as the long line of black clothed priests moved down the valley getting ever closer to the start of the small trail that led up to the mouth of his cave, Kros moved with them but hidden behind the low rolling ridge, keeping himself and his horse well down from the sky line.

As the time moved on towards nightfall, Kros moved up closer to the line of dark dots until he could make out individual riders, they were all the usual priests except for the two dog handlers, and then he caught sight of the three men at the centre of the line and his blood ran cold, there was little that Kros was ever afraid of but, what he now saw could almost turn him to stone for, at the centre of the long spread out line of priests rode three members of the Knights of the Rose Croix or, as they were called by the common people, the Butchers of the Bloody Cross.

These so called Knights of the Red Cross were the priests that carried out the torture and killing of the Inquisition, once in their hands your days were numbered and the number was very short, these priests were renowned for their vicious nature, even if you were to confess to some vague sin or other, they would still kill you in the name of repentance as a means of washing away your sins.

They were distinguishable from other priests by their distinctive dress, unlike the others they did not wear the long flowing black robes but, instead wore black trousers and shirt with a solid white collar, along with this they wore black combat boots and a type of green jerkin that had the solid red cross on the front and back, they never travelled alone and there were always at least three of them together, they were also very heavily armed.

Kros shuddered again as he watched the three at the centre, those three figures he had to avoid at all cost, in the back of his mind he also wondered why they would send these three after him and the boys, it seemed a little like over-kill for four small boys, however Kros had no intention of falling into their hands, he did not have a death wish.

Kros watched as the line at last came to the base of the trail leading up to his hideaway, it was now late in the afternoon and it looked as though the large group had had enough for the day, at the bottom of the trail was a large overhang of stone, he watched as the three Knights stopped their horses under the overhang and the others of the large hunting party began to settle around them.

It took no time at all and the beginnings of the small camp was taking shape, at the centre were the first signs of a large fire being built, the three Knights had the favoured place under the overhang and seemed to settle down and let the other priests do all the work, the two dog handlers were on the outside of the central circle of priests, they were not of the order and so were relegated to the outside.

Kros now had a problem, with the dogs so close to the trail he would not be able to get there in the dark without disturbing them and letting the whole camp know he was there, as the sun sank lower, Kros put on his thinking cap, there had to be a way to get passed them and into the safety of the small hidden valley.

It took a few minutes before a small smile broke out on Kros's lips, he now had a plan, with this in mind, Kros crawled back down the rise and jumped onto the horse, turning to the far off woods, he set the horse to walk softly and, when far enough from the new camp not to be heard, he put the horse into a fast canter, it would take only fifteen minutes to reach the woods, he only hoped he would get lucky and find what he wanted quickly, he wanted to be ready to mount the pass before the next sunrise.

It was only minutes before dark when Kros got his chance, his shot was sure and the small deer dropped in its tracks, having the horse lay down so he could throw the carcass over its back, Kros was soon remounted and making his way back towards the camp site, he still had work to do and it was almost completely dark with only the first quarter of the moon for light, although with his exceptional eye sight he would have little trouble.

An hour later, and with the aid of the brightening moon, Kros had the small deer skinned and its hide cut into four large pieces, making a slice between the leg bone and the rear tendon, he fed his old rope through and tied a tight knot, he would drag the carcass with ease from the back of the horse, with the four pieces of hide he folded them in half then used them to make a rough boot for the horse four legs, after tying them tightly and checking to make sure the horse was comfortable, Kros crawled back up to the top of the rise and looked down at the now established camp.

The four dogs were on the very outside of the circle, their owners sitting around a small fire of their own, the larger group of priests sat around another larger fire, the three Knights sitting under the overhang with their backs to the mountainside, they would be blind to the darkness outside the fire light, Kros smiled as he watched them all getting ready to settle down for the night.

Returning to the horse, Kros took up the rope and rode the horse at a quick walking pace along the bottom of the ridge until he was a good two hundred yards north of the camp, using the horse to pull the carcass up to the top of the ridge, he then freed the rope and rolled the bloody carcass down onto the flats below, soon the evening breeze would start up and the dogs would soon get the scent of fresh meat, Kros descended quickly and headed southward at a fast walk, leading the horse by its reins.

Well south of the camp, Kros listened with all his might, he wanted to catch the sound of the dogs when they smelt the fresh meat waiting for them, it took only until Kros felt the faint brush of the evening breeze on his cheeks for the dogs to get the scent, the pull of the bloody meat was too much for the dogs and, with snarls and barks, they refused to listen to their owners and started for the carcass away in the dark.

The disturbance of the dogs had the camp in an uproar for a little while but, once the handlers saw that they were only after a fresh kill, they left them to it, they saw no reason to tell the priests what it was that had got the dogs all noisy, it also never occurred to the handlers where the kill came from, they left the dogs to eat after cutting off a little of the deer meat for themselves, why waste good meat on dogs.

Kros stayed hidden while the camp settled down once again, the priests ignoring the dog handlers, they were to far below the station of the priests to bother with, Kros waited until the midnight, when all of the camp was well and truly asleep, the priests had such confidence in their position in society that they posted no guards in the camp.

With the soundless movement of a feral animal, Kros led his booted horse towards the narrow trail that led back to his valley, at the base of the trail he once again spread the reddish coarse powder behind the horse and himself as they made their way upward in total silence, the hide boots making the horses hooves as silent as the grave.

An hour later and Kros was pulling on the thick rope the opened the brush gateway, as he bent down and pulled until the gate was wide enough for the horse to fit through, he stood up and looked into the dark black hole of a gun barrel, it was with a sigh of relief when he heard Grega's soft voice in the darkness.

"Where have you been, we got worried when you didn't show up at midday like you said, I've been waiting out here all afternoon."

"There's no time for talk now, take the horse into the valley while a close the gate, I'll be right behind you, go now."

Grega took the reins of the horse and led it silently away towards the depths of the cave while Kros closed up the large bush that covered the entrance, once closed he took the end of the rope and tied it tightly to an outcrop of rock before turning to enter the cave and follow Grega and the horse back to the valley.

Kros caught up with Grega at the heavy gate, once they were all through, the two boys worked at the handle until the gate was tightly closed, Kros then pointed out two thick logs lying on the ground at each end of the closed gate.

"Take that one and jam it into the wall, then push the other end up against the end of the gate, it will act as a lock."

"Why all this work?" Grega asked.

"We have visitors and not the kind that are friendly, if I have to guess I would say by tomorrow midday they will be knocking on this door and we don't have much time to get ready."

"Who are they, are they more Rogues?"

"Worse than Rogues, priests, not ordinary priests but those Butchers of the Bloody Cross, you know they won't give up easy."

"Knights of the Rose Croix, what are they doing here, why would they be after us?"

"I suppose at least two dead priests would be enough excuse, now let's get back to the cabin, we have a lot to do and we won't be getting much sleep tonight."

The two boys ran through the dark with the horse trotting behind them silently, still with his now worn boots on, once at the cabin, Kros woke Danil and little Davi, they were not happy about having their sleep disturbed but Kros did not have time to be nice about it, even though Davi got a small tear in his eye and Grega had to settle him down with soft words and a pat on the back.

Kros gave the saddle bags with the salt and sugar blocks in it; he also handed over his own back pack as he took up the reins of the horse.

"Get that stuff inside, I'm going to take the horse as far back up the valley and tie him up so they don't find him, we may need him before this is all over, Danil, take Davi and go to where the chickens are, there has to be a lot more eggs hidden in the straw that Davi didn't find, get them all and bring them back, leave the gate open so the chickens can get out, we don't want them caught by those priests and eaten, Grega, open the root cellar and start putting everything that moves down into it, except for extra ammunition, some basic food stuff and the two thickest bed pelts, I'll be back before you have finished."

Kros led the horse away into the dark, he had the perfect place to hide it from the eyes of the priests and it would have ample water and grass to keep it happy, once well up the valley and close beside the feeder stream, Kros tied the new rope to the halter and let the horse go about its business while he turned back to the cabin and took off at a fast trot, he had a lot to do before they would be ready.

As Danil and Davi re-appeared with the eggs they had found hidden in the straw, Kros made it back to the cabin, once inside he took the large bowl from the bench and poured a large quantity of flour into it, adding to that he put some lard and then, using a rough stone, he scraped some salt off one of the blocks into it as well then added water and began mixing it all with his hands.

Grega was cleaning the weapons and selecting extra ammunition from the large stock on the shelf, Kros set Danil to fill a small pot with water and putting all the eggs into it and placing it on a hook over the now renewed fire, when Kros was finished with the large dish of dough, he tipped it out onto the bench and cut it in two then in two again so he had four equal lumps, he then set about kneading the dough until he had four round lumps sitting on the bench.

Kros went to the shelf under the bench and pulled out two cast iron cooking pots with flat lids, he place one lump of dough in each one and placed them into the hot coals of the fire, using a small spade he heaped hot coals over the top to help with the cooking, next he went into the cellar and got the smoked leg of pork and set about cutting off lots of thick slices.

An hour later and the eggs were all boiled hard, the two cooking pots were scraped clean of the coals on top and opened top reveal two hot loaves of course bread, Kros tipped them out and replaced them with the other two lumps of fresh dough and set them to cook in the same manner, the smell of fresh bread filled the small cabin as the boys worked on, they now had only hours before sunrise and Kros wanted to be out of the cabin before it was too high in the sky.

As they waited for the last of the bread to cook, the four boys sighed as the gave a last check to everything they would need, in an old flour sack were the boiled eggs, the two loaves of bread and the many thick slices of smoked pork, all the weapons were lined up with extra boxes of ammunition stacked beside them, Kros looked around the cabin, everything that could be saved and moved was now down in the cellar, Kros told Grega to replace the slate and pull the table back over it, if the priests broke in they would find nothing to take, it was time to sort out the weapons.

"Grega, you take the big pistol and the rifle you got from the Rogue, how many bullets have you got for it?"

"There were five in it and the Rogue had ten more in his pocket, there was also one box on the shelf that looks as though it will fit."

"Danil, you take my .22 you should be able to fire it, take five boxes of bullets and my belt, I'll take the shot gun and the lever rifle, its a bit big for me but I can lay in on a rock to fire it, now Grega, you can take the sack of food and the two rolled pelts, Danil you can take my pack with the extra bullets and cooking pan, I'll carry the three water skins and the last two bread."

Kros stopped as he heard a faint sniffle from Davi.

"What's the matter Davi?" Kros asked the snuffling boy.

"You don't want me, it's not fair, just cause I'm little you don't want me."

The three older boys looked at each other in bafflement, what was the little boy going on about, Grega asked Davi what he was meaning.

"You all've got things to do and I don't have nothing, you don't want me cause I'm young and too little."

The three older boys could still not see what Davi meant until suddenly a light went on in Danil's head.

"He thinks we don't want him because he has nothing to carry and no weapons, all he wants to do is be a part of our group, isn't that right Davi?"

Davi looked at his older brother and an almost embarrassed small smile broke out on his face.

"Yep, just cause I'm small and not old like you, you think I can't do things, I want to help too."

The three boys laughed at the innocence of the smaller boy, it was Kros that came to the rescue.

"I was saving your part till last Davi, I can't carry all of the water and the last bread alone, you will have to carry one of the water skins, its very heavy and we need a real strong boy to carry it, also, how many years have you got now?"

"Eight."

"Well you are really lucky, eight is the exact right age to have your first gun, now I'm going to give you one of mine, it's very special to me so you have to really look after it and not lose it, ok?"

Davi nodded his head and his smile got wider as Kros took out the small hideaway from his pocket, he removed the two bullets and then sat down so he could explain it all to Davi, he went through the lessons of not pointing it at Kros or his brothers, even in play, next he showed him how the two bullets went in and how to cock the small hammer, he had Davi blank fire it a number of times until the little boy looked comfortable doing it, next he gave Davi four bullets and told him to put them in his pocket, he was not to put them in the gun unless he had to use it on some bad men, Davi took in everything with a very serious look on his young face until he carefully placed the small gun in one pocket and the four stubby bullets in the other, the smile on his tired face almost lit up the room as he saw the proud look on his brothers' faces.

The three boys heard the loud crow of the rooster from far back in the trees as the first faint blush of the rising sun coloured the sky, using the last flour sack, Kros put the two still hot loaves of bread inside along with the pot for boiling water for their coffee.

Walking outside the cabin all of the boys were loaded up, Kros set about locking the cabin up as best he could then turned to Grega.

"See at the far end of the valley where the trees go up in a point, just below the top of the trees is another small cave, it's about twenty feet [6 m] up the side of the wall and has a rope ladder leading up to it, we have to get up there then pull the ladder up, they won't find us there and even if they do we can defend it for ages, we better start moving, those Butchers won't want to wait for long to find us."

The boys set off fast for the base of the high cliffs at the bottom of the valley, about half way there they suddenly heard the quietness of the valley disturbed by loud thumping coming from the direction of the gate, their pace quickened, Kros had told them that the gate could not be taken down easily and that with the metal skin on the outside it could not be burnt down so they should be fairly safe, moving to the cave was just insurance.

The boys were almost at the top of the tree line when they heard it, the loud booming sound echoed through the valley and shook the ground, none of them had the faintest idea of what had caused it but, it did make them push hard for the last few yards to the bottom of the cliff where they could now easily see the rope ladder hanging over a ledge, now it was time for the hard job of getting everything up there to safety.

Kros told Davi to put the water skin on the ground as he would have to go up with Grega to help pull everything up on the rope, the little boy looked as though he was relieved to get rid of the dead weight but he smiled at being told he was to help his big brother, he was the first up the rope ladder and climbed it as though he had been doing it all his short life, Grega was close behind with the new rope from Kros's pack, once at the top he lowered the rope and the hard work of getting everything up began, from behind them down the valley, they could just barely hear the sound of horses hooves as the priests came through the shattered gateway, the boys moved faster until finally, Kros and Danil took their turn climbing the ladder and then pulling it up after themselves.

Down below the priests had made it to the cabin, it was noticeable that there was now only one dog with them, once again Kros's powder had done its work, the dog was a large brown one with long legs and a shaggy skin, it had long floppy jowls and even longer floppy ears, its nose was close to the ground as the large group stopped outside the now empty cabin.

From his kneeling position high up on the ledge outside the cave, Kros could just see through the tree tops to the cabin, he watched as the three Butchers got off their horses and strode arrogantly towards the door of the cabin, they did not even try to open the door but instead started to kick at it with their heavy boots, it took a little while but they eventually had the door crashing to the ground and they stormed into the small cabin with a gun in their hands.

Kros kept low as he watched what was going on, it was then he saw something that made his blood cool instantly, from this height he could plainly see their own foot prints in the new morning dew, if the priests took the time to look around they were going to know where the boys were or in which direction they had gone, Kros sighed, it was now all in the hands of some deity or other, he was only assured by the fact that once they entered the woods their trail would be hard to find, only the single dog could now track them and he had no red powder left to get rid of that one.

Kros left his perch and went into the cave to see that the boys were getting everything settled, if they were traced up here they could be in for a long wait, he was now thankful that he had spent so much time carrying up the fire wood over the last two years, they had a large stack at the back of the cave, there was also a small underground spring that fed into the cave although it only yielded enough water each day to fill one skin.

The back of the cave had a narrow fissure leading upwards and the faintest sliver of blue sky could be seen at the far end if it, this would carry the smoke of the fire out of the cave and so not smoke them out when they wanted to cook or get warm.

Grega had laid out the two thick pelts for their beds and was watching Danil get a fire ready, little Davi was sitting alertly at the entrance of the cave with the little gun in his hand with two bullets ready in the other, Kros smiled at the small boy as he sat on guard, the serious look on Davi's face told him that no one was going to get past if he had anything to do about it, Kros patted Davi on the head as he walked into the cave, he really needed some rest, it had been a long and sleepless two days, he asked Grega to set a guard so each of them could get some sleep while they waited for the priests to leave, they could not be reached up here but they could take no chances with Blood Knights around.

Kros was awakened by a gentle nudge on his shoulder by Grega, as was his habit, Kros was instantly alert and looked up at the eyes of Grega for some indication of what was needed, Grega twisted his head in the direction of the cave mouth, Kros then became aware of a warmth against his back, looking behind him he saw the small curled up body of Davi lightly snoring as he snuggled up to Kros for warmth, Kros smiled and carefully got up without waking the smaller tired boy.

Following Grega to the cave mouth, Kros followed the boy's pointing finger, Kros felt a deep frown come over his face as he saw the mass of priests evidently following their trail in the dew covered grass, behind the group of priests Kros could see thick smoke coming from the windows and door of the cabin, the priests had set fire to their home, deep in his belly, Kros felt the stirring of anger build.

Kros turned to Grega with a thunderous look on his face, in a quiet and deadly voice, Kros told Grega.

"Those black crows will pay for that, every last one of them including those Blood priests."

"What can we do now; it looks like they have found our trail?"

"We stay here, we have enough food and water too outlast them if we have too, they can't get us up here without losing a lot of men, even then they will have too much trouble getting up here, we stay and if we have to we fight, knowing those Blood priests, that's what we will have too do."

"How will they find us though, once in the woods there won't be any trail like down on the open grass?"

"They still have one dog left, there is one way though but it's dangerous and needs some good timing."

"What is it, we have to do something."

"Simple, I go down and kill the last dog."

"But if they see you then you're done and their rifles are better than your little .22."

"Look at the sun; if I go quickly the sun will be in their eyes, they will hear the shot but not be able to see me in the trees, the rising sun will blind them for a few seconds, if I run like hell back here and you and Danil have the rope ready to just pull me up as fast as you can, they won't know where to go, for now the dog is the their best friend, without it they will just have to stumble around and hope to get lucky."

"Can you get back fast enough; if they see you they will start shooting in all directions?"

"I have to go now, there's not much time to get the sun right, I know every inch of these woods, they won't see or hear me, drop the rope over the side now while I get the small rifle, you can tell Danil what to do while I'm gone but be ready to pull as hard as you can when I get back to the rope."

Grega just nodded and watched as Kros ran for the cave to get the small .22 rifle, he was back in seconds and before Grega could say one word was sliding down the rope, seconds later he had disappeared into the trees, Grega called softly for Danil and then explained to him what was happening, the two boys took up a position at the rope and waited, their breaths seemed to be held in their throats as they waited for Kros to return.

As Kros came to the edge of the woods, he almost smiled, he had come to the exact place he wanted to be, he was about 45 degrees to the left of the dog and his handler and slightly up hill as well as being down wind, the dog was about one hundred yards ahead of the priests and the handler was another ten yards behind holding the long lead to stop the dog from running off.

The dog had its noise to the ground following the fresh scent of the boys, Kros settled beside a large tree that almost completely hid him from sight, he lined up the dog at seventy five yards and waited as, with his other eye, he watched the sun touch the top of the first line of priests, they were the three Knights, the rest of the priests followed in threes so they would be blocked from seeing where he shot came from.

Kros waited until the dog was fifty yards away and, just as the first bright rays of the morning sun hit the eyes of the lead priests, he fired, Kros didn't wait too watch the effect of his shot, he knew it was good even before it hit the dog, by that time he was already scuttling backwards and rising to his feet to speed off to the waiting rope.

The three Knights of the Rose Croix heard the light shot but were temporarily blinded by the sun rise, the dog handler could not take in what had happened, his dog just stopped then gave a sort of shake of its head then its long legs seemed to collapse under it, he then saw its head hit the ground and the rest of the dog's body seemed to just fold into the ground, it took the handler seconds to realise that the red stuff pumping from his dog's head was in fact blood.

As the realisation that his dog had been shot finally penetrated his brain, the handler stopped and fell to the ground beside the still body, he was suddenly overcome with a deep remorse as he realised he had lost all four of his dogs to these renegades, as the priests rode up fast to where he was holding the dead dog's head in his arms, all he could think of was getting out of this place, he no longer had anything left to give this hunt, his sorrow built as his hands became warm with the last of the hot blood and the tears flowed unhindered, he ignored the priest's demands for the position of the shooter.

The priests tried to look around for the culprit but the sun had blinded them so efficiently that none of them saw the muzzle flash or any indication of smoke, they were now in all intents and purposes, completely blind, where the boys had gone was surely into the trees but in there they would be open targets for any sniper that the boys had, it was not going to be an easy hunt from now on but they had a job to do for the Inquisition and they would go on until they found the sinners or die trying.

Kros felt as though he was flying as Grega and Danil pulled strongly on the rope and raised the light weight of Kros easily up to the ledge, once there the three boys looked out through the tree tops, the confusion caused by Kros was easily evident by the way the mounted priests were milling around, they could just make out the kneeling figure of the handler as he held the dark shape of the dog's body, for some reason all three boys felt a sadness for the dog, it had only been doing what it was trained for and did not ask to be put in the place it had been in, the onus once again came down on the priests and the three boys were more determined than ever to see them pay.

