Raxx spent the majority of the morning hurrying between packing up equipment and collecting some basic travel supplies. As he was quicker on foot than anyone else, Lephas had tasked him with collecting and purifying some water and scouting their journey ahead, to spot any potential issues before they arose.
The only hitch in their plan was, once again, the weather. The wind howled the snow around them, making it difficult to see more than a few feet. Even Raxx, in his incorporeal state, struggled.
The snow whipped at them and the group travelled slowly. Every now and then, Raxx and Lephas halted, struggling to read the tattered map the shadow demon had brought along. Though they were each an excellent navigator, the snow storm made it almost impossible to tell if they were heading in the right direction. Raxx stalked ahead as best he could, but dared not go out of earshot of Lephas and the faeries.
As the day passed, they continued to fight on. The group was silent, each too cold and exhausted to make small talk.
Lephas whistled sharply, a prearranged sign that he needed to talk to him, and Raxx fell back to re-join the group.
“Does the forest look denser up ahead to you?” Lephas shouted over the storm’s howling, struggling to hold the map against the onslaught of the wind.
“I think we’re veering slightly off course,” Raxx replied, bracing himself against the bustling snow storm as he solidified to help still the map.
“It’s no good, it’s too windy out here – come on, let's head into those trees. Hopefully they should shield us from the worst of the wind and we can stop to look at this map,” Lephas suggested.
Raxx nodded. “Agreed.”
They strode on and Raxx faded, darting ahead to investigate. Sure enough, the trees began to bunch tighter together, their thick branches blocking the worst of the gusts. The ground eventually flattened out and Raxx came to a halt, pulling his fur snood down from his face. He frowned; something didn’t feel right. Raxx closed his eyes and focussed…majick.He turned on his heel and sprinted back towards the group. They needed to get out of here – now.
With shallower snow to contend with, Faye’s mare had picked up speed and was forging ahead with long, energetic strides. The faeries had overtaken Lephas and were now heading the group.
Raxx flew past them, skidding to a halt beside Lephas. “I can sense majick.”
A concerned expression crossed the commander’s face and he cupped his hands at either side of his mouth. “Hold up!”
When neither of the faeries turned to acknowledge them, both Raxx and Lephas jogged forwards to catch them up.
“Hold up a moment,” Lephas shouted breathlessly.
Raxx watched as Faye pulled on Gaia’s reins, but the horse continued to stride forwards, fighting the princess’s hold.
“Hey, I said slow,” Faye chastised and pulled harder against the horse’s mouth. The mare eventually came to a halt but shifted from foot to foot, swishing her tail impatiently.
“Faye, can you feel that?” Raxx marched forwards, scanning through the forest.
“You can too?” The princess frowned. “What is it?”
“I don't know, but–”
As the wind died, Gaia's head shot up and her ears pricked forwards. Without warning, the mare bolted. The faeries screamed as their horse took off at a gallop into the woods. Without a second thought, Lephas and Raxx each broke out into a sprint, hopelessly attempting to chase after Gaia as she thundered away through the forest.
“Go, Raxx! Go!” Lephas shouted. “Don’t worry about me, just catch them.”
Raxx nodded, fading and shooting forwards. His wings shot out to balance him as he hurtled through the forest, chasing the runaway mare.
It was no use. The snow storm made it almost impossible to see when travelling at speed, even with the slight shelter the woods provided. Raxx pulled himself up, gasping for breath. Gaia had been galloping at such a pace that she had left large, heavy furrows through the snow – the faeries would at least be easy to track. Pausing only long enough to catch his breath, Raxx turned and headed back to re-join Lephas.
* * *
The demons fought on. Following Gaia’s tracks and dragging their exhausted bodies through the drifts, they approached a farmhouse. It was the same one Raxx had briefly investigated the evening before – the kind old demon woman with her needle point hadn’t seemed much of a threat – but why would Gaia have taken off like that unless seriously spooked?
Faye was a talented rider, she hadn’t simply lost control of her horse and in the short time Raxx and Faye had known one another, Gaia had proven herself to be nothing but steadfast and trustworthy. The mysterious majick energy he sensed back in the forest had something to do with this. Raxx had a knot in his stomach.
A tall, stone wall loomed ahead through the mist and snow. Deep troughs in the snow marked the horse’s take-off and landing.
Raxx gave a short laugh. “They jumped it.”
Both he and Lephas clambered over the wall and dropped down into a sheltered garden area. Raxx walked forward to study the rest of the horse's tracks.
