Page 62 of Heir of the Beast

There I said it.

A claim like that could get me hung, but who cares.

I wait. Did he hear me? His eyes are narrowed, and he stares like I have grown two heads and five boobs. I swallow, waiting for him to speak, but he doesn’t.

Then dread sinks in. He must not believe me and thinks I am a looney. I didn’t exactly pick the best time to tell him, I get that! The ground abruptly rumbles, and Apollo looks to his left.

“We have to move now!”

He jerks his stallion around and yells orders to his men, then turns back to me, extending his gloved hand to me. “Come with me!”

I’m not idiot enough to say no to that.

I go to reach for him, but all I can see is blinding white light. The crack of lightning is so great that my ears are ringing.

This spooks Mort, and she takes off into a mad sprint, trying to get away from the loud cracks of lightning.

“Mort!” I yell. “Calm down! Stop!”

I hold on for dear life, praying not to fall to my death. I have no idea where she is going, and I don’t even know if Apollo is following.

I hear yells from behind me, and it sounds like him. I glance back and see him right behind us as another flash of light almost blinds me.

His mount nudges Mort to the side, making room for Apollo’s stallion to gallop beside us. He stands up in his stirrups and leans far over to grab Mort’s mane—something that looks extremely dangerous.

Apollo forcefully pulls Mort, changing her direction, which almost made Apollo slam into a tree if he hadn’t jerked his horse to the left.

After a few terrifying moments, Mort stops, and I nearly yell in relief.

As my eyes adjust, I see that we stand on the very edge of the cliff. Like, ~right~ on the edge, making me gasp. My situation keeps getting worse and worse!

“Oh shit!” I yell in alarm. “Mort, back up slowly, for the love of God!”

As Mort slowly backs up, pieces of the cliff start to break off and fall.

“Get off the horse!”

I look behind me and see Apollo and his men. He stands out in front, not coming any closer, about twenty feet away.

“You are on an overhang. It cannot support your weight!” he yells with his hands up. He throws off his big overcoat, revealing his black billowy shirt from the masquerade. “Get off the damned horse now!”

He slowly inches forward.

I nod, carefully easing myself off Mort. I whisper, “We can do this. Just back up slowly.”

“Gently!” I hear Apollo’s panicked voice.

I am off, and I tiptoe my way from Mort, barely breathing. ~Be strong, little cliff~, I plead. I swallow and glance back at Mort. “Slowly…Easy does it.”

She takes a step back, and that’s when I hear the crack, and everything happens so fast.

The edge of the cliff breaks off, and I jump.

I land on the new edge of the cliff, but when I glance back, I realize Mort was not so lucky.

“Mort!” I scream, and I feel my eyes well up with horror. “Mort!”

No.

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