Only an hour left, Harper thought to herself quietly. She had to try hard not to let the clunking of her horse’s hooves and the sound of nocturnal creatures in the land around her lull her to sleep. Harper had never planned on training for the Umbral Domain, but the amount of time she was spending tired lately had made her seriously reconsider that decision. To need less sleep would be an enormous boon.

  The waxing moon glowed above her. It was only half full, not providing as much light as she would have liked, but it could have been worse. The last traveler she had seen was hours ago; the empty roads gave her an eerie feeling. If not for Nimbus and a sleeping Briar, she would be alone.

  The wind flared back up, pushing against them and giving Harper a chill. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself. Then she noticed that they were slowing down. She gave Nimbus a light tap to speed up, but she was ignored. “What’s wrong? We’re almost there?” Harper demanded of the horse, somewhat angrily.

  Nimbus whinnied, before slowing down to a stop. She stared ahead, nervously neighing. Harper frowned in concern, staring with her. Her mind flashed to the mountain lions they encountered on the delegation trip, then to other nighttime creatures she had been warned about. This area should be fairly safe, but there were no guarantees.

  Harper listened and watched for thirty seconds, but nothing happened. She decided to trust her horse, even if it meant prolonging the time she spent out here. Tugging the reins to the right, she prepared to turn around and find a place to stay the night.

  Just as Harper resigned herself to making some distance and stopping for rest on the ground, a loud noise rang out. Only a second later, Nimbus reared up on her back legs and charged forward. Several seconds later, more shots rang out in quick succession. Her horse jerked beneath her, slowing down a second before resuming her furious pace.

  Harper tightened her grip and pressed herself against the horse, trying to make herself as small as possible. No more shots rang out, instead she heard yelling behind her and the sound of horses in pursuit. Terrified, Harper could only hold on.

  No more shots rang out; it seemed that they used all of their loaded rifles and were not skilled enough to reload them on horseback. Harper wished that she could fire behind her, but her flintlock wasn’t loaded. She considered trying to load it, but even in her panicked state knew that it was a bad idea.

  They managed an initial lead on their pursuers, but it didn’t last long. Only a few minutes into the chase, Nimbus began to slow. Harper looked at the ground behind her, it was just light enough that she could make out spatters of blood being left behind. She first checked herself, making sure that she hadn't missed being shot.

  Turning her attention to her horse, she ran her hand around her side. Her hand found a wet spot on Nimbus’s right flank. With trembling hands, she grabbed a piece of gauze meant for the purpose and pressed it to the wound. One of her bags squirmed, the creature within panicking. Briar must be terrified, a small part of her noted absently. The rest was scrambling for a plan.

  Any settlement large enough to help her was too far away. If she stayed on the road, she would eventually be run down. If she tried to lose them in the forest, there was a high chance that they would be tripped and caught anyways. A full sprint at night was not the time to tread on uneven ground.

  There was one more option, but it was probably the worse. Fighting them would be suicide, or the easiest way to get captured, she amended. While it was difficult to tell, it seemed that they were aiming their shots not at her, but her horse.

  Harper had no idea who was chasing her, or why, but she knew that she didn’t want to get caught. In the best-case scenario, they merely wanted to rob her; in the worst case, she would be violated and killed. Or it could be anything in between.

  Maybe they wanted to capture and ransom her, either to her parents or to the Governor as one of his couriers. She immediately thought of where she just came from. Her uncle’s plantation. Could he have seen her and orchestrated her capture? It was an uncomfortable possibility. It even made sense to wait until she was long gone. It shifted some suspicion from him and removed the possibility of witnesses.

  Whatever the case, Harper did not want to be caught. She returned to scrambling for a solution to her predicament. There were no good ideas, only less awful ones.

  Ten minutes later, she decided to take her chances in the forest. As much as she didn’t wish to leave her horse behind should she trip, it was her best option. Nimbus was tired and wounded. She may have been able to outrun them in fresh conditions, but that was not the case.

  Harper on foot however stood a much better chance. With her current physicality, she almost as fast as a horse not meant for speed. In the uneven ground of the forest, she might have an advantage. That was until those chasing her dismounted as well.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  If her pursuers only held a single Domain core, she would be on level ground with them, slightly less so if they have several Domains to go along with it. Still, it was possible; she was a fast runner and size made little difference when it came to speed.

  If any were Magnates, her chances were much slimmer. She would have to hope she could hide within the thicker foliage. Gritting her teeth, Harper led her horse to the left, into the trees. “Sorry Nimbus,” Harper murmured with some regret, stroking her mane.

