by Stacy Gregg
He ran a hand over the mare’s neck. “My groom Annie is supposed to keep her mane short so that it’s easy to plait for competitions, but she keeps letting it grow long because it’s too pretty to pull.”
Issie looked at the long forelock hanging down over the mare’s eyes. “You should at least trim her forelock. I’m surprised she can even see the jumps from underneath all that hair!”
The mare seemed to know that everyone was talking about her. She moved about anxiously, her sheepskin-booted legs never staying still for more than a second. As she watched the mare strutting about, Issie put aside the mare’s striking colour and examined her conformation with a cool, professional eye. The horse was a good size, about sixteen hands high, but lightly built with a lean frame and long legs that were perfect for travelling fast across country. Her shoulders had a perfect slope – the mark of a good mover – and she had exceptionally powerful hindquarters. It was the mare’s face that Issie liked best, though. She had dainty white markings, a tiny white star beneath her silver-blonde forelock, and at the end of her muzzle there was a cute white snip as if she had dipped her nose into a pot of paint and then thought better of it. Her liquid brown eyes were wide set and intelligent.
“What’s her name?” Issie asked.
“Valmont Liberty,” said Marcus. “Valmont is the name of the stable that owns her – her name is Liberty.”
As they’d been talking, Liberty had taken a good look around and now her eyes were locked on Comet. The skewbald gelding was being held by Stella just a few metres away and he was fidgeting at the end of the lead rope, keen to meet this newcomer.
“You wanna say hello, boy?” Stella led him forward so that he was close enough to greet the mare nose-to-nose.
“Watch it,” Marcus warned. “She’s a typical mare – she can be pretty grumpy around other horses.”
As she touched muzzles with the gelding, Liberty’s ears flattened back and she let out a guttural squeal, making it clear that she wasn’t the slightest bit convinced about being friends.
But Comet wasn’t to be deterred. He thrust his nose out and nickered to the mare. Liberty had her ears hard back against her head, warning him off, but Comet kept his ears resolutely pricked forward, his eyes shining as he nickered to her again, trying to start a conversation. The mare stomped a hoof, her tail thrashed objectionably. She held her nose in the air, staring at this impertinent skewbald as if he were a commoner trying to make friends with a queen.
“She’s not very friendly, is she?” Issie said.
“Oh, she’s all right once you get to know her,” Marcus insisted, giving the mare a firm pat on her glossy neck. He smiled at Issie. “Just like me, really.”
The stalls for the horses at The Hacienda were a collection of covered yards, built in a U-shape around a dusty central courtyard behind the main building of the motel. Each of the covered yards was bordered by wooden railings and the floors of the stalls were covered in wood shavings for bedding. It was nice and clean, but it certainly wasn’t fancy, Issie thought. Comet would be fine here – but a horse like Liberty was probably used to a life of luxury – a proper, elegant loose box.
“We should put the partition gate in between them tonight—” Marcus began to say as he led Liberty into the stalls, but before he could finish his sentence the mare intentionally swung her rump towards Comet and flung out a hind leg, taking a swift and vicious kick at the gelding, which thankfully missed its target. “I can’t risk Liberty getting injured.”
Issie frowned. “I think she can take care of herself.”
Marcus shook his head. “The Valmont stables would freak out if they even knew Liberty was sharing her stall with another horse. They’re very uptight about this mare. Mr Valmont doesn’t even call her by her name – she’s worth so much money that he refers to her as ‘The Asset’.”
“And they let you travel with her by yourself?”
“It was a last-minute thing. I was supposed to have Annie, my groom, with me to help out,” Marcus said. “But Mr Valmont was short-staffed and kept her back at the stables. He’s supposed to be hiring a new groom to meet up with me once I reach Kentucky. It’s all right being on the road alone, though, I really don’t mind.”
“So you ride for this… Valmont Stables?” Issie asked.
