by Kate Gordon
“Of course. And thanks!”
Chapter Seventeen
Tears rolled down Lily’s face, merging with the pouring rain. “My poor Rainbow.”
What she thought was a cut on his leg was actually a deep gash.
And her beloved Kaimanawa pony was lame.
Very lame.
Rainbow stood, his head dropping so he could rub his muzzle on her shoulder as she crouched to look at his injury. The depth and width of the wound was starkly obvious against his bay coat. White flesh showed inside the gash, washed clean of all blood by the constant rain.
“No Pony Club Championship qualifier for us.” Lily sniffed as she stood. “But there’s not much point crying, is there?” She sighed as she patted the pony’s sodden neck. “We did what we needed to do to help Ambrosius, and now we just need to get you well. Come on, can you walk up to the barn? Mum needs to see your leg, then I guess this week’s pocket money will be a contribution to getting the vet here.”
Lily sighed again as she tugged Rainbow gently by the forelock to get him moving across the paddock to the barn. He limped with each slow step.
“Oh, buddy, I’m sorry it hurts so much. How did you get us home this morning? I’m sure you weren’t limping. Mum and the vet will help make you better. I just hope it being washed clean by the rain was a good thing, not something that might mean it gets infected.”
Step by step, they trudged wetly across the paddock, the other ponies following right at Rainbow’s tail, not wanting to be left behind.
“Horses get injured in storms all the time, right?” she said to Rainbow. “It’s not like Mum’s going to think it’s unusual or something else might have happened. I hope so, anyway.”
She opened the gate just enough to let Rainbow through and shut Gracie and Angel out. Gracie objected with a loud whinny as her friend limped to the barn. “I’ll come back with some hay for you two and Kahurangi once I’ve got Rainbow sorted.”
Leaving Rainbow in a stall with hay to nibble on, she sploshed back to the house to get her mother.
Lily had a long wait for her toast and hot chocolate, but eventually the vet had been to put a few stitches in Rainbow’s leg, bandage it up, and administer painkillers and antibiotics. Kuia gave her a tonic to help cuts and bruises, and Lily had made up the first dose for Rainbow to drink. Then she’d splashed across the horse paddock and back with hay for all the horses before checking in on Rainbow in the barn.
“You okay, buddy?”
He seemed happier, munching his hay like normal.
“Hopefully the drugs are helping.” She checked his water and pulled stray bits of hay out of it. “But I can’t ride you for a month!” She pushed her wet fringe out of her eyes. “Well, the main thing is you get better properly and maybe Mum will let me ride Gracie some days with the girls. That’s if you don’t mind, of course.”
She rubbed around his ears the way he liked.
He nodded then turned around carefully before lying down in the stall’s deep layer of wood shavings. “Guess you’re ready for rest. I’ll see you later, okay?”
With a last pat, she closed the stall door before leaning on it.
A whole month of no riding and no training! We really will have to start all over again with our show jumping. Oh, well, at least Mum didn’t ask how Rainbow got hurt. I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t see it, because I really didn’t!
The buzz-buzz of a text message woke Lily. Her hot chocolate had gone cold, and the TV was muted. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. It was Chloe, asking how Rainbow was.
“Ok.” Lily wrote back. “Wound deep. Stitched up now. He’s resting. Can’t ride him for a month!”
“Glad he’s ok, but a month!?? Oh no!” Chloe replied.
“Sucks, eh?”
“Yeah, but amazing none of the rest of us were hurt last night.”
“True. How r u?”
“So tired.”
“Me too.”
“Piano lesson soon. Better go.”
“C ya.” Lily yawned as she put her phone down. She snuggled back into the sofa cushions and let her eyes close. I wonder how the unicorns are with this weather. I know lots will be injured but I can’t do anything to help this time. It’s so frustrating. I hope Brökk will have plenty of magic to heal everyone, and I guess Mikaela helps too.
Thump, thump. Someone knocked on the back door then let themselves in.
“Hello, Sasha.” Lily’s mum’s voice reached Lily from the kitchen. “Kind of wet to be out, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but I’d rather be wet than at home, so...here I am.”
