The Guardian Herd: Stormbound
Page 1
DEDICATION
FOR NICK, THE BEST OF BOTH OF US
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION
EPIGRAPH
HERDS
MAP
1 INTRUDER
2 THE BETRAYER
3 MEMORIES
4 CONFLICTED
5 BLUE TONGUE
6 HIGH FLIGHT
7 SNOW HERD
8 CAPTURE
9 THE MISSION
10 THE REBELS
11 THE ICE LANDS
12 WHITEOUT
13 DESTINY
14 DIVIDED
15 CLOSE CALL
16 ACCEPTANCE
17 THE VISIT
18 RESCUE
19 UPSIDE DOWN
20 THE TRUTH
21 ESCORT
22 GOOD-BYE
23 FRIENDS
24 ATTACK
25 SEA OF RAIN
26 THE LAVA TUBES
27 ICERIVER
28 RETURNING HOME
29 ESCAPE
30 THE DARK
31 JET STREAM
32 REPLAY
33 A FILLY FOR A FILLY
34 ANCIENT ENEMY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
BACK AD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BOOKS BY JENNIFER LYNN ALVAREZ
CREDITS
COPYRIGHT
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
EPIGRAPH
Though my soul may set in darkness,
it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly
to be fearful of the night.
—Sarah Williams, The Old Astronomer (To His Pupil)
HERDS
RIVER HERD
The black foal:
STAR—solid black with black feathers, white star on forehead
Under-stallions:
THUNDERSKY—dark-bay stallion with vibrant crimson feathers, black mane and tail, wide white blaze, two hind white socks. Previously Thunderwing, over-stallion of Sun Herd
HAZELWIND—buckskin stallion with jade feathers, black mane and tail, big white blaze, two white hind socks
SUMMERWIND—handsome palomino pinto stallion with violet feathers
ICERIVER—older dark-silver stallion with powder-blue feathers, white mane, white ringlet tail, blue eyes, white star on forehead. Sire of Lightfeather. Previous over-stallion of Snow Herd
GRASSWING—crippled palomino stallion with pale-green feathers, flaxen mane and tail, white blaze, one white front sock. Deceased
Medicine Mare:
SWEETROOT—old chestnut pinto with dark-pink feathers, chestnut mane and tail, white star on forehead
Mares:
SILVERLAKE—council-mare. Light-gray with silver feathers, white mane and tail, four white socks. Previously Silvercloud, lead mare of Sun Herd
CRYSTALFEATHER—small chestnut mare with bright-blue feathers, two front white socks, white strip on face
DAWNFIR—spotted bay mare with dark-blue and white feathers, black mane and tail
ROWANWOOD—blue roan mare with dark-yellow and blue feathers, white mane and tail, two hind white socks
DEWBERRY—battle mare. Bay pinto with emerald feathers, black mane and tail, thin blaze on forehead, two white hind anklets
LIGHTFEATHER—small white mare with white feathers, white ringlet tail, white mane. Star’s dam. Born to Snow Herd, adopted by Sun Herd. Deceased
MOSSBERRY—elderly light-bay mare with dark-magenta feathers, black mane and tail, crescent moon on forehead and white snip on nose, two white hind anklets. Deceased
Yearlings:
MORNINGLEAF—elegant chestnut filly with bright-aqua feathers, flaxen mane and tail, four white socks, amber eyes, wide blaze
BUMBLEWIND—friendly bay pinto colt with gold feathers tipped in brown, black mane and tail, thin blaze on face
ECHOFROST—sleek silver filly with a mix of dark and light purple feathers, white mane and tail, one white sock
BRACKENTAIL—big brown colt with orange feathers, brown mane and tail, two hind white socks
FLAMESKY—red roan filly with dark-emerald and gold feathers
MOUNTAIN HERD
ROCKWING—over-stallion. Magnificent spotted silver stallion with dark-blue and gray feathers, black mane and tail highlighted with white, one white front anklet
BIRCHCLOUD—lead mare. Light bay with green feathers, two white front socks
HEDGEWIND—flight instructor. Bay stallion with gray feathers, black mane and tail, thin white blaze
FROSTFIRE—captain. White with violet-tipped light-blue feathers, dark-gray mane and tail, and one blue eye. Born to Snow Herd, adopted by Mountain Herd
SHADEPEBBLE—yearling. Heavily spotted exotic silver filly with pale-pink feathers, black mane and tail, thin blaze, and three white socks. Born a dud and a runt
