Linda Boston galloped on her horse with fresh courage, hope, and determination. For the first time since she was mated to Brandon, son of Dylan, the ruthless Alpha, she felt at peace. Linda Boston, feel free. She felt what freedom was, and she loved it.
Linda Boston had been riding horses ever since she was young, and she knew how it felt. She rides in the rainy season, spring, and winter. She always enjoyed the fresh air and its scent when she was young, and she knew how it felt. It's what always calmed her, especially whenever she was upset.
Dylan stopped it when she married his son.
But now, Linda Boston feels it again. She felt rejuvenated as the air gushed through her face, rushing into her nostrils and nose. She loved the touch of it on her skin and the way it sought shelter underneath her clothes. Not only that, but she was also feeling fresh courage. She has great courage and confidence that she can end Dylan's rule.
There had been doubts and arguments between her and Brandon. They both believe that Dylan is invisible. But with what happened in the ruined town of Moab, Linda regained her confidence.
It was a marvellous scene to behold. She had known that the hellhound was the key to their freedom ever since they emerged from the woods. It was exactly how the prophecy spoke of it. It happened exactly as predicted
Linda Boston, daughter of Nathaniel and granddaughter of Jerushah, daughter of Kodak, was the high priestess of the guardians of the ancient temple. Her grandmother, Jerushah, was the only white witch alive during the reign of the half-breed. She was the one who foresaw the death of the half-breed if she came to Moab. She was the one who changed the prophecy about the death of the half-breed.
Linda smiled. She had come from the lineage of a very great and powerful witch, but she didn't know how to harness her power. If her father hadn't joined the resistance and died at the battle in the purple dragon's villa, he might have taught her.
After her father was killed, along with a few resistance fighters who fought alongside the half-breed for the freedom of the middle land, her mother took her to a new environment. It's a new place where she won't have access to what happened in the past. A place where they could easily move on without getting sucked up by the effects of their previous life.
When they got to the new environment, her mother sealed her powers. She wanted her to grow like a normal human being in the middle land without any fear. Her mother did what she thought was best to make her feel accepted in their new environment. Unfortunately, the thing changed her life. She lost the ability to harness her power.
Linda Boston could remember going back to the ancient temple some months before she wed Brandon to see if there was anyone who could help her unlock her power. She had hoped that one of the priests there or someone who served her grandmother would help her out. But it was futile. They said her power was locked with greater magic. It was locked with a magic that was out of existence.
On hearing the news, Linda's heart became sore. When the priests noticed her sad mood, they decided to tell her the news about the great changes that would happen. They told her that there would be a great darkness and rule of steel in the middle land, but after that, there would be a great turn-around.
One of the priests led her to the prophecy hall, where he showed her the prophecies of the keys. There are three of them, and they are the only ones that will save the middle land. They are the ones who will free the people and restore peace to the land.
Immediately Linda saw them coming out of the woods, she knew it was one of the beings that the priest talked about. She had kept the prophecy to herself for so long that she was starting to believe it was null. But today changes everything. It marked a new beginning.
Linda could still remember how the hellhound whose name she later knew to be Rey slaughtered ten of the hundred hardened wolves of Dylan. Rey slaughtered them as if they were worth nothing. He tore them apart like a tiny fibre of cloth. None of them stood a chance against him, not even the thirty wolves that came along with her and Brandon.
When the hellhound was done killing the wolves, the ferocious beast turned to face Linda and charged at her. She could remember how Brandon had stepped in between them, fearlessly, and pointed his blade at the beast. Even though they both knew it was useless, they tried to conceal their fear.
She could remember how the hellhound sniffed Brandon's body, eyed him like a useless piece of leather, and then slapped him away. She could remember how Brandon had flown away like a baby toy and how the hellhound thrust at her with his claw.
She could remember how the boy who came with the hellhound stepped in the way of the attack, and the hellhound did a shocking thing: he withdrew his attack.
"Rey!" She could remember how the young boy had screamed the hellhound's real name.
Rapidly, the hellhound calmed down, and his body returned to normal.
"Garry," she could remember Rey calling the boy's name before they hugged each other.
It was at that time that Linda remembered a word that says, "Call a rogue beast by its name, and they will regain their sense."
Now, it's exactly what Linda was trying to do. She goes after Dylan by following the tracks he left behind with his remaining ninety men. Linda wanted to confront him, call his real name, and see whether he would regain his senses or not.
At first, she thought of informing her husband, but she decided against it. She knew that her husband would disagree with her, or worse, slow her down.
Linda shakes her head again. She couldn't allow that. Every time she wastes time, she gives Dylan more power. She had known Dylan for a long time and what he could do. He won't rest until he achieves what he came for.
Linda had managed to sneak away from the camp they had made with Garry and Gaius. Thankfully, it was nightfall when she left last night, and no one saw her leaving. Linda was sure that the rest would be coming behind her now, but she was ahead of them. She didn't stop throughout the night. She tried her best to leave a great distance behind.
The second sun was now setting in the sky, and Linda couldn't help but wonder if she would catch up with Dylan and his men. She had been riding hard all night, all day, and in the hot sun. The only time she stopped was to ease herself. She even ate the baked bread she brought along on the horse and also drank on the horse while thirsty.
Linda looked ahead of her just like she had been doing ever since she began the ride. She examined the horizon for any traces of Dylan and his men, but she found none. She had passed through three towns so far, and all of them were burned to the ground. The one she saw recently was fresh, showing that Dylan and his men left recently, and that made her increase her speed.
After another hour of hard riding, the sun finally goes down. The sky started getting dark, and the moon was getting ready to shine. At the thought of that, Linda's heart collapsed, and a different question roamed her mind.
Will she be spending the night under the open sky again with no tent or shelter? Will she sleep in an open place that's not secure? She might be robbed by bandits, attacked by wild creatures, or anything could happen to her. Linda felt pity for herself, especially when she remembered that she had no duvet to cover her skin, food, wine, or water to drink.
She could hear her horse wheezing; it was starting to get cold. Slowly, the horse started walking. Linda needed one to tell her that the horse was tired and that it needed rest. It needed to be fed and allowed to rest so it could recover its vitality. Besides, the horse is not the only one that's tired. She was exhausted, too.
A minute later, the horse came to a halt, and that left Linda no choice but to jump down. She grabbed the reins and tried pulling the horse into a walk, but it wouldn't bulge. The horse wouldn't take a step, and she was too damn tired to apply force. The next thing she needed right now was a great rest, and Linda feared she might collapse anytime soon.
She looked around, but the whole place was too dark to see more than ten feet away. She can't even guess what her surroundings look like. She looked up, half of her expecting the moon to shine brightly, but the universe mocked her expectations. The moon was shining, trying its best to give light to the atmosphere, but it was a dull light because it was still a half-moon.
Eventually, Linda resigned herself to fate.
T.b.c