Chapter 9 : Thralls
Tennessee Boarder
After much movement and staying out of plan sight while the sun was out , the shamans finally made it to the Kentucky / Tennessee boarder .
" Good - bye my home , maybe I will get to walk in your land before I go back to the other side . If not thank you for the years of memories and growth you have given me and may God protect you until the end of times . " Harris said looking back at his home state .
" We must look ahead Wildcat . " Raven said .
" I know , " Harris said .
" Hello Tennessee , the Cowboy has returned . " Storm said .
" We are in the northwest of the state , so we need to turn to the southeast . " Aaron said .
" Which will bring us to the Great Smokies . Then we will figure out our direction once we reach the mountain range . " Raven said .
" Storm , none of your home state people are violent are they ? " Jericho asked .
" According what type of people you run into . Some of them are hospitable like me , others like some of the mountain men , rougher rednecks , and hillbillies are not the same story . Some of them don ' t take to kindly on trespassing or strangers . So , we do need to be careful . " Storm informed them .
" If we run into any , we will just let the Cowboy handle it . " Jay suggested .
" No , he won ' t . " Raven glared at Jay .
" Why not ? " Jay asked .
" Because , I won ' t let any wild , mountain men mess with my Cowboy . " Raven said .
" She ' s going to protect you Cowboy . " Adam whispered to Storm .
" Yep , I am in good hands . " Storm agreed .
" Lets go . " Mark said .
It took them two and half days to reach the Smokies after passing over the Tennessee boarder . They stopped once they reached the river for a break and to let the horses rest and drink from the river .
" We are now in the Land of the Horse Lords , this land has long been protected by the Legendary Rider of the South . Some of the people have told myths that it was the First Rider and Windchaser who caused the misty and foggy look to the mountain range . " Aaron said .
" Why ? " Storm asked curious .
" He believed that the fog would protect and hide the path to the entrance into the Land of the Stallion Shamans . He didn ' t want anyone messing with the purity of Thunder Mountain and to this day it is still protected from those who would taint the land and destroy its natural habitat . " Aaron said .
" It is a national park , which is protected by park rangers . " Raven said .
" Some of the park rangers are in fact undercover agents from Thunder Mountain , they keep unwanted guest away from some of the places hidden in the fog . Some of the roads you can ' t travel on here and the ones who monitor that is the park rangers that have been given the task to protect the land . " Aaron said .
" Do they know we are coming ? " Storm asked .
" Yes , they do . " Aaron said .
" Only with the Eyes of the Stallion will you see the path before you , Rider of the South . " said a voice where only Storm could hear . It sounded almost like a whisper .
" Did you guys hear that ? " Storm asked looking around .
" What ? " Matt asked .
" That whispering voice . " Storm said .
" Didn ' t here anything , James . " Roode said .
" They can ' t hear me like you can . We are connected because of our ability to see and listen to the voices of the weather . Your spirit is wild and untamed like that of your stallion partner , Thunderbolt . Just like I am an untamed and wild spirit , similar to that of my oldest and dearest friend , Windchaser . " The voice spoke to Storm again .
" Aaron , I think I am hearing the voice of the First Rider of the South . He mentioned Windchaser . " Storm looked at Aaron .
" You are hearing a ghost ? " Harris asked .
" I am not a ghost . " A man dressed in buckskin pants and longcoat walked up to him . He carried a colt pistol by his side and had a cowboy hat on his head .
" Who are you ? " Glen asked .
" Easy Dragon shaman , I am not an enemy or a ghost , I am the spirit of the First Rider of the South , the First Stallion Shaman . I have come to lead the newest shaman to the door into the heart of the mountain , for it is well hidden from normal sight . The fog is a great way to keep something hidden from those who would seek to destroy that which we here in the mountains call home . " The Rider spoke .
" You are the Rider of the South ? " Storm asked looking at the man .
" Yes , I am . " The Rider spoke and looked at one of the hills in front of them . A grey - stallion well into his years came to the man , he had a haunted look and his eyes where a deep , black .