Danil took over the guard as Grega and Kros went back into the cave, little Davi was still curled up in one of the pelts softly snoring as though he had not a worry in the world, Grega pushed Kros towards the pelt bed, the boy had been asleep only an hour or so before being awakened and Grega still felt strong enough to stay awake for a few hours yet.

Kros lay down in the pelt and was instantly asleep once again, the sudden violent events of the morning were already forgotten, it was in the past and something that had to be done for their own safety, Kros had no qualms about his act, it was a necessity so it was over and done with.

When next he awoke, Kros could tell it was close to midday, Davi had disappeared and he could see both Danil and Grega curled up in the other pelt bed, Kros jumped to his feet after a good stretch and went in search of the little guy, he found Davi lying at the very edge of the ledge with his head showing just over the edge, in his hand he held the little gun with the four bullets close by his side neatly lined up in a row, Kros smiled at the sight of the little guy, he was taking his duty very seriously.

Kros crawled up beside Davi and gave him a pat on the head.

"I bet you are the best guard we've got Davi, I think when we get rid of those Blood priests I should go and buy you a special gun of your own so that I can have my lucky one back."

Davi twisted his head, his eyes were wide open and a smile went from ear to ear as he took in the words of Kros.

"Really, my own gun, just for me?" he whispered to Kros.

"Really, the best guard should have his own gun and I know just where to find one for you when this is all over."

Davi pulled back from the edge a little and then turned and hugged Kros as best he could while lying down; Kros again patted him on the head then said.

"You've really done a big guys job here this morning, now it's my turn so you go and get some more rest, when one of the others gets up we will have some food, ok?"

Davi nodded and then pushed himself well back from the edge before standing up and going back into the cave, Kros took over the watch, from the sounds coming from far below, it looked as though the priests were searching all through the woods, any chance of them being found up here in the cave was practically nil now they no longer had the dog to lead them, the cave was invisible from the ground and unless they made some small mistake, Kros and the boys would be safe.

An hour later and Danil appeared silently by his side, Kros smiled at him and scooted back until he could stand without being seen from below, it was time to eat, with the narrow vent at the back of the cave they would not send any smells or smoke down to the priests so they could at least have a nice hot meal, Kros re-stoked the fire into life and set the pan on to heat, next, when the pan was good and hot and a small amount of lard had been added, Kros put in four thick cuts of smoked pork.

While the pork was cooking, Kros took out four of the boiled eggs and then set about putting water on too boil for coffee, slicing three thick pieces off one of the loaves of rough bread, Kros set them close to the hot coals to heat up and lightly toast, twenty minutes later and the food was ready, Grega and Davi had woken at the sound and smell of food being cooked and were ready as Kros put the cooked Pork on top of the toasted bread and passed them out along with an egg each, as he waited for the water to boil for coffee, Kros took the last bread and meat out for Danil as he sat on guard.

When he returned to the cave, Kros saw the water was boiling and added the coffee beans he had ground earlier, taking the pot off the fire he set it aside to brew, occasionally tapping the pot to settle the grounds, as all three of them finished the last of their meal, Kros poured the now ready coffee, it would be good to have a hot drink and they had a long way to go before they would be rid of the priests.

For two days the boys watched the priests search the valley, they stayed well hidden as they watched, Kros was the one to notice that the priests always went back close to the burnt cabin to spend the night time hours, their horses were staked out to feed about fifty yards from the camp.

The boys were well aware that the priests knew they were in the valley somewhere but, as yet, they had not found out where, the boys settled down to make plans for their escape, hopefully on the next night when the priests should be not only tired from their hunting but also a little bored with spending three days with no results.

On the third day, as they watched the priests begin their search of the far end of the valley, the boys put the last of their escape plan together, Kros would use his skills to get to the horses, they already had one of their own and now only needed two more although Davi insisted he wanted one of his own, Grega finally got him to understand that the horses were to big for him to control in the dark of night.

Danil would take Davi close to the destroyed gateway and wait for the other two, Grega would crawl into the house and get what he could from the hidden cellar then close it up again, he would meet the others at the gate if all went well.

Both Grega and Kros had noticed that the priests only mounted one guard at night and that the late guard would often fall asleep in the early hours of the morning, it was at this time they would make their bid for freedom.

As the sun sank on the third day, the boys checked their weapons and secured what little they had left from their stores, Grega took all the empty flour bags to refill while Danil carried the back pack with the extra ammunition, Kros would only take his shot gun and knife, his job was to be as silent as he could be and try to release all the horses while stealing two more.

Everything went exactly as planned for a change, Grega secured a lot of the food stuffs and managed to get to the gate before Kros appeared, he was slowly and quietly leading all the horses at a slow silent walk, when the morning came, the priests would be on foot and the boys would be far away and heading towards the second of the hidden valleys prepared by the man Kros had killed two years before.

Chapter 4
Attack of the Priests

Everything went as planned, it appeared the priests felt their numbers gave them some protection and had not even bothered with more than one guard whom, at that early hour, was fast asleep sitting by a smouldering fire.

Great care was taken while they led the horses through the cavern, once on the track outside, Kros and Grega set about dividing their goods between the horses, one was a little smaller than the rest and so they decided to give little Davi a chance to ride his own horse, the young boy was ecstatic at his windfall and that he was being treated as one of the group.

The four boys then led their horses up the narrow trail, the rest of the horses were set free and pushed in the direction of the valley down below, Kros was sure the smell of fresh water and fresher grass would keep the freed horses moving long enough to make it tough for the priests to capture them, it would give the boys a good head start.

Kros led his little band to the top of the ridge line where he got them all mounted and turned their horses south, it was not the direction of the next hidden valley but he had a promise to keep and the man he wanted to see was in this direction, after they would have to turn back east to make it to the valley some five days away, the detour would take then two days, he only hoped they would have enough of a head start before the priests found their mounts and tried to follow.

They rode fast for the full day, stopping only for a brief meal and then back on the horses again, when they found a place to camp for the night, Kros saw that little Davi was moving very tenderly as he rubbed his bruised butt, riding bareback had taken its toll of the smaller boy, it did not take long for all four of them to bed down and were all asleep within minutes.

The first faint glow of morning found the boys all up and ready for the next day, it was Grega that came up with something to help little Davi and his sore butt, with a sharp knife and a lot of care, Grega cut a pad from the thick pelt they had used for a blanket and then fitted it on the horse with rope, once Davi was seated on the pad and found it comfortable to sit on, he was happy to get under way.

They rode steadily through the day until, late in the afternoon, Kros called them to halt, he then pointed to a cut in the high walls of the small canyon they were travelling in, Kros turned off and rode into the cutting with the boys following close behind, it was not deep and, at the very end of the canyon sat a small stone cabin, outside stood an older man with a large rifle in his hands, its barrel pointed in their direction, in a gruff voice, he called out.

"Who you, what ya want?"

"It's me, Kros, got business with ya." Kros Replied.

"Come ahead, boy."

The man lowered the barrel a little but never let it point all the way to the ground at his feet; he had survived this long by not truly trusting anyone, even a small teen like Kros.

The four boys dismounted and stood in front of the large man, he was over six feet [1.80 m] tall with a barrel chest, the boys could see the heavy black hair showing through his slightly dirty shirt, and he wore an old fashioned cowboy hat that had seen better days.

"So what you after, boy?"

"Trade and buy." Kros told him.

"I can't make no profit in trades."

"I think you will like the trade item and I need a small gun for the boy, something he can handle with ease."

"Gonna cost ya, little stuff is hard to come by, what you got too trade?"

Kros turned to Danil and held his hand out for the large pistol they had taken from the dead priest; he handed it over to the man and waited while he looked it over.

"Hmm, Smith and Wesson .44 only the black birds carry them, what you have to do to get this out of their hands, kill him?"

Kros just smiled and waited.

"Yup, thought so, it'd be the only way they would let one go, ok boy, what you want for it?"

"Something lighter but with a good punch, it's too big for Danil."

"Hmm, ok, let's go inside and natter about this."

The man hefted the large rifle over one shoulder and led the way into the small cabin, inside there was only the light from the open door, the boys looked around but could see no fire arms anywhere, the man gestured for them to take a seat on some ratty old chairs, he then walked to the fire place and dug his fingers into a stone, next the boys watched as a section of the wall pulled back to reveal a large room, it was covered wall to wall and floor to ceiling with fire arms and large wooden boxes of ammunition.

After the man went to various shelves to look and touch, he finally came back with two automatics, one larger than the other, in his left hand he carried two holsters, one looked strange as it had so many straps hanging from it.

"Ok, boy, this here is a Glock 9mm, it'll suit the young fella, for the little one, this here is a Beretta .32 automatic, not much good a long way off but if someone gets close to the boy he will surely sort them out, the Glock takes nine rounds and the Beretta seven, at close up that's more than enough."

The man handed the two automatics to Kros to look over; he dry fired them and could see they were in good working order.

"So what's the deal then?" Kros asked him.

"The Glock, a holster and fifty rounds of 9mm, I'll swap the .44 and you give me one silver; the Beretta, a shoulder rig and fifty rounds, five silver."

"Bit high, how about the 9mm and everything as a straight swap and three silver for the little one?"

"You trying to ruin me boy, tell you what, the 9mm and gear for the .44 and ten copper, the little .32 and gear for four silver."

"You know I don't have that sort of coins, I'm only a boy after all, it's not easy to get that sort of coins, what I will do is go with the .44 swap and copper and you drop the little one to three silver and five coppers, I mean it's the little fella's first gun, you got too go easy on a boy at this time of his life."

"You trying to break my heart, boy?"

Kros waited pan faced as the man looked at the small figure of Davi, the light in the small boy's face said it all, with a heavy sigh, the man looked down at Davi and said.

"Ok, but this is the only time I cut my price for you, it's only cause it's the boy's first gun, you got a deal, I suppose I have to show these greenhorns how to use them?"

"It would help; after all they have to come back here for more bullets when they finish those ones."

"Maybe, maybe not, there's plenty of 9mm guns out there but for the little .32 you will have to come back here, they're hard to get that size."

Kros and the man shook on the deal and, once the man helped Davi to fit the shoulder holster and shorten the straps to fit his small frame, he took the boys outside to teach them how to use and look after the new weapons, Danil had little trouble learning with the smaller and lighter gun, while Davi was so excited his hand was shaking too much to hit anything.

When finally the two boys had learnt all they could, Kros asked the man one more thing, "We got a rifle here, another one from the crows, you got any ammo that will fit it?"

"Let me see it?"

Grega un-slung the rifle from his shoulder and gave it to the man.

"Hmm, nice, those black crows know how to get the best for themselves; this here is a Webley .308, trans-scope, good for day or night if you have the batteries for it."

"How does the scope work at night?" Grega asked.

"See this base plate, see how it looks thicker than it need be, well you put a flat pack battery in there and switch it on at night, you can see almost good as day except for the green colour, this here scope was military but not the rifle, tell you what, you got the coins I got two of those batteries left, they charge up in the sun so they last forever as long as you don't break them."

"How much?" Kros asked.

"Two silver and no barter, they is really rare so it's a take it or leave it deal."

Kros looked at the hopeful face on Grega, Kros had the silver, in fact he had plenty but did not want the man too know about it, after a short time, Kros nodded his head.

"You got too show Grega how to, what you call it, re-charge, them and how to use them in the scope."

"Done, wait here."

The man turned away and went back inside the cabin, a minute later he returned with a small packet in his hand, he opened the packet and showed the boys the batteries, they were only about an inch wide and quite thin and were about as long as a finger, at one end were two round flat metal pins, on one side there was a fine patchwork of thin black squares and on one thin side a clear strip of what looked like glass or something similar.

The man took the rifle off Grega; he then angled it until Grega could see the base of the scope clearly.

"This little black button on the side you just press, see it opens the flap at the back, now you take one of the batteries, make sure the + sign is on the left, all you do then is push it in and close the flap, now when you want to use it, just push this here white button on the top and you can see at night, these batteries need to be charged up, you put them out in the sun with this side up so the panel can get the sunlight, on the side here is the charge it holds, red line means it has about ten minutes left, the orange line is one hour, if it shows full green then you have about seven hours of use, make sure you have a full charge battery at all times, when you take a used one out put it in the sun for half a day to re-charge, got that boy?"

"Yes Sir and thank you for your help."

"No thanks needed, just my two silver, hey Kros, I see you give that boy your .22, mayhap I got something here for you to replace it with if you got the coins."

"What is it?"

"Almost brand new Marlin .222 with a four power Zeiss Ikon scope, best optics in the world, would give you a mid range rifle, you got the little .22 for close in and the .308 for long range, this Marlin will cover the ground in between, it's made with a compound stock so will be light enough for you too handle, eleven shot semi auto, so plenty of back up shots if you miss the first time, you can have it and one hundred rounds for ten silver."

Kros pretended to be shocked at the price, he did a quick calculation on his remaining coins and knew he still had enough with a little to spare if he paid full price, but he had no intention of doing that and the man knew it.

"Tell you what, I only got eight silver left, you give me two hundred rounds and the gun and I will give you all eight silver that I have,"

"You drive a hard bargain boy, you realise I don't make any profit at that price, tell you what, one hundred fifty rounds and nine silver?"

"Nah, I only got eight, I really would like it but it's too much, guess I will have to go look for something else later, for now we can get by with what we got, thanks for the other stuff, you done good by the boys, perhaps I will see you next time around.'

Kros gave him a heart broken look and held out his hand to seal the other deals before they left, the man looked at the proffered hand and gave a heavy sigh.

"Ok, you win, eight silver and two hundred rounds, wait here I'll go get her."

Kros smiled at the man's back as he walked into the cabin once again, Kros knew the man wanted to sell the rifle it was the type of gun that very few wanted as it was in the mid range and most buyers either wanted long range or close up, he waited happily as the man returned and gave the rifle and four boxes of ammo to Kros.

The stock looked strange as it was coloured in different shades of green and brown, it also did not have the feel of wood like the others but Kros found it to be light enough for him to carry, opening his back pack he stuffed the four small ammo boxes into it and slung the rifle over his shoulder.

"Is Eagle Creek still ok to use for target practice?"

"Yup, no one goes up that way anymore, you go ahead and use some of that ammo; I always got more where that comes from."

With a last hand shake all around, the boys mounted and Kros led them out of the narrow defile and into the main canyon it would be a good ten minutes before they came to Eagle Creek where they could all try out their new weapons in peace.

The boys spent over an hour at Eagle Creek and used nearly a quarter of their ammo on targets, at the end of the session, Grega could hit the bull ten out of ten at a very long range, it took Kros nearly fifty rounds before he got used to the new rifle but after that time he was back to his usual good shooting, Danil took nearly one hundred rounds to get used to the .22 and a further twenty rounds with the automatic to be able to hit the small target from twenty feet [6 m], little Davi used thirty rounds from ten feet before he was hitting his target reasonably well, all the boys were happy with their efforts as they left the creek and turned Eastward, it was time to make the long trek to the new valley.

Kros had determined that, if they gave the old valley a few months to be forgotten, they could go back and rescue what stuff they had had to leave behind, he knew that the next cabin was set up similar to the old one but in a larger valley and with a lot more wild life around for meat, he had never been there but had listened at night to the man he had killed, regale him with stories of how hard he had worked to make his valleys liveable, it was now all paying off and the sacrifice Kros made during his time with the man he felt was well worth it.

It was a long five days ride, all the boys were feeling the effects as they came in sight of the opening into a large wide canyon, it was little Davi who once again was feeling the worst of the ride but he held up so the older boys would not think he was weak even though his small butt was on fire every time he was jolted up and down on the horses back, the soft pelt pad had helped but the long ride did not give him enough time to recuperate.

Kros led them at a fast trot deep into the canyon, when he came to a narrow defile, he turned the horse into it and slowed his pace, there was little room on each side for the horse and rider combined, had they been full sized adults they would have had to walk and lead their horses on foot.

The defile wound back and forth for over a mile until finally their new home came into view, it was a cabin built much along the same lines as the last one but this one was a little bigger and made all of stone, there was no timber in any of the construction, it backed onto the side of the large valley wall so there were only three fronts to defend should it be necessary.

Unlike the last cabin, this one had no defensive gate to stop intruders, only the very narrow defile would make it difficult for attackers to come in numbers, as Kros had not been here before, he had to rely on his fading stories from the dead man, there were strings with alarms fitted in the means of empty tin cans with small stones in them that could be strung across the defile at different points to act as an alarm, he had to go in search of those in the morning, for now all they wanted to do was eat and sleep.

Kros opened the door with the same strange lock system as the old one, they unpacked the horses and released them to go for water and grass, once inside the boys made a hurried meal and went straight to the two beds to sleep just as the sun sank below the level of the steep cliff sides surrounding them.

When morning came the boys were already at work, the sun was barely over the ridge top so far above them when Kros set the work for the day, Davi was set to finding as much deadfall wood as he could carry back to the cabin, Danil was sent to look over the state of the garden hidden to one side and under the cover of trees, Grega and Kros went back to the narrow defile to set a number of traps and deadfalls used in the defence of the valley when occupied, one was a rickety looking cradle high up the side of the almost vertical walls, it was filled with rocks and, if tripped, would fall on the attackers and partially block the defile, making it very difficult to pass without being an open target from the cabin.

The high trap had been made by the man Kros had spent time with, the trip rope was concealed under the soft sand of the floor of the defile, once set it would take only a single step to set it off, anyone underneath would be crushed, there was the added advantage of the defile being so narrow that no one could ride through with a horse, any attackers would have to be on foot.

Next Kros showed Grega where the alarms were, they were a series of empty tins with small stones in them, when the string was touched or cut, they would rattle loudly in the narrow confines and echo back to the valley, as a final defence, there was another large pile of rocks and boulders stacked over the entrance to the valley, once they were released there would be no way to come or go into the valley except for one hidden escape route that Kros did not mention to the boys, it was a last resort and, if one of the boys were caught, he did not want them to reveal it.

When the two boys returned to the cabin, they found little Davi on his knees with a small rusty hatchet, busily chopping a large pile of branches and twigs for fire wood, he looked up at the two older boys and smiled with pride at the large wood pile he had collected, both boys smiled and patted him on the head for a job well done, Danil was inside trying to keep busy, he had a number of vegetables in the large dish and was washing them as they walked in.

The vegetables, he told them, were not all that good as they had not been tended for some time and most had just run wild, what little he had gathered would only be enough for two or three meals, Kros showed them the usual cellar under the table, there had been a lot of vegetables bottled and preserved, they would be alright for a while, in that time they hoped to restore the garden to some of its former production.

Grega decided to take off for a hunt, there were plenty of wild deer to take as well as they had heard grunting from wild boar, there were also many types of wild birds seen, Kros set to cleaning the dust from everything, the one difference in this cabin was the large rough wooden cupboard standing to one side of the fire place, this held all the ammunition where as the last cabin had a long low bench to hold it, Kros knew this was more than what it seemed but did no more than check through their stock of ammo and add what they had brought with them.

That night, as the boys sat around the table after dinner, Kros looked at Danil and the other two brothers.

"Your time is up Danil, you kept your side of the bargain, you are free to leave whenever you want to, it's just a pity we did not have enough time to spend together with those damn black birds chasing us, but you did all I asked, you're free to leave."

The three brothers looked at each other, they really had nowhere to go, was Kros trying to get rid of them so he could stay safe by himself, Kros spoke up again.

"I'm going for a walk to check the traps and alarms, you got time to talk and decide what you want to do, you can stay if you want, but you got to do what I say if you do."

Kros walked out the door and into the dark night, the only light from the moon was a thinning band crescent of the last quarter, it was ample for what he had to do, Kros walked on towards the defile, he knew every position of the traps and alarms, the need for strong light was not one of his problems.

It was almost an hour before he returned to the cabin, walking into the cabin, Kros saw the three boys sitting quietly, evidently waiting for his return, Kros raised one eyebrow and looked at Grega, as he was the elder brother.

"We want to stay with you; we don't have anywhere to go now with the priests after us, we need you to help us stay alive, if that's ok with you?"

"OK, but if you stay, I'm the boss, I know things that you don't so I don't have time for arguing if we have to move fast."

"Sounds fair, that's ok with us, uhm, Danil wants to ask you something."

"What?" Kros asked as he looked at Danil who was blushing slightly and trying to not look at little Davi.

"I was… well I was hoping; we could, well sort of, uhm, keep the same sleeping arrangements; that's if you want to?"

Kros spent time thinking over Danil's offer, inside he was smiling but did not want the boy too know that, after a minute or so he looked at Danil.

