A horse.
A massive horse, almost as wide across as my Jeep, coming at a full gallop.
In the darkness, and with the fog, and at a distance, I couldn’t be sure, but its coat was a bizarre red color, like blood from a deep cut, but bright. A deep, bright red. Even stranger were the flashes of gold and yellow on its hooves and mane.
Flashes that looked like flames.
I knew nothing about horses but its ears were pressed back. When I added that to its speed and trajectory—fast and headed directly toward me—my situation suddenly seemed dire.
“Stop!” I raised my arms. “I said stop!”
The horse lowered its head and sped up, each massive hoof sending up explosions of sand. I only had seconds before I was steamrolled, so I did the only thing I could.
I sprinted for the water, high-stepping through the shallows until I was deep enough to dive. Then I kicked, swimming under the surface, pushing through cold black water until my lungs burned.
When I came up, I was well past the breakers. The horse had followed me a little way in. Its coat put off so much illumination, it had created a circle of aquamarine water around it, like the ocean had pool lights. Its mane had gotten soaked and hung straight against its strong neck. I didn’t see fire anymore, though. I wondered if I’d only imagined that. I didn’t think so.
It waded deeper into the water, toward me. A wave rushed past its thick chest and it shied back, head bobbing, but its attention never left me.
I knew this wasn’t a dream. Everything felt crystal clear. The cold salt water tickling my throat. The way my sweatshirt and jeans made me clumsy as I treaded water. The ocean swells lifting me as they headed for the beach. But I also couldn’t believe I was awake.
“Are you real?” I shouted over the crash of the surf.
The horse reared, making no sound as its massive hooves slashed at the night. It settled back into the water with a splash and let out a wet snort. Then it turned and trotted away, disappearing back into the fog.
CHAPTER 14
The next thing I remember was waking up to someone shoving me in the shoulder. I grabbed the first thing in sight—my attacker’s ankle—and yanked the hell out of it. By the time I figured out what was actually happening, Daryn had already hit the sand.
She was only down a second before she sprang back up. “What is wrong with you?”
“Sorry. You grabbed my shoulder.” I came to a knee and decided to stay there. I’d startled her. She’d fallen hard and looked a little shaken up.
“Grabbed?” She brushed off her clothes. “I was just trying to wake you up. I barely touched you.”
That was possible. I’d had a terrible night of sleep. Superficial sleep. Shivering, sporadic sleep. After my swim in the ocean, I’d changed into dry clothes, but now I was damp again from the sand and the cool air. And still on edge. And still on one knee. Why again? Was I proposing?
I jumped up. “You just surprised me.”
Daryn was giving me a steady look. She didn’t appear to be thinking good things and my face was going hot, so I decided to survey the surroundings, starting with the part of the world where she wasn’t.
Morning had broken. Fog was starting to burn off. No giant red horses in sight. Good. Maybe I had just hallucinated it, like Samrael’s snout. Wait, that wasn’t good.
“You went for a swim?” she asked, eyeing my wet clothes piled on the sand.
“Yep. Just felt like taking a swim.” I wasn’t ready to talk about the horse. Not even close.
She crossed her arms. With my Giants sweatshirt swallowing her up and her hair all sleep-tangled, she looked different than last night. Softer or something. “So…” She glanced behind her, toward my Jeep. “Do you have any money?”
An antsy feeling stirred inside my chest. If she needed money, she was probably heading out on her own. Not what I wanted, but I couldn’t blame her. I hadn’t exactly treated her great yesterday.
“Yeah,” I answered. “I have money. Daryn, listen, I—”
“Great,” she said. “Let’s get some food. I’m starving.”
*
She taught me how to hot-wire my Jeep, which was easier to do than it should’ve been, then we fell quiet as I got us on the road. After last night’s fight and this morning’s takedown, we were oh for two on communicating. It seemed better for now to just not try.