A Glittering Gallop (7 page)

Jake’s eyes widened in surprise. “Ye-ow! That’s hot!” he yelled, jerking his hand back from Fudge’s bridle. Suddenly, he flew backward as if he had been shot out of a cannon, and sat down hard on his bottom.

“Well done, Flame!” Zoe whispered.

By now Todd and Tracy had caught up. When they saw Jake sitting on the ground, they both started laughing.

Jake snarled, rubbing his sore hand. His face was as red as a beet as he got up. “I’ll get you for that…”

Mr. Fawsley strode forward, grabbed his son by the collar, and heaved him to his feet. “That’s enough, Jake! Help me with the hounds!” he ordered. “And I’ll
have something to say to you later!” He looked at Zoe. “I apologize for my son. Don’t worry. I’ll deal with him!”

Todd, Tracy, and Zoe sat on their ponies and watched as Mr. Fawsley and Jake controlled the pack. Soon, the hounds turned around and streamed back across the fields with Mr. Fawsley and Jake walking along in the middle of them.

“Sounds like Jake is going to get it this time!” Todd said, chuckling.

“Serves him right,” Zoe said heatedly. “Maybe he’ll think twice before trying to bully anyone else!”

Tracy shrugged. “I wouldn’t count on it. Jake’s the type to try to get even.”

“Just let him try. I’m not scared of him!” Zoe said angrily.
Not while I’ve got Flame on my side!
she thought.

Zoe’s mom called a couple of evenings later to say that she had almost finished her book. “I’ll be there by the weekend,” she told Zoe.

“Great! You can watch me in the riding competition,” Zoe said delightedly.

“Your nana told me that you’d made friends with her new next-door neighbors. It sounds like you’re having a
great time with the twins and their ponies. You certainly don’t sound like the grumpy girl I know!” she teased.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about!” Zoe said, trying not to laugh. “I’m glad the writing’s going well. See you soon, Mom. Bye!”

As soon as she put the phone down, she went to find Flame.

He was curled up on a kitchen chair, snoozing after finishing his dinner.

Zoe bent down. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” she whispered gently, stroking his soft fur and breathing in his sweet kitten smell. “We’re going down to the summer house. I told Todd and Tracy we’d meet them there.”

Flame yawned, showing his sharp little teeth. He mewed eagerly and jumped down to follow Zoe.

Zoe loved it in the garden when dusk fell. In the soft light, everything looked so fresh and bright. She and Flame padded down the path that led past the henhouse and greenhouse and then curved around to the orchard. Flame scampered ahead to bat at a butterfly with one soft paw as it flew up
from a buttercup.

Zoe chuckled at Flame’s cute antics. Sometimes she almost forgot that he was really a magnificent lion prince.

There was a bantam hen on the path ahead. It was scratching around, looking for grubs. There was another one, further down the path.

Zoe stopped in surprise. She was sure Nana had put all the bantams in the henhouse for the night. Nana was very careful about that, especially now that Bracken and her cubs were visiting the garden.

Just then, Cocky strutted toward her from the direction of the orchard. His red crest stood up and he ruffled his black wing feathers menacingly.

“What’s going on?” Zoe said, looking
around in puzzlement.

Suddenly she noticed that the door to the chicken run was wide open. Someone must have deliberately let out all Nana’s bantams!

Zoe heard a faint scrabbling sound. She spun around and saw a dark shape disappearing over the garden wall. It looked like Jake Fawsley. She thought about running to the gate and going after him, but it was more important to get the bantams to safety.

“We have to get them all back inside the henhouse before Bracken discovers them,” she said to Flame. “No fox, especially one with cubs, is going to be able to resist an easy meal!”

Zoe dashed forward and tried to grab one of the bantams. Squawking
loudly, it fluttered over a bush. She lunged at another one, but it avoided her easily. Cocky gave her a stern look from his beady red eyes that seemed to say, “Don’t even try it!” Zoe groaned. “This is hopeless! I’ll never catch them all like this!”