"Yep, sounds good to me, now we have to start to think about those black crows, those Knights will not give up easy, we have to think that they will try to follow us, if word gets out about what we did and they don't capture us to make an example, then there would be others that try the same thing against them. I think we're safe here for a while but we have to stay alert."

The three brothers nodded in agreement, they did not want to fall into the priest's hands again, it had been too close last time, after all was decided, the boys went to their beds, for the first time in many long days, Kros was feeling like playing and Danil had now more or less accepted his roll in Kros's bed but, with little Davi in the room with them they would have to be as quiet as possible and also wait until the smaller boy was asleep.

With his better hearing, Kros knew exactly when the other two boys were asleep; wasting no time he began to push his butt back against the hard protuberance behind him, it did not take long for Danil to get the hint, within seconds they were both naked below the waist and Danil, after using a little spit, was trying to get entrance into the hot waiting hole in front of him, Kros helped by trying to open up and push back at the same time.

For the next ten minutes there was the soft sounds of muffled grunts and moans as Danil went to work with all he had, Kros just let the feelings overwhelm him as Danil sped up like a piston until he stopped all of a sudden and held himself deep inside Kros, the pulsing throb told Kros he was getting all Danil had to offer, a deep warmth came over Kros as he felt himself release his own hot juice onto the bed, Danil lay on top of him for a long time just revelling in the feel of the hot flesh underneath him, Kros was just as happy to stay and sleep with the full feeling he now had, the weight of Danil was of little concern in his present mood, slowly the boy's eyes closed, when they awoke in the morning they found they were still joined, a quick glance at the other bed and they felt they had time for one more before rising for breakfast.

For the next ten days, the boys worked to improve the valley, almost every night Danil and Kros enjoyed each other and, in the mornings, Grega would give them a look that said he knew what was going on but, his main concern was for little Davi, as yet the younger boy had not caught on to what Danil and Kros were doing at night, it would be revealed eventually but that could not be avoided, if that time came then they would discuss it.

On the morning of the eleventh day, Kros decided to take one of the horse and ride back along their route to check for any followers, he had assumed that it would take the priests at least that long to pick up their trail if they were going to continue to chase the boys, taking his new rifle with him, Kros told the boys to stay alert and to be armed at all times, he also suggested that Danil or Grega started to teach Davi how to fire the .22, they had a large supply of ammunition for that one and he maybe big enough to handle the smaller rifle in an emergency.

Kros led the horse out of the valley to the far off muffled shots of the .22, as he went down the defile, he disarmed the traps and deadfall, he would rearm them as he returned, if he came back in a hurry he did not want to trip one by mistake.

Kros back tracked for over an hour before he found a place high enough to be able to look far back along their cold trail, it didn't take long for him too see the small black dots in the far distance, "damn" he swore softly to himself, they had found their trail, he could not see them in much detail, but he was sure there were more of them than last time and he could not see if there were any dogs with them, if no dogs, then how did they find their trail, it was something to think on as he rode back towards the valley.

Staying to hard packed ground and stony outcrops as much as he could, Kros made it back to the entrance of the defile, Kros estimated that the chasing priests would not be here until at least the middle of the following day, they had plenty of time to get ready once again, Kros went to resetting all the alarms and the two large deadfalls, he would ride out early the next morning before the sun rose to check on the priests' progress.

When Kros returned to the cabin, the boys were in the middle of preparing a large meal for them all, Kros related what he had seen and then began to issue orders for the next day, the three brothers listened carefully as he outlined his plan, this time he was going to take some of the fight to the priests, he was getting tired of being chased, it was time to make something of a stand, with luck it might stop the priests from continuing their designs.

The next morning, a full hour before the sunrise, Kros left on foot, he could not take the chance of using a horse, he was much more nimble on his own feet and he would be able to avoid all the traps and alarms without un-setting them, once clear of the defile, Kros turned in the direction he had last seen the larger group of priests, in his loping run he started out in the dark, he did not have to go very far to see the faint glow of a fire in the last of the nights darkness, in a few minutes the first pale greys of the new day would begin to appear, Kros wanted to be in place long before that happened.

Kros clasped the new rifle in his hands as he slipped over the small rise to one side of the camp, the fire had burned down and the shadowy figure of the guard could be seen huddled over the last warmth of the embers, Kros took the rifle up to his shoulder and got ready to make some noise, he knew he could reload on the run, he had been practising it for the last eleven days, it paid to be ready for anything in these times.

As the guards head nodded it showed Kros he was nearly asleep, Kros looked through the scope and centred the guards head in the red cross-hairs, Kros slowly squeezed the trigger, the sound of the shot echoed in the morning stillness as the guard toppled over and into the fire, ignoring the guards demise, Kros began to fire quickly into the tents at a height he guessed would be where the beds were, he was not trying to hit anyone, if he did then it was a bonus, all he was trying to do was cause as much confusion as possible while he snuck away in the ensuing uproar.

As the last shot left the rifle, Kros saw the many horses tied to a long rope not too far from where he lay, changing his plan at the last minute, Kros rose and sprinted for the horse line, with a quick slash of his large knife, he freed the horses, a loud yell and they ran off at a gallop, the sound of the earlier shooting had spooked them and they needed no more incentive to get away, as they thundered away, Kros ran back up the rise and disappeared into the morning gloom just as the first of the priestly Knights broke from his tent, he did not see the small figure disappearing into the dawn light.

As Kros loped along towards the defile, he reloaded his rifle, he knew he had stirred up a hornets nest but was sure they would take a little time to get re-organised and follow him, if they stopped to chase their horses it would take longer but he was not about to rely on that fact, the priests had lost another man, they would not be in the mood to wait, and that was the basis of his plan.

Kros came to the last gentle rise before the defile, as he went over the top he slid back to the ground and lay with only his head barely showing over the top, in the long grass he was almost impossible to see, he lay and waited, his rifle to his shoulder and his eyes on his back trail.

It was a full ten minutes before he saw the first of the men trying to track him, they both wore green clothes and were busy watching the ground in front of them, the priests had bought human trackers, they must have realised the dogs were no good now, behind the two trackers was a long line of priests, there were now more than thirty of them and among them were now five with the red cross of Knights, Kros almost smiled, the priests certainly wanted their hides.

As the long line of priests made it to the base of the next rise, Kros opened fire with three shots, two of the priests fell to the ground grasping their chests, they were dead before they hit the ground, the third was lucky, just as Kros fired at him, he tripped and Kros's shot took him in the shoulder, it was not a kill but the priests would not be able to continue with the fight.

As the first answering shots went over his head, Kros slid back and then rose to his feet and ran for a rocky ledge to the left of the defile, he hoped Grega was in place as he had told him to be, with a burst of speed, Kros made it to the rocks and then scrambled on his hands and knees in the direction of the defile opening, the mass of loose rocks and boulders hiding his progress from the priests below him who were just now getting to the top of the last ridge.

Kros scrambled down behind a pile of rocks just five feet [1½ m] above where Grega lay behind another pile in the mouth of the defile, the distance to the priests was now at the very edge of his rifles range for true accuracy, it would be up to Grega with the larger rifle to startle the priests, he had tried to impress on Grega the importance of killing the priests, even if it was against all the boy knew, Kros told him that every priests that escaped was a very real danger to his two brothers, Kros hoped this would be enough incentive to make Grega shoot for the kill, they could not afford for one single priests to make it to the other two boys in the cabin.

While Grega was lining up on the long row of priests, Kros was watching the two trackers, he had told Grega to try for the Knights if he could get a good shot, if not then do as much damage as he could before retreating back down the defile, making sure he did not trip the last deadfall or they would both be in trouble.

Kros waited as the trackers moved into his range, they were following his foot prints just as he hoped, it would take them away from the defile but closer to where Kros waited, the two trackers came nicely into range just as Grega opened fire, as Kros had asked, the first three shots were aimed at the Knights of the Red Cross, the first one had his left leg shot out from under him, as he toppled into the grass trying to stem the flow of blood, Grega fired off two more rounds, both were successful, he watched as two more Knights fell clutching their chests.

For the next five minutes Grega tried to hit the now small targets that had gone to ground, with only small heads to sight on he only got two more for the price of seven shots but, now they were firing back and his little bank of rocks was being peppered with bullets ricocheting around the defile.

In the mean time, Kros had taken care of the two trackers, they did not even know they were dead until they fell on their faces at the edge of the stony ground, Kros yelled for Grega to start making his way back down the defile, he wanted both of them out of there before the remaining priests got bold enough to make a charge at them.

Grega scurried backwards until he could stand and run, he had to keep his eyes on the ground so he would not trip any of the alarms and especially not the deadfall at the end of the defile, he could hear the softer steps of Kros close behind him as he ran, as both boys made it to the end of the defile, Kros waved Grega on towards the cabin as he himself checked the setting of the deadfall, it would not be good if it failed to trip now.

As Grega made it to the cabin, Kros hunkered down behind a preprepared placement of thick tree trunks cut long ago for just such an occasion, the boys now had an open field of fire, Grega with the longer ranged rifle from the protection of the cabin, Kros from behind the log barricade although, for him to make it safe to the cabin, he would be exposed, the thought never entered his head as he waited and listened for the incoming priests.

As he waited, Kros went over their plan and what had already happened, so far everything was as it should be, he was now in a position to hold up the priests indefinitely or until he ran out of ammunition, the narrowness of the defile meant the priests could now only attack in single file.

Kros drew in a few deep breaths as he calmed his once racing heart, laying the new rifle on top of the log barricade, he sighted down the defile, he could see as far as the second bend, from where Grega was inside the cabin, he could only see as far as the last bend, it would be his job to cover Kros's retreat to the cabin when the time came, until then he would stay out of the fight so the priests did not realise he was there.

Kros waited patiently, it was nothing new for him to have such enduring patience, it's what had kept him alive this long, as he rested, he occasionally looked down the scope to check the defile just in case the priests managed to avoid the alarms, the sudden sound of loud tinkling told him they had not, Kros readied himself for what was to come.

Kros watched the far bend for the first indication of movement, another alarm sounded, they were now close to where he could start to take action, unknown to the priests, the narrow defile also acted as an echo chamber and so, when they started to talk to each other about watching for more alarms, it was almost like whispering straight into Kros's ears, he snuggled the rifle tighter into his shoulder.

The first priest put his head around the corner for a quick look and then drew back; Kros let a small smile cross his lips as he watched and waited, after a quick whisper behind him, the first priest slunk around the corner, his rifle at the ready and his eyes roaming all over the sides of the defile looking for more alarms, when he was five steps from the cover of the bend, Kros fired.

The priest's head was thrown back as he was hit, his body then flipped backwards and the rifle flying from his hands as he hit the dry sand of the defiles bottom, from behind the bend, Kros heard what sounded like a curse, then another priest came running as fast as he could around the corner, he was firing wildly with the rifle at his hip.

From his barricade, Kros smiled again as he pulled the trigger once again, the priest fell forward onto his face, he was only two or three paces past his dead comrade, from the cover of the bend came another curse and then silence, Kros waited with eyes glued to the second bend.

It had only taken the loss of two men for the priests to realise they could not advance as they were, it would take something else to get past this new death trap that the narrow defile created, Kros waited and watched, now was not the time to let his mind wander, one mistake and he would be dead meat and the priests would have a chance at the cabin.

Kros saw a head glance around the bend then pull back again, he lined up his sights where he had seen the head appear, he would only have a split second for the next shot, it caught him almost by surprise as one of the priests suddenly stepped out from the bend and drew back his arm, in that split second, Kros saw something small, round and black in the priest's hand, instinct alone made him fire, as the man toppled forward, the small round thing in his hand fell free and rolled along the ground towards Kros.

Something inside Kros told him to get his head down although the black ball was some distance away, he had just got his head down when the enormous sound of the explosion filled the narrow defile, as dirt, stones and small flying pieces of hot metal fell around him, Kros shook his head and bravely glanced over the barricade, not realising he could be taking his life in his hands with that single gesture.

All Kros could now see was the defile filled with a thick cloud of dust and smoke, whatever the priests had used Kros did not want one to land any closer, he decided now was a good time to get out of there as the cloud of dust and smoke would cover his retreat, waving his arm at the cabin to let Grega know he was coming, Kros jumped to his feet in a crouch and made off to the left of the opening so as to make sure Grega had a clear sight into the defile.

Running as fast as his slender but strong legs would allow him, Kros soon made it to the door of the cabin where Davi stood with the door open for him, what worried Kros now was this new thing the priests were using that could cause such a large destruction from something so small as a black ball, they would have to be very careful not to let any priest get close enough to throw one into the cabin, it would be the end of all of them if this happened.

Once inside, Kros double barred the door and then went to take up a place beside Grega at the wide shutter covered window, Kros removed the length of log that gave him a peep hole to fire through just as Grega had done, it was now time to get the two other brothers started on their escape plan in case the priests got to close and were able to make use of the new weapon they had.

"Danil, I want you and Davi to go to the large cabinet by the fire place and start to take all the ammunition off the second shelf and put it into one of our packs, call me when it's done." Kros told the two brothers as he watched along with Grega at the thin trail of smoke and debris still coming from the mouth of the defile, it would be a good chance for the priests to try to come through.

Through his scope, Kros looked carefully at the set up for the deadfall, everything looked right, it would only take one priests to trip over the concealed wire and the rocks would come down crushing those below and causing a blockage the rest would have to take a long time in clearing to get past.

Kros was not about to take it for granted that the deadfall would work instantly, they may get two or three priests past the mouth of the defile before one of them tripped the wire, in the mean time they would have to keep up an accurate rate of fire to keep them from entering and getting close enough to use this new weapon.

Kros listened as the two boys worked behind him, it took ten minutes before everything was clear of the second shelf, Kros glanced over his shoulder as Danil stood up, both boys' faces were running with sweat, there had been a lot of boxes on the shelf that now filled two packs on the floor.

"Danil, look on the right side of the shelf, can you see where the board doesn't quite fit the end of the shelf?" Kros waited for Danil to look closer at the shelf.

"Yes I see it." The boy answered.

"Take your knife and push the blade into the crack and push hard, you should hear a click."

Danil did as he was asked, when he heard the sound of a loud click he turned back to Kros.

"Got it."

"Now just push hard on the shelf, it will swing open, once it's open start to put all of the ammunition that's left on the shelves inside the hole, when that's done, take Davi with you and go down to the cellar and start getting enough food for us to carry." As he finished giving his instructions Kros heard the loud boom of Grega's rifle, he turned back to his slot just in time to see the dusty figure of a priest tumble to the ground.

Kros now concentrated on the entrance to the defile as he heard the two younger boys working behind him, they may not need these precautions but Kros was not going to take any chances, whatever that new weapon was he did not like it, only one of them coming inside the cabin, or even just close to the walls, could kill them all or at the least, injure them beyond being able to defend themselves.

Kros saw the dark outline of someone trying to come through the last of the dust cloud, the heavy boom of Grega's rifle was heard an instant before he fired, the dark figure tumbled to the ground just past the opening, from behind the body suddenly came a fusillade of fire, the dull thunk of bullets hitting the wooden shutters and the whine of ricochets off the stone walls of the cabin told the boys they were now in for a fight.

The heavy pressure of the incoming fire sounded like rain on a roof as the priests tried to make a way for them to get closer to the cabin where their targets were hiding, as Grega fired until he was empty, Kros waited, when Grega stopped to reload, Kros began to fire, they could not afford to both be empty at the same time, behind the two boys, Kros could hear Danil and Davi working as fast as they could.

Four of the priests had now made it through the opening and were hiding behind the barricade that Kros had used earlier, from there they kept up a steady rate of fire at the cabin but, the sturdiness of its construction gave the priests very little to hit, Grega and Kros kept up a steady rate of fire to keep the priests from getting closer, it would be at nightfall that they might have trouble, even with the fancy new night scope, Kros knew he could not keep them all from getting in, he had to think of something else.

As yet not one of the priests had got close to the wire to set off the deadfall, they would have to leave the protection of the barricade to reach it, Kros decided to take a chance and slow their own rate of fire in the hope one or more of the priests would venture to come towards the cabin.

Kros thought only of the threat of those little black balls, he could not let them get close enough to throw anything but he had to let one of them set off the deadfall to block the path in, Kros glanced behind him to see that Danil and Davi, now both sweating heavily from their exertions, had finally finished what they had to do, Kros decided it was time.

"Danil, take your brother and as much stuff as you can carry and put it into the shaft, I'll come and help in a minute."

The two sweating boys only nodded and started to carry or drag the small pile of equipment into the dark hole behind the cupboard as Kros outlined his plan to Grega.

"The tunnel goes right through the cliff and comes out on the far side, we will have to leave the horses but it will give us a long start before they find out about us not being here, your brothers can start now and take as much as they can to the far end if you can keep the priests off us, with luck they will trip the deadfall and block most of them out, but we have to watch for any of them trying to get close to throw a small black ball. Can you keep them at a distance while I help the others?"

"Yep, but leave your rifle here fully loaded while you're down there with the boys, I'm not going to be able to reload without leaving them time to get close."

Kros nodded and checked that his rifle was fully loaded, he then waited for Grega to reload so that he had both guns ready, the fire from outside had eased off and each side was now at a stalemate, Kros pointed out where the deadfall trigger was and told Grega to let at least one priest to come forward in the hope of tripping it, if he didn't then shoot him and let another try, if they did hit the trigger then they would both try to finish off the ones left inside.

With Grega now ready, Kros left his slot and went to help the other two, they were already pulling two of the heavier packs filled with ammunition, Kros lifted one of the food bundles and the two large sleeping pelts and followed the boys inside the dark hole, the light inside was more of a dim grey as light from the far end showed where the exit was, it was about two hundred yards to the end and the tunnel was only four feet [1.20 m] wide and five feet [1.50 m] high, some of the tunnel was natural but some had been cut out by hand to enlarge the more narrow parts.

As they reached the exit, Kros heard the boom of Grega's rifle which sent an echo along the narrow tunnel, the three boys dropped their loads at the exit, next Kros looked at little Davi and smiled.

"Davi, I have a very special job for you, you will have to stay here and guard our things, can you use Danil's rifle yet?"

"Well sort of, but I'm not very good, it's too big for me."

"Well you keep it here while we go back for more things; you have your pistol so you can guard it all with that, ok?"

A look of pride came over Davi's face as he took in the fact he was being trusted with such a vital part of their escape, little did he know that it was Kros's way of making sure the little boy was not in harms way in case the priests managed to get close enough to throw one of the black balls.

Kros and Danil left Davi standing at the exit with is small Berretta in his hand, a look of determination on his young face, both boys smiled at each other as they ran crouching back to get more supplies, the steady deep boom of Grega's rifle still coming from ahead.

Kros went to Grega's side as he lowered the now empty rifle and took up Kros's lighter one; Kros went about reloading the heavy rifle as Danil started to carry more supplies into the hidden tunnel.

"Let them start to move in, we will wait to see if they trip the deadfall, if they miss it we will have to get them quick before they get close enough to throw anything at us."

Kros and Grega watched as they stopped firing, it took a few minutes before they saw a single head show over the top of the barricade, they held their fire but kept watch through their scopes as slowly the priest lifted his head higher with no shots fired at him.

It was another minute before the priest felt safe enough to stand up from the barricade, he was still wary but, with no more shots coming from the cabin he got a sudden boost of confidence, possibly the object of their hunt had run out of ammunition, he took a single step out from the barricade and looked long and hard at the silent cabin, still nothing from the solidly built structure, he grew more bold and stepped forward again.

Kros and Grega watched the priest as he slowly moved towards them, as far as they could see he only carried his rifle in his hands, it was held across his chest at the ready for any sign of movement from the small stone cabin, behind him three more priests ducked through the opening of the defile and hid behind the solid barricade as they watched one of their black clothed brothers move into the open.

The solitary priest stepped forward one more step, as he hit the wire trigger he stopped and, with a shocked look on his face he glanced down at his feet, at that moment, there came a deep rumbling sound behind him, as he turned to see what the loud noise was, Grega fired, the priest sank to the ground silently, his face a bloody mess while at the opening of the defile the rocks tumbled down to drown out the anguished cries of crushed and dying men.

It was a very sombre moment but Kros could not help smiling at Grega as the defile filled with rocks and debris, they now only had about seven priests hiding behind the barricade to contend with, unfortunately for them, two of those priests were Knights of the Red Cross, the first sign that they were in trouble came as two small black balls came flying through the air towards the cabin.

The distance was far too great to do any damage but the effect on the two boys was very real, as the loud explosions filled the valley and dust, smoke and other debris took flight, the boys involuntarily ducked, they were just in time to lift their heads and hear the loud yells of the oncoming priests, this was not good, the two huge explosions had given the remaining priests the chance they had waited for, while the boys were ducking from the sudden explosions, the priests had taken the chance to charge behind the cover of the smoke and dust, it was time to move, and move quick.

