Mystic Tide (Horse Guardian) Read online

  The water is quickly deepening. I can see it creeping up the side of the barn. And the barn is groaning under the pressure of the flood. Thank you, Bella Rio. Yes, I think I do want to get up on your strong dun back. Now, let us hurry toward the higher ground.

  The wedge tomb was made of massive slabs of stone. A humungous single-slab stone roof sat squarely on top of the walls, which consisted of two slabs six feet long and four feet high along the sides, and one three feet wide on the end. At the other end, a massive stone lay on the ground, waiting to block Erin in.

  Erin could hardly wait until they reached the stone structure, even though she knew she’d be locked away when she got there. Anything to rest. Anything to get away from Nicole and her shrill voice, Robert and his inane apologies. And then the tomb was right in front of her, the opening dark and welcome, the stone roof cool on her hands. Erin slowly lowered to her knees and crawled inside.

  “Aren’t you the eager one,” Nicole said snidely.

  “Just getting away from you,” Erin answered.

  Nicole laughed. “Okay, well let’s get this over with. Robert, move the door stone into place.”

  Erin pulled the baseball cap from her head, sat back against the far wall, and hugged her knees to her chest. The shade inside the tomb felt wonderful on her light-sensitive eyes. In fact, in the shade, she could see much clearer. Some of the cracks between the massive stones even looked big enough for her to put a hand through.

  After they’re gone, I can stuff my jacket through one of the holes. If anyone passes, they’ll see and be curious.

  She tensed when the door stone thudded into place, making the entire tomb shudder with the impact, then put her hands over her ears to stop the sounds of heavy stones being dropped against the outside of the door slab to secure it in place.

  Then, finally, blessed silence. Erin lowered her hands and closed her eyes. She was so sleepy.

  “Hello. Is this Erin’s father?” Nicole’s voice was businesslike and efficient.

  Erin jerked her head up, and the pain triggered by the sudden movement made her gasp. But Nicole was talking to her dad!

  There was a short pause, and then Nicole spoke again. “Yes, we have her. We don’t want to hurt her, so I’d suggest you cooperate.”

  Another short silence.

  “That’s good. Do you have the money?”

  A longer pause this time.

  “Okay,” Nicole’s voice was doubtful now. “I guess you can talk to her. I’ll call you back in one minute.” Nicole walked to the tomb. “Come here,” she commanded Erin through one of the largest holes. “I’m going to hold the phone down so you can talk to your father. You tell him two things, and two things only – that you are fine and that you want to come home. Nothing else. Nothing else. Do you understand?”

  Erin was silent. She didn’t want to tell her dad she was fine. She wasn’t fine at all.

  “Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” Erin whispered. Painfully, she scooted closer to the corner of the tomb, and reached through the crack for the tiny cell phone.

  “No, I’ll hold it and you talk into it through the crack,” Nicole instructed. Swiftly she dialled the phone again. “Here she is,” she said, then held the phone down to the tomb.

  “Can you hear me, Dad?” asked Erin.

  “Erin, thank heavens you’re alright!” Her dad’s voice burst from the tiny phone, larger than life. Instantly, Erin was speechless. If only she could tell him where she was. If only she could climb through the phone to his end. She’d hug him so hard and never let him go! “Now you don’t worry,” her dad continued. “We’re taking care of everything. You’ll be home by tonight, okay? Okay, honey?” A pause. “Erin, are you there?” The fear in his voice was palpable.

  “Dad?” she choked. “Dad, I’m scared.” She couldn’t stop the words from coming from her mouth, even though she knew Nicole would be angry. “And I don’t feel… ” Nicole jerked the phone away from the crack and Erin’s words faded to a whisper, “…very good.”

  “Take the money to the abandoned castle on Muire Road before 8 o’clock tonight, and leave it inside the main chamber. After we collect it and are safely away, I’ll phone to tell you where to find her.”

  She paused as Erin’s dad spoke.

