The Rising Pheonix

Chapter 5

As they raced through the forest, Jacobe kept looking behind and beside them. He needed to make sure they were not followed.

After checking that they were not followed, he looked up at the sky to check their direction. He noticed the stars shifted, letting him know they had been away from the castle for a few hours.

Dawn is in about 4 hours. We have about another hour and a half until we reach Heartreach. We can only rest for 2 hours. Will the maid be able to keep up with 2 hours of sleep? Jacobe thought.

He was used to staying up all through the night. The longest he can go without sleeping is 4 days. When he was in training to become a Protector he had to go through numerous trials. One of those trials was for endurance.

Jacobe looked over his shoulder at Emily. So far she looked like she could make it to Heartreach, but he will keep an eye on her. Next he looked at her horse, Colbolt. Unlike his horse, Ebony, Emily's horse was built for speed and long distances. Ebony was a war horse so he had to train her to run longer and faster for situations like this.

Taking the time to examine the Archers horse, he notices that, like Ebony, this horse was a war horse. He began to get a sinking feeling in his gut. Jacobe began surveying the area more intensely. Only his country, Liquidora, breeds war horses. Those horses are given to the Royal Guard.

"Emily, make Colbolt go full gallop now! If Elnora awaken, try to keep her quiet." He commands as he makes Ebony go full gallop as well. Never forgetting to look back, he turned to look and he saw something in the corner of his eye. Not wanting to take chances he steered towards it.

"Keep going straight. Don't stop unless you sense danger!" Jacobe shouted as he drew his Sword. Not seeing anything, he slowed his horse down to look. Then he heard a piercing scream.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"