The bushes moved again, a violent shaking that started at the bottom and quivered to the very top. I squinted into the darkness but could only see a vague outline of the towering hedge. “Maybe it’s our constable?”
Oliver nodded and his entire body jerked with the movement. “He’s found us,” he squeaked. “He’ll drag us back to jail and lock us away for the night.”
“And he’ll have a hot bowl of soup waiting for us. And a bath.”
“I don’t think they have baths in prison,” Oliver argued.
I squeezed his hand even tighter as we waited for the rustling to become something more substantial.
In hindsight, we should never have stopped running. But I blamed fear for freezing us in place. Fear and morbid curiosity.
Suddenly the hedge split in two. The towering branches cracked straight down the middle as if struck by lightning. A great wildebeest burst forth, snorting at the ground and tossing its twin horns in the air. It stamped its feet and bucked its leathery hide. Beady red eyes glowed in the darkness, trained on us, before it lunged with a gurgling shout of hunger.
We stayed frozen for one second longer, just long enough for us to picture what death would be like beneath those thick, twisting horns, too surprised and terrified to do anything. I let out an ear-splitting scream—or possibly that was Oliver—and we took off running again.
The wildebeest had no trouble following us through the treacherous forest. Its hooves were better suited for the knotted roots that rose from the ground like the rocky cliffs against the Crystal Sea. It snarled and grunted as it chased us deeper into the twisted abyss, its thick hide bouncing off the rough bark without feeling. Our saving grace was that the predator was as wide as it was tall and couldn’t always fit through the narrow spaces between the trees like we could.
My lungs began to ache, and my throat burned. My feet dragged as mud collected on my boots. I was fit from eight years of endless temple chores, but it had been a long day and we’d already been running for quite some time. Making progress took every last ounce of strength.
“We need to do something.” I squeezed Oliver’s hand. “We need to go up!” If we hesitated even once, the beast would impale us for our indecision.
Oliver and I let go of one another’s hands at the same moment. We leapt for the lower hanging branches of a massive tree. My fingers slipped against the slick bark, but I dug my nails in and planted my feet against the trunk. The mud that had been slowing me down now worked to adhere my feet to the slippery trunk.
I used my last bit of energy to pull my legs up and wrap them around the branch. I had just arched my back when the beastie charged beneath me. My hanging gown rustled from the wind produced by the force of his charge. I thanked the Light that the feral creature was too short and fat to jump.
The wildebeest charged into a neighboring tree, its pointed horns making a great crack as it hit the solid trunk. Undeterred, it pulled them free and stampeded back toward us. Oliver squealed when the deadly horns brushed his back, tearing a hole in his monk’s robe.
I almost laughed at the quickness with which he scrambled higher, clambering around the branch with strength and skill I didn’t know he possessed. When I heard the snuffing and scraping of thick hooves as the beast prepared to rush us once more, I followed Oliver’s example.
It wasn’t easy to haul myself around the branch, especially when my feet kept tangling with the long hem of my dress. But eventually, I managed to stand upright, hugging the bark of the thickest tree I’d ever seen.
The wildebeest snarled at us. He charged again, bursting forward with more speed than I’d thought him capable of. His flat, bulbous head ducked low and his curled horns led the way as he slammed headlong into our refuge.
My fingers dug into the bark until they ached as the tree trembled from the force of the impact. One of Oliver’s legs slipped off his branch and he flailed dangerously, waving his arms in wide circles in an effort to steady himself.
“Higher!” I yelled over the snarling beast.
We scrambled to climb the jumble of branches while the wildebeest retreated for better momentum.
“What is that thing?” Oliver yelled desperately.
My traveling boots were meant to walk long distances, but their soles had been smoothed over the last two weeks. I struggled to find footing. My fingers burned and panic seized my chest.
“A wildebeest,” I panted, clinging to the tree just as the damned creature hit it once more.
“A bloody wildebeest?” Oliver yipped. “And what will he do if he manages to knock us loose?”
I swallowed roughly. “Smash our heads with his hooves.” I dug the toe of my boot into the seams of the rough bark. “Drag us back to his lair and gnaw on us for days.”
“Dragon’s Blood, Tessana!” He briefly threw a hand up. “Did you intend to have me murdered before you set out? Or is this a spur of the moment decision?”
“Stop being dramatic.” Just as I finished speaking, the wildebeest smashed into the base of the tree once more, managing to make the immense trunk rumble and shiver.
We settled on a wide, flat branch that allowed us to sit together with our backs pressed against the trunk. The branch curved upward and created a bowl of sorts, nestling us inside. We pulled off our packs and held them tightly in front of us, hugging them to our chests and leaning against each other.
“Did you ever imagine life outside of Heprin?” I asked him.
He stared up at the still rustling branches as all sorts of creatures hurried for the safety of other trees. “Never.” His pause held weight. “I never wanted to leave Heprin. What would have been the point of imagining a life beyond it?”
