Cassian and the 3 diablos

Flying lessons

About 2 hours later, when the moon begun to rise, Cassian stopped his horse at an opening to rest. The diablos who were behind the horse all sighed in relief, holding their tail bones in pain. Cassian slid off his horse with ease while the girls slid off from behind. Gwyn came off first followed my Emerie and then Nesta.

An hour ago, when the horse was slowing down, Emerie used her part of the chain to catch a pointed rock so the girls could hop off the horse. Phillip neigh loudly, startling Cassian. By the time Cassian got Phillip to calm down, the girls were off the horse and were running in the opposite direction. Cassian, furious by their attempt to escape, lightly kicked Phillip on his side for him to get the girls. The diablos didn't get very far before Cassian scooped them back up and placed them back on the horse, Phillip still riding into the sunset. "Next time you do that, I'll let Phillip trample you!" This time, the girls waited.

Now, Cassian grabbed the end of the chain that was near Nesta and pulled the girls along. The girls tried their best to keep up with the giant Illryian but with the way he pulled them, they just let him drag them around. When Cassian stopped, he tired the chain to a log that the girls were forced to sit on. Phillip was near them while Cassian patted his nuzzle. "Watch them. If they move, neigh as loud as you can." Phillip snorted in understanding. Cassian turned to the girls pointing an accusing finger. "And as for you, don't even think about getting away." With that, Cassian walked away from the diablos and his horse to walk around the desert.

When he was gone, Gwyn turned to Nesta. "Where do you think he's going?" she asked with curiosity. Nesta shrugged. "Probably to get some fire wood."

"In the desert?" Emerie asked this time while looking at her chained ankle. "We can't tell him where Devlon is. Any luck with the chains Gwyn?" Gwyn shook her head. "Nope. He wasn't lying about the locks changing. It's a lot harder than it was before." Nesta groaned. "Well this is just great. Now what?"

It was silent for a moment. Finally, Emerie gasped. "I think I can unlock the chains with my wings." Gwyn and Nesta shot her a look of interest. "I've never done it before, but with these sharp edges, I think it could work."

"It's worth a shot." Nesta replied gesturing for Emerie to give it a try. Emerie nodded and place the sharp end of her wing inside the locket. She turned and twisted and heard the lock click a few times. Until she turned to the right one final turn and soon a loud click was heard. Emerie froze and so did her friends. "Did it work?" Gwyn asked as Emerie slowly took out her wing and spread the ankle brace apart. It snapped in two.

Emerie was free.

Emerie and the others resisted the urge to squeal in delight though Phillip notice their sudden amusement. Nesta gasped and pointed at the horse. "Gwyn quick! The horse!" Gwyn and Nesta wasted no time covering the horse's mouth with their tiny arms. "Get out of here and warn Devlon!" Nesta yelled as Emerie stayed put. "What about you two?"

"It's fine we can handle it!" Gwyn said as Phillip tried to make a sound but nothing came out. Emerie looked at her friends one more time and ran off into Cassian direction.

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Emerie's legs were planning to give up on her. She had been running for so long she was surprised she didn't trip yet. She should've tried to fly. Used her wings instead of her legs. But she couldn't. She didn't know how to fly. And her father forbade her from even thinking about it. But she always thought about it. What it would feel like to fly in the sky like a bird. Emerie looked up at the sky and noticed the white dots that appeared. She didn't know what they were called, but she loved them anyway. Unfortunately, looking up in the sky caused her to not look forward.

Emerie bumped her head on something hard, causing her to stop and fall on her butt. "Ow!" she said, rubbing her head. Emerie looked up and wished she had more time to run away. In front of her was Cassian holding some firewood. Cassian glared at her and dropped his firewood. "You little-!" Emerie squeaked and ran off trying to avoid Cassian's arms. Emerie ran through Cassian's legs, hoping that it would throw off his balance by a lot. But Cassian only turned around and lifted Emerie by the back of her blue shirt. "Where are the others?" he asked as Emerie turned away from him with her arms crossed. "I'm not telling you anything." Cassian rolled his eyes and shot up into the air, his wings carrying him up. Emerie screamed and held onto his arm. Cassian landed onto the edge of the gorge that was above them. Cassian held out his arms onto the edge to intimidate the young girl. Emerie gasped. "Are you crazy! You're gonna kill me!"