Tagus the Night Horse (4 page)

Tom looked at Elenna. Victor was lucky to be alive. Tagus was out of control. They didn’t have much time to free the Beast from the evil spell. During the next attack, someone could be seriously hurt — or even killed.

“Here,” Tom said, helping the boy up onto his good leg. Together they hobbled the short distance to the camp Elenna had made. Once there, Tom
laid out a bedroll for Victor while Elenna prepared some fish she had caught earlier.

As the fish cooked over the small campfire, Tom examined Victor’s leg. It didn’t look good. His whole leg was swollen and bruised, and Victor flinched in pain at even the slightest touch. Tom gave him some water and kept talking to him, trying to keep Victor’s mind off his injury.

When the fish was ready, Elenna divided the portions among the three of them.

“You should eat something,” Elenna said to Victor. “It will help.” Victor tried to swallow a few bites, but he was in too much pain to eat.

“We’ll have to go back to Dareton first thing in the morning,” Tom said to Elenna. “Victor needs care, but it’s too dangerous to travel at night with Tagus on the loose.”

Tom swallowed the last of the fish and settled down on his blanket next to Elenna and Victor. Storm was sleeping on his feet behind them and
Silver had curled up next to Elenna. They were all exhausted. Tom peered out into the darkness. Nothing. He climbed under his blanket and tried to sleep. But the sounds of the plain were unfamiliar and kept him awake. The long grasses rustled in the night breeze and crickets chirped to one another. Then there was another sound. A low moaning carried over the land that made Tom shiver. He sat up sharply and listened. There it was again! But this time the moan sounded angry — ready for battle.

Tom shook Elenna awake.

“Did you hear that?” he whispered. The two of them listened, but heard nothing out of the ordinary. Elenna shook her head, still half asleep, and settled back down.

“Get some sleep,” she muttered.

Tom waited and listened for a while longer. But whatever it was had gone. Could it have been Tagus? There was nothing Tom could do in the dark. He would have to wait for morning.

D
AWN LIGHT SPREAD ACROSS THE PLAIN AS
Tom and Elenna packed up their camp.

“There’s no time for breakfast,” Tom said grimly, as he and Elenna lifted Victor onto Storm’s saddle. “We need to get going — now.” He couldn’t say why things were so urgent in front of Victor, but the boy’s condition wasn’t good and they had to get him to a doctor as soon as possible. Victor was slipping in and out of consciousness and was barely able to talk.

They reached Dareton as the sun rose. Tom was riding Storm with Victor slumped in the saddle in front of him, while Elenna walked alongside with Silver. It was early — the streets should have
been empty. But there were clusters of townspeople whispering amongst themselves. Some people were openly weeping. Tom pulled Storm to a halt.

“What is it?” he asked one of the groups. “What’s wrong?” A young man turned and peered up at Tom, shielding his eyes against the early morning sun. He looked so angry that Tom wondered what he would do.

“Another herd of cattle stampeded in the night,” the young man said. He spat on the ground in disgust.

Just as the young man was about to walk away, another man called out. “There he is!”

All at once, the townspeople turned and looked at Tom.

“And he’s got Victor!” called out another. Before Tom knew it, he was surrounded by an angry mob. Men were waving weapons and yelling at the top of their lungs.

Hearing the commotion, a guard approached the crowd. Seeing Tom, he drew his sword and called to the other guards at the prison. “It’s the boy who’s been causing the stampedes.”

Someone grabbed Storm’s reins and another pulled Victor from the saddle. Victor let out a cry of pain. Before he had a chance to flee, Tom, too, was dragged from Storm’s back. The crowd was so worked up that Tom expected things to turn violent at any moment.

“What’s going on here?” came a gruff voice from the edge of the mob. Things quieted down as Adam made his way to Tom.

“It’s the boy that escaped,” a guard said. “And he’s got your son.”

Adam looked at Victor lying in the dirt. A woman was trying to comfort him as he writhed and winced. Adam then turned to Tom, his eyes narrowing in fierce anger.

