Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 346

Chapter 346: Blindfolded swimming
Mia watched as her father and Ford covered their horses’ eyes with their coats, securing the makeshift blindfolds carefully to the halters.

Both barefoot, the men were risking getting stepped on by their mounts rather than have soaked boots that would impede their speed in case fleeing became necessary.

Since the horses were blinded, it would be up to the humans to convince them to get over the lip of the shelf and into the water, and then urge them through the pool and up the ramp-like formation on the other side to the next level.

“Are you sure you don’t want your boots on for this?” Mia asked, grimacing.

The horses, and the men, would be invisible, and the horses blinded entirely. A foot could easily get stepped on and crushed by a hoof in the process.

“You two, walk as far ahead as the reins will let you,” Grandpa opined. “From back here, I’ll urge the horses up and over. That should leave enough room for them to get in without injuring you, so long as they don’t panic.”

Seth nodded solemnly. Ford put on a brave face, but Mia could tell he was nervous. He would have to be concentrating on keeping his magic active at the same time that he guided her father and two horses across the treacherous pool.

As soon as they vanished at the edge, Grandpa stepped forward and placed his hand on the invisible neck of Ford’s horse, Storm.

“Steady, Boy,” He said calmly.

It was curious watching his hand rest confidently on empty air, especially when it seemed to buck slightly under his guidance. He waited several seconds so that Ford and Seth could get into position, and then ran his left hand down the horse’s side and to its nearest foreleg.

“Ok, Boy, lift this up,” Grandpa encouraged, tapping the back of the leg–although it looked like an exercise in miming. He smiled slightly as the horse apparently complied, and then backed off rapidly as the water nearest to him moved, like a silent splash. “Woah, woah there.”

“Is Storm ok?” Mia asked anxiously, and Grandpa held out both arms, feeling the air in front of him.

“He lurched forward, so I think he’s in the water now.” Grandpa looked where the water was beginning to settle with anxiety in his features. Would that disturb the creature, and pull its attention?

Mia looked for the creature, and was drawn first to the far edge of the pool… but the tug was moving. Changing direction, moving to investigate what had disturbed its water.

“No!” She gasped.

Anaisa’s face contorted with worry, and she looked to the wall of the cliff, where one of the drooping stalactite-like formations hung down towards their step. Acting quickly, she kicked it until a piece broke off, and then picked it up to throw to the furthest part of the pool she could hit.

“Daniel, project some sort of threat over there. A chimera or something,” Anaisa directed.

The child straightened his shoulders and suddenly, an image appeared just where the splash had occurred.

The lion’s mouth of the chimera bared its teeth, the snake head on the creature’s tail waving in the dance of a cobra about to strike.

The ripples across the pool intensified just before the monster’s jaws broke the surface of the water. Mia gasped as it tried to snap the chimera in half before plunging back into the basin.

Daniel made the projection dart out of the way, distracting the beast. Grandpa worked quickly to urge the second horse into the water while the monster continued to lunge at its imaginary foe.

As the splash settled, the pretended chimera moved beyond the edge of the pool, waiting and staring. Mia kept tabs on the enormous white crocodile, whose eyes now hovered just over the surface of the water, staring at the intruder with malice.

In her peripheral vision, she saw her father appear, soaked but safe, along with both horses, on the next level of the cliffside. Ford flickered into sight long enough to look himself up and down for injury before vanishing once more.

The monster didn’t appear to move a muscle for a time, and soon, Ford reappeared beside the group, out of breath and pale, but smiling.

“It worked… so far.”

“One down,” Grandpa agreed. “Who’s next?”

“I want to go!” Daniel chimed, not breaking his concentration on the lifelike chimera. “I’m doing a great job!”

“You can make it leave for a few moments, if you need to rest,” Grandpa said. “We need to plan out the next phase carefully, now that we have more information.”

“Yes,” Anaisa said, almost as pale as Ford. “That was alarming.”

“The horses are a problem,” Mia noted. “The movement of them entering the water, even though it was silent, got the monster’s attention. We’ll need someone to throw things into the water, and Daniel to project a distraction every time they go in.”

“And my help to get them to take the leap of faith.” Grandpa nodded. “So, next person to go should be either Mia or Anaisa, taking two more of the horses each time.”

“Mia should go next,” Anaisa decided. “She’s the most important person in the mission, we should make sure she gets across.”

“What if the monster catches on to the trick?” Ford asked grimly. “What then? Is there a back up plan?”

“As much as these animals are loved and helpful, they don’t compare in value to your lives,” Grandpa looked at them seriously. “If that monster comes after you, you drop the reins and run. Understand?”

Mia looked at Harper with worry in her eyes. “But…”

“That’s a last resort, of course. We want all of us and the animals to get across safe,” Grandpa assured her. “But if it comes down to your life or hers, there’s no hesitation. Got it?”

Mia nodded solemnly. “Yes, Grandpa.”

“All right,” He nodded. “Now, give me a minute to figure out the next thing to throw, and we’ll see if our little system will work again.”

The young woman inhaled deeply, and closed her eyes, her heart racing with trepidation. When she opened them again, Ford was holding out his hand for hers.

Maybe, just maybe, they could make it across without injury.