New Bienskurr, Silubra

  The delegation to Cruinog weren't the only ones shocked at the length of time that had passed. The waiting Earthborne also noticed that nearly half a day has gone by without any activity from the Cruinog Bridge. Niklaus, whose family members had gone over, was very worried. "Did something go wrong? Is the situation there worse than we feared?" he asked aloud. "Raven said they'd go to the Darovan ancestral house first," he murmured. He knew he should have insisted on going.

  Lorena wasn't in much better spirits. Six hours was neither long nor short. "Don't worry. ZsaZsa says it takes about four hours to draw the array. Taking into account the time it takes to get to your ceremonial hall and then explain everything to your king and elders, this would actually be quite early," she said soothingly.

  Elder Bystrika agreed with a grunt. "She's not wrong. There's no need to worry just yet. Even if they somehow can't return through the array, they'll still make it back," he said with air of authority.

  Elder Graylock snorted derisively.

  Elder Bystrika clucked his tongue at him. "I dare say, young man, I never expected you to be the type to cut off your nose to spite your face. Weren't you the very one who wanted the Bridge so you could take your family home and die steeped in tradition?" he asked drolely.

  Elder Graylock blustered. "You glib tongued old codger. Are you cursing me and my family?" he demanded, pointing an elegant finger at the older man.

  The other Elder made a dismissive sound. "Do I need to curse you? You're doing a good job of it yourself," he stated. "Fallen sons, Banshee daughters. You want to take your family back to that? You don't need my curses," he said and turned his back to the younger man.

  Seeing the argument erupt again, Niklaus wished he hadn't said anything at all.

  "Be quiet!" another Elder scolded Elder Graylock in a fierce whisper. This was the third eldest of the Emphyralian settlers, Egon Kovac. He was around five hundred. He also wanted to go back to Cruinog, but that was a personal choice he made for himself and he allowed his family to decide whether to stay or go back individually. Ostensibly he was an ally of Elder Graylock, agreeing with many of his traditionalist views. "You can't out argue Niall and you're just making a fool of yourself!"

  Elder Graylock's face flushed but eventually quietened down. It was true, Niall Bystrika was a wily old fox. The only person who could even begin to control him was the King.

  In order to take her mind off her worry for her daughter, Lorena walked away from the cluster of Earthborne waiting outside the bridge chamber. She brought out a comfortable rocking chair and some knitting, working on a pair of booties for her son.

  Niklaus approached her, knelt at her feet, removed her shoes and proceeded to rub his pregnant wife's tired feet. The other Earthborne didn't even look at them askew.

  --

  Bienskurr Mountains, Cruinog

  The seven Dragon flew off in different directions as they looked for ZsaZsa. Britiana and the others began setting up camp. Several hours passed and while they couldn’t feel it in the fog, they were getting a bit hungry. Raven set up a tent and went inside to tidy up her bed of Emphyralian soil. She knew that the soil on Cruinog would probably do her more harm than good, so she brought her bed along.

  Britiana and Isa set up tents for themselves, while the Noxies set up a barracks tent for the six regular guards. Delaney didn't have a fancy tent, so she'd be bunking with Britiana in cat form. They wouldn't rest long once the sun came up. A couple of hours at most. The main concern was getting Raven past dawn. No one knew how the first rays of light here would affect a hybrid like ZsaZsa.

  Raven came back out of her tent while Britiana was passing out some food and looked over the barren valley below. "Do you think she'll be all right?" she asked.

  Britiana glanced up. "Yes," she said, having no doubts. She couldn't feel where she was, but she could sense that the connection between ZsaZsa and Delaney wasn't broken. She should still be alive.

  "Do you know anything about that fog?" she asked.

  Raven shook her head. "I'm not an expert on all the creatures of the world. Some things are legends and some are real. The fog could have been caused by a number of things, but I'm not aware of anything that could cause that type of time distortion," she answered.

  Delaney was nibbling on a sandwich when she had a weird thought and nearly choked. She quickly washed down her bite with some tea.

  Britiana looked at her, "Did you think of something?" she asked.

  Delaney waved her hands. "Nothing helpful, really. Just..aliens," she answered. Everyone suddenly looked at her, even the Noxies glanced over curiously. She cleared her throat and had to explain the human phenomenon of "alien abductions."

