Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #19 October 2015 | Page 23

a thank you to the boatman. Returning the nod,
he pushed off the dock and drifted away into the
darkness.

“Ready to return home?” Ermine asked.

Ella could do nothing more than nod. She
shuffled over to where the horse stood and reached
up to mount it. Snorting loudly, it pulled away from
her. Ermine flew up and landed on its head. The horse
quickly calmed and approached Ella.

“Dragon’s blood,” Ermine said.

Ella looked down at her arms and absently
rubbed them on herself. She then climbed up onto the
horse, turned it around, and nudged it into motion.

They rode into the strangely quiet night until
they came upon the farmhouse they had slept in
before. Ella did not even tie the horse up; she slid off
the animal and dropped, exhausted, into a hay pile.

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To be continued