Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 348

Chapter 348: Crossing
Since Mia could clearly see where they were headed, she searched for the monster with her magic. It had been drawn to the far edge of the pool when the horses had entered, but now… something was drawing it around. The pull was changing direction, moving around behind them, and quickly.

Ford was struggling, and though she couldn’t figure out exactly what was going on as his hand twisted against hers, she figured it must have to do with his horse.

Terrified, she yanked on his arm. They had to move, and now. If the horse was a liability, then they had to do what Grandpa said and release the creature.

At least Harper was behaving!

Ford reacted to her movement by trying to pull away from her, but she gripped his hand all the more tightly. Part of her motivation was fear of trying to make her way across alone, and part of it was terror that he would try and pull something heroic by holding off the monster by himself!

He relented, staying with her as they fought their way quickly through the waist-deep water. Her skirts were sodden, and beginning to tangle around her legs. She should have known better.

She would never try to swim in all this clothing, why would wading in it be that much better? The mere fact of having her feet on the ground did not guarantee she could move as easily as she needed to!

Mia struggled on, focusing on her father’s anxious expression. He, too, had begun throwing things in a desperate attempt to distract the creature from seeking the pair in the water.

Water splashed against Mia’s back and Harper’s reins tugged and swayed. The horse was frightened, and ready to bolt. Mia debated dropping the lead and letting the horse fend for herself, but the poor animal was blinded by the cover on her face.

Mia couldn’t even call out to comfort her horse, as Ford’s magic made her silent as well as invisible!

The waves and splashing behind her were affecting Ford; his hand’s hold weakened on hers and he succeeded in pulling away this time, after a final squeeze on hers.

What was happening??

She couldn’t see or hear him, but his message had been clear; he wouldn’t let go of her unless he had to. Unless he had no other choice.

“Don’t look back! Run! Don’t look back!”

The cry from Seth was one born of knowing his daughter all too well. Though he couldn’t see her, he must know something was going terribly wrong. He also knew her propensity for compassion and reacting before she thought through consequences to herself, like when she jumped a fence to help pull a struggling calf without regard to the panicking cow.

Did he know she was still all right, or was he guessing?

She had no time to consider all of it, but instinct urged her to obey her father’s voice. Without looking back, she fled forward at the top speed her tangled legs could manage, giving little heed to the disturbance in the water she would make.

Harper bucked and pulled but didn’t resist the forward motion nearly as much as any other horse would.

She trusted her master.

When Mia made it to the gentle incline out of the water, she rushed up the final bit and, as soon as she was sure Harper was also out of the water, turned back.

The pool was a roiling cauldron of waves and bubbles, now tinged an ominous shade of red. Mia’s heart rose to her throat, and she dropped Harper’s reins, knowing the horse would stay put on the dry land.

“FORD!”

The scream from her throat was her first clue that she was no longer invisible. No longer silent. And yet, she couldn’t see him.

She looked for the monster, and her eyes were drawn to the scaled creature now making its way back across the water, as if patrolling.

And yet, she could see no one in the water. Did not feel the secondary pull she’d come to treasure… but that could easily be the case if…

She focused all her magic on finding the man, and felt the tug. Her eyes were drawn to empty water.

“FORD!!” She screamed again. Arms came around her from behind as her father hugged her and pulled her back from the edge. Back from where the monster could easily reach.

It was useless; the beast had legs. If it wanted to kill her, it could.

“Don’t draw it here. It will block his way out,” Her father whispered calmly.

He was right, and Mia shut down. Froze her voice and herself. Her eyes flickered to the large projection of the chimera which the creature apparently knew enough about now to ignore. Maybe it had taken a bite of empty air and figured out the illusion.

Maybe the real ripples making their way through the water had drawn it away from the pretended creature. Who could tell?

The water calmed, but the pull remained. It was moving, slowly, towards the incline at the edge of the pool. Mia’s heart was in her throat, and she stared.

Was Ford moving carefully so that he didn’t draw the creature’s attention, or was he injured, and unable to move any faster?

“Do we have any of the healing water? On this side?” She whispered.

“It’s mostly on the packhorses,” Seth tensed. “I might have one of the canteens on my mount.”

Mia closed her eyes, hard, before opening them again. As long as Ford was invisible, he must still be alive. Concentrating on him, she stared.

“Please, Ford, please.” She whispered again. Seth’s arms held her a little tighter as if she might bolt back into the water.

A small disturbance of water at the edge of the ramp made her heart stop. A few overwrought seconds later, Ford flickered into sight.

He collapsed at the top of the ramp, dripping with blood.