The sky lightened to as the sun stretched its arms to the heavens, its rays turning the dark to pale pinks and oranges, shot through with a cerulean blue.
They stopped twice once the sun was high in the sky. Each time was barely long enough for the riders to stretch their legs, grab something to eat and drink, before their mounts stamped their feet to urge the two-leggers to hurry. It was clear the winged horses resented any stop, so the humans tried to be as quick as they could on those rare occasions.
They landed well after the sun had disappeared from the sky. Even in her fog of grief, Shea was grateful to be off Orion. Her back and legs hurt and a chill had settled into her bones. As soon as her group had touched ground, the winged horses took flight again, leaving Shea and her people to stare after them.
“Do you think they’re coming back?” Reece asked.
“I hope so,” Trenton said. “Or else it’ll be a long journey.”
Shea didn’t respond, too immersed in her own thoughts to spare much concern for what Orion and the others were up to. The long trip had given her time to think, time to worry. It had turned her mood grim as grief threatened to drown her.
Her father took charge, directing the rest to set up a temporary camp as Shea drifted to the perimeter, staring over the grassy hills where they had landed.
He came up to her when the others were busy. He didn’t say anything, his silent presence beside her an odd comfort as tears ran down her cheeks.
He waited until her tears ceased and she regained composure before he grasped her shoulder, offering a small comfort as he turned back to camp. Shea lingered for several minutes more, letting her breathing deepen, and calm to return, before she too joined the others.
She wasn’t in the mood for talk, and seeming to sense that, conversation over the meal was muted and hushed. As soon as she finished eating, Shea curled up on her side and feigned sleep as the others continued to speak in low voices.
When she finally succumbed to slumber, it felt like only moments passed before her father was nudging her awake to eat, then mount the horses.
That was their routine over the next week.
It wasn’t long before Shea began to recognize the landscape they traveled above. The sharp mountains and high plains of the Highlands gradually flattened to become the rolling hills and hidden canyons of the Badlands. From up on the back of Orion, it appeared as if someone had taken a rug and then smushed it together to create the treacherous topography below.
The hills were brown and red, and every color in between. Pathetic brown shrubs littered their sides. There was scant green to be seen.
“When will we reach the Badlands?” Buck asked that night as they sat around the fire.
“We’re already in them,” Shea answered, ignoring the slight surprise on her friends’ faces. She had determinedly kept to herself during the nights. This was the first time she’d engaged. “We have been for days.”
“Shouldn’t be too far from the first demarcation,” Reece said, looking up from tending the fire.
Shea nodded. She thought so as well.
Trenton’s face was filled with unease as he glanced around. “I hadn’t realized we were so close.”
“The outer edges are very like the Highlands,” Shea said, staring into the fire. “It isn’t until after the first demarcation that things really change.”
They’d be safe as long as they caught Griffin near that boundary. If they had to go too far into the Badlands—if they had to pass the second demarcation—Shea feared for the safety of her companions.
“You’ve been there before,” Trenton said to Reece.
Her cousin looked up, his gaze coming to Shea before he focused on Trenton. He nodded. “The very edges, yes. I haven’t been past the first demarcation. Only Shea has.”
Her father was busy whittling a piece of wood with his knife, seemingly not paying attention to the conversation. He didn’t fool Shea. He was every bit as focused as the rest of them.
“What makes it different from the rest?” Buck asked.
“It’s hard to put into words.” Shea wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s like when things go wrong, no matter how much you try to make them go right. Everything there will be against you. The land will resist you, the air will curse your name. The beasts are more powerful, more dangerous, and more prevalent.”
“Any advice?” Trenton asked, his eyes on hers.
Shea’s voice was soft. “Walk softly and do your best not to kill anything. They can sense blood. It’ll draw them right to you.”
*
Orion landed near the ruins of what had once been a wall, its length stretching far into the distance. Now, it was simply a landmark of the first demarcation, something to indicate to explorers that they were about to enter a dangerous land from which most did not return.