" Windchaser ? " Aaron looked at the stallion .
" Yes , my loyal and most trusted friend . " The Rider looked at the stallion .
Thunderbolt was watching this new horse for a while . He wasn ' t sure he liked this new addition to the group he was suppose to be leading or the fact that this intruder was a ghost . He crept closer to Windchaser and sniffed at him , then backed up again to keep him in eye sight .
" Thunderbolt ? " Storm looked at the black horse .
" I see Thunderbolt doesn ' t like his forefunner . Of course seeing as he is suppose to be the Horse Lord , I would think that a new addition isn ' t to his liking . " The Rider looked at the young horse .
Thunderbolt looked at the Rider with fire in his eyes , he didn ' t like this newcomer knowing everything about him and that horse didn ' t smell like a horse . Infact he small like a Thrall . Thralls could hide their identity and make humans see them as real horses . They could also shape their riders , which are nothing more than corpses , to look like living , breathing people .
" Thunderbolt , whats wrong boy ? " Storm asked the stallion , he knew that his eyes had some anger in them .
" Thunderbolt , you are being stubborn . " Aaron looked at the horse , who looked at him and snorted .
Thunderbolt looked at the Rider and sniffed him to make sure , he could smell death . He then looked at the water of the flowing river and moved to it . He knew that Thralls showed their true identity when touched by water , but he need help from a winged friend . Thunderbolt whinnied as loud as he could .
" Thunderbolt , " Storm and Aaron both looked at him and then saw Pegasus land .
" Pegasus ? Why did he call Pegasus ? " Jay looked at the winged - horse and then at Storm and Aaron .
" No clue , " Aaron looked at them .
" Thunderbolt , what are you doing ? " Storm asked looking at the stallion and Pegasus suspiciously , but at the moment the two seemed to be having their own discussion .
Thunderbolt looked over at the Thrall version of Windchaser and looked at Pegasus who sniffed both the Thrall and its Rider , he sneezed not liking the smell of death coming from the Rider . The two horses looked at each other and nodded like they had come up with a conclusion . Pegasus rose into the air and looked at the river . Thunderbolt moved so that the Thrall was inbetween him and the river .
" What are those two planning ? " Raven asked .
" No clue , but they ' re not involving us . " Matt said .
" Beth , Amy , back up . " Jeff looked at the girls who did as they were told .
" Thunderbolt ? " Storm looked at the stallion .
" Pegasus ? " Jay looked at the winged - horse .
Thunderbolt dipped his head down and began pawing at the ground . Then without warning he ran right at the Thrall , rushing him into the river where Pegasus was waiting for them . Pegasus , began flapping his wings at top speed as Thunderbolt moved back to land , shaking off the water and looking at the evil creature now in plain sight . The thrall ' s true identity is that of a black , decaying horse that had most of its skeletal system showing without any skin covering the exposed bones .
" Thats not Windchaser , its a Thrall . Which would mean that rider is a corpse . " Harris looked at the rider being revealed . He was deformed and you could see parts of his bones , organs , and tissue on his body .
" Ugh , " Beth said looking at it .
The corpse screeched loud and jumped on Thunderbolt ' s back , who reared and ran the thing right into the water , dropped on his back and rolled over on top of the corpse . Thunderbolt then got back on his feet and stepped back onto the land . He shook the water off again and snorted in the direction of the corpse .
Meanwhile Pegasus was having his own battle with the Thrall who was revealed to have wings once his true image was shown by the water . They were in the air fighting it out with much kicking , biting , and snorting . The Thrall was faster , he got behind Pegasus and charged at him pushing him fast straight to the ground .
