Sky Horses: the Royal Foal

by Linda Chapman

  ‘Yes, but I just don’t get it. She said, “Clear the skies.”’ Erin described what had happened, trying not to miss anything out. ‘Mistral just walked round and round as if guarding the circle,’ she said. ‘And then Marianne put him back in the stone and said something about it being day four.’

  ‘Day four!’ Tor stamped a front hoof on the ground. ‘So that is what she is trying to do! I should have realized sooner,’ he said. ‘The cloudless skies, the fact that Mistral couldn’t possibly be resisting a spirit with her powers. I should have understood that Marianne was trying to reveal the fourth stone.’

  Erin eyes widened. ‘But what is the fourth stone?’

  ‘There is a fourth rock at World’s End,’ Tor explained. ‘It is not a real rock any more than a water hagstone is a real stone. It looks like a giant hagstone, but is made out of water. It is hidden below the waves and appears after six days of complete calm and cloudless skies.’

  Erin suddenly remembered where else she had heard the words fourth stone. ‘Aunt Alice told me that World’s End used to be called Four Rocks. Is that why?’

  Tor nodded. ‘It is written in the stars that if a weather weaver passes a hagstone tied with their hair through the hole in the fourth rock they will then have all the power they need to control the weather without keeping a sky horse captive. That is what Marianne must be trying to do. For now, she is succeeding in using Mistral to control the weather, but she must know that as he gets older he will fight her more and more. This way would allow her to have complete power without him.’

  ‘If day four has just started, then we’ve only got two more days to stop her!’ said Erin in alarm.

  ‘But we could ruin her plans easily!’ said Chloe. ‘You could use the seeing stone to cast a vision of Tor into the skies and he could make the weather stormy!’

  ‘But I can’t do visions like that at the moment,’ Erin protested.

  ‘And anyway it would be very dangerous for Mistral if we did that while he is in the dark one’s power,’ Tor put in. ‘I do not like to think what she might do to him in revenge against us for stopping her plans.’

  ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ Chloe admitted. ‘But at least we know where Marianne is keeping the trapping stone now. We can get it, then you can work the magic that will break it, Erin.’

  ‘But what if I can’t do it?’ said Erin anxiously. ‘I have to be able to cast visions to do that.’ She had an idea and turned to Tor, hope flaring through her suddenly as she had an idea. ‘Could I use a water hagstone to cast the vision that is needed to break the trapping stone?’

  ‘No,’ he answered heavily. ‘The vision you will need to cast has to be made using a real stone. If you were an older or more experienced weather weaver, you could do it without going into a vision, but you are still too new at this. When you are in a vision, your magic is in its strongest, most concentrated form. If you cannot do it, then the stone will not break and Mistral will stay trapped forever.’

  Erin felt a wave of cold. So she had to cast a vision using a real hagstone. ‘Oh.’

  ‘You will be able to do it,’ Chloe told her quickly. ‘Why don’t you have another try now?’

  Erin reluctantly took a seeing stone out of her pocket. She held it in her hands.

  ‘Just remember not to think of Marianne,’ said Tor.

  But as Erin stared at the dark centre, she found she couldn’t think of anything else. What if Marianne was waiting for her and used a seeing stone of her own to pull her into a vision? What if this time she didn’t escape?

  Her fingers started to tingle, darkness clouded the edges of her sight and the hole seemed to grow.

  No!

  Erin recoiled.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Chloe demanded.

  ‘I can’t do it,’ Erin stammered. ‘I don’t want to!’

  Tor breathed on her hair. ‘You can. Please, Erin. Try again.’

  Erin felt awful. ‘OK.’ But although she tried and tried, she just couldn’t do it. It was like there was a barrier there. As if something was stopping her. Every time she felt herself falling, her mind seemed to pull her back.

  ‘I can’t do it,’ she said again.

  Tor sighed. ‘We must leave it for now.’ He glanced at the sky, which was starting to look a paler grey. ‘Dawn is coming. Tomorrow we will go to the cave and get the trapping stone. Hopefully the dark one will not be there, but even if she is we have no time to lose. I will provide a distraction, giving you the chance to get into the cave and take it. When we have the stone you must try to cast a vision.’

  ‘We’ll see you tomorrow night, Tor,’ said Chloe, rising into the air.

