The Black Stallion and the Lost City (20 page)

A gasp fell over the party of revelers lining the rim of the crater, followed by a great silence. Alec looked out at the masked faces as they stared into the pit. No one moved or made an effort to help their fallen leader.

At the bottom of the slide, Medio clutched his
thigh. He struggled to his feet and limped toward a doorway in the wall of the arena. Alec watched as one of the white mares approached Medio. The Acracian emperor said something and held up his hand. The mare hesitated a moment, then moved closer.

Medio called out again and reached out to the mare as if to caress her. She brushed past his hand and lowered her head to sniff at the fresh blood staining his bare legs. Then she licked it. Medio suddenly drew back. He tried to push the mare away but she persisted, licking at the blood and quickly taking hold with her teeth. Medio struck at her head as she raked his arm with her teeth. The rest of the herd circled closer and then moved in to join their sister.

Medio staggered backward until the gray stallion lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. The fallen governor stared up in terror as the circle of death tightened in upon him. He cried out and reached for his sword, but it was already too late.

Alec turned from the awful sight and rushed back through the gate. The Black stood alone, waiting for him. The stallion watched Alec approach, then reared and pawed the air.

Alec stopped short and stood still until the stallion’s hooves were on the ground again; then he stepped in close. The Black snorted but did not move
away as Alec stepped closer and raised his hand to the black mane. He spoke some low words and then, drawing on every ounce of energy he could muster, hurled himself onto the stallion’s back. A second later they were off and running. Alec buried his head in his horse’s mane, wanting nothing more than to get away, to get anywhere, as long as it was far from here.

The Black carried
him at a gallop through the village at the mountaintop, slowing to a trot as they reached the road down the mountain. Again Alec could see the fallen trees, collapsed walls and other signs of the earthquake that had shaken the mountain earlier that evening.

Alec stroked the Black’s neck, trying to calm both of their nerves. He could hardly believe what had just happened. Could he have come any nearer to death than he had been only a few minutes ago? If it wasn’t for the Black, he would probably be dead right now.

Soon the eastern mountain peaks started to lighten, and Alec realized it must be close to dawn. All his senses told him to escape this place as soon as he could, but he knew they couldn’t leave Xeena here, especially after what he’d just seen up at the temple.

Alec took a deep breath and tried to take stock of what he needed to do now. Medio was dead. There
was no way to tell whether Spiro and the others would blame the Black for causing his death or spoiling their ceremony. No one had tried to prevent Alec and the Black from escaping the place or made any attempt to pursue them when they left. The entire gathering, even the Acracian guard, had just stood there stunned, as if in a collective trance, while Alec had mounted his horse and ridden off. Surely they’d come out of their stupor before long, and Alec didn’t want to be around when they did.

He leaned forward and spoke softly to his horse. They pulled to a stop, and both looked back toward the mountaintop. Alec could see the flaming horse effigy still burning on the distant mountainside. He watched for signs of movement on the road behind him and saw none. Nor could he hear anything but the unnatural silence that always seemed to permeate these woods.

The Black held his head high, his ears pricked. Alec watched the stallion for any signs that the horse sensed something in the wind. After a moment, the stallion dropped his head, seemingly unconcerned. Perhaps Medio’s followers weren’t as loyal as they were professed to be. Certainly no one seemed to be chasing after him, Alec thought, at least not yet.

Questions raced through his mind, and he forced himself to think ahead. He still had no idea how to get
out of this place. Would the guards try to stop them when they passed through the acropolis? Were the citizens of Acracia evacuating the city after the quake, or was the main gate still closed?

They reached the fork in the road, and Alec turned the Black toward Tarta. He could only hope Xeena was still there.

In the distance he could see the tower, and soon they reached the outskirts of the town. Alec found his way to the cottage where Nicholas lived and was relieved to see Xeena in the yard with her grandfather. Nicholas was trying to get the front door back on its hinges. He stopped working when he saw the Black and Alec.

