Ranger Rising

Part 19.2 Break of Dawn

I don't think I stopped running until I made it through town. Breathless, sopping wet, and covered in mud, I nearly fell against the inn door before I got it open. The innkeeper, a portly woman named Wilhemina, practically jumped as I stumbled into the building. "Where's Aust?" I asked, pushing my hair out of my face. It had fallen out of its braid and was laying in wisps around my face.

"Lena, what in the gods' names is going on?" she demanded, stepping around the bar towards me.

I could feel the pain in my side setting in. Standing up felt more like a challenge than anything else. I grit my teeth and said again, "Where's Aust?"

"Probably still up in his room, getting ready for the day I reckon," Wilhemina told me. She shook her head and started towards me.

I ducked under her outstretched arms and bolted for the stairs at the opposite end of the inn. "I've got to see him now!"

"What on earth is the rush Lena..." Aust threw open his door and appeared on the open hallway above. He had his cloak half way on and his boots were unlaced. Not to mention the note of irritation on his face as he glared down at me. Then, however, his voice trailed away and the glare melted away as he really got a good look at me. "What's happened?" he said as he hurried down the stairs.

"It's the Eriksons and the beast!" I answered, pointing back in the vague direction I'd come from.

Aust latched on to my shoulders. "Is anyone hurt?"

I shook my head. "It killed a cow. Completely destroyed it. I thought the deer we found in the clearing was terrible but..."

Aust pressed his hand to my mouth. "Hush, not so loud," he said quietly before shooting Wilhemina a glance. She stood off to the side of us with a tilted head. "Take a breath and tell me what you know."

"I think the creature hid behind the Erikson's barn and waited for the cows to come up for morning feed and milking. Then it leaped out and caught itself an easy meal."

His face went the same ashen pale Father's had and his jaw went slack. Then the expression was gone. The drain of color remained though. "Come, quickly!"

He dropped his grip on me and turned for the door. I stumbled after him gracelessly, following him around the back of the inn to the connected stables. Aust had just barely taken a step through the doors when he whistled. Dílis lifted his head from the stall he was in. "Awn ni!" Aust called to him in Elfin.

Dílis jumped over the stall door without hesitation and trotted to Aust's side. "Have you ever ridden before?" he asked me, as he pulled a hackamore from a nearby peg on the wall.

"A horse or a deer?" I asked, looking over at Dílis who stood dutifully still as Aust slipped the noseband over his muzzle. I feel like he already knew the answer if it was a deer.

Aust didn't miss a beat, "A horse."

I raised my hands into the air, turning the palms up and scrunching my face into an expression I couldn't quite describe. "Uh... sort of?"

Father had let me ride the ponies every Harvestend when I was under the age of twelve. He'd always stood beside me with his hands on my hips to keep me from falling from the saddle.

"Fantastic. There's no difference. Up you go!" he said right before lifting me up and setting me on Dílis's back. All too easily.

"Wait! Hold on a minute!" My voice shot up an entire octave as my fingers curled deep into the fur on Dílis's neck.

"Unfortunately we don't have that at the moment. Just hang on and trust me little one."

Aust jumped up behind me, looping one arm over my waist and grabbing the reins with his free hand. I swallowed the lump of nerves that had shot into my throat. I felt a little less in danger of sliding off with his help. It was like all those times at Harvestend with Father, only Aust was a lot closer. I repeated that in my head as Aust touched his heels to Dílis's side and took off faster than any pony I'd ever been on.