Destiny and Stardust (15 page)

Hang on,
she thought to herself.
No matter what, you have to hang on…

Destiny slowed down to a canter as he rose up over the brow of a hill. He let out a loud, vigorous whinny as he surveyed the valley below. Issie scanned the fields in front of her but there was nothing to see except green pasture and a few blackthorn trees. Destiny whinnied again. Still nothing. The stallion stood alert, his ears pricked forward. He was listening, waiting. And then, from out of nowhere, came the whinny of a horse returning his call. Issie's heart raced. He had found the herd.

Issie was left behind in the saddle as Destiny lunged forward and began galloping headlong down the hill. From the other direction she heard the low thunder of hoofbeats as the herd approached.

When Issie had first met the Blackthorn Ponies they seemed to be one big faceless herd, but now, she realised, she was beginning to recognise each of them as distinct individuals. They were all so wild, so alive. Issie felt herself choking back her anger at the rangers and their stupid cull. How could anyone ever think of hurting these beautiful horses?

The herd slowed down to a trot as the stallion reached them. Issie had been worried that they would scatter when they saw her on Destiny's back, but the ponies seemed not to notice or care about her.

The stallion cantered a wide circle around the herd, establishing his territory. Then he moved closer, nipping and lunging at his mares to snap them into line, asserting his authority over the other horses. The buckskin mare wasn't easily subdued. She lashed out with her hind legs as he nipped at her and Issie had to hang on once again as Destiny swerved to avoid her flying hooves.

When the stallion seemed satisfied that his herd were all under control he began to move them back up the hill. Issie held on tight to his mane, resisting the temptation to touch the reins. Destiny was heading back towards the cove, exactly where they needed to go, and the ponies were following him. All she had to do was hang on.

When they reached the hill at the top of the valley she expected Destiny to trot on straight ahead, back down to the Coast Road and the cove. But the black horse seemed to suddenly change his mind. He broke into a canter, altered his direction and turned along the ridge in completely the wrong direction.

“Destiny, NO!” Issie pulled hard on the right rein to turn the stallion around. As soon as she had done it, she realised her mistake.
Never, ever fight him.
She remembered Tom Avery's words.
You won't win that way
.

As he felt the jarring of the metal bit pulling harshly in his mouth Destiny responded by fighting back. He reared up, his front legs thrashing the air in front of him. Then, as he came back down with Issie still on his back, he gave an almighty buck.

Issie had fallen off her horse loads of times, but this fall was different. Destiny's buck sent her flying up in the air in a dramatic arc. It all happened so fast there was nothing she could do to soften the fall. She hit the ground with such force, she immediately felt the wind being knocked out of her. Breathless and shocked Issie tried to push herself up on her elbows, coughing and heaving as her lungs struggled desperately for air. As she propped herself up on her arms she felt a shooting pain down her left arm and the thought flashed through her head that her wrist must be broken.

She stayed there on the ground a bit longer. She was too dizzy to stand up; the ground and the sky were spinning around her. What had just happened? Where was Destiny?

The nicker of a horse brought her back to reality. She took a deep breath and pulled herself together. She needed to stand up and look for her horse. Issie forced herself to her feet. The sun on the horizon was blinding her now but she could make out the shape of a horse. He was coming towards her.

“Destiny?” Issie croaked. And then there he was in front of her. Not a big, black stallion at all, but a little grey gelding. Weak and exhausted from her fall, Issie fell forward and wrapped her arms around the horse's neck, hugging him tightly, her face buried in his mane. It was Mystic.

What a complete disaster! Right now Avery and the others would be waiting at the cove for Issie to return, leading the herd back to them. They had no way of knowing Destiny was gone and there was no sign of the wild ponies. The clock was ticking. The rangers would be here soon, tracking down the herd to begin their cull. She had to do something – and fast!

Issie scanned the horizon desperately. Then she turned to the little grey gelding. “Mystic! You found them before – you can do it again. We've got to get those horses back!”

She looked around for somewhere to mount up and spied a fallen tree just a few metres away. If she climbed up on that log, it would be easy to make a leap on to the little grey's back. Issie put a hand out to grasp Mystic's silvery mane, and let out a sudden squeal, doubling over in pain. She had forgotten about her injured wrist. She gave her fingers one more tentative wiggle and winced as the pain shot up her arm. She was pretty sure it wasn't broken but it was still really sore. She couldn't ride like this.

Issie felt tears of anger and frustration welling up. She had to get on Mystic's back if she was to stand any chance at all of finding the Blackthorn Ponies. But how could she do it with an injured wrist?

