Chapter 25
The sun crossed the sky to land above our heads, and my stomach took that as the time to start grumbling. I glared down at it. “Hush, you. We don’t have much food.”
Cassian reached behind himself and patted the bags back there. “On the contrary, the lovely Mrs. Arvina restocked our supplies, at least enough for us to reach the inn, and perhaps even the capital.”
I snorted. “That sounds just like her.” My heart grew heavy as I thought about that household, and I bowed my head. Poor Vesta.
Cassian set a hand on my arm. “Whatever choice she makes, I’m sure she won’t remain in that situation for long.”
I forced myself to smile at him and nodded. “Yeah. She just needed a bit of encouragement, didn’t she?”
Cassian studied me with a soft look. “You have a good heart.”
I waved away his compliment as my stomach growled again. “Maybe, but my needy stomach makes up for it.”
“We might make our lunch along the road,” Cassian suggested as he nodded at the many patches of grass that lined the thoroughfare.
“That sounds like a-” I paused and squinted at the deepest shadows of the woods. My heart skipped a beat as something seemed off about them.
Cassian tensed behind me and tightened his grip on the reins. “What is it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just seeing-” Nope!
The shadow I had watched leaped out of the dark side of the trees and formed itself into a multi-colored, gelatinous blob.
A puddle of its own body oozed around it for two feet, making the main portion of its form like an island.
I would have admired the rainbow-hide, but two long, tendril-like arms protruded from its body.
Their tips ended in sharp claws that glistened in the bright sun.
Niveus jerked to a stop and threw his head back. I clutched onto the horn as Cassian looped an arm around my waist.
I whipped my head around to catch his sharp eye. “What the hell is that? Some kind of nethral?”
He shook his head. “No. This is something different.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“I don’t know.”
The blob slouched toward us, more tumbling over its own body than slithering.
Niveus backed up and stomped his front feet, but the creature was undeterred.
Its clawed tendrils stretched out toward us, occasionally stabbing the ground to pull its girth faster across the ground.
The claws left deep impressions in the hard-packed soil.
Cassian wrenched up his sleeve and drew out one of his scales.
He threw the plate at the creature. The scale sank into its body without slowing it down, and when the thing passed over the spot, it left the scale on the ground.
It also left a glistening streak on the ground, like what a leaking car would leave on the road.
I leaned back against Cassian’s chest in a futile attempt to draw further away from the blob. “Maybe we can outrun it?”
As though it understood me, the creature shot forward, its clawed tendrils slamming into the dirt to draw its body faster across the ground. Cassian took up the reins again as Niveus made a full retreat, his front hooves barely dodging the sludgy pooled edges of the thing’s gelatinous body.
Niveus wasn’t fast enough to dodge one of those sharp tendrils.
The shining point stabbed into his front left leg, drawing blood.
Our steed stumbled back, dislodging his leg from the creature’s grip.
Its tendril dripped with his blood until the creature flung its limb about, throwing life fluid everywhere, including on itself.
Cassian leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at where the droplets had landed on the creature. Niveus flung his head and snorted, dancing on one hoof as blood poured from his wound.
“That’s…” I heard him mutter.
Hope revitalized my heartbeat. “Do you know how to kill it?!”
“I’m not sure, but we’ll try something!”
He pulled on the reins just slightly, and Niveus, against the pain, shot leftward into the trees.
I yelped and ducked to avoid being swatted by a low clump of needles.
Niveus darted through the woods like it was an obstacle course, leaping and bounding over dead logs and mounds of dirt, and diverting from wild animal trail to another.
But even I, untrained rider as I was, could tell our steed wasn’t going to last long. The blood was coming out too fast, leaving a trail that the creature followed. The hideous monster used its claws like ski poles, propelling itself forward and chomping at our heels.
We had gone a mile when I smelled the sweet scent of fresh water.
The trees parted ahead just as the creature swiped its claws at Niveus’ hind legs, missing him by a hair-length.
A shimmering stream presented itself to us, with all the glistening beauty that only pure nature could provide.
Green grass grew along its banks, and flowers dotted the white-sand beaches.
I wanted to enjoy the view, but our dilemma spoiled it.
As did the frigid waters, as Cassian guided Niveus into the swift river.
The horse threw up droplets of water, drenching us in the chill stream.
Cassian stopped in the middle of the water and turned Niveus so that we faced our foe.
The waters rushed up above the horse’s knees, and I shivered at the chill that surrounded us.
The creature had paused at the edge of the stream. The pooling edges dipped into the water and were taken away by the current. The creature swayed to and fro, trembling with what I assumed was fury.
