A Horse Named Sky by Rosanne Parry

Author:Rosanne Parry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2023-07-10T00:00:00+00:00

“Trouble,” I tell him, plain as day.

He ignores me. Speed is my only chance. I leap forward, galloping to the crest in the trail. I don’t pause for a moment to look down at the big lake. I want this rider off my back as soon as possible. It’s drier and less slippery on the downhill side. I take the switchbacks at top speed, dodging other travelers. I’m hot and thirsty by the time I get to the flat, but I don’t let up.

I’m weary to my bones when I turn off the path and into the yard of the downhill Stop. I want to lie down and roll over on top of the speckle-faced rider, but I’m so tired I’m not sure if I could stand up again. For the first time I understand what Thunder means when he complains of creaky knees.

The bay human is there with Blaze. The rider hops down from my back, takes the perch cover off, and puts it on Blaze. In a flash they are away.

The bay human and I walk circles around the yard. He has fight marks just above his grabbers. I wonder what creature attacked him long ago.

“It was awful,” I say to him because there is no one else to tell. “A claw beast in the mountains. And I was all alone.”

Every day, for days on end, I’ve missed my family with a dull ache like the cold. But now I miss them sharp, like a broken bone.

The bay human’s grabbers are as thick and rough as the colt’s were thin and smooth. He runs his grabbers firmly along my aching shoulders.

“What if the claw beast is there tomorrow?” I look at the mountains, all cold and gray, and blow hard against that fate.

The bay human turns. He blows out in the direction of the mountains. He looks at me as if he knows all about fear and loneliness.

He gives me water. He takes off the perch and wipes away all the mud and sweat. He takes a close look at the spot where I brushed against a thorn bush. He pours water on the cut and spreads a sharp-smelling mud over it. He puts me in the nest. He ties me there and goes inside.

I have never been so tired. I ran all that way. I kept my rider safe from the claw beast, and still the humans don’t trust me enough to untie me. How will I ever get free? I feel the tug of the homeward horizon, and no amount of water or crunchy bits will make me feel better.

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