17 The Inscrutable Horse

They arrived near the entrance at the dawning of the next day. They didn't waste time and started searching everywhere to findthe lady. After looking around for thirty minutes, Mudho started smelling something. It immediately beckoned Ochieng' to follow it. The bloke followed obediently.

The bird nodded in approval. It had left the two to search a little because it knew they were close. It had started worrying about the fellows' abilities and wanted to help when they found the right path. It was lost in the celebration that she failed to realise that something was wrong down there.

Mudho who was tracing the scent of the human suddenly felt a strange smell and before it could figure out what it was, it saw a beast resembling a horse flying over. The horse looked very strong. It was blue in color with eyes that were extremely red and had two white horns on top of its head. Its mane and tail were yellow. It also had a blue pair of wings. It looked beautiful but the air around it suppressed the breathing of the two.

"The inscrutable horse!" Mudho promulgated in fear.

"What makes you fear it that much? " Ochieng' asked skeptically.

"This horse is actually the strongest beast in the forbidden land. It is savage and callous to everything moving around it. It is the smartest beast here. It has the ability to read what is in one's mind and heart. The reason why it is feared so much is the fact that it can produce fatal lightning from those eyes of it."

"I think with me here you shouldn't fear it, right? " The young man couldn't understand.

"This horse is quite different from ordinary beasts in the forbidden land. It is believed to have lived for over two thousand seasons. Actually, its descendants are ordinary horses and it was also an ordinary horse as well but became to be what it is by coincidentally consuming a particular fruit. I don't think your aura will have any effect on it." The beast explained bit by bit.

Ochieng' could only suspire when he heard what Mudho said. The animal dreaded him a little but sat confidently on Mudho who had stopped a minute ago waiting for the beast to draw closer. It halted in front of them.

"What are the two of you doing here?" It asked apathetically.

Ochieng' was wondering why Mudho didn't answer this time. It had always acted as the spokesperson of the two of them. Why could it remain quiet at this moment? He was not bewildered for long because he started feeling wet on his derriere. When he looked down, he was surprised to see Mudho perspiring andquivering in fear.

"We are just wandering around." He decided to answer. He then jumped from the Mudho and stood one on one with the other beast.

"Wandering around? I see, you must be strong enough to do so... "

"You do not have to remind me that." he interrupted perplexing the beast.

"Fine, I see you are even a Mogwedhi, no wonder I can'tsee through you, that is very impressive." The beast nodded, "I think we should have a spar."

The horse immediately jumped on him the moment it said so. Its speed was too fast that even Mudho could not catch up. Ochieng' stood where he was calmly. The horse reached before him in a second, it spread its left wing cutting through the air. The power and speed of the wing could shutter all the courage of any of its opponents. The man only stood there, waiting for the strike.

The man met the wing with his fist. The two collided producing a hurricane of wind away from them. Mudho and all the plants around the two fighting fellows were sent flying before falling hard on the ground. The horse and the man were equally matched. The horse didn't expect him to be that strong. It started using everything it had up its sleeves. Ochieng' did not slack either, he used all the means he had.

They used their powers, from breath, air around them and everything they released, making the fight to be so intense that everything eight metres around them was destroyed.

The bird was snapped back to reality by the noise below it. It woke up only to see a blue horse seriously battling Ochieng'. It decided to land on a tree branch and watch.It didn't enjoy the fight much because the two fellows were already tired. Both were bleeding profusely everywhere in their bodies.

In their weak states, Ochieng' withdrew his sword in a profound speed that the beast did not even realize. His sword sharp pointed end landed forthrightly on the horse's neck. It piercedthrough the beast's neck with a raging force. It fell on the ground with a clunk making a cloud of dust and dry leaves rise.

After it fell, green energy gushed from the hole made by the sword with great speed. What left Ochieng', Mudho and the bird baffled was the fact that after the energy left the horse's body, it reverted back to a normal white horse with no wings and horns. The place that the sword thrust a moment ago was just but a cicatrice.

The horse stood up and looked at Ochieng' regretfully. It could not speak at the moment because it had lost that ability. It came and fell on Ochieng's feet to submit. When Mudho and the bird saw this, they became proud of this man. This was the friend of the former and the man of the friend of the latter.

"It's okay, Mudho, I will clean up myself and take a little rest to recuperate. Ward me." He instructed Mudho after settling everything. The rest was very important nevertheless the bird couldn't allow it.

Fwaaa! Fwaaa!

It started singing with a soft and tender voice. All the beasts and ordinary animals around lay on the ground in pleasure, enjoying thepleasant feeling the song brought. Ochieng' was the one who enjoyed much. Having the ability to regenerate, with the song catalysing his recovery, his strength was even increasing in addition. That feeling was gratifying.

Mudho was recovering quickly as well, since it could also regenerate. The horse after reverting back to normal, it felt no exhaustion, nor any pain. It was even stronger than normal horses. It had the ability to comprehend human speech. This made it useful to Ochieng'after he left the forbidden land.

The bird stopped singing when Ochieng' recovered fully. He felt energetic and fresh. If the blue horse came at the moment, he was confident of winning with just a blow. The current horse could cough blood if it knewOchieng' was thinking about hitting it once more.