After hanging up with Mary, I forced the pace. Raven and Mark both questioned me, but I just shook my head and continued on with grim determination. That is, until we came to a cliff. I pulled Rocky up abruptly. “crap.”I exclaimed as I was thrown forward and found myself,thankfully still in the saddle, but staring down the dizzying chasm. “Rocky, back up, please.”I requested shakily. When she did, I took a deep, steadying breath. “what now?”Raven asked.
“I don't know.”
“what's that?”Mark pointed. In the distance there was a dark line crossing the chasm. “you have got to be kidding me.”I led the way towards it. “seriously?”I asked, incredulous. Right there was a flimsy-looking wooden bridge. And I thought these were only found in remote countries and Indiana Jones movies. Coming up with a plan, I dismounted. “alright, I guess this is our only way across. Here's what we're going to do. Raven is gonna go first, then we'll send the horses.”
“not all of us have Obsidian dragons in disguise.”Raven said. “Lore is not gonna go across the bridge willingly.”
“then, we'll tie her reins to Rocky's saddle. Rocky can drag her across if she has to. Actually, it's probably best that way. Rocky can Shift if the bridge falls, and keep Lore and Tempest from falling with it. The point is, I don't want to put more strain on the bridge than necessary.”
“alright, fine. I see your point. So, me, then the horses, then you and Mark, right?”
“right.”
without any further comment, she trotted across the bridge. I swallowed my nausea as the bridge swayed under her. Raven, though, didn't seem to care. We tied the horses one behind the other and I sent Rocky off with a kiss on the nose. She stepped carefully onto the bridge, which creaked and swayed. I held my breath as they made their way across. When they were safely on the other side, I stepped up to the edge of the bridge.
And froze.
I couldn't do it. I couldn't make myself step onto this flimsy,rotting wooden bridge knowing it would sway and creak under me. “what's wrong? Scared of heights?”Mark teased from behind me. I didn't answer. “really?”he asked seriously. “alright.”he stepped around me and onto the bridge, turning to me, he reached out his hands. Without thinking, I took it. He pulled me, gently but firmly, onto the bridge. And I let out a small scream and my grip tightened on his hand. “it's okay. Look at me.”I did, and his melt-me brown eyes were soothing. “it's okay. Just follow me,okay?”he took a step and I did too. The bridge swayed and, alarmed, I looked away from him and down. “no, no. Hope? Hope, look at me. Don't look at the water, look at me.”slowly, I looked back at him. We took a few more steps, him still walking backwards and keeping my eyes locked with his. The bridge swayed harder and I yelped. Unbalanced, I would have fallen if not for Mark stepping toward me and wrapping his arms around my middle. My hands gripped his shoulders, but I was still shaking and not feeling very secure. “I don't want to fall.”I whimpered pathetically.
“Hope, look at me.”he took a step back as the bridge steadied and his hands gripped my elbows as mine gripped his forearms. “You're not gonna fall. I won't let you.”I started to look down again, but he stopped me. “Hope, look at me. Just at me.”we locked eyes again. “I will never let you fall.”he promised me. My eyes stayed on his as we made our way across the rest of the bridge. When we reached solid, safe land again, it took me a moment to release Mark. When I did, I looked over at Raven, who looked equal parts shocked and triumphant. I rolled my eyes at her and mounted Rocky. “no time to waste. Maya's in danger. If Baen gets her to Helgoth, the world is lost.” Instead of asking questions, they mounted their own horses and we set off again.
It was soon after that I realized we had no real idea where to find Baen. I shook my head at my lack of proper planning and pulled up, prompting my companions to do the same, pulled out my phone and dialled Cassidee's number. She'd given it to me before we left. “Hello?”
“Cass, it's Hope.”
“what's up?”
“I need some info. I realized how stupidly unplanned this was, and I don't know where to start looking for Baen. Where would he go?”
there was silence for a moment. “there's a warehouse on the Texas-Oklahoma border,directly south of Tulsa. We used to hunker down there if something went wrong on a mission and we needed to hide. If he's taking Hope to Helgoth, who we think is still in Oklahoma, he'll head there, rest, and then take her the rest of the way.”
“We really don't have time for 'if's and 'we think's, Cass.”
“I know. I know. But that's the best I can do. Assuming Helgoth is still in Oklahoma and assuming Baen does indeed work for Helgoth, it's a good bet he'll go there.”
“Alright. This bet better pay off, or we're all screwed. Talk to you later, Cass.”
“okay. Bye.”