Calm down
, she told herself sternly,
calm down and think, Issie
. She paused for a moment and then, very carefully so as not to hurt her wrist, she pulled off her jacket. It was one of those stretch velour tracksuit jackets, pale blue with white stripes. She took it and knotted one sleeve around the elbow of her injured arm, checking that it was firm but not too tight. Then she took the other sleeve and used her teeth once more to tie a knot with the end of the sleeve around her sore wrist. With the sleeves secured at her elbow and her wrist she pulled the rest of the jacket up and over her head, wriggling and squirming her head through so that the jacket was now strung over her shoulder with the sleeves stretched taut, holding her arm in a makeshift sling.

“If I can't use that arm, I'm just going to have to keep it out of the way,” she said to Mystic. Grabbing a hank of his mane with her right hand she led the horse over to the log, trying to protect her injured wrist as she vaulted lightly on to his back. Steadying herself, she wrapped her good hand tightly in Mystic's mane.
As long as I can hold on and ride with just one hand,
Issie thought…

“Let's go, Mystic.” She gave the grey gelding a light tap with her heels to let him know she was ready. “Go find them for me.” The little grey immediately set off at a fast canter, following the trail of the Blackthorn herd.

Issie had ridden Mystic bareback many times before, but one-handed bareback added a whole new challenge. As the little pony galloped on she tried to keep her balance by staying low and gripping with her legs. She sat tight and didn't even try to guide him; Mystic seemed to know exactly where he was going.

“Oh, where are they, Mystic?” Issie said. They had to find the ponies fast. It must have been nearly two hours since Issie had left the farm. The rangers would be loading up their four-wheel-drives right now and heading this way.

Thankfully it didn't take Mystic long to track down the herd. When the grey gelding galloped up to a plateau overlooking the Coast Road, Issie let out a cry of relief. There they were! Destiny and the ponies – and not more than a hundred metres away.

The black stallion still had his saddle and bridle on and he was grazing happily alongside the buckskin mare. When he saw Mystic he raised his head and stood, alert and watchful, as if deciding whether to spur his herd into action and run again.

Issie and Mystic froze too and Issie could feel her heart racing as she realised what she was about to do. Her plan was dangerous and she knew it. She wasn't in the best shape to take on a stallion – the throbbing pain in her arm reminded her of that.

She looked at the ponies. She had to act fast. This was her last chance – and their last chance too.

“Come on, Mystic!” she said decisively.

Mystic moved swiftly into a gallop as Issie turned the little grey around in a wide circle and then began bearing down on the black stallion, approaching him from the rear.

Destiny had been waiting, watching them and deciding what he would do next. Now, as Issie and Mystic got closer, the black horse began to run. Destiny had a bigger stride than Mystic. He should have been able to outrun the little grey gelding. But Mystic had the element of surprise on his side. The little pony had already gathered speed and was now in full gallop. He had gained too much ground for the stallion to get away from him that easily. Mystic swiftly caught up to the big, black horse. Issie could feel him grunting and heaving with the effort of keeping pace with the stallion. The two horses were racing now, and Mystic was giving his all to stay neck-and-neck alongside Destiny.

Galloping hard, Mystic moved closer and closer to the black stallion. When the horses were matching each other stride for stride, Issie, who had been leaning low over Mystic's neck, suddenly sat up straight. She untangled her hands from Mystic's mane and then let go so that she was riding with no hands at all, her right arm held outstretched, her left hand tucked into the sling. Only her natural balance now kept her on Mystic's back.

Issie thought back to that day in the round pen when Aidan had tried to teach her the Flying Angel. She hadn't been able to do it then. Could she really do it now? There was no round pen out here on the open plains. She was racing at a wild gallop against an unpredictable stallion, and she had an injured arm. Even if she made the leap, would she be able to hang on?

Issie took a deep breath. There was only one way to find out.

“Now, Mystic!” she shouted at the pony. The grey gelding lengthened his stride and got even closer to the black stallion so that the two horses were almost brushing up against one another. Issie looked over at Destiny, then her eyes lowered to the ground below her. She saw the hooves thrashing beneath her and for a moment she felt sick. She couldn't do this!

Yes, you can,
she told herself firmly.
Just don't look down. In fact, don't look at anything!
Issie turned in the saddle to face Destiny. She put out her hands and began the countdown. Ah-one, ah-two, ah-three. She shut her eyes and screwed them tight. Everything went black and she held her breath and took a flying leap.

There was a split second as she left Mystic's back when she felt absolutely nothing underneath her except for a rush of air and the thunder of hooves dragging her down. Then she felt her right hand grasp the leather of Destiny's saddle. She opened her eyes and began pulling herself up, dragging herself on to the black horse. Forgetting about the pain in her arm she clung on desperately with both hands, hooking her left foot into the stirrup and swinging her right foot high over the back of the saddle. Her hands hurried to find the reins. There they were! She took them up very gently so she wouldn't spook Destiny. She wasn't making that mistake again. Slowly, carefully, she pulled the black stallion to a canter and then slowed to a trot.

