by Nova Rose
* * *
A soft, damp paw patted Tesnayr’s cheek. He batted it away. Again the paw patted his cheek more insistent than before. Tesnayr swiped it away wanting to sleep. Moments later, a great weight rammed into his stomach forcing the air out of his lungs. Tesnayr sat bolt upright gasping for air. He looked about him for the source of his disturbance and found Turyn staring pointedly at him.
“I thought that would wake you,” said the cat.
Breathing steadily now, Tesnayr glared at him. “Did you have to jump on my stomach?”
“I tried to be gentle, but you are a sound sleeper,” replied Turyn, “So I chose a more direct approach. The moon has risen. We should be going.”
Grudgingly, Tesnayr snatched his pack and sword. He stood up and glanced at the moon. It was beautiful, but he hadn’t time to admire it. He had to find the hidden road that only moonlight revealed. He took a step and crashed into a low hanging branch. Tesnayr cursed.
“Shh,” came Turyn’s voice.
Cursed assignment. He hated traveling the mountains at night. Not only was such a task dangerous, but Tesnayr couldn’t see a thing despite the moon’s light. “Turyn, do you see the road?”
“Perfectly.”
Tesnayr’s toe throbbed as his foot crashed into a rock. Hopping on one foot he tripped over an upturned root and crashed into the ground. “I can’t see a thing.”
Turyn brushed against Tesnayr’s leg. “How did you people ever manage to survive for so long?” he asked jokingly. “Follow my directions, I’ll lead you. The path is just up ahead.”
Turyn trotted through the night guiding Tesnayr’s footsteps. His boots crunched the gravel noisily as he stumbled awkwardly through the woods. He hoped the cat knew where he was headed.
“Rock,” said Turyn.
Tesnayr took an extra-long stride to avoid it.
“Branch.”
Just in time, Tesnayr ducked to dodge another low hanging branch. Brush snatched his cloak as he walked causing him to wobble. Clumsily, he regained his balance only to alert the entire forest of his presence.
Turyn sighed impatiently. “Root.”
Tesnayr’s boot bumped the giant root just as the cat told him about it. Grunting, he stepped over it. “How much farther?”
“Not far.”
Tesnayr crashed into a tree. Groaning, he rubbed his sore nose.
“There’s a tree there,” said Turyn, sheepishly.
“I think I found it,” muttered Tesnayr.
A blue light shone up ahead piercing the darkness around them. The secret road lay just ahead. With the extra light, Tesnayr moved more quickly and easily. He headed straight for it following Turyn’s faint outline. The narrow road widened. Hurriedly, Tesnayr headed straight for the bluish glow until it was upon him.
Astonished, he stared at the blue path. It glowed brilliantly with specks of light darting about. Mist swirled above the ground following the road he was to take. He placed his hand in the blue mist. It danced around his skin tickling him, welcoming him.
If the fairies’ directions were correct, this should be the legendary road to the waterfall. But which way should he go? Tesnayr studied the two directions that the road split into. No one warned him that this might happen.
“Which way?” he asked.
Turn flipped his tail. He sniffed the chill air for several moments before darting off.
“Turyn,” called Tesnayr.
“This way,” said the cat as he disappeared down the blue path.
“How do you know?”
“I trust my nose.”
Tesnayr chased after the black cat. Though the road was flat, he still stumbled in his efforts to keep pace with Turyn. “Slow down,” he said. “I cannot run in the dark.” Tesnayr stopped and searched the area around him. No sign of Turyn. “Where are you?”
“Right here,” said Turyn sitting next to Tesnayr’s foot.
“Don’t do that.”
“Then keep up.” Turyn bounded off. His tail poked through the top of the mist as a flag for Tesnayr to follow. Frustrated, Tesnayr trailed behind the cat with relative ease. The glowing road allowed him some light to see by.
They traveled through the night nonstop. Despite the onset of early spring, cold air seeped through Tesnayr’s cloak chilling him to the bone. Only the repetitive movements of walking kept him warm. Sounds of dripping water filled the still air. He listened for wildlife but heard nothing. They were alone.
Up ahead, Tesnayr noticed a golden glow in the sky. Dawn approached. It seemed as though they had just found the mystical road only to be forced to stop. Heeding the fairies’ warning about traveling after daybreak, Tesnayr picked a place on the side of the road to camp.
“We should rest here,” he said. “Dawn approaches and I won’t risk losing our way.”
Tesnayr cleared away the slushy snow and piled some dry brush on the spot forming a bed. Exhausted, he dropped his things and slumped to the ground. A small lump forced him to jump back up.
“Turyn!”
The cat had curled up in Tesnayr’s makeshift bed purring contentedly.
“Where am I supposed to sleep?”
“Not here,” replied Turyn.
Too tired to argue, Tesnayr cleared another spot of snow and flopped to the ground. He rested his head on his pack and fell fast asleep hoping they could cover more ground the next night.