Niveus adjusted his footing and misjudged his strength. His injured leg buckled, and he toppled forward. My inexperience meant I was thrown forward over the saddle and neck, and into the rushing waters. Cassian’s hand grabbed my hand before I tumbled downstream while Niveus found his footing again.
The creature shot up before it dove headfirst into the waters. The thing swam straight for me.
I screamed and clutched onto Cassian’s hand with both of mine. He clenched his teeth and yanked me out of the water and back onto the saddle in front of him.
The thing wasn’t so fortunate. The rough waters tore its body apart, and it was a puddle of thrashing ooze by the time it came within a few feet of us. Even those were scattered, and much of the creature was swept away.
“Stay here,” Cassian commanded me.
My shivering self was only too glad to obey as Cassian hopped down and scooped up some of the bits in his palm. I clutched onto the horn and craned my neck. “What was that thing?”
He tilted his hand and let the stuff run out into the stream, where it was swept away with the rest of its body. The thing left a faint stain on his palm. “Paint.”
I blinked at him. “Paint? You’re sure?”
“That is its most basic composition,” he assured me as he grabbed the reins and trudged upstream. Niveus turned his face away, but Cassian stroked his horse’s nose. “Don’t worry yourself. Your injury must be very grave for you to have faltered.”
Niveus bobbed his head and snorted.
Cassian carefully led Niveus to the shore opposite where we had approached, and the pair climbed out. They stopped in the shade of the trees, and Cassian held out his arms to me. “Niveus needs some rest and a little less weight.”
I managed a shaky laugh as I slipped into his arms, and he set me on my feet. “I must weigh a lot more with these wet clothes.”
Cassian drew off his coat and draped the cloth over my shoulders. “Can you stand?”
My knees were shaking so hard that they sounded like two hollow drums knocking against each other. “Not for very long.”
He led me over to a boulder and seated me. “Stay here while I look over Niveus’ wound.”
I wrapped his coat tighter around my shivering shoulders and nodded. He moved back to the horse and knelt in front of his steed, where he inspected the wound. Niveus whinnied when he brushed his hand over the hole.
“A near miss, my old friend,” Cassian mused as he climbed to his feet and patted the side of the horse’s neck. “An inch to the left and you would be lame for life, and what would the fillies say then?”
Niveus threw back his head and neighed, as if to say I’m still as handsome as ever.
Cassian took out some wrapped packages from the pouches at the rear of the saddle and returned to me. He took a seat beside me and unwrapped one to reveal a sandwich. The scent of fresh bread and cold meat filled my nostrils. He held it out to me. “Some food will improve your outlook.”
I took the sandwich and eagerly bit into it while Cassian did the same to his food. Niveus lay down in the thick grass and chewed on his surroundings.
I finished my food and let out a great sigh. My hunger appeased, I could study our surroundings with a clearer, more appreciative eye. That’s when a question popped into my mind, and I turned to my companion.
“Is this the stream you were telling me about earlier? The one Titus took you to?”
“Yes,” Cassian admitted as he studied the area. “It’s fortunate for us our boyhood curiosity led us here many times.”
“Did you ever see that kind of monster around here?” I wondered.
His good humor faded as his eyes rested on the stream. “No, nor have I seen it anywhere else.”
“What do you think it wanted? To eat us?”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted as he crumpled his sandwich paper in one hand and grabbed mine with the other. He moved over to Niveus and tucked our trash back into the bags. There was something that caught my attention as he had his back to me.
“You’re not telling me something,” I accused him.
Cassian tied the bags closed and paused. A heavy sigh escaped him. “I am only guessing, but I believe the creature may have desired you.”
My face drooped. “Me? Why do you say that?”
He turned so his eyes fell on me. “The creature committed suicide in his efforts to capture you when you fell into the stream. It made no attempt to reach Niveus, though he was injured, nor me, when I was vulnerable while holding onto your hand.”
A little color drained from my cheeks. “But why-” A memory struck me at that moment, and my heart dropped into my stomach.
Cassian sat up. “What is it?”
I swallowed hard. “I…did you happen to see the artist who was in town this morning?”
He shook his head. “I did not. What was the name of the artist?”
“Velario.”
My companion furrowed his brow. “The name sounds vaguely familiar. We’ll have to investigate the matter further when we reach the capital.” He stood and strode over to me, where he held out his hand. “Can you stand?”
I lifted an eyebrow, but set my hand in his and let him help me up. “Why do I need to stand?”
“This little detour may not be a complete waste of time,” Cassian mused as he nodded at the woods to our left. “I had planned to come here on the return with my company, but now will work just as well.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Not more monsters?”
His face was grim as he stared at those dark woods. “Unfortunately, yes, but you shall soon see.”