Soul Riders (Book 1)

by Helena Dahlgren

  “Hey!” she shouted after him.

  He turned around at the sound of her voice. Alex stayed on Tin-Can and held her hand up in a gesture to stop him. The moment Alex raised her hand. She felt a burst of energy, there was a bright flash, and the guy staggered back as though he’d been pushed. For a second, a soft pink light flickered before Alex’s eyes.

  She walked Tin-Can up to the bully, bent down, and said intently, “You. Will. Not. Touch. My. Brother. Again.”

  He stumbled to get back on his feet while Alex and Tin-Can stared at him.

  “You’re crazy!” he hissed and darted away. His jeans had ripped at the crotch, and she caught a glimpse of his underwear.

  “That’s karma for you,” she said and patted Tin-Can.

  Since that day, he hadn’t made any trouble for James or Alex. She had no idea exactly what happened that afternoon. But she remembered the feeling of wind in her hair, the sudden electric warmth that rushed through her body, and how that boy had reacted to her hand without her even touching him. How there had been lightning. That pink glow.

  “Hello!”

  Linda snapped her fingers in front of Alex’s face. She blinked.

  “Where did you go?” Linda asked with a smile.

  “I could tell you,” Alex replied, “but I’d have to kill you. Sorry.”

  They laughed. Alex, too, though she could still feel the warmth of the lightning that made the magical power more real from her memory of that day with her brother. Suddenly the light in the cafeteria even seemed to have a pink tinge to it, like a sunset.

  “How was Starshine yesterday, by the way?” Linda asked, turning to Lisa.

  Lisa speared two green olives onto her fork before answering.

  “Same as always,” she replied, popping the olives into her mouth. “Calm and cuddly.”

  “I wonder what Sabine did to scare him,” Alex said.

  Lisa hesitated. Should she tell them more about what she had experienced? She didn’t yet know how open she should be. Maybe she was the only one who felt like something weird was about to happen. Would she be breaking some kind of unspoken rule if she said something? Would they laugh at her?

  She looked down at her pasta salad. Maybe it was her imagination playing tricks on her.

  But she still hadn’t been able to get that song she sang for Starshine out of her head.

  None of them wanted to think about Sabine anymore, so they changed the subject. They talked about the photo shoot taking place at school during the annual Jorvik Fashion Week and the upcoming Aideen Festival. They discussed the harvest festival and the trail rides and how they were all a little concerned about the amount of reading their history teacher had assigned. They should really skip the stables today to go straight home and study if they wanted to avoid a night of sleepless panic, but they all knew that, no matter how hard they tried, nothing would keep them away.

  Starshine greeted Lisa with the same rumbling whinny as the day before. She walked over to his stall and petted him tenderly. When she turned around, Herman popped up like a jack-in-the-box.

  “Hi, Lisa, so great to see you again!” Herman said. “This one’s been waiting for you all day. Don’t you think it’s about time?” Herman looked at her encouragingly. “I mean, you’ve been spending a lot of time with Starshine, or so I hear! It’s obvious you enjoy each other’s company. Time to take the next step. Why don’t you try riding him in the paddock since you’re here anyway?”

  Lisa felt welcomed by Herman’s invitation to ride Starshine, but was still scared at the same time and didn’t know how to respond. As much as she enjoyed spending time with this beautiful horse, she questioned whether she was ready to try riding again. Did she even remember how?

  Herman could sense Lisa’s apprehension but continued to smile and pressed on. “As I’ve told you before, Starshine is a very special horse. He doesn’t do lessons. It would be good for him to have some exercise. And Sabine is clearly not an option anymore, as I’m sure you understand.”

  He scratched his head and then continued, “Sabine . . . what a strange episode that was. I woke up with a pounding headache the next day. And I’m still having a hard time working out exactly what happened in the paddock. All I have is these flashbacks that I’ve been trying to piece together, but they make no sense.”

  He then changed the subject.

  “Anyway, you can borrow a helmet and vest. I think these will fit you.”

