Liana slid off Aquilla's back and lay on the sand, stomach-first. She pressed her ear to the ground and listened while the two boys watched anxiously. (At first Cole had no idea why she was lying down, until he realized she was listening for hoofbeats.) She then sat up and said. "They're coming fast!"
Cole surveyed his surroundings, searching desperately for a solution. The yawning gap was the length of four horses all together, much too far for anyone to jump. He was not willing to give up, there just had to be a way out of there! His dark eyes rested on the tree, an old skeleton of a tall sycamore reaching its bare arms to the cloudy night sky.
An idea suddenly popped. "Could that tree hold the weight of four horses?" He muttered mostly to himself.
"What?" Phillip frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Cole left his horse and trotted over to the naked tree leaning at the clifftop. He inspected the height, then the length of the gap. Excitement began to bubble inside...Or maybe it was his lunch. Hard to tell sometimes. He peered at the other side of the canyon, then pressed his hands against the side of the sycamore. Then he pushed. He pushed that tree with determination, gritting his teeth and grunting. At first it didn't budge an inch, which was discouraging....But then something shifted in the ground. It was small, but it was hope.
He heard Phillip gasp behind him. "You--You're moving it! You're moving that huge tree--" He stammered. "--By yourself!"
"Yeah," Cole grunted. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. I could use some help here!"
"Oh...Right. Sorry." Phillip hopped off Traveler with Liana behind him, and together the three of them pushed and shoved at the tree. With their combined strength, the tree moaned and creaked, its resistance growing weaker and weaker. Drops of sweat trickled down Cole, Phillip, and Liana's faces, and their straining muscles complained, but they wordlessly refused to give in, for this was their only chance to escape.
The sycamore creaked and groaned, and the earth beneath their feet shifted. Roots began breaking the surface, dust and dirt flew at their legs. They pushed with all their might, ignoring the splinters cutting into their sweaty palms and dust flying at their faces. Finally, the tree succumbed to gravity and fell with a great groan, waving its naked branches as it fell. The teenagers stood back and watched it anxiously, hoping that it wouldn't slip into the cavern and fall down miles below...
The top branches hit the clifftop on the other side of the canyon with a great crash, sending twigs, branches, and dirt flying in the air, and the ground shuddered under the impact. For a second, when the tree was swaying back and forth, it looked like it might slip over the side, but then it settled.
They had made a bridge.
Phillip peered uneasily at the makeshift bridge. "Will that tree hold our weight? It looks pretty old, the interior could--"
"It'll have to hold our weight," Cole interrupted. "What other choice do we have?"
Phillip tested the tree first, skittering across back and forth a few times before trying the horse's weight. He tied a handkerchief around Traveler's eyes and slowly, carefully, began to lead the skittish horse across the tree. The brown and white beast flicked its tail and ears and snorted uneasily several times, but otherwise followed the boy without complaint. Cole realized the two must have had a deep bond for the horse to be able to trust him to get him across a tree over a canyon blind.
Once Traveler was across, Phillip worked at Aquilla, then Cole's horse, then Matilda's. When the black stallion felt the huge space of air rushing below him and felt the tree shift beneath his weight, he screamed and tried to back away, tossing its mane and nearly throwing Phillip off the log and into the abyss. But he stood firm, and with soothing words and pats on the neck, he was able to get the horse across, much to the relief of Liana and Cole.
The sycamore creaked and groaned, and the earth beneath their feet shifted. Roots began breaking the surface, dust and dirt flew at their legs. They pushed with all their might, ignoring the splinters cutting into their sweaty palms and dust flying at their faces. Finally, the tree succumbed to gravity and fell with a great groan, waving its naked branches as it fell. The teenagers stood back and watched it anxiously, hoping that it wouldn't slip into the cavern and fall down miles below...
The top branches hit the clifftop on the other side of the canyon with a great crash, sending twigs, branches, and dirt flying in the air, and the ground shuddered under the impact. For a second, when the tree was swaying back and forth, it looked like it might slip over the side, but then it settled.
They had made a bridge.
Phillip peered uneasily at the makeshift bridge. "Will that tree hold our weight? It looks pretty old, the interior could--"
"It'll have to hold our weight," Cole interrupted. "What other choice do we have?"
Phillip tested the tree first, skittering across back and forth a few times before trying the horse's weight. He tied a handkerchief around Traveler's eyes and slowly, carefully, began to lead the skittish horse across the tree. The brown and white beast flicked its tail and ears and snorted uneasily several times, but otherwise followed the boy without complaint. Cole realized the two must have had a deep bond for the horse to be able to trust him to get him across a tree over a canyon blind.
