Depth of the Rain by Orin Drake
A completed novel, available here.

        Chapter 16 - "I Can't Help it if I'm Sick."


        As her life was pretty much prepared to flash before her eyes, Roan thrust his sword into the monster's hip and tugged viciously.  The tearing could be heard even above the thing's wails, and it turned on him with such force that it collapsed on it's wounded leg.  Unfortunately, that action seemed only to drive it onward.
        All Shadow saw was the beast's position shift--and that was all she needed.  She darted up in spite of the rough sting slicing through her back, stumbling a bit but on her feet again.  An arrow flew straight into the side of the monster's head, and she ducked just in time to miss it.  Her attention was focused squarely on whatever weapon she could reach--in this case, the bloody katana.
        Roan did all he could to hold in a cry as he felt his shoulder separate.  Out of instinct more than thought, he drove his sword into the creature's muzzle even as the teeth were still embedded in his bicep.  He only glanced once to make certain he was still "whole", then darted away without his sword the instant the jaws released.  There was no more he could do.
        The creature saw the movement, knew it was losing the prey, and lashed out with a paw at his legs.  Claws caught flesh--though the wounds were shallow, the force of the impact brought Roan down.
        Shadow caught only the end of this, but it was enough.  How she accomplished it, she'd never know; somehow she'd leapt onto the monster, riding between its shoulder blades only long enough to drive the sword straight downward into its spine.
        At that same moment, Evyn had swung the previously dropped ax at the spot where the pummel still stuck outward, on the opposite side.  Another gush of blood answered, and the monster began to roll onto its side in pain and desperation.  Almost accidentally, as it kicked outward, Taerlyn got too close
        She had felt only a claw tear the skin cross her navel.  She had no idea how much or how deep, but she knew she was injured as she was thrown unceremoniously to the ground.  She looked up, the pain just beginning to build, and saw the thing snapping and foaming with blind, rolling eyes.  The foam had turned pink, and was getting darker and darker red by the moment.
        "Sever the head!" Roan cried, trying to stand.
        They needed no further instruction.  Shadow yanked the sword out and began to saw back and forth, and Evyn hacked furiously at the other side.  It took quite a bit of muscle to get the job done, but finally the blood was flowing freely across all of them.  The head was certainly detached.
        Shadow left the weapons where they were, climbing up and over the beast to see to Roan's injuries.  He didn't look so bad off, frankly.  Bloody, a little torn up, a limp... hey, it could have been a hell of a lot worse.
        Taerlyn looked down at herself, covered in monster blood.  She wanted to scream so badly, to pull off the clothes and just run the opposite direction until she couldn't run anymore, but something very unusual took a hold of her.  She started to laugh.  She looked toward her companions and just laughed.
        Shadow stared at Evyn, who had just limped over to take a look at what had just occurred.  "I hope she hasn't flown the coop again..." she said quietly.
        "No!" Taerlyn gasped, still laughing.  "That was... fun..."
        Sandy slowly stumbled over to the rest of them.  She was fine, really, but she was still bleeding from the claws.  Shadow weakly reached a hand up to rub her nose, and the horse accepted gratefully.  Had their leader been able, she'd gladly have healed her friend, but she was trying then to heal herself.
        "So, how's the damage?" Evyn asked, looking around.
        Roan stared for a moment at his shoulder, then suddenly punched it.  It made a gut wrenching crack and fell back into alignment.  "I'm okay."  He announced, then looked down at the remains of his pants, rather disappointed by the result.  In a quick burst, the healing blue flame danced across the wounds and disappeared back into the flesh.  Another pair of pants ruined...
        "I've got some rocks embedded, but that's it."  Shadow announced without moving.  Her back had begun to throb, and for some reason she just couldn't get the blue fire to appear.
        Taerlyn tried to get up, but a wave of pain pushed her back against the ground.  Her navel felt very weird, detached and somehow uneven.  No one had seen the blood spill from it, and she just remembered the feeling of it being slashed.  "I'm... open."  She announced uneasily.
        Evyn gasped and kneeled by her side, the pain in his knee not phasing him.  He looked at the three large rips in her dress and panicked.  "The monster's blood has gotten in..."
