Cavall didn’t know what to do about the knights, but he knew that Arthur needed comforting. He ran to him and nudged his side. Arthur looked down in surprise. Cavall leaned against him, just like he had in the barn on the first day they’d met.
Arthur blinked. Then, slowly, he reached out and put a hand on Cavall’s head. “You’re here,” he said. He dropped to his knees and flung his arms around Cavall’s neck. “Oh, Cavall, they’ve all gone. But you haven’t. You’re still here.”
“I’ll always be here,” Cavall said, though Arthur gave no indication that he understood. Even in the Dreaming they couldn’t speak to each other. So instead, Cavall buried his nose in Arthur’s hair and let him hold on tight.
Edelm and Anwen watched but didn’t interfere. They understood this was a moment between a dog and his person.
“Arrrthuuuur.”
All three dogs jumped at the sound of the eerie voice. Cavall lifted his head to see Gwen standing under the stained-glass window, as pale and washed out as the knights. He hadn’t heard her come in, and judging from the startled looks on Edelm and Anwen’s faces, they hadn’t either. She reached out her arms to Arthur.
“Arrrthuuuur.”
“Gwen?” Arthur slowly let go of Cavall’s neck and rose to his feet. “Gwen, you’re here, too? You haven’t left me?” He staggered forward, reaching out his arms to her as well.
Gwen smiled sadly at him. “Arthur, what have you done?”
The rune stone hummed against Cavall’s throat. Something was definitely wrong here.
“What have you done to me?” Gwen continued.
Cavall ran after Arthur and grabbed hold of the hem of his shirt with his teeth. He tried to pull Arthur back, but Arthur didn’t notice at all. He kept reaching out for Gwen. “I’m sorry,” he begged her. “Don’t leave me like the others. I promise to do better.”
Anwen and Edelm hurried to Cavall’s side. “What is it?” Anwen asked.
“The rune stone,” Cavall said. “It’s saying there’s something dangerous nearby. I think it might be—”
Before he could finish, Gwen let out an ear-splitting shriek. Cavall let go of Arthur’s shirt, startled, and Arthur surged forward. He grabbed for her, but a sudden, blinding flash filled the room and knocked them all off their feet.
When Cavall was able to open his eyes again, Gwen was gone. In her place, a dark hole had appeared, black mist billowing from its depths. A dark portal to match Meinir’s doorway of light.
Something appeared from out of the abyss. Slowly, it took shape: an enormous head, a long neck, powerful hooved feet. A horse.
Well, it was a horse inasmuch as Meinir was a horse—it had hooves and a mane and was largely the size and shape of a horse. Its coat was dull gray, but where Meinir’s mane and tail had been made of seaweed, this creature’s were made of living fire. It blazed across its back and at the base of its hooves, and yet the thing did not burn. Its eyes were hollow, with a faint glow from deep inside its sockets. When it opened its mouth, there seemed to be a furnace burning inside its very core because more smoke and fire billowed forth.
The portal closed behind it, and the creature turned its head to regard them. Cavall shuddered at the waves of evil intent rippling from that gaze.
“What is that?” Anwen breathed in terror.
“That,” Edelm said, “is a Night Mare.”
Chapter 17
CAVALL STEPPED FORWARD TO CONFRONT THE Night Mare, even though it meant leaving Arthur’s side. “Are you the one who’s been causing this?” he asked.
The Night Mare cast its empty, glowing eyes on him. It didn’t seem to be a real creature, but something conjured from smoke and fire. It didn’t respond to his question.
“That’s got to be it, all right,” Anwen growled. “I say we take it down.”
The Night Mare stomped its front hoof. It left burning hoof marks wherever it walked, like it was melting the stone beneath its feet.
“How are we going to do that?” Cavall asked.
“If I can take down a deer, I can take down this thing,” Anwen responded, snapping her teeth.
Cavall wasn’t so sure about that. He didn’t know how big a deer was, since he’d never actually seen one, but he’d seen other horses. This Night Mare was larger than any horse he’d ever seen. Bigger than the horses in the stables. Bigger than Meinir. He had to crane his neck upward just to see its strange eyes. Was this how small dogs felt around him?
