Mystic Tide (Horse Guardian) Page 7

  Talent reached the tomb, stopped, and pawed the ground. Snorted. The stranger slid from his strong back. Erin blinked a few times, confused. Maybe she was hallucinating. The girl’s hair had just shimmered into an iridescent gold.

  The girl bent to look through the crack at Erin. “Are you all right? You look so pale.”

  Erin scrutinized the girl. “Uh, your hair. It looked, uh, different a minute ago.”

  “Oh that,” the girl said dismissively and rolled her tawny eyes. “It just does that.”

  “What?”

  “It changes color to match the horse I am riding.”

  Erin had never heard anything so bizarre. “That’s too weird,” she said, her words slurring.

  The girl’s forehead creased with worry.

  “Are you okay?” Erin asked, wanting to forget her own weaknesses. “You looked sick last night.”

  “Yes, I am okay,” the girl responded, the worried expression still firmly entrenched on her face. “But you are not well.”

  Erin almost said, “You talk funny,” but at the last moment was able to stop the words from escaping her mouth. What was wrong with her? She didn’t want to be rude to her rescuer. It was true the words the older girl used were quaint and old fashioned, but still. “What’s your name?” she asked instead.

  “My name is Angelica. What is your name?”

  “Erin. Thanks for rescuing me.” She was half aware that she was speaking far slower then she normally did. Or maybe it only seemed that way. Maybe she wasn’t speaking at all and was just dreaming all this. “And thanks for trying last night, too.” And now her own words were starting to echo around in her head. She put her head in her hands and closed her eyes.

  “Just sit still, Erin. I will move the rocks from before the door stone.” Erin heard her roll the rocks sitting in front of the door slab away from the wedge tomb. Each sound of stone grating against stone made her flinch. Finally, the noises stopped and Erin looked up. The girl – what was her name again? Erin couldn’t remember – was looking in through one of the cracks at her. “Can you push in the same spot that I pull?” the girl asked. “Do not try if it will hurt you further.”

  “No, I can help,” Erin said, her voice weak but determined.

  The pale girl reached inside the tomb, and Erin noticed that her hands were small, almost like a child’s. Both fit through the crack at the top of the door stone, whereas even one of Robert’s wouldn’t fit. Somehow she thought that funny, and giggled.

  The girl gripped the edge of the door rock and strained backward. Erin collected herself in time to push on the rock just below the tiny hands, and almost fell forward when the rock shifted outward. Light spilled in through the opening and speared her eyes. She cried out and jammed them shut.

  “The opening is still too small for you to escape. Hold still. I will do the rest,” the girl said from somewhere far away.

  “I can help,” Erin whispered and with her eyes still shut, put her hands against the stone. Pushed. And suddenly the door rock wasn’t there anymore. She heard it thud against the ground and felt the sun on her face, then the girl’s cool hand on her arm.

  “Come.” The word was so soothing. So musical. “Let me help you out.”

  Gladly, Erin crawled toward the pressure on her arm. Even in her half aware state, she noticed the surprising strength in the girl’s hands. And mysteriously, she was feeling a little better now. Maybe it was safe to open her eyes. She peered through thin slits. The brightness of the day didn’t hurt her eyes so much this time. With relief, she opened them wider. The girl – her name was Angelica, Erin remembered now – was kneeling beside her.

  “I have to get home,” Erin said, and tried to stand. A dark whirlwind of dizziness enveloped her and she slumped back to the ground.

  “Just lie down on this rock and rest for another minute or two,” said Angelica. “The sun has warmed it a little. Now close your eyes and relax. Soon you will feel better and then we will go get you some water.” Her hands joined at the top of Erin’s head.

