Disclaimer: Asparagus is not mine, just like the Black Stallion. Yuck! I hate asparagus!
Chapter One
I still remember the day that I was elected leader of the Briarwood Herd. I was rather young to be chosen, but as I was the oldest, my elders had no choice. Our first leader, Stern Lark, had been "lost" to another stallion's hatred.
I had not had any desire to become leader, fearing often that if I ever did, I would lose nearly all of my mares to the same stallion that had taken Stern Lark's life. He had taken only the best mares, leaving us to fend for ourselves. My mother had been among the ones taken.
Now, I was indeed the leader of my herd, though I had protested continuously. I did not want the responsibility of leading the other horses to fresh water and grass, nor did I want to endanger my life to protect the herd. I guess you could say I was selfish.
"Raven!"
My head shot up in alarm as I heard my sister whinny to me from a few hundred feet away.
"What?" I whinnied back, shaking my head in annoyance.
"Shifter's run off again!" I simply glared at her, willing her to say she was joking, but, much to my disappointment, she did not. I stamped my foot in anger and trotted off in the direction she was now looking. Shifter was the herd's youngest filly and she was always getting into trouble. I had been leader for almost six months now, and there had never been a day when I hadn't had to scold her for one thing or another. When I reached the top of the hill that allowed me to see into the valley below, I glanced around. There was no sign of the young filly.
Frustrated, I broke into a canter, my head sweeping from side to side, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. I half expected her to jump out from behind me and cause me to start (as she did on almost a weekly basis). But she did not. A terrible thought then came to my mind.
Several of the older mares had claimed to have seen cougars in the area recently. What if young Shifter had been run down by one? I threw my head up in the air and turned on my haunches to search the west side of the valley. I couldn't think those thoughts. I had to concentrate.
As I was searching, I thought I had seen a flash of gold to my right. I stopped, looked in that direction, ears pricked forward and listening. Nothing.
Suddenly, something slammed into my side and I fell heavily to the ground. I tumbled a few feet before managing to stop myself and then I looked upward to see a tiny golden filly prancing in circles and squealing with delight.
I heaved myself to my feet and faced her.
"You have toyed with my patience young Shifter," I told her firmly. Her giggling stopped. "I am tired of your constant runaways and even more so of your disrespect for you elders. This has to stop!"
She didn't say anything, but it was clear she wasn't listening to a word I was saying. Suddenly, she cried out.
"Look!" she yelled.
I turned my head to see. There, in the distance, two stallions were rearing side by side. One was dark grey and the other a pearly white. A piercing scream shot through the air as one of the stallions started forward. As the other came too and I was able to see them better, I knew immediately who they were.
"Shifter—run! Get away from here now!" But the filly seemed frozen in place. The stallions were moving closer. Finally, when Shifter still hadn't moved, I threw my full weight into her side, causing her to stumble and blink suddenly and take off full speed toward the protection of the herd. I now turned to my challengers.
The white stallion was closest. The grey stallion behind him uttered another piercing scream. When the stallions were directly in front of me, they stopped.
"Ghost, Magnum," I said with clenched teeth, watching them carefully. They began to walk in a circle around me, each moving in the opposite direction. Ghost spoke first.
"Time to give up your mares, Night Raven," he said, with a sneer in his voice that made my blood boil.
"You and your fantasies," I shot back, never turning my back upon either of them.
"Fantasies? I do not have 'fantasies'. You should know by know that I always get my way in the end." His icy glare rested upon mine.
"And what is your way?"
He stopped and narrowed his eyes at me.
"You know what it is I want." He waited for me to say something, but when I didn't, he continued. "I want the dam of your little troublemaker."
"Wanderer?" I asked unconsciously. "Shifter's mother?"
Ghost continued walking in his menacing way.
"Bright as you are stubborn, eh?"
I snorted.
"And that little one—what was her name—Ruby?" Magnum added.
I glared daggers at him. They were not going to take my Ruby away from me.
"You will not have either of them."
"You're wrong, Raven," Ghost replied with a malicious grin. "We will have what we wish and you will not stand in our way!" He lunged for my throat without warning, teeth bared and eyes murderous.
