Stormchaser and the Silver Mist (15 page)

Charlie glanced behind her. They wouldn’t have much time to put her plan into place. She glimpsed Rosie standing up in her stirrups, bending low over Dancer’s neck, urging her mare on. Dancer poked out her nose, responding to Rosie and stretching out further, her nostrils flaring as her legs pumped. Rosie’s face was a pale mask of determination as she tried to get her mare going as fast as she could.

Just as Dancer was starting to slow, the far end of the estate came into sight. The wooded path that they thought Stormchaser was on followed the edge of the estate, and as fast as the polo pony may be galloping, the Pony Detectives knew they’d still beat him to the grid.

Charlie was first to pull up. Phantom was still full of running, and Charlie had to fight for a second to slow him to a walk. His breath plumed heavily and he continued bouncing. Charlie had to hold onto him tightly while the others pulled up around her.

Dancer was at the back, puffing, her neck dark with sweat.

“So what do we do now?” Rosie gulped, trying to get in air.

“Stormchaser will come charging out of the woods, straight for this grid, just like Phantom did,” Charlie said, out of breath too. “This mist will hide it from his view. We’ll have to try to guide Storm off his line, like we’ve seen other riders try to in the arena, before he gets here.”

Alice shook her head. “But we’ve never seen another polo pony manage that in the arena!” she pointed out, thinking that Scout would be tiny and powerless next to Stormchaser’s heavy bulk. “What happens if we can’t turn him?”

“Rosie, I think Dancer will have to block his path,” Charlie said grimly. “She’s the sturdiest of all our ponies. If he sees Dancer standing
side on, by the cattle grid, he might just duck away in the last stride.”

“You know he won’t!” Rosie squealed. “Barging other ponies out of the way is Stormchaser’s trademark move in the polo arena – the other ponies are terrified of him! I can’t ask Dancer to do that!”

“If you don’t,” Charlie said, trying to stay calm, “Stormchaser will break his legs, right here in front of us! He could come galloping out at any moment – we’ve got to do something and we haven’t got time to argue! I’m going to try to ride alongside him, Mia, I’ll need you for that too. We’ll try to turn him before he gets to you, Rosie, but you need to come and stand here, now! Alice, you and Scout stand between Rosie, and me and Mia. If me and Mia can’t turn Stormchaser from his path, it’ll be down to you to try to shift him before he reaches Dancer!”

Charlie ignored the terror on Rosie and Alice’s faces, she had to. She turned Phantom, and cantered him away into the mist. Mia, looking uncertain of their plan, said good luck to Rosie before cantering Wish after Phantom.

Rosie trembled all over as she realised the huge responsibility Charlie had given her and her cobby mare, but they didn’t have any choice if they were to have the slightest chance of saving Stormchaser. She felt terrified, but she’d just have to pray that Charlie’s plan worked from the start. Then Charlie and Mia would have diverted Storm to safety by the time he reached the grid. Rosie pushed Dancer into position on the dirt track, and sat there, shaking.

Alice turned in the saddle. “Will you be okay?” She asked, looking anxious.

Rosie nodded, trying to look confident, even if she didn’t feel it. Alice took a deep, frosty breath and trotted Scout into position, just beyond the mist. Suddenly Rosie was all alone with Dancer, in their small, silent pocket of visibility.

Charlie and Mia cantered their ponies nearer to the exit from the woods. Charlie’s heart felt like it might burst out of her chest. She stood in the hushed silence, barely able to see the
exit, feeling the freezing mist close in around her. Phantom wouldn’t stand still. He danced beneath Charlie, swirling and wanting to be off. She could tell that his nerves were getting seriously on edge, as the seconds ticked by. Then suddenly, another distant gunshot rang out, echoing around the woods and spooking the ponies.

“No!” Charlie cursed under her breath as Phantom’s head came up and he bounded under her. Charlie grabbed at her reins, and it was all she could do to turn Phantom back towards the woods, when suddenly, bursting out of a gap in the trees at full flight, powered a thundering Stormchaser. His nostrils were flaring as he snorted furiously, the whites of his eyes wild.

The bay horse’s bulk was low to the ground, his body like a ball of taut muscle. Phantom wheeled round, spinning away from him and almost throwing Charlie from the saddle. Mia closed her legs around Wish, and the obedient mare leapt forward to race alongside Stormchaser. Charlie finally managed to turn Phantom back. She sat in her saddle and drove
her horse on, pushing with her hands on the reins until she and Mia were both flat out to the right of Storm.

Charlie urged her black horse on, edging Phantom in front of Storm and trying to angle into Storm’s bulky shoulders, to try and turn him. Mia took Charlie’s lead, angling Wish towards Storm, too. But Storm put his ears back, stretched out his muzzle, wrinkling his nostrils. As Charlie opened her rein to steer Storm, the bay horse drew back his lips and flashed his teeth towards Phantom’s neck. Charlie tried desperately to get Phantom to keep his position, but her horse ducked away from Storm’s wild aggression. Wish baulked sideways in the same stride as Phantom and in an instant Charlie knew that their first chance was gone. Phantom and Wish had fallen behind Storm, and to give chase now would only make the polo pony race faster. They began to slow down, panting for breath. Stormchaser’s fate was now in Alice and Rosie’s hands.

Rosie sat on Dancer, her teeth chattering uncontrollably between her blue lips. In the distance, behind her, she could hear the shouts, laughter and songs of the Charity Ride breaking through the silence. The riders, and Nick and his staff, had no idea what was going on under the blanket of mist which had descended on the Abbey grounds. Rosie felt her whole body tremble. She closed her eyes for a second, biting her lip.

