‘Of course we will!’ said Fran eagerly. Neither Erin nor Chloe said a word. Erin’s skin felt like it was prickling all over. She shrank back.
‘The stables are this way,’ said Jackie cheerfully to Marianne. ‘I’ll take you around and then give you a hand unloading the horses.’
‘Thank you,’ said Marianne brightly. ‘See you later, girls.’ And with that she followed Jackie across the yard.
*
Jackie helped Marianne unload her horses, two sleek thoroughbreds – a dark bay called Gemini and a chestnut called Gamble.
‘What are we going to do?’ whispered Erin to Chloe as they groomed Kestrel and Pippin. ‘She’s going to be here all the time now!’ She usually really loved going to the stables, but if Marianne was down on the yard too it would be awful. Marianne might be unlikely to hurt them in the daylight, but they weren’t going to be able to relax for a second. Erin put her arms round Kestrel’s neck and hugged him. He nuzzled her affectionately.
‘So what are these two ponies’ names then?’ Marianne’s voice cut through the air.
Erin jumped in fright, making Kestrel startle and pull back sharply on his lead rope, breaking the bale string he was tied to.
‘Steady, boy,’ said Erin quickly, grabbing him before he could escape.
‘The Arab pony is Kestrel and Chloe is grooming Pippin,’ said Jackie, who had led Marianne across to where the girls stood with the ponies.
‘He looks a bit flighty,’ commented Marianne, nodding at Kestrel as Erin retied him to another bit of bale string.
‘He is a bit, but he’s fairly new and Erin’s helping me try to settle him in,’ Jackie explained.
‘Hmm,’ said Marianne, frowning as Kestrel began pawing at the concrete with a front hoof, getting increasingly agitated as he picked up on Erin’s tension. ‘I wouldn’t say he looks ideal for a riding-school pony, Jackie.’
Jackie looked rather worriedly at Kestrel, who was still pawing the ground, and then they walked off.
Erin groaned. The last thing she wanted was Jackie wondering if Kestrel was cut out to be in a riding school. ‘Oh, Kestrel. Why did you have to play up so much when they were watching?’
‘I can’t believe Marianne said that,’ said Chloe angrily.
Remembering how Tor had calmed the mares the night before by nuzzling their necks, Erin lightly stroked Kestrel’s neck, shoulder and mane, talking to him softly all the time. Gradually Kestrel stopped scraping the ground and began to relax, his expression softening. Erin breathed gently into his nostrils. He breathed in and then blew out; the rest of the tension seemed to leave his body.
Erin rested her forehead against his neck. She knew that Jackie was already worried about him; the last thing she needed was Marianne stirring up trouble.
‘It’ll be OK,’ said Chloe softly, looking at her from the other side of Pippin.
Erin really hoped she was right.
CHAPTER
Six
By the time Erin got home, she was more determined than ever that she and Chloe had to get Tor and Mistral back to the sky as soon as possible. Maybe once that was done Marianne would leave them alone.
We have to find the gateway before she does, Erin thought as she settled down on her bed and picked up her mum’s diary. She was up to the month of June now. She read through the first couple of weeks. There was nothing of particular interest, just her mum talking about school and the stables she went riding at. It was fun to read, but it didn’t give Erin any more clues about the gateway. However, when she got to the third week of June, she stiffened.
21 June
Today is the longest day of the year. This time next year Mum will have do the spell on the gateway at World’s End to keep it sealed for another seven years. She’s going to let me help and the time after that I’ll be doing it all by myself. Mum says we need to get a silver bowl and a grey feather and then we take them to the gateway at midnight and do magic. I can’t wait until next year to find out exactly what we have to do! She took me down to the hidden gateway tonight. I’ve only ever seen it from above by the whispering tree. It was very strange to get to it from the other side. We had to wait for ages until the tide was out enough before we could see the entrance. It smelt of seaweed and was wet and very dark inside, but Mum had put some candles in the cave and she had some matches with her. I didn’t like it. I kept imagining someone pushing a boulder across the entrance and shutting us in. We got through the cave and the tunnel and found the gateway. It was amazing! You’d never ever know from above. Sitting by the tree, it just looks like a hole, of course. Mum says that’s why it’s called the hidden gateway. I was very glad when we got back outside though! Mum’s calling – I’d better go now!
