Page 72 of To Ride the Wind

Gwen screamed, the sound seeming to echo around her as Charlotte also cried out. And then her shoulder, hip, and back hit the ground, and all she could do was breathe, the effort a frantic struggle.

When she finally managed to draw a proper breath, she realized the wind had disappeared completely. She looked down at the tiny halter still gripped in her fingers and quickly thrust it into her pocket.

Charlotte recovered a second behind her, leaping up and offering her hand to pull Gwen the rest of the way to her feet.

“We have to find the people,” she said breathlessly, ignoring the disarray of her hair and the dirt smeared down her nightgown. “They might be trapped or hurt.”

Gwen nodded, scrambling upright. She had brought the wind to this hamlet. Whatever had happened here was her responsibility, and she would do what she could to help, little as that might be.

CHARLOTTE

Charlotte followed at her friend’s heels as Gwen raced back toward the destroyed houses. She could see from Gwen’s expression that she was feeling tormented, considering herself responsible. But neither of them had foreseen the possibility of the wind turning against them and becoming an unchecked weapon.

“What made the wind fight you?” Charlotte asked Gwen as they ran.

“My mother,” Gwen panted back. “There was another matching object that I left behind. A whip. I didn’t know what it did, but it’s obvious now. She must be able to tell when I’ve activated the halter, and she started using her object to interfere.”

The hard ball that burned inside Charlotte flared up. Another crime to lay at the feet of the mountain queen. It seemed there was no end to them, and Charlotte meant to hold her accountable for every last one.

“Help!” A desperate voice called, directing their steps.

They raced around a wall—one that stood starkly upright, no longer attached to the building it had once supported—and Charlotte crashed into her friend’s back. Peering around her, she saw a woman attempting to lift a large beam off a young man.

Charlotte and Gwen hurried forward in unison, one on each side of the woman.

“I’m all right, Ma,” the man said, although he looked pale to Charlotte’s eye and his breathing was strained. “It’s just a pity our roles aren’t reversed—I’d have this off you in a moment.”

“Hush now,” the woman said sternly, “and save your breath.” She sent a desperate look at Charlotte. “It’s on his chest, and it’s getting harder and harder for him to breathe.”

“We’ll help,” Gwen said from the woman’s other side. “If we all pull together...”

The three women reached down, all three of them straining with the effort to pull up the beam. But they couldn’t shift the heavy bar of wood.

The mother kept trying even after Charlotte stepped back, so she pulled her away. The woman fought, trying to get back to the beam, so Charlotte snapped at her, trying to pierce the mother’s mounting fear.

“We’re not giving up! We just need to try something different. Is there anything we can use as a lever?”

“Over here,” Gwen called, and Charlotte turned to find her already dragging a wooden post toward the other two women. It looked as if it might have been a fence post before the wind ripped it from the ground.

She ran forward to help her friend carry the post.

“Where do you think…?” She didn’t need to finish the question before Gwen was placing the shorn-off tip underneath the beam, just above the man’s head.

The mother realized what they were doing and ran forward to help. The fence post was only just long enough for the three women to all get a secure hold at once, but as soon as they had, they all pushed downward.

For a second, Charlotte thought it wasn’t working, and then the beam lifted slightly, raising one inch and then another.

As soon as they had it high enough, the trapped man rolled sideways, freeing himself. The moment he was clear, the mother let go, and the beam clattered to the ground.

She ran to her son, pulling him up.

“Wait!” Charlotte called, rushing after him. “He might be injured. We should check him first.”

“No, I’m fine.” The man managed a pained smile. “Thanks to your assistance.”

Charlotte exchanged a guilty look with Gwen. He would never have needed help if they hadn’t accidentally brought a gale to his home.

Fortunately for Charlotte and Gwen, the mother and son were too relieved at his rescue to ask where the two young women had come from.

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