AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I cupped my hands. I might not be capable of making delicate movements but I could make big broad ones. I shoved them in the mud and used what little strength I had remaining to pull myself up the incline.
The mud acted as a lubricant, helping me slide upward.
The clip-clopping reached its pinnacle as the creature passed by.
I glanced up and caught sight of the rider on the creature’s back. He had white hair and dragged a cart behind him.
And I’d missed him.
How long would it be before another rider came along?
An hour? A day? A week?
Any one of those was too long for me to wait.
“Wait!” I shouted.
The word didn’t come out the way I intended. It was more of a groan, my tongue struggling to form the words.
The clip-clopping grew fainter.
No! He’s leaving!
It didn’t matter what noise I made. It only mattered that he heard me.
I yelled again. It was a fuzzy groan at the back of my throat.
The arlath came to a stop.
I couldn’t make out the rider from this angle but I imagined him turning in his saddle to identify the sound’s origin.
I curled my body up and made the noise again.
The rider might have thought he was mistaken with the first sound I made. With the second, he must realize it was genuine?
But it was just as possible he thought it was some form of creature native to the forest or river. There were many dangerous creatures in this part of the world.
Stars danced before my eyes and darkness turned my vision fuzzy around the edges.
Not now. Please! Not now.
If I didn’t get his attention, I was doomed.
I heard the rider’s boots on the hard dirt-packed road as he climbed down from his saddle. He approached the top of the incline and peered down it.
I smiled, relieved he had found me. At least now I had a chance to survive.
But the rider kept on looking. Worse, his eyes passed right over me as he scanned the rest of the muddy embankment.
Couldn’t he see me? Was he blind?
No, he’s not blind, I thought. I’m caked in mud and there’s nothing to distinguish me from the dirt.
I groaned again. This time, I wasn’t trying to get his attention with noise. It was with movement. I couldn’t do it without a high-pitched growl escaping my lips.
I paid for the movement with a lance of pain up my back.
That darkness squeezed my vision, turning it to the size of a pinhead.
