by T. A. White
For most of Eva’s life, the mist had been a scary story her mother told her at bedtime. Mysterious and strange. Those who were caught in its depths ran the risk of never finding their way home again, cursed to forever wander the haze.
It turned out the stories were true and the mist was back for all of the Broken Lands, not just the Highlands and Badlands.
The pathfinders were some of the few who could navigate the mist without becoming lost, and the Trateri had been quick to negotiate an alliance with them. An army who couldn’t move wasn’t much good. The pathfinders’ abilities meant the Trateri never needed to fear the mist like the rest of the Broken Lands did.
Caia's head lifted, her ears pointing forward as she came to a stop. Eva glanced around, suddenly alert. Horses were a prey animal. They were aware of their environment in a way humans weren't. Listening to them had saved Eva's life more than once.
Eva took in their surroundings. Nothing seemed to be amiss. The vista showed the same serene calm.
Caia started forward again, her passage much more tentative. Her ears flicked and swiveled as if listening to something Eva had missed.
Eva strained, trying to sense what had put her friend on edge.
A faint snort followed by the sound of a small stamp had Eva relaxing.
A horse.
She glanced back at the camp with the herd and pastures. How did one get all the way out here? And how come no one had noticed it was missing?
Most of the herd tended to stick close together, but every once in a while, a few decided to go exploring. That was probably the case now.
Eva threw her leg over Caia and dismounted. Might as well collect the wayward horse and return it to its herd.
It was likely from one of the smaller herds that belonged to one of the other clans. Maybe Ember Clan or Lion Clan. She knew both the herd masters for those clans, and it was no problem doing them the favor, knowing they’d inevitably do the same for her at some point.
Eva paused as her wrist protested with a sharp throb. She rubbed it absently, before adjusting the small satchel she still wore.
The horse wasn't going to catch itself.
Eva approached the boulder where the sound had originated cautiously, trying not to make any noise. She didn't want to spook the horse before she could get close enough. Spending half the afternoon chasing it down didn’t appeal to her.
Her shirt was grasped from behind and yanked, nearly strangling her in the process. Eva whirled, or tried to anyway, only to find Caia had ahold of her shirt with her teeth.
"What are you doing?"
Caia glared and shook her head, nearly tearing Eva's shirt in the process.
"Let go!" Eva hissed.
This was one of only two shirts she owned. She didn't want to have to replace it.
Caia dropped the shirt but still glared at Eva as if silently saying, she didn't like this.
Eva's gaze softened and she patted Caia on the nose. "I know, you and me both, but if it was you who was lost, I'd want someone to find you."
Caia blew a harsh breath out but clopped after Eva reluctantly when the she started forward again.
Before she rounded the boulder, Eva reached into her satchel for the small blade she kept there. It was a gift from Hardwick, something small but mighty. Throwaways weren't allowed weapons since some idiot might decide to attack a Trateri and end up dead as a result. Eva didn't consider herself a throwaway, so she figured the rule didn't apply to her.
As long as she kept the presence of the knife to herself and Hardwick, she felt it was safe enough.
It wouldn't be particularly effective against a trained warrior, but Eva could attest to its sharpness, having accidentally sliced her fingers a time or two. Perhaps it would give her enough time to escape if what was behind the boulder wasn't a horse at all.
Caia followed reluctantly, making it clear she didn't like this plan but was too loyal to abandon Eva to her deserved fate.
Eva stepped around the boulder and came to an abrupt stop, the small blade hanging forgotten in her hand. She made a strangled, wheezing sound.
Because what stood in front of her wasn't the horse she'd been expecting. Nor was it one of the goats or other grazing animals the pathfinders kept in their keep and the surrounding lands.
No, this was something else entirely.
A mythological. Proud. Fierce. Slightly terrifying as he glared balefully at her.
He had the form of a horse, but with wings folded against his back and two lethal looking horns jutting from his brow.
He was the color of deepest night, even the sun's full power did nothing to relieve the utter darkness of his coat.
Had he been a horse, he would have been one the most gorgeous specimens Eva had ever seen—with the exception of Caia.
He wasn't, though. He was a mythological—a feared beast, capable of killing and eating her.
Eva had seen a creature like this once before—under the cover of night when Shea had bargained for safe passage on her journey to the Badlands.
That experience had done nothing to prepare her for now. Coming face to face with a mythological wasn't for the faint of heart in the best of circumstances. Doing it alone? With only Caia at her back?
It made her lightheaded from terror.
Eva fought the urge to take a step back. Showing fear would be the worst thing she could do right now, even if fear was the sensible emotion to feel.
The beast shifted as a low groan of pain escaped him.
The movement brought Eva out of her shock. He was injured.
With the fear pushed aside so she could think again, she could see what she'd missed earlier. He favored his right leg. The wings she'd thought folded against his back were in fact ensnared in some kind of mesh net. Blood trickled slowly from them.
