Ethan’s head ached as he regained consciousness. He reached up to a sore spot on the back of his head before opening his eyes. When he brought his hand back from the stinging bump at the base of his neck, he opened his eyes to slits and saw fresh blood upon his fingers.
Ethan tried to get up and realized his foot was twisted. His entire right leg ached terribly. A shadow advanced over him. Ethan looked up and saw Whistler standing there next to him. The horse slowly chewed a muzzle full of grass as he grazed. Ethan’s foot was still wedged in the right stirrup.
He turned his leg to release the toe of his boot. The leg fell numb to the ground with a thud. Ethan wondered if anything might be broken. A horrible tingling took over in the leg as the blood flow returned to normal. Ethan endured a sensation like hundreds of spiders dancing beneath his skin. He turned his head and realized what horrible things had happened during his unconsciousness.
He and Whistler were now some distance from the road where the attack had taken place. Ethan now knew Whistler had saved his life by dragging him away from the gruesome scene depicted before him. He stood to his feet, mumbling, “How can this be?”
Ethan hobbled toward the road. As he came nearer, a curtain of carrion-feeding birds and flies begrudged him the disturbance. Ethan stood there horrified. The delegation bore little resemblance to human beings now. The ten men, and Mr. Howinger, were dead. But, more than that, they had been slaughtered in ways beyond human comprehension.
Some of the company, including horses, dangled like moss in nearby trees. Ethan did not believe a lone Wraith Rider could have accomplished this. He realized the demons he had seen were as real in the physical world as they were in the spiritual. They had crossed the boundary, normally confining them, and had entered the physical world with power beyond comprehension.
Ethan fought to keep gut-wrenching nausea at bay. He turned away from the scene. On the road behind, where he and the others had been when the attack came, Ethan saw one distinct set of hoof prints heading back toward Grandee. Ethan ran to the place where the rider had been sitting stoically upon his mount. He confirmed his suspicion. The rider had not turned and gone back the way he came. He and his demon forces are going to Grandee…and Elspeth!
Ethan flew into a panic. He was a half-day’s travel from his home. He found the overturned wagon where their supplies had been. They had been scattered in every direction upon the ground as though by an explosion. Among the discarded weapons, Ethan found another sword, this one a two handed broadsword which he thought he could handle.
Ethan fastened the scabbard to Whistler’s saddle and took two of the water skins and some jerky. He had not eaten all day and his strength was ebbing away. Ethan climbed back into the saddle and regarded Howinger’s delegation of peaceful cooperation one last time before goading the stallion into a full gallop toward Grandee.