Chapter 5
On the Run Again

Kros and Grega watched as the priests rushed the cabin, it was time to leave, both boys took fast shots at the fast running line of seven priests hitting only two of them but they were not sure if they were dead or just wounded, they didn't have time to find out before the priests were too close for comfort.

Kros turned and, with a smile at Grega, ran for the passage, Grega close on his heels, once they were both inside the Passage, Kros asked Grega to help him close the hidden trap door, from behind them at the far end of the passage, both boys could hear Danil and Davi talking softly.

When Kros heard the click of the lock he turned and ran for the far end where the others now stood waiting, it was time to find a new home, they had cut the priests' numbers considerably but there were still enough to follow if they could find the boys' trail.

It took a little time to sort out the packs so everyone could carry what they would need, without the horses they had to contend with the extra weight as well as be able to carry their weapons at the ready although, with the priests now behind them and hopefully unable to find the hidden door, they had a good chance of making a lot of distance before they were discovered again.

Kros now had to try to remember where the third hidden cabin was, he knew it was a good three days ride from this one and in the general direction of North but that was all, the other alternative was to find their own place, but that would have to wait until they tried for the third cabin, it would be a good six or seven days walk without the horses to ride.

For the rest of the day, the boys struggle on, the extra weight of their packs slowed them down considerably but they kept at it, distance was now their best tool and they did their best to take advantage of the respite from the chasing priests.

That night, the boys camped out in a small copse of trees, well away from any track that may be taken by those who roamed the wilds, they now had to be alert for not only priests but any rogues that may be about, all thought of boy games was put from the minds of Kros and Danil in favour of safety.

For the next five days the boys worked their way North; at night, long after working their way in the dark to gain extra distance, they slept hidden away in either a copse of trees or in a small defile where they could keep a guard and stay safe from any roving people that may have been a threat to them, they left the over night camp well before the sun rose, surviving on only a few hours sleep.

On the morning of the sixth day, the boys found themselves on the edge of a wide semi stony desert area, Kros could remember this part from the dead man's description, he now felt a little more sure of his directions to the last cabin, with certain steps, he led the boys into the stony semi desert, if he was correct, they would be able to see the new canyon that held the last cabin by the time they made it to the other side, it would take most of the day to get close and the rising heat of the sun would slow them a little, their food and water were now getting low and they could not afford to wait much past the morning of the next day.

Kros led them into the barren landscape, the packs now a lot lighter than when they started out, of the priests, they had seen no sign, much to Kros's liking, with luck they would now be forgotten and left in peace.

The next 18 hours were no picnic as the small group forced their way through the soft sands and heat of the day, the last of their limited water was used as the last rays of the sun sank towards the horizon, it was in the first light of the next morning that Kros saw the dark outline of a narrow canyon opening, it appeared to be no more than two men wide.

As the opening was the only one in sight, Kros turned in that direction, all being well they would find the cabin at the far end of the defile before much longer, the boys quickened their steps at the prospect of a roof over their heads from the heat of the day and a little safety from the hunters.

The almost full noon sun had risen by the time the small group of boys came to the first line of defence of the hidden cabin, it was a high thick stone wall, stretching from wall to wall of the defile, it would have taken a large rock fall or something extraordinary to have built such a huge wall but the boys were too tired and weary to think of such things, all they wanted was a soft bed and hot food.

Kros led the boys to the left of the stone barrier, set back into the wall and hidden behind a large leafy bush was a thick wooden gate, it appeared to be made from solid tree trunks although it was only a little over six feet [2 m] high and three [1 m] feet wide it was still a heavy and solid gate, Kros gestured for Danil to help him with the gate, he pulled on a latch that had a thick rope which went through the poles of the gate, hearing a loud clunking sound from the other side, Kros and Danil began to push with all their strength until the gate groaned and squeaked open enough to let the boys through.

Closing the gate was the same performance but eventually it was done, two thick wooden bars were placed into solid slots to stop the gate from being opened by anyone on the other side and Kros pulled the rope through the hole in the wood so it could not be used from the other side, for now the boys were safe, turning, they saw the outline of the solid stone house on the far side of the round canyon, the ground underfoot was not soft and grassy like the other two places but beggars could not be choosers, it was safe and that's what counted for now.

As they moved towards the cabin, their weary eyes picked up small signs of rabbits and other wild small game in the dust of the canyon floor, their meat would not be as fancy as venison but it would be better than nothing, for vegetables they had to hope there was a good stock in the now familiar cellar system of the other cabins.

This cabin looked very similar to the one they had left in such a hurry except for the door, in the front of the cabin there was no sign of any entrance, to the left of the house and built against the side wall was an extra wall the same height as the cabin wall and it sat about five feet [1½ m] out from the side, there was no roof and the three boys could see no use for it, it was not until Kros led them around the edge of it that they saw it concealed the entrance to the cabin.

Once again the same lock system was used for this cabin as the other two, Kros led them inside and they began to look for something to drink, their thirst had built steadily as the sun rose higher and they were now in need of a good long drink, this time there was no carrying of water, at the back wall of the cabin, which was also the wall of the canyon, a small spring dribbled water into a shallow depression in the stone floor that was about six inches [15 cm] deep, it then drained the overflow through a hole that led outside.

It took no time at all for the boys to bury their heads in the shallow pool to drink, once sated the next thing was food and, even though they were almost asleep on their feet, they had to eat something before getting some sleep, with all four working as fast as they could, it took only half an hour to have a semblance of a meal, it was not much but it filled a few holes in their stomachs and was enough for them to feel ready for bed.

The first sounds of awakening boys came as the first dim light of dawn broke over the cliff tops, the boys had slept right through the afternoon and night, with groans and grunts they moved stiff joints and sore backs, none of them had thought to use either of the beds but had laid down where they were on the hard floor, they were now paying the price for their laziness.

It was the sound of a rooster crowing that brought Kros fully awake, the thought of eggs or lacking them, a chicken that cleared his eyes and made water fill his mouth, with pushes and shoves at the still half asleep trio, Kros organised breakfast, once again Davi was to set out for firewood for cooking, Kros and Danil would clean up the mess from last night and set the fire as well as check the cellar while Grega went to look for eggs or hens, in the semi barren canyon, they should not be too hard to find.

Mid morning found the four boys wiping yellow yolk off their chins and watching the black round pot finish cooking the rough bread Kros had made, it would do to sop up the last of the egg and grease on their plates, loud satisfied belches echoed in the cabin to the accompaniment of loud giggles from all of them, the feeling of safety at last lightening the mood.

For the first time the boys could hear a strong wind blowing outside, Kros smiled at the thought of the same wind hiding their tracks from any pursuers, he felt reasonable sure that now they had breathing space, with their tracks covered and the gate well hidden behind the bush, the priests would have a hard time finding them, it was time to take stock of their supplies and check out the rest of the cabin.

After the bread was cooked and the boys had had their fill, they all set about tidying up the cabin and getting rid of the dust that had built up since the last time it had been used, once the cabin was mostly clean, Kros had the boys take out their weapons and check how much ammunition they had left after the long fight.

Kros knew there were a couple more guns in the cellar, he would have to go and get them and check on what ammunition was here, the .308 was now down to only 30 rounds, his .222 had 45 rounds, the .22 still had plenty and he knew there was a lot more for it in the cabin, their pistols were all ok, he had the boys start to clean the guns while he went in search of the weapons hidden in the cellar, one of them would be alright for Danil so that Davi could have the .22, with a little more practice he was sure the younger boy would be able to use it to good effect.

After a light lunch, Kros had Grega go out and set some snares, the chance of fresh meat would be a good change from the meals of the last week or so, as a last resort they could always catch one of the chickens for dinner.

While this canyon did not have the large growth of trees of the other two, it did have a lot of small scrubby bushes that would provide fire wood but not a lot of cover if they needed it, there was an escape route but not near the cabin, if they had to get out in a hurry they would have to make a run for it as the small tunnel was at the far end on the canyon and hidden behind some small scrub bushes.

By late afternoon, the boys were tired and ready for dinner, Grega had snared three rabbits and also collected a few more eggs, Davi had scampered around and collected quite a pile of loose fire wood, Danil and Kros had finished the gun cleaning then set about preparing dinner.

The sleeping arrangements were the same as before although they strung a rope down the middle of the cabin so each had a little privacy, both Danil and Kros were still too tired for any games, they had a lot of resting to do before they would be back to their old selves, it had been a brutal escape and trek to the new cabin.

The next morning, Kros took the boys back to the entrance wall where he showed them the stones that had been piled up to make rough steps up the back of the thirty foot wall, it led up to the top where, if you were careful, you could look down onto the very narrow defile they had come through, if you were very careful and took your time, you would not be seen from below, the large stones and boulders on the outside were almost impossible to climb so the barrier was, too the boy's mind, almost impregnable from the outside.

They decided that from tomorrow on, they would have at least one of them up on the wall to keep watch, they would all take turns for two hours at a time, even little Davi wanted to do his bit, Kros told him that as soon as he could shoot the .22 properly he could take part in the guard duties, Davi took it with good grace but also got a look of determination on his young face.

Kros glanced at the stern look Davi was giving him.

"What is it Davi?"

"When can I practice with the gun?"

"Well we have plenty of ammo for the .22 so anytime you like"

"Ok, let's start now then."

Kros laughed and then turned to Grega.

"You want to take him for practice first, I want to show Danil the new gun I have for him and let him practice as well."

"Ok, come on squirt, let's get your new gun and go practice for a while."

Grega clasped Davi by the shoulder in a brotherly half hug and dragged the smiling boy off towards the cabin, Kros grinned at Danil and they held hands as they went in the same direction.

The new rifle Kros had found for Danil was another .22, but this one was loaded from the side with fifteen rounds and operated by a lever underneath, it also had an extra cylinder on the end of the barrel that made it almost soundless, Kros had Danil practice with it until the other boy felt happy with his performance, by then even little Davi was getting to be quite accurate with his rifle although it still was a little heavy for him and he had to rest it on a bench or stone to take some of the weight of his thin arms.

Kros was now happy, all four boys were well armed and had settled into a routine around the cabin, they were starting to relax and, for the first time in a long time, they began to relax and enjoy their little home in the hidden canyon, while in the back of their minds the ever present spectre of the priests still loomed, they now felt a little safer, even the thought of the priests' exploding black ball things did not worry them too much now they had the high thick wall between them.

The days settled into a routine, each boy took his turn during the day to keep watch, there had until now been no sign of the priests, the gathering of fresh meat and the replanting of the small garden kept them all busy, every second or third day, one of the older boys would take Davi for half and hour of rifle practice, he was now good enough that they had little worry about him.

As time passed and the days got shorter, the boys relaxed more and more, there had been no sign of the priests so they were pretty sure they were at last safe and, as the first chill of winter blew down from the high range of hills to the north came sweeping down, the boys got ready for the long nights in the cabin.

Kros and Danil had noticed that Davi was giving them strange looks some mornings, it was usually after one of their pretty active nights together, it was becoming obvious the smaller boy would have some questions for them soon, Grega had told them they would have to do the explaining as they were the ones having the fun, both boys only lifted their eye brows and giggled as they both blushed.

It was another two days before Davi built up the courage to ask the boys what they were doing at night when they all went to bed, Grega smiled at the two boys in a knowing look and left the cabin with his hand over his mouth as he tried to cover up the widening smile.

Kros and Danil had finally got to the end of their revelations and the funny look on Davi's face had settled into one of wonder and, as he asked Kros if it hurt him when Danil did that stuff, Grega came running into the cabin yelling loudly for them to come outside quickly, saved from the question of the over inquisitive boy, all three ran for the door, their rifles clasped tightly in their hands.

Once outside, the boys looked around expecting to see black priests climbing over the far off wall, instead all they saw was Grega doing some sort of dance in the front yard, the overcast sky finally gave them an indication of what he had been yelling about.

Around Grega and now the three others, white flakes of snow were slowly falling, it was the first time that Grega, Danil and Davi had seen snow, for Kros it was just one more thing to think about, he was sure now that they could stop the look outs, winter was here and the priests would have other things to worry about.

That night the winter came in full force, the fire was built up and boys doubled up on their thick skin blankets, outside the wind howled and they could feel the harsh chill of the north winds that managed to come in through a crack under the door, Kros was quick to stuff some old clothes under the door and jump back into the warm bed, they didn't know it then but, for the next four days they would be house bound as the snow built up in deep drifts around the house, only the stone wall around the door stopped them from being totally snow bound.

That first snow storm was more of a novelty to the three boys that had not experienced it before, after two weeks of heavy snow and high winds, with fire wood getting harder and harder to find, all four boys began to dislike the winter with a vengeance, playing in the snow was alright for the first day or two but weeks of the damn cold white stuff was now beyond a joke, fire wood was also now becoming a problem as the small scrub bushes got harder to find.

As the cold really set in and the sky remained heavily overcast, Kros decided to tear down the heavy wood shelves down in the cellar, leaving only the bottom boards to protect their food supply from the ground damp, with careful use the large stack of hewn wood looked as though it should last most of the winter.

Fortunately for the boys, after the first two weeks of terrible weather, the day time skies began to clear and a warming sun shone through most times even though the nights were really cold and crisp but the sky remained clear and the stars shone brighter than ever.

The short days and long nights seemed to go on forever until, finally, Kros noticed the days were starting to get longer and the sun just a little warmer, the long period of winter was also a god send in the form of not having to worry about the priests trying to find them, Kros smiled to himself at the thought of the respite from being harried by the black crows and their minions.

Davi was now a good shot, he had been practicing at every chance when the days were fine, Grega had come up with the idea of cutting down the wood on the stock to lighten it for the smaller boy, he was now able to handle the rifle with a little more ease, Grega had also had Davi lifting small rocks to strengthen his thin arms and build up his narrow chest, the small boy was developing a little muscle and could now handle the rifle with little effort.

As the days grew longer, Kros became more confident that they had given the priests the slip, all he had to worry about now was finding a new supply of ammunition for their weapons after the long running fight with the priests last summer, to do this he would have to take the risk of a long trip back to the man's canyon, for safety he told the others he would make the trip alone and, along the way he would try to find some horses for pack animals.

After a few hours of discussions with the others, Kros finally won his way, Grega would be in charge of the new home while he was away, he went to his worn pack and delved deep into it until he found the last of his coins, carefully he counted them out, if he used all the gold and silver he should be able to buy at least one horse and a good supply of ammunition as well as one or two things for their food supply.

Grega decided that they would start to keep a watch again during the day time, with only three of them, he decided that they would do a four hour shift and then set up some empty tins with stones in them along the top of the wall for the night time when the were asleep.

As the day for Kros to leave grew closer, the last of the snow on the ground had disappeared and the sun was growing stronger, he began to check his pack and make sure he had everything he might need, he took extra ammunition for his pistol and carefully put his coins deep into the pack for safety.

The day for his departure finally arrived, he checked his pack one more time then his rifle and sidearm, the three boys followed him to the gate and, as they opened it for him to pass through, Danil gave him a long tight hug and a small tear began to fall from his eye, his two brothers put their arms around him and held him tightly as Kros smiled at the three and then turned and walked through the partially open gate.

They had worked out that it would take him probably a good two weeks to make it there and back unless he could find a horse, without one he would be limited to what he could carry so the horse was the first part of his plan, without that he would make the trip only to get ammunition and hope for the best.

Kros took his time leaving the narrow defile, with a thick piece of scrub tied to his waist to hide his tracks, he worked his way through until he was out in the open, after checking all around as far as he could see to make sure their were no eyes watching him, he untied the bush and followed close to the cliff edge for half and hour so he would leave no direct tracks to be followed, once well clear of the new hiding place, Kros struck out over the barren wastes with a light step and a long stride.

With the faster pace he could set himself now he was alone, Kros was half way across the barren waste by the time the sun hit its highest point, instead of walking through the heat of the day, he took an old piece of brown cloth from his pack and, after half burying himself in the rough ground, pulled it over himself, now he was almost totally concealed from prying eyes as he settled down to sleep through the worst of the heat, with his extra good night vision he would be able to move during the darkness of night,

For three days Kros moved south, as he got closer to his target, he became more careful even though it meant slowing his pace a little, it was not the time to get careless, he still preferred to move during early morning, late evening and through the night, it was on the fourth night he more or less struck it lucky although it was also dangerous.

He had been moving over the rolling grass lands at a good pace, he would walk for two hundred paces then trot for two hundred, this way he covered the ground very quickly without getting winded or tired, it was a mode of moving he had used before when wanting to cover a long distance, the pack on his back was now a lot lighter as his food was gone and he now just scavenged what he need as he moved, with the run off from winter he had little trouble for water.

He had been travelling through the night and it was now close to midnight, as he neared the crest of the next rise, his well trained nose picked up the faint scent of smoke, immediately he was on his hands and knees as he crawled slowly up to the top of the rise.

As his head cleared the top of the rise he saw the faint far off glow of a fire in the distance, it looked no more than a candle light at this distance but Kros knew better than to take that as a good omen, taking his rifle from his shoulder, he quickly checked it by feel, after that was done he secured his pack tighter on his back and began the long slow job of working his way towards the far off fire.

Bent over double he made his way a quick as he could do safely, slowly more scents assailed his nostrils and his sharp ears began to pick up dim sounds, the closer he got the more he heard and smelt.

It was well after midnight before he was lying on top of the last rise above the camp; below he could just make out the glimmer of the dying embers of the fire, on the ground around the fire he counted the outlines of at least eleven bodies, off to one side and tied to a long rope set on two poles were a large number of horses, all stood as though sleeping on their feet, as yet he could not see a guard but he was not going to take it for granted that there was none, the world was too much of a dangerous place to think it would be easy.

Kros lay down on the rise and watched the camp, the long nights of travelling had made it easy for him to stay alert during the dark hours, if he was going to raid the camp for the horses he would wait until the middle of the early morning hours when most men were at their most vulnerable for that sort of raid.

When he thought it was about three hours after midnight, Kros began to crawl his way towards the encampment, he had marked the position of the guard, the sentry was crouched down close to where the horses were staked out but he looked as though he was also now sleeping as he hunched down in the crisp cold of early morning, he was shrouded in a thick hide coat and his head was buried deep into the large collar, Kros had been able to ignore the cold from long practice.

Kros was no more than a shadow among shadows as he crawled silently towards the horse line and the half asleep guard, he knew had had little option but to put the guard away without a sound, at first he was going to take only one horse but, as he looked at the tied mounts in the dim light he changed his plan, if he could get rid of the guard he could take them all and stop anyone trying to follow him, his plan was simple, get rid of the guard then cut one end of the rope holding the horse line and race to the other end, cut that and mount the last horse, he could then lead them all away on the one rope, if he moved quietly he could be away before anyone knew he had been there, only the fast dispatch of the guard would make it all possible.

Kros had re-slung his rifle for the long crawl, now as he was less than five feet [1½ m] from the guard, he drew his large knife quietly and got ready for the last few feet, as he began the last move, one of the horses stamped its feet, the guard listlessly lifted his head, seeing nothing he settled once again into his thick coat, Kros breathed out slowly, he had not realised he had been holding his breath.

Kros listened and, within seconds, the guard was breathing deeply, he had gone back to sleep although it was lightly, Kros moved the last few feet then, with the speed and silence of a striking snake, Kros buried his big knife deep into the throat of the guard and held on tightly as the man tried to turn to see who had attacked him, his efforts were useless, he was dead before he could find his attacker.

Kros pulled the knife from the man, as the body fell back onto the dark cold ground, Kros's eyes opened wide, the sight of the red cross on the chest of the man's tunic told him all he needed to know, with his breath now almost at a pant, Kros went to the horse line and cut the end of the rope, feeling the line go slack, some of the horses began to move back from him, quickly and as silently as he could, Kros made his way to the far end and sliced through that rope, with a last big effort, he sprang up onto the back of the last horse.

At first the horse was a little unsure of its rider but a soothing hand on its neck soon had the horse calm again, Kros took hold of the rope around the horses neck and gave it a small tug as he kicked his heels into the flanks of the horse slowly at a walking pace, Kros turned his long string of horse to the south, not a sound was heard from the sleeping men as the horses with their new owner walked quietly into the darkness.

If his position was not still dangerous, Kros would have giggled at once again deceiving the black crows, he only hoped they liked to walk, when he was far enough away from the camp that he would no longer be heard, Kros kicked the horse into a trot, the others followed along in a group behind them as they felt the pull on their rope.

