She wondered if anyone else managed to escape the slaughter. She hoped some did, but she knew they dared not return to find out. Letting Antello return for a horse was not even a smart thing to have done, but her mind had been focused on Walak and she hadn’t stopped to think about what might be waiting for Antello at the Academy. Lyra berated herself for another thoughtless decision. Silently, she vowed to start planning better.

Lyra’s thoughts disintegrated as the sound of riders drifted through the silent forest and she leaped to her feet. Syman quietly drew his sword and Walak scrambled away from the trail to hide. A few breathless moments later, Syman relaxed as he recognized Antello returning from the Academy with a spare horse for Walak.

“Anything amiss back there?” asked Syman.

“Nothing at all,” replied Antello. “Maybe it is all over and we can return.”

“There is no going back,” rebuked Syman. “Not ever. Have you so quickly forgotten your pledge?”

“No,” Antello smiled thinly, “I just don’t think we have to be so worried. They are not going to be bothered by a couple of students escaping.”

“I will release you from your pledge,” offered Lyra, “but I am going to Alamar. There is nothing left at the Academy for me and I must get to my uncle as quickly as possible. I understand if you want to go home. Rhodella had no right to wring that pledge out of you anyway.”

“She had every right,” Syman interjected. “Something very serious is going on and someone has to find out what it is. We are all that is left of the Academy. I would go with you without the pledge anyway, so do not blame Rhodella for asking. She did what she had to and we shall do what we have to.”

“Of course,” Antello jumped in, “I am with you too Lyra. I was just suggesting that maybe we don’t need to be so jumpy. Syman and I can handle any trouble on the trip to Alamar and I gave my pledge freely. Like Syman, I would come without the pledge. I would never desert my friends.”