“It’s got to be just like taking down a deer,” Anwen repeated, but she didn’t sound entirely sure this time. “You’ve got to go for the legs. Like this. Here, watch me.” She coiled her short legs under her and then sprang at the Night Mare. Teeth flashed as she bit at the Night Mare’s fetlock.
The Night Mare reared back on its hind legs, stomped back down, and kicked out. The fire of its mane roared, and its whinny was like a person’s scream. Anwen held on as best she could, but flames began to lick up the side of the Night Mare’s leg, and she let go to avoid burning to a crisp. She staggered back and right into the line of the horse’s next kick.
“Anwen, look out!” Edelm yelled.
He threw himself between Anwen and the Night Mare. One hoof struck him in the hind leg, and he went flying against the fireplace. He hit the stones with a loud smack. His body slumped against the wall and slid to the ground.
“Edelm!” Cavall and Anwen cried in unison.
Anwen ran to Edelm, while Cavall put himself between the Night Mare and his friends. It swung its head around to watch him, malice in its hollow eyes. Good. He hoped he could keep its attention on him while Anwen tended to the older dog.
“Edelm!” she said again. Out of the corner of his eye, Cavall could see her nudging the limp form with her head. “Are you all right? Speak to me.”
Edelm groaned, so at least he was still alive. Anwen tried her best to get him back to his feet, but the Night Mare had noticed them. It reared again and turned to them with bits of ember and ash flying from its fiery mane and smoke billowing from its mouth.
“Anwen!” Cavall called in warning as the Night Mare began to charge. She might be able to get out of the way of its hooves, but Edelm wouldn’t.
Without thinking, Cavall ran straight into the Night Mare’s oncoming path. The creature threw him to the ground, knocking the wind from his lungs. The world spun around him, and for a moment he couldn’t tell which direction was left or right, up or down.
“Cavall!” Anwen cried, almost drowned out by the Night Mare’s infuriated whinnies.
The sound of thundering hoofbeats heading straight for him brought him back. He scrambled to his paws and hurried to get out of the beast’s path. The heat from its hooves singed his fur as it clipped by, and he felt a burst of pain in his tail. He yelped, unsure of what had happened. His balance didn’t feel right; something had happened to his tail, but he didn’t have time to think about it. The Night Mare was coming back around.
“The legs!” Anwen had been far away a second ago, but now she stood by his side. “Aim for the legs and belly,” she growled, sounding steady even though the entire room quaked with the Night Mare’s hooves as it came at them. “But don’t bite too long. Don’t give the fire time to burn you.”
There wasn’t time for any more advice, because then the Night Mare was right on top of them. It stomped down with its powerful front legs, aiming first at Cavall, then at Anwen.
Cavall ignored the pain in his tail and tried to follow Anwen’s directions. He bit at the creature’s legs but didn’t clamp down, instead leaving shallow bites wherever he could reach. The horse kicked at him, either in pain or simple annoyance. He persisted, nipping here and there, dodging, then going back in to land a few more bites. Anwen did the same. She was smaller than him but more agile, biting and retreating, never standing still for more than a moment.
“Cavall, I’ve got this leg, you take the other!” she called. She began nipping at the left hind leg, so Cavall took the right.
The horse whinnied and renewed its thrashing. It snorted great, black plumes of smoke from its nose as it circled around, but it couldn’t reach its attackers. When Cavall landed a bite on the horse’s thick knee, it bolted in the opposite direction of the broken doors.
“It’s running!” Anwen cried triumphantly.
“Follow it!” Cavall said. While he wanted to make sure that Edelm was all right, he knew this was their one chance to vanquish the Night Mare for good. He took off after the fleeing creature. Anwen hesitated only a moment before joining him.
They caught up to it in the halls by following the molten hoofprints it left behind. The tapestries on the wall smoldered in its wake, and the air roiled with plumes of smoke. It was thick and clogged Cavall’s nose. What could they possibly do against such an animal, one made of fire instead of flesh?