  Britiana nodded. "People always find ways to explain what they can't explain. My guess is what you described is probably demons," she said.

  Delaney nodded. "Either demons or delusions, but for some reason the time distortion reminded me of alien abduction stories where people lose time," she said. "I'm sorry, that's not helpful," she said.

  "Is there a kind of demon on Terranthea that can control time or people's perceptions of time?" Isa asked.

  Delaney nodded. "Quite a few, but nothing like what happened with that fog. Although..." she paused with a frown.

  Although she didn't know how another world's demons could help them figure out what happened here, Raven was still curious. "What is it?" she asked.

  "I can't remember where I heard it, but the Wild Hunt is said to start with the roiling of fog and ghost riders coming to claim the souls of the damned," she said. "Several cultures have similar stories, but I always remember the rolling of fog like clouds and the spectral riders," she said musingly.

  Raven began to tremble. "H-How does your world know of the Wild Hunt?" she asked with a shaking voice.

  Delaney shook her head. "It's just a legend," she said, not knowing the origins of such a tale. "You have a version? Is it bad?" she asked.

  Raven nodded. "The Fiáin Sielg and the Marcach Taibhse are legends that parents tell their children to frighten them at night. If you don't be good the Wild Hunt will start and the Ghost Riders will take everyone away. That type of thing," she said. "The Fiáin Sielg signifies the death of the fae," she murmured in a low voice.

  "All fae on Cruinog, not just the Earthborne."

  Silence fell over the group. "Then it looks like we came just in time. So much for traditionalists yearning for home," Britiana declared.

  Raven smiled slightly. "It's just a legend," she said.

  Britiana shook her head. "The kind of legend that can permeate space and time isn't to be taken lightly," she stated.

  Raven didn't answer. She knew she was correct. The Wild Hunt was beginning and the fae were dying. The dead, barren land; the inability of the Earthborne to reproduce; the increased number of Fallen. All were indicators but no one had realized it. She suspected the end started long ago when the Earthborne had to start feeding on humans.

  Even though the night was warm, she still shivered. She really hoped her niece was fine and not a victim of the Wild Hunt.

  --

  Lazarus had taken a northeasterly direction in order to look for ZsaZsa. He believed in Lady Britiana's assurance that she was alive. He couldn't help but worry. While he couldn't say he'd been interested in actively pursuing ZsaZsa yet, she was a girl he felt good about and wanted to continue to get to know her. Even if she was a stranger, he'd still worry after that strange fog.

  He flew closer to the ground than he normally would as he swept his assigned area in a grid-like pattern. It was slow, and he searched for nearly an hour. He spotted half dead mountain goats, bedraggled sheep hopelessly eating the brown grass of the mountain valleys, more than a few dried out bodies of animals. Finally, as the sky was beginning to turn from black to purple and the sun was beginning to spread its weak glory, he spotted something in the shadow of an outcropping. A hint of purple cloth.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He descended quickly and landed nearby. He headed toward the shape he could already tell was in fact ZsaZsa sprawled on the ground as he transformed. He ran to her side and checked her pulse and her breathing. "ZsaZsa," he called out. Although she was in the shadows of the outcropping, part of her arm was in the weak sunlight and quickly turned red as it grew stronger.

  He scooped her into his arms and ran to find shelter.

  ZsaZsa weakly opened her eyes when she felt herself being jostled around. "Lazarus," she tried to say his name but she was too weak to speak very loudly. She felt like all the energy in her body had been drained away.

  "Hang on, let's get you out of the sun," he said. He didn't think the sun would kill her, but it was obviously damaging. He finally found a small cave and stashed her in it. It was a good sign that she was awake. He stepped out and pulled out a magic flare. He pointed it at the sky and set it off. Bright, multi-colored magic lights flashed into the sky, visible for miles around. It was to let people know he found her.

  He went back inside the cave and sat against the wall and pulled her close. Except for where she was burned, she was cold with a pale face and bloodless lips. "Energy," she said in a thin thread of sound.

  Lazarus, with his superior Sapphire hearing, could hear it clearly. "How? Dragonwyne?" he asked.

  "Blood. Too weak," even as she tried to explain, her head lolled against his shoulder as if she were boneless. There was some instinct telling her that she could recover with blood, but she knew she was too weak. She didn't want to bite anyone, especially him even if she had the strength but her hearing seemed to be honed in on the powerful heart beating in his chest and the sound of the blood flowing through his body, teeming with an energy that will give her strength back. She was in a daze as she listened.