        "Don't worry."  Roan nearly dismissed.  "It was driven and created entirely by magic."
        "Meaning?" Evyn looked up.  As if at the command of his words, the body of the wolf thing suddenly glowed with orange and purple hues and began to disappear into a fine mist then blow away, along with it's blood.
        "It wasn't... 'officially' alive."  He responded, trying to think of a way to describe it.  "It was never... born.  Just created from magic.  So, when something like that is dead, it returns to energy."  He glimpsed at Shadow, seeing fresh blood trickle its way through the many more tears in the back of her shirt.  "Can't heal yourself?"
        "Well, it started to work..." she began, feeling as though something were missing.  Or, perhaps there was a little something extra.
        "The downside of healing magic..." Roan began, looking at the bits and pieces of rock and wood lodged in her back, "Would be having to remove large objects stopping the flesh from sealing."
        "Oh this sounds fun."  She grinned lightly.  She reached behind herself and started the task by feel alone.
        "Can you do anything for her?" Evyn asked, carefully inspecting the lightly bleeding wound across his sister's midsection.  It didn't look that deep, but it was wide and probably going to be painful walking or even sitting with.  Thankfully the other two claws hadn't hit the skin, only torn the dress.
        Roan kneeled to take a look.  "I think so.  But it will be very draining... and I'm not certain I can heal it all the way."
        "Why not?" Taerlyn questioned with a light shiver.  She didn't quite like the feeling of her flesh being open so much.
        "People without natural magic don't tend to heal as quickly even with assistance..." he stopped and blinked. "It never made sense to me either."
        "Would medicine help?" Evyn suggested.
        "It probably would."  He responded thoughtfully.  He glanced at Shadow, watching closely, then turned his attention back to Evyn.  "You wrap her up, and I'll see what I can do for Shadow so she can help me."
        The boy nodded.  He planned on watching closely, but he also thought a little more of Roan than he had.  He did, after all, save his sister's life, if not all of theirs.  Even though he had no intention of breaking the treaty between them, he just wanted to be careful... but somehow he felt as if he didn't need to be anymore.
        Roan got up and walked behind Shadow for a look.  "How bad is it?" she asked.
        "Well..." he began.  "Lots to pull out... and some things look very deep..."
        "Yay."  Her sarcasm never wavered.
        "I could... uh, help..." he suggested, lightly touching some of the shards and finding it a little difficult to pull everything through the torn fabric.
        She got his drift immediately.  "Heh.  A peek isn't good enough for you, huh?"
        He even surprised himself by blushing a little.  Now was not the time... but it sure helped.  "I... uh..."
        "Yeah."  She interrupted, grinning.  "Gotta do what you gotta do."  She winked jokingly, then turned to Evyn.  "We'll be back. And this shouldn't take long." 


 

        Evyn watched, a little uneasy, slightly uncomfortable, but somehow not all that worried.  He witnessed the whole event as Roan, with a little bit of an embarrassed blush, led Shadow a few yards away and indicated she sit down.  She actually had a bit of a devious look on her face, obviously planning something.  Strangely enough, he wasn't all that concerned about it.  Hell, he knew her well enough.  They weren't going to... well, y'know.
        Taerlyn giggled as she watched, finding just about everything but her own pain humorous.  She recalled the wolf thing's breath and silenced only for a few seconds.  It hadn't been that pleasant to breathe, magic created or not.  Maybe this is what Coca Cola is like... she thought with a crazy little grin.
        Her brother looked up from time to time as he cleaned and wrapped her wound carefully.  He had no intention of interrupting, but... he was sure as hell going to watch this. 


 

        Shadow watched out of her peripheral vision as Roan averted his eyes for a moment.  Hell, not that she minded at this point, but... yeah, it'd be best this way.   She pulled her shirt off quickly, then used it to hide her chest behind.  "Okay."  She invited, pulling her hair to the side.
        Granted that this was a serious situation, and he certainly meant to take it that way, but... he allowed himself one very long sweep of what he could see before he spoke.  "So... how'd you like me to do this?  Just yank, or go slow, or..."