“What have you done?” he thundered. “What have you done to my boy?”

As Adam drew his sword, a weak voice sounded next to Tom. It was Victor.

“Wait —” Victor’s voice was choked with pain. “It’s not Tom’s fault. Tom didn’t cause the stampedes. He saved me.”

A murmur went through the crowd.

The townspeople were silent as they looked at Adam for his reaction.

“Release the boy,” he said. “And someone get the doctor.”

Victor’s father then looked at Tom. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was wrong to lock you up.” He looked out at the crowd of people and their worried faces. “We’ve had other things to worry about since then,” he added quietly. He held out a hand and Tom shook it. “You deserve a reward,” he went on. “Ask for whatever you want. You brought my son back.”

“I don’t want a reward,” Tom replied, “just my sword and shield.”

Adam nodded to one of the guards, who dashed into the prison and then reappeared carrying the sword and shield. He gave them to Tom.

“Thank you,” Tom said. He fitted the sword into its sheath and slung the shield over his shoulder. Now he was ready to face Tagus.

“So, why are you here?” Adam asked. “Have you come to stay in Dareton?”

“No.” It was Elenna who replied, stepping forward to stand beside Tom. “We’ve been visiting the mountains in the north, and now we’re on our way home.”

Tom felt his shoulder being tapped. He turned to see the guard who had been so mean the night before. His face looked friendly now. “You’ll need food for your journey,” he said, holding out a loaf of bread. “Take this. We’re sorry we didn’t believe you.”

Tom was glad he had been cleared. But he still didn’t know how to find Tagus. Then, something occurred to Tom. Maybe he wouldn’t have to go after the Beast — maybe the Beast would find him.

“Let us help you on the next cattle drive,” Tom suggested to the townspeople. “If you have more people to keep watch, you might have a better chance of keeping them safe.” He exchanged a glance with Elenna.

“That’s a generous offer,” Adam said. “But it’s risky. I don’t know if we ought to ask you….”

“We have to go home. And we’ll be safer with the cattle drive than traveling alone,” Elenna pointed out. “At least we can start our journey with you.”

A broad, red-faced man pushed his way to the front of the crowd. “My name’s Samuel,” he announced. “Me and my neighbor, Jacob, are taking our cattle south tomorrow. It’s the biggest drive of the season — we’re going to the palace to sell the cattle at market. We’ll be glad for your
help.” He paused, giving Silver a doubtful look. “That’s a powerful big dog you’ve got there. It is a dog, isn’t it?” he added nervously.

“He’s a wolf,” said Elenna cheerfully. “But don’t worry. He’s well trained. He won’t harm your cattle.”

“Maybe he’ll sink his teeth into the horseman,” said a voice from the crowd.

“Let’s hope he does,” Samuel agreed, grinning with relief.

Adam nodded, as if he had made up his mind. “Then it’s settled,” he said to Tom and Elenna. “You’ll leave tomorrow at dawn.”

The next morning, Adam guided Tom and Elenna to the edge of town. The cattle drive was ready to set out. A crowd of townspeople had gathered to see them off. Yapping dogs dashed up and down, and children called out excitedly. Tom gazed in amazement at the huge number
of cattle milling about on the plain. The air was filled with the sound of their lowing and the soft clang of the bells around their necks.

Slowly the herd of cattle began to move off. Some were huge beasts with shaggy black coats and curving horns. Others were young calves, trotting along beside their mothers.

Horsemen rode alongside the herd on either side. Children from the town ran after them. “Good-bye!” they called. “Good luck!”

“Good-bye! Take care!”

Tom found a place near the back of the herd. At home in his village, he had often thought it would be fun to join one of the great cattle drives from Dareton. Now he had his wish, and he wasn’t thinking about having fun at all. He just wanted to see the herd safely on its way, and to find Tagus and release him from Malvel’s evil spell.

The walls and towers of Dareton disappeared behind them. Tom began to get used to the smell and the noise of the cattle. Silver was running along the edge of the herd, drawing ahead and then bounding back with yelps of excitement. Some of the calves shied away nervously.

