Birthing Ella Bandita Read Online Free

Caverns opened to the girl. Her limbs quivered when she looked up and saw dawn reflected in the clouds. Had she really been here since the previous morning? She almost wept at being given another chance, but she’d only taken two steps towards freedom before she was arrested by the grip of his bony fingers.
    “I’ll give you three days to accept,” the Sorcerer hissed. “After three days, you will never see me again and you will never find these Caverns.”
    He released her.
    ***
    The Sorcerer punched his thigh, watching the girl leave. He bellowed through his nose while she took the spiral out of his Caverns two stairs at a time. He had waited for too long to claim this one to allow her to slip away. He glimpsed the liquid cloud of second sight. The vial was on the top shelf carved in the eastern wall, resting beside a small cauldron. Perhaps he could see something useful.
    He took them both to the table and sat on the sofa, resting his palm where the girl had been. He savored the heat she left behind until the image of her was clear in his mind. Then he emptied the vial into the cauldron and closed his eyes. His face smarted from the smoke rising to form a cloud above his head. The Sorcerer cast his mind, and heard the girl’s labored breathing before he saw her running through the trees. She came out of the woods at the river, close to where he had found her the previous morning just as she was about to jump.
    This time she wasn’t alone. On the other side of the river was the giant gray stallion, the one that ran wild in the Abandoned Valley. Although he was a mammoth among horses, his glossy coat blended with the rising light and the girl didn’t see him until he pulled his head from the water. She glowed when she saw him. The Sorcerer was surprised at her reaction. Then he remembered that summer years ago, when the girl rode in the Abandoned Valley. The handsome young Horse Trainer who accompanied her always rode a splendid gray colt. This must be the same animal. The girl called out. The giant equine looked at her for a moment before turning away. As the animal ran for the far reaches of the Abandoned Valley, the Sorcerer saw the crest of the Patron seared into its left flank.
    The girl shook her head and turned towards her father’s manor. The house was high enough to view the fields, orchards of unborn peaches, and forests of the family estate, as well as the village to the south. The manor was also backlit by the coming sun, and the household would be coming awake to start the new day. The girl stretched her limbs to their limit and fled. She didn’t stop until she came to the garden of lilies encircling the house. The top bulbs peeked at her from above her head, but the girl had her gaze fixed on the massive door carved from the wood of peach trees. With her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, the girl could have been a refugee at the gates of sanctuary.
    Then she touched her hair. The coil had come undone when she fell in the river, the golden tresses hung loose and tangled to her waist. She looked over the stains on her gown and paled, her fingers touching the remnants smeared across her face. When she faced the front door again, the shine dimmed from her eyes. The girl took several deep breaths before following the path to the portico. Her hand shook reaching for the knob.
    All was quiet when she stepped in. She made her way down the hall that ran through the center of the house. One door opened to a salon on the west side, while the one on the east was closed. At the end of the corridor, the Sorcerer saw twin doors that opened to the dining room.
    From the west side, two servants swept in from a second door, what the Sorcerer assumed must be the kitchen. Their arms were laden with a basket of steaming bread, a cutting board with a round of cheese, a tray of sliced oranges, and a silver pitcher of coffee. They seemed unaware of the girl’s presence, arranging the breakfast at the far end of the table