AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gulping for air, I gawked at the extended claws, teeth bared.Hell!That had been tooclose.
I darted to the rear of the carriage, where Raze had attacked the other bear, but the area was empty. Where was he? And it wasn’t as if I could wait and put everyone into a frozen state. The magic only worked for a short moment, and as I checked the pouch, I realized I’d lost most of thepowder.
But unless I intended to die, which was ahell-noin my books, I scrambled up into the driver’s seat. The iced bear lay in the middle of theroad.
I leaned forward and rubbed the horses’ backs. “We need to get out of here. Need to returnhome.”
They stopped pulling off the road, so that was something. I collected the reins tied to a wooden stake near my feet and scanned the woods for any sign of Raze. Nothing. And as much I hated leaving him, he was a goddamn bear in his territory. I was a shish kebab for the bears, ready for the killing. I whipped the straps into a wave across the horses’sides.
“Home!” I called out oncemore.
They lurched forward, throwing me into my seat, but I held on. Damn, they movedfast.
Wind buffeted against me, my eyes tearing up from the cold, my handsfrozen.
A roar echoed at my back, and I glanced over the top of thecarriage.
Two bears chased the carriage.Fuckno!
Raze had said his horses knew where the castle lay, so I had to trust them. It wasn’t as if I had any other ideas. Goddess, if I ever got out of this alive, I would grill Elliana about all future jobs before I blindly accepted. Who was hiring me, what the job entailed, and most importantly, would I be at risk ofdying?
We rushed forward, and my gut knotted. The gust of wind tore at me relentlessly. Darkness consumed the surrounding scenery, and I glancedback.
The animals still pursued, and urgency pressed on my chest. I nudged the horses with the reins. “Faster.”
Where the road forked, the horses careened left, the land climbing upward. Trees thinned out on either side, replaced by jagged stone rocks, towering over me. Up above, shadowy bear forms raced along theledges.
More of the monsters! I yearned to return home, forget this assignment. But look how hard it had been getting this far, and who the hell knew how I’d get home? I prayed Raze had survived because I didn’t need to turn up to the castle and announce that the guide who’d been sent to collect me had perished. I couldn’t live with that on my conscience. But in any case, the quicker I got to safety, the sooner someone could go helpRaze.
Grunts escalated behind me as I traveled farther along the narrow road, just wide enough for one carriage—if I stretched out my arms, I’d touch the rocky walls of the canyon. The bumpy passage had me jostlingabout.
If I had ingredients, I’d create a more elaborate spell to stop the attackers, but that took time and concentration, neither of which I had while fleeing for mylife.
A sudden crash into the back of the carriage sent me reeling forward in my seat. The horses kept going, but I spun to find a bear scaling the top of thecarriage.
Fear drenched my skin with perspiration, the internal screams rattling in my ears. Tendrils of energy zipped up my arms, and I retrieved the pouch from my pocket. I didn’t have much of the powder left. Last time the wind stole the herbs, so I moved so fast. I poured the rest of the contents onto my palm and found maybe enough for one spell. I glanced at the beast crawling closer, teeth exposed, sharp, white daggers ready to slice mybody.
His paws rooted to the roof of the carriage. His fur fluttered left and right from thewind.
The animal swiped a claw outward, inches from my face. I swerved sideways, holding on to the stake that held the reins to stop myself from falling. I ducked down. Terror was a knife twisting in my gut, and it took every inch of strength to not scream and jump off the carriage andrun.
I clenched the herbs in my fists, waiting for the animal to get closer. My hands sweated despite the icy winds. But if I moved too soon, I might not get another chance. My heart stuck to my throat. What if Imissed?
When a shadow fell over me, I tossed the ingredients into the animal’s face. “Freeze.”
He halted at first, staring, waiting.Please, please let it work.I slid back down into myseat.
Something shifted behind his black eyes: terror. Then in a sudden swerve of the carriage, I lurched sideways, about to get tossed to the rocky ground. I screamed and pawed the air for something to hold. My fingers grasped the back of the seat, and I hauled myself back up.Shit!
The bear flew backward and out of sight, collected by thenight.
Pulling myself upright, I gulped for air and fought the impulse to turn the carriage around and go back for Raze. But I had no freezing herbs left. I picked up the reins again. I had to move—and fast—and get out ofhere.
Bears continued to follow me along the overhead cliffs that now sloped downward. They’d catch me in no time, and I’d die out here and no one would know what had happened. My throatthickened.
“Come on.” I drove quicker, the horses’ flaming exhales ripped from their nostrils by thewind.
Around the next bend, the cliff flanked outward in opposite directions but dipped fast. The bears wouldn’t be farbehind.
