I quickly trot down the gravel path to the ranch. I notice the lights are on at the ranch manager's cottage. I glance over at the parking area. The large 4x4 truck is still attached to the two horse trailer. Good. That will make getting out of here easier. I step into the smallest barn and turn on the overhead light. I'm greeted by a startled snort from Magick. I hurry over to the large, black Andalusian stallion and pat him on the neck.
"Ready to go for a ride, boy?" I ask him. His ears prick forward and he starts doing a little prancing in place. I laugh, give him another pat and then head for the food locker. I feed him his breakfast, and then grab his tack and my boots, riding gloves and helmet. After putting them in the back of the truck, I get the grooming box and give Magick a quick once over. As I'm cleaning out his hooves, I hear a footstep outside the barn door. I "feel" who it is. I hear the door open.
"Good morning, Helen," I say without looking up from what I'm doing. "How are you this morning?"
"Good morning, Miss Cavendish," answers Helen as she comes into the barn, but she doesn't get to close. She doesn't act the least bit surprised at my knowing that she's there. "I'm fine thank you. I guess the earthquake woke you up, too."
"Yes, it did," I reply. "How are the kids handling their first earthquake?"
"Allison handled it ok, but Jamy wouldn't stop crying until Doug promised to make his famous French toast for breakfast," she says. "I noticed Magick's tack in the back of the truck. Are you going somewhere?"
"I thought I'd check out some of the riding trails at that park about 20 miles north of here," I tell her. She's quiet for a moment.
"Oh, you mean that park just past that sanitation facility?" she asks.
"Yes, that's the one," I answer. "I should be back by this evening. Magick needs a really good work out. He's been getting a bit antsy lately."
"I had noticed him snapping a lot more than usual," she says.
"Well, this should make him a little bit easier to work with," I tell her.
"Not that any one but you can get near him," she replies. "You do remember we have that new group of kids coming today, don't you?"
"Yes, I remember," I answer as I put Magick's final hoof down. I straighten up and look at her. "You, Andrea and Carla will be able to handle them just fine. I trust you."
"Thank you," she says, smiling. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I've got everything covered here," I say. "But if I could sneak a couple of slices of Doug's wonderful French toast…?"
"Not a problem," she laughs as she turns to leave. "I'll be right out with them."
I put a halter with lead on Magick, and then lead him out of the barn. He's never really liked trailers, but after some encouragement from me, he goes in. I get in the cab of the truck and check that my cell phone has finished charging and that there's some money stashed away. As I stick both the phone and money in my breast pocket, Helen comes up and hands me a paper plate with the French toast on it.
"Thank you, Helen," I say. "You're an angel. Would you mind opening the gate for me, please?"
"Sure," she answers. She goes to do as I ask.
I get myself situated in the truck. Then I start it up and head out through the now open gate. I wave good bye to Helen, and turn right onto the road as I nibble on the wonderful toast.
About 45 minutes later I arrive at the park. The ranger is just opening up the gates. I pay the parking fee and get a map of the riding trails. I park in the trailer parking area. As I get Magick ready for our ride, I notice a pine dryad standing next to her tree looking at me. She looks like she wants to come to me, but she doesn't dare step onto the pavement.
Something evil has come into the forest, she says.
"I know," I tell her. "I will do what I can to send it away."
Thank you, she says as she disappears back into her tree.
As it's finally starting to warm up, I take my sweater off and toss it into the truck cab. I finish getting Magick and myself ready. Then I take a quick look at the map. Finally, I fold it up and slip it into my boot. I saddle up and head out onto the trail. I have a feeling where the fissure is, so I take the trails that lead me in that direction. I know I'm getting closer as I notice more and more creatures, magical and non-magical, acting strangely.
After about an hour of riding I turn Magick onto a faint deer track. There are no more animals to be seen now. About 15 minutes later I find the fissure. I can feel the evil as if it's a tangible thing. It looks like someone has taken a giant cleaver and sliced the land open in a hundred foot gash. I dismount. Holding onto the reins, I go over to the edge of the hole. Magick is dancing around and I can see the whites of his eyes. I send some calming energy to him as I look down into the chasm. It goes down so far that I can't see the bottom. As I start to gather the energy I'll need to close the fissure, I hear something moving. I whip around and "feel" for what's out there. There is something out there, but it's not of land or air, so I'm not exactly sure what it is. I can tell there are at least three of them, and they have the same feeling of evil that the fissure is giving off. Then I hear a growl.
