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Chapter22
Ember
Hours later, my stomach is growling, and I’ve still seen nothing. No sign that he was here looking for me. Shit, there’s not even any sign of a struggle.
Which is a good thing, right? If he’d gone toe-to-toe with vicious beasts, surely there would be some sign of a fight? Blood maybe?
Just ahead, I hear the heavy hammering of water, so I follow it, wanting a place to sit for a few minutes if only to rest my legs. It’s a damn good thing I’m in good shape for a dying woman because all this walking is draining.
The trees grow thinner now, making way for a huge clearing. Overhead, the sun is high, and birds chirp happily. A huge pond takes up the majority of the clearing with an enormous waterfall filling it from a cliff opposite of me.
It’s stunning as though I’ve somehow stumbled directly into a peaceful painting. Shit, maybe I have. Wouldn’t be the strangest thing I’ve dealt with recently.
As I’m setting my bag down, a gargantuan black horse trots into the clearing. Its mane hangs nearly to its knees, and its magnificent coat shines beneath the sun.
I stare, afraid to frighten the creature. Other than the brief riding lessons I bought for myself for my nineteenth birthday, this is the closest I’ve been to a horse. It raises its mighty head and turns toward me. Dark eyes study me with a human-like curiosity. Then, it drops its nose and inhales, large nostrils expanding.
Whatever it smelled, it must have liked because it takes a cautious step toward me. Seeing it fills me with a sense of peace—of comfort. If it’s here, monsters can’t be close, right? Animals are supposed to be fairly attuned to that kind of thing.
It moves even closer, so I hold out a hand, flattening it like I remember being taught. It presses its nose directly against my hand and inhales.
Its muzzle is soft against my palm. “How are you, girl?” I bend over. “I mean…boy. Sorry. How are you today?”
The soft whinny that comes from its mouth wraps around me like a greeting.
“I completely understand. I’m not feeling all that great myself. Rather lonely, isn’t it? I’m looking for someone.” I pet the other side of its face with my opposite hand. “You haven’t seen him, have you? Huge man, scarred, wearing torn pants?”
I know it’s crazy, but the horse shakes its head. I step back. Surely it can’t understand me? Then again, here, people can fly, so who’s to say what rules fall over animals? It bows down, dropping to its front knees.
“What are you doing? Taking a nap?” I pet his forehead.
He shakes his head again.
Surely I’m losing my damned mind. I study the horse kneeling before me. “Do you want me to get on your back?”
The horse raises its head then drops it as if nodding. I snort. This cannot be happening—can it? I can cover far more ground if I’m on horseback. Maybe this is a—
A man bellows, and the horse jumps to its feet. To avoid being crushed, I jump back as Rafferty bounds into the clearing, teeth bared, blade high. He charges the horse.
“No! Rafferty, stop!” I try to stop him, but at that exact moment, the horse’s dark eyes turn bright red, and it snarls. Gone is the luxurious mane, replaced with tattered hair of different lengths. Patches of dark hair on its body disappear, leaving splotches of rotting skin.
I scramble backward, and it turns toward me.
Rafferty slams into it, the force of his body taking them both to the ground. I’m helpless to do anything but watch the horrific scene play out.
The creature—I won’t even call it a horse now—jumps back to its feet and moves to kick him. He rolls out of the way just in time to avoid two huge—and now cloven—hooves to the chest.
Before he can retaliate, the creature jumps into the water, disappearing beneath the surface. I stare at it, expecting the thing to rise back up, but nothing happens.
Seconds tick by before Rafferty turns to me. His entire body is coated in blood. Fresh wounds are slashed across his chest. His hair is matted with red, and his eyes are wide and rimmed with black.
“What was that?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer. Just crosses the ground toward me.
I start to back away as flashes of him losing his shit in the dungeon come to mind. But before I can get too far away, his arms shoot out, and he crushes me against his body. Forgetting all about my fear, I wrap both arms around him and hold on, too.
“I thought you might be dead,” I told him.
