water.
How could this be happening? Alec thought. Less than a moment ago, everything had been tranquil here. But now his heart throbbed wildly in his chest, and he felt consumed with a fear and desperation that came from something more than being separated from his horse and the beating he was receiving in the river.
Finally his feet touched bottom, and he clawed his way up the bank on the opposite side of the river, his body shaking with cold and fear and relief. He blinked his eyes, but the very air around him seemed clouded over by a great gray spiderweb.
Alec shook his head to try clearing his eyes and ears again. He heard the stallion’s whistle, followed by a wild clamor of birds. Suddenly all sounds died away, everything becoming absolutely motionless and still, everything except the grinding of tree limbs whippedby a sudden wind and the soft murmuring of falling water. He could hear his own panting breath and could feel the thundering of his heart. Then there was something else, a girl’s voice calling his name.
He blinked again and turned to see Xeena crawling out of the water and up onto the riverbank. She was soaked, her eyes large with fear and excitement.
“Xeena!” Alec said. “Are you okay? What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to help,” she said.
“You could have drowned.”
“You could have too.”
“Yes, but …” Alec coughed and spat up some water. He shook his head once more to try to clear the water from his ears. “That river didn’t look like much more than a gentle stream from the other side,” he said, coughing again. “I feel like I just swam across the ocean. I must have swallowed a gallon of water.”
“Me too,” Xeena said.
Again Alec noticed the creaking of the windblown branches in the woods around them. All else was still. The silence seemed heavy, almost oppressive. “There’s something really strange about this side of the river,” he said. “I feel like I just landed on Mars. Do you notice it too?”
“I don’t know,” Xeena said. “My skin feels sort of tingly.”
“Didn’t you say there were old mines around here that polluted the water? Maybe that has something to do with it.”
“Maybe,” Xeena said. “Did you see that mare? Where did she come from?”
Alec shook his head. “Who knows? If we find her, I bet we’ll find the Black, though. Let’s go see if we can track them down before they get too far.”
“He went that way,” she said, pointing in the direction of the waterfall.
There was no path here, and after a few paces, Alec and Xeena had to stop to fight their way through head-high bushes and low-hanging branches. The wind whipped up again, turning the light greens to dark as it traveled through the treetops.
Finally there was space enough between the leaves that Alec could see where he was going. He slowed to a walk and wiped the sweat and water from his eyes. “Black,” he called, his voice sounding hollow with exhaustion. The air around him was filled with a loud booming. What had once been the muffled sound of the falls had grown to a deafening howl on this side of the river.
“There he is,” Xeena said.
Then Alec saw him too. The Black was storming toward the curtain of falling water pouring from the cliffs a hundred feet above. Alec could see someshadowy spaces between the rocks behind the falls, and it was there the stallion was headed. It looked to be the same spot where he had last seen the mare from across the river. Alec watched as his horse reached the falls and stepped into the shadows among the rocks. Then the Black seemed to disappear behind the curtain of falling water just as the mare had done earlier.
As the path cleared before him, Alec raced down to the edge of the falls. The mighty roar filled his ears and spray fogged his eyes. Wiping the water from his face, he ducked under a jutting shelf of granite.
Here was where the horses had gone, he realized. It was the dark mouth of a cave behind the
How could this be happening? Alec thought. Less than a moment ago, everything had been tranquil here. But now his heart throbbed wildly in his chest, and he felt consumed with a fear and desperation that came from something more than being separated from his horse and the beating he was receiving in the river.
Finally his feet touched bottom, and he clawed his way up the bank on the opposite side of the river, his body shaking with cold and fear and relief. He blinked his eyes, but the very air around him seemed clouded over by a great gray spiderweb.
Alec shook his head to try clearing his eyes and ears again. He heard the stallion’s whistle, followed by a wild clamor of birds. Suddenly all sounds died away, everything becoming absolutely motionless and still, everything except the grinding of tree limbs whippedby a sudden wind and the soft murmuring of falling water. He could hear his own panting breath and could feel the thundering of his heart. Then there was something else, a girl’s voice calling his name.
He blinked again and turned to see Xeena crawling out of the water and up onto the riverbank. She was soaked, her eyes large with fear and excitement.
“Xeena!” Alec said. “Are you okay? What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to help,” she said.
“You could have drowned.”
“You could have too.”
“Yes, but …” Alec coughed and spat up some water. He shook his head once more to try to clear the water from his ears. “That river didn’t look like much more than a gentle stream from the other side,” he said, coughing again. “I feel like I just swam across the ocean. I must have swallowed a gallon of water.”
“Me too,” Xeena said.
Again Alec noticed the creaking of the windblown branches in the woods around them. All else was still. The silence seemed heavy, almost oppressive. “There’s something really strange about this side of the river,” he said. “I feel like I just landed on Mars. Do you notice it too?”
“I don’t know,” Xeena said. “My skin feels sort of tingly.”
“Didn’t you say there were old mines around here that polluted the water? Maybe that has something to do with it.”
“Maybe,” Xeena said. “Did you see that mare? Where did she come from?”
Alec shook his head. “Who knows? If we find her, I bet we’ll find the Black, though. Let’s go see if we can track them down before they get too far.”
“He went that way,” she said, pointing in the direction of the waterfall.
There was no path here, and after a few paces, Alec and Xeena had to stop to fight their way through head-high bushes and low-hanging branches. The wind whipped up again, turning the light greens to dark as it traveled through the treetops.
Finally there was space enough between the leaves that Alec could see where he was going. He slowed to a walk and wiped the sweat and water from his eyes. “Black,” he called, his voice sounding hollow with exhaustion. The air around him was filled with a loud booming. What had once been the muffled sound of the falls had grown to a deafening howl on this side of the river.
“There he is,” Xeena said.
Then Alec saw him too. The Black was storming toward the curtain of falling water pouring from the cliffs a hundred feet above. Alec could see someshadowy spaces between the rocks behind the falls, and it was there the stallion was headed. It looked to be the same spot where he had last seen the mare from across the river. Alec watched as his horse reached the falls and stepped into the shadows among the rocks. Then the Black seemed to disappear behind the curtain of falling water just as the mare had done earlier.
As the path cleared before him, Alec raced down to the edge of the falls. The mighty roar filled his ears and spray fogged his eyes. Wiping the water from his face, he ducked under a jutting shelf of granite.
Here was where the horses had gone, he realized. It was the dark mouth of a cave behind the
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