Alec jumped down from his horse’s back.

“You found him,” Xeena said. “Where was he?”

“Don’t ask,” he said, “I can’t even begin to tell you.”

“Come have a glass of water,” Nicholas said, leading Alec through the open doorway. “It will clear your thoughts.”

Xeena stayed with the Black, who lowered his head and began grazing hungrily on Nicholas’s overgrown lawn.

“You were at the temple ceremony?” Nicholas said as they stepped through the open doorway. Alec didn’t answer, but the man must have read Alec’s
expression and guessed the truth. “Then you know,” he said.

Inside, the house was in shambles, with piles of broken dishes and glass, collapsed shelves and cracked walls. Alec took a drink of water and felt new strength spiral through his head and body. It made him talkative suddenly, and Nicholas listened as Alec told him what had happened at the temple atop Mt. Atnos.

Nicholas smiled. “So Medio is no more,” he said. “The king is dead. Long live the king.” He gave Alec a deferential bow of his head. “You will be a wonderful governor, and all Acracia looks forward to your reign.”

Alec laughed at the thought.

Nicholas’s expression became serious. “That is not a debate, Alec, or a request,” he said. “You and the Black were chosen. You cannot insult the gods by refusing to take your place among them now.”

“We can’t, huh?” Alec said, and laughed again at the absurdity of it all. “Why can’t Spiro be chosen? He is the chamberlain.”

“True,” Nicholas said. “He was the next in line, until your arrival here. But such is Fate. Spiro could never command if you fled the realm. There would be chaos. For Spiro to rule, you would need to meet your fate as Medio did, via the red road—an offering to the sacred mares.”

“Chaos?” Alec said. “That would be an improvement from what I’ve seen around here. This mixed-up paradise of yours could use some chaos.”

“Please consider your position,” Nicholas said. “You cannot defy the will of the gods.”

“Do you seriously think I want to give up my life and stay here, as governor, or king, or guest, or anything else?” Alec said. “And what about Xeena? Do you really believe this is the best place for her?”

Nicholas did not answer, but the mention of Xeena plainly troubled him and he looked vulnerable suddenly. Alec walked back outside and Nicholas followed.

“We have to go,” Alec told Xeena. “We have to get out of here.”

Xeena looked at him. Her voice was stiff. “We can’t leave yet. People could be hurt. They need our help. And what about Popi?”

Alec shook his head. “You don’t understand. We have to get out of here. Right now.”

Nicholas glanced at Alec, a steely serenity in his expression now, as if he had resolved his inner conflicts and made up his mind. Then he put his hands on Xeena’s shoulders and looked her straight in the face. “Alec is right,” he said. “You must leave, child.”

“I’m no child,” Xeena said. “I’m—”

Nicholas gave Xeena a hug. “You are unafraid,
Xeena,” he said, “and I respect that. But listen, you must go. It is too late for me. You have drunk only lightly of the water here; perhaps it is not too late for you.”

“We have to go now,” Alec repeated firmly.

Xeena untangled herself from Nicholas’s arms. “I am not going without you,” she said stubbornly.

Alec looked at the young man who he now accepted was indeed Xeena’s grandfather in the body of a man less than half his age. How that happened, he hadn’t a clue, but he had to accept it.

Nicholas shook his head. “I could not join you, even if I wanted to. The effects of Acracian waters come at a price. Without it, not only would the benefits of the blessed nectar be reversed, but also whatever illness, injury or age had been masked by the effects of the water would return, and be compounded.” The young-old man sighed wearily. “I suppose no one really knows. No one has ever left Acracia and returned to say otherwise.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Alec said. “We have to try. We are not staying here.”

“I don’t understand, Popi,” Xeena said. “Your family loves you. You have to come with us. You have to try.”

“Do not grieve for me, Xeena. I am comfortable here. When my time comes, I will go the way of the others before me.”

