Seven Stones: Part Seventy-Five
Previously on Seven Stones: Anessa and the others withdraw from the palisade without being seen and head for the second gate. However, the sight of the mutated horses triggers a panic attack. Anserth kisses Anessa to shock her out of her fugue, then stalks away before Anessa works out how she feels. Kobb discovers the probable source of the evil is behind a further iron-sealed fence. Before they can plan a way past it, the monsters approach.
Anessa staggered back a step as Kobb and Haelen sprinted forward. Why didn’t the gate close? The creatures’d get them all. There’d be nowhere to run. Why wasn’t Anserth — Where was Anserth? Haelen said she went to watch the horses, so why — Unless —
The thundering in her ears drowned the sound of hooves. Anessa stared at the creeping gate. Anserth was outside. She’d be trampled.
Sweat oozing across her brow, Anessa dragged herself toward the gap. She could do this. She didn’t need to get that close. Even if she couldn’t kill a horse, a bolt in the leg’d — Her fingers met air.
The dregs of her courage drained away. She’d been holding her crossbow as they retreated. She must have dropped it when she panicked. She stumbled to a halt.
Kobb and Haelen added their shoulders to the effort. With a groan, the gate began…