  “I’m okay, really,” Erin murmured, but she gratefully lay back as Angelica suggested. She closed her eyes. Breathed slowly, evenly. She was free! Thanks to Talent and Angelica. And she was feeling so wonderful now, so relaxed and peaceful. The sun-kissed rock felt comfortable and welcoming, and her injury wasn’t hurting nearly as much now. In fact, her head even felt warm and tingly where Angelica’s hands rested, and she wondered how that could be when the girl’s hands had felt so cool before. She heard Talent’s shoes ring on stone as he moved to stand closer to her. When he nuzzled her hand, she opened her eyes, smiled up at him, and lifted her arm to stroke his face. “I’m okay, Tallie,” she said, weakly. “Thank you, too. I owe you both so much.”

  “Stay still for another minute or two,” Angelica suggested. “And close your eyes. Relax.”

  Erin sighed and closed her eyes. Every muscle in her body felt as if it was melting into tranquil goo. “You’re not from around here?” she managed to ask.

  “I am from another place.”

  “I thought so. Your accent, I mean.” Erin wondered why she hadn’t seen it before. If Angelica was a foreigner, it totally explained why her words sounded so old-fashioned and perfect. “I’m glad you decided to come here for your holiday,” she said, lazily. “If you hadn’t come …” She couldn’t finish the sentence. It was too unpleasant to think about and she didn’t want to disturb the peace. She drew in another long, contented breath. Yes, she was definitely feeling much better now. Her wound didn’t hurt at all anymore, even though Angelica was almost touching it. Her headache was completely gone. Her blisters weren’t stinging, and her tired body felt as if it was floating in a cloud, a perfect, painless cloud. She never wanted it to end. Never wanted to move.

  But she had to. She had to let her dad know she was free. He was probably beside himself with anxiety. And now there was no reason for him to give the kidnappers any money or for him to put himself in danger by going to the dilapidated castle. She sat up.

  “You are feeling better now.” It was a statement, not a question.

  “So much better. It’s amazing. All I needed was to get out in the sun, and to rest a bit. I thought it was more serious.”

  “You need water still. Come. Let us go to the stream I mentioned. We will ride together.”

  Oh Talent, I am so relieved we got here when we did. Your girl was on the verge of delirium, because of her exhaustion and that nasty head wound. I am so thankful we arrived in time.

  But what about their next victim? Will the next child taken have a horse who will call me to help? Probably not. I know you feel we should put a stop to the activities of these unkind people while we can. I agree, we should try.

  But what do we do? We need a plan.

  Erin bent over the bubbling stream and scooped water to her mouth. She’d never tasted water so pure and delicious! It was cool, and refreshing, and almost sweet in her mouth. She scooped up handful after handful, then when that wasn’t fast enough, lay down on her stomach and drank directly from the rushing brook. After a moment, Talent decided he was thirsty too, and plunged his muzzle into the clear water beside her.

  Erin ducked her head into the water to wash her face, and it was only when she rose up, dripping with cold water, that she thought it odd that her head didn’t hurt at all. In fact, there was no longer even a bump on the side of her head. Had Angelica healed her?

  Erin looked at the older girl sitting on the bank with an amazed expression. Who was she, really? She had so many questions for her. Like how did she know Talent? And how did she know Erin was in trouble? Why had her hair turned white last night, and how had she been healed herself?

  But on second thought, Erin considered, maybe I don’t want to know the answers. Angelica’s explanations might make everything seem less magical – I mean, there must be a logical reason behind everything that’s happened – and I like to think that magic is involved.

  Cold water
was dripping from her hair and onto her shoulders, and she shook her head to get rid of the excess water. When Talent snorted and raised his head to avoid getting wet, she laughed apologetically and climbed to her feet. “I’m sorry, Tallie,” she said and stroked his shoulder. The horse took a few more sips, and when he finished drinking, Erin gave him a hug. “You are the most wonderful horse in the world, Tallie,” she murmured into his red mane. “Thank you again, and again, and a thousand, million times more, too.” The horse felt so strong and smooth beneath her hands, like silk covered sinew. She breathed in his wonderful scent, deeper, deeper, and could feel his strength infusing her too, bolstering her energy.