Thunderbolt saw and heard what was going on . He and Pegasus had already figured out the plan ahead of time . So , as Pegasus being pushed by the Thrall headed for the ground , just before they reached the ground Pegasus moved at a split second where Thunderbolt was waiting and kicked the mess out of the Thrall . The skeleton horse landed on the ground with a thud and laid there for a few minutes . Pegasus landed gently on the ground beside Thunderbolt , who was looking at the Thrall and crept to him sniffing to make sure it was dead or not getting up . He then turned back to Pegasus looking at him to make sure his companion was okay , but as he turned his back on the Thrall it kicked him right in the left flank leaving a huge , gash wound . Thunderbolt flinched for a moment and then looked at the Thrall with anger and purpose . He rushed right at the Thrall pushing him into the raging river and gave him a headbutt to make him go down , but the Thrall pushed back . But , as he pushed Thunderbolt almost into the wall of the mountains Pegasus charged him from the side knocking the evil horse onto the ground . Thunderbolt once again came to the Thrall and this time kicked it both in the gut and in the head for good measures which cracked the things shull open , killing it . Thunderbolt and Pegasus both snorted at the Thrall and Corpse Rider .
" Well , those two seem to be satisfied . " Adam said .
" Shit , Thunderbolt and Pegasus can fight . " Roode looked at the Thrall and Corpse .
" All animals can , its just a matter of what the situation is and why they are fighting . " Aaron said looking at the two .
" Thunderbolt , " Storm said putting a hand where the gash was , Thunderbolt flinched and Storm noticed it was bleeding .
" Storm ? " Jay looked at the Cowboy .
" Aaron , Thunderbolt has a gash on him . " Storm looked at Aaron . Aaron came to Storm and Thunderbolt looking at the gash .
" I will take care of it , but Pegasus is going to have to get that corpse out of the water before it pollutes the river . " Aaron looked at Pegasus who was thinking the same thing . In a pure matter of minutes Pegasus pulled the corpse out of the river and put him on top of his steed .
" Now what Aaron ? " Jay asked .
" Burn them both or they will come back to life . " Aaron said .
" I ' ve got this one . " Raven said focusing on her hands until she had a fire orb and allowed it to ignite the Thrall and Corpse Rider . Soon they were nothing but ashes left of both foes
" The rain will take care of the rest . " Aaron said .
" I can provide that . " Storm said focusing on the sadness with in him and letting the rain pour down it was a light rain that washed out the fire and ashes . Soon , Storm let up and the rain let up .
" Okay lets get Thunderbolt back to the clearing and we can deal with his wounds . " Aaron said .
" Right , come on partner . " Storm said leading him to the clearing , the others followed .
" Alright , Storm , can you coax him to lay down ? " Aaron asked .
" I can try . Thunderbolt come on , lay down partner . " Storm trying to get him to lay on the side that wasn ' t injured and he finally got him down .
" Lets take the saddle and blanket off of him . " Raven said .
" Right , " Storm said unhooking the saddle , pulling both it and the saddle blanket off and then tacking the bit out of his mouth and removing the bridle .
" Alright , let see what we have . Easy Thunderbolt , easy boy , " Aaron soothed him . He began checking the wound before doing anything that might hurt the stallion .
" Aaron ? " Storm was on the other side of Thunderbolt rubbing his neck to keep him calm . Raven came to them to help out , she could see the worry in Storm ' s face and she couldn ' t let him deal with it on his own .
" He ' ll be okay . I ' m going to have to clean and cauterize the wound , because stitches are going to rub open with a saddle on him and we don ' t have enough time to let him heal that way . This will heal the tissue and skin quicker , but its not exactly a pleasant way to close a wound . " Aaron said .
" Isn ' t cauterizing where you burn the tissues of the wound to close it ? " Raven asked Aaron .
" Yes , it is . So , you have heard of it . " Aaron looked at Raven .
" Yes , daddy did it to some of the cattle we had whenever they got cut up in the pastures . It was cheaper and a lot quicker than calling a vet . " Raven said .
" Hold on you are going to burn his wound close . I don ' t think I like the sound of that Aaron . " Storm looked at Aaron .
" James , its not as bad as you think and it maybe the only way to prevent further damage . Trust me I know you don ' t want to hear it , because I wouldn ' t . But , you got to do what you can with what you have and right now we are out in the middle of the wilderness without help from a vet or anesthetic . So , we have to do this here and now . " Raven tried to reason with Storm .