        She couldn't stop herself from laughing.  She could almost feel a small blush from behind her.  "I'm sorry."  She laughed a little harder.  "I can't help it if I'm sick."
        That put him a little more at ease, anyway.  Turning her body gently just so that the sun was full on her, he started carefully.  It wasn't that bad, but there were several chunks of  wood or obsidian-like rock that had found themselves wedged in rather far.  The little ones were of no concern, merely splinters.
        She cringed from time to time when a particularly jagged something or other was pulled, but didn't make a sound.  It certainly wasn't a fun experience, as some of these chunks were actually embedded to the bone.  It was surprisingly less painful than it was just plain eerie.
        "Last one."  He finally informed.  With a last tug, all of the shrapnel was removed.  Frankly, seeing her back with marks and blood was... he kept that thought at a distance for his own sake.  "How was it?"
        "About as fun as a doctor's visit.  No offense."  As a tease or a treat (or maybe a little of both), she quickly thrust her arms through her shirt sleeves and threw it back over her head.  She knew no one could have seen anything... too risqué.
        "Hey."  He protested softly.  "Don't I get a reward for that?"
        She grinned as she felt the blue fire seal the wounds completely.  "Yes."  She turned around, leaned forward, kissed him on the cheek, then walked away.
        He stared at her back blankly.  Innocent or a tease?  Or maybe, on some level, a little bit of both?  He smirked, realizing that he didn't mind.  Taking a step to follow, he was nudged in the shoulder.  Sandy had waited patiently for a little aid, but this was as patient as she was going to get.  No, the wounds weren't terribly bad, but... she needed his help just the same.
        Upon laying a hand on her flank, something very interesting flashed across his mind.  It was directed from the steed herself; something of a... difference.  He couldn't put his finger on it, but she wasn't quite as she appeared to be, was the general consensus.  She healed very fast, fast enough to have not needed his help at all.  He still completed the illusion of needing to add his energy, but said nothing.  It was her secret, after all. 


 

        "How goes it, kid?" the newly healed grinned down at Taerlyn.
        "Oh, very fun."  The girl grinned back, suffering from only a little discomfort from being flat on the ground.  The wound itself burned with the medicine, but it wasn't all that painful.  Not yet at least.  Just very, very uncomfortable.  Separated flesh felt... wrong.
        Shadow looked to Evyn.  "I bet you're not tired anymore, huh?"
        He was glad for this humor.  "More so than I ought to be, now."
        Roan approached with Sandy at his side, assessing the situation.  "How is it?"
        "Just bad enough to be annoying."  Ter responded miserably.  Thinking about it only made it worse.
        He nodded, glancing at Evyn as if for permission.  He got it, silently, and kneeled to place a hand over the bandaged area.  With Sandy having thankfully more or less healed herself, he had plenty of energy for this particular endeavor--though he would have to teach Shadow how to do this as well.  While he'd rather not think of the just in case situations, they were a necessary part of the thought process.
        Taerlyn gasped as the blue fire tingled across her navel.  It was hot and cool at once, feeling at first like a hundred tiny insects racing across the surface, then like some deep chemical heating/cooling.  At least it wasn't any worse than the wound itself.  When Roan's hand lifted from her, she carefully propped herself on her elbows.
        "It's not complete."  He cautioned.  "But it should be fine by morning."
        She nodded, just happy she was going to be okay, and soon.  It was a little sore, the flesh itself tender, but she was perfectly okay to stand on her own.
        "Alright."  Evyn began with a stretch, assured his sister would make a full recovery.  "Uh... should we still stay here for the night?"
        That was the question, wasn't it.  How likely was it that there may be another one of those things running around?  Well, by the look of it, not much, but...  Shadow let a light groan pass as she began to gather up the weapons.  "I guess we ought to move a little.  While we still have some light."
        Taerlyn sighed quietly.  It was such a pretty place, such a perfect camp... but not after all of that, she supposed.  Best to move on, indeed.  When Sandy lay in front of her, she climbed on carefully. 