When the morning sun rose he found himself in very familiar territory, with his new horses he could be at the canyon for his ammunition before dusk and, with all the extra horses he would be able to do some trading and still keep some for the boys and to carry any supplies he could get, all told he now had eighteen horses, he would only need six, that gave him a lot to sell off for goods.

There was possibly half an hour of light left as he rode into the canyon, again he was met by the large man with the rifle, the first words out of the man's mouth made Kros smile down at him.

"What the hell, boy, did you raid those damn black cows again?"

"Not really, they were sort of sleeping and left them out for me."

"Yeah I can believe that, did they also give you all their gold coins?"

"No, for some reason they kept them safe."

"So what do you want this time?"

"I only need six of these, want to trade the rest off for goods and ammo, you ok with that?"

The man counted the animals now cropping the grass close to the cabin.

"Hmm, twelve of them eh, well I know where I can get rid of them easy enough, what did you need?"

"A good stock of ammo for the .308 and the .222, also I think a good supply of .22 for the boys and some more pistol rounds as well, have you got any spare food stocks?"

"I can let you have a good supply of tinned stuff, there's no labels on them so you get what you're given, the ammo is no problem, I'll tell you what I'll do, for the horses I'll give you all the ammo you want and one horse loaded with canned stuff, if you want more food stocks you will have to pay in coins."

"Oh, come on, there's twelve horses there, they got to be worth more than that?"

"Not too me, I got to get rid of them without the black crows knowing and that ain't easy."

"Now some on, we've done a lot of business with each other, how about, all the ammo, one horse with tinned goods and one horse with cured meats and soft goods like flour and sugar, you know I got four mouths to feed?"

"Look, I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll give you all you want but you got to throw in a couple of gold coins for the soft goods, it's a good deal and you know it boy."

Kros looked at the man with steady eyes, it was a good deal, the horses had cost him nothing and a couple of his gold coins which had also come from the priests would still leave him with a small bag full of other coins for emergencies, Kros nodded his head in agreement and slid off his horse, after tying the rope to a sapling in the front of the cabin, Kros went inside with the man and began to sort out his newly purchased goods.

As a sign of hospitality, the man let Kros stay the night once all his cargo had been placed near the door for loading first thing in the morning, he had had to put out another ten coppers for the extra rope he would need to tie on his goods but it was little enough to pay for his needs, with luck he would be back at the new cabin well within the time he had allowed.

Early the next morning, Kros was quickly loaded, he had distributed his loads between the five horses and would lead them from the sixth, at the pace he would now be able to travel and, by using most of the night as well, he should be back at the canyon in a little over two days.

Kros well knew the stranded priests would not be able to get mounted for a number of days as it would be a long walk back to the nearest village where they might obtain new mounts, he was going to make the best of his extra time.

Kros road at a fast trot for most of the day, just before sundown, he stopped for an hour to let the horses rest by a fresh clear stream with plenty of grass, when night fell he would push on at the best speed he could for most of the night, while he rested he tried to work out how to not only look after the horses once home but also how to get them through the bushes that hid the gateway, if he had to, he would tie one of the horses to the large bush hiding the gate and pull it out, it would reveal the gate for others to see but he was not prepared to lose the horses once home.

Kros rode through the night, stopping only for a one hour break in the early hours of the morning, as he sat while the horses rested, he thought how he was going to get to the ravine without leaving a trail behind him, it would mean a detour across the desert wastes and then back tracking along the cliff face where there was solid stone that left no tracks, it would add half a day to his time but it would be better than having the priests find his tracks and attacking them.

The time passed until Kros found himself finally on the solid stone underneath the towering cliffs, he had ridden hard and both he and the horses were tired, his red rimmed eyes were searching for the opening into the canyon, the ride across the wastes he had done during the night so he preserved the horses from the hot scorching sun of the day.

Finally Kros sighed with relief, his aching back and legs as well as his sore rump would at last get some relief as he spied the narrow opening to the canyon, with his eyes in a squint he finally got to look up at the top of the wall of rocks as the lead the train of horses through the defile, spying a small figure standing on the top of the wall, Kros knew he had been spotted, the high pitched voice of Davi confirmed his guess as too which of the boys was on watch.

As it happened, Kros and the boys had to remove the bushes hiding the gate, Grega suggested that the could replant it the next day, Kros told him not to bother, they would have to go out again with the horses as soon as the unloaded them, all they had to do now was find somewhere safe to leave them as the canyon had little or no grass and the water supply was limited to what came out of the small spring in the house.

The outflow from the spring had made a small pool outside the cabin and this had caused a small amount of grass to grow that would be enough for the horses for the day but they would have to go on a search for a better place the next day, it was Danil that asked about the escape cave at the far end of the small round canyon.

"I don't know where it leads." Kros told them." I know it goes through the cliff, its only a narrow crack, we should be able to get through but the horses or an adult wouldn't, its very narrow, we may have to crawl for part of it, I suppose it might be a good idea to have a look, there maybe something on the other side we can use."

The unloading and unpacking of the horses kept them busy until late in the afternoon, by then Kros was ready for a long spell in bed, the hard ride home had really wiped him out, once settled on the bed, Kros closed his eyes and knew nothing of the rest of that day or the night, it was not until the sun was high in the morning sky that he could open his eyes, the long days and nights on horse back had given him aches and pains in places he didn't even know he had, for the rest of this day all he wanted to do was rest and recover, the other boys just nodded in understanding and left him alone.

It was late in the afternoon when he heard the boys running back to the cabin, Grega was calling him at the top of his voice, Kros shook his head and smiled as he went outside to watch the boys running from the far end of the canyon, when they got closer, Kros thought that little Davi looked much like a ghost, from the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet, Davi was covered in a fine whitish coating of dust.

Kros waited for the boys to pull up beside him, all three were out of breath and smiling widely while trying to gulp in lungs full of fresh air.

"We found it, we found it." Danil tried to tell him between pants and puffs.

"Found what?"

"The next valley, I went through the crack and we followed, it's a really tight squeeze and you have to crawl for some length but on the other side is this huge valley, all green grass and trees, there's a small stream with fish in it and everything." Davi told him with excitement in his young voice.

"Hey, that's great for us but what about the horses, they won't fit through a small crack in the cliff?"

"Well I thought some of us could go and have a look around, maybe there's an outlet somewhere we can use for them, you gotta see it, there's animals and birds and lots of other things." The excited boy told him.

"Ok, Davi, first thing in the morning three of us will go for a look, one of us has to stay here just in case those priests I stole the horses from come looking for us."

"I'll stay and watch the cabin." Grega told Kros, "You three go and look around, if you can find an opening into the valley we can take the horses through, maybe if it's a better place than this we can move everything over there?"

The other three agreed to wait until morning, they would take enough supplies for a full day and have a good look around, they promised to be back before dark and tell Grega everything they see, that night it was a happy dinner with lots of chatter and expectations for the next days events.

Chapter 6
Davi's Valley

The next morning dawned slightly overcast, there was a light wind blowing and the dust was stirred slightly as small puffs sent the fine soil into the air, for Kros it was a good sign that his tracks from the previous day would be well covered, hopefully this would give them more respite from the priests that seemed determined to use them to set an example for the rest of their flocks.

After breaking their fast, Grega set about checking around the cabin, small repairs that had been put off could now be done while the three other boys went on their search of the nearby canyon, Kros hoped that the revelations of Davi were as good as the smaller boy had told them.

It took less than half and hour for the three boys to squeeze their way through the narrow crack in the cliff at the end of their home canyon, inside it was to Kros's eyes, a strange strata of rock, most of it showed up as a glass like substance in varying colours from deep dark browns to almost black then it would change again and turn reddish brown.

The sides were highly polished but on the floor was a fine covering of whitish grey dust, so fine it got into their noses and down their throats, after only a few yards they had to cover their mouths and noses with a piece of cloth torn from the bottom of their shirts, it took no time at all for their hair and faces, as well as their modest clothing, to also be covered in the fine dust, when they reached the end of the narrow crack, the vista before them nearly sent Kros and Danil into a spin.

Spread out before them was a huge oval shaped canyon, it was almost a freak of nature, its base was covered from one end to the other in long lush green grass over which moved small herds of deer and wild cattle, from the thick stand of trees bordering most of the valley came the mixed cries of many varieties of birds among which the distinctive gobble of wild turkeys stood out.

Kros and Danil could not believe their eyes, as they wiped the fine grey dust from the eyes, they could only stand and stare at what lay before them, the canyon seemed to stretch on forever although it was probably no more than a mile long and about half as wide, the towering cliffs that went higher than they thought possible, made them feel like miniature dolls, even the soft tinkling of a small stream running through the middle of the valley could not make them take their eyes off the rest of the canyon.

The three boys had had to drag their small day packs behind them to be able to make it right through the crack, Grega, being larger than all three would be able to make it but it would be a tight squeeze, a full grown adult stood next to no chance, this looked as though it would make a fine safe home for them all.

Kros could now see only one problem, how to get their newly acquired horses into the new valley, as far as he could see there was no opening anywhere along the high cliffs, the valley was oval in shape but curved slightly until part of the far end was hidden from view, taking their packs up, Kros led the other two boys in that direction, if there was a way into this valley then it had to be hidden by the curve, how else could the mixture of wild animals have got into this small slice of paradise?

They set out for the far end of the valley, the tall green grass swished against their knees as they moved through it at a steady pace, the animals seemed to have little fear of them proving that they had not seen many humans in their little hideaway, the cattle appeared to be the more aggressive, as soon as the boys got a little too close to their herd they would form a semi circle and start to stamp the ground in warning, the deer were totally different in that they would just amble away a short distance and go on eating or scratching.

The boys worked their way towards the end of the valley, at no time did they see any hint of an opening or ravine into the valley, it appeared to be no more than a large bowl with no entrance, it was closer to mid morning when they stopped under the towering cliffs at the end of the valley, the surrounding trees offered a nice place to sit in the shade and think things over.

The three boys dropped their small packs and took out a little food, with the cool water of the nearby pond they could take time to work it out, there had to be a way into the valley or there would not be the larger animals here, the boys sat, ate and thought while they all looked around for a way in or out of the place.

Davi seemed to be more interested in the pond, it was about forty yards long and twenty wide, the water was crystal clear and seemed to bubble up from below, it would not be long before they discovered the pool was also warm and the water felt like a lot of bubbles on their skin, the stream they had been following on the way to the end had simply disappeared into the cliff face at the other end near where they had crawled through.

Finally, it was Danil that thought he saw the way in and out of the valley, as Kros followed his pointing finger back along the way they had come, Kros saw the wide track made by animals coming down the side of the cliff face, while it was not wide enough for two men abreast, it was certainly wide enough for a horse and rider, there was their answer as to how the mixed range of animals had got here, all they had to do now was find out how to get to it from their old home.

Kros looked over at Davi, the boy obviously wanted to take a plunge in the pond but they had more important things to do just now, smiling at the younger boy, Kros asked him.

"Davi, I've got a special job for you, we need you to go all the way back and tell Grega that we two will be a while longer, maybe not coming home until tomorrow some time, can you do that for us?"

"Why, what are you going to do?" Davi asked with suspicion in his young eyes.

"Danil and I need to follow that track way up there then find a way to get our horses back here, if we can find a way we can make a new house to live in right here."

Davi seemed to give this a bit of thought; he didn't like the idea of missing out on a new adventure in the valley he had been the first to discover, after a few minutes thought, he looked up at the two older boys.

"Ok, but you have to tell me everything when you get back, this is my valley, I found it so you better tell me everything."

Kros was almost ready to sharply tell Davi to behave himself when Danil stepped in.

"Ok, little brother, I'll tell you everything we do and see in your valley, now you better get going so Grega doesn't worry, be careful when you go past the cattle, keep your rifle in your hands just in case, Ok?"

Davi still didn't look happy but, with a sigh of resignation, he slung his .22 rifle over his shoulder and picked up his pack, within a minute he was making his way back towards the far end of the valley and the narrow crack in the cliffs, with this done, Kros and Danil also picked up their packs and began to move towards the track leading up to the top of the high cliffs, it would be a real climb, the light clouds hid the sun as it was moving towards the zenith, they shrugged their small food packs higher on the shoulders and slung their own rifles so their hands would be free for the stiff climb ahead of them.

The two boys moved quickly through the long swaying grass, the ground underfoot felt soft and, by the way the grasses and trees were growing, would be excellent for their garden if they found a way in. As they neared the line of trees that bordered the cliffs, Kros made out a narrow game trail that led in the right direction, following this, it was only minutes before they came to the start of the upward trail, by the steepness and zigzag nature of the trail it was going to be a long hard climb although he was still certain they could get the horses down here with little trouble.

They steadily climbed and climbed, the trail was mostly clear although now and again they came across some very strange rocks, some of them almost as large as their bodies, they were the same sort of greyish white as the dust below but were patch-worked with thousands of small air holes, when the two boys tried to push them off the trail, they found that the large boulders weighed almost nothing and were easy to roll to the edge and off into the valley now far below them, it was just another strange event in the new discovery.

They had noticed that the high walls of the cliff were like nothing they had seen before, like the narrow crack they had come though, the cliffs here had the same striations and were of the same glass like material, they seemed solid and did not have the crumbling look of so many other places they had been to.

The boys kept at the climb, with luck they should be at the summit just after midday, had it not been for the breeze and the overcast sky, they would really be doing it hard, as this sort of climb in the full heat of a hot day would have sapped their strength in no time, although steep, Kros was still sure the horses could make the descent with only a little effort.

With a last great effort, the two boys made it to the top, before them they saw that the upper rim was no more than fifty feet [15 m] wide and was covered in low bushes and more of the large light weight rocks as well as a lot of the glass like ones, under foot it seemed solid and, from their high vantage point, they could see for miles.

The oval valley they had just climbed from spread out in a green vista, to the other side they could see, not only the vastness of the sand plains but also the change in the type of rocks and ground around their own mesa, it looked as though this place had somehow just pushed its way up from the surrounding desert.

The mesa that held their present home was of a totally different type of sand and rock and looked as though it had been attached to the side of this larger mass, Kros tried to work out why he had not noticed this anomaly when they first arrived, with the height of this new place he should have been able to see it from the sand wastes, he shook his head and put the question aside for another time, for now he had to find the way down.

After stopping for some food and a long drink of fresh water, Kros and Danil found they had little trouble finding the track that led back to the sands below them, all they had to do was follow the many hoof prints left by the wild animals, it was common knowledge that a wild animal would always find the easiest route up or down a mountain.

Kros and Danil looked over the steep edge of the mountain, below them they could easily make out the worn trail, it looked as though it had been in use by the wild animals for years, the further down the steep sides the trail went, the more it branched out into smaller trails, it appeared the main trail to the top was where they all joined up.

Most of the trail further down the mountain turned out to be partially hidden by small scrub bushes and low trees; it would be easy to hide their tracks on the course rough ground of black and red polished stone, there were also small piles of the strange light weight grey rocks and stones, many smaller ones were scattered widely over the mountain side.

After a short rest, the two boys began their descent of the strange mountain, going down proved to be a lot easier than going up, the many small animal trails made it easy to find a good path, getting the horses back up here should be relatively easy, even with packs on their backs to carry the boys' goods.

Kros took great notice of any places that could be used for defensive purposes, if they had to defend this new place he did not want any surprises, their backs would well covered by the old home canyon, they would only have to watch for anyone trying to climb up the one trail to the top, it was something he would think more on when and if they decided to settle into the new canyon, although he had little doubt that this was going to be their special place from now on.

They were about two thirds of the way down the mountain side when Kros called a halt, after another bight to eat and a long drink, Kros said they had seen enough and turned back the way they had come, by the time they made it back to the top it would be almost dark, they would have to sleep out and resume in the morning.

With little more than an hour to full dark, the two boys made it back to the top of the ridge line, knowing full well they would not make it back down in the dark, Kros and Danil set about collecting as many of the light weight grey stones as they could to make a small place to sleep in, they had just enough dried meat and water to see them through the coming night although it would be a little uncomfortable, they had each other to keep warm until morning unless it rained.

Much to the surprise of both boys, the black and red glass rocks seemed to retain a lot of heat from the daylight hours and they slept reasonably well behind the windbreak of the grey rocks, by morning they were well rested and ready for the fast trek back down into the large bowl like canyon, they would have to wait until they got back to the old home canyon before they could eat again.

Both boys were almost at the base of the stiff climb when they spotted a small fire under the same tree they had rested at yesterday, the two small figures of Grega and Davi could be seen sitting back waiting for them, it took only another half an hour to make it to where the others waited for them, Grega had a large scrape on one shoulder, evidently from the tight squeeze in the narrow crack as he came through, on the fire was the small black cooking pot that had a wisp of steam rising from under the lid.

Kros and Danil smiled at the older boy as they saw the hot food waiting for them, as they sat down still puffing from their exertions, Grega filled two plates with a hot stew and then sat back to hear all they had found and seen, with the birds above in the trees calling and whistling, the four boys felt at peace they all thought they had at last found their new home, with luck they would not have to leave it for some time and, only when there was a need for supplies.

After their first hot meal in two days, the boys all began to talk about what would be needed to make this new place like a true home, the security of this strange canyon was evident, they also had an escape into the other canyon if it was needed in an emergency, everything they would need was here, it only needed them to work for a while and it would be a true new home.

For the rest of the day they sat and discussed what would be needed until, finally, it was decided that Kros would be the best one to take the horse over the trail they had found, they would load as much as was safe from the old cabin and he would lead the string of loaded horses down here into the valley, the other three would take what they could through the narrow crack and begin to build some sort of cabin, the old cabin would be kept as a second hideaway but they would only leave a minimum of goods there.

It took Kros two days to make the journey up and over the high mountain side and down into the new valley, with the horses well laden he had taken his time and not tried to hurry them, as he came across the long green grass flats towards the far end where the crack in the cliffs was, he saw that the other three had already begun on their new house, there was the start of a wooden framework and little Davi had been spending all his time either carrying or rolling the large light weight grey rocks into a pile close-by.

Kros and Davi spent a lot of time with an old piece of flat steel, shaping it until it had one side that was fairly sharp with a place at each end for a handle, this the two boys used to shape the easily cut grey stones to fit into a wall around the fast growing house frame, the inner walls for the two bedrooms were also made from the grey stones, too cement them into place, they made a mixture with water and the remains of the powder from their cuttings.

Grega had used an old two man saw he found in the back of the old cabin, it had taken him some time to scrub off the rust and sharpen the large teeth but now he and Danil had a good sharp saw to fell the smaller trees they were using for their frames, where they were placing the new cabin, they had cut down all the long grass and set it aside to dry, this would be used for the roofing, tucked back into the trees close to the narrow crack, it would almost blend in to the surrounding landscape, only the walls which were going to be made from the grey rocks would stand out.

The house was placed in such a way that it totally hid the exit crack from casual view, the cabin was also larger than the old one, the main room would be where they would gather or do their cooking, behind that and closest to the escape crack, were two smaller rooms for the boys to sleep in, one for Grega and Davi and the other for Kros and Danil, it was like a real home at last, although none of the boys said anything, it was a general feeling that this was the last place they would settle, if the priests ever found them then they were in for a very hard fight from the four boys.

For the next two weeks the boys spent every hour of the day working on their home or setting out a place for the new garden, Grega spent extra time in cutting down small willow trees that bordered the pond at the far end of the canyon, these he used to make a few small pens in the hope of catching one of the wild cows for milking, he also made a pen for chickens, at the end of the two weeks, Davi was given the job of trying to catch the now wild chickens that ran freely through the stands of trees, it kept him busy and entertained for three days but, at the end of it, he had nine chickens in the pen, Grega had clipped one wing to stop them from trying to escape.

Grega, Danil and Davi, coming from a small farming area, found they had less trouble than they thought when they went after a wild cow, they needed one they could use for milking and, after Grega saw one cow with a young calf, settled on catching the calf first, with a rope around the calves neck, Grega and Danil led the bleating calf towards the fence they had made, hearing the calf calling for her, the cow just followed along although a little testily, and went straight into the well built pen, it would be another three days before either boy got close enough or calmed the cow down enough to be able to milk her for the first time.

Kros had used a long rope on each horse and pegged each one out, if they needed them in a hurry they would be easier to get, the long ropes allowed them plenty of freedom to graze as they wanted but stopped them from running far down the valley when needed.

After the house was finally finished, the boys set about making a smoke house, with the number of large beasts around they had to preserve the meat in some form and smoking was by far the better choice, salting was ok but then they would have to go out often to purchase it and, as far as the boys were concerned, the less they went into the outside world the better they would be.

