The excitement builds as the release
of
Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry
of Power
draws near.
Carra's
fear grew and she could no longer see the beauty in the landscape. Instead,
the rugged geometry of the mountainous country became wild and dangerous. The
high ground to the right seemed to grow steeper, rockier and nearer until it
crowded the road so they were now enveloped in menacing shadows. The cliff
face seemed to squeeze them toward the river, which ran ten to fifteen feet
below the level of the road in this place and coursed dangerously over jagged
rocks. Here in the shade of the cliff, there was ice beneath the snow and she
worried about Badger falling and crushing her beneath his weight while the
riders behind her struggled to avoid trampling her.
The
Nameless Ones hadn't been successful in deceiving animals so far, but was that
due to inability and limits to their powers or merely due to the fact that they
had not used this tactic before? This was a possibility they hadn't even
discussed in the council! What kind of fools had they been? This was an
obvious oversight on all their parts. She suddenly wondered what terrible
things could happen if the Valkea turned her fell will to the horses and drove
them mad with fear. A stampede of frenzied horses on the icy ground could
prove disastrous.
A
dribble of nervous sweat rolled down her back and she shivered, not from the
cold but from nervous panic as a vision worse than the horse falling seeped
into her thoughts. The possibility of Badger grabbing the bit between his
teeth and plunging insanely into the depths of the river beside her was a
thought that filled her mind with dread and her heart with fear. She had never
felt comfortable standing on the lip above a steep slope and the idea of
meeting her death by crashing into jagged rocks was particularly alarming to
her. She was an accomplished horsewoman but what hope had she to stop a
panicked horse on slippery ground?
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