“Uh-huh,” Marcus said. “Valmont are a massive operation with lots of horses. I was considering moving back to England when my old riding instructor from boarding school phoned up and said she’d organised the ride on Liberty for me. That was six months ago and I’ve been working at the Valmont ranch in California ever since.”
While Marcus slotted in the gate down the middle of the stall, Issie held on to Comet and Liberty. As soon as Marcus had locked the gate into place she let Comet loose in his stall, and then let Liberty go right next door.
Marcus looked at his watch. “Would you mind keeping an eye on her while she eats her feed? I better go back to my room and charge my mobile. I called Mr Valmont before to let him know where we are and the phone died. He likes to keep track of The Asset – he gets nervous if I don’t call him while we’re travelling.”
“No problem,” Issie said. “I’ve got to stay and make sure Comet settles in OK anyway.”
“See you in the morning then?” Marcus said. “There’s a diner just up the road. Maybe we can meet there for an early breakfast before we hit the road?”
“That sounds great,” Issie said. “And thanks again for sharing Liberty’s stall with me.”
They watched as Comet craned his neck over the partition gate trying to get Liberty to notice him, but the mare steadfastly ignored his overtures and turned her rump on him so she was facing the corner of her stall.
“Give it up, Comet,” Issie said as she turned out the light. “She’s just not that into you.”
Even with the curtains drawn shut in their room, Issie and Stella could still see the pink neon of the motel lights glowing softly outside in the forecourt. They had eaten pizza for dinner that evening with Avery.
“We’ve got a six a.m. start,” Avery said as he scooped up the empty pizza boxes and headed for his room. “You girls should get some sleep.”
As soon as the door was shut behind him Stella began pressing the buttons on the TV remote, flicking through the endless channels. “Ohhh! There’s a vampire versus werewolf movie marathon on channel forty-seven,” she said. “Issie, we have to watch that!”
Issie knew they were supposed to get an early night, but if they were only going to be driving again tomorrow, surely it didn’t matter how late they got to bed?
“All right,” she agreed. “Turn it on then!”
“Wait!” Stella had an idea. “All those vampires will make us hungry – we need snacks!”
The vending machine in the motel forecourt was filled with strange sweets and chocolate that Issie and Stella had never heard of before. They pushed their coins into the slot and bought two Hersheys, a Butterfinger and a Peter Paul Almond Joy and took their chocolate haul back to their room.
“Imagine having to live on blood instead of chocolate,” Stella said as she bit into the Almond Joy. “It must suck to be a vampire.”
The movie marathon seemed like a good idea at the time, but the girls had underestimated just how tired they were. Stella was asleep within minutes, way before the first werewolf even appeared onscreen and Issie was left awake watching the TV.
The movie had just reached a particularly scary bit where the girl was all alone in the house and the werewolf was coming for her, when Issie heard the sound of an animal howling outside, somewhere in the darkness.
“Stella?” Issie hissed. “Did you hear that?”
Stella responded with a snore. Issie tried to pull herself together. She was imagining things. It was just one of the werewolves in the movie.
She’d almost convinced herself that this was true when she heard the noise again – definitely outside this time. It was a long, high-pitched howl, like a wild crea
ture baying its heart out at the moon.
Probably a coyote, Issie thought. She recalled Avery saying that the hills around this region were full of them. As long as the coyote kept its distance and didn’t bother the horses…
The coyote howled again and the motel lights outside flickered for a moment, and suddenly Issie had the strangest feeling. Something was out there – not far away in the hills, but right there – outside her room. She could sense it somehow and it made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.
Turning down the volume on the TV she got up out of her chair and padded silently towards the window. Issie held her breath as she slowly pulled back the curtain. The neon glow of the motel sign bathed the car park in pink light and at first Issie didn’t see anything moving. She was about to let the curtain drop when she caught a glimpse of a shadowy shape heading towards her.
“Stella?” Issie hissed. “Stell? I think there’s something out there!”