  “No, you do what I say. I will call you when we’re safely away. You have no say in this matter, not if you want to see your daughter again. And remember, no police.” Erin watched through the crack as Nicole lowered the cell phone. She looked at Robert. “It’s going to work. Now, we just need to go pick up our money,” she said, her voice quietly jubilant. She gave Robert a rare smile. “As long as you remember which sea cave we use to get to the castle, of course.”

  Inside the tomb, Erin put her head in her hands. She felt so tired, so hopeless and sad and full of despair. She’d give anything to be home right now. Anything.

  “I remember,” said Robert, sounding defensive.

  “Sorry. I’m just tired, that’s all. Let’s get going.”

  Erin peered out the thin crack between the door rock and the roof of the tomb. Her kidnappers were walking away to the east, toward the rising sun. She leaned her head against the cold stone. It felt so good against the heat in her head. Nicole had forgotten to look at her injury, Erin suddenly remembered, and then the thought disappeared in a wave of relief. Finally, she was safe from them. Trapped, yes, but her kidnappers were leaving. She waited for the sound of their footsteps to fade. At last, at long, long last, she was rid of them.

  Now, with the scraps of energy and reason she had remaining, she could attempt her escape.

  Hold, Duchess. Halt, Bella Rio!

  Look ahead. The water is swift here. Deep. See how it swirls and eddies over the section just before us?

  You want to go forward, Bella Rio? But it is too dangerous!

  Yes, I trust you.

  If you say this is the way to go, if you say it is safe here, I believe you. But tread cautiously, Bella Rio. Step with care, noble Duchess.

  Ah, the water here is indeed swift, but it is shallow. We are crossing the flooding river – on a bridge hidden beneath the muddy water. But you, my dears, you knew this was the right way.

  And we are now beyond the worse rapids. Let us continue onward. The water is still all around us. Still, it is rising.

  Erin pressed her back to the slab the kidnappers had put in place, lodged her heels in a crack in the earth, and pushed, tentatively at first, then harder and harder, until she was straining with all her strength. But the entrance stone stood solid, refusing to budge even a fraction of an inch. With her breath coming in gasps, Erin pushed again, this time until her face felt burning hot and sweat prickled her body. Harder, harder she pushed, and then harder still, harder than she thought possible.

  “Sorry.” The word came from over her shoulder and Erin yelped. She scrambled, wild-eyed, away from the stone. Robert was looking at her through the crack. “Nicole asked me to come back,” he said.

  “Hurry up,” Nicole called from a distance. “We haven’t got all day.”

  Robert tried to put his hand in through the hole, but it was too big to fit easily. “We need the hat back,” he said.

  Erin swept the hat from the ground, leaned forward to stuff it through the hole, and jerked back. She didn’t want it anyway. She didn’t want anything that belonged to Robert or Nicole – except maybe some water.

  “Can I have a drink?” she asked.

  Robert took the hat, and straightened. She could hear him opening his pack, and assumed he was putting the hat away. Then he bent down to the crack again, a granola bar in his hand. He pushed it through the hole. “It’s my last one.”

  “Thanks,” whispered Erin.

  Then Robert was holding out his canteen. Trying to push it through the hole. It was too big.

  “Put your hands through the hole.”

  Erin did.

  “Robert, what are you doing?” Nicole sounded exaspe
rated.

  “Hurry,” the man muttered. “Or she’ll get mad again.”

  Erin cupped her hands and he poured water into them. She pulled her hands back inside the tomb and slurped up the water. Pushed her hands out for more. He refilled her cupped hands.

  “Like I say, don’t worry,” he said, trying to reassure her. “You’re going to be fine. Just go to sleep for a while and you’ll feel better.” He stood. “Coming. Sorry,” he called to his sister.

  As Erin watched him hurry away, pity rose up inside of her. If anyone was ever in the wrong occupation, it was Robert. How did he ever let Nicole talk him into doing this?

  The man had reached his sister now, and the two of them were walking away, side by side, Robert with his lumbering stride, and Nicole with a free, self-confident swing to her arms.

  And even though she was alone, injured, and locked in a tomb, Erin wasn’t one bit sorry to see them go.

