AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, winged pony, huh?”
He glanced at me, brow furrowed. “Pony?”
“I mean, I didn’t really get a good look at how tall you were, and ponies are known for being aggressive more than horses. If I remember right.”
Baz stared at me for a moment before shaking his head. “I have half a mind to shift back and teach you the difference between a pony and a horse, but it might kill me.”
Sobered by his admission, the smile fell from my lips. “We need to get you back in one piece.”
“Did Dio have this much trouble?”
“Yeah, magic sexy times fixed him. That and a trip to Nightmare.”
Baz snorted. “Okay.” He leaned back against a rock and stared out over the swimming hole. “We had a lot of good times here.”
“Yeah. I was half thinking we’d ended up at the real one, but then the shadow thing attacked me.”
I studied the tranquil water, surrounded by forest, except for the small clearing near the water. The willow tree that draped its branches into the water over on one side, and the cliff above. Complete with a robin-egg-blue sky.
“I could just stay here forever,” I said wistfully. “If it weren’t for everything else.”
Baz squeezed my hand. “Yeah.”
We sat there together looking out over the water for a while before Baz stirred. “Go jump.”
“What?”
“For old time’s sake.” He grinned at me. “Go jump.”
Feeling like I couldn’t refuse, and not entirely against the idea, I climbed to my feet and stretched out a few kinks as I skirted the water’s edge. I shifted my dream clothing into a skimpy bikini that would only survive the jump because it was basically magic, then I carefully didn’t look at Baz as I added a little sway to my hips until I got to uneven ground.
I had to dodge a few piles of boulders and walk across the limestone patch we’d used to scour for new fossils to reach the dirt trail up the side of the limestone cliff. The air temperature was perfect, and a few insects sang along with the birds chirping in the trees.
I trudged up the path, conjuring energy I didn’t really have for Baz’s sake. The short, steep incline had seemed a lot bigger when I was younger.
When I got to the top, the height was still daunting, but we had jumped so many times as children that I knew I could do this. I glanced out and saw Baz. He waved, giving me an encouraging thumbs up.
I glanced down once, just to make sure I didn’t see anything different in the dream water than at home. It was clear to the bottom, where it got a little murky with the depth.
Taking a deep breath, I put my arms over my head, jumped into the air, and pointed my toes. The wind rushed past me, and I yelped a little as my feet touched the cold water, then snapped my mouth shut as the water splashed over my head.
I let myself arrow downward until my feet brushed the bottom. Then I came into a crouch, pushed off the silty sand and burst from the water like I’d always done as a kid, pretending to be a mermaid.
Baz clapped when I swam slowly to shore, a contented smile on his face, gaze glued to my body.
“You are magnificent, Ember.”
“Thanks.” I climbed out, flushed with warmth at his words and bowed, dripping water. “So, are we safe here? Or do we need to keep moving?”
“We are going to have to be safe,” Baz replied. “I’m not up for anything else right now. I’m sorry, Ember. I just don’t have anything left.”
“Hey, it’s okay.” I went over and dripped water on him.
He swatted at me, and I forced a grin before sinking to the ground next to him.
“I’m sorry,” Baz said again.
“For what now?”