For the next six weeks the boys worked on their new home until finally they could settle back and look at what they had created, there was plenty of smoked meat in their new wood lined cellar, the vegetable garden was growing like nothing they had ever seen in the rich black soil, the chickens had now grown to twelve and the eggs were welcomed each morning, the cow had settled down when she found she and her fast growing calf were in no danger, there was now only one more serious concern, after a good three day rest from all their work, the boys sat out in the sun one morning and talked about the security of their new home, it was time to take steps to defend themselves from outsiders, if they found this garden of Eden then sooner or later others would.

After discussing their new home for over an hour, the boys finally settled on a system of early warnings high up on the top of the canyon, this would be backed up by regular visits every second day for one of them to keep watch while the others did whatever was needed around their home cabin.

It was decided that each of them would take turns, at first they were only going to do the top patrol with the three older boys, that was soon dispelled by Davi who had decided he was just as responsible as the others and demanded his turn, knowing how Davi could throw a tantrum when needed, they decided he should also have his turn as guard for a day.

The next thing that needed a decision was what could be done in case they did get unwanted visitors, firstly they would set up some deadfalls above the outside trail, they would be made up from heavy rocks and held back by a few logs that could be released easily if needed, next it was thought they could make up some bags of the fine grey dust to also be either thrown or dropped on those below, the fine dust would make it hard for anyone to see or breath.

The next line of defence would be at the very edge of the inside trail, here they would make a small rock wall to hide behind and also use for cover, with only fifty feet [15 m] to the outside edge, it would be easy to keep others heads down as they tried to come up over the trail, at the base of the cliff they would erect another wooden barricade just inside the line of trees.

The next barricade would be set up half way back to the cabin, again just inside the tree line for extra cover, with each small barricade they could make a slow with-drawl back to the cabin and then into the narrow crack and escape back through that, it would mean they would lose everything they had worked so hard to build up but it was better than being in the hands of either priests or rogue gangs.

Just about everything had been carried through from the old cabin, although they left a hidden stock of food and ammunition in the cellar in case there was an emergency and they had to retreat there, now the plans had been set, the boys got to work, by using the horses to carry most things up the trail, they soon had the top barricades and things ready when needed in only two weeks, it was then time to start on the lower protection.

All four boys had got into the habit of taking their turn to watch up top every second day, with the view they had up there, no one would be able to get close enough without them being seen, that was if they could even find the trail, Kros had checked when he was at the base of the mountain and he even had a hard time seeing the trail even though he knew where to look.

The cutting of timber and construction of the small fort like barricades, took another three weeks but, when all was done, the boys knew they could put up a good defence from the new positions and still be able to retreat back to the cabin if it got too hot for them, although it was doubtful as it would be a hard fight for anyone trying to come down the cliff face without cover and under the boys' rifles.

They had been in the new valley for over seven months, Kros and Danil felt comfortable with each other and little Davi was putting on some size and weight, his marksmanship was now very good and he was happy to take his turn up on the ridge top, Grega did a lot of the really heavy work but most times they all worked together to get things done.

When they felt like fresh beef, Grega would use his larger rifle to bring the wild steer down quickly, it would then take all four of them to dress and skin the large beast, over the last seven months, they had built up a good stock of hides and skins, they now had the whole floor covered in the thick strong cattle hides, the cabin was now quite cosy and no more dust over everything, the deer skins were dressed out for extra strong clothing or moccasins.

On the days when someone was up top watching for strangers, the other three made it a habit of looking up every hour or so, the signal of others around or close to the mountain was a large piece of red cloth tied to a rock and thrown over the side into the valley like a flag, it was this they kept watch for when a guard was up there.

It was just into the eighth month of their stay that Danil saw the red flag fluttering down from above, Grega was on guard duty and Danil called Kros as the flag hit the bottom of the canyon, gabbing their rifles and telling Davi to make things ready in case of trouble, the two boys then caught a horse each and rode hard towards the trail leading up to the top, it would not be long before winter set in and they hoped they would be able to keep hidden until then, once winter was here, they would be almost impossible to be found until next spring or summer.

Once at the top of the trail, they tied the horses to a small bush and hurried over to where Grega lay flat on the ground as he peered over the outer edge with caution, he kept his outline close to the ground as he watched; Kros and Danil lay on their bellies and crawled up beside him.

Grega whispered to the two newcomers and then slowly lifted his hand and pointed far out into the sandy wastes, the boys followed his arm and soon spied the large groups of riders, there were far too many to be a rogue gang, Kros and Danil lifted their rifles so they could make use of their scopes, it didn't take long for them to see the black clothes of the distant figures, all three boys swore at the same time as they saw the far off men for what they were.

It seemed that the damn priests had not given up on their quarry, this time there were even more of them, they were broken up into five groups and spread out over the sands trying to find some sort of trail of their escaped teens, with the deaths and trouble the boys had cost the church, it had now become a matter of honour to catch them at any cost, either in coins or lives, unknown to the boys, these new groups had been instructed not to come back without the boys or the bodies of the boys.

Doing a fast count of all the five groups, the boys settled on a figure of over forty men and horses over the five groups, there were also what appeared to be dogs and trackers with them so the total men after them numbered more than fifty, the only advantage the boys had now was to either remain hidden until winter set in when it would be almost impossible for the searchers to find them, or, if they had to fight, then to make it so expensive in man power that the priests would give up and leave them alone until summer, by then the boys would really know what they had to do.

The three boys had been watching for over an hour when they heard another horse coming up over the inner edge, Danil scurried back to stop Davi from showing himself as he topped the trail, tying the horse, Danil asked Davi what he was doing up here, Davi, with a bit of a petulant look on his young face, lifted his hand and showed the pack he had made up for the three boys, it had smoked meat, bread and fresh water for them, the boys had not realized how long they had been up there, as they drank and ate they all smiled their thanks at the thoughtfulness of the younger boy, Davi felt mollified when he saw the welcoming smiles.

An hour before nightfall, Grega along with Davi left the other two to go and start a hot meal, Kros and Danil would watch until full dark then make their way back down, the groups were well spread out but, the boys noticed as the shadows got longer and time moved close to night time, the groups began to close up and join together for the night, once they saw the first of the fires in the far distance, the two boys left their post and turned for home, they were hungry and ready for a hot meal, they would need to discuss what had to be done for the next day.

After a large dinner of thick beef stew, potatoes and fresh baked bread, the boys sat around the table and discussed what they would do the next day, it was decided that Danil and Kros would spend the day and night up there watching while Grega and Davi checked the weapons except the two rifles the boys would take, Grega and Davi would also set out extra ammunition in cow hide bags at each of the barricades.

Kros and Danil would take food and extra water with them so they had no need to come down or anyone else have to go up. The following day, if all went well, Grega and Davi would go up and watch, the horses would be hobbled close to the cabin but back in the trees a bit, during the afternoon, if all was ready in this valley, Grega and Davi would crawl back to the other canyon and check everything there just in case they had to run for it also to make sure the priests had not found it and left guards.

The boys were well aware that if it came to a fight then their secret valley would become well known and they would be under the threat of the priests for ever more, in the back of his mind, Kros began to think there was only one way to ensure their new home was kept safe and secure, if it came to a fight, they would have to eliminate every single priests, none of them could be allowed to escape to tell of their location, it was a sobering thought to have to go to sleep on.

Kros snuggled tighter into the solid form of Danil as his eyes grew heavy, as the time passed, both boys grew only closer during the nights, while Kros had not grown any taller and was still slim and sinewy, Danil had grown by at least 2" and put on a little more muscle, his ability to almost completely enfold Kros in his arms at night only lent truth to the fact his growth spurt was well under way.

It was also noticeable that little Davi was not so little anymore, while he was a little taller, it was patently obvious he was much thicker through the upper body for someone his age and, none of it was baby fat, Grega now looked the most matured of all of them although he still deferred to Kros on any important decisions.

The next morning, before the first rays of the rising sun were in the sky, all four boys set about the tasks that they had worked out the previous night, Kros and Danil had captured a horse each and were already riding hard for the trail, Grega had Davi outside working on gathering as much food from the garden as they could get, Davi would then clear all the smoked meat from the smoke house and place it in the cellar under the cabin, Grega sat at the table in the brightening morning sun and began the long job of stripping all their weapons and oiling them ready for use, he would then have to go and count every bullet they had.

Kros and Danil made it to the top of the ridge just as the first rays of the sun broke over the far horizon, the horses were no longer afraid of the trail as they had been made to climb it often in the past few months and were now very sure footed, even with the light weight of the boys and their packs on their backs.

Kros and Danil crept to the very edge of the canyon rim and lay down behind a small battlement of the black rocks, their rifles pulled in close by their sides, far below out on the sand wastes, the boys could just make out the first plumes of smoke from the priests morning fires, it was not long before they could also see the dark figures moving around the five fires, their hunters were rising for the day, the two boys got a little more comfortable and settled down for the long day ahead.

When night came, the two boys stayed where they were although, after eating for only the second time that day, they both snuggled under the thick warm hide blanket they had brought with them for such a purpose but, they still kept their focus on the five groups as they neared their lair, as darkness fell the five groups had once again gathered together in one place, it seemed to be their pattern, as Kros said to Danil as they watched them.

"We may be able to use that habit of theirs at night time, if we have to."

They had watched the search patterns of all five groups from their higher point, the trackers with the dogs ran well out in front of the eight horsemen, the dogs were held on a long leash so they could quarter back and forth, there was a dog and handler on each side of the group of eight priests so they all covered a great deal of ground.

As the hunters settled down for another night, Kros estimated they were now no more than two miles from their hiding place, as long as they kept a low profile they maybe by passed without incident, he could only hope so.

At first light the next morning, both boys heard Grega and Davi tying their own horses at the back of their hideaway, the two boys got up carefully and moved back from the rim, once they had all hugged a greeting, Kros related what they had so far seen and his conclusions about the five groups, with this knowledge Grega and Davi went to settle in the same place as Kros and Danil walked back to their own horses, they were ready for a rest and some hot food.

Back in the cabin, Kros and Danil set about stripping their own rifles for cleaning as their breakfast cooked on the fire, Grega had set out smoked venison and last nights cold cooked potatoes to be fried for them, their were also four fresh eggs waiting to be broken into the pan, the heady smell of hot food soon had the boys' mouths watering and the addition of fresh coffee only increased their desire.

After a fulfilling breakfast and a long lazy sit in the sun, the boys felt ready to check for anything they may have missed, from the floor of the canyon and looking back towards the cabin, Kros could now see that the climbing plants they had placed around the base of the cabin were almost completely covering the front, it was difficult to make out the true nature of the building among the shadows of the tall trees.

The boys decided to take one more look around the canyon in case there was something more they could do, mounting their horses they began to ride over as much ground as they could, once at the far end of the canyon from the cabin, Danil pointed out that the single barricade at the foot of the trail was not enough to stop a lot of men from coming down.

Kros agreed and they began to look for another way to fortify the trail, after some time they worked out that another barricade hidden in the trees across the valley from the trail would give them the best advantage, from there Grega with the heavier rifle could keep the trail from being used and still be a good range away from trouble, if attacked hard he could also use the thick trees to make his way back towards the cabin without being seen.

The two boys took the now thinner piece of steel that they had used to shape the light weight blocks of grey stone for the cabin, and set about shaping some new ones they rolled and carried from deep within the tee line, they formed a short wall so Grega would be well protected even if kneeling and left a long thin slot for him to fire through without being seen, they had discovered that, while the grey rocks were light and easy to handle, when hit with a bullet, they seemed to envelope it and slow it to such a degree that, if the block was more than ten inches [25 cm] thick, even the high powered rifle of Grega could not penetrate it.

The boys used fresh wooden stakes to anchor the blocks, just as they had for the cabin, by the time they were done it was late afternoon and they were ready for another hot meal so they turned their horse back towards the cabin, tonight promised to be fun as the other two boys would not be there, Kros could feel the heat building up in his groin as he thought about a night alone with Danil, it would the first time since they had met that the two boys would have the cabin totally to themselves.

Kros guessed that it was close to midnight as he lay beside Danil, he was still panting as he took stock of what the night had been, his skin shone with his sweat, his boy hole was now a little sore and his legs ached from being held up for so long, still he felt sated and happy, he marvelled at how Danil's stamina and ability to have multiple orgasms in such a shot time had increased with the fact of them being alone, it was a welcoming thought, perhaps they should even build a second cabin for themselves if they managed to avoid the priests, it was something to think on for the future.

In the morning, while it was still dark, Kros and Danil ate a quick hot breakfast; they left out the makings for the other two just as they had done for them, before the first rays of dawn showed in the sky, the two boys were on horse back and galloping towards the trail, Kros could feel every jolt through his tender butt as they galloped along, it had been a good night but now there was work to do.

Once on top of the rim they told Grega about the extra barricade they had made for him, with a nod of thanks, Grega led a very tired Davi towards their own horses and were soon gone down over the edge to leave the two boys alone, they had been told by Grega that the large number of priests were now camped directly below them at the foot of the black mountain, it did not take long for the two of them to hear the faint voices of awakening men and soon the smell of smoke was in their nostrils.

The boys spent another long day watching and listening to the large group of hunters, it seemed for the moment that they had no intentions of moving on from the camp at the foot of the strange black mountain, Kros looked at Danil and both boys thought the same thing, they hoped against hope that the priests would not decide to make this a permanent camp from which to base their search, if so it could lead to dire consequences for all of them.

As they peered over the edge to look down on the camp far below, both boys saw the small figures of eleven men with the Red Cross on their chest, the damn knights were here once again and, this time in a bigger number, these knights seemed to be once again the leaders, they had gathered to discuss this days search and what their plan would be if they could find any sign of the hunted boys.

Kros and Danil had no idea of what the priests of the Red Cross were saying, but by the look of things so far they had little intention of moving on any time soon, the boys would just have to keep an eye on then while they were here.

The boys watched as one of the knights sent two ordinary black priests a little up the side of the mountain to watch out over the sand wastes, as they watched the pair scramble awkwardly among the sharp black stones, trying to keep their feet in the loose rubble, the boys ducked lower, just in case they were seen, although it was unlikely from their angle of climb.

It was not long before the camp below was moving but, by the look of the two priests that now sat in the small shade offered by a low bush, and the remains of the priests' camping equipment, that all of them were coming back here again, it was the worst thing the boys could have hoped for, the priests were not moving on any time soon, they would have to keep their guard up for some time yet.

The day passed like all of the others, the priests would fan out and continue their search, while the two put on the side of the mountain sat in the shade and watched over the camp.

It was early next morning when Grega and Davi joined the two boys that they came to a decision that they would have to take the initiative, if they did nothing then there could be a good chance they would eventually be found and their camp discovered, it was time to take the fight to the priests once and for all.

For an hour the four boys discussed their strategy, finally they decided to make use of the other valley, they would go out in two's and attack the smaller squads of eight then retreat back into the other valley when chased, with luck they could cut down the numbers without revealing this valley and it would keep the priests busy and away from their new home.

The next thing they had to work out was how to keep the guard up here to stop anyone from trying to climb the trail, this was worked out with both Danil and Davi staying here, each boy would take turns to go back to the cabin for fresh food and water once a day, Grega and Kros would leave through the other valley and attack and harass their enemies.

Kros and Danil spent most of the day cooking extra bread so that Danil and Davi would not need to worry about it, they had also spent a lot of time cutting some of the long grass for the horses when they were on top of the ridge line, it would not do to have the horses hungry when they were needed.

That night, both boys spent the last time alone that they would have until the priests had been dealt with, the next morning and Kros was showing the same signs as the last time they were alone for a full night. In the morning, Danil got his horse ready while Kros loaded two of the others with the large bundles of fresh cut grass, Grega would bring back the extra horses when he came off the rim, Danil and Davi would have enough food and water for three days, that was about what Kros guessed they would need to cause some havoc with the hunters below.

While he was waiting for Grega to get back, Kros checked his and Grega's gear, they would scramble through the crack and go out from the old valley then, if needed, they would also retreat back through there, without the aide of the horses they would have to be on foot so he paid special attention to their footwear.

Kros had just finished all his checking when he heard the clopping of the three horses coming towards the cabin, Kros went out to welcome Grega, he had put on some hot food for the boy and as soon as Grega was ready and well fed, they would leave for their task, for the first time in a long time, Kros felt the tingling in his belly, it was not fear, it was anticipation.

Two hours later and the two boys were ready, taking their weapons and small food packs, they went towards the narrow crack, the fight to protect their new home had begun.

Chapter 7
The Final Battle

Kros and Grega stopped long enough to do one final check of their equipment, Kros also carried, apart from the obvious rifle and side arm, his combat knife on his left side, the double barrelled shot gun tucked into his pack and the small pistol in his jacket pocket, their food was limited to three days of bread and dried meat.

Kros had also added extra dried meat in his pack along with a small bottle of green pills that had been stored in the cellar of the cabin, he had not used them before but the man he had spent time with had told him about what the pills could do if they were ever needed, the label on the small plastic bottle had long since rubbed off and the bottle itself was scratched and faded

Once checked the boys turned towards the barrier gateway, by now the sun was low, it was the right time to make a start, Danil and Davi were ensconced on top of the rim and would keep watch over their home while the other two would take to the sandy wastes and work their way around the mesa and black mountain.

Once outside the barrier and emerging from the narrow defile, Kros and Grega set their faces towards where the enemy were camped, tonight they would walk or trot to a place they could safely lay an ambush for one of the search parties, the two boys discussed their strategy as they moved.

Kros had the suppressor fitted to his new rifle; he would take up a place closer to where they thought the searchers may go, Grega would stay further back as cover for Kros if he had to retreat in a hurry, a possibility that was almost a certainty.

They had talked over the most pressing part of their ambush; it was to take out the dogs or their handlers at the first opportunity, without the aide of the dogs and trackers, the priests would lack the tracking abilities and the boys would have a freer rein.

The two boys had walked or trotted until midnight before they picked up the scent of wood smoke, in the distance they could just make out the faint glow of several dying fires, the camp was now no more than an hours run from them; it was time to start to make preparations for the next days fight.

Kros and Grega sat down with their backs to the high cliff of the black mountain, as Grega began to chew on some smoked meat and swig from a bottle of water, Kros took some of the extra meat from his pack and soaked it for a short time in a little water until it was rehydrated, once it was a little softer he took his knife and cut several slits into the side of the thick cut of meat, once completed, he slipped three of the small green pills, one in each slit, into the meat, once he had eight pieces done he wrapped them in a piece of deer skin and placed them back in his pack for later.

Although the two boys could not see any of their foot prints in the dark, they hoped that they had been careful enough not to leave any to be followed, they had stayed as close to the cliffs all the way where the going was solid rock and shale, it would not cover their scent but they hoped it would give them the time they would need to at least perform the first part of their plan.

The boys dozed for a few hours and then were up and moving two hours before sun rise, when they were closer to the camp, Grega took up a position that was well hidden and well protected while Kros took off towards the camp in his long loping stride, with luck he would be close to the camp site within half an hour and would then have at least one more hour of dark to get back to Grega.

Kros quietly made his way as close to the camp as he dared, in the darkness lit only by a half moon, he crouched down and looked into the camp, most of it was blurred by the darkness but he could make out the dim figures of sleeping men around the dying embers of the cooking fires, there was a distinct chill in the early morning air, as he slowly crawled closer, Kros heard the first soft, deep throaty growl of a dog warning, Kros immediately went to the ground on his stomach.

With the soft growl still in his ears, Kros crawled backwards and away from the camp, once he thought he was clear enough, he slid his pack off his shoulders and searched blindly with his hands for the deer skin bundle, once he had it unwrapped, he began to move on hands and knees in a half circle around the camp leaving one piece of dried meat in each of eight spots at about ten feet [3 m] apart, his next part was to be very tricky and would take all of his long learnt skills.

With the meat traps laid, Kros moved through the dark towards where he thought the two upper lookouts were, he knew they would be difficult to see in the dark but, with the aide of his scope he was certain, that given time and his superior eye sight in the dark, he would eventually spot them, he only hoped it would be in time to have space to get back to Grega.

The night around him was strangely silent, none of the usual night sounds could be heard, even the crickets had gone to ground as though they knew something terrible was about to happen.

Kros surmised that he had a little over an hour before the first hint of light would show in the dark sky, with the consummate ease of long practice and the lessons learnt from being alone in a wild land, Kros made his way to a place as close to where he thought the two upper guards may be positioned.

It took less time than he thought he would need, as he lay in the soft sand a little out from the towering cliff of black shiny stones, Kros's sharp eyes saw a very faint glow on the hills side a little distance along from where he lay and high enough up the cliff for the two guards to be sitting.

Kros brought his rifle up to his shoulder and scanned along the mountain side, at first he saw little but dark shadowy shapes in the early morning darkness and then, again the faint glow which seemed to start out as little more than a spark then grow into a stronger glow, Kros smiled to himself as the answer came to him, one of the guards was smoking a pipe, it was all he needed to fix their position.