  ‘Bye, Tor,’ said Erin, forcing a smile.

  But as she flew with Chloe the smile quickly faded from her face.

  Chloe glanced at her. ‘It’ll be OK.’

  Erin swallowed. She really hoped Chloe was right.

  CHAPTER

  Nine

  ‘So what have you got planned for today?’ asked Jo brightly as Erin got into the passenger seat of the car the next morning.

  ‘Nothing much,’ sighed Erin. She thought about the day ahead. No doubt Fran and Katie would be laughing at her as usual, and then in the evening… well, she didn’t want to think about that.

  They drove towards the stables. ‘Have you ridden that new pony yet?’ Jo asked. ‘The one you were talking about the other day.’

  Erin hesitated. ‘Kestrel? Kind of.’

  Jo raised her eyebrows. ‘Kind of?’

  ‘I rode him the other day.’ Erin looked at her stepmother’s kind face and sighed as she admitted the truth. ‘It was awful, Jo. He cantered off with me. Jackie says I should ride him again, but I don’t want to.’ She glanced at Jo, wondering how she would react.

  To her relief, her stepmum gave her a sympathetic look. ‘That must be tough. Are you getting teased about it?’

  Erin nodded. ‘Yeah. A bit.’ Her voice dropped miserably. ‘I… I wish I was braver. More like Chloe. She’s not scared of anything.’

  Jo glanced at her. ‘Being brave isn’t about not feeling scared; it’s about doing something even though it scares you.’

  Erin frowned. She hadn’t thought about it like that. But even if it was true it still didn’t really help her. She was too afraid to ride Kestrel again.

  ‘You know there are times when I’m windsurfing with your dad and the boys and I want to try something, but I feel scared because it’s new and difficult,’ Jo went on. ‘However, if I do try, I always feel good about myself. Even if I make a complete mess, even if I fall off and look really stupid and your dad and the boys laugh, I still feel better because I know I tried. I always feel dreadful if I don’t. Maybe you should try riding Kestrel again. Even if he runs off with you, at least you’ll feel better knowing you were brave enough to have a go.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Erin muttered.

  Jo reached across and squeezed her arm. ‘I promise it’s always better to face your fears and not let them control you.’

  Erin didn’t say anything and they drove the rest of the way in silence.

  ‘I hope today’s OK,’ said Jo as she stopped the car at the stables.

  ‘Thanks,’ sighed Erin, and got out of the car.

  ‘So, Erin, are you going to ride Kestrel today?’ asked Fran with a smirk as Erin fetched a grooming kit from the tack room that morning.

  Katie giggled. ‘Or are you going to be too scared?’

  Fran pretended to imitate Erin. ‘Oh, please, Jackie, don’t make me ride that horrible, nasty pony. I’m such a little baby.’

  Erin’s cheeks burnt as she walked out of the tack room.

  Chloe was waiting beside the water trough. ‘Jackie says can we get Kestrel and Tango in from the lower field before we start grooming. She said we can ride them back.’ She saw Erin’s face. ‘It’s OK. I’ll ride Kestrel. You can ride Tango. But I don’t know why you’re still being so funny about Kestrel. He’s been really quiet ever since that
day you rode him.’

  Erin felt a wave of misery. Now even Chloe thought she was being silly. Great, she thought unhappily.

  They got their hard hats and the ponies’ bridles and walked down to the lower field. It was the furthest field from the stables. They had to walk up the gravel drive that led to the stables and turn off down a path. ‘Look, at least catch Kestrel,’ said Chloe when they reached the field gate. ‘I’ll ride him back, but just lead him in from the field.’

  ‘OK,’ agreed Erin, not wanting Chloe to change her mind about letting her ride Tango. Anyway, she didn’t mind leading Kestrel at all; it was just the thought of riding him that made her feel sick. She found some Polos in her pocket and caught him easily. Putting his bridle on, she led him up the field and took him through the gate.

  Tango was right at the bottom of the field. Chloe vaulted on and trotted the round chestnut pony up to the gate. ‘This is cool!’ she called. ‘This way I get to ride both of them!’

  Erin had left the gate unbolted. Chloe leant over and pulled it open. Seeing Kestrel on the other side, Tango walked eagerly through, but as he did so the gate started to swing shut.

  ‘Watch out, Chloe!’ cried Erin.

