The Guardian Herd: Stormbound

by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

  Morningleaf stamped her hoof. “You don’t expect us to feel bad about that, do you?”

  “Morningleaf!” Star glanced at her, surprised to see her amber eyes crackling with anger.

  “No,” Brackentail answered her. “I deserved it for what I did.” He raised his head, and the slits of his eyes glistened with tears. “But Rockwing lied. I didn’t help him win the war. I . . . I wouldn’t do that, Morningleaf.” He looked directly at the filly, his eyes pleading. “I knew Silverlake was holding meetings at the waterfall. I knew she was going to try to save the black foal.” Brackentail nodded toward Star. “I believed he was dangerous. I was trying to save Sun Herd, and all the pegasi of Anok, from him.”

  Morningleaf whinnied sharply, her feathers vibrating. “That’s no excuse! You should have spoken to my sire, not to Rockwing.” Morningleaf charged forward, eye to eye with the brown colt. “Do you know how many Sun Herd pegasi died in the battle?”

  Brackentail shrank away from her.

  “Their blood is on your wings forever!” Morningleaf stamped away from him, breathing fast and hard.

  “It wasn’t planned,” whinnied Brackentail. “I was captured.”

  Morningleaf whirled on him, teeth bared. “So you betrayed your herd to save yourself?”

  Brackentail’s thin-slit eyes widened slightly.

  “Brackentail,” Star interrupted. “You’re making things worse. Just tell us why you’re here. What do you want?”

  Brackentail stared up at the clouds drifting overhead. “I have nowhere else to go.”

  “So you want to join River Herd?”

  The colt nodded.

  “No,” whinnied Morningleaf. “Absolutely not.”

  Star touched her back with his wing. Her entire body was trembling. “We’ll bring it to the council and let them decide.”

  She faced him. “You can’t be serious.”

  “If we leave him here, he’ll die.”

  Morningleaf pinned her ears. “That’s not our problem.”

  “He’s asking for our protection. And look at him; he’s harmless.”

  “He’s harmless now, but he helped Rockwing destroy us, and he didn’t do anything to protect Echofrost.” Star knew that. Echofrost was Morningleaf’s friend, and when Brackentail tried to kill Star in a canyon run moons ago, Mountain Herd steeds had captured her and Brackentail. The brown colt worked with his captors, giving them information about Sun Herd, while poor Echofrost had been tortured and then released.

  Morningleaf reared, charging Brackentail again, halting just short of ramming him. “Everything you feared Star would do to Sun Herd—you did!”

  Brackentail collapsed under her accusations. “Kill me then. Please. Just end my life.”

  Morningleaf’s trembling subsided, and she backed away from the yearling colt. She looked at Star. “Do what you want. I won’t stop you. But think about how the others will react.” She turned and kicked off, flying alone back to River Herd.

  Star sighed and approached the brown colt, his lip curling at the stench of his infected flesh and filth. “Can you walk a bit farther?” Star asked him, still unsure what to think about Brackentail’s return. He should be feeling joy—his tormentor was now the tormented—but Star felt only sadness. He knew what it was like to be alone, unable to fly, and unwanted by any herd. Star sighed again, shaking his head. He would do what he could to help Brackentail.

  “Yes, I can walk,” said Brackentail. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I don’t know what the herd will decide to do with you.”

  Brackentail raised his head. “What do you mean, decide? Aren’t you the over-stallion?”

  Star folded his wings. “No. River Herd has a council, and all decisions are made by them. And it will be difficult for you when you arrive. Prepare yourself.”

  Brackentail exhaled, looking relieved yet still frightened. The two pegasi walked side by side, like horses, through the lightly wooded terrain toward River Herd.

  3

  MEMORIES

  WHEN STAR AND BRACKENTAIL ARRIVED IN River Herd’s main grazing field, a flat meadow dotted with oak trees, they found the pegasi lined up and waiting, their wings flared and their tails swishing angrily. It was clear Morningleaf had already informed them about Brackentail’s return. Silverlake stood in the front of the line, watching them, but glanced often toward Hazelwind, whose expression was twisted with rage.