Kros began to move to a better angle, in a few minutes he could now see the two guards, one was sitting under a low bush with a pipe in his mouth, the other was leaning back against a large black rock, his head on his chest as though asleep, it was perfect, Kros began to settle his scope on the smoker, the other would not be aware of his shot until far too late, with the aide of the suppressor, even the guard should not hear it.

Kros lined up the dark patch just above where the softly glowing pipe could be seen, he could not make out the features of the priest but the dark outline of his head would be enough at this range, Kros squeezed the trigger and felt the sharp recoil along with the louder cough of the cartridge as it fired, through his scope, Kros watched as the pipe fell to the ground and the guard slumped without a sound towards the ground, not waiting for anything else, Kros lined up on the sleeper just as the priest began to lift his head, it was enough for Kros, the rifle coughed once again and the second guard slipped silently sideways, it was time to get out and make his way back to where Grega waited for him, the first part of their plan had been accomplished.

Even though Kros had a good sense of time and distance as well as his sharper eye sight, he almost missed Grega, even though it was now starting to get the first faint hint of daylight in the sky, it was only a very soft hiss that alerted Kros to where Grega lay hidden.

Greg had not spent his time idly sitting around waiting, he had used it wisely and constructed a good hide for the two boys, it was a shallow hollow close into the side of the cliff and partial dug under it, with the excess sand being used to build it up at the front so you would have to be standing right on top of it to make it out, from even a short distance, there was nothing there but a low pile of loose sand and the towering cliff face.

Kros checked for any foot prints as he jumped over the sand pile and landed beside the smiling Grega, both boys were now under the base of the cliff, and tucked back a little underneath it where Grega had excavated the hollow, Kros smiled at Grega and removed his pack for comfort, they would spend most of the next day here as long as they were not found out in the furore that was sure to erupt later in the morning.

Kros and Grega did not get too see the results of Kros's foray but they were told later by Danil of the events that morning, as the two boys, after eating and settling down to doze for a couple of hours, were almost asleep, they heard far off in the distance, what sounded like a dog fight, the yaps and loud barks carried to their ears in the still morning air, Kros looked at Grega's enquiring eyes and smiled.

Danil, after they returned to their canyon days later, was to relate to them the uproar in the camp as the sun rose that morning.

"It was like a big circus, first the dogs started to bark and pull on their lead ropes until the owners let them free, like four legged bullets they all took off to just outside the camp site, once there they started to fight amongst themselves, as each dog won he would take something from the ground and the others would run off to another place and it would start all over again. It took me a while to make out that they were all eating something, when they finished whatever it was they ran back to their owners and started to lap up water set out for them and eat some more." Danil paused at this point to get his breath, he then continued.

"The rest of the camp paid little attention to what the dogs were doing except the owners, but the dogs would not listen to them until they had finished whatever it was they were doing, then the shit really hit, one of the Knights called for the two guards to come down for breakfast, I could see the guards asleep by a bush but, even after the Knights yelled really loudly, the two didn't move so they sent another priest up to wake them, that's when it got really interesting, the two guards were dead, all the other priests ran for their guns and started to look all around, the handlers also were looking afraid, then the first of the dogs started to be sick, five minutes later and all the dogs were really ill, it was only about ten minutes after that that the dogs just fell over and foamed a lot at the mouth then lay still, the camp was now in a real uproar, the priests were all running around, the handlers looked to be almost crying, it was a real mad house. It took me a little while to realise that you two must have raided the camp during the night, Davi and I had a real giggle over what was going on, they looked like a lot of chickens with no heads."

Danil continued. "When they all got settled back again, one of the Knights stood and started to give orders, the handlers shook their heads and started to bury all the dogs, it appeared that the handlers did not want any more part of what the priests were doing so they must have been told to stay and guard the camp while the priests went out to look for you. After all the priests got their horse, they broke up into their groups of eight, they then spread out in different directions and began to search for you, that's all we saw that day except for the handlers guarding the camp and they seemed to look very nervous for the whole day."

Kros and Grega managed to get quite a bit of sleep, as always, Kros slept with one ear to the ground in case they were approached to closely, this was the time all his knowledge would be needed to keep them both safe, the two boys had set their target for the next night and would need as much rest as they could get during the day, as long as they were not disturbed by the searching priests.

The first indication of the priests search came just after midday for the two sleeping boys, it was Kros's sharp hearing that heard the horses in the soft sand not far from where they lay in hiding, being very careful not to make any sounds, Kros nudged the sleeping form of Grega next to him, as Grega awoke he saw Kros with his finger up to his lips in the gesture of silence, Grega too, soon heard the horses, now closer to their hiding place.

Much to the surprise of the two boys, the eight priests seemed to be grumbling about not seeing anything all morning, as they neared where the boys lay, one called for a break in their search, all agreed willingly, it had been a fruitless day so far, those that had attacked their camp in the night had not left a sign they could find, the priests knew they had to be around but there was just no sign of them, they were like ghosts and these hot burning wastes did not leave the priests in a good humour.

By the sound of the priests' voices, they stopped no more than fifty yards from where the boys lay, by the sounds coming to Kros and Grega, the men were stopping to eat and rest, Kros took a handful of sand and rubbed it into his hair, once done he slowly and carefully lifted his head until just his eyes broke over the pile of sand in front of their hideaway.

His scan took no more than thirty seconds before he shrank back down beside Grega, in a soft whisper he related what he had seen, all the priests were looking out towards the wastes and not one of them was looking at the cliffs, for now the boys were safe as long as they stayed down and very quiet, which is exactly what they did, two hours later and they heard the priests move off along the cliff, another hour passed and the group came back along the same path they had made but this time they were heading towards their camp site, both boys breathed a sigh of relief, they still had a couple of hours before they could move out and start on their next plan of attack.

In the last rays of light, the boys checked over their weapons to make sure no sand had got into anything important, the plan for the night was to put as many of the priests on foot as they could, without the dogs to warn the camp, they stood a good chance of at least getting some of the horses, it would not be easy as there was a very good chance the horse would be spread out and well guarded but, for every priest they put on foot, it was one less they had hunting them.

It was full night by the time they got close to the camp, it was still a good five minutes away but they could see the fires and the shadows of the priests around them, they had built the fires up higher, it was obvious they were not happy with their position, the boys stayed in the dark and watched, their target tonight would be the horses, they knew they could not hope to get them all, there were just far too many for two boys to handle and at the same time stay quiet.

They lay and watched as the night drew in, the faint light from the half moon helped them to see the layout, by the way the horses were set out, the priest's had learned from past experience that they could not take chances with their animals, the horses were set out in five lines, a stake was driven into the ground and a rope tied between each end with the horses unsaddled and tied at intervals along it, there was a fire going that lit up most of the area except the two outer lines, they were in partial darkness, around the fire sat or stood four of the handlers, it looked as though they had been relegated to nothing more than camp guards.

Kros began to whisper quietly to Grega on what they should do and when to do it, Grega nodded his assent and they settled deeper into the sand to wait, they did not need to worry about their tracks back to the camp, they had simply trotted along in the prints left by the priests horses earlier that day, unless the priests had an experienced tracker they would never be able to tell the difference.

The night moved on, Kros and Grega watched the fire grow smaller as the guards on the horses began to tire in the silent night. It was now early in the morning and all but one of the guards were now laying asleep around the embers, the single guard was hunched over the fire for warmth as the desert sands grew colder and colder, Kros nodded to Grega, both boys began to move silently on their stomachs towards the lines of horses, their objectives were the two outside lines, if the opportunity arose they would try to at least release the other three lines so those could have the chance to scatter in the darkness.

Kros went for the three closest lines, hopefully he could cut them all free while Grega took hold of the last two which were now almost in total darkness as the fire had grown to a small pile of embers, as he crawled closer, Kros heard the soft sounds of gentle snoring, he smiled to himself as he realized the last guard had also dropped off.

Ten minutes later and all three close in lines had been cut, each horse had also been freed from the long holding line, Kros went in search of Grega who had silently led the two ropes of eight horses on the outer strings to a safe distance, Kros had little difficulty finding him in the dark as the long string of horses stood out even in the dark night.

Kros jumped onto one of the lead horses and took up the rope offered by Grega; both of them now had a string of eight, all the others were milling around now loose from their own ground ropes, Kros nodded to Grega as he took his sidearm from its holster, Grega doing the same, with a loud yell, both boys fired shots into the air and dug their heels into their new horse, with the wild whooping and fast fired shots echoing in the still night, the loose horses startled and ran off into the dark as the two boys took off towards the far off canyon of their first home, behind them they heard the first loud shouts of the sleeping camp, keeping their heads low, they spurred their own horses to more speed, those tied behind them could only follow along.

The ride was hard and fast, as they drew closer to the canyon the boys slowed their horses to a trot, they were all blowing hard and the boys did not want them to drop dead, not long before first light, the narrow cleft showed in the dim light, with the horses now settled down after their hard ride, they trotted quietly into the defile, they would have to pull out the large bush once again to get their prizes into the valley, there would be enough water for them but feed would have to be cut from the other valley and brought through the small passage, the extra horses would take a lot of looking after but it deprived the priests of their use.

The boys had no idea how far the other horses would scatter, hopefully a long way, the priests would have little option but to try to track them down as they were now all afoot and would need what horses they could find to get out of the wastes alive, Kros did not think that the priests would have the stamina or the knowledge that Kros had in surviving in the bad lands.

By the time the sun was two hours old, all the captured horses were inside the canyon, Kros and Grega were working on the large bush to put it back in front of the gate, once this was done and the gate closed and locked, the two boys ran for the end of the valley as the horses drank from the small pond by the cabin.

After wriggling through the small crack and into the new valley, Kros and Grega set about cooking some hot food, the first in over two days, they did not forget the two boys up on top of the ridge, after eating their fill they packaged up a large amount and Kros set off on a fresh horse for the ridge top to feed Danil and Davi, he took with him an extra skin of fresh water.

While Kros was gone, Grega set about cutting the long grass close to the cabin, he soon found it was going to take a long time to get enough for sixteen horses and so sat down to think things over, there had to be a better way to cut a large quantity without so much effort, spying the length of steel they had used as a stone cutter, Grega built up the fire until it had a pile of hot coals, he then lay the length of steel in the coals and watched as it began to heat up.

It took some time, but eventually he thought it was hot enough, holding one end with a thick piece of cow hide wrapped around his hand, Grega got the hammer and began to pound as hard as he could on the heated metal, slowly, and with more heating, he began to turn the piece of steel into a longer length, he had seen this sort of thing in the blacksmiths shop but never tried it himself, when he though he had enough and the curve looked as close to what he wanted as he could get, Grega then tried to work an edge on the inside of the curved steel.

It took Grega some time to get what he was looking for, as he finished the last of the sharpening with an old rusted file, he heard the galloping hooves of Kros's horse returning, the boy was just in time to help him finish the rough looking scythe, for another two hours, the two boys experimented and adjusted the hand made scythe until they were satisfied that it would work, the wooden handle had been just as hard to shape as the blade had been, when they looked at their new tool they smiled at each other, the scythe would not win any prizes for perfection, but after trying it out it did do the job reasonably well, Grega set about cutting more grass while Kros bundled it up into thick sheaves and tied them around the middle with a length of thin string,

By the time night was close, they had more than twenty sheaves ready, taking a long length of rope, Kros crawled through the tunnel letting the rope out behind him, just over half way he felt the tug on the rope, Grega had to join another rope to make it too the end, they had left enough of the string on the sheaves to tie onto the thicker rope, Grega would tie the bundle of sheaves on about a foot apart as Kros pulled the rope through, they hoped they had enough rope to get them all on.

For an hour after dark they worked to get the new horses fed, Kros had to brace his feet against the cliff face to get enough leverage to pull the long line of sheaves through the crack, once they were all through, Grega crawled through and helped Kros to spread all the grass out for the waiting horses, finally finished, the two boys worked their weary way back through the crack for the last time, with luck the grass would last for a few days, if they managed to get rid of the priests they could then take the new horses up and over to the new valley home, until then they would have to feed them through the crack like today.

Kros and Grega cooked another hot meal; they would rest for the night and then go up to see what had happened in the camp below the black mountain, it would give Danil and Davi a chance to take a break from their watching duties, now the priests were on foot they could afford to rest a little.

The next morning and, after another hot breakfast, the two boys set out for the ridge top to relieve the others, they would stay up there for the rest of the day and the next night, giving both Danil and Davi a chance for some comfort.

Once they were on top of the ridge and, after giving the younger boys a hug and complimenting them on a good job, they sent them down to rest while they took over, the first thing they did was to carefully inspect the camp below the mountain, it did not take them long to see that the priests had already managed to recapture five of the horses, of the rest there was no sign, with luck they would by now be well on their way back to their home paddocks, the priests were now mainly on foot.

The boys also took note that the five horses were now tethered very close to the tents of the Knights, it was easy to see who had seniority in that camp, even from their greater height, the two boys could see that the dog handlers were not happy about being out there, they all huddled close to each other and well away from the black clothed priests, there was now obvious dissention in the camp, it all went to make the boys hold stronger.

As they watched intently below them, Grega and Kros talked over what they could do next to disrupt those below, sooner or later, the large number of men would run out of food and water, although, while there was a thin stream of water coming through the side of the black cliff face, there was not enough to keep every person as well as the horses, fully watered, Kros wondered if the priests would try to climb the mountain in search of relief, it was a definite possibility as they grew hungrier and more thirsty.

There was little action in the camp during the night, although the boys took notice that they now had alert guards during the full darkness, the five horses had not been increased by any others, even though they had gone out to look for more, the five priests had returned empty handed, they would soon be getting desperate.

Grega was on duty the next morning and watched as one of the Knights looked carefully up at the high cliff they had camped next too, this man was not a fool, none of them were, but out here in the wastes, they were at a disadvantage against anyone that knew their stuff like the boys they had been chasing now for nearly a full year.

Grega nudged Kros awake as he saw a group of six priests begin to put small back packs on, the direction of their gaze told Grega they were going to try to get to the top of the cliff, perhaps just to look around but it was a chance they could not afford to let them have, once on top they would soon see the valley on the other side.

Kros watched with Grega, behind them they could hear the soft clop of the other two boys arriving after their short break below in the cabin, they would soon have all four of them together to defend the ridge, once it started, they knew they would have to stay and defend their new home, when the priests saw that the boys were right here, they would try to attack in force and capture or kill their long hunted prey.

The six priests started the climb, it was obvious to the watchers that, as yet the men below had not seen any of the small game trails leading to the top as they continued to scramble and scrabble among the black glass like debris of the lower slope, Grega told Davi, as he was the smallest, to wriggle along to where they had set up the deadfall of rocks and to check that the trap could be sprung when needed, it had been in place for many months and they did not want it to fail when they needed it the most.

It took the six men nearly an hour to finally find a game trail leading up the steep mountain side, below them in the camp, the boys could see the rest of the large party standing and watching the very slow progress of the first attempt, Grega whistled just loud enough for Davi to hear, it was not worth releasing the deadfall for just six men, he signalled for Davi to crawl back to their hiding place, the younger boy quickly slithered back and settled down with the others to watch.

Grega told Kros they could not afford for the six men to get too high, it was nearing the time they would have to take action, even though it would mean they were going to be revealed and the fight would be on.

The boys watched and waited, they had decided to let the men get high enough where they had no retreat and, preferably in a dangerously narrow place on the trail, they spied a section of the trail they were on that was straight and very narrow, if any of the men slipped and fell over the side they would be killed by the fall on the hard sharp glass like rocks below them.

Grega eased his heavy rifle up to his shoulder while Kros did the same, the rifles of the other two did not have the range to make any difference, when the six men got to the long straight part of the trail, Grega and Kros opened fire, the first two priests crumpled to the ground, the third one jumped and slipped on the glassy rocks and went over the side with a loud, long scream of terror, the other three looked up in fear as the two boys fired again and shot the next two men, the third turned in a panic and ran for his life, he was not fast enough as Grega fired for a third time and he fell off the side and tumbled head over heels down the mountain side, his body like a rag doll as it hit and bounced its way over the sharp rocks.

Below in the camp, all was pandemonium as the shots were faintly heard, the suppressors making it difficult to hear but the sight of the bodies falling made it quite clear they were under attack from above, the two boys eased back and replaced the few shells in their rifles, this was the start of what they knew would be a long and difficult fight.

Kros asked Grega if his night vision battery was fully charged, Grega held up both batteries and nodded, they would be needed before long, they had little doubt the priests would try a few more times during the day but then probably wait for dark and try again, their prediction was proved right as, far below, a number of priests raised their own rifles and started firing blindly at the top of the ridge, it was obvious they had no real idea where the boys were but tried never the less, if nothing else they hoped it would keep the defenders heads down while they tried to get more men up the mountain.

The boys were well aware their place was easily defended against day time attack, it was at night they would have to be really alert, only Grega had the night sight, they would have to depend on him during the dark hours, without a full moon the others would be partially blind as the men in dark robes against a dark background would be hard to see.

Half way through the morning, the priests sent another attack, this time there were more than fifteen men in the group, the boys watched as two or three would try to run for a short distance then lay on the ground as those behind made a dash, as each group ran forward, the others would fire up at the top of the ridge, most of the shots landing far away from the hiding boys.

Each group would leap frog the one in front, it was an effective way to make ground and only put three or four men in the firing line at any one time, the boys waited patiently as the small groups worked their way up the trails, none of them used the same game trail, it spread their attack out along the side of the mountain and hopefully made it harder for the defenders to pick targets.

Nearly half way up the mountain side and the men had not been attacked, only their own rifles were in use, they began to get a little sloppy at the lack of return fire, in their heads they began to think they had shot the defenders with all the random firing, the four boys stayed hidden behind their low wall of rocks and watched through the cracks as the priests grew bolder.

The boys waited, soon the priests got to the place where they had nothing to hide behind, those in front could now see that the only cover was a rough pile of old logs up on the side of the mountain above them, they would have to try to make it there before they continued on, the hot sun was taking a toll of their legs, they had been too used to riding and the steep climb along with the nervousness of being under the barrels of an unseen enemy, brought a new tiredness to them, their heavy black clothes only made it that much harder, half way and they were already close to exhaustion, the boys felt they had waited long enough.

The front priests were now just inside the range of the smaller rifles, although Danil and Davi would have to take their time and aim slowly, they may have a little success if they were careful, for Grega and Kros the shots would be easier now they had let the men get a little closer, Kros would start with those about midway along the file of now careless men, those in front were for Danil and Davi, Grega would look after the rest at the rear, with the narrowness of the trail there was also the chance of some falling to their deaths on the sharp rocks far below.

At a signal from Grega, all four boys rose just far enough to get a good sight of those below, almost as one, they fired at their chosen targets, three men fell and rolled off the side of the trail, the fourth cried out in pain and grasped hold of his left arm as he went to his knees, those behind looked up in fear as the second shots rang out in the stillness of the mountain side, two more men fell, there was now panic as those remaining realized they were caught out in the open.

Those with a faster reaction time began to fire at the small targets higher up the mountain as others looked in vain for cover, the higher angle of their ambushers made it very difficult for those below to hit them, the boys ducked for cover as the sporadic fire rattled on the rocks around them.

From far below in the camp of the priests, others tried to fire upwards and cover those caught out in the open, the air sang with the reports of the battle going on, safe behind their rock wall, the boys waited and picked their shots, Danil and Davi stayed down and peeked through the small cracks in the wall, Grega and Kros took their time in aiming at the open targets, from those caught on the open trails it was now a matter of escaping with their skins in one piece as those above continued to fire with an accuracy that was chilling, each shot was scoring a hit, they were being cut to ribbons out on the open trail.

As if a signal had been given, and under the barrels of those above, the remaining four priests decided to take to their heels and hope for the best, rising as one they turned and ran back down the trails, only two made it to some small rocks for cover, the boys settled back down, the first full attack had been won, now it was going to be a matter of wait and see, there was little doubt the priests would now wait for nightfall, it was all they had left.

With still more than six hours of daylight left, Grega sent Kros and Danil back to the cabin to organize some hot food and to check their ammo, the two boys decided it was better to take all four horses with them, if they had to fight a rear guard the horses would only be in the way, they would leave them hobbled at the bottom of the track in case they needed to run for the cabin.

Kros and Danil got too work cooking a huge meal, as they worked Kros decided to make a small plan of his own, once the food was done and both boys had filled themselves, Danil would take the rest back to Grega and Davi, he would stay there while Kros took off back out of the other canyon to stir up a little trouble in the rear of the priests camp when dark came.