 

        Shadow broke the monotony of walking onward yet again by giving them all a course in rock and roll. "Rule number one, good fast rock and roll is all about sex."  She noticed Roan's rather blank expression and suppressed laughter.  "The more creative the term for sex is, the better the song.  Although that rule doesn't always apply, sometimes it's good to just put it right out in the open.  You have your Poisons and your Aerosmiths, then you have your Motley Crues and your Guns N' Roses..."  Evyn's grin silenced her.
        "I just wonder what your world is like, that's all."  He said, noticing her staring.
        "Very diseased with many children."  She answered with a wide grin.  "Of course, there are different rules for slow songs and love ballads.  For the most part, hidden religious references tend to work very well."
        "Go back to the fast song rules."  Roan suggested.
        "I really don't know if I should get into that."  She replied, trying to be as serious as she could.  "There's a delicate flower here, you know."
        Taerlyn started to look around her.  "Depends on who you ask."
        Shadow laughed, quite proud of her little sister's evil showing.  "Okay, but if you hear something you've never heard before, not my fault I warped you.  Aerosmith is a good start.  The only songs of theirs that don't have sexual content are the ones without words."
        "So your world does have music without words."  Evyn grinned.
        "Yeah, but not much good stuff."  She countered jokingly.
        "Wait, I think maybe my ears really are too sensitive for that."  Taerlyn warned.
        Shadow grinned.  "Then we won't start out slow after all.  We'll go for... oh, Guns N' Roses.  'Turn around bitch/ I've got a use for you' is one of my favorite lines..."
        "I'm not sure I was ready for this side of you."  Ter giggled innocently.
        "Is that how women are viewed in your world?" Evyn asked in disturbed awe.
        "Yeah, pretty much."  She admitted.  "It's all most of them are worth, though."  The three non-earthlings all glanced at one another at her words.  "Truth be told, women of earth aren't very smart... but neither are the men I guess, so... the whole planet is screwed.  I'm... glad to be off it..."
        Roan simply could not keep himself from chuckling.  Pictures came into his head of Shadow, one by one, simply "taking care of" the stupidest of earthlings by herself.  "So tell me what the second rule is."  He suggested.
        She was only glad to continue.  "Rule number two: it's usually best to have something offensive in a fast rock song.  That often brings us back to rule number one, however foul language is great too."
        "Is that where you learned your awful words?" he grinned widely.
        "No, that is where I learned how to use them."  She affectionately grinned back.  "As the different spellings and meanings of various three to five letter words..."
        "I think we can change the subject now."  Evyn interrupted, trying hard not to appear to be as amused as he really was.
        "Not a problem."  Shadow said happily.  She glanced at the area just ahead and to the right--and saw what looked to be a wall through the trees.  Not really anything attached to said wall, but... it was indeed a stone wall.  The group followed her gaze, becoming just as intrigued and puzzled as she was.  There was still light to investigate by, so she looked back at her companions.
        Evyn looked back at her with a helpless shrug.  "I guess we're going to inspect it, huh?"
        Ah, the amusement was great.  "I can go it alone."  She assured him.  A few more steps closer and there appeared to be another shape to the left of the wall--a rope and plank bridge.  As the trees began to dissipate into shrubbery, it appeared to be along the same lines at the kind that lead to One Tree Hill.  While the closer they came to the bridge, the more it seemed to be in tact, the stone wall looked to be the only section left of some fantastic castle.
        When they came within sprinting distance, it became pretty clear that whatever building used to be there had collapsed with the ground underneath it.  The bridge had obviously been built after the event, as it seemed to successfully span the area where the building had once been.  Whether or not it was stable...  A sudden motion on the top of the wall caused their eyes to shift upward.  It had looked as if something had darted over it, to the other side.  Nothing large, but... it hadn't looked like a bird.
        Stupid though it may have been, Shadow could not put to rest her curiosity.  "How about we," she indicated Roan whether he wanted her to or not, "Take a look behind that wall, and you three see how stable that bridge is?"
        For once, Evyn preferred this plan.  He didn't really want to see what that thing had been.  Not that he really wanted to be jumping up and down on a bridge of indeterminable age, but... he preferred that to the other.  "Be careful."
