My heart pounded in my chest as I turned my head around. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
His grim expression didn’t help my frazzled mind. “You have the symptoms of pitchghast.”
My blood-pumping organ decided to skip a couple of beats. “What does that mean?”
“It means you’ll be a pitchghast by nightfall if we don’t remove the filth.”
The color drained from my face along with the warmth. “How far away are those snakes?”
“Half a day’s ride.”
Oh God. Only a few hours stood between my slithery salvation and eternal doom. What little warmth I felt seemed to be sucked out of my body as the sun rose above the horizon. I was shivering two hours later, and a hideous clamminess crept over my flesh.
Cassian tugged on the reins ever so slightly, and Niveus slowed to a quick trot. He drew off his coat and draped the heavy cloth over my shoulders. The king also reached into one of the small parcels and pulled out a package of paper. He opened the parchment and revealed some dried meat.
Cassian held out the bit of cured meat. “We can’t stop, so this will have to do for our meal.”
I took the meat and nibbled on the edges. However, when I tried to swallow, the food stuck in my throat. I choked and coughed until the meat came back up, along with some unbecoming spittle. I caught the food in my hand and stared in bewilderment at the meat. There wasn’t anything wrong with the flavor, my body just refused to swallow it.
“How much did he force you to ingest?”
I shuddered at the memory. “A lot.”
Cassian gently brushed the food off my outstretched palm and placed a water flask in it. “Drink some water instead.”
I stared in bewilderment and worry at the water can. “I…I can’t eat right now, can I?”
He set his hand on my arm and offered me a smile. “You’ll eat soon enough.”
I realized he was trying to cheer me up, but reality kept foiling his plans. I took a swig of the water and found myself drowning. My throat refused to down the liquid, and I ended up spitting it out. The water dribbled down my cheek and dripped onto the saddlehorn like tears. They were soon joined by my own tears. Fear and frustration were my companions now.
Cassian took the water flask from my shaking hands and tucked it away with the rest of the meal. I was more than dissatisfied with the course. I was terrified. I grabbed hold of my trembling shoulders and tried to stifle the sobs that threatened to overwhelm me.
The king’s warm, strong arms slipped up on either side of me, holding me in his gentle grasp. His whispered words floated around me in my dizzying cloud of terror. “Don’t despair. I’ve sworn to you that I won’t let you become a ghast.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “Does that mean you’ll kill me before I do?”
He grasped my arms and leaned forward to catch my gaze in his beautiful eyes. “I won’t allow that to happen. Now hold on.”
Cassian cracked the whips. Niveus neighed and flew through trees. I yelped and clutched onto the horn as the horse leaped over a log and didn’t return to the ground for another twenty feet.
“Is this horse about to fly?” I shouted at my driver over the thunder of the hooves.
“No, but he can get close to it!” Cassian yelled back.
Niveus had the stamina of a donkey as he flew on and on, taking us over many miles of rough terrain in only a few hours. I was grateful for his speed, as every minute that flew by had a new tinge of suffering. I began to shiver uncontrollably, even against the efforts of Cassian’s body and his heavy coat.
The sun didn’t help matters. I found myself squinting in the bright light, and every beam we traveled through caused my skin to itch. It made me grateful for the deep darkness of the woods.
And yet, I was more terrified than ever. The clock was ticking, and the symptoms were growing worse. I now clung to the hope that these snakes could somehow remove the poison that infected my body, before I became a hideous creature of the night.
Chapter 14
The hours felt like forever, but finally the landscape began to change. Piles of boulders popped up all around us like pillars of some ancient civilization. The bumpy forest floor changed to a gentle incline, and the trees became more shriveled. I caught myself taking in more breaths as the air became just a little bit thinner and colder.
Cassian leaned close to my ear. “We’re almost there. Only another mile.”
I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes against the harsh light of day. My whole body was a quivering mass of cold sweat. I felt like I was about to slip away into a nightmare. Maybe I wasn’t too far off.