Issie looked back over her shoulder at her best friend who, despite everything, was still fast asleep. For a moment she considered waking her, but then she realised she would feel pretty stupid if it was just a stray dog outside.
Issie turned back to the window once more and immediately jumped back in fright. Right outside the room there were two coal-black eyes in a ghostly face, staring straight at her!
“Ohmygod!”
This was what happened when you watched silly movies! Issie had got herself totally freaked and had begun to imagine a werewolf lurking outside the window. What she hadn’t been prepared for was a pony. But there he was, his snowy white coat taking on a pinkish glow from the neon light, making the sight of him strange and ghostly, but no less wonderful.
It was Mystic.
Chapter 4
Issie reached out and pressed her palm up against the glass.
“Hey, Mystic,” she whispered to the dapple-grey pony. “It’s good to see you.”
Even as she said the words, though, Issie knew that Mystic’s appearance in the middle of the night wasn’t a good thing. The grey gelding only ever came when there was trouble. He’d come to warn her that something was very, very wrong.
Her thoughts focused immediately on Comet. Was the skewbald in danger? That coyote she’d heard howling could be closer than she thought. Would a coyote be bold enough to attack a horse?
Issie made a quick grab for her coat and headed out the door. She’d left Comet and Liberty with their feeds just a couple of hours ago. They’d both been fine when she’d said goodnight. She only hoped that they were still OK now.
Mystic was waiting for her right outside the door of her motel room. Her heart was racing as she reached his side. He nickered softly to her as she stretched out a hand to stroke his velvet-soft muzzle. “Hey, boy,” she whispered to her pony, “it’s been a long time.” She put her arms round his neck, and pressed her face into the coarse, ropey strands of his long, silver-grey mane, hugging him tight. Mystic let out a tense whinny. He shook his head, freeing himself from her embrace. He flicked his head in agitation. They needed to go!
Suddenly the grey pony turned on his hocks and set off at a swift trot, heading across the motel forecourt, turning the corner round the end of the shell-pink motel buildings and veering round the back to the stables.
Issie sprinted after him, running as hard as she could, but the pony was too fast for her to keep up. By the time she rounded the corner into the courtyard behind the motel buildings, Mystic was already heading for the far end of the covered yards.
Plunged into the darkness of the yards, Issie suddenly found herself struggling to see anything at all. The lights had switched off automatically at 10 p.m. and the whole of the enclosure was in blackout.
“Mystic!” Issie hissed. “Where are you?”
As her eyes adjusted she could make out the silhouettes of horses in their stalls, moving about restlessly. Comet and Liberty’s stall was at the very end of the yards and she headed there now, groping her way along the railings and trying to recall where the light switch had been. Then, in the blackness she thought she caught a glimpse of Mystic. He was pacing up and down beside Comet’s stall and the skewbald was rearing and snorting, working himself up into a complete state, trying to get free. The rails were too tall for him to jump so he was skidding to a halt each time he reached the barrier, slamming against the wooden bars with his powerful chest, trying to force his way to freedom.
“Hey, hey! It’s OK, Comet, I’m—” Issie was hurrying towards the skewbald when a dark figure suddenly rose up right in front of her. There was a man in the stalls!
Issie let out a shriek as the man clambered through the rails and barged into her, knocking her roughly to the ground.
Taken by surprise, she fell backwards. She threw out her hands to break her fall, but as she came down, her head struck hard against one of the wooden rails of the stall behind her. Her body slumped to the ground and everything went black.
Issie had no idea how long she was knocked out. All she knew was that when she woke up she was lying on the ground, with a massive throbbing pain in the back of her head and there was the dark shadow of a man standing over her. She tried to struggle to her feet and that was when she felt the bite of sharp metal against her chest. “Don’t move!” she heard a voice say. There was a blinding glare as the stable lights flicked on and then she saw the face of Marcus Pearce staring down at her. He was shaking and wide-eyed as he stood with a pitchfork in his hands – the sharp prongs pressed against Issie’s T-shirt, aiming directly at her heart.