        "Oh of course."  She assured him with a subtle grin.
        Roan, who hadn't cared to be on either "team", frankly, just shrugged and followed along.  Hell, if the wall had held up alright for this long, it may well be safe to inspect the edge of this cliff... hopefully.  He took only little comfort in the fact that Shadow was peering over to see how packed the soil and rocks were underneath.  Hell, it wasn't an overhang--just straight down into what appeared to be a stream about, oh, a couple of hundred feet below them.  That wasn't very comforting, but it helped a little.
        "Curiosity will kill me someday."  She assured them both offhandedly.
        "You sure you want to do this, then?" he half joked.
        She straightened and looked at him completely soberly.  "I've got to know what that thing was.  It feels... important."
        "I can't levitate you, you know."  He told her gently.  "So... be very careful."
        "You know I will."  She responded similarly.  "Or, well, you know now."
        He nodded.  She was right, he knew.  But he felt he needed to make the recommendation, anyway.  It always paid to remind a person to be careful.  He'd be right there, right behind her, waiting.  Should she need him...
        Taking a rather large gulp of air, she edged toward the corner of the crumbling wall and glanced around it.  The surprise that hit her when two small, gleaming eyes looked right back at her from the late afternoon shadows was nearly enough to trip her up.  She hadn't anticipated anything that would look back at her like that.  Grasping the rough wall--a wall that felt far too much like one she'd been pressed to before--she held the eyes that gazed back.  They held an intelligence that was all too familiar.
        "Well?" Roan whispered behind her, having quietly rushed to her for the purpose of making sure she didn't lose her grip.
        "I don't know."  She whispered back slowly, still looking at the curled up creature in the shadow.  She thought for a moment longer, then held a hand behind her that signaled, stay here.
        He calmly forced himself to stay where he was, peering around the wall to watch every event.  Surely enough there were gleaming eyes in the darkened ruins, clearly paying attention to the form moving toward them.  One hand on his sword just in case, he watched Shadow very slowly approach, crouched toward the ground with her hands down and in front of her, palms up, showing herself unarmed.
        To their surprise, the little animal didn't seem to so much as flinch even when she was only inches away.  Instead, it seemed to make a gentle tapping noise against the ground. Like a dog wagging its tail, she thought oddly.  With another breath held, she softly put her cupped hand on the ground in front of the eyes for inspection. It's my fault alone if I get eaten... she reminded herself.
        With a quiet, surprised gasp, she felt her hand being licked by a tiny, long tongue.  She was able to make out the head and mouth then as the creature craned its neck outward--long and thin, and very lizard-like except for the forward laid ears that reminded her of a dog.  A baby dragon... shivered across her mind the second the jewel eyes turned from her hand to her face with an almost pleased expression.  The thought made her smile, and the smile seemed to make the little creature even more brave.  Very slowly, it began to uncurl it's body into the light.
        Roan crouched and got just a bit closer, watching intently.  The little beast first thrust its head into the dying sun, the head and nose entirely covered in tiny ebony scales that reflected the light eagerly.  The eyes looked completely colorless, a clear, pearly gray that somehow made both Roan and Shadow shiver at the same time.  The shiver almost seemed to weaken her, and she had to sit back on her knees to keep from tipping over in wonder.
        Their movement didn't seem to bother the little creature at all, as it kept slowly creeping into the evening sun.  Its neck and shoulders appeared next, pulling the rest of itself toward her and completely into the light.  The beautiful black scales covered it's back and sides, then thinned out into soft, short black fur on it's belly.  The fur extended to the bottom half of it's front legs, making them appear to be a cross between the short, soft paws of a house cat and the talons of an eagle.  As is edged further toward Shadow, she could see small wings that looked like neatly folded sails on either side of its back, texture resembling something like a cross of leather and silk.
        Once again the small beast surprised her by leaping forward and putting its front paws on her legs just above the knees--and she found out quickly, to her joy, that the claws were retractable.  The little thing seemed completely fearless, and she began to think of it as just an odd looking tom cat.  In fact, the moment she gingerly reached out to touch it's head, it began to purr and pressed its nose into her hand.  She laughed quietly, absolutely amazed with the whole experience.  To think, she was touching a dragon...  Fluidly, it kicked it's back legs and leapt fully into her lap, then stood up and, placing its front paws on her chest, craned it's long neck up to meet her eyes closer.