  As Star and Brackentail approached, Brackentail’s legs quivered, and Star felt his own gut lighten, like he was flying, or falling. He’d faced the hatred of a herd before, and now, even though it was directed at Brackentail, it was all too familiar.

  Silverlake shaded her eyes from the bright sun and pricked her ears. “Where did you find him?”

  “In a clearing through those woods,” Star said, nodding toward the small forest to the southeast.

  “Is he the intruder we’ve been searching for?”

  “I think so.” Star turned to Brackentail. “How long have you been watching us?”

  “Three days,” said the colt in a bare whisper.

  Hazelwind flew behind Brackentail and inspected the yearling’s small hoofprints. “Yes, he’s the pegasus I’ve been tracking.”

  “He has no herd,” said Star. “He’s asking for our protection.”

  Most of the River Herd steeds had once belonged to Sun Herd, so they knew the story of Brackentail’s betrayal—they had lived it. And the unusual tale had spread quickly across Anok; even the refugees had heard it. Pegasi never betrayed their herds. All the gathered steeds stared at the brown colt and grumbled with ears pinned.

  “He betrayed his herd.”

  “We lost our land.”

  “He’s not welcome here.”

  Silverlake let them speak, and then she stepped forward and raised her wings. “The council will meet to discuss Brackentail’s fate.”

  The River Herd steeds respected Silverlake. After Thundersky had banished her, she’d spied on Rockwing and was able to warn Sun Herd about the war before it started, saving them from a worse massacre. They folded their wings and listened to her words now. Silverlake spoke to Brackentail. “You will be placed under guard for our safety, and yours.” Then she turned to the medicine mare. “Sweetroot, will you tend to his wounds?”

  Sweetroot nodded. Hazelwind rounded up a few stallions to guard Brackentail, and then River Herd went back to grazing and settling in for the evening.

  After Brackentail was ushered away, Echofrost cantered forward with her twin brother, Bumblewind, and Morningleaf following her. She slid to a halt in front of Star, whipping her thin tail from side to side. Her expression was haggard, her eyes haunted. “How could you bring him here?”

  Star hesitated, then said, “I didn’t bring him here. I found him. He’s been walking for almost a moon to find us.”

  “You know what I mean,” she whinnied. “He tried to kill you, Star.”

  Star bowed his head. “I remember.”

  The breeze rifled her short mane, and Echofrost shook her head in irritation. “He’s dangerous. He has no place here.”

  Star glanced at the brown colt as he limped away with the stallions, one wing dragging on the grass, his neck hanging low, and his ears drooping. Brackentail was not dangerous, but the herd’s hatred of him was. “He can’t hurt us anymore,” Star said.

  Echofrost folded her purple wings over her silver hide, lifted her head, and searched Star’s eyes. He returned her stare and saw the horror of her captivity reflected there, crushing her spirit even here, where she was safe.

  Since her kidnapping, Echofrost was not the same filly. She didn’t speak about her captivity with Mountain Herd, but the evidence of the torture she’d endured showed on her body. Huge chunks of her mane and tail had been yanked out by their roots and were just beginning to grow back. Bite scars lined her neck and flanks, and her eyes were impassive and solid, like stones. It was as if half of Echofrost had died and was buried in Moun
tain Herd territory.

  Star knew she blamed Brackentail for her misery. When the brown colt had tricked Star into the canyon race, he’d lured him into Rockwing’s territory. Echofrost, Morningleaf, and Bumblewind had trespassed across the Vein to save Star from Brackentail’s deadly game, and that’s when they all had been discovered by a Mountain Herd patrol. Echofrost and Brackentail had been captured; Star and the others had escaped.

  Star studied Echofrost’s devastated expression, wishing he could help her. He’d spoken to Sweetroot about him healing her just a few days ago, but the medicine mare had stopped him. “Echofrost can heal herself,” she’d said.

  “How?” Star asked.

  Sweetroot exhaled, looking almost as old as Mossberry before she died in the fire. “It’s not the injuries bothering her, Star. It’s the hatred. If you heal her, she won’t learn how to forgive.” So Star left his friend alone, and Sweetroot mashed roots for Echofrost every morning and every night to calm her nerves.

