Young Writers Society

Niyana sat on the low straw matteress and rubbed her head. "I hate this," she groaned. "I really do hate this."

Myles shrugged off his cloak, revealing his usual black-and-gold tunic underneath. "As soon as we get the Tome to the League, I'd done. For good."

"Somehow I don't think..." she trailed off and stared at him in horror. "Your'e leaving the League?"

Myles shrugged. "I have to sometime. Once The Tome of the Constellations is safely in their hands, They won't need me anymore."

Niyana sat in stunned silence for a moment, then declared, "I won't be there when the League gets the Tome."

Myles started. "And why is that?"

She looked up at him. "We're going through the Kirsaid Forest, right?"

"And you want to stay there," he said quietly.

"I hate mountains," she explained. "I'll be no use to the League if I can't even stand the sight of their home."

The old man sagged against the wall. "I see."

She nodded sullenly. "I'll say goodbye to you, good riddance to that rat of a thief, and I'm going back to where I belong."

Myles nodded, but he wasn't so sure. Would Nyiana fit back in to the quiet pools of teh forest? He didn't think so. When he first found her, she didn't even understand what the word death meant.

She suddenly swore and tugged at the golden claps of her heavy black cloak. "I hate this horse blanket, too," she snarled.

"Saddle her up," came a familiar, hoarse voice from a dark corner. They both jumped, but it was only Rame who stepped out of the darkness, looking very pleased at their reactions.

Especially Myles, who turned away from them, Eyse shut tight and hands shaking.

"Stop that!" the nymph growled at the thief.

"What?" he taunted, grinning widely. "Couldn't you 'hear' me?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I can hear just fine," she retorted. "I don't need those ridiculous lumps of skin."

"No you can't," he sneered.

"Besides, you look absaloutly ridiculous with them all peaky, like mountains on the side of your head!"

Rame set his jaw. "You look absaloutly ridiculous without them! Nymph, Fah! You look more like a demon fish!"

Niyana jumped at him before she was even on her feet, her palms glowing with the all-too familiar blue and white fire. But Myles came to life before she could actually hurt him.

"Stop this," he snapped, holding Niyana back. "You two are making enough noise for the entire inn to hear you!'

Niyana sighed and sat back down, spearing the elf with a glare that could kill. But Rame had nothing to fear; he had her main threat over him, and she had nothing else that could hurt him, except her magic. She wasn't insane enough to use it on him in a public inn. He patted the thick leather pouch that held the silver dragon and smiled.

The next morning, Niyana was gazing nervously at a very big, impatient creature that liked her even less than she liked it.

"Hey, demon-fish!" Rame jeered, leaning against his own, dark-brown horse. "Cover your face; you're scaring the poor creature!"

"Quiet, thief!" she snarled at him, not taking her eyes off of her won horse. "Your voice is annoying.

Rame's eyes darkened, and he set his jaw.

Myles sighed and legthened the stirrups for the nymph, causing the horse to sidle. Niyana jumped, drawing a loud snicker from the elf.

Myles ignored them both. "Do you need help up?"

Nyiana stared at him as if he had seriously offered to help her mount a dragon.

"You have ridden a horse before, have you?" Rame sneered.

Niyana didn't answer.

The thief's eyebrows shot up in amused surprise. "You've never ridden a horse?"

"I hate horses," she muttered.

Rame was laughing uncontrollably. "You can't live on land without knowing how to ride a horse! It's the very build of our transportation!"

She smoothed back her hair, still soothingly wet from her discovery of the horse trough. "Yeah, well, in water--" she stopped short, staring at the theif in sudden suspicion. "What's wrong with your hands?"

Rame stopped laughing instantly. "Nothing."

Blue-green eyes glittering, Niyana lunged forward, grabbing for his wrists. The thief tried to jump to the side, But Niyana had him face-down on the ground before he knew what happened. swearing under her breath, the nymph pried his stubborn fists open, surprised by his gasp of pain.

