A Flame of Hurt and Harrow by T.S. Howard

Author:T.S. Howard [T.S. Howard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Maelan Press
Published: 2022-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

The Mountain Pass

Growing up, Faron’s idea of the outside world mostly consisted of small hills covered in green-yellow grass and patches of pines and aspens, all outnumbered by an army of small oaks. In more recent years, he had seen only ebony and stone, the trademarks of Blackwood. Now, he had passed them both and left them far behind, the jagged ranges of the Therodran peaks swallowing him, pulling him deeper and deeper into their stony bowels. Ranges he had once gazed upon as a child towered above him in powerful majesty. The night had been long but the most wonderful of his life. The sky had since turned gray, and the earliest morning rays were peaking over the distant horizon, striking the highest tips of the mountain range with violent shades of pink and orange. Faron felt he had never seen anything so beautiful.

Reveling in his freedom, Faron slowly led his horse away from the pursuit that surely followed. Onyx had been faithfully persevering through the long hours of the night and could go no faster. Soon, she’d have to stop completely. At the top of this switchback, still only a fraction up the side of the tremendous cliff, he allowed her to rest. He dismounted by a fresh patch of new grass shoots. “There, girl,” Faron said, patting her side. She had performed admirably for a loan horse. Already, she seemed completely comfortable around Faron, though she had only known him for a day.

He hurriedly ate an apple while his mount grazed wearily. Under the cover of night, he had felt a sense of relative safety, but he hadn’t been the only one traveling. Somewhere to the west, Synick had walked the long dark tunnels underneath the two cities and had reported to Dageran by now. Whatever illusions he’d maintained about safety were fleeing quickly.

Onyx nibbled at the grass tiredly, and Faron felt anxiousness return to him. Jakal’s beast wouldn’t go half as slow up these hills. Massive, ashen, and muscled like an eel, his horse thundered if it moved at all, and it never tired. Legend told of the great horses of Kaor that could run for weeks without food or water. It was said the only thing the Kaorn valued more than their horses was the defense of their borders. They were a mysterious and violent people. Suddenly, Synick’s false trail and short delay didn’t feel like such an advantage.

When scanning the forested and hilly surroundings for signs of pursuit proved fruitless, Faron fed the remains of his apple to his tired horse and furrowed his brow when she was still hungry. Jakal could track a rat in a city. If he didn’t keep moving, he was as good as dead.

“That won’t do,” he said to himself, and an idea struck him. Spying a thick patch of yellow stalks just off the road, he jumped into the midst of them and uprooted as much as he could. Within a few minutes, a large armful lay bundled under one arm.

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