Erin skimmed over the next few entries, but there was nothing else about the gateway. She looked back over the entry. So the hidden gateway was reached from the seashore by the sound of it: We had to wait for ages until the tide was out before we could see the entrance, her mum had written.
So you can see the gateway if you’re sitting by the whispering tree, she puzzled. But you get to it from the bottom of the cliffs.
She looked out of the window in frustration. It was still light outside. She wanted to get out and start looking straight away…
*
Before Erin and Chloe could start searching for the gateway that night, Erin helped Tor calm the sky horses again. ‘It’s amazing watching the horses in the stone circle, isn’t it?’ said Chloe when they flew off afterwards to find the gateway.
Erin nodded. It was amazing. She sometimes imagined what it would be like to actually go into the clouds and see the sky horses for real, but she remembered what her mum had said in her first diary entry: it’s really bad for the horses if the gateways get used too much.
‘I’ll really miss Tor and Mistral when they go back and we can’t see them any more,’ said Chloe.
‘First we’ve got to get them back,’ Erin reminded her. She checked the warding stone in her pocket. It was cool to touch, but not icy. There was no obvious danger.
‘Why don’t we fly along the beach to see if we can find anything that looks like it might be an entrance?’ said Chloe.
Erin nodded. ‘OK.’
However, when they reached the sea, their plan was dashed. The tide was in, swelling over the shingle and hiding the first few metres at the base of the cliffs.
‘Oh,’ said Chloe in disappointment.
‘We should have checked when the tide was going to be out,’ said Erin.
‘Never mind.’ Chloe looked around. ‘We can still keep looking for a whispering tree; we know now it’s got to be at the top of the cliffs.’
They flew over the cliff top, but didn’t find any aspen trees surrounded by holly. They did find a young hedgehog that had got stuck in an old plastic cup someone had thrown away though. They freed it and watched it disappear thankfully into the undergrowth. Then they scared a fat tabby cat away from a woodlark’s nest and cleared up a load of old fishing line that had become tangled around some trees. It felt strange to Erin to be doing normal stardust things – helping nature in little ways – when she knew there was something so much bigger they should be doing. But, she reminded herself, all these things are important to the birds and animals we’re helping.
Finally she and Chloe gave up looking for the night. ‘I’ll ask Dad if he knows when low tide is tomorrow,’ said Erin. ‘And if it’s when we’re out here we can look at the cliffs then. Oh, and happy birthday!’ she added with a smile. ‘It’s past midnight so it’s already your birthday. Are you coming to the stables tomorrow after school? I can give you your present then.’
Chloe nodded. ‘I thought Mum would say I had to do something boring like inviting people round for tea, but she hasn’t this year. She said I can go to the stables.’
‘Cool!’ said Erin. ‘I’ll see you there then.’
‘I wonder what Mum and Dad will get me,’ sighed Chloe. ‘I hope it’s a pony.’
>
Erin grinned. ‘Dream on!’
As soon as Erin got back from school the next day, she changed into her riding gear, put Chloe’s birthday present – a silver pendant with a rearing horse on it – into her backpack and cycled down to the stables. Her heart sank when she saw Marianne’s silver Land Rover in the car park.
‘Hi, Erin,’ said Jackie, coming out of the tack room with a coffee as Erin went on to the yard. ‘Are Chloe and her parents here yet?’
‘No, I don’t think so.’ Erin felt a bit surprised. Why had Jackie asked if Chloe’s parents were there? ‘What would you like me to do? Shall I bring Kestrel in?’
‘Yes, please,’ replied Jackie.
Erin fetched Kestrel’s lead rope and headed down the yard towards the fields. On the way she noticed a new chestnut pony looking over one of the stable doors.
‘Hello,’ Erin said, stopping to stroke him. He was about thirteen hands high and had a white blaze and a short sticking-up mane. Looking over the door, Erin saw that he had two white socks. He seemed very friendly. ‘I wonder what you’re called,’ she said. She looked around, but Jackie had gone. She wondered if he was a new riding-school pony or a new livery. Giving him a last pat, she hurried down the field to get Kestrel.