Once Traveler was across, Phillip worked at Aquilla, then Cole's horse, then Matilda's. When the black stallion felt the huge space of air rushing below him and felt the tree shift beneath his weight, he screamed and tried to back away, tossing its mane and nearly throwing Phillip off the log and into the abyss. But he stood firm, and with soothing words and pats on the neck, he was able to get the horse across, much to the relief of Liana and Cole.
I'd fall off. No doubts. It wouldn't even be because of the breeze or it was slippery or anything, I'd just get nervous and misstep.
"Liana, the tree is about three feet wide, and it leans to your left by a few inches." Phillip called across the cavern. "You'll be fine!" Despite his optimistic words, he looked apprehensive. As well he should, for his blind sister was about to walk over a dead tree hanging over a huge canyon.
Cole stepped onto the log before her, trying to ignore the ominous creak beneath his feet. The monstrous abyss yawned like a giant's mouth under him, like a gaping mouth, where a thin, tiny river curved far off below. A small puff of wind threatened to tip him off balance and send him plunging. Not looking down, he leaned past the muddy roots and stretched out to the silver-haired girl. "Take my hands, I'll help you."
Biting her lip, Liana groped for him and grasped his hands tightly. Phillip watched with a rigid expression while Cole held his sister's arms and slowly, cautiously, led her across the moaning bark. Something cracked under them, and a piece of bark and a twig flew away, twisting wildly in the breeze. Each second was torture, they felt that at any second they could lose their balance and be thrown off the log.
Just as they were crawling to the branches at the top of the tree, the chilling sound of hoofbeats reached their ears. Hanging on to Liana's shoulders to he wouldn't let her slip from the tree, Cole craned his neck out to see the bandits galloping from the field of boulders and into view. The riders let loose wild hollers and whoops at the sight of their prey, and cantered over to the fallen tree, with the dark-cloaked leader in the lead.
Liana heard the hoofbeats and shouting and shuddered, which made Cole jump and nearly lose his balance. He tried to drag her across the last of the branches, but it was too late.
"Ha haa!" One gangster whooped. "We got 'em trapped like rats, eh, Dog Bone?" He laughed to the leader.
Dog Bone sneered. "Look what happened to your witch!" He held up a smoldering navy blue cloak. "You won't be seeing her again!"
Cole stared at the cloak Dog Bone held out. Bile rose in his throat when he saw that a corner of the fabric had burned away, while half of it was smoldering faintly, sending small wisps of smoke into the night sky. It was Matilda's navy blue cloak.
"We smashed the hag, kid!" Dog Bone sneered, and tossed the robes onto the sand. "Nobody to save your hide now! Either surrender yourselves to us and be smashed quickly, or attempt to escape, and you'll be smashed less than quickly." He grinned maliciously. "Either way, you'll be smashed."
Cole was trying to think of a witty comeback when he glanced below him. He did a double take at the area below the fallen log, then rubbed his eyes. Blinking, he looked again. He could barely believe what he saw.
Where a steep, yawning gap in the ground leading down to a narrow, rocky river was, there was only sand! No crack, no gap, the bricking canyon had disappeared! Below the log sat normal-looking sand, as if the earth was never disturbed.
"Wha...What happened to..." Cole gaped at the ground below him. "But...But where...?!"
"What is it?" Liana whispered in his ear.
"The canyon's gone!" He muttered back.
"The canyon--?!"
"Boys," Dog Bone glanced at the three riders with him. "Let's finish what these little punks started."
With that, they charged forward, brandishing glittering katanas and rifles while shouting and hollering. A couple of bandits, one of which was still spewing out live slugs from Matilda's curse, took the lead and headed forward the teens sitting on the log.
But then something peculiar happened. When two of the bandits rode within five feet of the tree, they suddenly fell through the ground as if it wasn't there! Their horrified cries reverberated throughout the canyon, which suddenly was visible again. What once was sand became air...It was as if the ground was a hologram! The two men and their screaming horses wailed as they plunged into the shadows of the abyss.
The air shimmered eerily as the ground disappeared without a sound and the canyon reappeared. Dog Bone and the remaining bandit stared in shock at where their comrades had fallen, eyes bulging.
"Wha--?!" The thin-faced leader sputtered. "But--But how--?!"
"Like my little trick?" A feminine voice drawled behind Phillip. Everyone spun around and to their shock saw Matilda standing there, nonchalantly twirling her wand between her thin fingers. The faint smell of smoke drifted from her scraggly, gray-streaked brown hair and ragged pointed hat, and there was a smudge of soot sitting on the end of her nose. Without her blue robes, she looked strangely small in her slim, forest-green dress.