  Lazarus frowned but didn't hesitate. He flipped a knife out and slashed his wrist. Before he could bring it to her, as soon as his blood began to bubble out, she lunged with the last of her strength and clamped her mouth around his wrist.

  She hadn't drank blood since she was a child, which they later learned wasn't even necessary for her, but she'd never had the blood of a person, much less a Dragon. After only a few mouthfuls of the blood of a person enriched with Draconite all his life, ZsaZsa felt her strength return as well as her wits. Even the burn on her arm quickly healed.

  Suddenly shame filled her and she blushed. She quickly, automatically licked the wound to help it heal and scrambled away from him. "Sorry!" she exclaimed, her face as red as a tomato.

  Lazarus grinned slightly and glanced at his wrist where the gash he cut, and four puncture marks surrounding it quickly healed. "It's fine. My choice. At least you have some color back now," he said in a vaguely teasing tone. "You also have a little," he gestured around his mouth.

  "Oh, Emosyne," ZsaZsa muttered, aghast and quickly brought a handkerchief and a flask of water out of her storage. She turned her back and cleaned her face. She grimaced when she saw the pinky-brown bloodstains. She put away the evidence and then pulled out some Dragonwyne and took a swig. She stiffened when she heard him chuckling and standing up behind her.

  "We should get back to the others. They were worried about you," he said. "Even though it looks like your arm, healed, you should wear a cloak," he said.

  ZsaZsa nodded. She got to her feet. She was still weak. A few mouthfuls of blood wasn't enough to replenish what she lost. She also knew that since he was suggesting she wear a cloak, he wasn't intending for her to fly to the others. She also suspected he wasn't suggesting she walk.

  Lazarus looked at her red face and tried not to smile again. "Are you strong enough to hang on?" he asked.

  ZsaZsa nodded and pulled out a sun-shielding cloak. Both she and Raven had them, just in case. It looked like they were right to be prepared. Lazarus helped her put it on since her movements were still a bit clumsy. He bent down slightly to make sure it was fastened correctly. They were face to face and their eyes met for a moment before she hastily averted her eyes. Another chuckle reached her ears as he tucked her slightly disheveled hair behind her ears and pulled up her hood. Immediately her face was shrouded in darkness.

  Lazarus walked out of the cave with her. He glanced around and pulled her to a tall rock. She let out a startled sound when he wrapped his hands around her slender waist and lifted her onto the rock. He waited until she was standing steadily before moving away. He transformed into his Dragon form. He knelt his upper body beside the rock, in just the correct place for her to climb on easily.

  ZsaZsa couldn't help but flush as she clambered onto his back, at the base of his neck and above his shoulder blades. Dragon's had cat-like bodies and sitting near their shoulder blades was not recommended. She settled in, grabbed one of his spines and lay low. "Ready," she told him in a low voice.

  Lazarus immediately sprang up, spread his wings, and flapped as he gained altitude. It wouldn't take nearly as long to return to the temporary camp as it did to find her.

  --

  The atmosphere at the temporary camp was tense after their conversation about the wild hunt. No one knew if it was a legend coming through, or just overactive imaginations fueled by fear and worry. Perhaps they'd get answers once they made it to the Earthborne.

  The sky started turning purple, but Raven refused to go into her tent. Instead she put on her sun shielding cloak. Britiana wasn't assured and when a halo started to peak over the horizon, she finally managed to usher Raven inside her tent.

  Finally, they saw the signal flare from one of the searchers. Britiana let out a breath. "Someone found her. Can you rest now?" she said to Rave who hovered near the opening of her tent looking like a shadowy blob in her cloak.

  "Not until I see her myself," Raven answered. Britiana didn't argue with her.

  Delaney turned her head in that direction. A few minutes later she smiled. "I can feel the connection again," she stated.

  Britiana smiled, but she was secretly worried. Something had to have been very wrong with ZsaZsa, but luckily it seems as though the crisis passed.

  Soon, the other searchers began to return. Britiana told them to eat then rest. They'd be on the move again in a couple of hours. Darius was the last to arrive and only Lazarus was still missing.