“But why?” Xeena pleaded.

“I am a citizen of the Acracian realm, loyal in heart, mind, body and soul. Here we do not die from old age or disease, but for loyalty. It is our responsibility to keep in step. If we have violated Nature’s law, we must wait for her judgment.”

Alec listened to Nicholas. He didn’t understand the reasoning, and it didn’t matter anyway. There was no more time to waste.

“We have to go, Xeena,” he said. “Come on.”

The Black suddenly stamped his hooves, lifted his head and shrilled. “Ho,” Alec cried.

Approaching the yard was Spiro flanked by the three white mares and the gray stallion from the temple pit. The horses’ eyes were alight with hunger, their muzzles smeared with blood.

“Salutations, Governor Alexander,” the chamberlain called out. “Your chargers await you.”

Nicholas took Xeena by the hand, and they stepped closer to Alec and the Black for protection. Then, at a vocal cue from Spiro, the four horses spread out and took up positions around the black stallion and the three humans huddled in his shadow. The horses moved at a slow, unhurried walk, their noses close to the ground, like slinking wolves, predators zeroing in for the kill.

These were not horses as Alec knew them, and he
couldn’t help but be fascinated by the sight. How could he fight creatures he could not understand, horses with human blood on their lips?

The circle tightened. With a savage cry, the Black bolted for Nicholas’s cottage, as if trying to draw the flesh-eating horses away from Alec, Xeena and Nicholas. But the mares remained where they were, and only the gray followed. The Black ducked through the open front door of the cottage, and the gray rushed in after him. The sounds of smashing plates and splintering furniture mixed with the screams of the two stallions. A few seconds later, they came bursting outside and the battle spilled into the front yard.

The three mares watched as the Black broke off the fight and circled around one side of the ruined cottage. The gray stallion responded by climbing a ramp made of sections of fallen roof and slinking over to the edge. As the Black came into range beneath him, the gray leaped down upon him like a mountain lion pouncing on its prey. Then both horses were on the ground, rolling and thrashing their hooves as they tried to get up again.

“Popi!” Xeena cried out.

Alec whirled to see Xeena caught between Nicholas and Spiro. Nicholas had her by one arm and Spiro by the other. Both were pulling her in different directions. Alec rushed at Spiro and knocked him to
the ground. Nicholas fell upon Spiro and they began to struggle. Instantly the pack of mares returned to claim their captives.

Xeena dashed away as Nicholas and Spiro wrestled each other on the ground. Alec sprang to his feet. There among the horse pack, he saw the shoe-thieving mare from last night. Her attention was focused on Nicholas and Spiro, her lips pulled back in a wolfish snarl. Both Nicholas and Spiro seemed unaware of the mare as she closed on them and moved in for the kill. The two men were fighting on their knees now, each trying to pin the other to the ground.

Without thinking, Alec took a quick step back and leaped astride the mare’s back. She immediately reared and Alec leaned forward, his legs wrapped around her neck. He locked his ankles and began squeezing with all his strength.

The mare pounded her forehooves in the dirt and then suddenly stopped her bucking and thrashing. She reeled around, shrilling defiantly. A piercing cry answered her. It was the Black, returning from his combat with the gray, who was now nowhere to be seen.

All three mares turned their attention to the stallion charging into their midst. Spiro and Nicholas continued their fighting, Nicholas pleading desperately for Xeena to stay away. Shoe Thief bucked, then shot into the air.

The Black reared back, plainly startled by seeing Alec astride the mare. Shoe Thief lunged at the Black, and the best Alec could do was swing his free hand at her head to try pushing it away from the Black. She pushed back and fought to take hold of the stallion’s neck with her teeth. Alec struck again, and this time the blood-maddened mare turned away from the Black. With one great heaving of her body, she threw herself into the air again. Alec lost his seat and flopped to the ground. In an instant, Xeena was standing over him, giving him a hand and pulling him to his feet.