" I don ' t want to hurt him . " Storm looked at Raven .
" I know , but we have no other option . The Gates are not going to wait on his wounds to heal in the nice way that you want it , too . " Aaron said .
" Fine , we do it your way . But , he is going to fight us through it . " Storm gave into reasoning .
" I might have a solution . " Raven said .
" What ? " Storm and Aaron both looked at her .
" First lets clean the wound , then I will show you what I have planned . " Raven looked at them .
" Fine , but we need to heat water to clean the wound out . " Aaron said .
" We can get water from the river . " Raven said .
" Good idea , Wildcat . " Storm called to Harris .
" Yes , Storm ? " Harris asked .
" Would you take one of the pails to the river and get water ? " Raven asked .
" Yeah , of course . " Harris answered picking up one of the pails and coming back from the river with water .
" Okay set it under the campfire for now and let it heat a little . " Aaron said .
They waited for the water to heat .
" Okay , Harris bring the heated water over here . " Aaron said .
" Right , " Harris did as he was asked . Raven pulled a washcloth from her bag and dipped it into the warm water .
" Easy boy , easy Thunderbolt , no one is going to hurt you . " Storm whispered soothingly to the stallion .
Raven began washing the wound on Thunderbolt ' s side out . She cleaned all of the blood off . He whinnied and screamed with the touch of the warm water on his wound .
" Whoa boy , " Storm rubbed his neck .
" Alright , his wounds are clean . " Raven said and sitting the washcloth and warm water to the side . She looked in her bag pulling out long pieces of cloth .
" What are those for ? " Harris asked he was still there trying to assist .
" Blindfolding him . " Raven said coming back to them .
" Why are you going to blindfold Thunderbolt ? " Storm asked . Aaron was also curious about this idea .
" Its a trick I learned from dealing with horses and livestock on my dad ' s farm . Sometimes when you need to handle an animal of any kind for any given reason and the animal maybe startled , aggressive or resistant , you can blindfold the animal to keep them calm . It works for all kinds of animals , you can even use it for crocs and gators . Some humans even calm down when you give them a dark and quiet spot to cool off and sometimes that dark and quiet spot isn ' t available , so , you use a blindfold to help . " Raven explained while putting the clothes around Thunderbolt ' s eyes making sure he couldn ' t see anything .
" Okay , lets heal the wound . Raven , heat one of your knives over the fire to heat the blade , preferably one that is flat . " Aaron said .
" Alright . " Raven said pulling one of her knives out of the belt along her chest and heating it in the fire . She then handed it to Aaron .
" Hold him . " Aaron said Raven , Storm , and Harris nodded and held Thunderbolt down so Aaron could deal with his wound .
" Okay , Thunderbolt , don ' t kick me boy . " Aaron whispered in his ear . He took the knife and pressed the blade to the stallion ' s wound . When Thunderbolt felt the hot blade he let out an ear piercing shrill of pain .
" Easy Thunderbolt . " Storm whispered to him , but he started to thrash .
" Aaron let up . " Raven said and he did so .
" Raven , we have to finish . " Aaron said .
" I know , but we don ' t need all of us getting hurt . James , let me by his head . I think I might be able to keep him calm . " Raven looked at Storm .
" Alright , " Storm said trusting her . They swapped sides where Raven was close to Thunderbolt ' s head and eyes .
" Aaron , go ahead . " Raven said .
" Right , " Aaron agreed and started cauterizing the wound again . Thunderbolt once again began to shrill and thrash , but stopped when he heard singing in his ear . Raven was singing the song that Harris had sung to her years ago and the song she used to keep the Cowboy calm when Aaron was patching him up after the imp attack .
Harris and Storm both heard the soft singing , even though the words were only where Thunderbolt could hear them , they both knew what she was singing to the horse . They both looked at each other and smiled knowing where that song had come from . Harris was fighting back the tears because of how much the song he used to sing to Raven had touched her where she was now using it to help both Storm and Thunderbolt . Storm was touched by how much she was using a gift from his best friend to help both him and Thunderbolt .