        "You're beautiful..." she breathed as its eyes flickered with mild tones of opalescent color.  Softly and very slowly, she ran her hand over its scales, finding them slick and hard as polished stone.  She slowed her touch as she reached its wings, but it seemed to welcome her hand sliding over them.  They felt like soft, thin velvet, and as she lifted her hand to stroke them again, it wings spread and opened into miraculous pure black sails, the bones and veins very well defined in the disappearing light.  Their span must have been nearly twice the size of the beast's body, she guessed, and when they were tightly drawn felt more like a soft leather jacket.  With another casual stroke, the beast folded the wings back at its side and cooed quietly.
        Without really needing to think, she wrapped her arms around the little thing and lifted from the ground, turning to Roan who had been equally as enthralled in the experience. The fur of its belly felt warm and smooth, and it curled it's legs around her arms to keep from falling.  They finally saw the beast's long tail, thick at the base yet thinning out quickly into a whip nearly as long as its body.  The creature certainly didn't seem to mind the movement, and let out a soft squeak of what Shadow somehow read as amusement.  Speaking to it seemed quite natural, as natural as talking to Sandy, and something inside of her told her it would understand.  "I can't carry you across, I need both hands."
        The dragon blinked twice, then looked down at the bottom of the cliff.  As if thinking it over, its soft ears tilting and turning, it continued to stare and blink downward, then back up into Shadow's eyes.  Her smile seemed to reassure it, as it released her arms and darted quickly across her shoulder and onto her back.
        Roan lifted from his crouch and laughed.  "You and your animals."  He grinned, holding his hand out to her which she took gratefully, carefully skipping from ledge to ledge and landing safely.  As they began walking together back to the others, the little dragon began to cover itself in her hair, putting its head over her shoulder and peeking out of it playfully.  It felt quite natural, just hanging on her back, peering out from it's hiding place.  And, strangely enough, it was even lighter than her backpack.
        Taerlyn and Evyn looked up at the sound of Roan and Shadow's laughing.  It certainly wasn't what they had expected to hear at that time in the journey.  It was a pleasant sound, but... unexpected.  Taerlyn gasped and pointed as they got close enough for her to see something peering over Shadow's shoulder that she didn't even seem to realize was there.
        Seeing her reaction, she waited a few more steps to be heard in a normal voice, "What do you make of our little friend?"
        Evyn shook his head and walked toward her.  He stared at the little beast in wonder for quite some time, noticing it's blinking stare seemed to be checking him out just as closely.  "Interesting."  He said at last, feeling a welcome smile on his lips.  The creature made a "Peep!" sound without opening its mouth and craned it's neck out for a closer look.
        "Where'd you find it?" Taerlyn asked, standing well away from the little thing.  "Wait, that's a stupid question."  She felt compelled to go near it, to pet it, but at the same time had remembered how lizards used to bite her father's ankles from time to time when he walked the fields barefoot.  Something very much bothered her about creatures that would bite your ankles.
        "And how's the bridge?" Shadow asked hopefully.
        "Not... entirely stable."  Evyn admitted.  "One at a time and we'll probably be alright, though."
        Well, that was somewhat better than it could have been, she supposed.  Their luck had run so dry that it was time for a miracle, right?
        As if just then noticing the horse following Taerlyn closely, the little dragon jerked its head up, eyes widening thoroughly.  It was clear that it had never seen such a thing in all of it's short life and seemed completely amazed.  Sandy, on the other hand, just whinnied a hello and began walking around the group slowly, making the little creature perk it's ears, unable to take its eyes off of her.
        "Well, we have to name it."  Taerlyn suggested softly as she began to approach.
        Shadow thought for a moment, and a name hit her harder than any other.  "It sounds odd, but... Adrian."  She silenced and looked at the beast, who'd taken only a second to look back at her before watching Sandy again.  "His name is Adrian."  How she could be certain about either part of that statement was lost to her.  But she was beginning to learn that some things simply... came to you.
