Starlight (Book 1)

Chapter Twelve

Ro and Arik rode in silence under the bright moonlight. They hadn't spoken since Arik told Ro that they were going to be moving out and that she better be ready to ride all through the night. Although she thought she would be, she wasn't the least bit tired. It had definitely been a long day. She stroked her mare's mane and looked ahead of her at Arik who seemed to be more on edge that he had been earlier during their ride. She was sure that he had super hearing along with all of his other talents and must have been listening to the hidden world around her.

     Ro's thighs were beginning to ache and she had no way of stretching them. She wanted to ask him for a break so badly, but she would rather her legs fall off than ask Arik for any favors. She leaned forward to adjust her position for a minute. Her mare huffed in protest, but kept close to the stallion in front of her. Ro leaned back into position and then lifted her head back stretching her neck. The moonlight shown down on her face and the stars around it reflected off of her eyes. It wasn't her first time to see an open sky like this. She remembered several weekends during the summer months camping with her grandparents. Ro loved those trips. The stars, the campfires, and the laughter. She was actually smiling at the thought, but that smile slowly faded when her horse stopped.

     Ro looked down at her mare and then up at Arik and his horse. They were stopped in front of her. Arik was holding up his hand telling Ro to be quiet. She frantically began to look around but didn't see or hear anything that would cause alarm. Ro looked back at Arik as he dismounted his horse. He slowly walked to the back of his stallion and reached into the saddle bag. He pulled out three small knives and slipped them into the back of his waist band. Ro had no clue what was going on. When she motioned to dismount her horse Arik turned to her and gave her a sharp look telling her to sit still and be quiet.

     Ro held onto her reins tightly and watched as Arik walked out in front of his horse. He said something aloud in the Fairy language that she didn't understand and silently hoped that Arik knew what he was doing. Ro's head snapped slightly to the left when she heard and noise. She could feel her heart racing. She felt like her chest would burst open. 

     Arik turned to her, "Get down."

     Ro cocked her head and opened her mouth to ask what was going on.

     "Get off the horse." Arik's voice was louder and more commanding this time.

     Ro closed her mouth and dismounted. She stood beside the mare and stroked her side nervously. Ro watched intently as Arik approached her. He placed a firm hand on her shoulder and leaned in close to whisper to her, "I want you to run. Find a place and stay hidden until I find you."

     "Why? What's going on?" Ro whispered back.

     Ro watched as Arik looked behind her and threw a knife faster than she could think. She heard the sound of a scream and then a loud thud.

     Arik looked back down at her. "Run." He whispered again.

     Ro took in a sharp breath and took off running through the moonlit woods. She ignored the burning sensation in her legs and just kept sprinting. Within minutes she was completely lost, but she didn't let that bother her. The look in Arik's eyes gave her a sinking feeling that she couldn't outrun no matter how fast she was moving through the woods. She looked over her shoulder once, but hadn't noticed anyone behind her. It was a relief, but didn't let it slow her down. She knew that she wouldn't be able to keep outrunning whatever it was that she was running from. She knew she had to hide herself.

     Ro tripped. She fell hard on her knees and scraped her palms as she caught herself. She hissed in pain and hurried to her feet. She began to run again. She was more frightened than ever as she stared at the ground in front of her. She couldn't trip again. Ro dodged trees and hurled over fallen branches. She could feel her gap of escape closing when she heard something running up behind her. She quickened her pace. She could hear the gap between her and whatever was behind her closing in drastically.