Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
I suddenly had a thought and held up my finger. My magic pulsed, and I hoped I had time to meditate out here so I could figure out how to control those pulses.
“If he tells us to do something that turns out to be a practical joke, please know that we didn’t mean it. That’s his bad, not ours. I know when to stop his jokes in our culture—the ones that would probably give someone a heart attack—”
“Only partly true,” Sebastian muttered.
“—but I have no idea in yours. So…I’m going to throw him under the bus for that. I don’t want to die because of a joke.”
Dang it! I got the furrowed brow and head tilt. I was as bad as Sebastian.
“I am not sure about a…bus, but I get your meaning,” said the basandere. “Yes, he can be very immature. He doesn’t seem to learn.”
“I mean…I wasn’t trying to talk badly about the guy. Some of those jokes are hilarious…”
“Definitely not true,” Sebastian grumbled, the butt of one or two of said jokes.
“Come,” she said. “We will travel to our home. Let us hope that what you have said is true.”
“Still no name,” Ulric whispered as we waited for the basajaunak to join us on the trail. “I’m going to die of curiosity. I totally get that Dick story about Pandora. Seriously, I’d ruin the world, no problem, to answer this question.”
“Men do love to create stories about women ruining everythin’,” Niamh drawled, “and yet they’re the ones in power. They create wars and famine and burn women at the stake. Methinks we’re pointin’ fingers at the wrong villains…”
“Awesome! Ruining things to get a pointless question answered is already in my wheelhouse.” Ulric put a fist in the air. “Let’s get it done.”
“Please don’t cause a ruckus,” I said. “We’ve only been granted passage. We’re not safe from anything.”
To my surprise, our basajaun filed in with us, choosing a spot just in front of me. He probably worried my crew would get me in trouble. I worried he would.
We continued along. In a while, we split from the trail we’d been following, moving onto another that quickly started to climb.
“It’s been a while since I hiked,” I murmured, leaning forward to get a little momentum. It didn’t seem to work, not to mention the basajaun’s butt was right in my face, and he’d spent the last couple of days eating Edgar’s flowers. I worried about his flower flatulence problem.
Up and up the trail went, climbing the side of a mountain and lifting us out of the sanctuary of redwoods. The landscape quickly changed from a thick pelt of green back to the yellow and brown grasses and scraggly bushes. The trees up here were what I was used to—oak and pine and others I didn’t know by name. The small trail hadn’t been a problem on mostly flat land, but now it hugged the side of the mountain, and the price for stumbling would be a helluva tumble.
I looked to my right, watching the slope fall away at an alarming rate. There would be no saving me if I rolled down the side. Without healing magic, it would be a death sentence, no question. There weren’t any roots or branches or anything to grab on to, not until you were falling so fast that they wouldn’t be of any help anyway. Even with healing magic, I probably wouldn’t have the chance to fix what was broken before lights out.
“I can see how a mountain goat would find this trail easy,” I said, pausing a moment to catch my breath. My leg muscles burned. The sun beat down on my sweaty face. “Creatures as big as basajaunak? Not so much. They don’t seem freaked out, though. Hardly any room to maneuver, but they’re good to go.” I squinted up at the sky, expanding my chest. “Good grief, this is a doozy of a trail.”
The basajaun slowed and turned to look back at me. “This? No. This is just the beginning. It gets steep a little farther up.”
“It gets steep?” I heard Ulric ask.
“Natural deterrent to attack, right here.” I soldiered on, pushing on my thighs to help them along. Not surprisingly, it didn’t work. “No one is bothering to hunt you guys down.”
I wondered if the mages would even be able to get to us. I doubted they’d pack for a few days’ hike or whatever this turned out to be.
Lord, I hoped this wouldn’t be a few days’ hike.
In another hour, we all experienced what the basajaun had meant. The trail felt like it shot straight up toward the peak. Hard breathing sounded from almost everyone in my crew. I felt exhaustion from Austin, though I doubted he or his shifters showed it.
“Can I fly?” Cyra asked someone. “This is crazy. My kind aren’t meant to scale mountains.”