She gazed at his fingers, blistered and burned, and her hard glare dissolved into a mocking grin. "Oh, I forgot to tell you," she laughed as the thief jerked his hand out of her grip and rolled away. "I put some hexes on my pockets. But it seems you already know. I thought you said You knew I had no more silver to use against you." she chuckled as he angrily got to his feet, then suddenly grew thoughtful. "Maybe I'll shove some of that down your throat," she mused. "Bound to be more effective than my magic."

The eld grew rigid, his face contorted in anger.

"We need to get started soon," Myles said quickly, interrupting their argument before things got truly ugly. "Niyana, Do you need help to get on the horse?"

The grin was gone in an instant. "I can keep up by walking," she complained. "I don't want to ride a horse, and it doesn't want to carry me!"

"Yes, please let her walk," Rame begged sardonically, climbiing onto his own mount. "She'll sppok the horses."

"Rame, stay out of this!" he snapped. "Do you always have to go looking for trouble?"

But Niyana was too busy eyeing the beast. Tentatively, she stroked its neck, but the horse shuddered violently under her hand and edged away from her. The nymph spun, pointing an accusing finger at the creature. "See?" she cried shrilly. "See?"

Myles sighed. "Niyana, if the kin'gs men come riding up, and you're not on a horse, you're going to get caught."

She snorted. "I can outrun a horse. A land creature can't run that fast."

The old man gave a bitter laugh. "Don't underestimate them. They can really run when pushed."

Niyana gazed up at the horse, then tried to awkwardly mount it. "You should've at least bought a different color," she breathed angrily. "Brown is ugly."

Myles jumped forward as she fell, catching her and helping her onto the horse.

Once on top, The nymph looked down. The ground seemed so far away, like a distant shore. she swayed and clutched the saddlehore to steady herself.

"I hate horses," she muttered to herself, trying to forget about the hard-packed ground below. "I hate,hate, hate, hate--"

Suddenly a small creature shot through the air and hit her hard on her shoulder, knocking her off the horse. Niyana gave a small cry and threw up her arms to protect her face as she hit the solid ground.

Myles was instantly at her side. "What in the world was that?"

Niyana shakily sat up, examining herself quickly. She was alive after a fall like that? it didn't seem possible!

"By Frozen Waters, I have no idea," she said quietly, still shaken. rubbing her arm where the creature had hit, she glanced at the spot where it should've landed. It was not there.

"It was flying, though," she said. "It had wings."

Rame shrugged calmly, still on his horse. "Bat."

Niyana cast her a dirty glare. "Bat's aren't white," she snapped. "And they don't glide."

"It should've smelled what was in your cloak," Myles said quickly. "Garlic, salt, rowan wood and berries...what couldn't smell that?"

"I put a charm on it, so that nothing could smell them," she explained. "I don't want to wake up with a hoard of rats chewing open my pockets."

Rame sighed impatiently. "Just get back on the horse," she snapped. "Whatever it was, it's gone now, and whatever time we're losing, the king is gaining."

Niyana ground her teeth. The elf's rasping voice set her teeth on edge, and his theif's accent was maddening. She looked forward to the time when she could leave him and his horrible voice behind.

Myles helped her remount her horse, then spryly mounted his own chestnut mare. "He's right," he said. "Hopefully, we'll get to the Kirsaid Forest by nightfall."

The nymph nodded tightly and glanced over her shoulder one last time before Myles grabbed her horse's reins and led her towards the forest.

*****

Brizzle scampered dizzily under the nearest building, disoriented and confused. It had sensed nothing; there was no sent, its sonar had only picked up a ghostly image he had taken for nothing...

What in the world did it hit?

The little imp swayed and stumbled, not even bother to get back up. Whatever it had hit, the imp had hit it hard. Its head was spinning...it had no way to think clearly...

Brizzle shooks it head, trying to make sense of the entire thing. But it couldn't; the collision had scrambled his wits.

With a small sigh, the imp curlsed up, its head swimming. It was day; the imp was supposed to be sleeping. perhapes it would try to sleep a few hours and wait till its head became more clear. Then it would track down the thieves that had brutally stolen something precious from its master.

I will not fail Master this time, Brizzle decided. And it gave one more yawn, and fell fast asleep.