  Nicole glanced back at the tomb, a smile of satisfaction on her face. This place was so remote, she was sure no one would find the girl until they told them where she was. It was the perfect hiding place, basically confirming their success in collecting the money.

  Soon she would be lying on a beach, soaking up the sun and the tropical atmosphere with a drink in her hand. This entire misadventure would be like a bad dream that happened long ago, not even worth an afterthought.

  And how she was going to love being rich again! She’d run out of money from her last kidnap victim almost three months ago, and there were so many things she wanted to buy. A fancy car, first of all. A nice silver one. And maybe a villa somewhere – but on second thought, no villas. It would be more fun to travel the world this time. It would be expensive, especially since she’d go first class, but that was okay. She just needed to remember to plan her next kidnapping a bit sooner, before she actually ran out of money.

  Robert’s beat up little car was right where they left it, on the stony track she was sure no one traveled more than two or three times a year. She’d researched that as well.

  Now, they would drive to that dingy little hotel they’d selected and she would check in, paying cash for her room so she couldn’t be tracked by her credit card. The first thing she planned to do was have a bath. She felt so disgustingly dirty, filthy enough to even forego her planned nap for a few minutes. The nap would be the second thing she’d do, a nice long one. She was so tired! And she should be undisturbed as she slept. Robert was going to check into a different room, an hour or so after she did, so the desk clerk wouldn’t know there was a connection between them. Just another safety precaution.

  And after her long nap, she would wake refreshed, meet with her brother, and away they’d drive to collect their hard-earned money. Once again, she would be living the rich life she was meant to live.

  Bella Rio, listen.

  You say you recognize the sound coming from around the corner? It is your people’s truck! They are coming to save you! How wonderful!

  I will bid you adieu, my dear Duchess and Bella Rio. I will let you greet your people alone. They will be relieved to see you well. Goodbye, my loves.

  And yet, I will linger for just a moment. I will watch their reunion from behind this tree, to make sure all is well.

  The truck splashes around the corner of the flooded road and stops. A man opens the door and jumps out, not caring that his clothes are becoming wet. A woman and young boy climb out the other side of the truck, the boy piggybacking on his mother’s back. He has tears on his face, but he is smiling, one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen!

  The man has reached Duchess now. He puts his arms around her sleek black neck and hugs her. How lovely to see such care, such regard for these, my equine friends.

  I must return to Talent now. No more lingering. Bella Rio and Duchess are safe. I am free to go.

  Erin waited for five long minutes before she tried to escape again. She needed to concentrate, to re-evaluate her situation. Obviously, the door stone her kidnappers had put in place was not going to move, at least with the amount of power she could exert against it.

  She could see there was no hope of moving the side wall rocks either. They were far bigger than the slab Robert and Nicole had put in front of the door, and besides, the massive stone that was the roof was resting on top of them, holding them into place. She closed her eyes and leaned against the door stone. Immediately, she felt she was spiralling down a dark tunnel, and jerked her head up, opening her eyes. She had to stay awake! She had to think!

  The way she saw it, she had three options left: find some other way to move the door stone, push away the other end rock wall, or dig her way out. Erin forced her eyes to focus, and searched the ground. There was only one narrow strip of earth in the tomb, lying between the two slate slabs that made up the rest of the floor. She shuddered. Did that mean there were two people buried in the tomb, perhaps thousands of years ago?

  No, don’t think about that. Not now. It’s too awful. The dirt seam was almost a foot wide. If she was able to dig down deep enough, chipping away and removing the dirt from where the seam ran under the wall, she might be able to squeeze her way out – assuming the seam was the same width deeper down. Erin didn’t have a lot of hope that it was. The wildflowers that grew in the sliver of soil were awfully small. It could be because the tomb kept the rain off them, but it was also possible that the soil was so shallow that they didn’t have the nutrients to grow very big.