  Finally, she turned to Angelica. “I need to let Dad know I’m okay, and it’ll take too long to ride home first. I don’t want him to worry too much or to give the kidnappers any money. We need to find a payphone.”

  “Yes, that is a good idea,” said Angelica. She linked her hands together and Erin used them as a stirrup to climb onto Talent’s back, then the older girl leapt up lightly behind. “In which direction do we travel to reach the nearest telephone?”

  “That way. There’s a little town there.” Erin pointed to the west. As if he’d understood her, Talent turned away from the rising sun and picked his way through the rocks. She leaned over and stroked his shoulder. “Good boy,” she whispered, and then straightened. “We need to be careful to find a payphone on a quiet street though, because it’s the closest town to where the kidnappers are picking up the money.” She shuddered. “And I don’t want to ever see them again.”

  “So you know where your kidnappers plan to pick up the money?” There was a hopeful lilt in Angelica’s voice.

  “I heard them talking. Dad’s supposed to leave the money in the old castle ruins on Muire Road. It’s a long way from any other houses, and near the ocean. They told him to drop it off, and that after they had the money they’d phone to tell him where I was.” She closed her eyes and let the safe sound of twittering birds fill the silence. “I’d still be in the tomb if it wasn’t for you and Tallie. I’d still be sick. You and Tallie totally rescued me.” She opened her eyes again to the glorious dawn light. The sun was climbing higher behind them and the Burren glistened gray and vibrant green around them.

  Angelica patted Erin’s arm. “I did not do anything that you would not have done for me, or for anyone else in trouble,” she replied.

  A small smile touched Erin’s face. What Angelica said was true. If she’d seen someone in a bad situation on the Burren, she would’ve done what she could to help. “You know, Angelica, there is someone else in trouble, or there will be.” Erin’s voice was slow, thoughtful. “Someone that we can help.”

  “You are thinking of the next victim of the kidnappers. Am I right?”

  “Yes. When they don’t get any money from Dad, they might just kidnap some other kid, and I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did.” Her voice became harder as she continued. “And Nicole especially needs to go to jail for what they did to me. Robert’s not as bad. At least, he tries to be nice. But Nicole is awful.” Her face was getting hot, and for a moment, she struggled to control her anger. Not that her kidnappers didn’t deserve her rage. They certainly did! But she didn’t want them manipulating her emotions any more. It would be far more satisfying to simply get even with them.

  “You sound as if you have an idea,” observed Angelica. “Do you know how we can capture them?”

  “Yes. When I phone my dad, I’ll tell him to go ahead and take some fake money to the castle. As long as he phones the police first, he should be safe. They can hide around the castle – there are lots of ruins there – and catch the kidnappers when they come to get the money.”

  “That is an excellent plan,” said Angelica. “The police can capture these criminals. And all that remains for you to do is to ride home after you telephone your father.”

  An abrupt and shocking tremor of fear ran through Erin’s body. She was afraid to ride across the Burren! She wanted her dad to come get her. She wouldn’t feel safe again until she was with him. In fact, she wondered if she ever wanted to leave home again. She could always ride Talent in the riding ring and on her own property. She could ask the teachers to send her schoolwork home. She’d invite her friends to her house to visit, and her dad could be there to protect her. He could do his work from home.

  But Angelica was right. She had to be tough, for just a few hours more. If her kidnappers saw her in her dad’s car, or saw him driving about, or noticed anything suspicious at all, they’d know not to go to the castle that night.

  So she had to ride across the Burren one last time. With Talent and Angelica with her, she just might be able to muster the courage.

  Nicole yawned and stretched on the hotel bed. Her nap hadn’t been nearly long enough. She was still tired.

  She glanced at her watch. Six more hours. It was still so early. Why had she awakened? She still had six agonizingly long hours to wait. Six hours until she was rich. Six hours to sit in a cheap hotel room and stare at the ceiling – unless she could get back to sleep. She rolled over, closed her eyes.