LARKSONG—sky herder. Buckskin mare with dark-blue feathers, white snip on nose, black mane and tail
DARKLEAF—sky herder. Dun mare with black dorsal stripe, purple feathers, black mane and tail, white snip on nose, golden eyes
SNOW HERD
TWISTWING—over-stallion. Red dun stallion with olive-green feathers, black mane and tail
PETALCLOUD—lead mare. Power-seeking gray mare with violet feathers, silver mane and tail, one white sock, wide blaze on face
CLAWFIRE—captain. White stallion with blue-gray feathers, jagged scar on face, gold eyes
DESERT HERD
SANDWING—over-stallion. Proud palomino stallion with dark-yellow feathers, wide white blaze, one white sock
RAINCLOUD—legendary mare. Fine-boned palomino. Deceased
JUNGLE HERD
SMOKEWING—over-stallion. Speckled bay with brown and white spotted feathers, black mane and tail, white snip on nose
SPIDERWING—legendary over-stallion. Deceased
MAP
1
INTRUDER
STAR KICKED OFF THE GRASS AND FLEW INTO THE currents on the tail of Hazelwind, four stallions, and two battle mares. The sky was clear, and Star found it difficult to judge his altitude without the clouds. He was a good flier now, but he was still getting used to his powerful wings and to the confusing perspective of the heights. He glanced upward, wanting to soar higher, but Hazelwind leveled out when the air grew thin.
Star glanced at the fliers around him, noticing their chests expanding and falling too fast, their bodies shivering, and their eyes leaking tears. This was high enough for them, but the starfire he’d received a moon ago on his first birthday filled his belly, pulsing through him and warming him, and Star had no trouble breathing. He tamped down his longing to fly higher and focused instead on the mission.
“Eyes down,” Hazelwind neighed over the ripping currents. Hazelwind’s dam was Silverlake, the past lead mare of Sun Herd, and she’d asked her adult colt to patrol the skies. They circled above the Vein where their herd lived and grazed. Earlier, Hazelwind had spotted the hoofprints of an intruder, and he’d invited Star and some others to help him search for the stranger.
“You’re sure we’re not looking for a horse,” whinnied Dewberry, a small but fierce battle mare. She was four years old and Star didn’t know her well, but Hazelwind did. They’d met in Sun Herd’s old army.
Hazelwind flicked his ears at her. “Horses don’t travel alone.”
“Neither do pegasi,” she countered.
Hazelwind snorted, and his wing caught the edge of a wind current, sending his body into a spiraling roll. Dewberry nickered in delight as Hazelwind struggled to right himself. When he was gliding safely again, he explained. “A lone horse wouldn’t come so close to us, Dewberry, but a spy would.”
“A horse spy?” she asked, blinking her large eyes.
Hazelwind opened his mouth to answer, but Dewberry darted ahead, flicking her tail at him.
Star nickered, amused by the banter between the steeds and feeling joyful to be part of a herd and, more than that, to be flying. After Star received his power from the Hundred Year Star, he’d settled his followers in the Vein along the western coast of Anok, near Crabwing’s Bay. He called them River Herd in honor of the deep, winding waterway that had led them from the heart of Mountain Herd’s territory to the sea.
Five hundred steeds had followed Star out of Rockwing’s Canyon Meadow and into an unknown future. Since then, two hundred more had abandoned their herds, risking execution from their over-stallions, to join Star. They had been surviving in the Vein for the last moon, but Star knew he had to find them a home, and quickly. The pregnant mares were nervous and impatient. Some longed to return to Sun Herd’s lands, but Star chose not to claim his old territory. It was surrounded by herds that were hostile to him and to the steeds who’d joined him. War could not be avoided if they returned there.
