Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 349

Chapter 349: Hoofprint
Ford winced, then rolled onto his side and pushed himself up to his knees. One of his hands still gripped the reins.

He closed his eyes. The torn, bloody halter he held was useless now. He forced his fingers to release the leather remnants, dropping the object on the ground as the last evidence of the horse it had led so shortly before.

“Ford,” Mia’s suddenly close voice startled him, and he looked up, directly into her perfect blue eyes.

She was a mix of relieved and panicked, and her fingers came up to gently comb through his wet hair, probing his scalp.

“Where are you hurt?” She whispered desperately, tilting her head to look at the sides of his face.

“I’m fine,” He panted, exhausted from the rush of adrenaline that made his heart thunder like a galloping horse.

“Ford, you’re covered in blood,” Seth’s voice joined Mia’s as he knelt next to the pair. “You may be in shock.”

“I’m fine,” He insisted.

“Can you let us check?” Seth’s question wasn’t really a question. It seemed more like an attempt to alert Ford as to what would happen, whether he liked it or not.

Ford nodded slowly, and Mia lifted one of his arms, moving under it and around to his back, her fingers poking here and there. He winced, and remembered what felt like a hoof striking his back.

Just before…

“I think it swallowed the horse nearly whole,” Ford looked at them somberly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save it.”

“You saved me,” Mia shook her head in vehement rejection of his apology.

“Tell me what happened, slowly,” Seth urged as Mia continued to look Ford over.

Ford watched Seth raise an arm and wave at the others on the other side of the water. Some sort of sign that it wasn’t dire, he supposed.

“The horse began to panic,” Ford flinched as Mia zeroed in on the injured spot on his back.

“I’m going to lift your shirt back here,” She warned. Ford’s eyes widened, but Seth didn’t react to his daughter declaring her intent to partially undress the young man.

“What then?” Seth asked.

“I tried to calm it, but the splashing must have drawn the monster’s attention.”

“Yes, that’s when it began to move, when the water was disturbed,” Mia agreed as she pulled the wet fabric loose from Ford’s waistband and lifted it high enough to get a look at the place that hurt.

“When the monster got close, it got worse. The horse kicked. Hoof caught me in the back, I think. I let go of Mia’s hand, hoping she would run.”

“That terrified me,” She chided, “I knew you would try to stay behind and stall it so I could get away!”

“I turned both hands to try to calm the animal, but… the reins went slack. So I moved away as slowly as I could, and kept Mia invisible until I was sure she must be out of the water.”

“I should have gone faster,” She told him, “but my skirts were getting tangled in the water. Aunt Annie should wear pants when she crosses, if she can borrow any from Grandpa.”

Ford tensed as he realized he would still need to make the trip back and forth several more times.

“I can’t do that again right now,” He winced as he gave the news. It made him feel cowardly.

“We can try everyone else tomorrow,” Seth frowned. “If you’re up for it.”

“Papa, look,” Mia whispered as she pulled Ford’s shirt up to his neck in the back.

Seth sucked in a breath through his teeth as he leaned around to look at the injury.

“Or the day after,” He amended. “I… I’ll go check if I have that water in my pack.”

It took Ford a moment to understand what they were talking about.

“No, don’t waste that on me, I’m fine,” He insisted, though he was not feeling quite himself.

“You’re not in charge here, Ford,” Mia chastised, and he chuckled despite the seriousness in her voice.

He looked up, across the water, to where translucent letters hovered in the air above Daniel and the rest of the group.

It seemed they didn’t want to risk trying to yell across the water, knowing what was in it. That was probably wise.

[IS FORD ALL RIGHT?]

The question hung there, waiting for an answer. Ford winced, not wanting to lie to them, but also not really knowing how to communicate back easily.

His powers were not especially helpful at the moment.

He marveled slightly at the ingenuity of projecting large letters instead of images, but then, Daniel was a clever boy. He probably thought of such a thing ages ago but rarely had need of the skill.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ford watched as Mia raised one arm and gestured with it.

“What did you tell them?” He murmured.

“Nothing really,” She frowned. “Normally we have Grandma around to manipulate sound and make voices carry further than they should.”

Ford’s head was swimming slightly, and breathing felt more difficult. He concentrated on that over furthering the conversation.

Mia’s face came back into his field of vision.

“Ford?”

“Hm?” He lacked the will to engage more than that.

“Stay with me. Please.” Her eyes were more earnest than the question called for. Where else would he go?

“I’m not leaving,” He smiled slightly, but she didn’t smile back.

“Papa?” She raised her voice slightly and called to the man that stood by the three horses. “Did you find it?”

“I’m looking, Mia.” Seth said back. “Did you keep any on your horse?”

Suddenly, she left Ford’s side. Exhausted after wading across the pond back and forth and using his magic, Ford decided to lay down.

Well, decided was a strong word. He found himself laying down without any real decision to do so. That was probably normal, thought. His back throbbed and his breathing was tight. As the adrenaline began to recede, he felt more and more like going to sleep.

Sleep was healing, right? He would feel better after a nap.

Closing his eyes, he promised himself he would get the others across as soon as he woke up.