Cole gaped at the smirking witch. "Matilda--You're alive?!"
"No duh, kiddo. You haven't gotten rid of me yet." She narrowed her brown gaze at the wide-eyed gangsters across the gaping canyon. "It'll take more than a few bullets to take me down! Get out of here before I enchant you so hard your grandchildren will sparkle!"
Dog Bone glared furiously, then whipped out a small hand gun from his belt. He cocked the weapon and fingered the trigger.
"Expelliarmus!" Matilda swung her wand like a whip, and the gun was flung out of his grip and flew into the canyon, clattering as it hit the rocks.
The leader glared daggers at the four of them, gritting his teeth. His companion sat in the saddle uneasily, unsure of what he should do. There was a hard, cold silence. The sky was just a little lighter than it was before, ever so slightly brightening. Phillip gripped the reins of the four horses, whom stood stock-still. Cole and Liana balanced treacherously on the log hanging over the yawning gap, hardly daring to breathe.
Dog Bone finally broke the spooky silence. "This is not over."
Matilda quirked an eyebrow, but otherwise was still.
He spat at the ground. "However long it takes, I will find you. I will find you all...And make you pay for what you've done. You will pay."
With that, Dog Bone and his companion spurred their horses and galloped away, leaving a trail of dust behind in the dawn's early light.
Cole, grasping Liana's shoulders, finally crawled over the sharp, dead branches of the fallen tree and helped the girl to her feet. While Liana dusted away bits of twigs and splinters, Phillip turned to Matilda and asked. "How'd you do that?! You know, make the canyon look like it wasn't there?"
She shrugged casually. "It's a simple trick, just something having to do with the rays of the sun and whatnot."
"How did you escape? Your cloak was burning!" Cole asked.
"Well. . ." Matilda gave a mysterious smile. "Let's just say I have many tricks up my sleeve. Catching on fire and teleporting away are one of them."
"So. . . A witch, huh?" Cole said on the back of the chocolate-brown horse he rode. Phillip had mentioned how one of the bandits had called the horse "Shauntel", so Cole kept the name.
The four travelers had ridden away from the rocky hillsides, wary of running into more bandits. Instead they rode into a serene pine forest, where great trees loomed over them and sheltered them from the harsh weather. While the morning slowly dawned and birds began to wake in the thick treetops, a small puff of wind made the needles on the tall trees rustle and whisper. The thump of hoofbeats was muffled by the thick grass and layer of pine needles.
Since her cloak had burned in her little fire, Matilda took the liberty of taking back the one from Cole, declaring his jacket would be enough for him and that her aged bones needed it more. Cole didn't protest, though he had rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
At Cole's question Matilda gave a wry smile from the back on the huge black stallion she rode. "Yup."
Feeling like it was a strange topic of conversation, but curious nonetheless, he asked. "So, uh...Are there more, uh...Witches?"
She twisted in the saddle and looked at him. "Why do you ask?"
"Mmph." She turned away from him. "Perhaps so, perhaps not."
Cole rolled his eyes.
Liana nudged Aquilla and caught up with Matilda, saying. "My brother and I can't thank you enough for what you two have done. We owe you our lives."
Matilda gazed at the pair of cloudy, sightless eyes. "Ah, well..." She looked a bit embarrassed, to Cole's surprise. "...I'll admit I had fun showing those mouse-brained clowns a thing or two. Made me feel young again." She chuckled. "Ah, I felt as if I was back home again, fighting mobs with Alex and--" She stopped.
Cole raised his thick eyebrows in interest. He'd never heard Matilda mention her friends or family before.
Phillip looked at her with curiosity while Liana stared sightlessly in the witch's direction. "With who?"
Matilda blushed and scowled. "Hsst...Forget it. Just forget it."
"Who's Alex?" Cole asked.
"Never you mind, boy!" She snapped. "Mind your own business!" With that, she spurred her horse and trotted ahead of the group, muttering crossly.
Liana's cloudy gaze drifted off. "Who is Matilda, Cole?"
"I dunno." Again, he shrugged. "From what I can tell, she's a traveling witch looking for herbs and information about dragons."
"Dragons?" Phillip asked incredulously. "What does she want to look up dragons for?"
"Search me. She has too many secrets to count." Cole shifted in his saddle. "We've just been traveling together for a couple of days. I don't know where she's headed."
"Where are you headed, though?" Phillip asked.
Cole sighed. "No idea. I'm kinda just hanging with her until...I don't know...something happens."
Phillip gave a good-natured smile. "A wanderer, huh?"
"Yup." There was a moment of silence. "What about you two?"