And Star wanted a new beginning for River Herd, a territory unscathed by battle and the devastating memories of the past. But the decision was not his alone, for he was not the over-stallion of River Herd, and neither was Thunderwing. The mighty crimson-feathered bay had given up his power when he followed Star, and he was now known as Thundersky. Star had formed a council to govern River Herd. They met daily to discuss their future, and Star trusted that an appropriate home would be decided upon soon.
In the meantime, River Herd lived peacefully in the Vein, but trouble it seemed had found them.
Star and the others scanned the terrain far below their hooves. The great river that had led them to the coast was just a thin blue line, the trees were shapeless green clumps, and the grazing River Herd pegasi were the size of ants. Star squinted his eyes, and things became clearer. He could make out the colors of the pegasi, even spotting Morningleaf’s aqua feathers. From there he surveyed the terrain, sectioning it into shapes so he wouldn’t miss anything.
Suddenly a movement caught Star’s eye, so stealthy he might have imagined it. He blinked, shaking his head.
“Did you see something?” asked Hazelwind.
“I thought so, but I can’t be sure.”
The patrol tensed, and Dewberry spoke. “Trust your eyes, Star.”
He had seen movement, and she was right; he shouldn’t doubt his own eyes. “Yes, I saw something.”
“Take us to it,” Hazelwind said, ears pinned.
Star curled his wings, held them tight, and plunged headfirst. The eight others followed, plummeting toward land like diving hawks. Star narrowed his eyes against the sharp wind, his teeth rattling and his wings shaking as he sliced through the crosscurrents, picking up speed. The curve of the horizon flattened as the ground raced toward him, ready to slam into him, but everything also became clearer, easier to see. The individual rocks, the leaves, and the thing that had trotted across his vision, its color blending so it was almost invisible. With another sudden movement, the figure appeared in sharp relief. “It’s a puma,” Star whinnied.
“I see it,” said Hazelwind.
The big tawny cat was stalking a small palomino yearling who had drifted away from the herd to graze on fresh grass. Star whistled a warning to her.
“No!” Hazelwind neighed to Star, but it was too late.
Star’s throat tightened as he watched the palomino react to his warning. She spread her wings to fly away but only made it several feet up in the air before the leaping puma’s claws sank into her feathers. The cat dragged her to the ground, and within seconds it had its jaws around her throat.
Hazelwind hurtled past Star and rammed the big cat. The stallion, the palomino, and the puma tumbled across the grass. Star and the others landed, surrounding Hazelwind. Dewberry kicked the puma until it let go of the yearling, who then raced away on hoof, her injured wings fluttering behind her. The big cat backed toward the trees, hissing and spitting, then turned and ran.
Star was confused and shocked. “I’m sorry,” he said. He would have to do better to protect his herd.
Hazelwind landed and folded his wings. “Movement attracts cats, Star. We had time to reach the yearling before the puma attacked her, but once she bolted, it had to act.” Hazelwind took a deep breath. “But don’t be upset. You spotted the creature, and that ultimately saved the palomino’s life. You did well. Let’s go see how she is.”
Star and the patrol returned to River Herd. The medicine mare was already tending the palomino, packing her wounds with leaves. “Would you like my help?” Star asked her. He hadn’t healed anyone since he’d brought Morningleaf back to life on his birthday.
Sweetroot shook her head. “The fangs just grazed her. She’s sore and she lost some hair and feathers, but it’s nothing my herbs can’t cure.”
The palomino yearling, a refugee from Desert Herd, was trembling. “We don’t have cats where I live,” she said, tossing her mane. “I mean . . . where I used to live.”
Star remembered the night this filly arrived. She’d escaped with her family, but her parents and siblings had been caught and killed by Desert Herd warriors. She’d only survived because she’d gone to a river to drink and the patrol hadn’t seen her. When she arrived in the Vein, she was almost dead with exhaustion and terror.
Star’s wings sagged with sorrow. He looked at Sweetroot, who’d been treating his wounds and counseling him since the day he was born. “This is my fault. We need an army.”
