Mira's Hope Read Free

after
screaming in agony for several minutes on top of the first
mountain. Alarmed, he tried to turn and see her, but as she was
strapped to his back, he only proceeded in spinning around, looking
like a dog chasing his tail.
    Tark raced over to Elenio and grabbing
Galena’s face, he held her head still while her body continued to
seize. He did this to protect her from causing further harm to
herself.
    “Come on little sis, we’re almost there.”
    Elenio heard the sound of a cloth wipe
against her face. Tark continued to hold Galena’s head between his
hands, whispering to her that they were with her and they were
going to get her to Mira’s View, she just needed to hold on a
little longer. Elenio wished it were him comforting Galena. He
wished he could see her beautiful face. He missed those golden eyes
staring into his own and more importantly, he missed the brief
period that they literally shared every thought and feeling before
she had taken herself consciously out of this world and placed
herself in the world between life and death. Galena was his
commitment partner, they shared what every other committed elf
shared, a true bond. Now, he feared he would never have that
again.
    Finally, after several minutes, Galena’s
convulsions passed and she grew still once more. Tark released her
face, but not before kissing her forehead gently. “Let’s go. I want
to get started up the second mountain before we stop again.”
    “She’s getting worse isn’t she? “ Elenio
asked quietly.
    “There’s no way to know for sure, but I think
so. I think she’s getting tired of fighting. We’re going on
borrowed time as it is.”
    Elenio nodded once before picking up the
pace. That was all the motivation he needed to get moving again. If
they didn’t eat again until after she had been healed, then so be
it.
     

 
    Chapter
Three
     
    It was sometime in the wee hours of the
morning of the third day that Tark stumbled to a stop before
dropping to his knees. He was carrying Galena and her head lolled
lifelessly around as he fell, making the sick feeling in Elenio’s
stomach even more pronounced.
    “I have to stop,” he panted, raising a shaky
hand to his face.
    They’d descended the first mountain and
started on the middle one sometime last night. They’d made good
progress too, as they were not quite a third of the way up. Now,
the going was harder, steeper, and required more strength, which
they had very little of. Trading Galena back and forth, with no
food since sometime the morning before and even less sleep, their
energy was quickly depleting.
    Elenio dropped to his knees as well, panting
as heavily as Tark was. Realizing Tark would need help getting
Galena down, he lifted a leg and using it to brace his hand on as
leverage to help him rise, he stood shakily. His hands were shaking
badly too; hunger was a constant pain somewhere in the middle of
his stomach. It threatened to overwhelm him at times, for which he
responded by downing entire flasks of water. This helped a little,
but even now, he could not deny the ravage beast within in him that
demanded food.
    “Shall we break into the bite size food?”
Elenio croaked, while he began to undo the ties around Galena and
Tark’s waist.
    Tark wearily nodded, slumping onto all fours
when the weight of Galena was taken off him. Elenio cradled her
body closer to his own while he crouched on the ground. Cupping her
face, he turned it up so he could see her again. He did not like
what he saw. Her lips were blue and caked with blood and what
appeared to be dry foam. Panicking, he brought his fingers to the
side of her neck to check for a pulse, relief and sickness welled
up inside of him simultaneously. She had a pulse, but it was weak
and more sporadic than he cared for it to be.
    He carefully laid her down on the blanket
Tark was spreading on the ground for her and wrapped her up like a
cocoon, leaving only her face showing. Finding the stream nearby,
he filled his flask