  Chloe saw that they were about to get trapped, and kicked Tango on. But it was too late. The edge of the gate banged into Tango’s body. The chestnut pony plunged forward in alarm and as he did so the gate caught on Chloe’s leg. She lost her balance and fell off with a cry. Erin gasped as Tango headed towards her.

  ‘Stop him, Erin!’ Chloe yelled from the ground.

  Erin made a wild grab for the reins, but Tango swerved past her and cantered on down the path.

  ‘He’ll get on to the drive!’ Chloe shrieked. ‘What if there’s a car? He’ll be run over!’

  Erin hesitated for a split second. Tango had slowed to a trot, but was still heading for the drive, the reins flapping dangerously around his legs. She had to stop him. There was only one way.

  She looked desperately at Kestrel. I can’t do it, she thought, feeling sick. I have to, she realized.

  Heart hammering and hands sweating, she got on to the fence and jumped on to Kestrel’s back.

  Her legs had barely touched his sides when the grey pony leapt forward, but Erin was so focused on catching Tango that she hardly had time to be scared. ‘Come on, boy!’ she urged, leaning forward.

  Kestrel flew along the grassy path after Tango. The chestnut pony heard his hooves and broke into a canter again, but Kestrel was already drawing alongside him. Gripping hard with her knees, Erin leant over and grabbed at Tango’s reins. Her hands closed on the leather.

  ‘Whoa!’ she gasped, sitting back and pulling both ponies’ reins as hard as she could. Kestrel bounced to a stop and so did Tango.

  ‘Erin! You did it! You stopped him!’

  Erin looked round. Chloe was racing down the path towards her.

  A grin of pure relief spread across Erin’s face.

  Reaching her, Chloe threw her arms round Tango’s neck. ‘Oh, Tango! I thought you were going to be hurt!’ She swung round. ‘Erin! You rode Kestrel!’

  Erin felt as if every bit of her body was humming; it was like doing the best type of magic. ‘He was brilliant, weren’t you, boy?’ she said, hugging Kestrel.

  ‘You were both brilliant!’ Chloe exclaimed. ‘Guess you’re not going to be scared of riding him again now.’

  Erin shook her head. She didn’t think she’d ever felt happier.

  Chloe mounted and the two of them rode back to the stables.

  When they got to the yard, Jackie saw them. ‘Erin! You’re riding Kestrel!’

  ‘Yep,’ said Erin, still grinning.

  ‘That’s great.’ Jackie looked very pleased. ‘I was starting to get worried about you not riding him. Would you like to ride him in the jumping lesson this afternoon?’

  For a moment Erin felt a flicker of her old fear, but she remembered what Jo had said in the car about having a go and she forced the fear down. ‘Yes, please,’ she said, patting Kestrel’s neck.

  Erin was a bit nervous, but the afternoon jumping lesson was great. Kestrel did everything she asked and when they had a timed mini-jumping competition at the end he won.

  ‘Well done!’ Chloe told her, as they rode the ponies out of the ring at the end. ‘You were great, Erin!’

  Fran and Katie rode past them.

  ‘Didn’t Erin ride Kestrel well?’ Chloe called out with a grin.

  They both scowled and ignored her.

  Erin and Chloe burst into giggles. Erin stopped Kestrel and dismounted with a happy sigh. She felt as if a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders. She hugged Kestrel. ‘You’re the best pony in the world,’ she told him. ‘The very best.’ She thought of Tor. She loved him so much too, but he was a majestic stallion from another world and sometimes it was just lovely to be with a pony you could hug and cuddle.

  Kestrel rubbed his head against her, leaving a trail of green foam from his mouth on her T-shirt and then snorted all over her too for good measure.

  ‘Thanks, Kestrel!’ Erin said, grinning. She couldn’t imagine Tor doing that!

  Erin and Chloe had arranged to meet in the woods that night. Erin was the first to get there. Tor was waiting for her. As she landed, he stepped forward with a low whicker.

  ‘Hi.’ Erin cautiously patted his neck. As she stroked him, he lifted his muzzle to her face. His eyes looked worried. Erin wondered if he was anxious about the night ahead of them.

  Of course he is, she realized. Tor, like her, knew just how powerful a dark spirit such as Marianne was. He still had the mark on his neck where Marianne’s binding rope had cut into him, leaving raw wounds, and he was desperately worried about his son.