Sasha reached the sofa and Lily sat up. “Gee, a drowned rat has nothing on you.”
Sasha pushed her sodden hair back from her face. “Who cares? Tell me what’s been happening.”
Lily pushed herself up. “Come on. We’ll go to my room and I’ll grab you a towel on the way.”
They sat, cross-legged, facing each other on Lily’s bed.
“You all right?” Sasha rubbed her blond hair with the towel.
“Rainbow’s leg is really bad.” Lily sighed. “Can’t ride him for a month.”
“A month! What about the qualifying competition?”
“Can’t do it, can I?”
“Oh, man... That sucks.” Sasha threw the towel at the closed door.
“Tell me about it.”
“He’ll be okay, though, right?”
“The vet thinks so. It’s a deep cut, but more of a flesh wound than anything, so it should heal up fine. Might be a scar. Kuia gave me a tonic.”
“Poor Rainbow.” Sasha sighed. “This rain!”
Lily looked out the window. It was just as gloomy and grey as it had been all morning. “I know. Are you okay?”
“Tired.”
“Same.”
“It’s awful at home, Lil. Like I told your mum, I’d rather be walking in the rain than stay in the house one second longer.”
“Arguing?”
“Yeah. Non-stop.” Sasha’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’m really sorry, Sash.” Lily leaned over to hug her friend. “Can I do anything to help?”
“Let me stay here until I’m like 18.”
“Um...we’d have to ask Mum and Dad.”
“I’m joking, Lil!” She tried to smile. “Wish I wasn’t, but let’s talk about what’s really important. How are we going to get back to the unicorns to check they’re okay?”
Lily looked out the window again. “Even if the rain doesn’t stop, I think we have to try and go tonight, don’t you?”
“But how, Lil? You don’t have a pony.”
“I’ll ride Gracie.”
“Really?” Sasha lowered her voice. “But what if something happens to her? What would your mum say? How many times have you ridden her anyway?”
“What’s the alternative? I run beside you and Chloe?”
“I guess not.” Sasha went over to the window. “Seriously, how many times have you ridden her?”
“Once.”
“Lily!” Sasha hissed. “You can’t ride a strange horse – your mother’s horse – through the forest, where we’re not meant to go without permission anyway, at night and in weather like this.”
“Seriously,” Lily echoed her friend, “what other option do I have?”
“Oh boy... I don’t really know.” Sasha perched on the edge of the bed. “Do you think Chloe will come? She’s so scared when she has to sneak out of the house.”
“Shall I ask Mum if you can both stay here tonight?”
“Great idea, if Mrs Cho will let Chloe.”
“I’ll text her. Then do you want to come check on Rainbow with me?”
“Of course.”
The wet afternoon dragged on. The only person happy about the rain was Lily’s father, because all the farm paddocks were getting a good watering.
In a hushed voice, sitting cross-legged on the floor of her room, Lily told Sasha how frightened she had been when she’d fr
eed Xanthe.
“I don’t know how you did it, Lil.”
“You and me both.” Lily looked out at the greyness. “How did I know what words to say? How did the taniwha hear me? How come they’ve never emerged from their rocks for any other reason?”
“Because you just did. And didn’t Ambrosius or Mikaela say something about there being ancient magic here? Abellona was threatening the people of this land – you – so they came to help.”
“Yeah, they did say something like that. I don’t know if they meant Whale Bay or the whole country though.”
“Probably both.” Sasha shifted to lie back on a pillow and stare at the horse posters Lily had pinned to her bedroom ceiling. “You’re the one with Māori blood. There are lots of Māori myths and legends, right?”
“Just because I’m part Māori, doesn’t mean I understand them, Sash.”
“You should ask Kuia.”
“Hmm. I could, but what do I say? Kuia, have you ever seen a taniwha? Because somehow I managed to summon six from the rocks of the big creek.” She laughed, then became serious again. “Maybe it’s just one of those things we’ll never really understand.”