The injuries were likely the reason he hadn't taken off as soon as he sensed her, like so many of his brethren did whenever a Trateri got too close. The winged mythologicals often stood as silent sentinels along the mountains and cliffs. Always watching and waiting to see what type of new threat the Trateri might bring.
Eva stayed where she was, knowing he likely wouldn't welcome her rushing to his side, even if that was what she wanted to do.
Her wrist throbbed abruptly, while the skin across her shoulder blades twitched in sympathy as well.
Her aches and pains of the morning finally made more sense. It hadn't been the night outside or her work helping Brighid birth her foal. It’d been his pain she was feeling. It was rare for her to pick up such feelings—especially given the distance separating them. Usually she needed a much deeper connection before she felt an animal's pain as if it was her own, but perhaps with such a creature, things were communicated differently.
The mythological shifted again, his wings straining as if he was trying to take flight. Fresh blood ran down them in rivulets.
The net had some kind of thorns in it which dug deeper every time he tried to use his wings. It was meant to cause pain in addition to hobbling him. A collar made from the same material wound around his neck, the end broken as if he had yanked hard enough to snap it.
"Your wings are caught. I need to remove the net from them. Please don’t eat me."
Eva took a single step forward and waited. No reaction. Alright, then. She eased forward another step and then another.
This was a bad idea. Likely the worst one she'd ever had.
She held up a hand as she edged closer.
His head dropped, his lips peeling back to show her his teeth—his very sharp, very pointed teeth.
Eva stopped, feeling lightheaded again. "Oh boy."
He could do a lot of damage with those.
Caia reared, letting out a scream of challenge.
"Enough, Caia. He's simply showing me his very interesting teeth. Weren't you, mythological? I know you weren't threatening someone who is trying to help you out of the kindness of her heart. That'd be rude."
Caia crashed back down
to all four legs, glaring at the mythological.
The mythological's lips dropped down to cover his teeth as he regarded her with wary interest.
"I'm not going to hurt you." And she'd really like it if he didn't hurt her either.
He held Eva's eyes as she waited expectantly, trying to channel a calm she didn't necessarily feel.
She lifted an eyebrow at him.
He didn't move for several long seconds before he gradually shifted just enough to present his side to her.
Eva held his defiant gaze for a moment longer before releasing a breath and moving within range of those wicked sharp teeth, fully realizing the danger she was voluntarily stepping into.
She didn't let that stop her as she reached for the netting. It was unexpectedly sturdy, and not made of a material she recognized. It almost felt like vines instead of fabric or metal, except it defied the properties of any plant she knew. Untangling it wouldn’t work. It would need to be cut to free the mythological.
"I'm going to have to use a knife," she told him in a crisp, no-nonsense tone. "Don't get all panicky and stomp me to death. Unless you want to be stuck like this. Wingless and grounded."
The mythological let out a defiant sound as he shot her another baleful look.
"I'm not the one who managed to get my wings caught." Eva didn't wait for him to decide whether or not to eat her. She started sawing at the netting, working carefully.
It was sturdier than it looked and didn't part easily. She stepped back and eyed the net with frustration. It was stubborn. She'd give it that. Too bad she was more stubborn.
She muttered insults and curses at the vine-like rope as she picked along the different sections to see if she could find a way to release it that didn't involve hours of work.
She found a spot where several of the strands joined. If she cut it, maybe the net would come undone by itself. Only one way to find out.
Eva started sawing.
She was only halfway through the rope when the mythological raised his head. Caia did the same seconds later, her ears rotating. Both of their ears were pinned flat against their head in the next second. The mythological’s lips curled back, flashing those terrifying teeth again.
Whatever they sensed wasn't good.
Eva sawed faster.
Please don't be a beast. Eva reconsidered. Or another mythological.
She didn't hold a lot of hope her prayer would be answered. She’d never been particularly lucky.
"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up," Eva chanted as she worked through the netting. She got the first section undone, and as she predicted several pieces fell away, but not all of them.
She hurriedly found the next place where the sections came together and started on it.
The urge to flee was hard to ignore. Unfortunately, she couldn't do that. Not with the mythological still hampered as he was. His injured leg meant he couldn't run, and without the use of his wings, he couldn't flee to the sky either. Eva couldn't bring herself to abandon him.
Not like this, helpless against whatever attacked.
"Caia, run," Eva ordered.
She couldn't go, but Caia didn’t have her damnable conscience.
Caia ignored her.
"Go."
Caia tossed her head with a stubbornness that outmatched any human's she'd ever seen.
Eva growled at the obstinate horse. "Sometimes I really want to take a switch to your hindquarters."
The horse snorted at her as if to say she knew better. Eva had never seen the value in using such tools and Caia knew she'd never use them against one of the herd.
Eva was almost through a third section of rope when she finally caught what had alerted the other two. Voices, speaking in hushed tones. They were close. They only had to round the boulder and then the three of them would be in view.
They didn't sound like Trateri. The Trateri had a subtle accent that was different from Lowlanders and Highlanders. Judging by the fury radiating from the mythological, she was guessing these might be the ones responsible for the torture device wrapped around his wings and neck.
