Leaving the timber, they found themselves in a broad meadow.
“Oh, tis lovely!” Channa Leigh murmured.
And, indeed, it was. The grass was a thick blue-green. The trees wore fall gowns of scarlet and orange, amber and ochre. Late-blooming flowers grew in clumps of bright pink and lavender, pale blue and purest white.
He heard the sound of a waterfall and turned his horse toward it, thinking to quench their thirst and refill their water flasks.
The falls were a beautiful sight – crystal clear water cascaded down the side of an onyx mountain, splashing over huge boulders to gather in a deep turquoise-blue pool.
It wasn’t until they were kneeling at the water’s edge that he felt it, a ripple in the air, like the static before a storm.
He rose quickly to his feet, all his senses alert. He saw nothing out of the ordinary, heard nothing, and yet every instinct he possessed warned of danger. The animals stirred restlessly.
“What is it?” Channa Leigh asked. She came to stand beside him, her hand on his arm.
He shook his head. “There is something amiss. Can ye not feel it?”
She glanced around, her brow furrowed. “I feel…a stirring in the air.”
“Aye, that’s it.” Gathering his power around him, he flung his senses out as a fisherman might cast a net.
There was a faint sizzle as his power came up against another force. There was a blinding flash and then a creature stood before them, the likes of which Channa Leigh had never seen. It was as tall as the trees, covered with a slimy gray skin. Its eyes were close set. Its mouth was open, revealing jagged yellow teeth.
She took a step backward, repelled by the hideous creature. “What is it?”
Darkfest shook his head. He had no idea what kind of beast it was, only that it had been born of evil. He extended his arm toward the creature. “Be gone!”
With a mighty roar, the beast shook its massive head.
Jerking free of their tethers, the horses bolted, the mule on their heels.
Darkfest straightened to his full height. “Be gone, I say!”
The creature took a step forward, one hand reaching toward Channa Leigh. The air around it shimmered. The smell of brimstone fouled the air. The grass beneath its feet withered and died.
Darkfest reacted instinctively. Thrusting Channa Leigh behind him, he lifted his hand. There was no time for words, no time to refine his magic. He gathered his power around him and hurled it at the creature.
Channa Leigh gasped and reeled backward as a ball of crimson fire flew from the wizard’s fingertips.
The creature screamed as its body burst into flame.
Channa Leigh covered her face with her hands, unable to watch as the leathery gray skin began to blister and melt.
There was an obscene popping sound, and then she felt Darkfest’s hand on her shoulder. “Tis over, Channa Leigh.”
Slowly, she lowered her hands and glanced around. Nothing remained of the creature but a small pile of gray slime.
She looked up at Darkfest, her eyes wide and scared. “Are there more of them?”
He closed his eyes a moment, then shook his head. “I think not.”
“But what was it?”
“A minion of the dragon, perhaps, sent to frighten us away. No matter, tis over now. Come, let us go after the horses. They will not have gone far.”
Chapter Eleven
Channa Leigh’s gaze swept the land around them. She was all too conscious of time passing, all too aware that soon she would be trapped in darkness again. But for now, she delighted in everything she saw.
