The Misadventures of Riley and Rill
Chapter Three: The Rider and Rawlyk
The Shifter's foot steps had stopped for a bad (or good, depending upon your point of view) reason. The reason was that it hadn't been Entia's footsteps at all. Rather, they were The Shadow Rider's footsteps. Who, in fact, was standing at the opening of the front door glaring at Rill (who couldn't actually see his eyes underneath the cloak, but he could certainly feel them) and looking for the entire world like he was the most evil being in existence. Which might have something to it, Rill reflected sourly.
The Shadow Rider in question grabbed Rill by the collar and pushed him down the staircase. Lucky for Rill, the staircase in question was a tight spiral, and therefore Rill only fell down six or a half dozen of stairs. The Shadow Rider swept by with quick soldierly steps, leaving Rill wondering where The Shadow Rider had gotten a broom. Riley followed The Shadow Rider down the stairs, using little short hop-skips that seemed impossible given a unicorn's anatomy. However, they did answer the omnipresent question of "How did that unicorn get up on the roof, anyway?"
Rill dragged himself to his feet, wincing at the thought that tomorrow Rill would look more like a Wind or Water unicorn than an actual human being. The Shadow Rider had gotten really far ahead; in fact, Rill and Riley couldn't see him anymore. The pair of miscreants glanced at each other and decided to try their luck in a country far, far away (which is always very conveniently located in any fairy tale book, although much harder to reach in real life). They had just reached the third floor and were sneaking down the hallway when a sword point made itself known in the hollow of Rill's back. If the sword had been just a little blunter, Rill would have asked whoever was behind him if he would mind starching that unreachable spot in between his shoulder blades. As it was, Rill didn't think that was a very good idea, especially when the owner of the sword decided to speak.
"Well, well, well. What have we here? You boys wouldn't be trying to escape, now would you?"
Rill gulped. Rawlyk. Why did it have to be Rawlyk? Probably the worst of all people Rill could have been captured by, Captain Rawlyk was the second-in-command of the Shadow Army, second only to The Shadow Rider himself. (And as everyone knows, you don't get to be second-in-command of the Army by waiting for a promotion. Rather, you kill the man who has the job you want. Part of the reason Rill went into engineering was because no one wants to be an engineer. It has an even lower turnover rates then stable care, read: Stall Mucker, does. Actually, no one ever tried to go after the job of Head of Army, which is The Shadow Rider's position, proving that, contrary to popular belief, most shadow riders have some sense in their heads.)
Rawlyk marched Rill and Riley down the hallway and subsequent stairs. They were passing the large ornate doorway that marked the entrance to Lord Entia's quarters when the world erupted into flame.