~Erron~

Five years have passed since my mother died, and still, the loss burns like my insides have been doused with lamp oil and lit on fire. Sometimes I wake up screaming, tears rolling down my face. Nothing makes me cry anymore except that. Strange as it is, whenever I do wake up in that state Ann is always waiting there, sitting cross-legged on the end of my bed with a handkerchief and a cup of water. She knows everything about me, a one way connection however.

Ann has never cried over our mother's death. Crying is not how she expresses her sadness at death, she just gets this look on her face like she knows something terrible, something I don't.

It's like the shadow of death has filled her very eyes, and it has remained the most frightening thing I have ever seen in my life...and that includes the sight of my mother's dead body.

I sat at Grandmother's kitchen table, the whirring, clicking, beeping machines around me made my skin cold. I hated these things.

Grandmother, appearing out of nowhere as usual, smiled cheerfully and placed bacon, biscuits and raspberry jam in front of me. "Where is your sister, dear?"

"She was awake before the sun, Gran, probably out running with her pets."

Grandmother grinned, "I know you don't like the wolf pack Erron, but you know Ariann wouldn't let them hurt your horses."

"Better not, or I'll set the damn things on fire."

Grandmother May smacked me upside the head with her wooden spoon like it was a normal thing and said calmly, "you will do no such thing."

"Yes, Grandmother," I said automatically, barely ruffled at the reprimand from my five-foot-nothing grandmother.

At that moment Ann burst through the door, hair wind-blown, cheeks flushed a healthy pink, and breathing hard. A wolf head nudged itself in-between her waist and the door frame and growled at Erron.

Grandmother chuckled and threw the wolf a piece of meat. Snatching it up, the wolf swallowed it whole, licked Ann's hand, turned, and darted out to the rest of his pack.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm done." Taking my plate I gingerly handed it to the machine in the sink, jerking my hand back as soon as it touched it. The machine caught it without so much as a mechanical blink, but it's little green eyes followed him with a dangerous intelligence.

"Going out to play with your ponies?" Ann smirked.

Making a rude gesture at her I ducked out the door before Grandmother could hurl another spoon at me.

Walking into the barn I smiled as all the horses nickered, sticking their heads out of their stalls to greet him. I walked to each, stroking muzzles and feeding them carrots and slices of apple. The smell of clean horses, leather, dirt, wood, sweet feed, and oil filled my nose and I sighed happily.

Today seemed like a good day to jump, just dry enough, and hardly windy. Tempest was my best jumper so I picked him. Grabbing his tack and a couple brushes I groomed him until his coat shone. Tempest was a mix, quarter horse and thoroughbred, my favorite combination. He had the long legs, height, and stamina of a thoroughbred, and the speed, agility, and badass attitude of a quarter horse.

As we walked out into the sun his black coat shone dark blue. Grinning like a fool I turned him down the jumping trail, his ears flicked back and forth, waiting for the signal. Whistling, I squeezed slightly with my heels. That was all he needed. Tempest shoot forward, deep into the trail.

We rounded the first corner and I kept him steady as I spotted the first one, a stone wall. One...two...three, he launched himself skyward, landed slightly, and speed forward. A well controlled bullet. We blasted around corners and flew over every fence, straight rail, and wall we came across. As fast as we were going, it wasn't headlong. I had learned a long time ago that if you did that your ass would be on the ground in less that a minute.

Turning down the trail I had made to go back without any jumps I slowed Tempest down, tucked his nose to his chest, and relaxed. Tempest knew how to look handsome when asked.

Turning my head I looked into the woods and my blood froze. Grandmother's living assistant she got five years ago was standing there, watching me, it's head cocked to the side, green eyes glowing. Fear flooded into my brain when it took one step, then another, and started to run toward us.