“what was that about?”My head snapped to the right and I saw Mark, his gorgeous steel dapple gray shifting impatiently under him. “getting some info. Cass knows this guy, so I figured she'd be the best place to get it from.” for a second, I met his eyes. But I looked away when I felt the blush creeping into my face. Ugh, I never blushed. “warehouse on the Texas-Oklahoma border.”I told my companions. “if he's anywhere before he hands her over to Helgoth, it's there. We're in a race for my cousin's life. Let's go.”
for two days, we rode hard, waking up very early and riding well into the night. One night, I was woken up by rustling in the bushes. Raven and Mark were close by on either side of me, so, trying not to let who or whatever it was know that I was awake, I reached and and tapped Mark's arm. I looked over out of the corner of my eye and saw him with his eyes on me. “we're being watched.” I mouthed. He nodded almost imperceptably. We waited, keeping our breathing deep and steady, waiting for whoever it was to make a move.
Finally, footsteps. Booted footsteps, so at least human form. I lowered my eyelids until my eyes were only open a slit and waited. I felt rather than saw the intruder stop by my legs. Big mistake on their part. I scissored their legs out from under them and rolled over,my hand going to their throat and my knee digging into their chest. “who are you? Why are you following us? Who sent you?”I demanded.
“can't...breathe.”he choked out.
I loosened my grip marginally. “who are you?”
“m-my name's--”whatever he was choking out was cut off by Mark cursing as he came over with a flashlight. “Matt?”
I stilled. “Matt?”I repeated, looking at my captive, then at Mark. “your brother?”
“let him up, Hope.”Mark said. I let out a disgusted sigh and stood. Matt took gasping breaths as I lifted the pressure from his throat and lungs. “what the hell are you thinkin', Man?”Mark asked his brother, helping him to his feet. “sneaking up on us in the middle of the night? In the middle of a hunt?”
“I got in from the cooperative hunt in Massachusetts, and found out Maya was kidnapped. I just wanted to help, man. She's my friend,too, you know?”
“look, I get it, okay? But... dude, just call next time, alright?”he was about to respond when I cut them off. “Hate to interrupt the family moment, but we are in the middle of a hunt, and, Mark, I get that this is your brother, but he's not coming with us.”
“Hope, can I talk to you for a second?”Mark asked. I nodded and we walked out of hearing range of the others. “look, I know it's unexpected, and maybe inconvenient, but Matt's a good hunter. He's also a great guy and Maya's friend.”
“I get that. I'm sure's he's a fantastic hunter, Mark, but I chose you and Raven to come on this hunt with me for a reason. An impromptu fourth member is not in the cards.”
“please?”
my jaw dropped at the word. Then I snapped it shut and tried to scowl as he gave me a pleading look. I crossed my arms and tried to scowl. “just because those big stupid brown eyes worked when you were a dog, doesn't mean they work on me now.”I said. He smiled a little and kept up the look. I growled and caved. “alright! Fine. Just... wipe that look off your face.”
he beamed at me. “works every time.”he kissed my cheek, fairly leaving me speechless, and we went back to the others. I made a real scowl at Matt. “do you have a horse?”
“he's a few yards thataway.”he pointed to his left.
“good. You can come, but you'd better live up to your brother's sterling reccomendation.”
having Matt around turned Raven very giggly. Mary had warned me that her long-time friend was a bit boy-crazy. Here was the evidence. Every time matt flashed his little blonde-haired,blue eyed dimple smile at her, she blushed like crazy. by the end of the day, I felt like if I rolled my eyes any harder they'd stick there. it was around noon that day when we started noticing huge, chainlink fences. "looks like we're in some kind of industrial area."Matt said.
"good."I said. "that means we're getting close. keep your eyes open and your mouths shut."we eased to a walk, following the fence until we reached a place where it had been bent nearly double, making it half the height of the rest of it, though it was still national height standards for horse jumping. "how good of a jumper are your horses?"I asked my friends.
"we can make that."Mark said. Matt nodded in agreement.
Raven looked less sure. Matt turned to her. "it's alright. Lore's from the base where I lived most of my life. she's a fantastic jumper."Raven smiled shakily at him.
"Rave, you okay?"I asked.
"I'm fine. I've just never... never jumped that high before."
"okay, I'll go first."I said, and they nodded, taking their horses out of the way. I swung Rocky away from the fence and urged her a few paces away before swinging her back around and urging her into a lope. "You're call,girl."I told her, letting her have her head. she set a fast pace and leaped over the fence with ease. I was grateful for the continued riding lessons I'd been receiving. a moment later, Mark and Tempest landed and came over beside Rocky and I. Matt came next, and his horse, Informant, was an impeccable jumper. finally, Raven positioned Lore in front of the fence and urged her on. one leap later and Raven was pulling her up and bringing her back around to us. "good job, Raven."
