Escape

Uras involuntarily pulled the reins. It might have been a night owl, but everyone in the group knew it wasn't a bird. The wings carrying this creature could have had the same shape as a bird. It moved with the slow and powerful motion of a hunting bird, swung back and forth in long arcs. But the creature's size was questionable. Across the moon, his body was larger than a human. It crossed the face of the moon again, turning downward, disappearing into the darkness.

He didn't realize Uras was coming towards him until Ewin grabbed his arm. "What are you sitting here looking at, boy? We have to move on." Others were waiting behind Uras.

David seemed to be struggling not to let his fear of ñarq take over his feelings. Elendiz hoped he would dismiss it as a bat or a trick of his eyes. Uras grunted a word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Snager" Erendiz and the others looked up nervously at the sky from all directions, but Ewin groaned softly.

"Yes," he said. "It would be foolish to hope otherwise. If the Black cavalry has a Snager at his disposal, he will soon find out where we are. We must move quickly. If we can get to the Red River, we may lose track when we cross there."

"Snager?" said Elendiz. "What's this?"

It was Tumaris who answered him hoarsely. "After the Fall of Tonka, your blue ice dragon living in that dark forest was created."

Ewin's head suddenly turned towards him as he spoke. The darkness could not hide the sharpness of his gaze. Ewin said, "Now we'll cross the South Road. Follow my lead, keep up, and stay together, with your lives." He turned his horse and the others galloped after him without a word.

The horses lay on the rough soil of the South Road, their manes and tails bouncing back in the moonlight as they raced South, their hooves beating in a steady rhythm. Uras led ahead, Ewin's black horse and himself almost invisible in the dark night. Keeping pace with the strides of his Ewin horse, Uras's white mare was like a pale arrow rushing through the darkness. The rest followed him in tight line, as if tied to a rope.

David and Abigial were last in the gallop, Erendiz was just ahead of Tumaris. Yelis never turned her head, keeping her eyes on where they were running rather than where they were running, and held onto Ewin tightly. This experience was very new to him. It was David and Abigail's job to sound the alarm if the Black knight or that flying creature appeared in the background.Every few minutes, Uras held on to his horse's mane and reins as he stretched his neck to look behind him.

But everywhere was empty, and when Uras looked behind him, only darkness and shadows met his eyes. Shadows that can hide an army.

The horses sped through the night like a ghost, easily keeping pace with Ewin's stallion. And Uras' horse wanted to go faster. He wanted to catch Ewin's horse and struggled to catch him. At times, Uras had to grip the reins tightly to hold him back. The horses were accelerating to pass each other, as if they thought this escape was a race.

Yelis hugged Ewin with all her muscles tense.She fervently wished he hadn't realized how uneasy she was. Uras, leaning on the neck of his white horse, was anxiously following Yelis and Ewin's horses. The woman who joined them at the last moment was trying to keep up with this race with her mare. Uras did not want Erendiz among them. But would they be slow for him now? Or would he leave her behind? Uras , Tumaris, Woman and others were strong but Erendiz, he was a child.

Realizing that the sides of the horses were smoky and that the horses would not carry any more, Uras announced, "Even if I want to leave all this behind and reach the East now," a few hours of rest would not be bad right now. Are we sure we have enough leads to allow this?" Ewin stopped his horse and looked at him. A gust of wind brought some fragrance from the shores of Karagöl from below. Uras searched for Erendiz and Tumaris in the dark. Both were leaning against their horses, slumped to the ground. Only Ewin, David, Abigial, and Woman showed no visible signs of fatigue.

"We can't stop until we cross the mountain," said Ewin sternly. "Not more than a few minutes."

"But horses," Rand objected. "We're going to kill them, we shouldn't try to go any further tonight." Ewin stopped his horse, and the woman, who had not spoken the whole time, dismounted, clutching her long skirts. All the horses had stopped. The woman walked among the horses and pushed Uras's horse, putting her hands on his neck. Uras fell silent. Suddenly the horse nodded in a soft mat, as if he had spent a week in the stable. He danced a step sideways restlessly.The woman went to all the horses without a word.

"I didn't know you could do that," Elendiz told Tumaris, her cheeks flushed.

" First from the horses, then from you.

When the woman finished her work, she stood next to Uras. "You were right about the horses, Uras," he said. At this time, a cry broke through the darkness, a voice like a man dying under sharp knives, and wings flew low over the group. With their panic screams, the horses reared wildly.

The wind of Snager's wings was hitting Uras. His horse sprang into the air, twisting helplessly as if trying to throw something sticking out of him. Hanging on the reins, Uras was swept off his feet and dragged along the ground, the horse screaming terribly. Uras was somehow holding the reins; Using his other hand as much as his legs, he stood up, taking leaping, staggering steps to avoid being dragged down again. He couldn't let the horse escape. He frantically threw out a hand, barely catching the bridle. The horse reared up, lifted him into the air; Uras hugged helplessly, hoping the horse would calm down. The horse was stiff and trembling. Uras was also trembling and almost dangling from the bridle. This jolt must have shaken the stupid animal, he thought. He took three or four deep, shaky breaths. Only then was he able to look around and see what had happened to the others.

