Sunday, October 9, 2005

   Chapter 11: Fifth (part 3)
“Hurry, get on,” Pen told the two newcomers, and they did as he had said. As soon as they were all sitting, he pushed it the rest of the way in and jumped on, taking his place at the paddle.
At first, it was strange having Yatii and Ed aboard, but it became more natural as the day went by. They talked and got to know each other better. Ed was the son of a merchant, who had left him with friends in Perol while he traveled. He had been friends with Yatii for many years, ever since he could call Perol his home. Yatii, on the other hand, had grown up in the same town that his ancestors had lived in.
Lucifer briefly told them about his heritage in the Okora mountains, reciting the same story to them as he had told Pen. Yatii, especially, was fascinated by the topic, and immediately struck up a conversation about Okora, the black-skinned, huge, cat-bear-like creatures that ruthlessly ruled the mountains and could only be hunted by those that lived there and carried the experience of many generations and traditions. He seemed to know an incredible amount about animals.
Pen shared none of his history. He found it utterly uninteresting, and he despised being reminded of it. The Archives felt like a thing of the far past. It pleased him when they did not ask him questions.
At noon, they stopped for lunch at the edge of the river, where the only thing in sight were the rolling green hills of Perol, flecked with the stone houses of angels and only few trees. Pen, who had grown up inside the dense forest, was surprised by the broad, grassy greeness of the angel’s country. And, from snipets of conversations that he overheard, so were the other elves.
Lunch consisted of bread, jerky, and water from the river. It wasn’t very much, but—as Panda pointed out—they would be arriving in Murneske, the angel’s capitol, by nightfall of the next day, promising a hearty meal.
As Pen watched Lucifer, Ed, Yatii, and Sasheeta eat, he suddenly sprang to his feet and ran to the top the hill, getting a better view over the land.
“Pen, what’s up?” Lucifer asked. He got to his feet and joined his friend. A moment later, Yatii and Ed also set aside their lunches to see what was happening. The other groups, concentrating on their conversations and food, did not notice them.
Far in the distance, coming from the north, someone was riding. Nano, who was in the sky on Lyanni and had Koshga on her shoulder, flashed a red light from the stone on her staff, circling higher into the sky so that the signal could be seen from far away.
The moving speck in the distance disappeared in a valley, only to reappear at the top of one of the nearer hills. Whoever it was was heading directly for them.
The pounding of hooves made the earth shake, even when the figure was still no bigger than a thumbnail on the horizon. They all gasped in astonishment at the creature’s speed; none of them had ever known that anything could run so fast. And, as she drew closer, Pen was struck breathless by her beauty.
It wasn’t a beauty like he had ever seen before. On the outside, she was a normal bay, but there was something about her that did not reach the eye. She was built more heavily and she was taller than a war-horse, but she had a lightness about her that did not match her looks. Her black mane streamed, rippling like the angry sea; her fur shimmered like fire with youth against her muscles. Her eyes were fierce and deep and wonderful with an inner power that defied all other around it.
She burned down the last hill with the fury of the wind, the rhythm of her hooves changing as she made her way up to them. As she slowed to a canter, the four of them caught a glimpse of the rider. He wasn’t an elf, since his light green hair was short, but he had no wings. Pen saw that he carried the outfit of a Havoc graduate, and yet he wore no sword.
In a split second, the horse pranced once in place before them; then, she spun around and galloped away, her rider smiling and lifting up a hand in farewell. A boy was standing where he had been dropped off, right before them.
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