The Darkness Beyond the Stars

Chapter Sixteen: I almost freeze to death

Sweat trickled down my spine. The night was cool, but the still air of the forest stifled everything into thick silence. Whenever the silence broke with a crack or a rustle it made me jump and twist to make sure I wasn't followed. We had been going at a brisk walk for a few hours, at least. Every so often, I pulled out the compass, making sure I was still heading south. I sighed. My arm and side were sore from the movement. The trees were thicker now. On my left hand, the ground dropped away suddenly, plunging down. I leaned over as far as I dared, and caught the glint of water at the bottom of the ravine.

Crack!

I jumped, and Fey bolted. We crashed forward, somehow avoiding the branches and not falling to our deaths below. It seemed like hours before I reined in and looked around, my heart still pounding.

Still darkness surrounded us on all sides, thicker than any I'd seen before. I took out the compass and peered at it. In the shadowy light, the needle spun, then settled, and I urged Fey onward. I tried to calm my heart, but it still pounded like a drum. After a long while of no strange sounds, I finally relaxed. Then, after a very long time of nothing even remotely interesting happening, my eyes drooped.

.....

I jerked upright, whipping my head from side to side. The forest was a dim golden grey. Fey wasn't moving anymore. I scanned the trees. Had I seriously fallen asleep, and slept until morning? 

See?? I said I fell asleep when I really shouldn't.

I fumbled around, looking for my compass, but it wasn't in my bag. My eyes widened. I had been holding it, last I remembered. Blast. I must've dropped it halfway through the night. I looked up, craning to see the sky, but the trees were thick and tall here. The bushes and brush were gone too. I took a deep breath. How far off could I have gone?

"Lots." I muttered. Ahead, a hill sloped up at a sharp angle. If I went up, I might be able to see something. I urged Fey on, and he jogged forward with a burst of energy. I leaned as far forward as I could as we went up the hill, not really wanting to take a tumble.

Once we made it to the crest of the hill, I stopped Fey and looked around. In front, the ground was flat, and the trees were shorter and farther apart. I tried to make out the sky again, but the trees still towered up ahead, blocking any blue from showing. And it was impossible to tell at the point where the light was coming from. And to top it all off, the trees were bare of branches close enough to reach, even if I would stand on Fey's back.

"Well, if I'm right, we are pretty close to the south edge of the forest." I petted his neck. "Either that, or we've walked clear to the north edge. Which I doubt."

I let Fey trot forward. If we were close to the edge, then we were still heading the right way. I pushed Fey faster, and he happily obliged. The trees that flew by became even smaller, until I could see brighter light through the trees ahead. 

Right when the trees were shrunk down to saplings, we shot out of the forest, into blinding golden light that shone from the left. I reined in. "Yes!!" We were still headed south, and I could see hills up ahead, and mountains behind then, purple against the sky. 

I slumped, and smiled a little, but then winced. My side and arm throbbed now that we weren't moving. "Let's get away from the forest, then we can rest some." The memory of the horrible parchment snatched at my thoughts, and I shuddered. We couldn't rest long. Raön was most likely a couple days ahead of me, and probably moving fast. I touched Fey with my heels, heading towards the hills.

We rested after about an hour, then were off again. I watched in amazement as the hills went on for miles, sloping up, then down, covered in thick grass and jagged rock outcrops. Never had I seen anything like it. A swift breeze made my eyes water at the tops of the hills. The sun disappeared behind clouds now and then, causing me to glance up nervously, making sure we were still on course.

When the sun dipped low in the west, and the breeze became cold, I started looking for a place to shelter for the night. I shivered. Why was it so cold?

So NOW I know that there was a freak cold spell. My intuition was right, it SHOULD have been warm. But of course, the weather hated me.

I was going south, not blasted north. I didn't want to sleep at the top of a hill, where the wind was whistling through the rocks and grass, but the bottoms of the hills were all muddy, or had a stream running on its way.

I went on, determined to find a dry spot. Soon, the sun touched the horizon, and the air became even colder. I drew my cloak around me. Up ahead, a lumpy group of rocks caught my eye. Maybe there was a nice hole in one where I could curl up. I dismounted, and circled the rocks. The ones around the perimeter were about as tall as me, and sharp all over. About ten feet in, the rocks towered at least twice as tall as I was. I chose a spot facing north, away from the wind, in a shallow depression about three feet wide. I unsaddled Fey, and rubbed him down, then he bent his neck and tore up chunks of the coarse grass. I couldn't tie him up, but he should stay close. Hopefully.

The light was dim purple by now. I looked around. No wood. I didn't know how to start a fire anyway. So I settled down in my cloak and chewed on dried meat.

"Uggghhh." I grimaced. Who actually likes this stuff? I shoved the rest of the chunk in my mouth and swallowed it as fast as I could, but of course it stuck, and I hacked and choked on it until it finally slid down my throat.

I gulped about a cup of water from my flask, then stuffed it back in my bag and curled up. The cold air seeped through my cloak and bit at my skin. The sky above darkened to dark blue, and the stars shone like tiny fires. They urged me to stay awake, but my eyes were heavy and my brain foggy. I closed my eyes.

.......

Something oddly warm was pressed over my mouth. I jolted, and clawed at it.

"Lilya?"

I froze, and the thing left my mouth. "Raön?" I squinted into the dark, and could make out a shape in front of me. "Raön!" Then I shivered so hard my side started hurting again. I couldn't feel my feet anymore. Or my hands, for that matter. Was that bad? "I followed you." I shivered again, and wrapped my cloak around me tighter. Was there something I was supposed to tell Raön? "You left without me."

"Yes, because you were safe there!"

"I'm not...wasn't." But why? I closed my eyes tightly. He took one of my hands.

"You're frozen!"

I tried to nod, but that seemed like too much effort, and I tipped over instead. He caught me, and I was enveloped by something warm and soft. "Fur." I mumbled to myself, and twisted so that my face was shielded from the cold air. It pressed against something warm and solid, a shoulder maybe. "Found you." I whispered, then closed my eyes, curled my feet under me, and drifted off.

.....

Raön watched Lilya in the dim light, his eyes wide, everything in him screaming to send her back. He had left without telling her, because if he had told her, he knew she would end up talking him out of it. She had been safe in the castle. But whenever he thought about actually sending her back, he knew he couldn't do it. The very thought tore at him. He had no way to protect her that way, and he couldn't send the Aeior back with her.

He bent his head and pressed his lips to her forehead. He would keep her safe. 

Then he stopped. WHY. Ugh. This was getting ridiculous. But he looked down at her, and rolled his eyes. He'd work through all this tomorrow.

Keeping her wrapped in the cloak, he laid down, pulling her as close to him as he could. She hadn't brought a tent or even an actual warm cloak. He laughed a little, but froze when she moved slightly. The Aeior was standing guard a few feet away, so once she stopped moving, he closed his eyes.