Wonder Light

by R. R. Russell

  When Twig added the saddle, Wonder stiffened and gave her a curious glance but didn’t protest. The bitless bridle went on without incident. At least, with Mr. Murley’s encouragement, she’d already gotten Wonder used to that, as well as a halter. But leading an animal around while walking was hardly the same as riding.

  “You’re such a good girl. Be my Wonder, please, girl.” Twig gave her a big hug around her muscular neck, and then she led her out of the stall, into the stable aisle. “This is so important. I’m going to get on now. You’ll let me ride, won’t you?”

  Would she? She was so headstrong. But Wonder nickered and tickled Twig’s neck. Twig slid a boot into the stirrup and hoisted herself up. Wonder whinnied questioningly, but she didn’t resist. Twig buried her face in her mane and thanked her and told her what a good girl she was. Then she lifted her head and she gripped the reins and gave Wonder’s sides a gentle squeeze.

  Ben always said unicorns were smarter even than the smartest horse, and Twig had never doubted it was true. Wonder took a step forward. Twig urged her gently onward, through the stable and to the open door. She seemed to know exactly what Twig wanted, and she seemed to want it too.

  Ben appeared in the doorway with a big grin on his face and pride gleaming in his eyes.

  “I renamed her,” Twig said shakily. “Wonder Light. From now on I’m going to call her Wonder.”

  “Perfect,” Ben said. “She is a wonder.” His voice caught. He cleared his throat and glanced at the ranch grounds behind him. “It’s safe. I haven’t heard or seen a thing. I’ll go get the gate. Remember which way to go?”

  “I remember.”

  She was supposed to take the long way around, behind the buildings, through the far pastures, then follow the fence line to the gate and ride to the hollow. Merrill had taken Marble for a ride, away from the hollow, so Wonder wouldn’t have to adjust to too many new things at once.

  “Be good and quiet now, Wonder.” Ben slipped her an acorn. “If she makes a fuss, dismount and try to lead her instead.”

  “She won’t fuss.”

  “No.” Ben stroked Wonder’s flank. “I don’t think she will.”

  Twig waited just outside the hollow until she saw Ben breathlessly approaching behind her. From the hollow, Indy neighed a curious, longing greeting, but stayed put, as he’d been taught. Twig was glad—Ben should be there when Indy met Wonder for the first time. Wonder sniffed and replied, anxiously leaping against Twig’s attempts to hold her back.

  Ben hurried to Indy, and Twig rode Wonder in. She dismounted, keeping hold of the young unicorn. But there was no need for concern. Wonder bowed her head, and Indy nuzzled his daughter, welcoming her to his side.

  Chapter 31

  Once they were outside the fence and in the woods, Twig mounted Wonder again. Twig felt her own excitement echoed in Wonder’s prance. The unicorn seemed to welcome the challenge, the chance to be like Indy. Wonder’s muscles moved beneath Twig, ripples of energy that stirred her heart. She bounced straight up in the air, so high that Twig thought her insides would be left behind. Wonder landed and danced triumphantly.

  I did it! I can jump like no one else, even with this girl on my back. No doubt Wonder would love to show this trick off to the ponies.

  Indy, bearing Ben, neighed a calming warning, then bounded deeper into the woods. Wonder followed, more purposefully now, leaping just high enough to clear the underbrush, up and over, in a steady rhythm, copying Indy’s pace. They glided through the mist, leaving Twig’s troubles on the ground. Wonder was a streak of white, Twig’s jacket no longer a shell but a wave of bright red, her hair flowing like Wonder’s mane and tail.

  But as they rode, the night grew mistier around them, the trees and the brambles harder to see. Wonder kept up her swift pace, her enthusiasm undaunted by the near-blinding mist. Twig’s heart raced. The reins grew slick with the moisture in the air, her hands slippery with the cold sweat of fear.

  The fog wrapped itself around them, cutting them off from Ben and Indy. They had to turn back, but she couldn’t see. They were lost, caught in the web of mist, helpless prey.

  Wonder tossed her head wildly.

  “Ben!” Twig screamed.