Wait. Something could fight fire. He remembered the way Ector had called for water to douse the fire Arthur had started in the hallway. If fire still worked the way it did in the real world, maybe water would, too?
“Water!” Cavall said.
Anwen gave him a questioning look.
“Maybe we can put out the fire with water.” He tried to think of where they would find water in the castle, enough to put out the Night Mare’s flames.
“The river,” Anwen said, catching on to his meaning. “If we can chase it into the river outside the castle, that might do it.”
Yes, it might.
They ran after it through the hallway and into the great hall. It still melted stone underfoot, but it seemed that the hoofprints became less and less pronounced as it ran. Perhaps it was just Cavall’s imagination, but its mane seemed to be dimming as well. Once out of the cramped hallway, it made a wide arc and started to come around. The dark smoke it left behind lingered and began to condense, swirling in on itself until it had formed a perfect sphere that consumed all light. The Night Mare finished its arc and picked up speed as it made for the dark portal.
“It’s trying to escape!” Anwen called. “Cavall, don’t let it through!”
Cavall had barely any time to think. He lunged at the Night Mare and hit it full on the side. The creature screamed and veered off course. Pain flared through Cavall’s shoulder, but like the pain in his tail, he ignored it. The Night Mare attempted to turn around again. He wouldn’t let it.
He made a hard right and nipped at the horse’s fetlock. It gave an indignant cry and abandoned the portal, instead running for the courtyard. Cavall and Anwen followed.
“It looks like it needs space to open up one of those portals,” Anwen said. “It might be heading for the fields outside the castle now.”
“Right where we want it,” Cavall answered back.
By the time they reached the courtyard, the Night Mare was taking in deep, ragged breaths and no longer blowing smoke from its mouth. It trampled through the flowerbeds and stone walkways, panicked. It had probably not expected escape to be this difficult.
The horse had trouble getting through the broken front gates. It couldn’t quite fit through the splintered door, getting stuck once until its wild thrashing freed it. A flesh and blood horse would have torn itself to bloody ribbons with such a fit, but this horse only bled smoke. Its hooves were still hot enough to set the wood on fire, so Cavall and Anwen had to leap through the kindling with care as they continued their chase.
Just as Anwen had predicted, once out in the open fields, the Night Mare attempted to make another portal. It veered to avoid him whenever he came too close. They could steer it where they wanted it to go. “Anwen, you take the right side and I’ll take the left,” he instructed, unsure where this burst of surety came from. Anwen didn’t ask questions, though, and instead fell in on the right side. When the Night Mare tried to turn right, Anwen was there to stop it.
From the left, Cavall began to turn them toward the river. The roaring current drowned out the horse’s screaming.
When the Night Mare was on a straight path toward the water, Cavall fell back to join with Anwen. It would take the both of them to drive this thing into the water. It slowed its mad dash as it approached the bank, but Cavall stepped up his attack. He lunged high, biting along the Night Mare’s flank. With a scream, the horse bolted forward and ran straight into the river.
“No!” A woman’s voice tore through the air, louder than anything Cavall had ever heard. “My spell!” It sounded like Morgana’s voice. Was she here now? Or simply watching them from far away?
The water hissed, and great clouds of steam erupted from the Night Mare’s body. It gave one last scream before its head disappeared under the surface. It left only roiling water and steam in its wake, like a fogbank hovering over the river.
Cavall and Anwen stood on the sandy bank, heaving as they tried to regain their breath. They watched, but the Night Mare never resurfaced. It was gone.
Still panting, they turned and struggled up the muddy bank. Anwen collapsed at the top and lay there, breathing heavily. Apparently the chase had taken more out of her than she’d realized.
Cavall climbed the bank slowly, fighting the urge to collapse beside her. He’d never run so fast in his life, and his shoulder was in terrible pain, as was his tail.
“Did we . . . did we vanquish Arthur’s bad dream?” he asked.
Anwen didn’t answer, probably because she was panting too hard.
“Come on.” He nudged her to get her on her feet. “We need to check on Edelm and Arthur.”