        "Does it mean anything in your world?"  Taerlyn asked, rolling the name over and over in her mind.
        "It means 'dark one' as far as I know."  She answered, looking toward the bridge with a slight worry.  "Seems to fit... at the moment, at least."
        Little Adrian didn't seem to care much whether he was named or not, his attention completely focused on the horse that had begun to approach him for a good look.  Shadow gently extended her arm to Sandy, and the little dragon very slowly crawled up to her shoulder and across her arm to meet the steed face to face. It was quite amusing (And cute, Taerlyn thought) to watch the wide eyed dragon slowly sneaking up her arm as though posing to attack, but Sandy just stood there patiently waiting.  As Adrian finally crept to Shadow's hand, the gentle horse simply nuzzled the dragon's nose.
        The young creature obviously didn't know what to think of the beast, and stayed quite stiff as though mortified.  Shadow covered her mouth with her other hand, desperately trying not to laugh or cry out "ET phone home!" as he slowly put out a single scaled finger toward Sandy's face.  The horse didn't move a muscle as the soft pad made contact with her furry nose, nor when Adrian's whole paw gingerly rested on it.  She did, however, make a very loud and annoyed whinny when the beast leapt and latched onto her nose by wrapping all four legs around it.
        Evyn could no longer control himself, and began to laugh quite loudly.  As Taerlyn and Roan joined, Shadow bit her lip hard and very gently pried the little dragon off.  "Such a friendly creature."  She said, holding Adrian in her arms again, finally giving into the waiting laughter that had encompassed everyone... except Sandy.  While still in good humor, the steed just stared at the laughing band of "friends".
        "Sorry, girl."  Shadow attempted to apologize through the giggles.  Even as she held onto him, Adrian kept glancing at the horse in complete amazement.
        As Evyn finally caught his breath, he felt it was his duty to remind everyone of the matters at hand.  Still chuckling, he inquired, "Shouldn't we think of crossing the bridge and getting a camp for the night?"
        "Almost forgot about that part."  Taerlyn tried very hard to compose herself.  "But... it's kind of shaky, right?  I mean... how will we..."
        Shadow got her point right away.  "We'll spread the supplies among ourselves so Sandy won't have to carry any extra."  She theorized.  "Then we should all get across just fine."
        Evyn nodded, wondering why the hell he hadn't come up with that simple plan.  "Well then... let's get started." 


 

        Shadow was first to go.  Adrian on one shoulder and her backpack on another, blanket and extra swords under her arm, she carefully edged out onto the wooden panels.  Well, frankly, it was kind of scary.  She walked slowly to keep her balance, but felt the sway of the bridge increase the closer she got to the center.  It was longer and wider than the ones at One Tree Hill had been, and she didn't doubt this one would hold up... but it was still nerve wracking; carrying all of this stuff, a dragon craning over her shoulder, not knowing exactly what the other side of this crack in the earth would bring.  But, she did indeed make it to the other side, in tact, all equipment accounted for.  And the other side wasn't all that much different.  She carefully placed the supplies on the ground and waved with both arms.  She felt weird about yelling for some reason.
        Roan was next, arms full of general stuff.  Heavier than Shadow, he had to take it even more slowly over the middle of the bridge, its sway making him feel a little nervous.  With a bit of luck and a little natural agility, however, he made it safely.  Adrian bounded from Shadow's shoulder to his as if in welcome.
        Evyn looked to his little sister, clearly seeing that she expected him to go next.  He couldn't really argue, seeing as how he really wanted the whole damned experience to be over with.  Approaching the center of the bridge was quite a feat, however.  The more it swung, the less he cared to be there.  There was encouragement from the other side, though, and thankfully no one said "Don't look down."  That's one of the worst things anyone can possibly say in a situation like that.  When he slowly shuffled to the other side, he quite literally leapt away from the cliff and decided he was going to stand several yards away for the rest of the time they were to be there.
        Sandy raised her head for a moment, looking around.  There was clearly something watching.  Maybe she was the only one to feel it right at that moment, but... she had the dull impression that it was going to make itself known, and fast.  She lightly nudged at Taerlyn to get her started across.  It was coming from behind them, and the sooner they crossed, the better.
