Sea Horses
Page 7
‘All right.’ He nodded sharply. ‘But I’ll wait by the headland, where I can keep watch on the sea. Here, take the torch. If the tide starts getting too close I’ll shout – and whatever you’re doing, stop it and come running!’
‘I will,’ she promised. She glanced at the sea. It did look perilously close, and she suppressed a shiver.
‘Give me Moonlight’s halter rope,’ Joel added. ‘He’d better stay here with me. He’s overexcited, and you might not be able to handle him on your own.’ Tamzin hesitated, but he didn’t give her time to protest. ‘Go on!’
Moonlight didn’t want Tamzin to go alone. He fussed and danced and fought, but Joel had a strong grip on his halter and made him stay. Tamzin took a few paces, then looked back at them both. Moonlight was staring after her, but Joel’s face was in shadow. She took a deep breath and entered the cave.
The sound of the sea changed to a hollow echo as she moved deeper in. It was cold in here, a dank, clammy coldness that seemed to clutch at her bones. What was she supposed to do? She didn’t like being in the cave alone, and was tempted to run back and ask Joel to bring Moonlight and come with her. But when she turned to look at the silver-grey beach she saw how close the tide was. It was better, safer, that Joel should stay outside, to keep watch. She had so little time…
She turned again and started to move the torch slowly from side to side, scanning the cave walls. At first the beam lit only the craggy, broken rock face, veined with dull colours. But as the light reached the back of the cave, it was echoed by a quick, bright flicker that wasn’t made by the torch.
Tamzin’s heart stopped, thumped, then started to beat very fast. Right at the back of the cave was a long fissure. Something was there. Something that glowed with a small light of its own.
She switched the torch off, to be sure. The glow was still there, and it showed a small object wedged in the fissure, about three metres up. From here Tamzin couldn’t see what it was. But a powerful intuition told her that this was what Moonlight had wanted her to find.
She switched the torch on again and looked at the cave floor. There was a pool at the back of the cave but it didn’t look too deep, and beyond it were rocks that she could scramble up. She should be able to reach the fissure quite easily.
She pulled off her shoes and socks, rolled up the legs of her jeans and waded cautiously into the pool. The water only came to her knees, but it was stunningly cold and her feet tingled as she climbed up on to the lowest rock. The glow was still there, but it seemed to be fading. No matter: she knew where the object was. All she had to do was reach it.
Tamzin searched around for a safe foothold. Climbing with the torch in her hand wasn’t as easy as she had hoped, but she went slowly and carefully, and within a couple of minutes her head was on a level with the object. The glow around it had vanished altogether now, and a rock spur cast a shadow in the torch beam, so she couldn’t see it clearly. But it looked like a piece of stone, smaller than her fist… and with a thrill she realized what it must be. The missing piece from the statue she had broken – part of the head of the Grey Horse, which would make the figure whole again! It must have been washed here when she threw it into the sea. And, somehow, Moonlight had known.
Here was the chance she had been so desperately hoping for – the chance to put right all the wrong she had done. Tamzin took a deep breath, steadying her nerves. Then she reached out and her fingers closed round the stone fragment. It was slippery, so that when she tried to prise it from the crevice she found it hard to get a grip. But after a few seconds of scrabbling and wiggling, it came free. Tamzin thrust it deep into a pocket of her jacket and started to make her way back down the rocks. She splashed through the pool again and back on to firm sand.
She was about to reach into her pocket to take a proper look at what she had found, when something moved at the cave mouth.
Tamzin’s head came up quickly…and her whole body turned frost-cold as she saw the dark shape that barred her way out of the cave.
It was a horse. A huge, storm-grey horse, standing with its legs firmly planted and its ugly head lowered. Its mane was as tangled as seaweed and its eyes glinted like steel, their glaring gaze fixed on her face. A chill, eerie light flickered over it, and through the light – and through the ghostly bulk of its body – the beach and the incoming tide were dimly visible.
Tamzin couldn’t move a muscle. She could only stand rooted, staring in horror, as the awful truth smashed into her mind.
The Grey Horse was not just a legend. It really existed. And she was face to face with it.
Tamzin’s mouth worked, opening and shutting in jerky spasms. She was struggling to scream out to Joel, but no sound would come. She was frozen, helpless, so terrified that she couldn’t make any move at all.
The Grey Horse lowered its hideous head still further, and bared its teeth in a silent threat. She tried to drag her gaze away from its awful stare, but it held her hypnotized.
