AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I could only hope.
My friends did not speak to me, and perhaps to deny the reasons for that, they did not talk to each other either. The forest was calm as we followed Dearen. He was very good at finding paths that we could ride our horses on without getting off them, but sometimes he would gesture at us to get off the horses and pull them behind us as we cleared a path wide enough for the horses to pass through.
“I think I hear a river,” Brigid said after a while. “We might have to find another way.”
I did not hear what she heard, but I trusted her experience.
“Yes,” Dearen replied. “But we don’t have to find another way. I can conjure a bridge.”
“That’s useful!” Brigid said, and I saw her smile at Dearen.
We had to ride our horses for a short distance before reaching the river. It was a wide river but Dearen didn’t even bother to get off his horse. Out of nothing and quickly before I could blink, he waved his hand, and there it was, a bridge made of stone. The river kept foaming underneath it, but the water did not touch the stone.
“Be quick about it,” he said. “It doesn’t last forever.”
The bridge was wide enough for two horses to pass side by side, but Dearen hadn’t bothered with the aesthetics. A simple bridge was sufficient for us to pass through, and it would disappear after a while. What would be the point of making it look beautiful?
We decided to pass the bridge one by one just to be safe.
The river underneath us foamed as the water hit the stones on its path. It ran quickly and violently, and I was glad we had a bridge to use instead of having to find a spot where it calmed down to walk our horses through.
Dearen passed through the bridge with Kieran and Fiona behind him. I paused to let Brigid go on it before I did, and I followed her onto the bridge. It would take us only a moment to pass.
Brigid’s horse walked in front of me. I reached the middle and felt something behind me that I could not put my finger on. It was a feeling more than a sound... I looked over my shoulder instinctually.
I had been expecting to find a forest. Sunlight seeping through the leaves, a small animal running across the path we had cleared as we rode our horses through the bushes...
It was none of those things.
A monster. The thought formed inside my mind, and the dark-eyed girl picked up on it immediately.
I’ll take care of it, she said.
The monster stopped sneaking toward us as soon as she said those words. Its gaze became dull, and a low growl rose from its chest as it tried to resist the dark-eyed girl’s command.
Don’t worry, shesaid. I have her.
I felt my horse tensing up, and I reached to pat its neck to calm it down.
She smells the monster, the girl said.
I heard Brigid’s mare snort only when it was too late to warn her. I turned away from the monster and my gaze fell on Brigid just as her mare started rearing. As she lost her balance, Brigid held onto the reins as tightly as possible, but the horse was frantic despite its training.
“Help!” I shouted, even though I knew there was nothing the others could do to help Brigid.
The horse stumbled when one of its feet touched the edge of the stone bridge. Brigid shrieked as the horse struggled to regain its stance despite her left legs twisting awkwardly to hold onto the edge. It could not. The horse’s feet dangled off the bridge, and it moved frantically to keep itself from falling.
Brigid could not hold onto the reins. Her fingers slipped. I watched her fall and her fear drew me into her mind. As I jumped off my horse, her head hit the side of the bridge and her eyes closed. I felt the breath going out of her lungs. The pain ceased at once as she fell into the river, unconscious. The water closed over her like a blanket within seconds.
She disappeared.
I reached the side of the bridge. The girl was shouting something inside my mind as I stared at the foamy white water, looking for my friend.
I pushed the dark-eyed girl away. It was easy.
Brigid was under the water, unconscious. Even if she was not, the river was too strong. I did not know if Brigid was a good swimmer. I did not know where the river calmed down or how deep it was.
She would not make it.
“Wait!” Someone shouted behind me as I jumped off the bridge and hit the water. I did not stop to see who it was.
The river swooped me in.
