Chapter Five
Torin
I’m nearly crawling to keep myself low enough that the bank hides us. There’s a fast-flowing river next to me, but sadly, it’s going in the wrong direction or I’d have been tempted to try my luck with it.
“Horse?” I whisper to remind them that we have one purpose, and I can’t get there without them. Kit glances forward and I nod, thrilled I haven’t gotten turned around.
I keep moving just as I see a large red hound lock onto me. It doesn’t even hesitate, it rushes me, but in its fixation, it doesn’t make a noise to alert the others of what it has found. It’s tall enough that if I was standing, it would reach my waist, so when it nears me, I swiftly pull out my scythes to meet it head-on.
It seems startled by my eagerness to fight but instead of backing off, it dashes forward, prepared to attack. I crouch, and just as it lunges, I hook it hard with the scythe. My plan isn’t to kill it, since the creature is wearing a thick collar that would be nearly impossible to cut through without some work, and it has similar armor. It jerks back, skillfully avoiding the first attack, but it doesn’t expect the second scythe. I catch it around the neckand use the momentum to throw it straight into the river. It hits and, disoriented, is swept off by the current.
There’s no doubt something will have heard it, and almost in confirmation, I see another hound run to the water’s edge to watch its buddy be swept away. Quickly, while the beast is distracted, I keep moving as I debate calling Quill out. We’ll immediately draw attention to ourselves if I do, but could he outrun them? If I could get on the other side of the river, the hounds likely wouldn’t be able to follow…
I decide I’ll wait to call Quill until the last possible moment when I know that I have absolutely no other option. I continue moving, trying to put some distance between us, when I see what looks like an old run-down village. It’ll at least give me somewhere to hide.
I look back and see a flash of red as a big-boned horse charges into the thick of the trees. On his back sits a man wearing a tattered cloak that flutters out behind him while the horse runs.
Well, this will be fun.
I reach the first building and move deeper into the village. That’s when I notice a flicker of movement. I immediately still, holding my scythe tightly, before I see what looks like a child peeking out from behind a building. He’s so low, he must be on his hands and knees or crouched all the way to the ground. He watches me for an instant before jerking his chin, appearing to gesture for me to follow, and disappearing.
I hesitate, unsure what that was because he definitely wasn’t human. I never heard him and I never sensed him, and when I try to reach out to discern what he is, it’s almost like he’s not there at all.
So do I follow the strange child or do I make my own escape? I contemplate pulling Quill out now that I have several buildingsto shield us. We might make it a long way before they ever caught up to us if I did.
But I realize that Riley must have woken and is reaching out in the direction the child went.
“What is it?” I whisper, but… can Riley even see him? I don’t think his magic works in this world, so he can’t use Kit’s eyes. Still, he reaches in the very direction where the child was just a moment ago.
Knowing that every second I stand out here thinking is a second I waste, I hurry after the strange boy, but when I turn the corner, he’s gone. And here I stand, wasting precious time. I look around before noticing a hand reaching out from a cracked door leading into a dilapidated home. I stare at it as I wonder if I’ve wandered into a horror setting, but Riley seems to want the creepy creature, so Riley gets whatever he wants. I rush forward and slip into the darkness before the door shuts behind me.
Dropped straight into darkness, I hesitate, unable to call anything to light my way in my current state, when I see a white soul glowing in front of me.
Is he not a boy at all but a soul?
I hurry after the glowing soul until it stops right beside a cabinet. Unsure of what I’m supposed to do, I open it, but the soul hovers against the floor and I see signs that the cabinet has been moved. I push it and discover there’s a hatch beneath it, but there’s not going to be anyone to put the cabinet back over the hatch. I guess I’ll just have to hope they don’t check this place first.
After I push the hatch door open, the soul darts down into the darkness while I question if I really want to get stuck in a cellar. It might be a decent place to hide, but when they find us, I’ll be absolutely cornered. Kit, noticing my hesitation but caring more about what Riley wants, leaps inside.
I suppose I could hide Riley in here and wait on top to fend the horseman off.
I drop down and find that I was wrong. This isn’t a cellar, it’s a tunnel, and the orb is impatiently waiting for me farther down it. I quickly shut the hatch door and start moving as Kit races after the orb.
It’s too narrow to call Quill out, so I pick up the pace. It’s hard to move through the cramped tunnel with such minimal light. I have to keep my hands on Riley’s knees, since they stick out and I’m afraid I’ll bump them into the walls. And the many times I ram my hands into the walls makes me glad I do.
We’ve been traveling for a long time, but so far, I don’t hear anyone behind us. It almost gives me a sense of relief despite being in this hell and following a very suspicious orb.
Riley jerks awake and damn near throws himself off me. He slams into the wall and, because he’s tied to me, drags me after him. I stumble and nearly pin him against the wall in my surprise.
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay,” I say soothingly, gently rubbing his knee that I’m still cupping.
“It hurts… my body is on fire. I’m burning up,” he groans as I feel the magic rise inside of him.
“No, you’re okay. It’s okay,” I say, begging my words to be true. “You’re okay.”
I try to reposition him on my back and notice he’s panting.
“Hold on. Carefully hold on.”
