Page 91 of Tiger's Trek
“Not if there’s a breath left in my body,” Veru vowed.
“What about your cloak?” Danik asked, interrupting.
“My cloak?”
“Yes. I’d assume your clothing helps protect you. Do you need your cloak?”
“I’ve never tried moving between places without it.”
“What if we used it to shield something? Have you ever brought items with you across the divide?”
“Yes. Now that you mention it, I have fetched ingredients for her various potions from distant places. They haven’t burned up. But she always lent me her stone dish to carry them in.”
“You mean the big one?” Veru asked. “The one she rides in?”
“No. A smaller vessel. It has a handle I can lash to my saddle.”
Danik disappeared into the house and returned with a smaller version of the stone pot. “Is this what you’re talking about?”
“Yes. That’s the one.”
Examining the vessel, Danik said, “It’s been fired. Something made of wood might burn. What we need is a wheeled cart made of stone, something small and not so heavy that your horse can’t pull it, but large enough to fit me and the barrel.”
“I believe I understand what you intend,” the knight said. “Remain here. I know of a place where such things are made.”
Climbing on his horse, he rode around the house and disappeared. Within the span of just a few moments, they heard a heavy thump. There was a neigh accompanied by the crack of thunder and lightning. The white horse turned the corner, rolling its eyes and shooting golden flames from its mouth.
Attached behind him was a heavy chariot that looked as if it had been carved from the most exquisite, flawless white marble. Every part of it—from the spokes to the axle to the shaft—was made of stone.
Danik ran his hand over it. “It’s beautiful!” he said. “Are you certain she can pull it?”
“Over land it would be difficult, but on the dawn highway, she will draw energy from the sky. We become weightless. You will see.”
“But won’t we still burn in the back?” Veru asked.
Shaking his head, Danik said, “I’m thinking you ride inside the barrel for protection, and we’ll use the cloak as a cover to shield our heads. Do you think it will work?”
The knight considered and replied, “As long as the two of you keep your eyes tightly closed when we are traveling along the dawn road. Make certain your limbs are well hidden so you won’t be burned. I feel I must warn you though: I have never brought back a living thing without a lid covering the stone basin. I fear for your lives.”
Veru and Danik looked at one another and then nodded. Veru said, “We would rather risk our lives trying than end up in servitude.”
The knight let out a small sigh, then moved to help Danik lift the barrel into the back of the chariot. When it was tightly secured, bound with strong ropes tied to inner hooks of marble, Veru climbed inside, and the lid was placed on top. After the cloak was tied down as well, they were told to make ready, and it seemed like only a moment before Veru felt her entire body lift into the air. She heard the hiss of something sizzling, and there was an intense heat.
The knight warned them to close their eyes, and even through her closed lids, there was a brightness like nothing she’d ever seen before. Then a jolt that made her bite down on her tongue and bang her head against the inside of the dank barrel. The bright light dimmed and then vanished.
“You can open your eyes now!” shouted the knight. “Dawn approaches quickly.”
The top of the barrel was removed, and Danik lifted her out, then they rolled the barrel out of the chariot. They crouched down beside a quiet lake, the trees around it white with snow. Veru paused above the water with the mug, ready to dip, watching the knight for his signal.
He lifted his gloved hand. “Wait,” he said. “Wait for it. It’s coming. Almost...” Then he pointed his finger. “Now!”
She dipped her cup just as the dawn broke over the water, the rosy golden light kissing the lapping waves as they filled the cup. Veru placed her hand over the bottom to contain as much of the liquid as she could and then unceremoniously dumped the contents into the barrel. It was a pathetic start, and she knew at that rate it would take weeks, if not months, to fill the entire thing. It didn’t matter, though, because then the knight and Danik lifted the barrel and dunked it into the lake, filling it completely before capping it.
When they rolled it out, they waited a moment to make certain the barrel was watertight before positioning it onto the chariot, then they secured it again, preparing for the return. The problem they hadn’t considered was how tight the trip home was going to be now that the barrel was filled with water.
“We could make two trips,” Danik suggested. “You go first, Veru, and then he can come back and pick me up later.”
“That would work,” the knight said, “but dawn is fleeting. The time draws to a close even now. If we don’t leave within a few moments, I fear we will be stuck in this place for another day.”