Sasha sighed. “Like how I’ll never understand how two parents who loved each other enough to get married and have two children now fight every second they’re together.”
Lily squeezed Sasha’s hand. “Kinda different, but just as confusing.”
Sasha pushed herself up. “I guess I better go home and get Tommy, my toothbrush and stuff.”
Lily jumped up. “I’ll come with you, and we can check on Rainbow on the way.”
“I’m going to ride Tommy back.”
“Yeah, so I’ll bring my bike and ride with you.”
The rain stopped suddenly as they walked down to the barn to see Rainbow. He was still lying down, but his leg didn’t feel hot or swollen which would have been a sign of infection. They gave him clean water and fresh hay, and left him to rest in the barn overnight.
At Sasha’s, no one was home.
“Blissfully quiet,” said Sasha as they went up to her room.
“Did your mother text you to say she’d be out? Or leave a note?” Lily asked.
“Doubt it.” Sasha screwed her face up in disgust. “My mother doesn’t bother about things like that. Not like yours.”
“But...” Lily stopped herself saying anything that might upset Sasha further. “Never mind. Want me to go get Tommy in while you pack your things?”
“Good idea.” Sasha grabbed her backpack off the floor. “Let’s go before anyone gets home and starts fighting again. I’ll text Dad to say I’m at yours. Then at least one of my parents knows where I am, right?”
“Sure.” Lily felt fake as she smiled, then headed back downstairs. She thought Sasha often made things worse with her mother, but she didn’t know what to say. And she felt guilty for having such a nice, normal mother, one who never used emotional blackmail – which is how Sasha described some of the things her mum did.
Sasha’s parents had a big, fancy house on a small block of land, only just big enough for Tommy. They bought a lot of hay for Tommy from Lily’s dad, and the bright chestnut gelding was tugging hay from his hay net under a wooden shelter when Lily reached him.
“Hey, Tommy.” She smoothed a hand down his neck. “Ready for another midnight ride?” she whispered.
The pony nickered as she slipped his halter on.
“A quick brush and I’ll saddle up.”
Sasha decided to lead Tommy, so they walked along the muddy roadside path back to Lily’s.
Sasha looked up at the fast-moving clouds. “I wonder if we’ll get more rain. How do you think the unicorns are doing?”
“It’s hard to know, isn’t it? That’s why we have to go tonight whether it’s raining or not.”
Lily’s phone beeped. “It’s Chloe. She can’t come tonight. They’re going to a concert in the city, and she doesn’t know when they’ll be back.”
“Oh, darn.” Sasha sploshed through a muddy patch beside Tommy.
Lily stopped to read the message properly. “She says I should ride Angel.”
“That’s a good idea. At least Angel knows what she’s doing on these night rides. And you’re not risking your mother’s horse.”
“But...” Lily jogged to catch up. “Angel is worth, like, thousands of dollars.”
“So?” Sasha turned Tommy into Lily’s driveway. “If she offered Angel, you should ride her. Chloe only wants to try and help.”
Lily thought for a moment. “True.” She sighed. “I thought capturing Abellona would solve everything, but there’s still so much we don’t know. Will Brökk even have enough magic to get them home?”
“I don’t know, Lil.”
They watched TV for a while after dinner but were both yawning so much Lily’s mother told them to go to bed.
“No argument from me,” Sasha replied. “I’m whacked.”
The quiet beep of Lily’s phone alarm woke them at midnight. They dressed and left as silently as thieves, remembering to pick up the big torch. Lily closed the back door ever so slowly. How weird that sneaking out at night is starting to feel normal.
It felt even more weird to be catching and saddling Chloe’s pretty palomino rather than her beloved Rainbow, but he was safely tucked away in the barn so wouldn’t see her ride off on another pony.
Lily took a few minutes to settle into the rhythm of Angel’s stride as they crossed the horse paddock. “Oh, her trot is long compared to Rainbow’s, but she’s so smooth.”
“She is, eh?” Sasha latched the gate into the forest and Lily turned the torch to the track through the trees. “Chloe let me ride her a while back. She’s really lovely.”
