Dark Fire, Page 2

  “He really said that to you?” exclaimed Lisa. Angelica must know Mr. Pickering and Jimmy, she thought. There’s no other way to explain it. But how would she know that Jupiter didn’t like Jimmy? And how could she know Mr. Pickering was sick and hadn’t visited the horses for a while? This is too weird. She pushed against Jupiter’s chest and commanded, “Back.” Reluctantly Jupiter backed away from Angelica and then nuzzled Lisa’s hand.

  “It is not a mystery,” said Angelica. “I can tell many things by his body language,” she explained. “I could see he missed you by the way he came up next to you when you entered his stall, and by the way he nuzzled you in greeting.”

  “But what about Jimmy?” asked Lisa. “How did you know Jupiter is afraid of him?”

  Instead of answering her, Angelica shut her eyes.

  Is she trying to ignore me? thought Lisa, confused. “How did you know about Jimmy?” Lisa repeated her question to Angelica, her voice becoming angry again.

  Angelica raised her hand to stop Lisa from speaking and stood for a moment, her eyes still tightly closed. When her amber eyes finally opened, Lisa stepped back. It’s like her eyes are glowing, she thought. Like there’s a light behind them.

  In one graceful movement, Angelica opened the stall door and grabbed Lisa’s hand. Lisa gasped and struggled to pull away, but Angelica’s grip, while gentle, was as strong as iron. Before Lisa could object, Angelica had pulled her out of Jupiter’s stall and shut his door.

  “You must trust me, if only for a moment. Someone is coming,” Angelica whispered. “Someone is trying to catch you here.”

  “Jimmy,” said Lisa and stopped struggling. “We’ve got to hide.” Angelica dropped her wrist, and Lisa ran silently toward the large stack of hay bales near the stable door. “I made a hay cave behind here,” she explained to Angelica as she squeezed into the narrow crack between the wall and the tall haystack. The stiff hay stalks scratched against her body as she squeezed into the narrow space. Angelica entered the corridor right behind her. The crack widened as they slid along the wall toward the back of the haystack. Lisa had removed some of the hay bales and there was barely enough room for the two of them to stand in the tiny space. Angelica bent her head to stop from hitting the hay that formed the roof of the hay cave.

  Lisa sat cross-legged on the loose hay on the floor and leaned back onto a hay bale. “I’ve been taking the hay from back here to feed the horses,” whispered Lisa. “I move the bales at the front of the stack, so I can get the hay out, then I put them back so Jimmy can’t tell any are missing.”

  Suddenly, the stable door crashed open. Angelica spun silently toward the exit as Lisa pulled her legs to her chest and hugged them in a defensive pose. Heavy footfalls sounded to Firefly’s stall and then along the line of stalls, stopping for a few seconds in front of each one. At first Lisa couldn’t think why Jimmy would stop at each stall, but then it hit her. Jimmy was looking for her.

  What if Angelica hadn’t heard him in time? she thought as a shiver trickled down her spine. What if Jimmy called the police and told them I was trespassing? Dad would have been beyond angry with me if the police drove me home. What would he have done to me after they left? But nothing he could do would be worse than stopping me from taking care of Jupiter. I’m just so glad Angelica showed up tonight of all nights. Maybe she’s okay, even though she looks like someone that’s escaped from a book of fairy tales.

  Lisa drew in a deep breath in relief and lowered her chin to her knees as she exhaled. Then suddenly she sat upright. What’s that? she wondered. That smell? Cigarette smoke! Jimmy can’t be dumb enough to smoke in a barn full of hay, can he?

  Angelica put her hand on Lisa’s shoulder. “Stay here,” she whispered. “I am going to see what he is doing.”

  Lisa watched as Angelica crept closer and closer to the crack between the wall and the haystack. I can’t just sit here, she thought. Quickly she stood and followed the older girl, trying to move as quietly as Angelica had. It was difficult. The hay seemed to rustle far too loudly with each step. Lisa watched as Angelica reached the end of the narrow tunnel and leaned forward, peering into the main part of the stable. Then she pulled back and turned to Lisa.

  “He is beside us, sitting on a bale of hay and leaning on the stack,” she whispered so low that Lisa could barely hear her. “And he is smoking a cigarette.”

