Well now I have this rattling round in my head! Don't worry, this definitely has an ending!


"Remind me who's idea this was again." Berit yelled above the wind.

"Shut up." replied Talen.

"Just a short ride, then a hike you said, to get out of the city."

"Shut up"

"And Khalad, the weather was going to be good, right?"

"Like he said, shut it." The older man was not in the mood.

Yes, Talen had suggested that the three of them get away from the stifling oppressive heat in the city by going for a hike – well maybe more of a climb – on one of the nearby low lying mountains. And yes, Khalad was the one who had predicted another fine still day. So they had ridden out at dawn, traveling as far as they could on horseback before the animals were becoming unsafe on the rocky ground, before dismounting and continuing on foot. They had taken most of the day to reach the top of the mountain, and had spent some time at the top enjoying the view, the cool air and a flagon of wine. There had be no way to predict that that on the way down the weather would turn. The clouds had rolled in and the wind picked up: the sky had opened. They had spent a thoroughly miserable couple of hours making their way down and were thoroughly soaked and cold. It had been only in the last few minutes that the rain had begun to ease up.

"And we were having so much fun!" Berit continued.

Khalad stopped and said "I don't command the weather, it's good for you idiot noblemen to remember that not everything does as you say" angry that Berit seemed to be trying to make the whim of nature his fault. He turned to the knight to see a smile on his face.

"Ah come on now Khalad, don't take it personally. It's not often that you're wrong about something like this so forgive me if I enjoy it while I can."

Khalad's anger dissipated, soothed by Berit's infections humour. "Well, I know I'm right when I say you look like a drowned rat."

"Don't we all." Rejoined Talen "But can this not wait until we are at least out of this wind, if not until we are dry. I think I have a river in my boots."

Talen shifted his feet making a squelching sound against the soil and rock of the mountain. The motion drew both Khalad and Berit's eyes to the ground. "So you do" Berit laughed, pointing at the stream of water coming from Talen's boots at each movement.

Khalad frowned. That wasn't right. That stream of water wasn't coming from Talen. The roar of the wind picked up. It was more like Talen was standing in a stream. They all were. But they hadn't been a moment ago. Khalad looked up and fear gripped his heart. That wasn't the roar of the wind. The long period of dry days followed by a fierce and short downpour had caused one of the worst things you could face on a mountain side.

"Flash flood" he breathed.

That got the other's attention, and they both turned to see the wall of water that was approaching them. It was dark, like the sky had been just a short while before and pushed rock, soil and tree branches ahead of it. It was moving fast, faster than a horse and certainly faster than they were. And it was wide, too wide each edge at least one hundred feet away: there was no way they would be able to get out of the way in time.

Khalad turned to his brother, fear just replaced with sadness at the thought of the pain their death would cause their family as he gave up hope.

"Hold on to me!" Khalad turned in surprise towards Berit, who looked like he was attempting a spell. Although Sparhawk had been threatening to start Khalad's Pandion education for some years know, he had mostly managed to avoid it. He had seen some examples of different types of spell, but they were all beyond him so he had to trust to his friends' expertise in this area.

The wall of water rolled and roared closer, and Berit glanced about, hands still weaving and muttering the words to the spell under his breath. He seemed to find what he was looking for as he turned to face a large boulder not far away, and the magic coalesced in his hand to form a pearl of light.

"I said grab on." He repeated urgently. Khalad and Talen obeyed, neither understanding. Berit stood at a strange angle, left arm out holding the spell, left leg forward in a bracing position, so the two brothers stood behind him, clinging to his arm and back.

Khalad looked at the spell that Berit was about to cast. He thought he had once seen something like it... surely not? He wouldn't try that, not with the three of them. It was madness. It was...

He felt Berit tense and then released the spell with a word of command. An intense smell of sulphur filled the air, there was crack like a lightning strike and Berit gave a cry of pain. And then the three of them were flung through the air in a confusing blur of yelling, water and debris. They landed in a pile heavily enough to take his breath away, though he had probably taken harder hits on the training ground.

He lay stunned for a moment, before moving to untangle his limbs from the others to stagger to his feet. He turned to stare at the ferocious river now tearing down the mountainside, and shuddered at how close they had been to being swept away with it.

"Khalad?" Talen's voice drew his attention. "I think Berit's hurt."


Let me know what you think, thanks for reading :)