  And now Brackentail’s return inflamed Echofrost all over again. Star exhaled, searching for words, but it was Echofrost who broke the silence. “Brackentail should be executed,” she said.

  Morningleaf gasped. “That’s extreme, don’t you think?”

  Echofrost looked from Star to her friend, and then to her twin brother. “You’ve all heard me. I have nothing more to say.” She kicked off and flew across the meadow to graze by herself.

  Star stood with Morningleaf and Bumblewind. “It’s not up to me what we do with him,” he said.

  Morningleaf nuzzled Star, burying her nose in his thick mane. “She knows that, but she looks up to you. Everyone does.”

  Star closed his eyes. The herd trusted him because he didn’t destroy them with the power he’d received, but now they wanted him to protect them. Where was the line between destroying for evil and destroying for good? Didn’t each pegasus deserve to be safe, including Brackentail? “I can’t take sides,” Star muttered under his breath.

  “What did you say?” asked Bumblewind.

  Star shook his head, opening his eyes. “I’m just thinking too much.”

  “I know,” said Morningleaf. “Let’s get out of here and fly. It will clear your head.”

  “Yes,” agreed Bumblewind. Star’s two friends kicked off and soared away. “Hurry, Star, before it’s dark.”

  Star galloped into the sky, savoring the sweet, fluttering thrill that tickled his gut when his hooves lifted off the soil and he was aloft and rising, feeling free. He soared west toward the beach and quickly caught up to his friends, gliding right behind Morningleaf. She turned her head, her amber eyes glittering in the sun. “Are you following me?”

  Star ran his eyes over her glossy coat and shining feathers. She was a typical yearling filly, lean and small, but her expression was defiant and amused. “Why would I?” he asked, pricking his ears.

  She snorted, teasing him. “You follow me everywhere I go, like when we were foals.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “I think it was you who used to follow me.”

  Morningleaf whinnied over the forceful breeze. “Someone had to keep an eye on you.” The three friends crested the cliffs and dived toward the cool ocean.

  “Is that right?” Star nickered, flexing his impressive wings; his muscles rippling across his chest. “You still think I can’t take care of myself?”

  She nodded, her eyes sparkling, and then she veered right and reached her top speed, cruising just over the tops of the waves, her legs tucked tight against her belly.

  Star darted after her, his eyes scanning the water for danger. Morningleaf was correct; he did follow her everywhere, and he didn’t like her out of his sight. When he closed his eyes each night, memories of her death a moon ago assailed him. He saw her feathers floating and her twisted, broken body, and he felt again the lurching collapse of his heart and how his entire world had shrunk and then shattered when she took her final breath. He needed to keep her safe, even though deep down he feared it would one day destroy him. But he couldn’t turn it off, and maybe worse, he didn’t want to.

  Star circled Morningleaf, dipped toward the sea, and then splashed her as she winged past him.

  She squealed and looped around him, making him dizzy. Then she splashed him back, and he tasted the salt of the sea. Bumblewind glided down from the heights to join them.

  Morningleaf flew a wide circle around her friends, her eyes bright. “Let’s pretend Star’s a Jungle Herd stallion on a trading mission with Desert Herd, and we’ve captured him,” she nickered to Bumblewind.

  Star let his friends grab his wings and land him on the beach. No longer weanlings but not yet adults, they played for hours. And Star was grateful to Morningleaf for trying to distract him and clear his head, but his troubles weren’t so easily vanquished.

  Star shivered as a cool coastal breeze blew through his tail. The days were shorter and colder. If they didn’t migrate soon, their coats would thicken further, like the Snow Herd steeds in the north, and then they’d be stuck with the heavy pelts until spring.

  After a while they grew tired and relaxed on the coarse sand, cracking crabs for the birds. Morningleaf tossed pieces of meat, nickering happily as the screeching birds caught them, swallowed them midair, and then begged for more with their insistent black eyes and sharp squawks.

