{Fields of Ashes. Continued}

  Roxie and I stare up in shock at the volley of arrows preparing to fall straight down on us, a whistling sound only growing louder with each passing second.

  I feel like all my muscles are stuck, frozen in place to the point I can't move at all. Fear tightening in my chest like the ugly reminder it is.

We're going to die....

  No!

  I refuse to stand here and be shot down like some unsuspecting deer.

There's suddenly a flash of warmth that ignites in my chest, spreading out to each of my limbs. Warming them as my mind clicks in place.

  I turn to my right, practically barreling into the frozen in shock Roxie as I push her outside of the area the arrows are about to hit.

  Her foot catches on the uneven ground, and we both fall to the ground from the force of my shove. Our heads tucking into our body's as we automatically prepare to be assaulted with pain beyond what any of us have witnessed.

  I flinch as there's four soft thuds no more then a foot away from where we're laying, my feet instinctively drawing up closer to my torso.

   But no pain.

  Peeking out, I'm instantly relieved to see four dark shafts sticking out from the snow covered ground a foot away from my feet.

  I let a pent-up breath out, immediately standing back up from my position down against Roxie.

  Apparently I was shielding her with my body. Who knew I was so noble.

Reaching down, I pull Roxie up beside me in one quick movement as my eyes stay trained on the soldiers in the distance. A air of anger now surrounding them.

  I quickly glance around, figuring out our options.

  We could make a run for the forest edge. Though they'd probably catch up with us before we made it there.

  I could most definitely make there in time. But Roxie can't.

  If we made it in there we could most likely make it, seeing as the thick forest might be too much for the horses. Maybe.

  We could escape back up the mountain....Though the impending doom above doesn't sound much better than dying here. And even if we just hid ourselves halfway up they'd just wait us out. We'd die probably by nightfall from the chill.....Well Roxie anyway.

  Though I'm sure even I wouldn't be able to handle the cold too a certain extent. Then there's no food. No water.

  No...we have to....run.

  I clasp my right hand around Roxie's forearm, her eyes immediately snapping up to me. I motion over towards the closest forest edge to the left with my eyes, a meaningful glint in them.

  "We need to make a run for it. It's our only chance." I tell her, dead-serious as my eyes land back on the soldiers who now seem to be observing us. Waiting.

  She swallows, glancing back over at them before looking back up at me. Then I see her nod from the corner of my eye.

  I tighten my grip on her arm, signaling the right time.
 
Turning to my left, we take off at a sprint towards the edge of the forest. Our capes flutter annoyingly behind us, Roxie's footsteps loud to my ears. I repeatedly glance over my shoulder as I pull Roxie along, hating the open surroundings but knowing it's the only option.

  The scabbard bumps into my thigh with each large step I take, oddly comforting in a way I can't describe.

  Roxie's labored breathing sounds like a blizzard in my ears, my own breathing turning more ragged than I'd like from the overexertion I've already done this morning.

  She'd better appreciate this.

I force her to move faster as I catch the sound of sudden loud footsteps behind us. The clinking of weapons as they move forward.

  Charging us.

  I swallow the dryness away from my throat, moving faster as desperation fuels both our tanks. Fear clawing at our hearts as our exposed backs burn like targets ready to be shot.

  Come on. Only about a hundred yards left.

  I stare at the forest edge in front of us. Almost feeling like it's teasing us as it just seems to hang there in the distance. Unmoving despite how fast we go.

  I tense as I pick up the sound of a arrow being fitted, a dry string crackling as it's stretched back. There's a horrible pause, and I suddenly find myself jumping in behind Roxie as I once again shield her with my own body.

  No more than two seconds go by before there's a whoosh in the air along with another whistling sound as a arrow travels through the air much faster than normal.

  My eyes squeeze together, back tensing in preparation for the pain.

My eyes pop back open as there's suddenly a new sound that's drowned out from the rest. Soft, yet quick footsteps through the snow.

Heading for us.

There's a sickening thud right after those light footsteps pause - as-if they were jumping, the sound of a thin cylinder object burying itself deeply into skin and muscle echoing in my ears.

I wince at there's a sudden powerful shoot of pain in my left shoulder, a barely contained shout of pain leaving my lips as my body jerks forward. Feet almost falling out from beneath me from the shock of agony.

  There's another thud behind us, different from the other one.

My right hand automatically reaches around to grasp at the back of my left shoulder, feeling around. Expecting a thick shaft of coarse wood to be sticking out from my skin along with warm blood running out.

Nothing.

  So why....?

Realization hits me like a brick wall, my feet skidding to a halt as I swing myself back around to face the incoming soldiers.

  And there, no more than six feet away, lays a motionless Ron on his right side.

  The three foot wooden shaft of an arrow sticking out from under his left shoulder blade.

My breath catches, the pain fizzling and spurting inside my own shoulder as-if I was the one to actually get shot. My mind works to process what just happened, thoughts scrambled.

He....he jumped in the way. He took the arrow instead of me.

I find myself staring dumbly down at Ron who's twitching in pain, some of his  emotions suddenly invading my head.

  Agony. Pain. Confusion. Sadness. Fear.