"Us? Liana and I were headed to Stixx, to see our cousins...Our aunt is sick, and our uncle is away, so they need some help."
"We thought it'd be quicker." He grinned sheepishly. "We didn't expect to run into bandits."
"Obviously." Matilda snorted several yards ahead of them.
"Anyway, once we get through these mountains we'll go down to Stixx." Phillip glanced at Cole. "Would you guys mind if we traveled with you?"
Before Cole could respond, Matilda sniffed. "Might as well. It wouldn't do my conscience good if we left you two alone while Dog Bone is hunting you down, not to mention you city kids would probably follow rabbit trails thinking they led to Ninjago City or fall of a cliff like Knucklehead did back there."
Phillip chuckled. "You what?" He asked Cole.
Cole rolled his eyes and felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment, but proceeded to tell the siblings how he and Matilda met.
* * *
The group stopped the horses to relieve themselves and eat some breakfast. While the horses drank from a nearby gurgling stream and grazed contently on the lush forest grass, Matilda, Cole, Phillip and Liana rested on a mossy log and stump, munching on trail mix. Naturally Cole would have preferred that cake Matilda had. At one point Matilda got up from the stump she was sitting on and walked over to the black stallion peacefully eating grass.
"Let's see what Dog Bone stores in his saddle bags." She muttered, and opened a dusty leather satchel attached to the side of the horse's saddle. Cole watched with mild interest as she rummaged through the pack.
"Hmph...Bullets...Extra hand gun....grocery list...teddy bear...and--Owch!" Matilda suddenly recoiled from the saddle bags, grimacing and clutching her right hand. "Corpus bones!" She muttered angrily. "Probably just a needle or something to surprise snoopers...."
Phillip glanced at her and asked. "Uh...Are you OK? You look kinda--"
"I'm fine!" She snapped. "I just--" She bit her lip. "Hssstt..."
"We thought it'd be quicker." He grinned sheepishly. "We didn't expect to run into bandits."
"Obviously." Matilda snorted several yards ahead of them.
"Anyway, once we get through these mountains we'll go down to Stixx." Phillip glanced at Cole. "Would you guys mind if we traveled with you?"
Before Cole could respond, Matilda sniffed. "Might as well. It wouldn't do my conscience good if we left you two alone while Dog Bone is hunting you down, not to mention you city kids would probably follow rabbit trails thinking they led to Ninjago City or fall of a cliff like Knucklehead did back there."
Phillip chuckled. "You what?" He asked Cole.
Cole rolled his eyes and felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment, but proceeded to tell the siblings how he and Matilda met.
* * *
The group stopped the horses to relieve themselves and eat some breakfast. While the horses drank from a nearby gurgling stream and grazed contently on the lush forest grass, Matilda, Cole, Phillip and Liana rested on a mossy log and stump, munching on trail mix. Naturally Cole would have preferred that cake Matilda had. At one point Matilda got up from the stump she was sitting on and walked over to the black stallion peacefully eating grass.
"Let's see what Dog Bone stores in his saddle bags." She muttered, and opened a dusty leather satchel attached to the side of the horse's saddle. Cole watched with mild interest as she rummaged through the pack.
"Hmph...Bullets...Extra hand gun....grocery list...teddy bear...and--Owch!" Matilda suddenly recoiled from the saddle bags, grimacing and clutching her right hand. "Corpus bones!" She muttered angrily. "Probably just a needle or something to surprise snoopers...."
Phillip glanced at her and asked. "Uh...Are you OK? You look kinda--"
"I'm fine!" She snapped. "I just--" She bit her lip. "Hssstt..."
"We thought it'd be quicker." He grinned sheepishly. "We didn't expect to run into bandits."
"Obviously." Matilda snorted several yards ahead of them.
"Anyway, once we get through these mountains we'll go down to Stixx." Phillip glanced at Cole. "Would you guys mind if we traveled with you?"
Before Cole could respond, Matilda sniffed. "Might as well. It wouldn't do my conscience good if we left you two alone while Dog Bone is hunting you down, not to mention you city kids would probably follow rabbit trails thinking they led to Ninjago City or fall of a cliff like Knucklehead did back there."
Phillip chuckled. "You what?" He asked Cole.
Cole rolled his eyes and felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment, but proceeded to tell the siblings how he and Matilda met.
* * *
The group stopped the horses to relieve themselves and eat some breakfast. While the horses drank from a nearby gurgling stream and grazed contently on the lush forest grass, Matilda, Cole, Phillip and Liana rested on a mossy log and stump, munching on trail mix. Naturally Cole would have preferred that cake Matilda had. At one point Matilda got up from the stump she was sitting on and walked over to the black stallion peacefully eating grass.
