Star Mother (Star Mother #1)(74)

CHAPTER 23


The pass was long and narrow, not unlike galloping through the body of a serpent. Its walls were steep and tall, and above them I could see the moon when clouds did not float past Her, but the mountains were so dark and cavernous, the moonlight never touched us. Ristriel surged onward, far steadier and quicker than any horse, fed by the shadows. My body grew sore and tired from the ride, and I worried my hands would remain permanently clenched for how tightly they held on to his mane.

In about two hours’ time, the pass began to open up, and again a few patters of rain kissed my face and hair. The mountains broke into a deep, wide, and dry-looking valley, as though spring had yet to come to this part of the world, if it ever did. Instead of grass, there were patches of dry shrubbery half made of needles, half of bones, and the Earth underfoot became dusty, slashed with red. I knew Ristriel could tell me why, but I dared not interrupt his ride or slow our progress. We had perhaps four hours left before dawn, and the spotty cloud cover would not last forever.

Taking in the landscape, I painted a picture of it in my mind so I could later re-create it in thread. This long escape alone would make a beautiful tapestry, though surely it would take me years to create.

The Earth flowed beneath us like the ocean. The mountain range behind us opened like the maw of a great wolf, stretching farther and farther away. The ground continued at a steady incline. Soon more boulders and strange rocky structures pebbled our way, bizarre and still as statues, perhaps the bodies of godlings long since claimed by time.

Ristriel slowed, his lungs heaving, and when he stopped I slid off him, stumbling on aching legs. I pulled the waterskin from my bag.

“I need to rest only a moment,” he said, his voice sounding from somewhere other than his mouth.

“You are so strong.” I ran my hand down his muscled neck. “We must have come a hundred miles already.”

“One hundred forty-seven and a third,” he panted, and I smiled at him. He lifted each of his legs, one at a time, stretching them out. The clouds, which grew steadily thicker the farther south we traveled, broke again, momentarily flooding the land with moonlight. I gazed up at the moon, wondering if she watched us, until the breeze pushed the clouds over her once again.

But the wind carried something else, an ethereal sound I was becoming increasingly familiar with, and it sent chills over every inch of my body.

The sound of pursuit.

I whirled around, facing the pass I could no longer see amidst the distant mountains. “Ris.”

“Get on. Quickly.”

He bent his knees and I scrambled onto his back, barely able to situate myself and my bags before he took off again, a shadow against shadows. He never even suggested we hide as we did in the forest, and it took me a moment to realize why.

The sounds of the chase were louder than they’d been before. More complex. Wings, hooves, and feet thundered toward us. We had more pursuers, and they were not searching for us. They knew exactly where we were.

A soft cry climbed up my throat. We were so close. So close! The Losoko Canyons, at Ristriel’s speed, were only an hour away. But Ristriel was tired, and these godlings were not. Their pursuit grew louder, louder, louder.

“Ceris!”

I hadn’t realized my skin was glowing. Ristriel shrunk beneath me, his steps wavering. Gritting my teeth, I willed it back into me. It was slow to obey, for panic was blooming in my heart. But I managed it, and Ristriel gained speed, for what little good that would do. His second mother slumbered beneath us, unaware Her child ran for his life. And his first mother spat upon us, for the clouds broke, and Ristriel gave way beneath me.

I flew forward, weightless, the world spinning around me, items spilling from my bags. Just before I hit, shadows surged up around me. It felt like falling into cold foam, and they slowed my descent enough that I didn’t break anything when I hit shoulder first, then hip. Part of my skirt tore as I slid across the dusty Earth, red particles flying around my head as I coughed.

“Ceris!” Ristriel was behind me, trying to help me up but unable to do so. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry—”

“I’m fine. I’m all right.” I pushed myself up, trying to bite down on a wince. I looked skyward. Any moment now the moon would hide again, and Ristriel would be whole. We were so close—

An ivory arrow pierced the ground inches from my hand. I stared at it, my mind slow to comprehend what it was.

I heard the whistle of a harpoon next. A cry stuck in my throat as it neared.

Ristriel spun around and caught it by the shaft, its tip inches from his hip. It was of celestial make, so he could touch it even in his ghostly form.

I realized then that Yar and Shu had managed to hurt him before only because they’d had the element of surprise.

As though summoned by my thoughts, I saw the horned godlings closing in, their bodies like centaurs’, moonlight glimmering off their blue-and silver-striped horns. Beside them was a creature as ghostly as Ristriel, her upper body humanlike, her lower half like a comet trailing behind her. Another of our pursuers was three times as wide as a man and dark as loam, eyes glowing gold in the darkness. Some resembled dogs, others resembled Yar and Shu. Eleven in total. They surrounded us in an uneven circle, every last one armed with shining ivory weapons.

My starlight shimmered. I held my breath until it faded.

A demigod could easily overpower a godling, but not eleven of them. Especially not when his companion continually deprived his strength with her own.