Tagus the Night Horse (2 page)

“That’s odd,” Tom said. “Shouldn’t the cattle be moving toward Dareton?”

As they watched from Storm’s saddle, Tom and Elenna sensed that something was wrong.

The herd wasn’t walking peacefully. They were stampeding!

“We have to get out of here,” Tom said. “They’re heading right for us!”

“Silver!” Elenna called to her wolf. She let out a piercing whistle, and within seconds the gray wolf was bounding through the tall grass toward them.

“Good boy,” Tom said, looking east toward Dareton. If they could move quickly enough, they might be able to get out of the stampede’s way and reach safety. Tom squeezed Storm’s flanks and the horse took off through the prairie grass toward town.

Running at full speed, Storm cut across the plain like a bolt of lightning. Silver followed at their heels. But they couldn’t get out of the way of the
stampeding herd. Dust had begun to fill the air and the sound of their hooves pounding the hard ground was deafening.

When Storm crested onto a slight rise in the ground, Tom caught a glimpse of the cattle. The herd was much larger then he had thought. There must have been a thousand animals, each the size of a large boulder. They were charging through the plain, trampling flat anything in their way.

The ground was shaking under the weight of the massive animals. Tom could feel Elenna squeezing him tightly as they flew across the plains toward Dareton. They were almost out of the way of the stampede when Storm skidded to a stop.

“Go, Storm! Keep going!” Tom yelled, kicking at the horse’s flanks. “We’re almost there —”

Tom heard a crackling sound and looked up. Instantly, he knew why Storm had stopped so suddenly. Just in front of them, a raging fire was consuming the tall, dry grass of the prairie.

T
HEY WERE TRAPPED.
T
HE RAMPAGING CATTLE
were closing in and there was nowhere to go. The only thing they could do was run with the stampede. This would be risky, but they had no choice.

Tom wheeled Storm around, and the brave horse began running alongside the cattle. Before they knew it, Tom and Elenna were surrounded by a raging sea of stampeding animals.

Choking on the dust and smoke, Tom urged Storm to run faster. “Go, boy! Go!”

After a quarter of a mile, they had outrun the spreading fire.

“Quick, go left!” Tom yelled, pulling on Storm’s reins. The horse made an abrupt turn, breaking from the stampede. Tom eased him to a stop.

“We need to make a firebreak, to stop the fire from reaching Dareton!” Tom yelled above the thundering hooves. “I’ll need my sword and shield!”

Tom jumped down from Storm’s back as Elenna handed him his shield and weapon. Running toward the approaching flames, Tom began chopping the tall grass with his sword. He knew if he could clear a wide enough break in front of the fire’s path, it would have nowhere to go.

Running and chopping, Tom cleared a large swath of grass. The dragon scale in his shield kept him safe from the blaze. He did it again and again until the flames had nothing left to consume and began to die down.

As the fire flickered out, Tom collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. His face was covered in soot
and he was coughing from all the smoke he had inhaled.

“Let’s rest a bit before moving on,” Elenna suggested, handing Tom some water and a little food. “Storm could use a break, too.”

Tom walked a little ways to survey the damage. But he didn’t want to stay put for long. “We’d better get moving soon,” he called to Elenna as soon as he’d finished his bread. “The town will have stables where Storm can rest properly.”

Just then, a shout rang out. “There he is!”

Tom looked up to see a band of men approaching from the direction of Dareton. Tom was glad he had stopped the fire before it reached the town.

“Hurry, let’s get him!” another man shouted.

As the men approached, Tom knew something wasn’t right. These men weren’t here to thank him — they were angry and carrying weapons. Tom gripped his sword and shield tightly.

“Elenna, leave them to me,” Tom told his friend
as the mob drew nearer. “Take Storm and Silver to safety.” He watched as Elenna mounted Storm and galloped away, with Silver at her side. She cast him a worried look, but Tom did his best to look calm.

The crowd surrounded him. They were all big men, brandishing scythes and pitchforks. Their faces glared red with rage. But at least they hadn’t seen his friends get away.

There were too many of them to fight. And Tom didn’t understand why they were so angry — all he’d done was save their town from a wildfire. He took a step back as they jostled one another, trying to grab him.

“Wait a minute. I haven’t done anything wrong —” Tom began.

No one listened to him. One of the men pushed forward and grabbed Tom by the shoulder. “Where’s Victor?” he demanded.

Everyone seemed to be shouting at once. “Look
at him — covered in soot! He must have started the fire.”