Tamzin felt her hand start to move of its own accord, reaching into her pocket, groping for the stone fragment she had prised from the crevice. The monster wanted the stone. It was willing her to take it, to hold it out, to give it… Tamzin’s brain screamed at her to resist. But the dreadful eyes were boring into her mind, her will was weakening, she couldn’t fight…
Suddenly the Grey Horse opened its mouth, and a low, ugly sound grated from its throat. Panic hit Tamzin and snapped the hypnotic grip. She didn’t pause to think; instinctively she flung herself forward, trying to rush and dodge past the Grey Horse before it could stop her.
She ran three steps before an invisible force bowled her back like a leaf in a storm. Her feet went from under her and she fell to the sandy floor of the cave, rolling over and over until she fetched up hard against a rock. Gasping, she sat up. The Grey Horse had not moved. It still glared at her, and Tamzin realized the truth. The Grey Horse wanted the piece of stone – but even if she gave it up, the Horse would not let her pass. It meant to keep her here. And a wild look past the monster showed her that the tide was much closer. In just a few more minutes it would reach the headland, cutting off her escape route.
‘Joel!’ With a huge effort of will Tamzin found her voice and screamed with all the strength she could summon. ‘Joel, help! Help me!’
There was no answering shout from outside. Where was Joel? Had he seen the Grey Horse, did he have any idea what was happening? He was supposed to keep watch – why hadn’t he come?
‘Joel!’ she cried again, but her cry was lost in the sudden boom as a huge wave broke out to sea. It was a rogue wave, rushing in far faster and further than normal; white water surged almost to the cave mouth. There was no time left. She had to get out now or it would be too late. She had to take the Grey Horse by surprise. It was her only chance!
Tamzin drew a deep breath and tensed her muscles. Then she leaped to her feet and darted for the cave mouth.
The Grey Horse gave a shrill scream and reared high, its hooves flailing the air. Tamzin recoiled – and as she reeled back she heard the roar of another great wave. As if the Horse’s dark power had summoned it, a wall of water came smashing and pounding through the entrance. It bowled Tamzin over and swept her towards the back of the cave. Spluttering and gasping she made a desperate grab for a projecting rock, but missed. Then the wave hit the back wall, and the enormous recoiling wash carried her back to the entrance. She had one blurred glimpse of the rearing Grey Horse, then she was sucked out of the cave and into the full force of the waves.
The next few seconds were a terrifying roller-coaster of black darkness and silver water as Tamzin was hurled around in the thundering sea. She struggled to swim, but the waves were far too powerful. Then another great wave broke over her. It picked her up as if she were a cork and hurled her towards the shore. She was flung on to the sand and the undertow swept back, leaving her high and dry. She coughed and gasped and wanted only to lie still until the banging in her head went away. But there was no time. S
he had to escape!
Tamzin staggered upright, started at a stumbling run towards the headland – and saw that it was too late. Waves were already breaking around the headland rocks. She was cut off.
As she slithered to a halt an eerie howl rang out over the sea’s noise. Tamzin looked wildly over her shoulder and was in time to see the Grey Horse emerge from the cave into the glare of the moon. It galloped to the sea’s edge, and as it galloped its shape changed. It was becoming part of the sea and, as it merged with the water, a huge grey-crested wave began to rise in the distance and sweep towards the beach.
Tamzin’s wail of terror was lost among the noise of the sea, but this time her cry was answered by a shrill, piercing whinny. She whirled and saw another horse coming towards her from the headland, plunging through the battering waves. For a stunning instant its coat looked blue – but then she realized it was just a trick of the darkness, and the truth hit her.
‘Moonlight!’ She stumbled across the sand as the white pony sprang clear of the sea and came galloping towards her. He skidded to a stop; she grasped at his mane, hooked an arm over his withers and with a frantic kick hauled herself astride his back. Moonlight turned and, with Tamzin clinging on for her life, he raced back towards the headland.
The grey-crested wave crashed on the spot where she had been standing, hurling up a fountain of spray. But Moonlight was already clear. He charged into the sea again, and in seconds was swimming. Water slapped and surged and tried to wash Tamzin off, but she locked her arms around Moonlight’s neck and, somehow, held on.
She could never have swum out beyond the rocks against that tide, but Moonlight was far stronger. Striking out powerfully, he cleared the headland and turned, almost surfing the breakers towards the beach. Suddenly he lurched as he felt sand under his feet, and moments later he was splashing out of the sea and cantering up the beach to safety. Only when he was well away from the sea did he slow to a trot. A figure came racing towards them from the direction of the beach slope, and through the pounding in her head Tamzin heard Joel’s voice shouting.
