Page 20 of Sea of Stars

“By putting us out of our misery?” I asked sarcastically.

Breghton’s eyes looked sad and worried. He continued to shake his head back and forth, looking confused. “No,” he said. He sighed and looked up at me, blinked a few times, and continued with a normal voice: “We can ride him.”

“You’re joking, right? He just tried to eat you,” I pointed at his arm that was still dripping with blood.

“It’s getting worse Mahlia,” he said, staring at the light glow showing through my shirt. “We need to get to the divinares. We need to fi

gure out what’s going on.”

“One day’s time isn’t going to make a difference. Mountain dwellers are dangerous and unpredictable.”

“But they’re also fast,” he added. "Mahlia, you lost consciousness for hours. And before you did, you were screaming in pain. Something’s wrong.” His voice was filled with concern. “We’re going now. If there really is a village, we’ll be able to get there in half the time this way.”

I stood there, staring at him. I didn’t want to put him in danger. I was sick of placing people at risk. I closed my eyes and saw Swishel's body dangling in the wind. “No,” I said.

“This would have been easier if you were still asleep,” he replied. “I’m not going to just sit here while you’re in pain. We’re leaving now.” He picked the dagger back up and handed it to me. “If he does anything wrong, just poke him with this.”

I stared at him skeptically.

“It works,” he shrugged. “He’s terrified of the light.” Before I could protest anymore he grabbed my arm and pulled me over behind the large mountain dweller. He climbed on top of the beast and then hoisted me up behind him.

“This is a really bad idea,” I said.

Breghton ignored me. He borrowed my dagger and cut the monster loose from the ropes, leaving only one rope around the beast’s neck to hold onto. As soon as the last rope was cut, the mountain dweller leapt into motion.

I wrapped my arms around Breghton’s torso. The wild beast ran through the night as if his hindquarters were on fire. All I could hear was the scratching of his claws against the rocks. I closed my eyes and gripped Breghton even tighter. I didn't mind the feeling of his abs beneath my fingers. His body seemed tense. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was worried about the dagger I was holding in my hand or terrified of the mountain dweller he was guiding. I placed my cheek on his back and breathed him in. The familiar aroma of the sea and fresh grass was comforting.

The mountain dweller’s claws continued to scratch unnervingly against the stone. His gray fur was thick and itchy. The beast did not like being controlled. Every now and then he’d try to buck us off and I’d clench my jaw so hard it felt like my teeth were going to crack. But then he would continue onward, growling all the way. The cool wind flying by us relieved the burning sensation on my back. I tried hard to concentrate on reaching the village. My mind kept trying to wander. Every time I thought about the mountain dweller beneath me, the symbols on my body, the dagger and Breghton’s strange reaction to it, or the dream I had of Mortwar, I had a terrible feeling of doom. I just had to focus on surviving this ride through the mountains. Soon everything would be clear.

Eventually the rocks around me turned from black to gray. I knew that daybreak was upon us. I looked up in the sky in search of Chinook. She was nowhere in sight. “Breghton,” I choked. My mouth was parched.

“What’s wrong?” he responded, his voice sounded scratchy too. We were both in need of fresh water.

“Where’s Chinook?”

I saw him lift his head and then he shrugged his shoulders. I tried to unwrap my arms from around him but he grabbed them with his free hand.

“Mahlia, stop. She went off to go find food just a few hours ago. We were running low on supplies. She knows where we were going, though. She’s probably already there, waiting for us.”

I stopped struggling. He was much stronger than me, so there was no point in trying to fight him. But I knew Chinook wouldn’t have flown ahead without telling me. She didn't trust Breghton, so there was no way she'd leave me alone with him. Something had happened to her. I put my cheek against Breghton’s back and tried to fight the tears that were starting to form in my eyes. I wanted to turn around. I needed to go find Chinook. Without thinking I reached out and grabbed the rope around the mountain dwellers neck. I pulled hard to the right and the beast’s head turned with the force. He stopped running and stared at us. Apparently he wasn’t the most intelligent creature. He only just seemed to understand that he could turn his head just enough to bite us.

The mountain dweller's eyes were full of anger. His growl grew louder and saliva oozed from his mouth. I couldn’t help but notice that he looked very, very hungry. He reached sideways and nipped at Breghton’s feet. The beast’s body lurched to the left and nearly knocked us over. I gripped onto his thick fur in order to stay on his back, but that just made him even angrier. He roared in pain and turned his head the other way. This time he got so close to Breghton’s leg that Breghton had to swing his foot over the mountain dweller's back. Breghton was dangling on one side of the beast, only holding on by the rope. The animal stood on his hind legs and roared again. The fur I was holding onto began to rip out of the mountain dweller's back. The beast shook violently, trying to throw us both off of him. I was just about to lose my grip completely when Breghton flew off the beast. He toppled over me. He reached out and tried to grab my leg, but the mountain dweller continued to shake until Breghton was on the ground.

The beast’s growl was even more menacing as it turned toward Breghton. Breghton’s foot was twisted at an unnatural angle. He tried to stand but fell down again. Without thinking I readjusted my hands on the mountain dweller's back and pulled hard. Gray hair came out in handfuls. The beast roared in anger, momentarily forgetting about Breghton. He lunged at me, just missing my right hand. I squeezed my legs tightly around the mountain dweller’s sides and he responded by trying to buck me off of him.

“Mahlia!” Breghton screamed. “The dagger!”

Time seemed to slow. I didn’t want to hurt the mountain dweller. The image of the man in the tree from several days ago appeared in my mind. When I had thrown the rock at him I had almost killed him. The man was filled with desire and evil, but I still felt guilty for hurting him. I gulped, not knowing what to do. I tightened my grip around the dagger, and power surged through me. The beast turned toward me again, saliva flying at my hands. With his fur now slick with spit, I began to slip off his back. But then my instincts kicked in. I grabbed a new fistful of hair and hoisted myself closer towards the beast’s head. I made a quick slash with my dagger on the left side of the beast’s neck. And when the beast turned to the left to react to the attack, he roared in pain. While he was distracted I made a small slit on the right side of his neck too. After a few attempts at turning his head to try to bite me, the beast seemed to know he was defeated. He couldn’t turn his head either way without being filled with pain.

Panting, the mountain dweller lay down and placed its large head on its front paws. His growl turned into a whimper, and then he grew silent. I patted the beast’s back and slid off slowly, trying to ensure that he wasn’t going to jump up and eat me whole. The mountain dweller just lay there. I ran towards Breghton, who was struggling to stand. His face was distorted with pain.

"Breghton, I'm so sorry."

He placed his hand on my left shoulder and I put my right arm around his waist. Together, we slowly made our way over to the animal.

I hoisted myself on top of the mountain dweller’s back and did the best I could to help pull Breghton up behind me. He was cursing under his breath, making it quite clear that he was furious at me. I pulled on the rope wrapped around the beast’s neck, trying hard not to let it dig into the slits on either side of his neck. The beast whimpered again but got back up on his paws. I lightly tapped my feet on his sides and he broke into a trot, much slower than he had been going earlier. I preferred it that way. I didn’t want to try to control a fast-paced wild beast.

We snaked between large boulders and ravines on the mountain. Every now and then Breghton loosened his grip around my waist. The silence between us made me tense, but I didn’t know what to say to him. It was my fault that he had hurt his ankle. He could barely move it, and I was worried it was broken. I looked up into the sky as it continued to grow lighter. Chinook was still missing. I knew I needed to ride to the village so that the healers could help Breghton, but I couldn’t lose my mother again. I didn’t know what to do.

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