  Wonder leaped and reared. Twig lurched and lost the reins; she grasped at the chill winter air. She flew upward, grazing a tree branch, and then she was tumbling down. Leaves brushed her face and things crunched around her. Her elbow struck something hard. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. She waited for a howl, for a horn to strike.

  A scuffle of hooves in the mist. Ben’s muffled voice.

  Hoof steps approached, but instead of a howl, there was a familiar nicker. Wonder nuzzled Twig’s face, whinnying her concern. Ben, still riding Indy, held Wonder’s reins.

  “Twig? What happened?”

  “That you, Ben-boy? What’s going on?” Merrill’s voice called in the distance. Marble whinnied anxiously.

  “I’m all right.” Twig wobbled to her feet, still shaking.

  Light bobbed in the mist, and Merrill rode into view, Marble’s reins in one hand, a lantern in the other.

  Indy gave Marble a warning neigh. This is my kid. Don’t mess with her.

  Marble took a step back.

  “So, Twig-girl,” Merrill said, holding Marble steady, “how’s that first ride going?”

  Twig looked down at her boots.

  “I took enough tumbles myself when I first started. It’s a wonder you made it this far with a feisty young one like this. Never even known a saddle, has she?”

  “That’s what Twig’s named her now—Wonder.”

  “Is that right? Don’t you worry, Twig. You’re the one who’s given her what she needs since the day she was born. She’s happy to give you her heart in return. But you must teach her how to know what you want, what you need.”

  “How to not toss me into the bushes.” Twig rubbed her sore elbow.

  Merrill laughed softly. “Yes. But you must learn to trust her at the same time. You were frightened by the mist?”

  “I couldn’t see Indy. I couldn’t see anything.”

  “But Wonder could,” Ben said.

  “You’re her rider. She felt your fear even more powerfully than Indy’s lead.”

  “So she got spooked,” Twig said.

  “That’s right.” Marble whinnied at Wonder, and Merrill stroked his neck, calming him. “Why don’t we let these two meet each other properly and then give it another try? You’ll follow Ben and Indy. Just make a nice, wide circle, Ben, and come right back to me.”

  Twig hesitated.

  Ben leaned down. “You can do this, Twig. You’re her rider. It isn’t easy in the mist, at night, over rough ground, but it’s better this way, don’t you think?”

  “It’s how I’ll have to ride, if—when we go after Dagger.”

  “That’s right,” Merrill said. “You’ll learn to ride, to stay on even when your unicorn charges.”

  “Eventually, you’ll learn to shoot while you ride, like me.”

  It was so much, and there was so little time. Twig hopped back up into the saddle. She rubbed Wonder’s neck. “We can do it,” she whispered. “You’re my Wonder after all.”

  ***

  Twig touched a fingertip gently to the fresh paint. It was dry enough. She couldn’t stop thinking about last night, about leaning into Wonder’s neck as she flew through the woods, about the way Wonder had begun to respond to her commands and her subtle nudges as she rode. She cleaned up her mess in the carport and picked up the wooden plaque. Balancing its edges between her fingertips, she carried it to the stable.

  She paused at her pony’s stall. “Hey there, Rain Cloud.” He’d never been jealous of Wonder before. Would he now? The Murleys might not know what she and Ben were up to at night, but there was no hiding it from the ponies. Rain Cloud had seemed to catch Indy�
�s scent on Wonder when Twig brought her back to the stable. The unicorn and the pony had a little conversation about it. Twig was pretty sure that Rain Cloud knew the baby he’d watched over since her arrival had met her father.

  Rain Cloud gave Twig an indignant blow.

  “Come on, don’t pout. I can’t scratch your belly with my hands full. I’ll be back.”

  Twig proceeded to the bigger stall at the end of the stable. Mr. Murley had taken Caper’s plaque down recently and hung it in the den. Twig held the plaque she’d just painted up to the stall door, trying to eye the right spot, to make sure it looked just right. Wonder Light poked her head out and nuzzled Twig’s neck. Twig laughed. The unicorn knew how to tickle her, and she returned Twig’s laugh, as always, with her own nickery one.

