Chapter 19: Ride like the Wind

Karigan let the fading fall. Now Condor was galloping along the North road there was little point in wasting her energy to hide herself especially when there was no one around. If anyone did see her they would just think her a simple Green Rider on her way to deliver a message from the King, nothing to pay much heed to. None the less she would camp under the stars until she reached The Wall that way there was less chance of anyone finding her before she crossed at The Breach. She had already decided to cross under the cover of night using her gift to conceal her from the camp, she was sure she must face Mornhavon alone.

She watched the countryside as it passed by. The road had not changed much since she had become a Green Rider and she had not had the chance to notice it on her first eventful trip to Sacor City. She was aware of the need to be fast and get a decent head start on the forces that would surely follow her yet she wanted to enjoy what could be her final ride with Condor.

The day was a pleasant one, it was not too hot or too cold and the leaves left patches of dappled sunlight over the road. Another time she would have gone more slowly and savoured the light breeze and how it made the small patches of sunlight dance over the cobbles, another time she might have stopped at the stream they had just past for a quiet lunch, another time she would have been planning which town or village to stop the night in but not today. She would ride as far as she was able before leading Condor until she had to sleep, then she would make camp away from the road and set off early the next morning.

In truth she felt a little guilty for running away from everyone without even a message to say what she was doing or why. She could not have risked them knowing straight away there would not have been enough time for her to make a clean escape. After finding the room in the mending wing empty they were sure to have jumped to the right conclusion. They would forgive her in time; she could not put another one of her friends in danger.

Will Zachary forgive me, she wondered. I'm sure this is what he expected from me all along. I hope he forgives himself after all it is not his fault he cannot ride with me now. In truth I probably would have slipped away from the group before we reached The Breach, she realised, they all mean too much to me for me to let them die.

She sighed. Oh Yates! If only I could have left you behind in Sacor City, you would still be there pulling pranks on the new riders. Why did you volunteer? She shook her head sadly, there had been too much loss. She missed her friend.

She had been riding almost constantly since the evening before, she had made camp for only a few hours in the early hours of the morning, and when Condor had needed a rest she had continued onwards on foot. At this rate she could be at the Wall in less than two days, it was an insane pace but she could not risk being caught up with.

Once she reached the encampment she would leave Condor tied with the other horses that way he would be well cared for, she would have to be careful though. If Dale recognised Condor before she crossed the Wall she may try to cut her off, she could not risk putting her friend in danger. Due to her injuries Dale had not travelled to Sacor City for the wedding and had instead volunteered to relay messages from the Tower of the Heavens. Hopefully if she moved under the cover of nightfall in the encampment no one would realise she had crossed the Breach until it was too late.

Suddenly Condor stopped, knowing that he was more intelligent than other horses she ran her hand over her broach, activating her special ability, without a second thought. She listened intently, surely enough she heard the sound of hoof beats coming up fast behind her. Trying to stay calm she got off Condor and led him in to the cover of the trees at the side of the road where it would be harder to see through her fading.

As the hoof beats grew closer she tried not to imagine being caught this far away from the Wall. Even though she reasoned no one could have managed to catch up with her yet so soon after her hasty departure it did not stop her heart from thundering inside her chest. All was silent on the road except a few native birds and the steady hoof beats of the approaching rider.

Karigan held her breath as the rider pulled in to view. The horse stopped level with where she stood in the trees, the rider looked directly in her direction and inclined their head. Suddenly Karigan realised that the rider was not human, nor Eletian for that matter. She frowned what would a spirit rider want with her. She noticed the spirit wore the uniform of the Green Riders, as the spirit raised her face to look directly at Karigan, recognition hit her hard. Lil!

"Karigan G'ladheon, it appears my time riding with you is not done yet." Lillian Ambriodhe announced wryly.

"Lil." Karigan lead Condor away from their hiding place on to the road, towards the First Rider. "You wish to ride in to Blackveil?"

"Aye. We will ride with you lass." She paused waiting for Karigan to move closer. "You may have left our living counterparts behind but we will ride. One last ride. One last stand. The Wild Ride."

Karigan was not surprised to see the spirits of Green Riders, old and new, young and old, familiar and unknown, appear behind the First Rider. She smiled weakly, at least her new comrades could not die for her. As she mounted Condor she saw two familiar faces in the crowd; Yates Cardell and Bard Martin smiled at her from where they sat astride ghost horses, she did not dare look at Yates for too long even though she desperately wanted to stare at him, talk to him. For her the pain of his loss in Blackveil was still too close to the bone.

Almost instinctually Condor started walking before breaking in to a full gallop, the spirit horses kept level with him as the countryside seemed to make way for them. The sound of Lil's horn rang in her ears, the sound of hoof beats dominated her consciousness and then everything became a blur. They rode, the spirits whispered excitably as they flew across the open expanse of countryside, the hoof beats rang clear on the dry road.

Suddenly it stopped. The mad dizzying rush had ended, but not where she had expected it to. She looked around at her surroundings but before she had time to fully recognise them Lil raised a ghostly arm and pointed to the tower in front of them.

"We have been here before lass. Here we will cross in to the nightmarish forest, the Tower of the Heavens, there is not much time left."

Karigan nodded. Once again she found herself beside the dark expanse of Blackveil Forest. A cold sensation washed over her hand like she had put it in to icy water. She looked down and smiled weakly when she realised Yates' spirit was trying to comfort her. Karigan shivered as she looked in to the unfathomable eyes of the spirit.

"I didn't think you'd want to return here." She said as together they started to walk towards the Wall. "Especially not after..."

Yates smiled at her. "I will not leave you walking blind in to Blackveil alone," He paused, "as you did not leave me when I was blind here."

This chapter was inspired by Ride like the Wind by Saxon

Originally I had something a little different in mind. I like the way it turned out more than the idea I originally planned.

I thought maybe Karigan shouldn't have to enter Blackveil completely alone.

Let me know what you think,

Rhii