  He looked down at the cowboy boots Lisa was wearing.

  “Those will do just fine.”

  Lisa accepted the helmet and the vest and swallowed nervously. She thought about the accident, the fear, the anxiety attacks, about how everything was still so new and fragile for her at the stables. What if she ruined it all by getting back on a horse too soon?

  Mom.

  Then Starshine stuck his head out of his stall and lovingly nuzzled his head against hers, and everything she was worrying about dissipated. She adjusted the vest and put the helmet on. It fit perfectly. It had been over three years since she last wore riding gear, but it felt so familiar. She pushed her red hair aside and felt her face flush.

  Ready or not, here we go.

  What would Mom and Dad say if they saw me now?

  Slowly, as if almost in a trance, she tacked Starshine up. There was a playful look in his eyes that she hadn’t seen before. She followed Herman and Starshine to the paddock. The entire time, she was aware of how her heart was actually not racing, and how she was not having trouble breathing. How the horrible images from the riding accident were not replaying in her head. She realized that her legs felt a bit shaky, but other than that, she was okay. Actually, more than okay. When she stood near the other horses, even the gentle, sweet-tempered Meteor, she had felt a degree of unease. But as long as she was beside Starshine, she felt no fear.

  They walked toward the big outdoor paddock. The air was heavy with impending rain, but Lisa wasn’t going to let a few raindrops scare her away. Not now, just as she was about to face and overcome her fears. Her legs felt like spaghetti. She glanced up at Starshine, who looked completely calm. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Herman was studying the horse, too. Watching and waiting, curiously. They left behind the tree-lined road and the yellow brick buildings and walked out through the north gate, which led to the big paddock. Herman asked if she needed help mounting Starshine, but Lisa shook her head.

  “I think I remember how to do it,” she replied, grabbing a nearby stool. She climbed on the stool and swung a leg easily over Starshine’s back as he patiently awaited her command.

  They walked on slowly. Herman moved the stool out of the way and leaned against the fence.

  Here I am, Lisa thought to herself. Back in the saddle. On horseback. Stiff as a board.

  After a few minutes, her legs stopped shaking. Starshine walked forward smoothly and gently, peering up at Lisa. Can horses smile? If so, Starshine just did. She smiled back and felt tears welling up in her eyes. Only this time, it was tears of joy along with pure, unadulterated pride. She did it! She was back in the saddle!

  After a bit, Herman asked if she wanted to try trotting. Star-shine trotted for a while until he finally broke into a smooth, flowing canter. They were flying, as though they were one body. Lisa felt the humid air against her cheeks. She was intensely aware of Starshine’s movements underneath her. She sensed that she was grinning from ear to ear. Starshine let out a loud whinny, and Herman just laughed out loud.

  “I’ve never seen him this happy! Not since he sprinted about in the meadows as a tiny colt! I knew you were meant for each other! Would you like to ride out for bit? There’s a great trail just over there. I know you can do it. I can tell you’re an experienced rider, Lisa.”

  Without replying, Lisa steered the cantering horse out of the paddock, past a smiling Herman, who raised his hand
in salute.

  They continued out onto the footpath, past the stable gates, to where the meadow began. They then went onto the trails that carried them ever farther from Jorvik Stables. The winding paths were flanked by mossy green hills, and Lisa could just about make out the glittering waves of the ocean beyond.

  She could also see the smoke plumes from the oil platforms far out at sea. She wondered whether her father was on one of them right now.

  The wind in Lisa’s face was in sync with Starshine’s steady breathing. Suddenly, in the middle of a leafy group of trees, a clearing carpeted with soft, tall grass opened up. The clearing was bathed in sunlight despite the rain. There was a large stone monolith near the tree line. Lisa was too distracted to notice the pink runes starting to glow on its surface as she and Starshine rode past.

  Starshine snorted. All Lisa could hear was the muffled rhythm of hooves on the soft ground and the creaking of stirrup leather against the saddle. For a second, she forgot that Starshine had collapsed in front of her a few days earlier, and that this was her first time on a horse in years. Perhaps they should slow down.