“Marcus!” Issie couldn’t believe it. “What are you doing?”
Marcus seemed just as shocked as Issie. He immediately dropped the pitchfork and extended a hand to help her back up again to her feet.
“I’m so sorry,” Marcus said. “I didn’t realise it was you. I heard noises and came out to check on the horses and thought I saw someone by the stalls. I grabbed that pitchfork to defend myself.”
“There was somebody out here,” Issie said as she dusted herself off. “A man was in with the horses. He knocked me over.” She frowned at Marcus. “You didn’t see him?”
Marcus shook his head. “You were the only one here when I arrived. Did you get a good look at him?”
“Not really,” Issie admitted. “It was way too dark to make out his face.”
“Are you OK?” Marcus asked. “You’re not hurt?”
“I think I must have been knocked out for a minute,” Issie said, “but I’m OK now, just a sore head.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Marcus asked.
“I’m fine,” Issie insisted. “We’d better check the horses.”
Comet and Liberty were still inside their stalls. Both of them had clearly been terrified by the midnight intruder and they paced anxiously back and forth, refusing to calm down.
Issie stood on the other side of the railings and watched as Comet trembled and twitched, his head held high and the whites of his eyes showing, his nostrils flared wide. She felt exactly the same as her pony. Her heart refused to stop racing.
She calmed herself, taking some deep breaths, and it was only when she felt her pulse slowing at last that she knew she was ready to deal with the stressed-out Comet. She unbolted the gate and entered the stall, making her way slowly towards the skewbald. Comet was still freaked, but he was listening to her as she spoke to him, her voice a soft, lilting sing-song as she stepped closer to reassure him that it was all going to be OK, that he was safe, she was there with him. The skewbald let her get a hand on his halter and she clasped on the lead rope, leading him to the rail and tying him up so that she could run her hands down his legs, feeling for the heat or bump that would indicate an injury. She worked her way all over his body until she was satisfied that there was nothing wrong. Marcus, meanwhile, was in the stall beside her with Liberty, examining the mare.
“Comet’s fine,” she said to Marcus. “There’s not a mark on him.”
“Liberty looks OK too,�
� Marcus confirmed. “But she’s pretty shaken up.”
He cast a worried gaze around the yard. “You know, I never thought about it before, but you could walk straight in here and steal a horse. The security at this place leaves a lot to be desired.”
He looked at Issie. “What were you doing out here by yourself in the first place?”
“I heard noises too,” Issie said. “I thought maybe it was coyotes.” She didn’t mention Mystic. She had figured out long ago that the pony was meant to be her secret, and by now the grey gelding was nowhere to be seen.
Marcus looked around the yard. Then he sat himself down on the hay bales in the corner next to Liberty’s stall, took off his jacket and rolled it into a ball to make a pillow before he lay down.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m getting settled in for the night,” Marcus said. “There’s always a chance that he’ll come back, and I’m not leaving Liberty on her own. If anything happened to her then Mr Valmont would make sure I never worked at his stables again.”
Marcus got himself comfy on the hay bale, tucking up his knees so his feet didn’t dangle off the end. “You go inside,” he told Issie. “Get some sleep. I’ll keep an eye on them.”
“Marcus, you can’t stay out here by yourself…” Issie tried to change his mind.
“I’ll be all right,” Marcus said.
“But it’s freezing!” Issie said.
“I’ll be fine. Goodnight, Issie,” Marcus replied firmly.
Issie went back to her room in a huff. If Marcus thought he was going to be a hero while she went back to her room and tucked herself into bed he had another think coming! She grabbed the blankets off her bed, and a pillow, plus two of the leftover chocolate bars from the vending machine, and went back outside.
“Who’s there?” she heard Marcus call out as she walked back across the yards.
“It’s me.” Issie threw him one of the blankets along with a chocolate bar and then flopped down on a second hay bale alongside him. “You must be crazy if you think I’m leaving you here all alone. What if he comes back?”