  A gentle knock sounded through the small room. Instantly, Nicole was off the bed and hurrying toward the door. She peered through the peephole.

  What was Robert doing here, so brazenly going against their plan? He was supposed to be waiting in his own room. They were supposed to act like they’d never met. And yet he was standing in broad daylight, outside her hotel room, and knocking on her door!

  He knocked again, louder.

  “Hold on,” she said before he started calling her name too. She opened the door and stood back to let him enter.

  “Sorry, Nicole. I was just bored,” he said, as if that made it okay to disturb her rest.

  With barely controlled anger, she closed the door behind him. “Well, what can I do about it?” she asked, her voice reed thin.

  “We can watch TV together.”

  Nicole felt her face grow hot. How she longed to yell at him! But she couldn’t even argue. If they started quarrelling, her voice would get too loud and someone would hear. And that was all they needed – someone to notice them together. Someone to remember them. There was only one thing she could do. Control her anger.

  Robert took her silence as agreement and grabbed the remote control. The TV sound blared into the tiny room. Without turning down the volume, he flipped channels until he came to a car chase.

  Nicole started pacing back and forth in the small space.

  “Hey, you keep getting in the way,” Robert protested, the second time she strode past the TV.

  Nicole ignored him. She was running a calming chant through her head, the only thing that could possibly keep her from screeching at him right now.

  Only six more hours, only six more hours, only six more hours, only six…

  “Dad!”

  It was all she could get out before he started shouting into the phone. “Erin! Are you okay? Have they hurt you? If they have, I'll…”

  “Dad, don't worry. I’m okay. I got away.”

  “You what? You escaped!” His laugh was unnaturally loud. “Trust my wonderful, brilliant daughter to get the best of those kidnappers! Where are you? I'm coming to get you, right now!”

  Erin paused. This was going to be the tricky part. “Dad, I don't want you to come get me. Now wait, just hear why before you disagree, okay?”

  “It won't do any good.”

  “But Dad, you have to do what I ask. The kidnappers will just kidnap someone else if they're not caught. I want you to call the police to help you and take a duffle bag of newspapers, or something besides money, to the castle tonight. Then when the kidnappers come, you and the police catch them, okay?”

  “That's a good plan, Erin, but I’m still going to come pick you up.”

  “But Dad, they might have someone watching the house,” she said. “Or they might see you driving, or even me in the car with you. They won't go to the castle at
all then, and the next kid they take might not escape.”

  “But I can’t just leave you….” His voice was hushed.

  “Yes, you can. And besides, I’m not alone. Tallie’s with me. I’ll ride him home and this time I won’t get off him. I promise.”

  “Talent? He’s with you? But how?” Her dad sounded confused. “He went to rescue you? All by himself?”

  Erin looked at Angelica standing beside her horse. She'd already promised the girl she wouldn't tell anyone about her. She hated lying to her dad, but after everything Angelica had done for her, how could she refuse her only request? “I guess so,” she replied.

  “Are you sure you're all right, Erin?” The strain in his voice was palpable. “Even if I shouldn’t come, I’ll phone the police to pick you up.”

  “No, don’t, Dad. I'm fine, really,” she said, quickly. The last thing she wanted was a stranger to come pick her up. She’d much rather ride across the wild Burren. At least then she would be with Talent and Angelica, two individuals she trusted completely. “I'll see you tonight after you catch the kidnappers, okay? I'll ride to the old stonecutter's cottages just to be sure the kidnappers don't see me, and wait for you there. And then I'll tell you everything that’s happened.” Or almost everything, she amended in her mind.

  “Erin, you have to tell me where you are.”

  “I can’t, Dad. I’m sorry.” Emotion was starting to choke her voice. How she hated doing this to him, but she really couldn’t bear the thought of getting in a car with a stranger, not even a police officer. And her Dad couldn’t come. He had to act completely as if he still thought she was kidnapped. “I'll start back now, Dad. I'll see you tonight. Bye.”