“And what about our cattle?” Another man thrust his face close to Tom’s, glaring fiercely at him. “You’ve caused them to stampede.”

Someone else struck Tom a powerful blow on the back that knocked the air from him. “Our families will starve!”

“Who’s Victor? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tom sputtered, trying to get his wind back. “I put out the fire! I didn’t start the stampede!”

But the men were yelling, and Tom couldn’t make himself heard. Fear surged up inside him as they crowded around. He gripped his sword tightly, but one of the men wrenched it out of his hands.

Then another voice rang out. “Wait! Let me talk to him.” A tall man pushed his way to the front of the crowd. He had dark hair and a stern face. “Calm down,” he ordered. “I’ll soon find out what’s going on.”

The crowd moved back a bit and their shouts died down to angry muttering.

“I’m Adam, the head guard of Dareton,” the tall man said. “My son, Victor, disappeared from a cattle drive last night. Do you know anything about him?”

Tom’s heart pounded as he looked at the angry faces staring at him. “No, I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve only just come down from the north. I barely escaped the stampede myself. I’m the one that put out the fire.” He glanced around at the circle of suspicious faces and added, “You’ve got to let me go. I have something important to do.”

“I’ll bet!” one of the men jeered. He reached out and grabbed Tom’s arm. Someone else grabbed his other arm.

“So you won’t tell the truth, eh?” a voice called out. “We’ll see about that! Take him to the jail!”

B
Y THE TIME TOM AND HIS CAPTORS REACHED
Dareton, the sun had set. The streets were dark and narrow, with overhanging roofs that hid the sky. Rubbish lay scattered around the market stalls and stray dogs picked among the scraps.

Adam and the other guards marched Tom through the streets, with the rest of the men following close on their heels. Tom tried to pull away from the rough grip of his captors, but it was no use. These men were twice his size, and strong.

“Why won’t you listen to me?” Tom pleaded. “I don’t know anything about your son.”

“Then tell me, why are you here?” Adam asked
him. “And what’s so important about what you have to do?”

“I can’t tell you that,” he answered. Tom knew he had to keep his Beast Quest secret.

“If that’s the way you want it,” said Adam. It was clear his patience was running thin.

The band of men stopped outside a big stone building. Two guards stood by the door. Tom began to panic as he realized where he was.

“No!” he exclaimed. “You can’t put me in there.”

Still keeping a firm grip on Tom’s shoulder, Adam turned to face the men. “Go back to your homes,” he ordered. “I’ll see that justice is done.”

“Make sure that you do!” someone yelled from the back of the crowd.

“Don’t worry about that. If the boy knows anything about Victor, I’ll find out.”

The crowd shuffled away, giving Tom angry looks as they went.

“This is for your own protection, too,” Adam
said. “Those men are desperate. They might kill you if given the chance.”

He pushed open the door and thrust Tom inside. One of the guards followed.

Tom was standing in a large, bare room lit by an oil lamp hanging from a beam. In the middle of the room was an old wooden table and chair. No one else was there. The guard pushed Tom across the room and through an inner door into a long, stone-flagged passage. On either side of the hall were heavy iron doors. Tom felt his stomach tighten with fear.

The guard unhooked a bunch of keys from his belt and opened the door. Then he grabbed Tom by the arm and threw him inside. Tom sprawled onto the filth of the cell floor, then climbed awkwardly to his feet, rubbing his elbow.

“I’ll question you in the morning,” said Adam gruffly. “A night in the cells should loosen your tongue.”

The cell door slammed shut and the guard turned the key. The two men walked away, their footsteps muffled by the heavy door.

Tom looked around his cell. The walls and floor were stone and there were no windows. Along one wall was a wooden bench with a single, tattered blanket. Tom shivered and tried not to breathe in too much of the foul smell.

Now what do I do
? he wondered. He couldn’t save Avantia from Tagus the Night Horse if he was locked up in this cell!

“You there!”

The sound of a hoarse voice made Tom spin around. He put his ear to the door but couldn’t hear anything.

“No — down here.”

Tom scanned the cell carefully. Under the bench in the shadows was a small hole covered by bars. Tom got down on his hands and knees and looked through the opening.

“What are you here for?” the prisoner asked. “Thieving? Young lads are always thieving.”

“I’m not a thief!” Tom retorted. “It’s all a mistake. I shouldn’t be here at all.”

The prisoner let out a rusty laugh. “That’s what we all say.”

“But it’s true!” Tom said, his voice tense with frustration. “The guard and some other men arrested me out on the plain. They think I’ve got something to do with the guard’s son disappearing, but I never even saw him.”