  But, strangely, the thought that he was worried didn’t actually make Erin feel worse. She looked into Tor’s troubled eyes and felt suddenly brave. ‘It’ll be OK, Tor,’ she said softly. ‘We’ll get the trapping stone and I’ll cast the vision and set Mistral free and then you’ll both go through the gateway back to the clouds.’

  ‘I hope so.’ The stallion rested his muzzle on her shoulder.

  ‘What will I have to do when I’m in the vision?’ Erin asked.

  ‘Water made the trapping stone what it is and water can also destroy it. You must use your stardust magic to call up rain,’ Tor told her. ‘You must make the rain flow through the hole in the centre of the trapping stone. If you succeed, the stone will break. When the stone splits, I will do the rest.’

  Erin tried to stop the shiver that ran through her at the idea of casting a vision.

  For a moment they stood in silence, both lost in thought.

  ‘Hi!’ called Chloe, flying down through the trees, breaking the quiet.

  Tor stepped back.

  ‘Sorry I’m late. Mum and Dad took ages to go to bed.’ Chloe landed, her eyes alight and excited. ‘I’ve mailed Xanthe and told her we might be about to get the trapping stone. So what’s the plan for tonight?’

  Tor snorted. ‘First Erin should check to see if Marianne is in the cave. We have to get the trapping stone tonight so, even if she is, we must go there and I will try to distract her while you two slip into the cave and take it.’

  ‘And then Erin does her magic and breaks it,’ said Chloe, glancing at Erin. ‘After that, will Mistral be free to go back to the sky with you?’

  ‘Not quite. But I will do the rest,’ Tor answered.

  Erin wondered what he meant. When Mistral had first been trapped, Tor had refused to go back to the sky without him because he said only he could speak the colt’s cloud name to finally free him from Marianne’s control. Was that what he meant?

  Before she could ask, Tor carried on speaking. ‘We have no time to waste. We must get the trapping stone. Erin, can you use a water hagstone now to see if Marianne is at the cave.’

  Erin quickly conjured up a raincloud and turned it into a water hagstone. She used it to cast a vision of the cave. It was dark and empty. ‘She’s
not there yet!’ Erin said, coming out of her vision.

  ‘Then let’s go – and quickly!’ Tor reared up. Erin caught her breath as he changed into his cloud form. His white coat sparkled like early morning mist, his body becoming slightly cloudy and ghost-like. He plunged forward and set off through the trees.

  Erin and Chloe raced after him. As they all burst out of the woods, Tor cantered into the sky, his mane and tail swirling around him as he joined the girls. They swooped over the headland until they saw the three rocks at World’s End silhouetted against the sky. The hagstone and the two tall stones. Almost like fingers pointing up at the cloud world, Erin thought.

  ‘Camouflage yourselves,’ warned Tor. ‘I will wait in case Marianne comes. If she does, I will distract her so that you can escape. Be as quick as you can.’

  ‘We will,’ promised Erin. She had no intention of hanging around.

  She and Chloe whispered the word ‘camouflagus’ and their bodies faded into the background. They flew over the edge of the cliff. Erin could feel Chloe beside her even though she couldn’t see her any more.

  ‘Where do you think the cave might be?’ whispered Chloe as they flew parallel with the cliff. Below them the waves were breaking on the rocks. Sea spray flew into the air, falling on their skin. Behind stood the rocks of World’s End like enormous stone guards.

  Erin scanned the shadowy cliff face. When she’d been in the cave in her vision, she’d just been able to see the top of the stones at World’s End. She flew a bit lower. Where was the cave? Suddenly she saw a large dark hole, half hidden behind a jutting rock. ‘It’s here!’ she hissed.

  ‘Let’s go in,’ said Chloe.

  A thought struck Erin. ‘But what if Marianne has got here since I looked in the water hagstone? What if she’s inside it right now?’

  ‘There’s only one way to find out!’ Chloe flew towards the cave.

  ‘Wait!’ gasped Erin, but Chloe had disappeared through the entrance.

  CHAPTER

  Ten

  Erin dashed after Chloe. The entrance was narrow and she had to turn sideways to slip round the rock. As she flew into the cave, she tensed, but then immediately felt a rush of relief. There was no sign of Marianne.