After Danil had headed back to the others, Kros set about readying his weapons, tonight he was going to be alone, a position he was more happy with, he would use one of the other horses to get as close to the camp as was safe then wait for dark, if or when he heard an attack from above the camp, he would act, with all of the priests watching the ridge top he could cause a lot of havoc behind them and then once again disappear into the darkness.

An hour before dark, Kros left the second valley, with the large bush at the gateway still in loose ground, it was easy to get the horse through, leaping onto its back he rode off at a canter, once close to the priests camp he would slow to a walk then hobble the horse close to the cliff while he went further on foot, it was a daring plan but he was sure it would cause only problems for their attackers.

Kros's plan went without a hitch, by nightfall he was lying close to the camp where he watched the Knights organizing another attempt at going up the mountain, with his body partially buried in the soft sand outside the camp, he could easily hear the plan of attack, Kros smiled as he listened in to their plans he also made some of his own.

The priests and their dog handlers, now minus their dogs, had been camped out in the hot sun for a number of days, their food must have been getting short and he well knew that the water was very limited, he could just make out the demeanour of the handlers, and they were not happy at this turn of events, as they were not priests, they were well down the food chain and got only leftovers when a meal was served, by the soft grumbles coming from them, Kros knew it would not take much for the handlers to desert the camp and leave the arrogant priests to their fate, Kros was about to help them make up their minds about leaving.

The camp had been set up in the usual fashion of travelling priests, the Knights in three large tents at the centre, ordinary priests in smaller four man tents close by and finally a row of two man tents for the handlers, all of the tents were arranged around a central large fire pit, with the loss of the five horse lines there was no need for the outer guard fire.

Kros set his sights on the central tents of the Knights, if he could get too them and do some damage it would unsettle the others, if by chance he got time to do even more damage then he would, the less equipment the priests had the less likely they would stay around, hunger and thirst were a mighty weapon.

Kros waited as the darkness got deeper and the shadows from the pale moon left dark spots for him to hide in, as he waited he watched as the priests readied themselves for the upcoming climb and battle with those above, this time Kros took note of the three Knights that would lead the attack.

It must have been two hours after dark when the priests began to move, Kros noted that all the others were now on the other side of the camp away from where he was partially buried in the sand, they were all watching the column of black clothed priests start their climb, Kros waited and watched.

Some little time later, Kros could barely make out the shadowy forms of those climbing, the heads of others still on the firm ground were now all turned upward, it was now time for Kros to add to their discomfort, with the silence of a desert creature, Kros wriggled out from under the sand, he then slithered like a sand snake through the camp as silent as the shadows around him.

Kros made the centre of camp with ease, lying between two of the priests tents he waited for his chance, from above on the dark mountain side, Kros heard the faint echo of a shout, all those on the ground were now totally engrossed in what was going on up above them, Kros rose from the shadows and silently ran for the fire, grasping two or three burning brands in each hand, he scooted for the large Knights tents.

Kros threw a burning brand into each of the larger tents and then with the remaining brand, started on the four man tents, Kros made another dash for the fire and scooped up more burning wood and again threw them into the other tents, as a last defiant act, he used a nearby spade to scoop up a full load of hot embers and threw them with all his might at the handlers tents and let out a loud yell as he sprinted for the darkness.

As Kros ran, he glanced over his shoulder, he wanted to be on the horse and well away before they got too close to him, he could see the fires taking full hold on the tents, the mass of men at the base of the cliffs were now in disarray as they tried to look out into the desert for the culprit and take care of the fires as well, both were a lost cause.

As Kros leapt onto the back of the horse and turned its head for home, he could just make out the chaos of the camp, it looked as though the tents had all caught fire, they had been so dry that even the smallest of sparks could set them off, with no water to fight the multiple fires, the priests would be totally tentless; Kros rode away well satisfied with his night time raid.

On his return to the gateway, Kros could not replace the large bush, all he could do was close and lock the gate and hope for the best, even if found, the gate would be a hard nut too crack with only a few priests on foot, Kros released the horse and made for the crack, even in the darkest of night he would easily find it, once on the other side he quickly sated his dry throat, He then checked his weapons, caught another horse, and rode for the ridge trail, he may be needed up there when the priests arrived to take their revenge for the loss of their camp.

Kros arrived at the small rock barrier in time to see the other three boys getting ready, as Danil and Davi could not see the men clearly in the dark, all the shooting would have to be left up too Grega, they had instead crawled to the other means of defence, Davi was near the large rock that would release the deadfall, all he had to do was knock out a smaller number of stones and the logs and rocks would roll down on those below, Danil was lying hidden just above an outcrop of rock that hung slightly over the main trail, beside him he had the ten bags of grey dust, Kros made for his side as silently as he could in the dark.

Kros looked over the edge of the outcrop and was surprised at how easy it was to see the on-coming priests, their black robes actually stood out from the dark shadows quite well, with his night-scope, Grega was easily able to make out his targets, in the time it had taken Kros to cause havoc in the camp and return, the attackers had made it high up the trail, they were now just edging onto the widest part where it became a single track, just ahead of the leaders was the small outcrop where Danil and Kros waited, the bulk of the force was now almost directly under the deadfall.

Kros and Danil checked their side-arms and got ready for Grega's first shots, he was going to aim at those in the rear, causing the others to try to push forward and to the top, Grega opened fire, his shots echoed around the mountain side as he took toll of the men at the rear, at the same time, Davi began to kick the smaller rocks and stones out from under the pile of logs, in no time at all there was movement, then came the sound of cracking as the first logs gave way, the deep foreboding rumble of the deadfall alerted those below but it was already far too late, for those in the lead, it was nearly as bad, as they looked for cover from the firing above, the air around them seemed to become a grey impenetrable mist that filled the eyes and mouths with a chalky dust, partially blind, three of the priests stumbled off the trail and began the long fall down the side of the mountain, of the two Knights that were left, the first one fell under a veritable hail of small arms fire from above.

The muted crack of Grega's rifle filled the still night air, Davi had slithered his way back beside Danil and Kros and was trying to help out with his small pistol, the chaos he had caused with the deadfall did not seem to affect him in the least as he fired off the last bullet at the dim shape of the last Knight.

Finally it was Grega that hit the Knight, as silence filled the side of the mountain; the boys looked down at their handiwork, of the twenty or so priests that had attempted the attack, only three could be faintly seen trying to make their way back down the trail, one was limping badly with the other two trying to support him, the boys let them go, there was still the possibility that the three could fall over the side in the dark, the four boys sighed with relief, attempt number four had been unsuccessful.

The boys took turns sleeping for the rest of the night, there were no more attempts to take the ridge by the priests, in the first rays of dawn, the boys got a clear view of the camp below, as they looked over the burnt remains of the camp, the boys made out the results of Kros's raid.

Not a single tent was left, it seemed that the first fires had jumped and set the rest alight, with no water to fight the flames, all the other tents had succumbed, all the priests and handlers now had nothing for protection from the hot sun or cold nights, they were also now cut down to less than twenty five men, in the morning light, the boys could not see any sign of the last five horses, they had no idea that Kros's fires had scared them and they had fled into the wastes leaving the priests once again on foot.

Kros volunteered to stay and keep watch while the three brothers went back to the cabin for hot food and rest, they had little doubt that the priests would try another frontal attack, their camp was now just piles of smoking embers, all their food stocks were gone and they had only the few back packs, their weapons and the limited amount of water from the small spring in the cliff, with the sun beginning to rise it would soon take its toll, Kros settled down to watch.

As the day wore on, even from his lofty perch, Kros could almost feel the sense of despair from the burnt out camp below, the priests had tried rummaging through the ashes for whatever they could find, which was very little, the handlers looked as though they had no further interest in what was going on and all they wanted to do was return to their homes and get as far away from this deadly mountain as they could.

The priests however, had been given their orders and they were not about to disappoint their bishop or leaders in the church, they had the boys whereabouts and they had to find a way to finish them off, there was not a doubt in any of the priests minds that the boys were not going to be taken back alive, the loss of so many priests could have only one answer, they were now only spurred on by religiously motivated revenge, the boys would have to pay with their lives for what they had done and the priests would make sure those deaths would be long, hard and as painful as they could make them.

Late in the afternoon, Kros was rejoined by the three brothers, they had brought hot food and fresh water for him, as he sat back well out of sight of those below, Kros listened to the brothers talking, even little Davi now knew there was no going back, they would have to completely destroy the priests so no one would know where they were, although the dog handlers were only ordinary men, the boys had to debate if they also would have to be killed so no mention of their home could get out, it was the one thing they could all not agree on, the handlers had taken little part in the attacks, all they had done was look after their dogs and now even they were no longer around, the decision on the handlers would have to wait until they had destroyed the priests.

Plan after plan was brought up, discussed, and put aside, the boys had to find a way to bring this fight to an end and quickly, the longer they waited, the more chance of one or more of the priests getting away to call for reinforcements, they could not allow that too happen, finally, in the very late hours just before midnight, the boys came up with a plan they could only hope would work.

So far they had sat back in their barricades and waited for the priests, both Grega and Kros thought it was time to take the fight to them, for this they would have to take the bull by the horns and hope for the best, the plan was for all four of them to go together, they would make their way down the trails and settle themselves in close to the base of the mountain, being somewhat smaller than the priests, they should be able to conceal themselves in the myriad of bushes and jumbled rocks on the lower slope, from there they would open fire on the camp at first light when the men would still be half asleep.

There was also the fact that the priests had been out in the sun totally unprotected by their now burnt out tents, with the hot sun, lack of food and minimal water, the boys thought the priests would be ready for the death blow, they would have to hit them hard and as accurately as they could, at such a close range and with little cover to retreat to, they were leaving themselves open to a hard hitting counter attack.

Kros led them down the mountain side in the dark, over an hour passed before they settled on a place for their morning ambush, it was about one hundred yards above the camp, for any of the priests to attack them they would have to climb up over open ground in the loose shale and detritus, there was little cover below the boys, most of the small bushes that had grown there had now been used for the camps fires, Kros settled out on one side closest to the camp, between him and Grega at the far end, Danil and Davi lay behind small mounds of black rocks, all four boys were almost invisible to those below, Grega and Kros would target the remaining Knights first, Danil and Davi, with their smaller rifles, would have to go for head shots only, the small .22 would not be very effective in a body shot, their targets were the ordinary priests until Kros and Grega could help them, they had all decided to leave the handlers alone unless they joined in the fight.

The boys watched the dim outline of those in the camp, it seemed they had not even put out guards or they had left the handlers to do the guard work, they could be seen huddled further out in their own group, all looked to be sleeping as well, the camp at this early hour of the morning was silent apart from the odd soft snore from somewhere in the group of black clothed priests, the boys waited for the first rays of the new day.

The first glimmer of daylight showed in the East, the boys settled lower in the small hides, extra ammo had been checked and put close to hand, from the camp below came the first soft movements of those trying to get just a few seconds more of sleep as the light brightened, the handlers seemed to stay unmoved by the coming morning and still huddled close together, had the boys known that the handlers only wanted to go home and forget all about this disastrous trip, they would have felt better.

The last of the remaining Knights were slowly rising, as they tried to nudge the other priests out of their sleep, Kros and Grega decided to open fire, all five of the Knights still looked as though they were half asleep, by the time they realized they were under attack, there was only a single Knight left and he was still trying to work out where the firing was coming from, this short delay in his reactions cost him his life, Danil and Davi had opened fire at the same time as the other two, they had a larger target as the ordinary priests were still in a group lying on the ground.

Kros and Grega turned their attention on the lazy priests, some had recovered and were trying to find cover, others could only sit and wonder what was happening, the last thing they had expected was for four small boys to attack them in their own camp, the confusions was total, as the boys continued to fire into the open and defenceless camp, one priests after another fell to the boys' accuracy it was like a hail storm of lead into the camp.

The Handlers had watched on in horror, although they did have the good sense to stay back from where the priests had been which was now a killing ground, as far as they were concerned, it was not their job, they had been hired for their dogs not to try to kill some boys that had upset the church, the Handlers stayed where they were and kept their heads down.

The priests had been reduced to seven when they finally saw the pointlessness of their position, they were out in the open with no cover, the boys had the advantage of height and cover, it was a hopeless situation, the senior of the priests called out loudly so as to be heard to those above in the attack force, he very much doubted that there were only four boys in the attackers camp, the destruction they had caused over the last few days was way beyond the ability of a few boys, the priests thought they had to have some adults with them, if so he could talk to them and they could all walk away and one day return to wipe them out now that they had their location, it was easier to deal with adults, they could be easily manipulated.

The boys heard the loud shout from one of the priests, they stopped firing to listen to what he had to say, they had no intention of showing themselves while even one priest was alive, the penchant for treachery was well known in all the lands, Grega, as the eldest, called back from his hiding place, he sounded like the oldest so took up the role of leader for now.

"What do you want?"

"There's been enough death, we want to return to our homes, there's little point in us continuing with a fight we can't hope to win, all we ask is for your mercy and to let us leave in peace?"

"How do we know you will keep your word, or that you will not return with others next time?"

"You have my word as a priest of the Holy Church."

"I see, wait there and don't move, I'll talk it over with my friends."

The boys had heard every word and Grega did not need to have a conference about any of it but it would be a good idea to keep them waiting for as long as possible, with the sun rising and the heat building, the priests would begin to feel the effects of hungry bellies sooner than usual.

The boys made them wait as the sun rose higher, the priests began to shuffle and felt the pangs of hunger, they had lost all their food in the fires and were in no mood to fight on an empty stomach, they all knew that if they walked away from here they would eventually have their revenge as soon as they returned to their church and resupplied, next time the boys would not know what hit them, the forces the priests could call on would annihilate the small group of boys and any adults with them.

The four boys took their time as they lay behind their barricades, they took the time to eat a little bread and dried meat then take long swigs of water before Grega decided to reply to the priests request for release, Grega stood up on his knees to better see the small group of priests as they huddled together surrounded by the now smelling bodies of their compatriots.

"Priest, call the dog Handlers to come over, they are to collect every weapon, including knives and hand guns, all the ammo and anything that can be used as a weapon from you and the dead, they are to pile it all together at the base of the mountain where we can see it clearly, any of you make the slightest attempt at concealing or moving away, we will shoot you, now call the Handlers."

The senior priest did as he was told, he didn't like the fact of all of them being totally unarmed but he had little choice, the Handlers, after much coaxing, came forward and began to search the dead and dying for weapons, over the next hour they gathered everything that could be used as a weapon and piled it at the foot of the nearest small animal trail then stepped back, well away from the group of priests.

Now that the living had been made defenceless, the four boys stood up and began to move towards the base of the mountain, the look of shock on the faces of the remaining priests as they saw four young boys come into view almost made them wish they were still armed, it was only the thought of the destruction that had been done by these same boys that stopped any move towards the youths.

While Grega, Danil, and Davi had kept their rifles in hand, Kros had slung his over his shoulder and produced his sawn off shotgun, it was better when so close to more men, the change did not go unnoticed by the priests, Grega started talking again.

"All of you sit down with your hands behind your backs and facing away from us, Handlers, I want you to search for some rope, as much as you can find, when you have it, bind each priests hands and then take one long piece and loop it around their necks until they are tied all together."

The oldest of the Handlers looked at Grega, then asked.

"What about us?"

"That depends on what you do and whose side you're on?"

"What do you mean?"

"We four have talked it over, none of you have tried to help the priests in the fight, you've all stayed out of it, if you do what we ask, we will give you some horses to go back home, as long as you never reveal our home you will live, if you tell other priests and they come looking for us, then we will eventually find you and your families, you have seen what we can do to the priests, if we have too we will do the same to your families, even if it takes a life time."

The Handlers nodded, the boys looked to be well capable of following up on their threat, they began to search for rope, there were still the long ropes from the cut horse lines and it took little time for them to gather up the rope and begin to secure the priests as they had been asked to do, shortly after the priests were tied tightly, their hands fastened behind their backs and a single length of rope tied them together around their necks, once finished, the Handlers stepped back and looked at the four boys.

"What now?" asked the oldest Handler.

"We wait, one of us will go and get some horses for you, we will also give you some food and water to get you back home, or part way there anyhow, for now just sit over there in the shade and wait, the priests can stay where they are for now, the sun will do them good."

As he finished speaking, Grega nodded to Kros, the boy took to the narrow trail leading up to the top of the ridge far above them, with luck he should be back in a couple of hours, to ease the Handlers worries, Grega tossed them his water bottle and the other boys rummaged around for the last of their food stock, they would soon be back home and had no real need of the extra, the Handlers fell on the food and water with a relish, it had been a while since their last meal and the fresh water made up for the loss of sweat while attending to the priests.

The senior priest called out to Grega after Kros had left.

"What about our dead brethren, they need to be buried properly?"

"Perhaps if you ask the Handlers nicely they will bury them, if not the wild animals will soon finish them."

The priest turned to the Handlers with an enquiring look, the answer was soon obvious, after how the Handlers had been treated at the loss of their dogs, they had little desire to help the remaining priests, all the Handlers just turned their backs and ignored the silent plea, Grega said.

"Looks like your God's wild animals will feed well tonight."

Grega looked across at Danil and Davi.

"Go and check the pockets of the dead for any coins or other stuff we may be able to use later, better check those seven as well, the priests are known for their greedy ways."

The two brothers did as their older one asked, it was not long before they had a tidy sum of coins in a heavy purse which they put beside Grega then sat and watched dispassionately as the sun slowly cooked the other priests in their long thick black robes, the lack of water was already telling on the hungry and thirsty priests, the Handlers sat back in what little shade remained and waited patiently for Kros to return.

It was three hours before Kros made it back, with him he brought three extra horses, giving the one he was riding and the other three, the handlers would have four horses to take them home, doubling up would only make the trip a little longer, on the back of one horse were two large water skins and a few bundles of dried food stuffs.

Kros dismounted and threw the lead rope to one of the handlers.

"Here you are, take these and you can leave, there's food and water for about six days, it should just about let you make it home, remember what we said, tell no one of our whereabouts if you value your families."

The handler took the halter rope and, along with the other seven, double mounted the horses and turned away to the West at a walking pace, Kros and the other boys watched and waited for them to get out of sight, half an hour later and the doubled up horses were only small black dots on the skyline.

Grega took the lead once again.

"We are going to release you one at a time, you will strip down to your underclothes, when you are all undressed, we will release you to make your own way out of here, any that we see from tomorrow on will be shot on sight."

Grega went to the first of seven priests, he released the man's hands and waited until he had stripped down to his underclothes, once that was done, Grega retied his hands and replaced the neck rope, at the sharp look from the priest, Grega said.

"I'm not going to trust all of you free at the same time; once all of you are undressed you will then be released to go."

It took half an hour for the seven priests to be relieved of their black heavy robes and the shirts and pants under then, once all the priests were standing in only their underclothes and lined up with the hands rebound behind their backs and the neck ropes tightly tied together, Grega told them to move out.

The stripped priests could not believe their ears, dressed as they were, with no supplies and tied together in a single line with their hands bound, they had little chance of surviving the sand wastes, if the sun did not get them, then the frigid nights might, if none of those did for them then there were always the wild animals that roamed the wastes, the boys stood and watched dispassionately as the realisation of the situation that the priests now faced, Grega had the last word before the men could start to complain.

"Move now, we will give you one hour, if you are still in sight we will hunt you down and shoot you, just as you planned to do to us, now go."

Grega raised his rifle to his shoulder and took aim at the nearest priest, it was all that was needed, with their hands bound behind them and the course rope starting to already burn on their necks, the priests began to stagger away from the small group of boys, the same boys that had defeated the best they had to offer, what happened to them now was no concern to the four boys, for the next half an hour they watched the roped line of priests stagger through the soft sand, when the captives were far enough away, the boys turned to the first trail leading back up the mountain, from the top they would be able to see how far the priests had got, none of the boys held out much hope for the seven men, they were a long way from help and the wastes were a bad place to be in their situation.

When the boys got to the top of the ridge, they stopped to look out into the wastes, using their rifle scopes, they were able to make out the very small dots of the priests, even after only two hours, the men looked to be in trouble, one figure was obviously in trouble and his friends had no way of helping him, as they watched, the one figure fell to the sand, dragging the others with him, if they lasted the rest of the day it would be a miracle, there was still one hour before midday and they had a long day left in the full force of the suns rays, on foot and tied as they were, the boys estimated it would take the priests at least ten days to make the nearest habitation, the sun would make sure they did not make it.

The four boys turned their backs on the far off scene, they had a home to go to, they would still keep a watch from the ridge every second day as they had before, but now they felt a little more relieved that this danger had been finished with, perhaps now they could live their lives without further trouble, all they wanted now was peace and the chance to live as they wished in safety.

The End