The Rising Mist by M.J. Evans

Author:M.J. Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, fantasy adventure, fantasy book, trilogy books, young adult fantasy, stories about horses, stories about animals, fantasy childrens book fiction action adventure magic, middle grade fiction, horse stories, juvenile fantasy, kids fantasy, stories about teenagers, middle grade fantasy, fantasy fiction books, fantasy ebook, fantasy animals, trilogy of books, fantasy books for young adults, fantasy fiction for children, fantasy about horses and unicorns, stories about unicorns, fantasy about animals, fantasy about a horse, fantasy books for kindle, horses and unicorns, kids horse stories, middle grade fantasy trilogy, the mist trilogy
Publisher: M.J. Evans

Chapter 13: Loveless Lake

As they walked down the winding, narrow path to the lake, Nick was lost deep in his own thoughts. He realized that he had no idea how long he had been enveloped by the cone of black mist. He wondered how many days it had been since he had crossed this lake to face Hasbadana. He laughed at his own naiveté. How had he believed that he could just walk into Hasbadana’s kingdom and convince the evil lord of the Dark Kingdom to let him take Lynn and Nancy home? Now Urijah was paying the price. He shook his head to clear it of the pain that these thoughts caused. What could he have done differently? What should he have done differently? He forced himself to remember that Urijah had allowed, even encouraged him, to go on this mission. Then something that Urijah had said came to his mind: “My beloved friends, I cannot honestly say that you will be able to succeed.” How much had Urijah foreseen? Had he known all along that Nick and Bethany would fail? Had he known he would have to trade his life for theirs even as he sent them off?

By this time, they reached the shore of Loveless Lake. Awaiting their return, the little rowboat bounced against the rotting pier, just where they had left it. The surface of Loveless Lake was not the quiet, black mirror it had been upon their arrival. Waves rolled in from the center of the lake and crashed against the pilings of the pier, causing it to creak with complaint. There was no fog sitting softly on the surface of the water today, but that did not make visibility any better. Looking out across the lake, the black sky melted into the rolling black water. The line of separation could not be distinguished from where they stood looking out.

“We’re crossing in that?” said Nancy, fear evident in her voice.

Bethany and Nick nodded solemnly.

“Okay, then,” she said, drawing on her reserve of courage and turning to lead the way down to the dock.

Nick smiled as he watched her walk with determination out onto the shaking pier. He was reminded of one of her favorite sayings when they had lived on the earth. Whenever they were faced with a challenge and someone wanted to complain or, worse, give-up, she would say: “Just pull up your big-girl pants!” Nancy had pulled up her big- girl pants and was heading out into the darkness.

Nancy stepped cautiously into the rocking boat, steadying herself by grabbing tightly to the sides. Once she had both feet firmly planted in the bottom of the boat, she turned and offered a hand of assistance to her family and friend while clutching tightly to the side of the boat with the other.

They all felt great relief once they were each seated on a wooden bench inside the tiny wooden boat. The girls gripped the edge of the boat firmly with their hands, starring into the darkness ahead of them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.