I'm not sure how I get back up into the saddle, but we're off like a shot. I can sense safety to the south, so that's the way I aim Magick. I smooth out the ground in front of us to make sure Magick doesn't trip. I look over my shoulder and see three creatures. Each one is about the size of a bear, their matted fur is of indeterminate color, and their claws and fangs are huge. I can see their red eyes glowing despite the bright sunlight. But of none of those matters, what matters is that I can see that they're slowly catching up to us.
I gather up the energy and I reach out for a piece of land that's about a quarter of a mile away. I "pull" it toward us like it's a giant rubber band. As soon as Magick's hooves are securely on the stretched ground, I let the ground go back to where it belongs, taking us with it. That gives us a bit more breathing room, but those things are still chasing us. We continue to head south. When ever those things start getting to close, I "pull" another section of ground to us. I lose count of how many times I've done this.
Horses aren't meant to be ridden like this for any length of time, despite what people see in the movies. Magick is sweating profusely and I can feel his chest heaving between my legs. I'm also starting to tire. I've never pushed my powers this hard before. We need to find safety soon. Then, just as we burst through another bit of brush and enter a clearing, I see it. A ten foot high wrought iron fence topped with razor wire. I know safety is beyond that fence. There's no way through or over that fence, so we only have one choice. With a mighty "shove," I "push" the dirt out from under the fence. Even though the fence goes down more then a foot underground, I manage to make a hole big enough for the two of us to pass under the fence without stopping. As soon as we're through, I let go of the earth. It moves back in place just in time. The creatures hit the fence, but luckily, it holds. As they try to get past the fence, giving snarls and shrieks of frustration, I slow Magick to a walk.
The sweat is pouring from him and his mane is plastered to his neck. He finally stops and breathing is labored. His is head down and he's trembling from exhaustion. I try to get down, and manage to perform the worst dismount of all time. As I pull myself up off the ground, I realize I'm also shaking and just about every part of me is sore. I'm not sure if it's because of my fall or from riding so hard, probably both. With shaking hands, I take off my gloves and helmet and drop them. I try to undo the sweat soaked leather cinch to the saddle. I finally manage to get the cinch loosened and I let the saddle fall to the ground.
Then I notice another noise, above those of the creatures. I turn and notice a building on the other side of a parking lot which we're near the edge of. Its a few stories tall and pretty non-descript. What I find strange is that there's a large eternal flame burning in front of it. There are a lot of men in dark suits coming out of it. They're running and carrying guns and they're coming right at me. I don't particularly like the look of things, but right now I'm just too tired to care. I pick up the reins and force Magick to start walking.
"FREEZE!" the first one to reach me yells. He looks like he's maybe 25 years old, if that.
"No," I say as I continue walking.
"Excuse me?" says the man, looking a bit confused. He starts crab walking to keep me in his sights.
"If I don't get Magick properly cooled off, he'll founder," I tell him. "If that happens, I'll never be able to ride him again. And quite frankly, I'd rather that didn't happen. Besides, you have bigger things to worry about."
I point at the fence. The man looks to where I'm pointing and his face turns white. The creatures have made a sizable hole now. He starts yelling into his wrist something about getting red up here as he runs towards the fence. I just shake my head and keep walking. I notice I'm having trouble focusing and I keep stumbling. I'd like nothing more than to lie down and sleep, but I keep moving for Magick's sake. After a while, I hear more running and yelling, but I don't look up. I'm having trouble focusing on the ground. I really do hate walking in riding boots. Then I hear what seems to be the sound of a small cannon going off several times. I just keep walking.
I'm not sure how much time has gone past, but I notice that people are walking toward me now. I ignore them. Suddenly, one of them steps in my way. I run into him and it's almost like hitting a brick wall, only a brick wall is softer. I back up a step and realize I'm staring at his boots. I could quite possibly use one of those boots as a canoe, I think. I straighten up to my full height of 5'5" and look this man squarely in the chest. I then look up at his face. I notice his incredibly red skin and glowing yellow eyes, and then I pass out.