7.
Lisa turned Pegasus out into his favorite pasture at Pine Hollow and walked back toward the lounge. When she got about half way there she met Stevie.
"Hey," said Stevie, "Have you seen Jacen?"
"Not since we got back," replied Lisa, "I do remember that on the way back here he seemed to get a little fidgety. When we arrived here, he jumped out of the truck before anyone else and I haven't seen him again!"
"Thanks," Stevie said a thoughtful expression on her face.
Lisa noticed the 'I wonder' look on Stevie's face, but Stevie turned and hurried off toward the employee quarters before She had a chance to ask her what was wrong.
As Stevie hurried toward her cousin's room, she already had a sneaky suspicion about what was going on but she didn't know for sure.
When she reached Jacen's door, she put her ear close to it and listened. She heard the sound of Jacen grunting in discomfort. It sounded like he was fighting something.
Stevie reached into her pocked and pulled out a small piece of stiff metal wire and used it to pick the lock.
Putting her homemade lock pick back in her pocket she quietly opened the door. When she slipped inside, she saw Jacen kneeling in the floor with his head down as electric energy rippled up and down his arms. He grunted again the electric phenomenon start to diminish again. Jacen strained in concentration until the ripples of electricity disappeared.
Jacen was left there still breathing heavily.
"I thought so," said Stevie causing him to jump and look up.
"Stevie!" he exclaimed, "How long have you been there?!"
"Long enough to see that you've been suppressing your gift again!" Said Stevie folding her arms across her chest and looking seriously at her cousin.
"You promised you were going to stop doing that and accept your gift!" she said
"You don't understand," insisted Jacen
"It's dangerous for you to suppress it," said Stevie, "And from what I just saw it's getting harder to do it! It's like putting a cork on a bottle of carbonated water then shaking it up! The cork will eventually be forced out by the pressure and what's inside with explode outward!"
"Stevie, you don't get it," insisted Jacen again, "Things have changed."
"How?" asked Stevie
"My gift has gotten considerably stronger since the last time you saw it," said Jacen with a sigh, as he got to his feet, "The last time I practiced with it I shot a blast that blew a granite boulder in half! My ability is too dangerous to be left alone!"
"Your ability is part of who you are," said Stevie, "The only sure way to control it is to accept it! I've told you that before."
"I have a body that produces enough electricity to power a city for a year." Said Jacen shaking his head slowly and moving past Stevie to the door, "How am I supposed to accept that?!"
Stevie sighed.
"Eventually you may not have a choice." She said quietly as she followed him out the door.
Stevie went to groom Belle as Jacen went back to work. This was one problem she couldn't talk to Lisa and Carole about. She didn't know how to help her cousin or even if there was a way that she could help him.
Lisa was sitting in the lounge studying a map with the layout of the jumping gates for tomorrow's semi-finals. Carole was sitting next to her giving her advice every so often.
"I can't believe I got this far," said Lisa shaking her head.
"I can," said Carole, "Lisa you're a better rider than you give yourself credit for being."
"She's right," said Liam, who had just shown up to pick Carole up for their date that evening, "Have some belief in yourself."
When Jacen left his room, he had gone to help Red patch a hole in a paddock fence before one of the colts found it and got out again. It was also a good spot to keep an eye on the riders.
All at once there was a scream from the main stables. Red and Jacen forgot what they were doing and ran for the stables Max and the Saddle Club met them as they came through the main door. When they got to where the scream came from, they found that it came Kelsey Chambers she was kneeling next to her horse Diamond, who was lying on the stall floor, unconscious!
"What happened?!" asked Max
"I don't know," said Kelsey her eyes welling up, "I just found her this way."
"Call the Vet," said Max to Red.
Red nodded and reached for his cell phone.
Jacen walked over to the feed trough and looked inside. he was immediately flanked by the Saddle Club.
"What is it?" asked Lisa
"Diamond has barely touched her scoop of sweet feed," replied Jacen, motioning to the trough. In the bottom of the trough was better than half a scoop of the sweet feed.
"That's strange," said Lisa, "Most horses love their sweet feed and inhale it as soon as you give it to them."
Jacen scooped up a handful of the feed and sniffed it.
"Guys," he said, "This sweet feed has a strange smell."
The Saddle Club girls each took a sniff, one look at each other and turned to Max.
"Max," said Lisa, "There's something in the sweet feed!"
"What?!" snapped Kelsey angrily, "Somebody drugged my horse?! Who?!"
"I think I know," said another voice.
Everyone turned to see Satoshi standing there.
"Who?" asked Max
A sly smile flashed across Satoshi's face then disappeared. Then he spoke.
"I saw Kalya Brennan near Diamond's stall earlier and she was carrying the sweet feed scoop!"
TO BE CONTINUED…Please Review