  Chapter 9

  The stupid brat! I know she was here. I heard her talking to that ugly horse of hers. But how did she get out without me seeing her? Not to worry. She’s probably just waiting around outside for me to leave, thinking she’s got me fooled. She and my uncle are too crazy about horses, if you ask me.

  I don’t see what’s so wonderful about the smelly beasts myself. These ones aren’t even worth much money. They’re just a bunch of pets. The only one that’s purebred is that mare—and she’s old. I can’t wait until I can get rid of them. Should be soon too. If I could just get my hands on that girl, the old man would tell me where it is. I know it.

  But I’ve got to catch her tonight. If I don’t, I’m going back to the original plan.

  She’s as slippery as a shadow too. But she has one weakness: her horse. I know what’ll bring her running back in here.

  Chapter 10

  Lisa cringed back against the hay as Jimmy’s yell shattered the silence. “Hey, little Lisa. Are you listening?” he bellowed. She heard him walk along the line of stalls again. “I know you were here, and I’ll bet anything that you can hear me now. I heard you talking to this stupid horse of yours.” A whistling noise slashed through the air.

  Angelica pulled back into the crevice, her face glowing with anger. “He tried to hit Jupiter!” she breathed.

  “What?” said Lisa, a little too loudly.

  “Shhhh,” whispered Angelica. “He did not hit him. He only tried, but Jupiter is too quick.” She turned again to look out into the stable as Jimmy’s voice erupted again.

  “If you don’t come back in here, I’m going to beat your precious black horse,” he yelled.

  When Lisa heard the loud thump, she started forward, but she couldn’t squeeze around Angelica. “Wait,” whispered Angelica, but Lisa wasn’t listening. She could hear the whistle of the whip slash through the air again, then another thwack as it landed.

  “No, he is tricking you. Listen to me!” Angelica’s insistent whisper broke through Lisa’s anger, and she felt as if a mild electrical current was pushing her backward. “He is hitting a bale of straw with a riding crop,” Angelica explained. “He wants to lure you out. He does not know we can see him and is only pretending to beat Jupiter. He wants you to run out to try to save him.”

  Lisa was so relieved that Jimmy wasn’t really beating Jupiter that her knees felt weak. She slumped to the ground as Jimmy continued to whip the bale of hay. She couldn’t see him, but she could imagine him with a smile on his face in between the cruel things she could hear him shouting. She hoped he would grow tired of his game soon. Even though she knew he wasn’t laying the whip on Jupiter, it still bothered her to hear Jimmy yelling the cruel things he was calling her horse. Just be patient, she told herself. When I don’t come, he’ll think I was out of hearing range by the time he started. She plugged her fingers into her ears and tried to concentrate on something else. Anything else.

  But at the back of her mind, something nagged at her, though she couldn’t think what it was. Jimmy had that effect on her. He made her feel confused and muddle-headed. Think, think! she commanded herself. But the only image that came to her mind was Jimmy’s narrow face and sly smile, so proud of himself for thinking of luring her back into the stable to save her horse. Enjoying every screamed threat.

  Then suddenly, she knew what was bothering her. How can he be yelling with a cigarette in his mouth? she wondered. Can the cigarette be in the hand not holding the whip? Or did he drop it somewhere?

  Lisa stood and touched Angelica on the shoulder, attracting her attention. “The cigarette,” she
whispered. “What did he do with it?”

  Though Angelica’s skin was already very fair and they were standing in the shadows, Lisa could still see the older girl’s face become even paler. With a shimmer of golden hair, Angelica looked around the edge of the haystack. In a moment, she pulled back and turned to Lisa. “He no longer has it,” she whispered.

  “We’ve got to find it,” insisted Lisa. “What if it’s laying in a bit of straw somewhere? Or even worse, has landed on the haystack? Or maybe it’s in one of the stalls? The entire stable could be burned to the ground.”

  Angelica just nodded as she turned again to peer out the crack. Lisa waited behind her as she searched the stable. Jimmy was growing tired of pretending to beat Jupiter and his obscenities were fading away. Lisa noticed Angelica flinch as her eyes roamed the stable floor.

