Vampirates 5: Empire of Night by Justin Somper

Author:Justin Somper
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Brothers and sisters, Pirates, Action & Adventure, Horror, Seafaring life, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, Horror & Ghost Stories, Twins, General, Juvenile Fiction, Vampires
ISBN: 9780316033220
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2010-04-01T04:00:00+00:00

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them on the sand, by the water's edge, was a horse. Its body looked bright gold in the moonlight, all except for its mane and tail, which were both pure white.

"Is that my surprise?" Grace asked. "It's so beautiful. Its body looks like gold."

"She's not an 'it.'" Johnny laughed. "Her name's Nieve. And her body is gold; she's a palomino."

"Nieve," said Grace. "That's an Irish name, isn't it?" Instinctively, she thought of Lorcan.

Johnny shook his head. "I named her Nieve. It's the Spanish word for snow."

"Oh, I see! Because her mane and tail are as pure white as freshly fallen snow." Grace turned to Johnny.

He looked distant for a moment. "Well, yes, that's part of it."

Then Grace remembered her vision of Johnny, riding through the snow. His story had begun and ended in the snow. She remembered the terrible ending--him hanging by his neck from a tree as the snow fell all around him. She felt terrible for having missed the connection at first but, as she looked up at him, she found he was smiling and his eyes were bright once more.

"Now, either we can stand here and admire Nieve's beauty from afar or we can go and take her for a ride across the beach. What do you reckon?"

Grace felt her heart began to race. "I've never ridden a horse before." The thought of doing so made her nervous, but exhilarated, too.

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"Piece of cake," Johnny said, reaching out for her hand. "I'll do all the work. Besides, Nieve won't give us any trouble. She loves a midnight run. Come and meet her."

Johnny led Grace across the sand. When they were a few paces away from Nieve, he began talking to the horse. Immediately, Nieve responded. Grace could see the strength of the bond between the horse and the one-time vaquero .

"Now, Nieve," Johnny said, his voice low and soft. "I know how you like to go galloping across the sand and to dip your feet into the cool ocean waters. And I know how you usually like it be just the two of us, Nieve and Johnny. But tonight, see, I've brought a very special friend of mine to come along with us."

Hearing Johnny talk to Nieve took Grace back once more to the time at Sanctuary when she had read the ribbon containing Johnny's memories. Then, she had not only seen him on horseback but also ridden for a time in his shoes. She knew that his bond with horses was a deep one.

All the time he was talking to Nieve, Johnny was stroking the palomino's face and rubbing her nose. Now, he reached into his pocket and produced a sugar cube. He laid it out on his palm, and Nieve gently licked it up.

"Now you," Johnny said, glancing over to Grace. "Reach out your hand."

A little apprehensively, Grace stretched out her palm. Johnny dropped a second cube of sugar into it. "Introduce yourself to Nieve," he whispered in Grace's ear.

Grace looked into Nieve's soft brown eyes. "Hello," she

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said, stretching out her hand.

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