  Mr. Murley emerged from the tack room, whistling. “What’ve you got there, Twig?”

  Twig held the plaque up. Her smile wavered and her hands shook a little. Mr. Murley came closer.

  “Wonder Light?”

  “That’s her name.”

  “Not Wild Light?” he said gently, reaching out to tip up her chin with his hand.

  “Not anymore. I like to call her Wonder.”

  Twig held her head up straight, the way the Murleys always wanted her to. She made herself look Mr. Murley right in the face, the way Ben did when he was being brave. “Will you help me put it on? We’re sure about each other now. I know I can’t start riding her right now, since she’s so young…” Twig swallowed back the truth. The Murleys wouldn’t understand that this creature wasn’t like a horse of the same age, that she could be ridden. “But…since I’m going to be here for a while…”

  They both knew she was asking for more than his help; she was asking for the beautiful little filly—now nearly a mare herself—that had taken the place of his beloved mare.

  Mr. Murley put his arm around her shoulders. “Sure, Twig. I’ll go and get my drill.”

  March

  Chapter 32

  It was still mostly dark when Twig stirred. She shut her eyes and tried to get back to sleep. How long had it been since she’d slipped back into bed? Sneaking out in the middle of the night to train Wonder with Ben and Merrill was really wearing on her. So was keeping it a secret. Mrs. Murley joked about her afternoon naps, teased that she was trying to get a jump-start on being a teenager. She wouldn’t be able to joke about that for long; her thirteenth birthday was the day after tomorrow, the twenty-ninth of March.

  She’d been out even longer than usual with Ben and Merrill, finalizing their plan of attack. Ben had been scouting on foot and found the area where the herd was resting during the day. Twig was supposed to sneak Wonder out of the pasture in the daytime, so they could catch Dagger by surprise, hopefully still in a sleepy winter state. She just had to come up with something to tell the Murleys so they wouldn’t come looking for her…

  There was a loud sniffle, and Twig realized a warm little lump was curled up next to her in her bed.

  “Casey?” Twig wriggled her arm around her and pulled her closer. “Bad dream?”

  Casey shook her head. “I couldn’t sleep. The howls…”

  Twig shot up. “They were close?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “How close?”

  Casey shuddered. “Close as they could get.”

  Twig jumped out of bed and yanked the curtains aside, peering into the predawn darkness. The stable doors were shut. Everything looked normal. Had the herd attacked? Had Ben and Merrill stopped them? She had to make sure they were okay. Twig rushed outside without her shell, running through a fine, misty rain. It was so warm, almost as warm as yesterday. This year, spring had come early to Lonehorn Island.

  She climbed over the fence, but it was slippery and she lost her balance. Something sharp jabbed into her hand. Twig dropped to the ground and examined her palm. An ugly splinter had pierced the skin, sending a trickle of blood down her wrist. A wedge was ripped out of the fence rail. The ground was trampled.

  With a gasp, Twig pulled the splinter out, then slipped into the woods, headed for Ben’s hollow.

  “Ben?” Her voice was high with fear for him.

  “I’m all right, Twig.”

  Twig ducked into the hollow. Ben was alone, rubbing Indy down. The unicorn was shaking.

  “What about Merrill?”

  “He’s fine. But Marble isn’t.”

  Marble! Marble, who’d come so far, bonding with Merrill, letting him ride. “Is he—”

  “He’s alive, but barely.”

  “Where?”

  “Merrill took him through the passage. He’s going to find somewhere to hide him there until he’s better.”

  If he gets better. If he isn’t discovered. Taken, for the queen’s army. Merrill, sent to the Barrenlands.

  “He’d die for sure here,” Ben said. “He cannot defend himself.”

  “What about the ranch? You left Wonder there for safekeeping. Couldn’t we take Marble there? I could say I found him.”

  “One unicorn on the ranch is risky. Two is impossible. Their horns would extend, and they’d be given away.”

  Of course. “If Wind Catcher hadn’t…”

  “I’d planned on taking Wind Catcher back out as soon as I could. I was desperate to keep her safe while I took care of my father, especially in her condition. And then, it seemed the perfect solution for her filly. She’d be fed and cared for, safe inside the stable at night.”