The grey pony whinnied and came trotting up the field to meet her. ‘Oi!’ She grinned as he rubbed his head against her so hard that he almost knocked her over. Erin noticed that Marianne’s two thoroughbreds were turned out with him, both with smart maroon-coloured New Zealand rugs on.
As she turned to walk Kestrel back to the gate, she gasped in fright. Marianne was standing by the gate, staring at her.
Erin’s heart thudded as she looked at the black-clad figure watching her. There was only one gate in the field and she was going to have to walk past Marianne to get through it. Kestrel tossed his head uneasily. ‘Steady, boy,’ said Erin quickly, but her voice shook and Kestrel began sidestepping and pulling back.
Marianne came through the gate and started walking towards Erin.
Erin was occupied with trying to calm Kestrel and, almost before she knew what was happening, Marianne had reached her and taken hold of Kestrel’s head collar. Before Erin could stop her, she’d put a hand between Kestrel’s eyes and muttered something.
Kestrel immediately stood still. He stared at the dark spirit. Marianne whispered something to him and all the tension seemed to leave his eyes. He stood, his eyes almost vacant, as if he was in a trance.
‘What have you done to him?’ demanded Erin, her voice high.
‘Nothing.’ Marianne smiled coldly. ‘Just calmed him down.’
She put a hand on Kestrel’s neck. He didn’t move a muscle. ‘He looks very quiet now, doesn’t he?’ she said, almost musingly. ‘But he really isn’t cut out to be a riding-school pony. You know, maybe I should suggest to Jackie that I buy him and take him off her hands.’
‘No!’ The word burst fiercely out of Erin.
Marianne’s blue eyes glinted. ‘Well, of course, I could always reconsider if a certain diary found its way into my hands…’
Erin stared at her. So she had to give Marianne the diary or Marianne would buy Kestrel!
Marianne looked icily at her. ‘The choice is yours, Erin. Which is it to be?’
CHAPTER
Seven
‘Erin!’
Erin looked at the gate. Chloe was scrambling over it, her face alarmed as she stared at Marianne. Erin could see Chloe’s parents standing chatting with Jackie near the stables.
Marianne’s gaze barely flickered from her face. ‘Give me the diary, Erin,’ she said. ‘Do not make things harder for yourself, because, I promise you, I will get it. Even if you choose it above keeping Kestrel, I have seen the address book in Jackie’s office now. I know where you and your family live…’
Her words seemed to hang in the air.
Chloe came racing across the grass. ‘Leave Erin alone!’ she cried bravely.
Marianne looked round. ‘Hello, Chloe. How nice to see you.’ She smiled broadly, but the smile did not reach her eyes. ‘I was just giving Erin a hand bringing Kestrel in. He was being a bit troublesome, but he seems fine now. For the time being, at least.’ She turned and walked back towards the gate. Erin saw her click her fingers behind her back. Instantly Kestrel started as if he had suddenly come out of a daze. His head shot up and he snorted in alarm.
‘Are you OK?’ demanded Chloe, looking at Erin.
Erin nodded, her attention momentarily focused on Kestrel, calming him with strokes and pats. ‘Yes,’ she gasped, and Chloe looked relieved. ‘But Marianne said –’
Chloe interrupted. ‘Listen, if you’re OK, I don’t want to think about her for a moment. I don’t want her spoiling my news.’
Erin frowned. ‘What news?’
‘You’ll never guess!’ Chloe’s face broke into the broadest grin possible. ‘Oh, Erin! Mum and Dad have bought me a pony for my birthday!’
‘What?’ Erin whispered.
‘I know! I couldn’t believe it! They drove me here and they said my birthday present was waiting on the yard. I began to wonder and then I saw Jackie and she pointed to one of the stables. There was a new pony in there, a chestnut…’
‘I know. I saw him,’ said Erin, jealousy shooting through her.
‘He’s called Ziggy.’ Excitement bubbled out of Chloe. ‘He’s gorgeous and he’s mine! Oh, Erin, I can’t believe it. I’ve got a pony of my very own!’
It gradually seemed to dawn on Chloe that Erin wasn’t leaping about with joy. ‘You… you are OK about it, aren’t you?’ she said.