  “Did you find it?” whispered Lisa. At first Angelica didn’t seem to hear her. Then she pulled back into the crevice with a slight intake of breath.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “It is in front of Firefly’s stall and is smoking still. We are going to have to put it out somehow and as soon as we can. It is much too close to the haystack. If it ever ignited the hay….” The end of Angelica’s sentence faded away into nothing, suggesting something too horrible to say and to hear. But Lisa knew how devastating the results could be. All the horses could be killed. Burned alive. She and Angelica were close to the door and could easily escape, but the horses would be trapped.

  “How are we going to put it out when we have to hide in here,” asked Lisa, her whispered words hinged on the edge of panic. If the haystack starts on fire, we should try to get Firefly first, she thought, already planning ahead. She’s the closest to the haystack. Maybe Angelica could get Firefly, and I could open the other horse’s stalls and get Jupiter. But what about Jimmy? Is he so angry he would even stop us from saving the horses? Even he couldn’t be that awful, could he?

  “Just one minute,” whispered Angelica, interrupting Lisa’s thoughts. “I have an idea, but you have to turn around. I do not want you to see what I am going to do.”

  “Whaa…” Lisa started to say, but then she realized there was no time. She would have to trust Angelica. She turned and faced the little hay cave. With the stable wall on one side and the hay wall close to her other side, Lisa couldn’t see anything behind her, even out of the corner of her eye. Though she couldn’t see Angelica at all, Lisa could still hear and strained her ears for sounds of Angelica’s movements.

  At first there was nothing. Then a noise grew out of the silence so gradually it was as if the sound had always been there, just waiting to rise into the normal level of hearing. It was like singing and like the wind and like the water rushing along a rocky streambed all braided into one noise, but so hushed and so soft that Lisa felt a wave of peace flow over her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she noticed that Jimmy seemed to become louder and angrier.

  A loud bang struck through the peaceful noise, and Lisa started. As she spun around, another loud crack filled the air, and then Lisa heard Jimmy muttering as he moved toward Firefly’s stall.

  “What did you do?” whispered Lisa.

  “Nothing,” Angelica whispered back. “I did not have time.”

  “Then what was that noise,” asked Lisa.

  “Firefly kicked the door of her stall,” explained Angelica. “And now Jimmy is walking toward her. Maybe he will notice the cigarette.”

  Lisa flinched as the sound of Jimmy’s whip whistled through the air. His loud voice screamed at the mare and Firefly’s hooves echoed on the hard floor as she spun away, trying to avoid being struck.

  “Stupid horses,” muttered Jimmy. Then Lisa heard his footsteps come toward them. Angelica pulled back as he came to within three feet of their hiding place. Lisa shut her eyes. Then she heard the door slam shut.

  Angelica turned toward her. “Stay here,” she whispered. “He may not go far and only one of us should risk being caught.” She slipped from the narrow corridor and ran toward the smoking cigarette. Within seconds it was out, crushed underfoot, and ground to powder, then Angelica slipped to the stable door without uttering a sound. “Stay here,” she whispered to Lisa, opened the door a little wider and slipped through, pulling the door closed behind her. Lisa waited as the longest minute of her life slowly ticked past. She hardly noticed she was holding her breath until the door opened and Angelica slipped back into the stable.

  “He has gone back inside the house,” Angelica said aloud to Lisa as she locked the stable door behind her. “We are safe for now.”

  Lisa stepped out from the narrow corridor and hurried to Firefly’s stall. “Are you okay, girl?” she asked. “Did he hurt you?” Firefly approached Lisa and buried her nose in Lisa’s hands. “You’re okay,” Lisa murmured. “I was so worried about all of you.” She walked down the line of stalls checking each horse in turn. Finally, she stopped at Jupiter’s stall. Jupiter nuzzled her as she stroked his neck.

  “Why does he feel so much hatred for you?” Angelica asked Lisa. She had stopped at Topper’s stall and was trying to comfort the grey gelding as he paced back and forth.

  “I don’t know. He doesn’t want me on the property at all, and I don’t understand why,” said Lisa. She kicked her foot lightly against the stall door. “I mean, I help with the horses and feed and water them and clean their stalls, all for free,” she continued. “And I turn them out and bring them in again after they’ve had a run. He doesn’t want me to do it, but then he doesn’t do it himself. Look at Jupiter’s trough. He didn’t even feed him tonight, even though he fed Firefly. I didn’t check the others, but I’m guessing he fed them too, but not Jupiter. It’s just not fair.”

