Wings Of Dawn

The wind-blown rain stung the left side of Adam's face. He held his legs close to the horse's body, thus affording some degree of warmth. It would have been impossible for someone unfamiliar with the church to see the shortcut at night, but Adam and Cyrus knew the way. Adam prompted his horse along the path. Small limbs and switches that were easily avoided in the daytime swiped against him in the dark.

The animal began to stamp nervously, shaking his head and moving his hindquarters about.

Adam's attention was divided between Cyrus and what he saw through the wind-tossed evergreen branches.

There were lights burning in the church.

With a gentle nudge into the horse's sides, a low clucking sound, and a tap with the reins, Adam encouraged Cyrus to continue. A new line of clouds - much thicker than the earlier ones - obscured the moon and blocked what little illumination it had provided. The horse followed the path through the tall cedars and junipers. Even in the darkness, Adam saw the white obelisk of the Farnham monument just off the pathway.

The horse veered suddenly to its right past the Farnham plot. Adam pulled hard on the left rein to regain the path. Its body became rigid. It reared and neighed as his hind legs carried Adam upward and backward. He held onto the saddle horn and tightened his legs around the horse's middle. From the motion he felt in his arms, Adam knew his mount's forelegs were thrashing in the air.

Adam paused and looked toward the spot where the horse had reared. The darkness was deepened by monstrous junipers which towered over the grave plots. Nothing was heard except the wind wailing through the limbs and shrubs.