Ride Alone

Chapter 7

I dragged the branch over to where we had built camp, yelping every time I pulled with my bad arm.

Wish jumped up and took the stick from me. She swung one end to Fox who picked it up and leaned it against the tree. I pulled a couple of a huge leaves off a nearby bush and started laying them over our den. We all stood back to look.

We had made a platform of sticks leaning against the base of a cliff. One end hand been blocked off with rocks and the entire thing was covered in waterproof leaves. On the whole, it was pretty good.

I glanced up at the slowly darkening sky. "You guys get some kip, I'll be right back." Wish nodded, exhausted. She crawled in and lay down next to Fox who was already asleep.

Praying they would be okay without me, I dashed off into the darkness. Ahead of us was like a swamp, but with everything covered in water and mud it didn't make much of a difference. Mud sucked at the bottom of my boots.

I kept walking, scrambling over fallen logs and through reed bushes. I glanced behind me and broke into a run. My heart was pounding and my blood had gone cold. Something was following me- I just wasn't sure what.

I finally slowed to a halt and swung my head from side to side, panting. The creature had left, I could feel it in my blood. I had moved from the muddy swamp into slightly less muddy grassland.

Off to one side a fair distance away, a heard of brown and white horses grazed. I started walking toward them. The lead horse, a chestnut stallion looked up at me and flattened his ears.

I held my hands up and stopped walking. Being a Meadow Elf, I was good with horses and could speak to them in thoughts. I crept up closer with my hands still up. I closed my eyes and opened myself the to stallion's thoughts.

Mares run! Take foals and run! he cried in a panic whinny. Evil elves hunt! Run far mares and foals! I stepped back and smiled gently. I am friend of horses. Not Elf of the Hunt, but Elf friend of horses. Please help me. He looked t me and calmed down. Help? Rihuko will give help.

He gestured with his nose to a younger stallion, white blotched with gold. Rihuko snorted in surprise and rested his muzzle on my shoulder. I thanked the leader and mounted Ri. Before I could gallop off, a tiny tug on my shirt stopped me.

I craned my bracket backward and saw something the size of a large mouse pulling the back of my shirt. A fairy. She was very pretty for a fairy, with a ragged orange and white dress, tomato red hair and buzzing blue wings. I reached over, grabbed the back of her dress collar and held her in front of me.

"Hello. I'm Strider. What's your name and what exactly are you doing?"

The fairy flapped her wings vigorously. "My name is Tiger Lilly and I'm trying to stop from going that way!" she quivered and curled up in the palm of my hand. "They are hunting you Strider. Turn back, find Wish and Fox."

I shook my head. "They will be fine without me. I have to find Ranger. He's alive, I know it."

She stared at me in disbelief and horror. I had a feeling she knew something I didn't, but fairies are rumoured to lie and trick people. I wasn't buying it.

"Fine, go. But take me with you." she added. I sighed and dropped her into my jacket pocket. Tiger Lilly wriggled around and poked her head up over the edge of my pocket. I dug my heels into Rihuko's flank and we cantered off across the meadow.

We had been travelling for an hour before Tiger Lilly squeaked something I could not make out. When I looked down she was pointing behind us so I looked. My heart stopped.

Behind us were three Rions. Twice the size of a normal lion and armed with long horns between their ears. And the teeth and claws. They were chasing us.

I turned back and hung onto the horses neck and urged him to run faster. The horse let out a startled shriek as the head Rion took a swipe at his flank. Ri started running faster than I'd ever seen anything go before.

The Rion screeched and lunged forward. I yelped as its claws tore a hole in the back of my jacket but we kept riding. Finally we stopped at the edge of a tall cliff. I took a deep breath and looked behind us.

Five Rions stalked through the bushes, coming slowly closer. Tiger Lilly grabbed my finger. I looked down at her and she stared back in a panic.

"What are we going to do?!" she cried. I put my hands down to the sheaths on my belt and held the handles of my daggers.

"Now we fight." I whispered. The lead Rion leaped at me snarling and I quickly swiped its face with my dagger, but not before its claws caught my neck. It growled again and I twirled my daggers.

"Bring it." Tiger Lilly snarled. I turned to face her as she cupped her hand together and shrieked. Two glowing tigers exploded from nowhere and leaped at the Rions. The lead one, seeming to hate me, leaped at me again.

"AAAYAAAAH!" I screamed is its claws ripped into my chest. I reached for my daggers and plunged them up into its stomach. It roared and backed up. I looked around, wiping blood off my eyes.

Fighting with me: An exhausted Tiger fairy. The enemy? Five highly dangerous Rions. We didn't stand a chance. I reached up, snatched Tiger Lilly and put her in my pocket. Standing on the very edge of the cliff, I saluted the Rions.

Then I fell. Wind whistled past my ears and I hit the top of a tree. Unfortunately I crashed into every branch on the way down. I gasped, trying to draw breath.

But all I could hear was the yelling of men on horses.