XVII

The eyes advanced towards her in eerie silence, as if in slow motion.

"Help! Help-" finally managed to scream Elanor. It was not a scream, more of a high-pitched squeak, but it provoked the beast, and it finally emerged from the mist. Elanor knew that as soon as she moved, it would jump.

I could throw the lighter on the ground? But the foliage is wet, it's not going to burn... I'll throw my night robe at him and hope it will buy me some time to start running.

Elanor barely looked at his wolf silhouette, much bigger than she imagined a wolf would look. His eyes stopped shining once out of the fog, the last of his spell broken, and Elanor turned to run with all her might, slipping the long night gown off and remaining in the short dress of the undergarment, throwing the robe behind her. Was it not a faery gown, the plan might have failed, but picked up by the wind, the robe unfolded, and the wolf ran right into it.

She could hear when, just in a few seconds, the beast's massive paws shook the ground as it followed, the girl's bare feet were sliding on dewy foliage and she had no time to perceive how lucky she was to not have tripped and fallen this far. But she now had a little distance between herself and the monster, and the cottage was already visible through the ash trees.

She was running without turning around, the wolf galloping behind, two or three pairs of legs joined him, from what Elanor could hear through her pounding heart.

Crack! She landed badly on seemingly straight ground that had branches underneath and fell on her knees. Elanor grabbed a rock that lay nearby and turned, still kneeling, to meet the wolf with some kind of fight. There was no need, however, because it was not the wolves joining galloping sounds she heard before; it was the dark knight she saw at the waterfalls, riding his grey horse that looked silver under moonlight. He carried a spear and was waving it vigorously, striking the beast and dodging the retorts.

The beast was visibly wounded and already faltering with each step. It struggled to move, but another predator was approaching from the mist. The knight did not look tired or intimidated; he only made sure the first wolf remained motionless and repositioned his horse to stand towards the new one, shielding Elanor.

"Run," he said in a low voice, turning to Elanor; the sound was muffled by his mask, but she still noticed that he was raging, even hidden behind it. The mask was plain and black, with only eye slits, and covered his whole face. And when the human did not move, staring at him with wide eyes full of shock, he urged again, with power and command: "Leave."

The rider turned his majestic horned head back to the wolf. It was hard to see whether his hair, braided in a thick braid down his back, was black or navy in the darkness of the grove. Elanor forced herself up and shouted before running away, against her better judgment:

"Thank you! I'm in your debt!"

And she ran to the cottage, blood pulsating in her temples, holding penny in one hand and hiking pants in the other. She reached the house, climbed the window of her bedroom, shut it closed and sat on the bed next to Lumi. Elanor couldn't help it and started crying silently, causing the Samoyed, still half-asleep, to move his head to her hip and fall back into dreams. When she finished crying, she felt much better, but exhausted. 

The adrenaline is wearing off, so it will start crashing me soon. I don't think telling Mira or Hazel is a good idea. I need to change clothes. 

Elanor wasn't sure why she hesitated telling the hosts about her deadly adventure, but she knew she had to mention at least hearing the howls in the night so they could be alert. 

I can't believe I could have died tonight. Who is that knight who saved me? I should try to look in that library of theirs tomorrow. Talvi will be so disappointed with me when he finds out I gave a fae stranger my wish.

She quickly stripped off the remaining dress of the night gown and found a spare one in the linen closet in the bathroom. She noticed the bath filled itself quite like the spell of her tea mug and spent another half an hour just lying in the tub, trying to process tonight, almost falling asleep. When she finally got to bed and snuggled to Lumi, she fell asleep immediately. 

***

A rider in a black cloak and with a spear in his hand was charging full speed through a frozen river. The ice was thick, and his horse's hooves sounded loud in the stillness of the dawn. Red sun was rising behind his back; it was impossible to make out what the shadows were among the trees ahead with human eyes, but he was certainly a fae, and his eyes were bright with determination under the mask. Soldiers followed him across the river in a struggling, brave effort, exhausted from the night of fighting, injured, but their faces were lit with a new hope. The rider was too fast, too eager, rushing towards his victory, leading his people either to death or to glory. The cavalry was catching up, following his dark, horned silhouette with a navy braid fluttering at his back. Everything under the dim red sunlight was glowing like coals in the dying fire; there was no telling if it was snow or ash falling quietly from the sky and covering the valley. All other sounds except for the clamorous gallop of the leader were mute; the commander finally crashed into the enemy line like a storm, and everything at once exploded with the missing volume; the cold morning sun painted everyone with crimson, and the regal commander inspired them to find the last kindlings of fury.