It took her moment to realise that she had done it. And then there she was. She was back on Destiny! The black horse was hers again.

Issie steadied the stallion to a halt and looked around. Mystic was nowhere to be seen, but the Blackthorn Ponies were still with her. They had followed Destiny when he ran and now they stood there, all of them with their ears pricked and their expressions alert, watching the black stallion, waiting for him to decide what they would do next.

“Easy, Destiny,” Issie spoke softly to the big, black horse. “We need them to follow us. You have to lead them. Do you think you can do it?”

Did the stallion understand her? Did he know that she was trying to save his herd? Issie didn't know, but Destiny did seem to listen to her voice this time as she coaxed him on. Issie circled wide around the herd, slowly edging Destiny closer towards them, driving the ponies forward.

Issie was pretty sure they were heading in the right direction. Still, when they rounded the corner and she saw the Coast Road and Preacher's Cove ahead of them her heart soared. They were almost there! She pushed Destiny on to quicken his pace now, overtaking the herd and sweeping around to the right, driving them down the road towards the sea.

“Not much further, Destiny,” she breathed to the stallion. “We're almost there…” They were coming up to the brow of the hill that led to Preacher's Cove. They were going to make it.

As Issie and Destiny reached the hill she could see Avery, Kate, Stella, Dan and Ben all mounted on their horses. The riders were in position, their horses almost hidden by the bushes at the top of the ridge next to the fallen tree. The Blackthorn Ponies didn't blink at them as they galloped past. They thundered straight down the road, heading towards the green grass and shady trees at the bottom of the hill.

When the ponies were safely past the fallen tree Issie heard the low rumble of an engine starting up and the graunch of gears and crunch of tyres on the gravel road as Aidan reversed the truck down the hill. As Aidan backed the truck up, manoeuvring it deftly into position, Avery rode forward on Paris and waved directions. Aidan kept driving back until the truck was wedged right in between the steep cliff on one side and the fallen tree on the other. The tree and the truck together created a total road block. The cove was completely closed off now. The only way the Blackthorn Ponies could possibly escape was the same route they took last time – by jumping up and over the fallen tree trunk.

“Tom!” Issie shouted to her instructor. “The tree! They can still hurdle it and get out again.”

“Don't worry. We're on it!” Dan yelled out as he and Ben quickly helped Aidan lower the back ramp of the horse truck. The two boys ran inside the truck and emerged carrying a large bundle of what looked like a fishing net. As they unwound the tangled heap and stretched it out, Issie realised it was the old net from the tennis court back at Blackthorn Manor.

Moving quickly, Dan, Ben and Aidan strung the net up – using ropes to attach it to the truck at one end and tying it to the tree roots at the other. The net ran all the way across the top of the fallen tree. It was at least a metre high and bordered by two huge green bands. The ponies would see it quite clearly and there was no way that even the cunning Blackthorn Ponies would manage to jump over this obstacle. They were trapped.

“What happened to you?” Avery had noticed Issie's makeshift sling.

“I'm OK, Tom, honest,” Issie insisted. “I can still ride.”

Avery looked at her uncertainly.

“Please, Tom. I'm fine. And we don't have time to argue. We still have to get the horses on to the truck.”

“All right then,” Avery conceded. He turned to the others. “We'll split into two groups. Issie will take Stella and Kate with her down the left-hand side of the cove. I'll ride down the other side with the boys. We'll close in on the herd from either direction, driving them back up the hill. With the tree blocked off now they'll have no choice. They'll have to go up the ramp and on to the truck.”

Issie nodded at this and set off down the hill at a canter on Destiny, with Stella and Kate close behind her on Blaze and Nicole. They had almost reached the flat, grassy area at the foot of the hill when Destiny let out a shrill, commanding whinny, calling to his herd.

The buckskin mare responded to his call, nickering back in return.

“Issie, they'll follow Destiny back up the hill. Take the lead and we'll ride behind you,” Stella called to her.

Issie rode Destiny in a sweeping circle, breezing past the buckskin, and the mare instantly picked up the stallion's lead and fell into step behind him, with the other ponies in hot pursuit.

“Excellent! They're following you. Head for the truck!” Avery shouted.

Dust rose up as the ponies cantered back up the dirt road with Issie and Destiny in the lead. At first the noise of the thundering hooves was so loud that Issie didn't notice the four-wheel-drives pulling up at the brow of the hill behind the horse truck. It wasn't until she heard the slamming of car doors and saw Cameron and his men grabbing their rifles and manoeuvring into position along the steep banks of the cliff that she realised what was going on.

“Tom!” Issie cried back over her shoulder.

“I see them,” Avery replied. “Don't worry about it; there's nothing they can do. Keep going.”