Page 96 of The Arrow and the Alder

It was Massie, accompanied by at least half a dozen masked riders, though one stood out from the rest. The witch. She looked like some bride of Morat, crowned in cruelty and dressed in shadows, come to damn all the living.

Alder glanced up and, with no small amount of surprise, noticed Seph and Abecka. He started yelling orders at the others, holding them back to intercept Abecka and Seph.

“On three, let go!” Abecka yelled. “One…two?—”

A gale struck the sail with such force that Seph’s hands slipped and she was falling. Abecka too.

Seph hit the ground hard, tumbling and rolling over her bow as it snapped and flew from her shoulders. She finally stopped and shoved herself to her feet, struggling to catch her breath. Her first thought was Abecka, whom she spotted a few yards away, swaying as she stood. She was already so weary, and all the enchantments she’d muttered to keep them safely airborne seemed to have taxed her greatly. The sail itself was hanging from a nearby tree, dangling and broken—she could not find her bow anywhere—and then Alder was there, grabbing Seph’s arm and hoisting her to her feet. His expression was grim as his gaze raked over her––

The earth exploded.

It was as though a projectile had struck, but there was nothing. A patch of ground was simply obliterated, and Seph would’ve fallen had it not been for Alder’s steadying grip. His horse, however, bolted ahead in fright just before another patch of ground burst open to their left, and another directly in front of them, sending them both flying. Seph’s hand slipped from Alder’s, and she was rolling again as clumps of broken earth rained down upon her.

Alder cursed and scrambled to Seph as those clods of dirt fell. “Can you stand?” he asked.

The others waited just at the base of the ridge.

“We can’t leave?—”

“Get her out of here!” Abecka yelled at Alder.

Alder looked like he wanted to argue, but his gaze shot back to their quickly approaching pursuers, and he grabbed Seph’s hand instead.

“No, I’m not leaving—” Seph started.

“Go!” Abecka screamed at her. “The witch wants the coat, and nothing will stop her from taking it, but this power was given toyou, my Josephine. Onlyyoucan release it! She realizes that now! Take Josephine, Alder. Get her as far away as possible. The witch is too much for all of us, but I can at least buy you time.”

But Seph would not move. “Please, no…I won’t leave you?—”

Abecka knelt upon one knee, stabbed her fingers firmly into the earth, and shut her eyes.

The earth trembled.

Seph staggered toward Alder as the ground broke in two. A great and jagged chasm appeared, stretching in either direction, widening even as Seph watched, marveling at this new power that separated them from Abecka and their pursuers.

“Run!” Abecka yelled as she threw a sphere of blue light at the witch. The witch waved a hand, and the light dispersed, but Abecka was already throwing another one, while Massie yelled at his men to find a way to Alder.

What wasthispower that Abecka wielded? Why had she not shown this before?

Serinbor and the others were galloping up the steep incline now, though Rian had stopped at the bottom, waiting, his horse pacing, while arrows rained around them.

A shock of pain lanced through Seph’s shoulder—from an arrow—and she cried out, stumbling forward as she ran. Alder cursed, and she forced her feet forward, each step weighing heavier. Warmth soaked her tunic. She was losing blood, and fast.

“I have to carry you,” Alder said, holding tightly to her arm, and truthfully, it was the only thing keeping Seph upright.

“I can make it…You can’t carry me to the ridge…it’s too far.”

He pulled her to a halt. “Not like this.” And then he changed. Right before her eyes. His figure compressed and stretched outward, into a stag.

The stag from the woods.

Seph stared in shock as the stag bowed its head and antlers, raking impatiently at the ground.

He meant for her to ride his back.

More arrows fell, Seph’s vision swam, but she managed to hoist her leg over his back. He waited a second more, as if to be sure that she was secure, and then he was running. Seph heard a scream, and when she glanced back she saw Abecka’s body shoot impossibly high into the air before some invisible force threw it violently down. Abecka struck the earth and bounced a handful of times before rolling to a stop. She did not get up again.

No.

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