we didn't have time to praise her technique. we were close to the warehouse and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest in anticipation. when the warehouse came into sight, I dismounted, gesturing for the others to do the same. I left Rocky as she was, but the others had to tie up their horses. I took my sword from where it was tied on the saddle and strapped it to my belt, arming and loading my crossbow,clipping the quiver of bolts to my belt as well. when the others had armed themselves as well- Mark with a pair of short swords, Raven with a bow and arrow and a pair of Rogue Knives, Matt with a big broadsword, we crept towards the warehouse. my eyes scanned the grounds and I held up a hand before pointing at the silver dodge half hidden behind trees. "there's definitely someone here."I told the others in a hushed voice. they nodded and we continued to creep forward. we found a door leading into what would have been the main floor locked with a pretty solid padlock. since slicing it would have been too loud- admittedly,cool, but loud, we went in search of another way in. luckily for us, one of the loading bay doors had fallen from it's roller and we got inside. I gestured for the others to come closer. "okay, we know there's someone here, so be careful. make as little noise as possible, and watch yourself. but don't slice anything that moves. make sure it's not a normal human or animal before you slice and dice. alright? let's go."there was a clatter and footsteps and I gestured for the others to stop as I crept around the corner. I listened closely, my crossbow held against my chest. when the footsteps were close enough, I spun around the corner, lowering my crossbow. they screamed. I stared at her. "Maya?"
"Hope?"she responded, lowering her hand from where it had flown to her mouth. "what are you doing here?"
I was about to respond when, "Maya."her face lit up and she darted past me. "Mark!"she hugged him.
"Maya,"
"Matt!"she hugged him,too.
"Maya."
"Raven."she hugged her,too, briefly, then finally came back to me with a hug. "what are you all doing here?"
"we're rescuing you."
"well, thank goodness for that, because I can't drive a standard."
"we came on horseback."
"You didn't bring my horse, did you?"she asked,her brow creasing in worry.
"no. I'm sorry. I should have thought of that."
"No, I'm glad you didn't bring her. Larissa is Angel's dam."
"okay. well, Rocky's strong enough to take two at full speed. let's go."
"wait! you can't just walk me out of here."
"Why not?"
"Hello? Baen's a dragon. a shifter? he could have taken my form and be trying to trick you. and don't say that me bringing this up proves he didn't, because he could be tricking you into thinking exactly that."Matt pointed his sword at her chest. "she's got a point."he said.
she gave him a scathing look. "I was just pointing out facts,Matt. it's really me, Maya, or else I wouldn't know that you've got a birthmark on your--"
"ooh-kay."I interrupted. "let's get out of here before Baen really shows up."
her smile faded as she looked over my shoulder. "too late."I spun around and saw him. only, he wasn't anything like I expected. the picture Cass had sent me was of a good-looking guy with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. this guy- this thing did have sandy blonde hair, but his eyes were blood red, it's face was scaly and it's hands ended in claws. I stepped forward around Mark and the others. "Hope, what now?"Mark asked, his hand on his sword.
"get Maya out of here."
"But, Hope--"Maya protested.
"Helgoth needs you, we have to get you out of danger! Matt, take her."he nodded,took her by the arm, and ran. "Raven, Mark, you, too."
"you brought us on this hunt for support and backup."Raven argued
I spun on my heel and looked at them. "I brought you on this hunt, so that, if I didn't make it out, you could protect Maya! now, go!"Raven gave a pained, torn look before running after Matt and Maya. I looked at Mark. "What are you still doing here? go!"
he glared at me, then stepped closer and kissed me. when he pulled back, he kissed my cheek, too. "Don't you dare die on me, Teller."he whispered in my ear, then he ran. a snarl behind me brought me crashing back to earth and I spun around. amazingly, Baen hadn't attacked while I'd been arguing with my friends. I faced him and drew my sword. "You want a fight, you ugly bug? well, come on!"I screamed the last two words and charged. he blocked my first strike with his arm and it was like hitting a freaking mountain.
it. hurt.
my arms vibrated and my sword,well, my sword shattered into a dozen tiny pieces. Baen hissed in triumph and slashed at me with his claws. I ducked and retreated quickly. I was looking around for an advantage, but I had to admit that this was his territory, not mine. the advantage here was his. he charged me and I blocked him with my arms, which made me wince, and kicked him in the gut, twice, before punching him in the nose and tossing him away. he landed on his back and rolled to his feet, this time with two daggers in his hands. "ah, now that's just rude."I said, panting. my only other weapon was my crossbow and Baen was too close to use it on. still, maybe I could... I uncapped my quiver and took out a bolt. the razor sharp head gleamed in the dim light. I looked up just in time to avoid Baen's slicing attack. I ducked under his next slash and drove the head of the bolt into his leg before scrambling away. he fell to the ground and I ran, I was almost at the door when something slammed into me and the next thing I knew, everything went dark.
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uh oh, what happened? is Hope alright? I KNOW, cliffhangers suck. but I have plans, guys, I promise. updating ASAP