By the Sword - By Sara Flower Page 0,39

if she could ever be rid of her blood lust for the evil. It was what she had lived for so long.

The mare snorted.

Talya jumped back at the startling sound. The horse’s dark eyes were wide open now. She rolled onto her belly and pawed at the ground with her front hooves.

Talya’s pulse quickened.

She used all of her might to help the animal stand.

“Come on, you can do it!” cried Talya.

After several moments, the beautiful mare stood shakily on all fours.

Talya immediately grabbed the water from her bag and poured it over the mare’s wounds.

She removed her outer tunic – which was really much too heavy anyway – and began to tear strips from it, wrapping them around the mare’s largest leg wounds. She was amazingly tame considering the harsh treatment from that sweaty dolt.

The horse’s black, almost sheer wings spread. They had been, for the most part, spared from the brutal beating.

Thank God.

Then, the horse slowly dropped onto her knees.

Talya frowned.

“What are you doing?”

The horse whinnied. She had more strength in her than Talya would have thought. Talya had never ridden on a winged horse before. How well would a Pegasus obey commands?

Then again, anything bred and raised in Malinor would have to follow orders very well.

Pegasus horses were much smaller and most likely faster than the dragons back home. It would certainly solve the water issue – Talya would be at her destination by nightfall on a fast steed. They could both quench their parched throats in Hunter Forest.

Talya took the blanket from her sack and placed it on the mare’s back. She slowly got up onto the horse, being careful not to bump too many of her cuts and bruises.

The horse leaped gracefully into the air as she spread her wings and carried them high above the hot desert.

Talya closed her eyes. The fast ascent made her feel lightheaded again.

With a greater velocity than Sanctus’ swiftest firedrake, the horse flew toward the forest. Talya hung on to the mare’s strong neck until she got used to the feeling of flying so fast. Once she relaxed a little, she drifted into a fitful sleep as her new companion carried her toward the forest.

Talya dreamed of the boy again.

His childlike, sorrowful eyes from the previous dream had transformed into those of a soulless killer. He was now in his early teens. An angry red scar above his left eyebrow marred an otherwise flawless face.

He rode proudly on his ebony horse as he led thousands of men two, three, and four times his age into war. He was the only one not wearing a battle mask. He and his army collided with a sea of opposing warriors. With amazing stealth, the boy stabbed, sliced, and chopped his way through powerful opposing warriors. Talya wondered what battle it was. She could not recognize the other army’s armor.

The vision then transported Talya to after the war. The boy was beheading the hopelessly wounded of his own army. He was already becoming one of them.

As Talya watched him, she saw a wounded, angry youth forced into being something that he never would have dreamed. They had made him into something he did not want to become.

A tall, powerfully built warrior approached him. The cocky lad suddenly cowered in the man’s presence, appearing to be the young boy he truly was.

“What did I tell you about the horses?” the man roared.

It sounded like the same man that had given him the piece of bread when he was younger.

The boy hung his head.

“If I catch you sparing the enemy’s horses again, I will beat you so badly that you will wish you were never born!” the masked commander yelled.

He struck the boy numerous times.

The youth didn’t cry out. He stood tall and proud, and not one tear emerged from his emotionless eyes as the last morsel of humanity was beaten out of him.

Talya awoke covered in sweat. The cool breeze hit her flesh, chilling her to the bone. She took a canteen from her bag and drank. When they landed, she would have to make a fire.

Talya could think of nothing else but that horrific vision.

Why am I seeing these things? How can I help this boy now that he has become like every other soldier in Malinor?

Talya remembered the scroll that Uittan had given her, and she opened it, intent on reading at least one chapter before they got to the forest. As she read the words, peace began to coat her troubled heart.