Had there only been one demon? Perian’s memory of what had happened was hazy in the extreme, but part of him thought there had maybe been more than one, and the others had kept going? Or had the one he’d definitely seen just been so big that itfeltlike more than one?
Had Nisal killed this one, or just driven it off? Where were the others?
There was the sudden sound of movement, something thundering their way, bushes and leaves crackling, and Nisal jerked upright, sword in their hand, ready, and then—
Prince Horsey burst through the bushes in a complete lather. When he saw them, he stopped, sides heaving, snorting and neighing. He pawed the ground. Nisal and Perian sagged with relief.
“Fire and water,” Nisal gasped. “Thank everything. Perian, you need to get Molun back to the castle.”
“But what about the others? What about you?” Perian demanded.
“We’ll be fine,” Nisal told him firmly, like they actually believed it. “I’ll find the others. Molun needs a doctor. As soon as possible. Now.”
It was true. Perian wasn’t an expert in wounds, but it wasn’t like they could smear salve over this wound, could they? But here was Prince Horsey, and that meant they could get back to the castle.
Could he hear distant yelling? Nisal was glancing in that direction, so he was pretty sure the answer was yes. But Perian couldn’t think about that. All that mattered was getting Molun to help.
Prince Horsey was the fastest horse in the world. They could do this.
But he wasn’t going to be able to hold onto the wound and ride a horse. They needed something to tie—
Perian cursed himself for a fool, and they used the now bloody ribbon that he’d been clutching in his hands all this time to bind the cloth in place. Perian would hold on as best he could, of course he would, but he already knew this was going to be the most awkward ride ever.
It was no easy task getting Molun and Perian on the horse, but Prince Horsey showed that strange sensitivity, like he knew when things were really serious; despite all the blood, he stood there patiently. With the help of air—even then, Perian honestly wasn’t sure how they did it, given that Nisal was half their size and Perian had to be on the horse to receive Molun—they somehow got Molun into Perian’s arms on the horse.
Although Molun groaned a deeply pained sound, he didn’t regain consciousness.
Perian realized he was muttering, “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” under his breath.
He wrapped his hands around the reins and held onto Molun awkwardly. He didn’t think this could possibly be good for Molun’s leg, but… the alternative was worse. That’s why they’d used the ribbon—the awesome, awesome ribbon that was definitely a winner.
Nisal’s eyes were wide and scared, but they said, “Go,” and Perian, who didn’t want to leave them, didn’t know how many demons there were or what they were going to face or where anyone else was or if anyone else was safe, dug his heels into Prince Horsey’s flanks and said, “Run!”
And Prince Horsey did. The forest was a blur. Prince Horsey was running as fast as he could between the trees, and Perian didn’t complain when branches whipped across his face, leaving stinging scratches in their wake. He had to keep blinking back tears and clearing his throat.
“You’re going to be fine,” he told Molun, who was a warm, still weight against him, rocking with the movement of the horse. “I mean, I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of an ugly wound, but we’ve wrapped it up.” He sniffed. “If only you weren’t unconscious, you could have seen us stripping off all our clothing just for you. Aren’t you upset you missed that?
“You’ve also had two tonics. They might even be tonics that Nisal and I helped to make. We didn’t mix them the same way as the salve, but we talked to them the whole time. We told them they were going to be the best tonics. The doctor said that made adifference. Well, these ones were made with themostencouragement and caring, and that means they’re the best possible thing that you could possibly take right now to make you feel better.”
He gulped in a couple breaths and then just kept talking, like maybe Molun could hear him, and if Molun could hear him, then he was going to be all right.
“Nisal took care of the demon, and you know there’s a whole group of very capable Mage Warriors out there. As soon as Brannal realizes what’s happening, he’ll probably sweep in with all his flames and big shields and save the day.”
Perian wished they’d never split up, but it was too late for that.
“So we’re missing a bit of the drama—sorry about that—but we’ve got something else to do. We’re not very patient, right, and we’re not about to just wait around for Brannal to save the day. We’re doing our own thing. But we’ve got this great bandage—the clothes right off our backs!—the winning ribbon, and the tonics, so we have plenty of time to get you back to the doctor.”
It was all going to be fine.
Breath hitching, Perian added, “Prince Horsey is the best and fastest horse, as you know, and he didn’t even take it personally when you talked about him being moody earlier. And he’s letting you ride him! He showed up right when we needed him. And he’s still faster than the wind.”
Maybe he’d just been playing every time they’d run before, and this was serious. He’d already got them out of the forest, and he was now galloping flat out, thundering across the turf.
Perian sniffed. His hands were going numb from clutching the reins and Molun as tight as he could. He clutched tighter.
“You’re going to be fine,” he repeated to Molun, bending all his will to it, to believing that it would be true because he was going to break down if he thought of the alternative. “I’m going to stay with you, I promise. And Arvus will be back in no time. As soon as they take care of the demons and can find the horses. Prince Horsey is clearly the smartest of them, and that’s really handy when something goes wrong. Not that this is wrong, this is just a… asetback,” he said triumphantly, as he thought of the word and almost sagged in relief. “Yes! This is just a setback, like what happened with Renny, but you saw how she came back better than ever. This is going to be the same.”
Perian might be crying now, but he still managed to tell Molun all sorts of things. He rambled about how he apologized for running in the wrong direction with the ribbon, he was going to feed Prince Horsey every apple and carrot that the castle had—even if it meant there was an apple pie shortage—Nisal was awesome, everyone else was fine, obviously, because they were Mage Warriors, and the doctor was clearly the best, or they wouldn’t be taking care of Renny, so absolutely everything was under control. Molun was totally fine, because he obviously needed to have this best training story to tell all his friends.