Kestrel pushed his head against Erin’s arm. She remembered what a good friend Chloe had been when Jackie had asked her to look after him. There’s too much else going on for us to fall out, she realized. She forced herself to smile. ‘Sorry. I am pleased for you, Chloe. I really am.’
Relief flooded Chloe’s face. ‘Phew! You can help me look after Ziggy and ride him and when I go away you can look after him for me. He’ll be like your pony too then. We can ride him and Kestrel together.’
‘If Kestrel’s still here,’ Erin muttered.
‘What?’ Chloe frowned.
But Erin didn’t want to spoil Chloe’s happiness. ‘Oh, nothing. It’s just something that Marianne said, but I’ll tell you later. It’s not important,’ she lied.
‘Really?’ Chloe questioned.
Erin nodded. ‘Really. Come on, I want to meet Ziggy properly.’
Chloe smiled at her. ‘Cool!’ And together they led Kestrel up the field.
Ziggy was lovely. Jackie had helped choose him for Chloe and she gave Chloe a lesson on him once Chloe had tacked him up. Erin sat on the fence and watched. At first, Chloe looked a bit nervous to be riding her very own pony, but Ziggy was very well behaved. He was lively and keen to go, but not too excitable or jumpy. Chloe walked, trotted and cantered him and then did a couple of jumps.
‘Well done!’ praised Jackie as Chloe slowed him down after the second jump. ‘I think you two are going to be very well suited.’
Chloe halted Ziggy and looked at Erin. ‘Can Erin have a go?’
‘Of course!’ Jackie smiled. ‘You don’t have to ask me. He’s your pony, Chloe.’
‘Hey, Erin!’ Chloe called, dismounting. ‘Why don’t you ride him now?’
As Erin mounted, her jealousy from earlier faded. It was going to be brilliant that Chloe had a pony. They’d be able to do all sorts of fun things together. They could ride Kestrel and Ziggy together in the school, they could groom and clean tack together. It would be great!
But, even as she thought that, she caught sight of Marianne watching from the stable block and her stomach turned over. They could do all those things provided Marianne didn’t carry out her threat of buying Kestrel.
Ziggy tossed his head as if sensing that her thoughts were elsewhere. Erin forced herself to focus on riding. She would have to decide what to do about Marianne later. But what can I do? she thought.
/> She hoped she might get a chance to talk to Chloe when they had finished riding, but Chloe’s mum and dad had brought a cake down to the stables and there was no chance for the two girls to talk on their own.
Tonight, Erin thought. We can talk then.
CHAPTER
Eight
‘I believe in stardust. I believe in stardust. I believe in stardust,’ Erin whispered later that evening.
On the last word, all the heaviness seemed to drain from her body. She swirled round, her pyjamas changing into her stardust dress. Feeling feather-light, she rose into the air. She looked at the diary that was lying beside her bed.
I know where you and your family live.
Marianne’s words echoed through her brain. What had the dark spirit meant by that? Had she meant she would come to Erin’s house to get the diary? Or that she would maybe hurt her family? Erin glanced uneasily through the window at the dark night. Maybe Marianne was waiting out there for her to go, and then she would come into her room. Erin couldn’t shut the window because then she wouldn’t be able to get back in. She hesitated. Should she leave the diary as Tor had told her to the other night?
No.
She picked it up and slipped it into her pocket along with a seeing stone and a warding stone. She immediately felt better knowing it was with her. I’ll camouflage myself, she decided. Even if Marianne is watching, she won’t see me.
She set off through the window. She was longing to see Chloe and tell her what Marianne had said. Then maybe they could decide what to do. Also, her dad had told her that low tide was at eleven thirty that night. They had to make the most of the sea being out and get looking for the gateway!
To Erin’s relief, Chloe was already waiting on the beach for her. The tide was right out and the shingle beach showed a bigger expanse of stones than normal. The moon was a silver disc in the sky.
‘So what was going on with you and Marianne today?’ demanded Chloe as Erin landed and let her camouflage fade. ‘What was she saying?’
‘She wants the diary.’ Erin quickly told her what Marianne had said about buying Kestrel and about knowing where she lived. ‘I can’t let her buy Kestrel!’
Sky Horses: the Whispering Tree Page 4