" Alright , I am through , the wound is closed . " Aaron said . Raven let up with the singing and rubbed the strong horse ' s neck .
" Good boy , Thunderbolt . " Raven said to the horse while tacking the blindfolds off of his eyes .
" Bobby , come here for a minute . " Aaron said .
" Yes , " Roode said coming to them .
" How much can you regulate your ice powers ? " Aaron asked .
" Very well , now . Why ? " Roode asked .
" Because , I need a little bit of cold to cool the wound so fever won ' t set into it . " Aaron said .
" Right , " Roode focused on his ice powers and then lowered the level .
" You didn ' t say anything about fever . " Storm said .
" This is a normal part of cauterizing a wound . Its a lot like pouring water on metal when welding to cool it off . " Raven explained .
" Okay , " Storm said .
" Alright now what ? " Roode asked .
" Rub your finger over Thunderbolts wound to seal it and cool it off . " Aaron said .
" Sure , " Roode said doing as he was told , soon the wound was taken care of and done with .
" Alright , Storm , let him up . " Aaron said .
" Come on Thunderbolt time to get up . " Storm coaxed and helped him to his feet where he shook the dirt and dust off of himself .
" So , what do we do now ? " Jay asked .
" Well the sun is going down and I don ' t want to hike up a mountain without enough light to see where we are going . Someone could mistake a drop - off for a safe passage and we don ' t need that , so , lets make camp . " Raven said .
" Sounds good to me , we all could use the rest , especially Thunderbolt and Pegasus after fighting the thrall and corpse . " Aaron agreed .
They set up camp for the night and settle down .
" How about some fish for supper ? " Adam looked at the river .
" Are we allowed to in a national landmark ? " Jericho asked .
" We are as long as we don ' t over catch . " Storm said . They fished for hours it seemed like until they caught enough fish .
" Where is EY when you need him ? " Roode asked when they had gotten through fishing .
" I hear you , he likes to fish more than this here Cowboy . " James said .
" Talking in third person now ? " Matt asked .
" Just for a moment . " Storm smiled .
" My amazing Cowboy is so clever . " Raven whispered to Amy and Beth who giggled .
" Achoo , " Storm sneezed .
" Somebody talking good about you again ? " Harris asked .
" Yep , and I already know who it is . Darlin you are going make me have a sneezing fit with your good words about me . " Storm winked at her .
" But , I can ' t help it . There is just so much to say . " Raven said innocently .
" You know I saw a shack a while back on the trail . Do you guys want me to walk you back and guard the door from snoopers ? " Roode offered .
" Nope , " Storm answered .
" We don ' t need a shack or a fancy house to satisfy those needs . " Raven looked at Storm who smirked at the idea .
" What ? " Harris looked at both of them for a moment thinking about what they were both hinting at and went to the river to cool his flash of anger off .
" Wildcat , " Raven and Storm both looked at each other and then him .
" What was that about ? " Storm asked looking back at Raven .
" No clue , but I think I upset him by the way I was talking . I need to go check on Harris . " Raven said getting up and following Wildcat to the river .
" Calm yourself Cat there isn ' t anything for you to be angry at , its no longer in your control or your choice to have her . " Chris whispered to himself .
" Chris , " Raven called to Harris as she walked up to him . He turned to look at her and then looked back at the river .
" Chris , you okay ? I didn ' t mean for what I said back there to hurt you . " Raven said looking at him cautiously .
" No , I shouldn ' t have got upset . They were just words and you were joking weren ' t you ? You and Storm haven ' t have you ? " Chris asked her .
" Uhm , we have , before the creature was removed from my head . " Raven said telling him the truth . She wasn ' t up for lying and especially to Harris .
Chris looked at her for a moment almost surprised and in shock of what she said .
" What ? Why ? How come I am just finding out about this now ? " Harris asked her .