Sweetroot nickered. “Calm yourself, Star. Armies are for war.”
“But the herd needs protection.”
“Protection and war are two very different things.”
“Are they?” Star drew up his wings and trotted away, more confused than ever. What sort of black foal was he if his herd wasn’t safe even from cats? Thundersky would never have let a cat near his herd.
As Star walked, he felt the questioning eyes of the others on him, so he cantered into the sky where he could think.
He soared through the clouds, glancing down to see Hazelwind’s patrol meeting with River Herd’s council of leaders to discuss the puma. Star worried that they hadn’t spotted the hooved intruder since the attack. He or she was either hiding very well or had left. Star cruised just over the trees and was not surprised when his best friend, Morningleaf, appeared beside him. They flew together in silence, and after a while his breathing slowed and his thoughts calmed. Finally he broke the silence. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Morningleaf nickered. “Of course you don’t; you’re a yearling.”
“But I’m the black foal. They expect me to know things, to save them. What was I thinking starting a new herd? We don’t have a territory or an army. It’s winter, and we should be flying south by now, but I don’t know where to go.”
Morningleaf angled her aqua feathers and banked right. Star followed her. “The council will find us a home, Star. Remember Mossberry’s stories—about the ancient pegasi who lived in the interior, on the windy plains? If those lands truly exist, they’re not in use. My mother told me we might move there.”
Star remembered Mossberry’s stories well. She was an elder mare who’d befriended him on his first migration. Neither she nor Star could fly so they migrated with the walkers, and Mossberry had entertained him with stories and legends about the pegasi. A violent forest fire had taken her life on that journey, and Star shuddered at the memory. He looked at Morningleaf. “I remember hearing about the interior of Anok, but we have pregnant mares. We can’t waste time traveling to land that may not be habitable.”
Morningleaf glanced at him. “Don’t worry so much. Things will work out—for the best.” Her amber eyes were soft, unconcerned. Her trust in him surpassed reason, but it calmed him too. She dropped and landed in a clearing surrounded by fir trees. Star touched down beside her. “Look at all this sweet, untouched grass,” she sai
d.
They lowered their heads and grazed, enjoying the winter sun on their feathers. Before long, rustling leaves drew Star’s attention toward the woods. He pricked his ears as a shape creeped through the shadows. Slowly it walked toward them, and every muscle in Star’s body tensed. Morningleaf reacted too, lifting her wings, poised for flight. They each froze, listening. Then the shadowy creature stepped into the light. Star’s gut dropped, and Morningleaf sucked in her breath.
There, standing in front of them was Brackentail—the Betrayer. The orange-feathered colt said the last two words Star expected to hear. “Help me.”
2
THE BETRAYER
STAR AND MORNINGLEAF STOOD ROOTED TO THE ground. They stared at the brown yearling colt who had helped Rockwing plan his battle against Sun Herd only a moon ago, a battle that resulted in many deaths, including Star’s mentor, Grasswing. As Brackentail staggered closer, Star and Morningleaf each took a step back, training their eyes on him.
“Please, help me,” Brackentail repeated, wheezing as though he had holes in his lungs.
Star scanned the yearling’s body. Brackentail was thin and covered in dried blood. His eyes were swollen, almost shut; his tail was chewed to shreds; half his mane had been pulled out; and he had a broken wing. The orange-feathered limb hung to the ground and had clearly been dragged over weeds and bushes for a long distance. The end feathers were torn, and the longest ones were missing, yanked out by their roots. The healthy wing rested on Brackentail’s back. Flies infested his wounds and crawled over his face as though the colt were already dead. “What happened to you?” Star asked.
Brackentail lowered his head. “Rockwing banished me from Mountain Herd the day after you received your power. He said he couldn’t trust a betrayer.”
Morningleaf snorted. “I’ll agree with that.”
Brackentail continued. “His captain, Frostfire, escorted me to the Vein, and . . .” He paused, then exhaled long and slow. “He kicked me, broke my wing, and left me to die.”