It was of human design and too thoroughly entangled around his wings to be an accident.
The small thorns in the net pointed to a sadistic edge. It was meant to keep the mythological in line but it was also meant to cause him constant pain. A cruel practice that made Eva want to throat punch whoever had come up with it.
Two men rounded the boulder on foot. They were dressed like Trateri, but leading horses Eva knew at a glance weren't Trateri horses. After a year caring for Hardwick’s herd, she knew the difference. These were closer to the hardier mountain ponies of the Highlands, a sturdy breed but slow as molasses traveling uphill during winter.
The horses were short and squat, their coats still possessing the slightest heaviness from winter. Their owners were preoccupied with following the tracks in the dirt and mud, only lifting their heads at the last second.
"This is where you ran off to. I’m sure Pierce will make you pay for that later," the first said.
The second man elbowed the first, tilting his chin at Eva, when the first glared. Both stilled at the sight of her standing beside the mythological.
They glanced around, ensuring Eva was alone. The taller one grinned at the shorter one before addressing Eva, "What are you doing out here?"
"Why don’t you step this way?" the shorter one said as he adjusted himself suggestively.
Eva's lip curled. Definitely not Trateri. Their behavior confirmed it.
"What are you doing with that horse?" the tall one asked suspiciously, finally noticing the knife in Eva's hand. She hadn't paused in her effort to cut away the net. "Don't go getting any ideas. That monster is property of the Trateri."
"Is that so?" Eva asked.
These guys hadn't done their research. Fallon and Shea had banned hunting of the winged horses. If any Trateri was caught trying to capture one, they would face a traitor's reward. It wasn't pretty.
Eva had only seen it once and she still had nightmares.
The winged horses had helped Shea during her adventure to the heart of the Badlands. Even if they hadn't, Eva didn't think Fallon would have tried to capture the magnificent creatures. They were too tempting as an ally.
It was hard to convince someone to work by your side when you were guilty of enslaving half of their race.
The fact the two men didn't know something so simple made Eva relax. It meant her guess earlier was correct. These were Highlanders.
"It is so, and unless you want us punishing you for your disobedience, you'll come over here right now," the shorter one ordered. "I've got something you can help me with."
Eva's let her silence answer for her. No need to get lippy when her actions would speak plenty loud enough soon.
"Hey! Are you stupid or something?" the shorter one shouted.
Eva shot them a look, unable to hide her derision. Almost through.
She slid a glance at Caia, standing protectively next to Eva. The dappled gray was smaller than the mythological at her side, but she was still taller than the men's two mountain ponies.
More importantly, she was descended from a long line of war horses.
"Forget this," the shorter one said, starting forward. "She's an insignificant girl. We can take what we want."
"Caia, forget everything I said about biting."
"What?" the short man asked.
The sound Caia made was gleeful as she reared. A scream ripped from her throat. Her front hooves hit the ground and she charged. The men dove out of her way, but Caia was faster. She whirled, lifting her legs high as she tried to stomp the shorter of the two into the ground.
Eva would have snickered at the high-pitched screams if the situation hadn't been so dire.
The taller of the two found his feet, charging toward her. Desperation lent Eva strength. The rope split and she jerked at the netting around the mythological’s wings.
A hard arm grabbed her around the waist, yan
king her back. The netting came with her.
"What have you done?" the tall man shouted. He screamed at his friend. "Quit playing with that horse. He's almost free."
Eva sagged in the tall man's hold, a nasty smile on her face. "If I was you, I'd run very far, very fast. If he doesn't kill you, the Trateri most certainly will."
The mythological busied himself shaking free of the rest of the netting.
"Fuck you. I'm not playing. This horse is trying to kill me!" The shorter man scooted on his back as Caia chased him. He might not be playing with her, but she was certainly having fun playing with him.
Caia grabbed one of the man's pant legs and dragged him across the ground like a dog with a bone.
"You like him so much. You can be the first one he eats,” the tall man hissed.
Her captor shoved her at the mythological. Eva caught herself on the winged horse’s side, looking up with trepidation, very aware the man's prediction might actually be her fate.
Dark, intelligent eyes regarded her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Eva watched the man reach slowly into the pack at his side and withdraw a rope.
It had a loop on the end, meant for roping livestock, and barbs ran along its length. Ones that matched the bloody, raw wounds at the base of the mythological's neck.
Eva laid her hand next to the marks.
"I'm sorry they did this to you." No creature deserved what they'd done to him.
If he blamed all humans, so be it.
A primal scream came from the mythological. His wings flared, hitting Eva in the head. Lancing pain shot through her and she slumped to the ground, unconscious.
*
A hand lightly slapped Eva’s cheek, pulling her from the cool grasp of darkness.
She groaned, abruptly becoming aware of the slight pounding in her head.
"That's it, lass. Come back to us," a voice Eva knew well said.
"Hardwick," she murmured, blinking up at him in surprise and curiosity.
"Finally," someone muttered.
"There you are, Eva," Ollie said in relief from her other side.
