Page 75 of Rising

Thoughts that had come too soon. Halfway to Buck Meadows, Moe collapsed, hitting the ground hard from atop her horse. If her eyes hadn’t glazed over, unseeing, I’d have checked her body, searching for signs of physical trauma.

“Oh shit,” Seth said, whirling his horse around at the thud and galloping back towards us.

I was off my horse in an instant. “I got her.”

Seth marched over, practically diving onto the ground and sliding her from my lap to his. Reina and Alexiares were at our side, blocking the sun with their shadows a moment later.

The next few minutes passed painfully slow. Her eyes went from unseeing to frosty white, body trembling as tears ran down her face.

“We have to run. We have to run. We have to run. No. Go! No. Run. Run. We have to run,” she muttered over and over again.

Reina slid a hand over her body, trying to relieve some of the stress from her to no avail. She shook her head.It’s beyond me. It went beyond her magic. Moe’s magic would block her out in this state, forcing Reina to wait until after it delivered its message, fighting to remain in control.

Slowly, her eyes returned to their usual inky brown. Sweat beaded on her nose, lip quivering as she pushed herself out of Seth’s lap, face angled.

She turned to me slowly, voice tremulous. “There’s no way out. Every path we face trouble.”

My heart dropped, making me take a pause before asking, “What’s our best option?”

“To stick to the path, we’re on.” Her eyes flickered around at the group. “Can’t say it won’t be hell, though.”

She went on to describe us,trudging through a forest, hearts pounding with fear. Wolves toying with us. A cat with a mouse as their bloodcurdling howls chased us. We were running, clothes caked with dirt and sweat. She wasn’t able to keep track of time or day, with no clouds on the horizon, rain wasn’t likely and the day tomorrow would probably resemble the weather of today. Our clothes were re-worn, several days at a time, making the next bit unable to be time-stamped.A herd of Pansies headed for us, situation after situation beating down on us without mercy, making us question our existence.

Suddenly, she’d found herself transported to The Expanse,a desolate and barren place with a blonde woman standing before us. Her hair whipping around her face and her sharp features making her look otherworldly, powerful. Cold air cutting through our skin, making us shiver uncontrollably, even me.She’d realized with horror thatour magic had been cut off, hands bound behind our backs and helpless.Vulnerable and defenseless, two of my greatest fears. Then she saw me, tears streaming down my face, fire blazing around me and earth bending to my will, becoming a weapon.

We gave her a moment to collect herself. Reina checking her for any injuries after her fall and clearing her after a nurse’s fuss. No one spoke for hours, all lost in thought, jumping at every rustle behind a tree, birds flapping past our heads. Being on edge was easy when you knew possible death was looming around every corner.

The plains gave way to the towering mountains of Sierra Nevada; the elevation getting steeper, taking a toll on everyone’s lungs, including the horses. I found myself taking in the view. Another place I’d foolishly left on my bucket list, thinking I’d had all the time in the world to get here. To see it all.

“We’re close,” Moe said, slowing her horse, causing us all to stop, awaiting her next words.

The way the words left her mouth had everyone’s hands reaching for their weapons.

Alexiares spoke first. “The terrain is the same for the next sixty miles, which is about the distance for the next safest place to stop.”

Everyone shifted in their respective space, deciding whether we should voice our opinions on moving forward.

He understood that, adding, “It’s more dangerous to move through this place at night than it is to set up camp. We won’t be able to see the terrain, down at ground level the moon won’t be able to penetrate through the trees. There isn’t even a way to use Amaia’s fire without letting everyone within twenty meters know where an easy victim is.”

“Good enough for me,” I said, though everyone else was still skeptical. “We can leave the horses behind one of those buildings up there, then set up camp a decent bit away. Gives us enough room to bail if we need to, but also stay hidden from any danger.”

I led the way, heading down the road and stopping in front of an old lodge. We tied the horses up, given the risks and circumstances, it was best to keep them where we knew we could find them and not let them wander off.

After some back and forth and scoping around, we settled on heading across the road into the forestry for cover. A few minutes into the walk, we’d stumbled upon another old building, this one unmarked. The structure appeared far from sound enough to go in without risking a collapse, instead we chose to set up off to the side.

“Shit,” Moe was freezing in place, and taking in her surroundings, reaching out for objects of similarity.

“What?” I said, looking around.

“It’s time.”

Alexiares drew his knife, planting his feet while his eyes scanned the perimeter. “Now?”

Moe turned impatient. “Yes, now.”

“Well, which one?” Reina’s face was blanched as she reached for her pack of arrows, slowly pulling them around her back.

“What do you mean, which one?” Moe hissed.

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