The big paddock on the deserted farm looked much the same as any other night they’d been to visit. Baubles of golden light dotted around, each one showcasing a silvery unicorn.
“Wow!” Sasha pulled Tommy to a halt at the gate. “They are so beautiful, so magical.”
“Yeah. We’re so lucky to be the ones to see it.” Lily looked for Ambrosius and Brökk.
“Lily! Sasha!” Ambrosius’s voice rang out. He galloped towards them, Sigvard and Mikaela spinning to thunder after him.
“Where’s Chloe? Is she alright?” Mikaela asked as the three unicorns pulled up in a flurry of wild manes. The unicorn glow burnished their polished horns with golden light.
“She’s fine.” Lily replied as she reached out to pat Ambrosius. “She’s really sorry, but she couldn’t come tonight.”
“That’s a relief,” Mikaela replied. “We have enough injuries here without worrying about one of you three.”
“Well, Rainbow can’t be ridden for a month, but otherwise we’re all okay,” Sasha said.
“But he’ll be okay?” Ambrosius asked.
“He will, thanks,” Lily replied. “The injuries are the main reason we’re here,” said Lily. “We’ve bought more tonic and salves. Are you all okay? Is Abellona is safely locked away?”
“She is, Lily, thanks to you,” said Ambrosius.
“Hear, hear!” cheered Sigvard. “Lily saved us from near certain capture this time.”
“Well done, Lily!” called several of Sigvard’s young guard now standing behind him.
“Thank you, Lily!” shouted another.
She blushed and looked down, embarrassed by the attention.
Ambrosius rubbed his cheek on her shoulder. “You really did save us, Lily. We are so very grateful for your courage and that you worked out how to free Xanthe.”
Tears welled as Lily looked up at the unicorn king. “I still don’t know how I did it.”
“Dear heart,” Ambrosius’s voice rumbled with affection. “That doesn’t make it any less worthy or any less successful.”
Lily scrubbed the tears away. “I guess.” She smiled. “The main thing is you’re safe.”
“And we are. Safer than we’ve been for many years. Thanks to you and your friends, and your b
rave ponies.”
Lily’s smile turned into a grin.
“You did good, Lil!” Sasha leaned over and patted her shoulder. “We all did! Come on, we’ve got bruises and wounds to see to.”
They worked by the light of the unicorns themselves, as one unicorn after another came up to show them injuries from the great battle. With gentle fingers, Lily spread Kuia’s healing salve around the edges of open gashes while Sasha measured out dose after dose of the tonic Kuia made to help cuts and bruises. Brökk created more healing spells, and Mikaela shared her curative energies.
It didn’t take long before they ran out of Kuia’s herbal remedies. “What a shame, but of course she thought she was making enough for just one pony, not a whole herd of unicorns,” Sasha said.
Lily sighed. She really wanted to help a young unicorn with his shoulder slashed open from the giant fighting cats, but Ambrosius assured her that Brökk would help Tymek and the young warrior would be well soon enough.
“What would you normally have done to tend injuries, Ambrosius?”
“Until Celestina was captured, she would help Brökk heal those with serious injuries with magic.”
“You must miss her.”
“We do. Very much.” He nodded. “And now Abellona is under our control, maybe we’ll be able to find Celestina and free her. That’s if we can outsmart Perseus. We have much work to do when we return to our homeland.”
“Are you going soon?”
“We will leave before dawn.”
Lily stared at the unicorn king, stunned and silent.
Chapter Eighteen
“Tomorrow?” Sasha gasped. “Like the dawn at the end of tonight?”
“Yes, Sasha. The coming dawn,” Ambrosius replied in a sombre tone.
She flung herself at Sigvard. “But I won’t see you again!”
Lily’s heart was heavy as she hugged Ambrosius. She knew the unicorns had to go, but it was so soon! “But how, Ambrosius? Are Brökk’s magical powers strong enough to make the journey safely?” Imagine if they got stuck in the chasm and couldn’t reach the other end!