“Do not worry, Zoe. I will help,” Flame purred.

Big silver sparks glowed in Flame’s calico fur and his whiskers glittered with electricity, lighting up the dark garden. Zoe felt her spine tingle as she wondered excitedly what was about to happen. Flame pointed a tiny paw at a garden rake, which was leaning against the side of the nearby greenhouse. A big fountain of sparks whooshed out. There was loud popping sound and the
rake turned into a huge, long-handled fishing net.

“Great!” Zoe said, grabbing it in two hands, realizing what Flame wanted her to do.

Zoe ran to a tree, where a couple of bantams had fluttered up on to a low branch.
Swish!
She scooped them straight into the net, before quickly shutting them away and going in search of the others.

By the time she had swiped up the rest of the hens and shut them away safely, Zoe was bright red and out of breath. “Phew! Everyone’s safe—except for Cocky! Now—where is he?”

Flame stood beside her with his ears pricked, looking around helpfully. “I cannot see him.”

Suddenly there was a screech as Cocky launched himself out of an apple tree, straight at Flame. His strong clawed feet flexed and he snapped his beak menacingly.

Flame cringed, completely surprised by Cocky’s attack.

Zoe didn’t have the space to swing the net at the angry bantam cock. There was no time to think. Dropping
the net, she launched herself at Cocky and grabbed him in both hands. She wasn’t going to let anything hurt Flame!

Cocky squealed with rage, thrashing his feet.

“Oh!” Zoe gasped with pain, as the razor-sharp claws and spurs raked her chest. Somehow she managed to keep hold of Cocky and stagger with him to the chicken run. She opened the door with her elbow, threw the cockerel inside, and latched the door.

Zoe’s knees gave way and she sank on to the grass in shock. The front of her T-shirt was all ripped. Waves of pain radiated from the deep scratches.

“You saved my life, Zoe. But you are hurt!” Flame mewed in concern.

“It doesn’t matter. It was worth it,” Zoe said bravely, biting her lip. Tears filled her eyes and for one horrible moment, she thought she was going to faint.

Flame’s calico fur glittered once more with bright sparks. He leaned forward and very gently breathed out a stream of twinkling rainbow mist.

Warmth seemed to flood over Zoe’s chest and she gasped. The scratches tingled sharply for a few seconds and then all of a sudden the pain quickly faded. Zoe put her hands up to her chest. The rips in her T-shirt had mended themselves, too.

She gathered Flame into her arms. “Thanks, Flame. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you,” she crooned.

Flame gave an extra-loud purr and rubbed his head against her chin. As she stroked him, the last sparks in his fur fizzed against her fingers and went out.

“What are you two doing?” called a cheery voice from behind Zoe.

Todd and Tracy stood there with a bag of leftovers for Bracken and her cubs.

Zoe jumped to her feet with Flame in her arms. “I’ll tell you on the way to the summer house!”

Tracy and Todd listened as Zoe told them about the bantams being let out and the shadowy figure she had seen scrambling over the garden wall.

“It had to be Jake Fawsley. The rotten beast!” Tracy burst out.

“I haven’t got any proof that it was him,” Zoe said reasonably.

“Maybe not. But who else could it have been?” Todd asked.

Zoe shrugged. “I don’t know. Anyway, Flame helped me…I mean I…um, managed to get all the bantams back in, so Jake’s plan to get even didn’t work.”

“I still think we should tell Mr. Fawsley. And I don’t care if it means being
a tattletale!” Tracy fumed.

“He’d only deny it was him, just like he lied about making Fudge bolt. And it would be his word against ours.” Zoe sighed.

The twins looked at each other. They knew Zoe was right.

No one spoke for a while. A few minutes later Bracken and her cubs appeared through the trees and the horrible thought of Jake Fawsley was pushed to the back of everyone’s mind.