  There was only one way to find out. Erin took a small, sharp rock in her hand and weakly scraped away the earth in one barren spot. It didn’t take her long to realize that her second guess was right. Just two inches down, the seam of dirt turned into rock. Erin choked back her disappointment. There would be no digging her way out. But she couldn’t give up hope yet. There might still be other things she could try. She just wished she felt stronger. Her head felt like a huge, unbalanced ball on her shoulders, and she was shivery and hot and sluggish and sleepy, all at the same time.

  After another look through the cracks to confirm that Nicole and Robert were still gone, Erin crept to the opposite end of the tomb. This time she lay with her back on the cold ground, pressed her boots flat against the smaller wall stone, and pushed. It was like pushing against a solid mass. She wouldn’t be moving this rock either.

  She tried to sit up, to move on to the next plan – whatever that was – but dizziness forced her down again. She lay for a minute, head spinning and thoughts tumbling around each other.

  Moving the door stone is probably my best bet, she decided sleepily. Maybe there’s some other way I can push it out of the way.

  Still lying on her back, she painfully turned her head both ways to scan the interior of her prison. There was no wood inside the tomb, but one of the rocks was longer and thinner than the others. Was it long enough to use as a pry bar? Would the end of it even fit through the largest crack? And all that was assuming she was strong enough to lift it into place. It looked very heavy.

  Erin closed her eyes and allowed her warm breath to trickle out through her nose. She’d try to pry the door open in a few minutes, after a quick rest. Small pebbles dug into her back, but she didn’t have the energy to brush them out of the way, or even to adjust her position. She felt as if a heavy blanket was slowly settling over her, pressing her down and flattening her out on the stone. Her pain became distant, fuzzy.

  Erin knew she should open her eyes, knew she should sit up, even if it hurt, but she couldn’t quite muster the will. She no longer had the power to fight the unnatural sleep – and so it closed around her, firm and unrelenting, claiming her as its own.

  A voice sounded in her mind, sharp and strident. Erin couldn’t understand what it was saying. It seemed too far away. Too remote. But even then, she could tell the voice was unpleasant.

  “Wake up!” There it was again, louder. Siobhan!

  “Go away,” Erin muttered. She liked oblivion. She liked not being aware. It was so much less painful. And what rig
ht did Siobhan have to tell her what to do anyway?

  “Wake up, Erin. Don’t be such a loser!” Erin opened her eyes. It had to be her imagination. Her stepsister didn’t know where she was. Slowly, her eyes shut again.

  “You’re just a lazy brat! I think you’re…” Erin’s eyes popped open again, and Siobhan’s voice faded away. So it was her imagination. But why was she imagining Siobhan’s voice?

  Probably because she’s the most irritating person I know. Erin grimaced. No other imagined voice could make her wake up – unless it was Robert’s or Nicole’s. And Siobhan was infinitely preferable to them!

  Erin bit her lip as she pushed herself up onto her elbows. Fresh tears gushed from her eyes. Her head hurt so much! She held still for what seemed forever, waiting for the pain to subside, and when it didn’t, she pushed herself to a sitting position anyway. She sat hunched over, her head in her hands, and concentrated on staying awake. Seconds dragged past, then minutes.

  A clang came from outside the crypt. Had her kidnappers returned? Or was it her imagination again? With agonizing movements, Erin crawled to the crack between the stone roof and the entrance stone to see the most amazing, welcomed sight she’d ever seen! She closed her eyes, and reopened them, then rubbed away the tears that clung there.

  Please make this not be my imagination, she prayed. Please make it be real!

  With her blurred vision, she could see Talent just a few yards from the tomb, picking his way through the rocks toward her! And he wasn’t alone. Someone was on his back. The chestnut hunter glistened in the morning sun and Erin was almost blinded by his glory. Her rescuers – if they were real.

  “In here!” she said, loudly, and flinched when the sound of her own voice seared her mind with burning pain.

  She was infinitely relieved when Talent whinnied in response and the girl on his back waved to acknowledge Erin’s shout. They had to be real! However, as the horse and rider came closer, Erin could see that this girl was no one she’d seen before. Though she looked similar to the teenager who’d tried to rescue her last night, this girl’s hair billowed like orange-red silk about her head. Another stranger!