Page 38 of A Brat's Tale
He stands at the edge of the water in the middle of two of the larger stones and begins to circle his hands in various patterns. I’ve watched Bayaden do magic in a multitude of ways over this past year. Elves draw magic from the Earth using their consciousness. He does that now, and a pattern appears drawn in light forms. When he throws it, light explodes toward each stone and there is a fissure of illumination, glistening in mid-air. “We’re going to walk through this with our horses. Once we get to the other side, we’ll have to run full speed until we get to the forest’s edge.”
“Is this what anyone has to do anytime they leave Aldrien?” I ask because it seems elaborate.
“Depends on where they want to go. Not every place has Elemental Death Wolves at the end of it. Unfortunately, Corrik waits outside the other side of this particular barrier.”
“Does he know we’re coming?”
“Yes. I spoke with him. I have been negotiating.”
“What sort of negotiations?”
“I asked him to stop killing our warriors, and in exchange I would bring you to him.”
“Is he aware of the Elemental Death Wolves?”
I already know the answer from the hesitation I see in his eyes. “No, but there was no other place to meet him without him figuring out how we keep Aldrien hidden. As far as he knows, we’ve brought the veil around the place, which will bring him more questions than answers, but that works. There is only a problem once we’re inside since they don’t have the required magic to pass through the veil. Wejust need to get to the other side where they cannot follow us. They cannot leave the veil.”
If only Corrik knew I was about to run from Elemental Death Wolves. “Is that what this place is? A veil?”
He nods. “The world and the underworld are closest at this point. We’re not quite in the land of the living, but we’re also not in the land of the dead.
That’s fucking creepy. “How do you get back?”
“Same way. The door will be open for me until I close it. You’ll forget what you saw.”
“But I won’t forget … I won’t forget—" I panic.
“You won’t forget your time in Aldrien. That would take an amount of magic not worth the price.” He winks at me and I think he has more to do with that than anything else.
We approach the gleaming door, and he steps through it. I follow after him. Once I’m through, I hit the ground running as he does. Being an Elf, I know he can ride much faster than I can, even when I’m at full speed, but he stays back so I don’t lose him. The landscape is more of the same as what we left—a pile of not-dead things wound together, making up an eerie forest. It was hard enough traversing it at a slow pace. At this speed, it’s more of a challenge for me, but I do my best to keep up. Looking everywhere all at once, I skip and jump my horse to the tune of Uncle Taj’s lead, clearing bramble, dodging rocks.
We luck out, and there are no Elemental Death Wolves, but with the way Uncle Taj is still charging through, I suspect we’re not in the clear. For now, the concern of falling off my horse is more immediate, and I’m glad we don’t have wolves to worry about too.
My heart races and my muscles strain. I’ve taken on some challenging terrains as a rider, but nothing like this. Without the added strength and magical benefits of Elves, I begin to tire too soon. It’s when I think I can’t hold on any longer, I feel them surround us. Running as if on tracks of air, the white creatures appear. They’re as beautiful as they are deadly. Gorgeous white fur, long and curling atthe ends, whipping against the wind created by their speed alone since there is nothing but flat air in this place.
They have bright silver eyes and claws, and teeth that can undeniably rip through any part of me. Their breath is hot when they snarl. “Tristan,duck.”
I grip low on my horse, somehow managing to stay on her, just in time for a ball of blue flame to sail over my head and take out one of the two wolves following us. I thank the Gods and my horse, but most of all, Uncle Taj and keep going.
We must be getting close; Uncle Taj’s body language gives him away. He looks ahead to judge the distance we have to close before we make it out and he looks behind to check where the wolf is snapping at my horse’s hooves. Any other horse would have been attempting to throw me off by now, but this isn’t just any horse, she’s one from an Elven realm, which means she’s got more strength and ability. She’ll still scare, but not easily.
It’s also not hard to imagine that with their Elven strength and Elven horses, Elves must be able to make it out of here without too much trouble. It’s the human component fucking this up. I bet they all sail through here without issue. I’m slowing us down, but if I go any faster, I will fall off.
“Tristan, again!” he shouts. It must take a massive amount of energy to create those balls of fire, and I deduce how powerful Uncle Taj must be. The second ball hits the wolf snapping after me, but not before the wolf’s long leg stretches out enough to catch my leg and tear through it. The wolf is sent tumbling away and I cry out as I bleed all over my horse.
Uncle Taj looks ahead, clearly trying to gauge how much distance is left, but with my leg bleeding profusely, we can’t go further until it’s healed. I’m gushing out blood and I won’t last long. He rears his horse and signals I should stop. I do, but the sudden stop highlights how light-headed and woozy I am.
My face meets my horse and then there is blackness.
I’m being shook awake. “Tristan.Tristan.I need you to wake up now.”
Things are shadowy at first until my eyes can receive light again. Uncle Taj comes into focus. I’m no longer on my horse, but on the ground, under a decaying tree. “Uuuhhh?” I moan.
“We don’t have much time until more wolves come. We’re almost there. Can you ride?”
I check myself over, looking for the gash that’s no longer there. “Healed me?”
“Yes. You lost a lot of blood though, something I cannot replenish. If we leave now, we can make it out without having to ride at such breakneck speeds. You could ride on my horse if you don’t think you’ll make it.”