  Despite the serious situation, Amadeus couldn't help but be slightly amused. "Looks like somebody gets to play the hero rescuing the damsel in distress," he said mostly to himself. He wasn't being insensitive, he just knew his cousin well.

  Britiana glanced at him and her smile turned genuine. Darius ignored him as he found something to eat. His sister had already filled him in on the conversation they had about the Wild Hunt legends of both Terranthea and Cruinog.

  It wasn't long before they saw a blue Dragon flying toward them with a black spot on his back. As he got closer, they could clearly make out a cloaked figure. When he landed, he knelt again and allowed the figure to slide off.

  Ignoring the risk, Raven rushed forward and hugged her niece. The two black and obscured were something of a bizarre sight. Luckily their campsite was protected from the sun's rays.

  "I'm all right, now," ZsaZsa said, hugging her aunt back but making no move to let go.

  When they finally broke apart, Britiana hugged her too, but didn't cling on like Raven. "Go rest with Raven. We'll talk about what happened afterwards," she said.

  ZsaZsa shook her head. "There's no need to wait. I don't know exactly what happened. I got lost in the fog and I couldn't even remember I was a Dragon that could transform and fly above the fog to safety. Then I heard a horse approaching. And then Lazarus found me," she said. "But, something drained me of all my energy."

  Britiana nodded. "We'll sort it out after you rest. Your mind was confused, but it's all in there," she said.

  ZsaZsa nodded. Raven ushered her into the tent and sealed it. They took off their cloaks. "Eat something and then bury yourself," she instructed. She looked at her niece seriously. "You fed on Lazarus," she said with certainty. Earthborne were very sensitive to the scents of blood. She could tell immediately.

  Her niece flushed again. "I didn't mean to, but I was weak when he found me, and I just knew that I needed his blood," she said. "It was only his wrist," she added in a whisper. "He cut it himself." The last part was delivered in a weak voice.

  Raven laughed softly. "I'm only teasing, but we won't mention that part to your father. Drink some bloodwyne to dilute the scent," she said.

  ZsaZsa nodded obediently. She stripped down to her underwear and hopped onto the bed of earth. Immediately contact with the enriched soil gave her an energy boost. She pulled out some food and bloodwyne and began eating to try and get her energy up enough to be able to transform and fly.

  Amadeus gave his cousin some food and stared at him with a strange smile. Lazarus gave him a dark look and tried to ignore him as he ate. It was only a few mouthfuls of blood, but he suspected what ZsaZsa took him was far more than that. He couldn't say he felt weak, but there was definitely a dip in his strength. As he proceeded to eat twice as much as he usually would, Amadeus's creepy smile grew.

  He leveled his younger cousin a dark look. "Whatever you're thinking in that head of yours should stop," he warned.

  Amadeus chuckled. "I'm not thinking anything, just that it is quite fortuitous you were the one that found her. Got to save the beauty," he teased.

  Lazarus glared at him but couldn't stop the corners of his lips from curling slightly. "Behave or I won't be held responsible for whatever happens to you when we're off duty," he warned. He washed his food down with some water for punctuation. He stood and walked into the guards' tent.

  Amadeus snickered to himself and followed behind. Everyone except Aman and Imre had gone to rest. Since they didn't join the search, they didn't feel tired. They disappeared into the shadows around camp and watched over everyone.

  As the sun rosemore, it shone over the valley with a sickly yellow light and the higher it rose, the brighter it shone.

  Darius was the first to stir. He exited his tent and put it away. He walked to the edge of the ledge they were camping. The light revealed even more of the desolate scenery below. He could see in the more open areas of the valley, patches where there was no grass and the ground had turned to yellow sand.

  He wondered how far away from their destination they were. When they were searching for ZsaZsa, they didn't even see the place where Raven's ancestral home had been.

  Soon everyone else assembled. "We'll fly. Everyone will just have to get over their discomfort and carry someone," he stated. No one argued with him. ZsaZsa agreed to carry her aunt, assuring everyone she'd recovered well. After being checked over by both Raven and Britiana, they agreed with the proposition. Britiana would carry Delaney, while Aman and Imre were assigned to Wallace and Alistair.

  Soon, nine Dragons flew away from the edge with Raven directing them in a certain direction after she got her bearings. Looking at the sorry state of the environment, she felt a weight on her chest. She wondered what kind of condition the people left behind would be in and if the death of the fae was really approaching.

  --