" Because I haven ' t had much time to think about it or talk between then and now . Chris , I didn ' t mean for any of this to hurt you . Storm and I both were needing it , I was emotional from the situation , Storm was emotional with what he was having to do about that pygmy worm , so we ended up dealing with our emotions the best way we could . Please , don ' t be angry with me or Storm . " Raven said putting her head against his chest .
" I - I don ' t know what to think . " Harris said .
" Chris , please don ' t do whatever you are thinking about , don ' t leave . I couldn ' t stand it if you were to leave now . " Raven began to cry the tears rolling down here face onto Chris ' s shirt .
" Why not ? Its not like you need me anymore . " Chris questioned .
" I ' ve always need you , but you said it yourself there are somethings you can ' t give me now and Storm can . But , I still need you here beside me . I still need your guidance and words to help me get through the issues right now . Please don ' t leave us . I know I don ' t have a choice when the Gates are closed , just like I never had a choice about anything that has happened between me and you . But , I have a choice now and that is the one where I want you to stay with me until the end of this demon mess . " Raven continued to let the tears roll down here face as she tried to reason with Wildcat .
" You had a choice about dating me , just like you had a choice about what you did with Storm . " Harris said .
" Do you think I regret dating you ? " Raven looked up at Harris shocked at what he said .
" I don ' t know do you ? " Harris glanced at her in anger .
" No , Chris I loved you . I loved you with everything I had , but then a demon came and ruined it all . Chris , if none of this had happened I would have still have you . But , that ain ' t the case , Asmodai broke us apart and made you do the most desperate thing you could think of to get rid of the bastard which end everything for us . Every hope we ever had of getting back together was taken away from us . I never had a choice in what happened after we started dating . We both know how it ended and what happened because of Asmodai . I never had a choice in that either . But , for you to stand here and think I didn ' t love you is wrong . That maybe the one thing I did have a choice in is the way I felt for you . Oh , and by the way lets not forget who felled to mention that they had a Demonic Prince in him when we first started dating . This mess could have been over years ago . I don ' t regret dating you , I don ' t regret the way I felt about you and the way I still feel at times when I think about you . You were my first love , the first guy I ever dated and fell in love with , and just like all first loves and break ups . I did my crying , I did my healing and I did my letting go , just like you asked me too , in a letter . But , don ' t think I regret anything that has happened between me and Storm either . I love him , Chris , and I am no longer alone or scared of being alone when I am with him . I ' m sorry , but I can ' t put myself on hold waiting to grow old without you just to die lonely in a cold home without a chance of ever being loved again or to have that family I dreamed about . I don ' t want to be the old hermit that lives by herself . I don ' t want to be the woman who wastes away crying over what she can ' t get back . " Raven began crying harder because she was aching from the conversation with Chris and the emotional toll she was putting herself through to awaken the past events again .
She had buried them deep trying to heal and let go of losing Chris again , but now they were coming back to the surface like a bad dream that went away and remerged to make her hurt again . Maybe those dreams were a few of the ones that she lost to the pygmy worm or the ones she let die down , but they were back now and making her feel worse about hurting Chris .
" Quit crying over nothing . " Harris glared at her .
" Fine go on , go away . I don ' t want to be around you if you are going to be a jerk to me . Oh and by the way do you remember that those words you just said are the same ones that you said when Asmodai did his little deed to me . Quit crying over nothing , it was never nothing Chris and its not nothing now . " Raven said walking back to the camp . She stopped a few ways inbetween the destinations to cry over what just happened . Then she stood up and went to walk back , but lost her footing and slipped into the river .
Chris was sitting in the spot he had been standing after Raven had left when he heard the loud splash . He looked toward the direction and thought for a moment to realize he couldn ' t sense or hear Raven .
" Raven ! " Chris took off running in the direction she had went . When he got there he saw Storm and the others running toward his direction .
" Chris , where is Raven ? " Storm asked .
" I think she slipped into the river . " Chris said trying to open his senses to find her .
" What ? " Amy asked looking at the rushing water .