‘Tamzin!’ He caught her as Moonlight stopped and she half slid, half fell from the pony’s back. Hugging her tightly, he gasped, ‘Thank God you’re safe! I thought… I thought…’
‘M-Moonlight saved me,’ Tamzin whispered, trying to stop her teeth from chattering. ‘I was cut off, and…’ A huge shiver racked her.
‘I know,’ said Joel. ‘The tide came in so fast, I couldn’t get round the headland to warn you. Then Moonlight went crazy. He broke away from me and went after you.’ He swallowed. ‘I was running to get help when I saw him coming through the surf with you. Oh, Tam…’
He was staring towards the sea as he hugged her. But when Tamzin looked at his face, she saw that he wasn’t taking in the scene. His eyes were frightened and bewildered, almost blank…
She managed the ghost of a smile and said huskily, ‘I’m all right now. I am, really.’
Joel snapped out of his trance and back to earth. ‘You’re soaked through,’ he said worriedly. ‘You must be freezing! Quick, take your wet jacket off. You can have mine.’
Tamzin pulled off her coat. She was about to drop it on the sand when Moonlight snorted and stamped. He thrust his head forward, pushing at one of the coat pockets – and with a jolt Tamzin remembered the stone she had found in the cave. The stone the Grey Horse had tried to make her give up. Slowly she reached for it and drew it out. They were just outside the cliff’s shadow, and as she opened her hand the moon shone on the fragment.
Dismay filled her as she saw that it was not part of the head of the Grey Horse statue, but just a little bit of ordinary rock. Apart from the fact that it was covered in barnacles, there was nothing remarkable about it.
Or was there? Somewhere among the barnacles was a glimmer of blue… Tamzin’s pulse raced. Hastily she scraped some of the barnacles away.
The stone broke into several pieces, revealing something else inside. Worn smooth as a pebble by the sea, it was a piece of glass, shaped in a graceful curve. And its colour was a deep, shimmering sapphire blue.
‘Here’s my jacket,’ Joel said. ‘And my fleece. Put them on.’ He frowned. ‘What have you got there?’
She turned to face him. ‘I found a stone in the cave,’ she said. ‘I brought it back, and when I took it out of my pocket just now it broke open.’ She held out her hand. ‘This was inside. I think it’s what Moonlight wanted me to find.’
Moonlight whickered softly, as though agreeing. Joel stared at the blue glass fragment, then gave a low whistle. ‘That’s spooky…’ He reached out quickly, then drew his hand back, as if he were afraid to touch it. ‘You’d better keep it safe.’
‘I will,’ Tamzin replied quietly. She tucked the glass carefully into the pocket of her jeans, then put on Joel’s fleece and jacket. She was starting to shiver but it was only the cold now, nothing worse.
‘Come on,’ said Joel. ‘Better get you home to get dry. I don’t know what we’re going to say to your nan.’
That was the last thing on Tamzin’s mind. Anyway, she thought, Nan of all people would surely understand.
They turned to go, then Joel said, ‘Tam, the blue glass… What Moonlight did… It’s important somehow, isn’t it? But what does it mean?’
Tamzin looked back at the sea and the great crag of the headland. There were no grey-crested waves, and no trace of the Grey Horse. It had gone, at least for now. Would it come back? Tamzin didn’t know. But she believed that another, kinder spirit was helping her to fight the Grey Horse, and tonight it had used Moonlight to guide her to the glass pebble. The pebble was a talisman. It told her that the Blue Horse was out there somewhere, and if she could only find it, then she could put right the terrible mistake she had made, and defeat the Grey Horse’s dark power.
In her heart she felt that she would encounter the Grey Horse again. It was a part of her family’s history, and she knew now what Nan had really meant when she had said, ‘It’s your turn.’ It was a frightening thought. But now, she had a little of the Blue Horse’s strength to protect her.
Joel held her hand and squeezed it. She hadn’t answered his question, but he knew she would tell him what she could, in time. Whatever the future held, he and Moonlight would be there. Together, they could win through.
And the Blue Horse was waiting for them.
Somewhere.
Table of Contents
Cover
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Sea Horses
chapter one
chapter two
chapter three
chapter four
chapter five
chapter six
chapter seven
chapter eight
chapter nine
chapter ten
chapter eleven
chater twelve
Table of Contents
Cover
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Sea Horses
chapter one
chapter two
chapter three
chapter four
chapter five
chapter six
chapter seven
chapter eight
chapter nine
chapter ten
chapter eleven
chater twelve