  Now that she had started, Lisa had a hard time stopping. There had been no one to tell her worries to except the horses and it felt so nice to have someone to confide in. “The horses haven’t been turned out to run for days, and they’re going crazy. He never cleans their stalls and I’m never sure how much to clean. I mean, I don’t want him to know how much I come over or when, so I always have to leave the stalls a little bit dirty. And Mr. Pickering has been sick. I haven’t been able to talk to him for ages. I know he liked me to help before Jimmy came, and he’s a great old guy. He wouldn’t like the way Jimmy is taking care of the horses if he knew.”

  “And Jimmy is so scary,” Lisa continued as Angelica put her arm around her and led her toward the bale of straw that Jimmy had beaten. Angelica sat down and Lisa sat beside her. “He drinks a lot and I think he’s been hitting the horses, not just pretending like he did tonight. I know Jupiter is scared of him. But I can’t phone the police because I’m not supposed to be here.”

  “And your mother and father?” asked Angelica. “Why do you not tell them what is happening?”

  “That’s part of the problem. My dad said I wasn’t allowed to come here ever again. He would be so mad if he knew I had been sneaking over. He hates Mr. Pickering just because he bought our house. He told me I had to forget about Jupiter, but how can I do that when he needs me? Jupie won’t eat unless I feed him. He was getting better and beginning to trust Mr. Pickering and everything seemed to be okay. Not great but okay. And then Jimmy came and everything got a lot worse.” She paused for a moment and tore at the bale of straw with her fingers. Angelica was quiet, waiting for her to continue.

  “You see, Jupiter was orphaned as a foal,” explained Lisa. “I saved his life when he was a baby, and he’s still dependent on me even now that he’s big. On days like today, it’s really hard when I can’t come until everyone is in bed and Jupiter has to wait for me to feed him. He’s lost a lot of weight since Jimmy got here.” She looked up at Angelica. “You won’t tell anyone what I’ve said, will you?” she asked, suddenly nervous. “If my dad found out, I would never be able to come back again.”

  “I will not tell,” Angelica reassured her. “And maybe I can even help you.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Lisa hopefully.

 
; “I could take care of the horses in the mornings,” offered Angelica. “Then they will have food and water all day, and you do not have to worry about them until nightfall. And if you can not come at night, I can come then too. I am near the stables.”

  “Near the stables?” repeated Lisa.

  “I am staying nearby,” answered Angelica. “I can be at the stable in a few minutes from my place, and I would love to help you take care of the horses. I do not go to school so it will be easier for me.”

  “That would be wonderful,” said Lisa and smiled at Angelica. “I saw that Jupiter likes you, so he might even eat the food you give him. It helps so much to know someone will help me take care of them and that someone else cares about them. Watch out for Jimmy though. He’s really scary. He’s a bad person. I can just tell. I don’t know how else to say it, but he really gives me the creeps.”

  “I will be careful,” promised Angelica. “Do not worry. I can be pretty sneaky too.”

  Lisa smiled. It felt so good to have someone share the responsibility of the horses’ well being, someone who obviously cared for them and understood them. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone and show you what we need to do. My name is Lisa, by the way. You probably know all the horse’s names by the nameplates on their stalls, but this is Firefly. That’s Topper. Here is Dakota. And you’ve already met Jupiter.”

  Lisa showed Angelica where the grain was kept and where the fork and wheelbarrow were kept for cleaning the stalls. As Jupiter happily munched his grain, she showed Angelica how she cleaned the stall. First she removed all the dirty bedding and replaced it with clean straw. They had to take a bale from the back of the pile, so Jimmy wouldn’t notice any of the straw bales were missing. Then she spread the fresh bedding on the stall floor.

  “Then usually I take a tiny bit of the dirty straw and sprinkle it on top, just enough to make the bedding look used. I know it doesn’t make much sense to throw dirty straw back down, but I don’t know how else to make the bedding look like it hasn’t been changed. I don’t think we need to do it tonight though. Obviously Jimmy already knows I was here.”