        Ter took a deep breath, then followed slowly with the rest of the supplies.  She was lighter than any of the rest of them, so her sway wasn't hardly as bad.  As she stepped to the other side, she was met with good natured teasing about the subject.
        And then all hell, as it were, broke loose.  Sandy had taken the first careful, light-footed steps onto the wooden planks when the scent of those things almost caused her to choke.  Three of those awful donkey beasts were racing toward the bridge from the trees.  She threw her head foreword and decided, in that instant, that she had no other choice--she'd have to run for it.  She backed up quickly just enough to get a good start on solid ground, then darted full-out.
        Her companions could do nothing more than cheer her on from the other side.  Taerlyn was desperately digging for arrows, but she was scared to death of accidentally hitting the steed--that thought was pushed to the back of her mind when they heard the splinter of wood from the other side.
        The bridge tilted and swung again, making things a hell of a lot harder.  Sandy closed her eyes and tried to make a full run to the other side, putting her full faith in her balance, but the wooden panels began to shatter into upward splinters from her sudden swift weight and years of neglect.  She neighed wildly and kept running, kept dodging, keeping as good a balance on the bridge as she could, to the calls of her friends.
        "You can make it Sandy!" Taerlyn called wildly, loading an arrow and getting ready to aim.
        Shadow looked to Roan desperately.  "Can't we do anything?"
        He thought for a moment then nodded as if an idea had just been thrust into his mind.  "We can try.  But I'll warn you, I'm not good at this kind of magic."
        It didn't matter--anything was better than nothing.  Adrian jumped off of her back as if sensing what needed to be done before she had any clue of it herself.  Roan dropped to one knee and closed his eyes tightly, attracting his energy outward into his fist.  Shadow crouched behind him, circling him with her arms, closing her eyes and fiercely concentrating, adding power to his own.  He grunted suddenly and grasped hold of one of the support ropes, the energy surging green spasms of light into the bridge. It stabilized almost immediately, and Sandy quickly began to cross in a faster run.
        "That's it girl!" Evyn cried to the steed.
        Past the center, closing in, Sandy dashed toward them.  Then there was a momentary flash of crimson that arced above the green energy, then orange light sparking underneath her hooves.  Even as she kept racing, something had caused her heart to sink.  One of the donkey monsters had used one of those energy draining darts, sinking it into an area of the bridge that was coated with the green energy.
        As though the dart had touched their bodies, Roan and Shadow cried out in unison.  Their magical effort began to flash in and out like a dying electric light.  It was being quickly eaten away and dissolved, and Taerlyn could feel a scream building somewhere in her throat.  There was no time to aim, and there was nothing to aim for.  Sandy was too close, she risked hitting her, she could barely see those creatures on the other end that already seemed to be making their getaway...
        Sandy's eyes were wide, her nostrils flared violently as she pounded toward the group in a passionate run, her legs just blurs.  Evyn and Taerlyn stood helplessly, calling for her, praying for her to make it across--but that electric green energy was completely drained.  The color itself snapped and faltered, erupting in violent orange before disappearing entirely.  The entire bridge, Sandy included, was just gone.
        Taerlyn screamed roughly, no words coming out.  Just long, horrible sounds.  Evyn wrapped his arms around her and let her cry, his gaze blind to the world for the time being.  Even he had tears in his eyes, swallowing constantly so not to cry out himself.
        "She was a unicorn..." Roan coughed distantly before lapsing into completely drained unconsciousness.  For some reason, it didn't surprise any of them.
        Shadow tried to stand, tried to get up or say something, to do anything at all.  She felt as though she had been running for miles or years, her lungs were tight and all of her muscles begged to be released.  She tried so hard not to pass out, but as her vision began to blur, then dim, her hearing becoming a distant hum, she surrendered to the need to fall, to rest, and lost her already loose grip on consciousness.
        Evyn stared helplessly at the collapsed, but couldn't bring himself to release Taerlyn from his arms.   So much lost, so much undone.
Content copyright Orin Drake 2011.
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