  Ben looked away, but not before she saw the fear in his eyes, that Wonder was no longer safe inside that stable at night.

  “They tried to break through the fence.”

  “I know.” Twig reached for his arm. “It wasn’t a mistake, Ben. Wonder and me…”

  He nodded.

  But what were they going to do now? They were down one unicorn and rider, just when Twig and Wonder were ready to do their part—just when they’d planned to take out Dagger.

  “We can still do it, Ben.”

  Ben shook his head. “I promised Merrill I’d wait for him.”

  “It’ll be too late!”

  “It’s too late already! They’re up. They’re hunting.”

  Twig glared at him, then rubbed roughly at the tears that escaped down her cheeks.

  Ben straightened up and tried to sound brave. “We’ll just have to come up with a new plan, that’s all. We’ll figure it out, Twig.”

  ***

  Twig leaned back on the couch with her book, trying to concentrate. She’d chosen it from the list of classics Mrs. Murley had given her. She was supposed to have a book report written on it by the end of next week.

  “I hate that book.” Mandy, sitting on the floor nearby, made a face.

  Twig glowered at her. She’d thought she would hate it too, but the story had soon swept her away. It had been hard to put down until now. Now she couldn’t stop thinking about Ben and Indy.

  “He dies, you know.”

  Twig jolted. Regina stood over her. She nodded at Twig’s book.

  “He does not!” Next to Twig, Casey thunked her own book onto the side table in protest.

  “How do you know? You haven’t read it,” Regina said. “You’re still reading baby books!”

  Casey’s lip quivered.

  Mandy frowned sympathetically.

  “It’s all right, Casey, you’re getting better every day. Isn’t she, Janessa?” Taylor reached up from the rug to pat Casey’s knee.

  “They’re not baby books! I like that series.” Janessa popped up from her own pillow on the floor. “Time travel! Magic…”

  But Twig threw her book at Regina, grabbed Casey’s hand, and stormed out of the house. She stood there on the porch, clutching Casey’s hand, chest heaving. He doesn’t die, she kept telling herself. He doesn’t.

  “Who cares?” Twig said. “W
ho cares about any of them?”

  Casey stared up at her with those big, tear-filled eyes. She cared. They both cared. And caring hurt. Caring was as dangerous as the creatures lurking in the shadows of the cedars.

  ***

  Twig lay in bed, waiting for the Murleys to go to sleep so she could sneak out and join Ben in protecting the ranch. Ben had come to the paddock fence and told her that Merrill had sent word. He’d found a hiding place for Marble and he’d be back tomorrow. They just had to get through tonight without him.

  Twig listened for signs of wakefulness in the house. And then she heard it—a faint banging. The sound grew louder, more persistent—too deep and too distant to be someone knocking on the door. Bang, bang, bang—then a sharp crack and a tremendous crash!

  Twig jumped up, and Casey woke with a wail. The sounds had come from outside, and now a series of cries, muffled by the stable walls, took their place—fearful pony wails and a louder, fiercer whinny. Wonder Light! Twig bolted to the window and tore at the curtains. A group of large animal forms leap-galloped through the mist. The wild herd.

  “They’re here!” Twig gasped. “They got in!”

  Chapter 33

  Through the blur of fog, Twig thought she saw one of the unicorns dip its head and charge at the stable door.

  Bang! Bang! They were going to break into the stable next.

  Twig ran from the room with a groggy, weepy Casey stumbling after her. Mrs. Murley was already in the entryway with her boots on. Mr. Murley was barefoot, but his shotgun was in his hands. He threw the door open, and it bashed against the wall. The other girls, who’d all come tumbling out of bed after them, jumped.

  “Stay here, girls!” Mrs. Murley shut the door firmly behind Mr. Murley.

  Twig grabbed her boots.

  A gunshot cracked the air. The entryway walls shook with the boom, and the sound reverberated in Twig’s chest. She dropped her boot. Janessa froze with her jacket half on.

  Mr. Murley fired again. Twig recovered, ducked past Mrs. Murley, and reached for the door, but just as she did, it flew open.