  “They get lazy if you feed them too much,” Star warned his friends. Feeding the birds was bittersweet for him. It reminded him of Crabwing, a seabird he’d befriended when he was hiding on the coast, waiting for his birthday. Star had taken to cracking open crabs and oysters for the little gull, and they had become fast friends. Star had marveled when the bird gave up flying to spend all his time with Star, riding on his back and demanding more food. The gull was content, and he’d trusted Star with his life. Star exhaled. That had been Crabwing’s mistake. When Star’s enemy Snakewing discovered Star’s hiding place and saw him feeding the bird, he’d crushed Star’s friend with one swift blow.

  Star’s thoughts turned to the pegasi of Anok who still wanted to kill him and to those who risked their lives to follow him. Almost every day, refugees from the other herds snuck away from their over-stallions to find Star, seeking a new life, one without war and fear, a life they hoped the black foal could give them. Others never made it. The survivors told awful tales of predators and executions when they finally arrived, exhausted and hungry.

  “Let’s head back,” Morningleaf nickered. Star was jolted from his thoughts. Behind her the sky glowed orange and pink as the sun appeared to sink into the ocean.

  “Good idea.” Star kicked off and led his friends back to where River Herd was grazing. As they left the coast, a deep and menacing chill suddenly ran through his body. This horrible coldness had been attacking Star ever since he received his power, and his eyes were drawn westward, to the world of the Landwalkers across the Great Sea, each time it occurred. He felt it now as he flew with his friends.

  But it was not just a feeling, it was a force. It swept through him, darkening his thoughts, stealing his hope, crushing his joy, and sparking the fire of the Hundred Year Star that burned in the depths of his belly. It made him think of Nightwing the Destroyer, the first black foal to receive the starfire four hundred years ago, and the feeling was becoming harder to ignore. Did the starfire they’d each inherited bind them in some way—like the blood that connected brothers? If Nightwing was hibernating in the west, as Mossberry had suspected, was the dark stallion now awake? Star shook his head as he led his friends to the inland fields.

  The farther Star flew from the sea, the faster the feeling subsided, and as always, he hoped he’d imagined it.

  “I’m going to check on Echofrost,” Bumblewind said as they approached River Herd. He veered off, found his twin sister, and landed beside her.

  Star and Morningleaf settled in the soft grass. “I think it took great courage for Brackentail to approach us,” said Star.

  “Or great stupidity,” said Morningleaf with a
snort. She tucked her nose into her aqua feathers.

  Star curled into his long black wings, drawing them close to his body, and the two friends drifted into silence. Much had changed in a moon, but even more had not. The pegasi who didn’t believe in Star were more afraid of him than ever. The Hundred Year Star was gone from the sky, but in its place was Star himself, the black foal of Anok, the most powerful pegasus alive.

  4

  CONFLICTED

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING STAR MET WITH THE council, which consisted of Silverlake, Thundersky, Hazelwind, Sweetroot, a mare called Dawnfir, and the past over-stallion of Snow Herd, Icewing, who was now Iceriver. “Our coats are growing thick,” Silverlake said, speaking first. “It’s past time to migrate south, where it’s warmer.”

  “What about Brackentail? We must address his presence here,” Hazelwind said. “Echofrost wants him executed, and I agree.”

  Thundersky raised his head, commanding their attention. “The Betrayer can’t be trusted. I don’t think we should execute him, but I don’t think we should bring him with us when we head south. Let’s leave him to his fate.”

  There was silence as they all considered the options. Silverlake turned to the medicine mare. “If we were to keep the colt, is he well enough to migrate?”

  Hazelwind stamped his hoof at the suggestion, but he let Sweetroot answer. The old mare considered her words thoughtfully. “He’s not well, but don’t underestimate his determination. He shouldn’t have made it this far. Something is driving him to survive. Just this one night of rest and grazing has restored him more than I expected. He might keep up if we walked.”

  “Or Star could heal him,” said Silverlake, “and then we could fly.”

  “No!” neighed Hazelwind. “He must endure the wounds he’s earned. If you won’t kill him, then leave him here as Thundersky suggested. We’ll see how his will to survive handles a pack of wolves or a hungry bear.”

  Silence fell on the council once again, and soon the steeds were all looking at Star. “Brackentail tried to kill you when he tricked you into the canyon run,” Hazelwind reminded Star. “What do you want to do with him?”