“We can do this, Dancer,” she whispered, leaning down to hug her mare’s warm neck. Dancer had her ears back, and her head up nervously.

“Are you okay?” Alice called over from where she was standing, just merging into the mist. Rosie opened her mouth to shout back, “Of course not,” but she never got the chance. All of a sudden, Alice was distracted, and turned round as Scout’s head shot up and he began to bounce beneath her. Rosie peered through the mist, but she heard him before she saw him – the unmistakable rhythm of thundering hooves. She felt her legs go weak, even though
she was sitting on Dancer. Her mare suddenly planted herself in fear, refusing to budge, her chunky legs splayed and her eyes goggling. Rosie stared, transfixed, as in front of her, Scout began to canter steadily towards Dancer. Then, in the next instant, the heavy figure of Stormchaser burst through the silver haze, in full flight, his hooves pounding the earth.

Rosie watched, aghast, as Alice tried desperately to push the bull-like bay off his course. She managed to steer him away a fraction, and as Stormchaser snaked his head angrily, he slowed ever so slightly. But Alice couldn’t shift him enough. By the time Scout was outrun, the polo pony was still careering headlong for the cattle grid. All that stood between Storm and the death trap was Rosie and Dancer. But stopping Stormchaser looked as impossible as stopping a high speed train.

“Be brave, Dancer,” Rosie whispered, trying desperately not to close her eyes, “we’re in this together!”

Rosie could feel that Dancer was still frozen to the spot. She gulped, and did what Charlie
had told her, waiting for as long as she dared. Then, at the very last second, as Stormchaser thundered towards her, Rosie realised that there was no way Dancer could bodily stop Stormchaser at that speed, and survive. Rosie suddenly changed the plan, and booted Dancer into life. For half a breath, Dancer didn’t respond, too terrified to move.

“Move!” Rosie yelled, desperately. Then her stocky mare sprung forward, out of Storm’s path. But Dancer was a heartbeat too late to get completely out of his way and Stormchaser careered into her hind quarters. The momentum sent him tumbling to the earth and spun Dancer round, taking her off her hooves and sending both the mare and Rosie thudding to the ground.

“Rosie, no!”

Rosie heard Alice’s voice cry out as she covered her head, skidding across the hard drive, just narrowly avoiding Dancer’s bulk as her mare almost rolled over, her legs straight in the air. Rosie twisted from where she lay, in time to see Storm skidding across the hard
ground on his side. He came to a rest just over the cattle grid. Rosie moved to sit up, but she felt dizzy and dropped back to the ground. Before she knew it Alice was by her side.

“Are you okay, Rosie?”

Rosie managed a nod, but she was winded, and couldn’t speak. As Dancer heaved herself back upright, she gave herself a shake. Dancer took three wobbly steps towards her owner, then stopped. Rosie could see blood beading and trickling from grazes on her mare’s knee and shoulder, her muzzle and above her eye. Rosie felt panic rise in her chest, then Dancer lowered her head gingerly and began to nibble the grass. Rosie had never felt happier to see Dancer eating, and limped over to give her brave mare the biggest hug she could manage.

Charlie and Mia had caught up and had flung themselves out of their saddles. The pair of them stood in silent disbelief for a split second, taking in the scene that greeted them.

Stormchaser let out a long groan, followed by a snort. He looked winded, and momentarily stunned. Then he jerked his head up. One front
leg, then the other, slipped between the metal bars as he stretched them out to stand.

For a moment, everyone was still. Then Stormchaser seemed to realise that he was trapped. Like an explosion, the bull-like bay suddenly burst into life. He thrashed in an attempt to get up. It was like he couldn’t understand how he could kick his back legs, but not his front legs. And all his efforts did was trap his front legs even more and set him off into another frenzied attempt to stand.

The Pony Detectives were paralysed by the sight of the wild, crazed horse in front of them, his billowing breath heavy and stressed. There was no way they could safely get near him. The ear-splitting screech of metal shoes on the iron bars shattered the silence as the bay horse struggled furiously again, but in vain. He came to another uneasy, abrupt halt, his sides heaving.

Stormchaser looked around desperately, wildly, towards the group of girls and their ponies. He locked eyes with Mia, and in the stillness that followed, he let out a piercing neigh. Mia felt as if he had spoken straight
to her, crying out in a direct, urgent appeal for help.

She responded instinctively. In an instant, Mia put her own fear to one side and walked quickly to where Storm was lying. She had to rescue him. Without thinking, she dropped on her knees next to the grid. She took hold of his head as firmly as she could, and held him close to her to try and secure him. The bay horse paused for a moment. Lying there, his massive bulk shaking and his nostrils flared red, he looked once more at Mia. His head was broad and Mia could feel his heavy skull beneath his silky, hot skin. His breath was coming in sharp billows.

For the briefest moment Storm was still. Mia felt his head shift ever so slightly. He fixed her with his deep, black eye, drawing her in. She felt a tingling sensation, like she was being examined by a fierce intelligence. Despite his obvious pain, there was pride and majesty staring back at Mia, and momentarily, she felt privileged to be allowed to get so close to such a raw force.

In that second, it was as if Stormchaser was thanking her for responding to his call.

Then the strange connection melted away. Storm attempted to stand again. He panicked, setting off another round of metallic clashes. Mia closed her eyes and held on for dear life, as she was thrown around by the almighty power of the horse beside her. It was all she could think of to do, to try and keep him as still as possible by anchoring his head. That way the damage to his legs might be less devastating.

She could hear the warning cries of her friends behind her, but Mia clung on, desperate to help the powerful horse, feeling the pulse thudding in his neck. She couldn’t abandon him now. But suddenly, she sensed Storm fall into an uneasy calm.