“Silver loves this!” Elenna exclaimed.

As she spoke, the wolf darted after a cow that had wandered away. He overtook it and turned to face it, throwing back his head to howl. The cow rolled its eyes and galloped back to the herd with the wolf behind it.

Tom laughed. “He seems to know what he’s doing!”

As the day went on, the cattle became used to Silver. They moved at the same slow pace, dust swirling around their hooves. The air was full of the sound of their lowing.

Tom kept scanning the horizon, but he couldn’t
see any sign of Tagus. Then he caught sight of deep hoof prints in a damp patch of ground. “Look!” he said to Elenna. “Tagus has been here.”

Elenna frowned. “It could be one of the cattlemen’s horses.”

“No — these prints are huge!” Tom shivered. “I think the Beast must be close by.”

The sun was going down when the herd gradually slowed to a halt. Tom realized that the cattle in the lead must have stopped.

“We’re making camp,” Samuel told them as he rode by. “There’s a river up ahead where the cattle can drink.”

Urging Storm on, Tom and Elenna skirted the edge of the herd until they reached the river. A muddy slope, churned up by many hooves, led down to the water. Here and there, the cattle drivers were beginning to make campfires.

“Let’s make our fire over there,” Elenna suggested, pointing upstream to where trees grew
close to the water’s edge. “We can keep an eye out for Tagus.”

“Good idea,” Tom agreed. Tom and Elenna made their way upstream. Beyond the trees the ground sloped upward and the lush grass of the plain gave way to bare rock.

He and Elenna made a fire at the edge of the river; the leaping scarlet flames glowed in the twilight. Tom peered past the flames and out across the plain. But there was no sign of the horseman. Not yet. Elenna pulled bread and cheese out of one of Storm’s saddlebags. She broke a loaf in two and gave one half to Tom.

“The people in Dareton were really generous with their food,” she said. “If this cattle drive gets attacked, too, they’ll be without enough for themselves. They’ve already lost so much. We
have
to help them.”

“We will,” said Tom. “We’ll free Tagus, whatever it takes.”

Night fell and Tom could hardly make out the herd among the shadows. The darkness was dotted with the red glow of other campfires.

“One of us will have to stay awake,” Elenna said. “You try to get some sleep, and I’ll take the first watch.”

“All right.” Tom pulled his blanket around himself and lay down by the fire. “Don’t forget to wake me.”

“Tom — Tom —”

Someone was tugging at Tom’s shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Elenna’s face just above him.

“Everything’s quiet,” Elenna whispered. “And it’s your turn to keep watch now.” She gave an enormous yawn. “I can’t stay awake any longer.”

“All right, I’m up.” Tom walked over to the riverbank and splashed his face with water to wake himself up.

Elenna built up the fire and then lay down
beside it. “Wake me if you hear anything,” she murmured.

Tom scrambled up the tallest tree and found a fork in the branches where he could sit and look out over the plain. A half-moon was shining through thin clouds. Beyond the camp, nothing disturbed the darkness.

Hours went by, but Tom still saw nothing. The sky in the east grew pale as dawn approached. The danger seemed to be over for another night. But Tom was desperate to find Tagus. When would he appear? Every muscle in Tom’s body was tensed with anticipation.

Tom was about to climb down from the tree when he spotted a black outline where the sky was the brightest — right on the other side of the river.

“Tagus!” Tom whispered under his breath.

At last!

It was a powerful figure, half man, half horse. As Tom stared, the creature reared, hooves striking

out at the air. A battle cry louder than Tom had ever heard before echoed across the plain. Tagus began to gallop toward the camp.

But Tagus attacks only at night!
Tom’s stomach tightened and he gripped the branch. If Tagus was now attacking during the day, it meant he was growing bolder. He obviously didn’t care about keeping himself hidden.

Tom swung himself off the branch and dropped to the ground beside the campfire. Tom felt a rush of adrenaline. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. He could feel the ground vibrating as Tagus pounded toward the herd. Tom drew his sword. “Elenna! Elenna!” he called.