Chaos reigned all around. Tumaris and Erendiz did not seem very successful in calming the rearing horses. It seemed that only the others had never had a problem with their mounts. The woman sat upright in her saddle, her horse gently pulling away from the mess, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Uras scanned the sky with a sword in one hand and the reins in the other. "Snager must have already informed the Black Rider of our whereabouts." Another shrill cry came from far above. Ewin said, "He's watching us now, marking us for the Black Horse. He won't be far."

Yelis was frightened. Snager squeaked once more, "Hurry!" Ewin said.

With a start, Ewin realized that instead of riding his horse, he was standing there looking up at the sky in a vain attempt to locate the source of the screams. Moreover, he had unwittingly drawn his sword.

His face reddened, glad that the night had hid him. Strangely, with one hand on the reins, he sheathed the sword again and hurriedly glanced at the others.

They galloped up the road and beside the domed hill. They galloped in a knot, the horses almost pushing each other around as they ran. A scream came from above. Uras was right behind Ewin and Yelis, the grays trying to make their way between Erendiz, Tumaris and the woman's horses. Tumaris and Erendiz raced on either side of him, while the female Abigial and David followed behind. Encouraged by the creature's cries, Uras' horse ran beyond anything Uras could do to slow him down even if he wanted to, with his neck stretched out and his tail and mane rippling in the wind of his run. Evidently, the Woman had done more than just relieve him of exhaustion. In the moonlight, Tumaris' face was smiling with excited pleasure. Her braid rippled from behind like horses' manes, and the gleam in her eyes wasn't quite visible.

They galloped through a thin layer of mist. Cloud rushed through it in two steps, and Yelis blinked, wondering if she was imagining it. Of course the night was too cold for the fog. A large piece was tossed aside from their side. Yelis could only select other shapes. He had traveled through the night with people he had never met, and now he was living a night that was even more frightening than the fairy tales Uncle David had told him. "There's still only one place we can go," a woman called, her voice empty and directionless.

"The black cavalry may be trying to ambush us." Ewin replied, "I will use my strength not to fall in his trap." They galloped forward in silence.

The mist covered both the sky and the ground, and their horses' legs seemed to float among the destroyed clouds. thus turning themselves into shadows, the riders appeared as if they were floating among the night clouds. Yelis shifted in her saddle, as if trying to get away from the icy fog. Knowing that Ewin could do something gave him some relief. He realized that he was holding his breath. He couldn't complete this journey without breathing. He had to let go and breathe in. The air was heavy, but it was no different from other foggy nights, even if it was colder. He told himself this, but he wasn't sure he believed it. Ewin encouraged them to stand close now, where they could see each other's outlines in that damp, cold gray. Still, he did not slow his horse's running. The woman and Ewin drove side by side through the fog as if they could clearly see what was ahead of them. The rest could just trust and follow. .The high-pitched screams that followed as they galloped off and then disappeared, but that wasn't much consolation.

For a long time they heard nothing but the hooves of their horses. Hours must have passed, Yelis was sure of that. Her arms were too tight to be sure she could let go of Ewin, and she wondered if she would ever be able to walk properly again. He only looked behind him once. Shadows in the mist chased after him, but even he couldn't be sure of their number. Or even because they're really his friends. He was soaking wet from the cold and damp, down to his jacket and shirt. Only the stream of air passing over his face and the gathering and stretching of the horse beneath him told him he was moving. Hours must have passed.

"Slow," Ewin called suddenly. "Pull the reins."

Uras' horse was so startled that he took half a dozen paces between Ewin and the Woman before he could pull away and stare. Houses appeared all around in the fog. He had never seen this place before. A lone dog, invisible in the fog, barked furiously at them and then fled. Yelis thought this place was quite different from the world she knew.

Ewin and the Woman stopped in front of a tall, dark house that looked exactly like the other houses in town. Mist swirled like smoke around her as she jumped out of her saddle and climbed the stairs that led to the front door, as high as their heads from the street. Ewin banged his fist on the door at the top of the stairs. Suddenly, the door was opened by a man in a nightgown that fluttered on his bare ankles. An oil lamp in one hand illuminated a narrow, pointed face. "What is this?" said. "What is this?" "Dumrul," said Ewin. "We want you to take us across the river."

The sharp-faced man raised his lamp higher and looked at them suspiciously.

A minute later he said gruffly, "Only during the day and in exchange for good pay."

The man was starting to spin when Ewin caught his wrist. The man opened his mouth in anger. The woman pointed to the small glass bottles she had pulled out of the cloak. The man, unable to believe what he was seeing, approached the bottles.

"Now?" The man slid his feet, chewing on his lower lip, and stared into the foggy night, then suddenly shook his head. "Now it is. Well, let go of my wrist. I have to get ready."

"We'll wait here," Ewin said flatly, and man nodded, hastily pushing the door shut.