Kayden Richardson's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

The beast carried Kayden through open fields as the sky turned gray. Its breath came ragged now. A gash ran down its flank, dark and wet. Every few steps it stumbled, and Kayden felt its huge muscles shake beneath him. The regime's engines still growled behind them, closer with each mile. If his mount collapsed here, in the open, the soldiers would take him. "Just a little more," Kayden said. He pressed his hand to its neck. The beast pushed on, but its legs buckled twice. He knew it could not last. Ahead, a line of frost-bitten vines snaked over a low ridge. Grapes and small tomatoes hung under a thin skin of ice. Kayden steered toward the tangle. Cover, at least. He slid off and led the beast into the brush by its mane. Behind the vines lay a hollow he had not seen from the road. A clear pool sat in a ring of stones. Its surface glowed with a soft light and turned in slow circles. Kayden had heard old stories of springs like this from his grandmother. Water that mended what was broken. He no longer had time to doubt. He guided the beast to the edge. It lowered its head and drank. Kayden cupped the glowing water and washed the gash on its flank. The bleeding slowed. But the wound was deep, and water alone would not close it. Something rustled in the frost-bitten vines. A small gray animal hopped out, plush as a toy, with oversized ears and a wild spark in its eyes. It bared tiny teeth at Kayden, then froze, staring at the wounded beast. Kayden held still. The creature crept forward and nosed a cluster of white cottony blossoms growing near the pool. Peppermint. His grandmother had crushed the same flowers over cuts when he was a boy. "That's it," Kayden whispered. He gathered a handful of the soft blooms. The little animal watched, ears twitching, and did not run. Kayden crushed the blossoms and pressed the paste into the gash. A sharp mint smell rose. The beast shuddered, then went still under his hands. He worked fast, packing the wound and washing it again with the glowing water. Slowly, the torn skin drew together. The beast's breathing evened out. It lifted its head and stood taller. When Kayden touched its shoulder, the shaking was gone. Engines roared past on the road above, then faded. The soldiers had missed the hollow. Kayden let out a long breath. He climbed onto the beast's back. It rose without a stumble, strong again. But the crushed flowers had stained his hands green, and one truth pressed on him now. The regime knew his face. They would set watchers on every road. He could not run forever. To reach the Overseer, he would need more than a healed mount. He would need help.