  I snap out of my clouded mind as I feel a hand on my arm, Roxie urging me forward. Her face frantic as she repeatedly glances from the forest, back to the soldiers.

  The soldiers that are no more than a hundred and fifty yards away.

  My eyes stay stuck on Ron, on the ring of red that's slowly growing wider and wider around the shaft. His white coat only making it stand out more.

  And even though I've only known him for a mere couple of days, I can't help but feel like I'd be....deserting him if I chose to leave him.

  No. It's almost like I....can't leave him. Like something in my body simply can't even fathom that one thought.

  And I'm surprised to feel that....I don't want to leave him.

I pull my arm out of her grip, her face immediately changing to one of horror as I begin to run back towards Ron. She hesitates for a second, then I hear her follow foolishly behind me.

Kneeling down beside Ron's head, I place my hand on the silkie coat of his flank, meeting his eyes.

  His red eyes are weak with pain, cloudy as they flutter between open and closed. His legs continuously twitch like he wants nothing more than to get up and run, his ears laid back against his head as he stares up at me.

  "Ron." I mutter, gently stroking his forehead like I've got all the time in the world. Almost forgetting I have five royal guards currently charging straight for me with the intent to kill.

  Go.

  I shake my head, awkwardly moving my arms around as I try to figure out a way to pick him up without hitting the protruding arrow.

  I'm not leaving you.

I stare at his eyes, finalizing my words. I reach under his rump with my left arm, positioning my right under his neck.

  There's a sudden sharp stab through my left shoulder as I lift up on him, and Ron immediately whines. I let go, a lightheadedness sensation enveloping my head and making my vision swirl for a split second.

  Stupid spirit animal connection I can't control.

"Callon, hurry!" Roxie shouts, standing just behind me.

  The fear spikes in my chest as I realize I can't lift him without possibly injuring him worse than he already is, helplessness sucking me down to the point I feel like I weigh five-hundred pounds.

  Just like everything else. Because no matter what anyone says, I'm helpless and a failure.

I'm nothing.

I stare back down at Ron, catching his gaze. "I'm..sorry." I say, shoulders slouching in defeat.

The pounding of horses hooves in snow only grows louder, and their resolve to not shoot anymore arrows makes me believe they think they've already won. Expecting it to be the easiest thing in the world for them.

  There's suddenly a spark of rage in my veins that comes out of nowhere, my nostrils flaring as I take an extra large breath. My heartbeat picks up as flames of heat seem to grow deep inside my chest, my head warming to the point I feel sweat brimming at my hairline.

  No. It's not over yet.

If someone was to ask me what exactly happened right after I felt this spark of.....courage. I'd have to say I don't remember anything.

  It all goes by in a blur.

  First I was crouching next to a gravely injured Ron, practically admitting defeat. Then a scorching heat - much like the one on the cliff, overwhelms me, and I find myself standing up with my sword already drawn. My heart beating faster than what would be considered healthy, adrenaline pumping through my veins like liquid fire as a red haze grows around my vision.

  I'm not giving up so easily. Not like in the past.

  My feet carry me forward, and I vaguely registers the five soldiers slowing their horses down as they realized I was walking out to meet them. Their actions showing hesitation and wariness.

  My head angles down towards the ground, yet my eyes stare unblinkingly at them. My feet move in large strides. Not running, but not exactly walking either.

  My right hand grasps the hilt of my sword with more force than necessary, the point lowered down to the ground as I hold it out from my body slightly. Face impassive.

Blue and red tendrils snake out from my body, curling up from my fingertips and wrapping around my arms.

  A ball of heat coils painfully up inside my body, pulsing with each beat of my heart as it only grows bigger.

The leader suddenly understands what's happening, eyes widening. He immediately shouts a command to his men, his hand already moving to turn his horse around.

  Only it's too late.

  A yell rings out around the frozen meadow, and I don't realize until later that it came from me.

  A large gust of wind seems to shoot outwards from me, those tendrils riding the air as it all heads in one direction.

All five of the horses rear in surprise as the gust of wind washes over them, their manes and tails flapping wildly in the wind as they neigh in terror. The soldiers grip their horses tighter, eyes closed tight as they concentrate on not letting go.

  The leader - having been further behind, manages to direct his horse out from the wall of wind. Glancing back one last time before he gallops back the way he came from. Safe.

  Two of the others suddenly loose their grips, their hair and capes fluttering like they're in a tornado as a shout of surprise leaves their lips. They tumble off their horses, ungracefully landing on their backs with a thump.

  The other two end up falling as their own horses fall sideways, legs moving like a tangled squid as they work to frantically stand themselves back up.

  And the last thing I remember, is suddenly standing before them with my sword raised as that red haze over my eyes only strengthens.

  Then everything went dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N

  Ah! Another cliffhanger! I'm so sorry! 😭 And I'm also deeply sorry I haven't updated in forever! It's just no ones really been reading or voting for this book and that just kinda doesn't make it worthwhile for me....sorry.

  So hopefully this scene wasn't too cheesy. XD.

Questions:

  1.) Ooh! What's happening next?

  VOTE!! It'll give me motivation to update if you really care! Comment!

Maggy