  Sure enough, only another ten minutes into the forest, it happened. Whether it was the fatigue and blood loss, or simple bad luck. Nimbus tripped, neighing frantically. Harper couldn’t see what did it, but the most likely culprit was a root. They both went falling, their momentum carrying each forward. Harper landed poorly, getting scrapes all over her body. She at least had the presence of mind to face the bag with Briar upwards, saving him from the worst of the damage.

  Ignoring the pain, Harper climbed to her feet, only sparing the heaving Nimbus a stricken glance. Her horse would likely not survive. If the wound or their chasers didn’t finish her outright, a predator in the forest likely would.

  Harper took off running, hearing the clomp of hooves in pursuit. Everything important was on her person. The saddlebags only held supplies for her trip. She’d be able to replace most everything with relative ease. It did leave her without food or camping utilities.

  The chase continued like this for a while. She ran through the tightest spots she could find, forcing them to either slow or go around. Still, they gained on her. The bright spot was that they almost definitely didn’t have a Magnate. If they did, they would have long since dismounted and caught her.

  Abruptly, a crash sounded behind her and the trample of hooves stopped. Her relief was short-lived. Glancing back a bit later, she noticed lamps held aloft and figures in the tree-line. One of them was distinctly not humanoid. A small figure loped in her direction.

  A dog, she realized. If she had to guess from her brief glance, a blood-hound. Like horses, domesticated dogs with Domains were rare. At the end of their natural lives, it was not uncommon to claim their cores. One of her pursuers seemed to have grown an Alius from one.

  I can’t lose them, she realized. No matter where she went, the dog would be able to track her. It was faster than her to boot. The tiredness that only adrenaline had been holding back set in. She felt her will to run being sapped from her. Whether it was now or in five minutes, they would catch up.

  She felt Briar squirm against her. He had stopped panicking at some point, but was still restless. She was tempted to let him out. At least he would likely get away. If he would survive the wilderness so far from his native land, she had no idea.

  Harper nixed that line of thought. She already had to leave behind Nimbus. She would not do the same to Briar. Pushing down the apathy, she started to form a plan. Like her previous ones, it was not a good plan, only employed out of desperation. If she had any hope of escaping, she needed to take the dog out of play.

  Harper ran into an especially thick set of bushes. Then, instead of continuing her run, she stopped. Gasping for air, Harper looked for a handhold. One of the trees had a low hanging branch. Climbing as fast as she could, she settled on a spot six feet off the ground.

  She breathed as long as she dared, knowing that stealth was paramount for her ploy. As soon as she heard the sounds of running, she clamped her mouth shut. She was thoroughly exhausted, and only pure force of will and the returning adrenaline kept her awake.

  Harper’s timing needed to be perfect. Too early, and the Alius would see her coming, too late, and they would realize they were about to be ambushed. This was made risker by the fact that she couldn’t draw her sword yet. It would be a dead giveaway.

  The sounds of the dog’s heavy breathing and hurried footsteps sounded under her. She could hear the other pursuers as well; they were only around forty feet behind.

  The dog came into view, and she slipped the sword out of its sheath and began to fall. The Alius only had time perk their ears up and hesitate. Harper fell to the forest floor, sword first. If she missed, it was over.

  She did not. In a feat she wasn’t sure she could replicate, the glowing rapier slid into the Alius. The dog screamed, shaking wildly. Harper was thrown off, hitting a tree. In a panic, the dog reached its head around, trying to see the protruding sword. It only made things worse.

  The sword had hit something vital, and the frantic movements only wiggled it around. Blood gushed from the wound at a furious rate. The bloodhound turned to her in a frenzy. They launched themselves at her. She could only put her arm up, stopping it's advance.

  For the second time since she came to Vanax, her inherited chitin plates saved her. The dog's jaws clamped around her forearms. Had she not had the natural armor, the damage would have been much worse. As it was, her plates cracked, leaving her with painful bruises.

  She pushed the dog away, expecting them to come right back with another viscous bite, but they did not. The Alius fell to its side, dead. Blood formed a puddle in the circle of brush. Like what had happened to her the month previously, the owner of the Alius was ejected back into the world. A large, gruff man materialized into the clearing, letting loose a blood curling scream.

  Scrambling to her feet, Harper grabbed the hilt of her sword, preparing to tug it out. The first of her other pursuers appeared only feet away, charging at her. She heaved in her sword, the momentum taking her out the man’s way.

  He came to a stop, turning to face her. The moonlight glow of her sword illuminated him. She paused for half a moment in shock. She recognized him. The unpleasant man from the plantation’s waiting room stared back at her.

  He opened his mouth, no doubt to demand her surrender. Harper didn't give him the chance. She held up her left hand and activated the enchantment. A blast of water shot from the ring, directly into his face. He staggered as if punched, wiping water from his eyes.

  Harper had already taken off running.