"Let's see what Dog Bone stores in his saddle bags." She muttered, and opened a dusty leather satchel attached to the side of the horse's saddle. Cole watched with mild interest as she rummaged through the pack.
"Hmph...Bullets...Extra hand gun....grocery list...teddy bear...and--Owch!" Matilda suddenly recoiled from the saddle bags, grimacing and clutching her right hand. "Corpus bones!" She muttered angrily. "Probably just a needle or something to surprise snoopers...."
Phillip glanced at her and asked. "Uh...Are you OK? You look kinda--"
"I'm fine!" She snapped. "I just--" She bit her lip. "Hssstt..."
Cole was slightly concerned to see a drop of red on Matilda's finger, not to mention she looked pale and sick. He got off the log and walked to her with Phillip. "Matilda, are you sure you're OK? You don't look good."
She glared at them, and hissed. She actually hissed. The boys stopped and stared. The woman was baring her white teeth at them and hissing like a cornered cat.
"Hhsst...Leave me alone, you blathering idiots!" Cole was disconcerted to see hot tears streaming down her cheeks, and to see that her eyes had turned to a shiny, misty green. He stepped toward her uncertainly, one hand outstretched.
"Matilda? You're--you're bleeding. Did a needle prick your finger?"
Swaying, she inspected her finger with a glazed expression. "Venomari venom..." She murmured.
"What?" Phillip looked at her with wariness and concern.
There was a strange pause. Matilda gazed misty-eyed at her finger, her defensive snarl turning into a dull, drifting expression. Blinking, she looked at Cole and stared intently at him. He didn't like how she was looking at him...It was very creepy, the way her green eyes gazed sightlessly at him.
"Guys? What's going on?" Liana asked quietly from the bench.
Matilda suddenly stumbled toward Cole and grabbed his shirt. A glazed, crooked grin crept over her face, which was wet with tears. Cole froze, wondering what in all of Ninjago was happening.
Slowly, softly, the witch stroked his cheek as if he was her own infant. Her thin, cold finger traced his face tenderly, affectionately. There was a long, awkward moment of silence. "You look just like your mother." She murmured ever so softly.
Cole's jaw dropped. Matilda stumbled away from him, then tripped over a root and fell over. He stared slack-jawed at the witch while she sat up on the forest floor and began muttering to herself. She stared sightlessly past the boys, tensing up and clutching a clump of ferns. "Chickens....So many chickens..." She murmured. "...They have rainbows."
Cole was slightly concerned to see a drop of red on Matilda's finger, not to mention she looked pale and sick. He got off the log and walked to her with Phillip. "Matilda, are you sure you're OK? You don't look good."
She glared at them, and hissed. She actually hissed. The boys stopped and stared. The woman was baring her white teeth at them and hissing like a cornered cat.
"Hhsst...Leave me alone, you blathering idiots!" Cole was disconcerted to see hot tears streaming down her cheeks, and to see that her eyes had turned to a shiny, misty green. He stepped toward her uncertainly, one hand outstretched.
"Matilda? You're--you're bleeding. Did a needle prick your finger?"
Swaying, she inspected her finger with a glazed expression. "Venomari venom..." She murmured.
"What?" Phillip looked at her with wariness and concern.
There was a strange pause. Matilda gazed misty-eyed at her finger, her defensive snarl turning into a dull, drifting expression. Blinking, she looked at Cole and stared intently at him. He didn't like how she was looking at him...It was very creepy, the way her green eyes gazed sightlessly at him.
"Guys? What's going on?" Liana asked quietly from the bench.
Matilda suddenly stumbled toward Cole and grabbed his shirt. A glazed, crooked grin crept over her face, which was wet with tears. Cole froze, wondering what in all of Ninjago was happening.
Slowly, softly, the witch stroked his cheek as if he was her own infant. Her thin, cold finger traced his face tenderly, affectionately. There was a long, awkward moment of silence. "You look just like your mother." She murmured ever so softly.
Cole's jaw dropped. Matilda stumbled away from him, then tripped over a root and fell over. He stared slack-jawed at the witch while she sat up on the forest floor and began muttering to herself. She stared sightlessly past the boys, tensing up and clutching a clump of ferns. "Chickens....So many chickens..." She murmured. "...They have rainbows."
![[uni]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/mPKcREJAtrpeAXSOgaOH.png)
As a perfectionist I'm kinda cringing at a lot of this now, but I'm glad to know there are some who don't mind. 
![[y]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/WYWPH2VRo26pOFDid7QZ.png)
