Page 20 of The Bookworm and the Pegasus Tamer

“Did you bring maps from the manor?” she asked Danton, who was still on foot.

He grinned over at her. “There’s no need for that when we have Fable with us.” He glanced toward the oncaryx. “Would you oblige?”

Fable made a chirruping sound and promptly became a book. Aurelia shook her head.

“I will never stop being amazed by that,” she muttered.

Phoebe tossed the book toward Danton’s horse, and Aurelia sucked in a breath as he only just caught it.

“Don’t worry.” Phoebe urged her horse up beside Aurelia’s. “He’s indestructible in his book form, remember?” She grinned. “You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve spilled on his pages.”

Before Danton could open the book, the beating of wings sounded above them, far too large for any bird. Aurelia looked quickly upward in time to see a chestnut stallion descending toward them, enormous wings spread wide.

Surely they hadn’t found a herd already!

But Danton called a glad greeting to the pegasus, and she realized the truth. Echo had found them.

He landed with a thump right in front of Danton, and the Earl threw his arms around the chestnut neck. For a moment Danton murmured quietly, his moments of silence the only sign of Echo’s replies. Aurelia wished she could hear him, but his words were heard in Danton’s head, not with his ears. Eavesdropping was impossible.

Soon enough, Danton swung himself onto Echo’s back, not using a saddle or bridle but taking the book with him. He opened it, examined the pages, and murmured something else to Echo. Finally he called the order to ride out, and the rest of them formed into a single line behind him.

The rest of the day passed as they rode higher into the foothills, with Danton sometimes taking wing to scout the way ahead.

“He could travel much faster and further on his own,” she murmured. “He could find a wild herd in no time if he didn’t have us slowing him down.”

“But could he get them to talk to him?” Phoebe asked. “And how long would convincing them take?” She grinned. “My brother likes eating and sleeping on something other than the hard ground as much as the next person. And if he wants any kind of comforts with him, he can’t take them on Echo’s back.”

When they finally stopped at a stretch of ground flat enough to make camp, Danton seemed in good spirits.

“If we had to go all the way into the true mountains to find the first herd, we’d be riding for days,” he said. “Thankfully the wild pegasus herds populate the foothills as well as the mountains. And from what Echo reports, at least one herd is close by.”

Aurelia kept a close eye on the sky as the evening progressed, but she saw no sign of equine forms or of any winged creature larger than a bird.

“Aren’t there griffins in these mountains as well?” she finally thought to ask.

“Yes, but not in this region,” Danton replied. “I’ve never seen one near here. If you hear large wings, that will be a pegasus.”

He grinned, clearly excited at the possibility of meeting a wild herd, despite his own bond with Echo and his frequent visits to the royal herd. But no herd appeared before nightfall, and Aurelia had to sleep for a second night on the mat without having seen the object of their journey.

But when she emerged from her tent the next morning—the first to rise after another poor night’s sleep—she made it only a single step before freezing. Mere feet away from her stood an elegant bay mare. The creature turned at Aurelia’s appearance, and the two stood staring at each other.

The sound of hooves preceded the arrival of a larger black pegasus. He approached them with a tension in his stance that made her hold up both hands and speak in a soft voice.

“We don’t mean you any harm. We’ve only come looking for information. The royal pegasus herd is dangerously ill, and we’re searching for anything that might help them. Please won’t you talk to us?”

She waited hopefully. Like most of Wynkara’s intelligent creatures, pegasi rarely spoke to humans unless they had chosen one as a companion. It wasn’t unheard of, though. If this pegasus wanted to speak to her, he could do so.

But he merely tossed his head, letting out a commanding whinny.

“Wait! Please!” Aurelia cried, but he was already spreading his wings.

The mare followed his lead, and Aurelia could no more hear the conversation between them than she had been able to hear Echo’s words to Danton. By the time the rest of their traveling group came stumbling groggily out of their tents in response to the noise, both pegasi were gone.

Aurelia’s shoulders slumped. “I must have said the wrong thing. I’m so sorry.”

She looked around for Danton, but he was nowhere in sight. Belatedly, she realized Echo was also gone.

Before she could ask if anyone knew where he was, a fresh sound of beating wings made her look up hopefully. Had one of the two wild pegasi decided to return and help them after all?