(Previous)
With
the creatures overhead, we needed to find somewhere safe, and fast. Once I had looked up, the creatures began to
scream and started to sweep lower. We
didn't have much time.
"We
need the best cover," I said, frantically looking around. "Which path?"
"Retreating
on the one we're on," Edmond replied.
His tail kept twitching with agitation.
"But I don't think that's a good idea. Other things are following us, too."
"Of
course they are. Which trail,
Edmond? Lord Snow?"
"The
right," Edmond said. Lord Snow
looked from one to the other and then gave a shrug as though it didn't
matter. "You need to go ahead,
Mark. Get ready."
"For
what?" I said, but Edmond was already darting back among the people. I couldn't hear what he was saying.
"Prepare
for trouble would be my guess," Beth said.
She sounded like someone who was too used to trouble.
Maggie
nodded agreement. Lord Snow was already
moving ahead of us, his head down and his ears back. He expected a problem. Should be go to the left instead? Why right?
What weird cat-logic did Edmond use to make that decision?
I
should have stopped the others, demanded answers --
I
looked up. Wyverns screamed and circled
lower.
So I
jogged on ahead and up to where Lord Snow walked. I did not go past him. I waned some protection for whatever we
faced. The last of the buildings
disappeared, but the hill to the left of us still provided considerable
cover. I saw some caves, probably dug
out by who knew what, but at least they might prove a place to run if the
creatures in the air got any closer.
"Anything
in those?" I said with a nod to the caves.
Lord
Snow turned that way, sniffed twice, and gave a bit of a nod. "Things.
Some of them dangerous, but not so bad as the things in the air. I want to go home, Mark."
"I'll
do my best to get you there, Lord Snow.
I appreciate that you helped Lord Cayman and us."
"Why
don't you call him father?"
"I
can't. Not someone I barely met. Father is more than just a blood
relative."
"Humans
are complex," Lord Snow said.
"Dragons are dangerous, but easier to understand."
"And
cats?" I asked.
"Oh,
complex, of course," he said.
"Complex, intelligent and dangerous."
I
didn't ask if humans weren't the same, but from the look he gave me, I thought
we had an understanding on it.
Good. This understanding was
clearly so important in the scheme of everything else.
We
came around the edge of the hill and the ground dropped away dramatically. I blinked.
Green. An open glade filled with
grass and flowers and beyond that a forest of tall trees.
"This
isn't possible," I said. "This
makes no sense at all."
"We
are in a reality where magic has run wild," Lord Snow replied. He sat and stared at the land ahead, his eyes
narrowed and his tail twitching.
"Magic makes many things possible, Mark. This is something you still need to learn
because you have magic and being able to believe you can shape it into
something might be all that saves your followers."
"I
never wanted --" I glanced over my shoulder. The others were back still,
but in sight. "But I can't change
what's happened. I need to understand
now, not wish for changes in the past.
You are saying that I have magic to shape things? To create things, not simply to stop bad
things from happening to others?"
"You
are a sanctioned protector," he said.
"That gives you one kind of power.
But you are Lord Cayman's son and heir.
That gives you an entirely different sort of power. I am not the person who can teach you that
magic and you shouldn't try to use it unless you have to."
"I'm
in the sort of situation where that might happen," I said. I stared out at the green grass, the pretty
flowers. "I don't trust that place
out there at all."
"Wise,"
Lord Snow admitted. "There is
nothing safe in a world like this, where the magic spread, wild and free. Something created that setting down below us,
Mark. Something wanted a place of beauty
and peace."
"Because
it makes a wonderful trap," I said.
"Or
because they thought there was not enough beauty in this world."
I
looked at him and laughed. It might
have sounded a little hysterical. 'Oh
right. That's going to happen with me
around!"
I
hadn't expected the cat to look startled.
Then he did something unexpected.
He stood and rubbed against my legs in the way Edmond does. He even purred. The difference between having a small black
cat act that way and a huge snow leopard, though, nearly killed me. I landed on my ass.
"Sorry,
sorry," Lord Snow said though I thought the purr had changed to a rumbling
chuckle. "I only realized how well
you are doing, all things considered.
You have had a hard time. You'll
get through this. I hope your father --
I hope Lord Cayman does the same."
"What
happens if he doesn't survive?" I asked.
Lord
Snow looked up at me, his huge eyes narrowed.
I thought he would say something, but he stopped and shook his
head. "No. Not now.
There are others to consider first."
I
looked back. Those others were coming closer.
He was right.
The
view of the valley below, with the grass and flowers, still enticed me. "What kind of trap will it be?"
"I
know of only one way to find out."
With
a sigh, I started down the winding trail.
Lord Snow walked beside me, which I found more reassuring than having
him behind me. We moved cautiously
forward, getting closer to the grass below.
Maybe
five more steps.
And
something moved.
No,
actually, everything moved.
To Be Continued. . . .
989 Words
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