Page 38 of Wind and Water
Liam lifts me onto Jadar’s back.
Once he’s back atop Belloc, he waves to Corell, who starts the march again toward the black obelisk where Venora holds my mother.
“Tell me if I must stop.” Jadar’s voice is stern and filled with worry.
“Of course.” I clutch his waist as we crash through the water.
Ahead, the ocean grows dark. One by one, the centaurs enter the deep water and swim.
I grab hold of the strap between Jadar’s armor plates as we enter the deeper area. I can swim well enough, but it’s good to have a handhold to keep me moving. I kick my legs, so he doesn’t have to drag me along with his weight.
I’m out of breath in a few minutes. I really should get more cardio into my routine. Luckily, the deep water doesn’t go very far, and soon I’m once again atop Jadar’s back. My lungs hurt, and catching my breath is not easy. It’s shameful since the centaur did most of the work.
Feeling more useless than ever, I force my breathing to slow.
“Are you alright, up there, little savior?” Jadar laughs as he runs easily through the shallows.
“I’ll live and don’t call me that.” I’m certainly nobody’s savior or the vision in a prophecy. Still, somehow, we’re going to save my mother, even if I have to give myself to do it.
Even with Liam’s mind blocked from mine, I know he’ll never allow that. The thing about Texas women is we don’t always do what the men around us want.
“How much farther is it, Jadar?” I lean against his armored back and hold on.
“There are many miles of this cursed place. Try to rest.”
Tired of my own thoughts and doubts, as well as the endless sight of still water, I give the tower my attention. “What can she do with an obelisk if that’s what’s inside there? And why would she hide it?”
Jadar’s arms pump on either side. “She would draw power from the demon realm to bolster her magic. It’s dark, dark spells that have been forbidden since the time before the old gods. She breaks all of Domhan's laws by building such a thing. Perhaps that’s why she conceals it. I don’t know. Its appearance at the edge of the horizon was a bad omen.”
The farther west we ride, the taller the black tower grows. A chill runs up my spine.
Laughter, female and horrible, echoes in my ears. “What is that sound? Who’s laughing?”
Slowing his gate, Jadar looks over his shoulder at me. Concern is etched in the strong lines of his masculine face. “There is no laughter, Wren.”
I shake my head, and the sound slips away. “I think I heard the witch queen.”
“Can she hear you?” Tone sharp, he rides faster to converge with Corell, Belloc, and Liam.
How would I know that? “I’m not sure.”
When we reach the others, Jadar tells them what I said I heard.
Rather than delay further, Corell shakes his head. “Let’s get to the watchpoint. Then we can decipher this new information.”
“And if I’m accidentally giving the enemy information?” My stomach is in knots.
Liam shakes his head. “You have a gift of premonition. There’s no reason to believe your gift is shared by Venora or anyone else. It’s more likely that you relaxed for a moment and heard some piece of the future.”
I let my breath out and relax. He’s right. I’ve never heard someone in the present. It’s always been the future that I hear and see. I nod and force a smile so he knows I’m alright.
Even though the centaurs all seem outwardly calm and unconcerned about this journey and what I heard, they ride harder.
I have to hold on tight despite the smoothness of Jadar’s gait. Trying to relax, I hope my bottom holds out long enough to get to this tower and that I’ll still be able to stand when we arrive.
It’s long past dark when we reach the watchpoint. I don’t know what I expected, but I’m glad the debris field of fallen trees, branches, and leaves is stuck on a large sandbar. Even so, it’s not exactly the Ritz.
As expected, it takes me some time to get my legs back under me. I’m sore from the neck down.
