against the wall, stood Melody. Trapped, she was trying to inch her way towards a large crack to her left. Max scanned the rest of the area, but saw no sign of the diggers.
Turning his attention back to Melody, he tried to find what kept the bandits from attacking her. She kept one empty hand stretched out towards them and used the other to feel along the stone wall behind her. Yelling, one of the bandits threw a rock at her. To Max’s surprise, it only made it a short distance before bouncing back, flying past the bandit who threw it.
Max focused in on the area a short distance in front of the bandits. He caught a shimmer in the air. Squinting as hard as he could, he made out a slight disturbance surrounding Melody ten feet out from her body. Max stood dumbstruck. He had never seen anything like it. As he watched in awe, Melody took a step sideways. The barrier flickered out for a brief second, prompting all of the bandits to throw rocks. Melody froze in place, the rocks bouncing off the renewed barrier. Max shook off the initial wonder at the spectacle, realizing he had to do something quickly before the barrier disappeared for good.
Max weighed his options. I could creep up from behind, taking as many of the bandits out as I can before they notice me. Ahh, but I’m horrible at sneaking, and I can only take one, maybe two, before they catch on and overwhelm me. Although, that might give Melody enough time to reach the cave.
I guess I could charge in and try to reach Melody before the bandits could react. I could protect us as we made our way to that crack. It looks about four feet wide. There, at least, the bandits would have to fight me one at a time. But, the bandits would eventually wear me down, not to mention I’ve only practiced fighting with Tyco. I haven’t actually done it.
Wait! I know, I can try the trick Eve and I have done on occasion. Max studied the bandits surrounding Melody. “Yep, that will have to be it.”
Max walked back to the horse, patting it on the shoulder. “I hope you’re ready for this.”
Max mounted the horse and led it back to the entrance of the canyon. Swinging the horse back around, he took a deep breath then let it out.
“Well, here goes.”
Max tightened his hold on the reins and gave the horse a hard kick to the sides. Startled, the horse bolted forward. Rounding the corner, Max steered the horse straight for Melody. A smile appeared on Max’s face.
This is going to work.
A heartbeat later the smile faded away. The barrier! If I hit that...
Max shouted at the top of his lungs. “Melody, the barrier!”
Melody jerked her head in his direction, along with all of the bandits. Dropping her hand, the barrier dissipated a split second before Max and the horse would have smashed into it. Ignoring the near miss, Max leaned left, reaching his hand down. Melody realized what Max had in mind and grabbed his wrist as he passed by. In that moment, Max realized two other pieces of his plan that he had overlooked. One, Eve was lighter and much more agile than Melody. Two, he and Eve had practiced several times before getting the maneuver correct.
Max swung Melody up with all the strength he had, but was pulled down a little as he did so. The horse, fast approaching the canyon wall, panicked when it felt Max slip. Attempting something between a stop and a hard right turn it slipped on the loose stone, falling sideways. Already loose in the saddle, both Max and Melody fell free of the horse as it went down, all three hitting the ground hard.
Max, full of adrenalin, leapt off the ground. He grabbed Melody’s arm as she struggled to regain her footing, dragging her towards the crack in the wall. Inside, Max let go of Melody and reached for his swords, but grasped only air. Horrified, he realized the swords remained on the horse with the rest of his goods. Not stopping to think, he dashed out of the cave where the bandits had recovered from Max’s surprise appearance.
The horse
Turning his attention back to Melody, he tried to find what kept the bandits from attacking her. She kept one empty hand stretched out towards them and used the other to feel along the stone wall behind her. Yelling, one of the bandits threw a rock at her. To Max’s surprise, it only made it a short distance before bouncing back, flying past the bandit who threw it.
Max focused in on the area a short distance in front of the bandits. He caught a shimmer in the air. Squinting as hard as he could, he made out a slight disturbance surrounding Melody ten feet out from her body. Max stood dumbstruck. He had never seen anything like it. As he watched in awe, Melody took a step sideways. The barrier flickered out for a brief second, prompting all of the bandits to throw rocks. Melody froze in place, the rocks bouncing off the renewed barrier. Max shook off the initial wonder at the spectacle, realizing he had to do something quickly before the barrier disappeared for good.
Max weighed his options. I could creep up from behind, taking as many of the bandits out as I can before they notice me. Ahh, but I’m horrible at sneaking, and I can only take one, maybe two, before they catch on and overwhelm me. Although, that might give Melody enough time to reach the cave.
I guess I could charge in and try to reach Melody before the bandits could react. I could protect us as we made our way to that crack. It looks about four feet wide. There, at least, the bandits would have to fight me one at a time. But, the bandits would eventually wear me down, not to mention I’ve only practiced fighting with Tyco. I haven’t actually done it.
Wait! I know, I can try the trick Eve and I have done on occasion. Max studied the bandits surrounding Melody. “Yep, that will have to be it.”
Max walked back to the horse, patting it on the shoulder. “I hope you’re ready for this.”
Max mounted the horse and led it back to the entrance of the canyon. Swinging the horse back around, he took a deep breath then let it out.
“Well, here goes.”
Max tightened his hold on the reins and gave the horse a hard kick to the sides. Startled, the horse bolted forward. Rounding the corner, Max steered the horse straight for Melody. A smile appeared on Max’s face.
This is going to work.
A heartbeat later the smile faded away. The barrier! If I hit that...
Max shouted at the top of his lungs. “Melody, the barrier!”
Melody jerked her head in his direction, along with all of the bandits. Dropping her hand, the barrier dissipated a split second before Max and the horse would have smashed into it. Ignoring the near miss, Max leaned left, reaching his hand down. Melody realized what Max had in mind and grabbed his wrist as he passed by. In that moment, Max realized two other pieces of his plan that he had overlooked. One, Eve was lighter and much more agile than Melody. Two, he and Eve had practiced several times before getting the maneuver correct.
Max swung Melody up with all the strength he had, but was pulled down a little as he did so. The horse, fast approaching the canyon wall, panicked when it felt Max slip. Attempting something between a stop and a hard right turn it slipped on the loose stone, falling sideways. Already loose in the saddle, both Max and Melody fell free of the horse as it went down, all three hitting the ground hard.
Max, full of adrenalin, leapt off the ground. He grabbed Melody’s arm as she struggled to regain her footing, dragging her towards the crack in the wall. Inside, Max let go of Melody and reached for his swords, but grasped only air. Horrified, he realized the swords remained on the horse with the rest of his goods. Not stopping to think, he dashed out of the cave where the bandits had recovered from Max’s surprise appearance.
The horse
Similar Books
