Dawn Runner by Terri Farley

Author:Terri Farley
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2006-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Hey, knock that off!” Sam snapped at her horse.

Frisky from his long rest at the O’Malleys’ camp, Ace humped his back up to buck.

Dark rangelands stretched around her for what looked like hundreds of miles and now, as she twisted in her saddle, even the orange eye of the campfire had disappeared behind a rock outcropping.

She did not want to get stranded out here. Sure, she could shout for help and maybe, if she was lucky, someone would hear, but rescue wasn’t in her plans for the night.

For one thing, it would take too long, and she had to get home and call Jen. That’s why she was taking this shortcut Ace was protesting.

“You like the water, remember?” she crooned to her horse.

Sam felt him relax, responding to her gentle tone. She lowered her rein hand, rewarding him for his calm continuation into the lake.

“Good boy,” she said as one hoof, then another plopped down, and they cut across the shallow end of the lake instead of following the half-moon-shaped shore.

The problem with mustangs, Sam decided, was that they made their own decisions once they had full bellies. In the wild, they responded with speed to all the sights, sounds, and smells that signaled danger. But Ace didn’t understand that she had a good reason for asking him to get his feet wet, and he was letting her know it was a bad idea.

A breeze blew over the lake, bringing the smell of hot rocks and damp vegetation. Sam shivered a little, wishing she’d tied a sweatshirt behind her cantle. It had been so hot this afternoon, she hadn’t thought of it, and that was stupid.

While she was kicking herself for being unprepared, Ace stopped and stared toward the middle of the lake.

His intent stare gave Sam chills that had nothing to do with the wind. All alone on the range, with Ace knee-deep in this desert lake, she thought of Water Babies.

“Now I’m the one who needs to knock it off,” she said out loud to Ace. “I know this lake. It doesn’t have Water Babies. Besides, I’ve seen mustangs drinking and playing here.”

Ace’s head bobbed and his mane flapped as he gave a loud snort.

“That’s right,” she said, agreeing with her horse. “They don’t exist.”

Sam drew in a shivery breath and blamed Dr. Mora’s ancient tales for turning her mind to horror stories out of the past.

Water Babies sounded sweet and chubby, but the Native American legends were bloodcurdling, at least to her.

The little lake dwellers swam unseen in the depths of desert lakes, only coming ashore to switch places with human babies left unattended. For the first time, Sam wondered what became of the real babies. All she knew was that the changelings surprised their unsuspecting parents with long, needlelike teeth.

Dr. Mora said the Dawn Runner story was a mixture of truth and longing, but Sam would bet Water Babies had been made up as a cautionary tale to make parents keep watch over their babies while they were at the water’s edge.

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