  Just as before, Starshine seemed to read her mind, because he slowed down without her having to move her hand on the reins as much as a millimeter. He then whinnied and jerked his head toward the woods.

  “What’s the matter, Starshine?” Lisa asked. “Do you want to show me something?”

  A horse and rider were waiting for them in a stand of trees. Please don’t let it be Sabine, Lisa thought to herself. Starshine’s ears pricked, and he let out a clipped nicker, as though he knew who it was.

  As they got closer, Lisa realized that it wasn’t Sabine. The horse was a gray Andalusian, elegant and strong, with a thick mane and tail. The rider was a woman, and there was something strong and proud about the way she carried herself. She was wearing a hooded gray cloak over a green tunic embroidered with intricate knot patterns. Not exactly standard riding gear, Lisa thought to herself. She was sure that she had never seen this woman before, yet there was something familiar about her.

  “Hi, are you lost?” Lisa asked as she approached. The woman chuckled.

  “Not at all,” the woman replied in an accent that sounded somewhat old-fashioned. “I just wanted to introduce myself to you. My name is Elizabeth. I saw you the day you and your father arrived. Now I can see how well you ride Starshine, and I’m glad for it. And so are many others. I won’t keep you any longer, Lisa. It was good meeting you. Farewell.”

  How does she know my name? Lisa wondered. Then it occurred to her that all horse people on the island probably knew Herman. He’d probably mentioned her to this Elizabeth person. Mystery solved.

  Elizabeth pulled on the reins and turned her horse around.

  “See you soon,” she replied and cantered off.

  Lisa thought that was a strange thing for her to say, as she and Starshine rode on. They worked their way up a long, winding incline and soon left the trees behind. The mountains started where the pine trees ended. She could see the bluish peaks ahead now, looming over vast, golden fields.

  Lisa hesitated for a minute. What if she got lost? She didn’t relish the thought of roaming about in the woods if it started raining. She felt she should turn back, but Starshine showed no sign of wanting to turn back. Instead, he accelerated into a careening gallop that sent the pebbles around his hooves flying. I’m going to fall off, Lisa thought.

  But Starshine was the one who fell. Lisa barely had time to process what happened. Starshine had crashed to the ground, and Lisa heard a nasty crunch that made her heart stop. She could feel him trying to get back up, but his leg buckled. She slid off him as quickly as she could while he desperately continued to try to put weight on his foreleg.

  Instantly, before she even touched the ground, she knew.

  His leg was broken. Starshine was beyond salvation. At her old stables, the poor horses who broke their legs were sent to the vet to be put to sleep. There wasn’t much else to do. Her tears poured onto Starshine’s injured leg. She looked into his glazed eyes. There was something there, though. Was he trying to tell her something? He trembled under her light touch as she brushed her fingers over the injured leg.

  She wondered how far away Elizabeth and her horse might have gone by now. Perhaps they could help? She lingered over Starshine’s leg. Everything was lost. What difference would three or five minutes make?

  I’ve killed Starshine, Lisa thought to herself. The words sent shivers down her spine.

  Were her dreams supposed to be a warning? Should her journey with Starshine have remained in her imagination? She should have listened to them.

  She got her phone out to call for help. Then a glow began to fill the air. At first, Lisa figured it was from the screen of her phone, but then she noticed rays that seemed to be coming from near Starshine’s leg. The strange glow slowly rose through the air in twisting tendrils. She noticed a blue circle on the ground where they were standing. Inside the circle was a star-shaped, sinuous pattern.

  Then a blue and pink shimmering band vibrated in the air between Starshine and Lisa. Where was this pattern of light coming from? She blinked her eyes in confusion. Had she hit her head without noticing? Lisa dropped her phone. Now a strong light was shining from the palm of her hand. As she slowly moved her hand in front of her, the light followed, as if she were moving through molasses.