Anwen nodded and stood on trembling legs.
As they made their way across the field, the castle seemed to get farther and farther away. Cavall shook his head; in his experience, buildings didn’t move on their own. Maybe the field was stretching, but Cavall was pretty sure that fields didn’t move on their own either. He broke into a trot, trying to close the distance to the castle. After several paces, his back legs gave out from under him and he fell face-first into the tall grass.
“Cavall!” Anwen was by his side in an instant. “Something’s happening.”
Cavall raised his head above the grass level and saw what Anwen meant. A thick mist was rolling in from all directions. It swallowed the castle and then the field, until Cavall couldn’t see anything beyond the end of his nose. He couldn’t even see Anwen, but he could hear her panting and feel her pressed against his side, as if sticking together could keep them both from disappearing along with the landscape.
“It’s the dream,” she said. “It’s fading away around us.”
Cavall remembered Luwella’s warning about becoming lost in the Dreaming. If Arthur’s dream disappeared while they were inside it, did that mean they were fated to wander through the mist for ages? Had they saved Arthur only to doom themselves?
“Meinir!” he called out. “Meinir, we need to get out of the Dreaming.”
They stayed perfectly still, unsure if they should start walking again or if that would only make the problem worse. No smells penetrated through the mist, and though Cavall strained his ears, he couldn’t hear anything either. It appeared they were truly stranded in a vast nothingness.
“Meinir!” he tried again. “Meinir, are you there?”
No answer.
“She left us here,” Anwen said. “I should have known better than to trust a fay. She probably had this planned the whole—”
The sound of a falcon screaming startled them both. They whirled in opposite directions.
“You heard that, didn’t you?” Anwen asked.
Cavall nodded. “I think it came from this way.” He started walking, and Anwen had no choice but to follow him or be left in the fog by herself.
As they walked, the mist began to thin out. First the branches of trees appeared, then the trunks, then the ferns and undergrowth, until they were once again traveling through a forest. The falcon screamed again, closer, and now Cavall knew he was heading the right way.
“Cavall!” Anwen yelled suddenly, startling him. “Up ahead!” She burst into a run and Cavall follow
ed as best he could on his injured shoulder. “It’s Edelm!” She ran to the base of a scraggly tree and began nudging the limp form there. “Edelm, are you all right? Speak to me!”
He groaned and rolled over. “Did you . . . succeed?” His tail thumped against the ground.
“We did,” Anwen answered. Her tail thumped in rhythm with his.
As she helped him stand, Cavall heard the falcon again and glanced up into the trees. It was an enormous bird, a head full of dark feathers that made it appear as if it wore a hooded cloak. It looked down at Cavall, and for a moment Cavall thought he recognized this bird. The falcon seemed to recognize him, too.
“Thank you,” Cavall said.
The falcon nodded, took flight, and disappeared among the trees.
Chapter 18
DAWN HAD BROKEN, AND SUNLIGHT FILTERED in through the treetops. The normal daytime sounds of birds and animals seeped back in gradually. The fay were retreating for the night. In fact, the brighter it got, the more the forest returned to normal.
Cavall worried for his friends, especially Edelm. The old dog’s hind leg was badly hurt. He couldn’t walk very well, so they went slowly as Cavall and Anwen supported him on either side.
Just as the first true rays of sunlight shone through the trees, Edelm lifted his head and sniffed. “I smell people,” he announced.
Cavall breathed in deeply. Yes, it was very faint, but he thought he could make it out as well. “You two wait here,” he said. “I’ll go see if I can find help.”
He left Anwen and Edelm near a fallen tree trunk, but after a few minutes he realized that, with his hurt shoulder, maybe he should have sent Anwen to do this so he could stay behind with Edelm. Too late now, because he definitely heard the sounds of footsteps up ahead.
He froze when he heard voices.
“Are you certain, Mother?” a man’s voice said.
“Certain,” a woman replied. “My spell was broken.”
He recognized those voices. It was Mordred and Morgana. He ducked behind a mossy tree to keep from being seen.
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