  The music returned, this time with a different song. Lisa began singing an ancient-sounding, melodic tune that made her think of mystical faraway places. But how did she know the words? The song just seemed to naturally flow out of her.

  The light danced in Starshine’s eyes and the freckled birthmark on her cheek became searingly hot. She touched it with her hand and saw her face reflected in Starshine’s glowing eyes. Suddenly, she realized what the shape of the birthmark reminded her of.

  A star. With four points.

  The music had grown stronger. And she could sense a magical light pulsing through her entire body. Beneath her hands, she could feel Starshine’s leg aligning. There was crackling, trembling, and dancing underneath his skin.

  It was a good thing she was sitting down, because otherwise she would have been knocked to the ground by Starshine. To her amazement, he rose to his feet in one swift movement. Lisa felt for his bone, the one that was just broken.

  “There, there, Starshine,” she said while she examined him. “There, there, beautiful Starshine, lovely boy.”

  She couldn’t feel any fracture, and Starshine impatiently stomped his supposedly injured leg as if nothing had just happened. The leg was broken—Lisa had felt it herself. Now Starshine was pawing the ground with his head lowered. He glanced up at her from under his forelock. The magical, blue-tinged glow lingered in his fixed eyes for a moment.

  Lisa slowly led Starshine back to the stable. They treaded carefully to make sure he didn’t have another fall. Somehow, he seemed steadier on his feet, while she had to lean against Starshine several times to keep from stumbling. The world swayed and warped, like Lisa had just stepped off a dizzying roller coaster.

  They reached the clearing with the runestones. The runes were pink. This time, Lisa noticed that the runes were actually glowing.

  Weird.

  When the first raindrops hit her, she became aware of a woman’s soft voice speaking to her inside her head. At first, she turned around to see if Elizabeth had returned, but there was no one there. Just Starshine and Lisa.

  This is your gift, Lisa, the voice told her. To heal and care for the injured and sick. Use your gift well. I will see you soon.

  To heal and care for the injured and sick.

  She didn’t quite understand how yet, but she had healed Star-shine and saved his life. Lisa stared at the glowing runes until the light faded and eventually flickered out.

  The rain made her hair wet and limp, and she slipped a little as she led
Starshine back to the stable.

  In the stable, Linda and Alex were weighing out hay for the evening feeding. Lisa was sure they’d be able to tell by looking at her that something had happened, but the girls seemed oblivious. Alex was talking about pouring oats into Anne’s riding boots and Linda was giggling.

  Starshine seemed to look at the other horses with some kind of silent equine understanding. Tin-Can snickered in response and Starshine looked pleased. Well, beautiful, I guess you’re not really like other horses, are you? Lisa thought to herself and stroked Starshine.

  She sensed an affinity in the horses’ looks. None of you are like other horses, she corrected herself. For a fraction of a second, she was about to tell the other girls what happened in the woods. Then she changed her mind. She didn’t want to risk scaring away her new friends or, even worse, letting Herman know just how close Starshine had come to being fatally injured. What if he wouldn’t let her take care of him anymore? Besides, who would believe her when she could hardly believe it herself?

  9

  Three drizzly days later, it was time to prepare the stables for another night. Carts of hay and molasses were rolled out in the aisles. Riders and their horses returned from the paddock and the woods. Parents picked up their children. Boys and girls cycled home with their headlights and reflectors on. A few wet fall leaves blew in through the open stable doors.

  It had been three days since Lisa rode Starshine, but she hadn’t dared to get back on him. What if something else happened and he got hurt again?

  Alex and Linda tried to persuade Lisa to join them for the Light Ride on the upcoming weekend. They went on about candied apples and bonfires. Their social studies teacher had told them in class that fall was Jorvik’s natural season.

  “We should ride to Goldenhills Valley sometime, too,” Alex said. “We’ll see it when we do the Light Ride. They say it’s always fall there. How cool is that? Halloween parties all year round! Anyway, of course you’re doing the Light Ride with us! Now that you’ve ridden Starshine, I’m sure Herman wouldn’t mind you borrowing him.”