Eye of the Storm

Erin. ‘And we can clean tack if we can’t ride.’
    ‘It’s great you’re so dedicated, but I’m not sure you should be out all day. I might give Nicky a ring and see what she thinks.’
    Chloe’s mum, Nicky, had invited Erin over for tea that day. Erin and Chloe had been delighted because it meant Erin would be there when Allegra and Xanthe arrived. Erin’s dad picked up the phone and dialled Chloe’s number. Erin listened in. From her dad’s side of the conversation it sounded as if Chloe was insisting on going to the stables too.
    ‘Yes, Erin’s saying she still wants to go,’ Erin heard her dad saying to Nicky. ‘I’m not sure with the bad weather that’s been predicted… yes, I know… yeah, it is good they want to…’ There was a pause. ‘No. No decisions on that front yet. Jo and I are still thinking about it. Well, if you think it’s OK, then I’ll drop Erin off there with a packed lunch as usual. Thanks, Nicky. Bye.’
    He put the phone down.
    Erin vaguely wondered what Jo and her dad were thinking about, but there was a more important question to be answered. ‘So I can still go today?’
    Her dad nodded. ‘Nicky will come and take you back to her house if the weather starts to get worse.’
    Erin breathed out in relief. She couldn’t wait to see Kestrel.
    ‘I can’t believe you want to go to the stables in this weather,’ Ben said to her. ‘Just to see dumb horses and brush them.’
    ‘Told you she was mad,’ said Jake cheerfully.
    Erin glared at her stepbrothers. Sometimes she really wished she was an only child like Chloe!

    After breakfast, Erin got dressed. She picked up the hagstone from her window ledge and looked at the sky. The horses seemed restless and unhappy; some were trotting with their ears back, others were standing with their heads down, their eyes dull. They look like they’re sick , Erin thought. She knew it must be their magic seeping away.
    She moved the stone across the sky and saw a horse with a coal-black coat charging at a group of mares with young foals. It was Marianne as a sky horse!
    The mares and foals scattered in fear. Marianne reared up, striking out at them with her front legs.
    ‘Erin! Are you almost ready?’ her dad called.
    Erin swung round. ‘Just a minute!’ She looked back at the sky. The other horses had fled, leaving Marianne alone. As Erin watched, the dark spirit’s horse-shaped body shivered and dissolved, narrowing and straightening as she transformed into her human shape. She was wearing a pale-blue dress and her long blonde hair blew around her. She turned and looked straight at Erin.
    ‘ I can feel you watching me, Erin .’
    Erin jumped about a foot in the air. She tried to look away, but she found she couldn’t. Her eyes wouldn’t obey her.
    ‘ I can sense you ,’ Marianne’s voice hissed into her head. ‘ I know you want to stop me, but you never will. I will make the sky horses do whatever I want. The weather is mine to control now. No weather weaver will ever be more powerful than me .’
    Erin’s heart was pounding, but she forced the words out. ‘W-we’ll stop you,’ she stammered out loud.
    ‘ You! ’ Marianne laughed. ‘ If you try… ’ she paused for a moment, ‘ you – and all those around you – will be very, very sorry .’
    Throwing back her head, she changed back into a black horse again and reared up triumphantly.
    ‘Erin?’
    There was a knock at Erin’s door. Her dad looked in. ‘Who are you talking to?’ The shock broke the spell. Erin dropped the stone.
    ‘Whoa!’ said her dad as the stone bounced across the room and banged into the wardrobe door. ‘Careful, Erin! Whatever are you doing?’
    ‘N-nothing,’ Erin stammered, hurrying to pick up the hagstone, her cheeks blazing.
    ‘Come on then,’ her dad said. ‘We’d better go.’
    Slipping the stone into her pocket, Erin nodded and hurried shakily after him.
    All the way to the stables, Erin tried to put the conversation with Marianne out of her mind, but the words echoed round her head: if you try, you – and all those around you – will be very, very sorry…
    As they pulled into the car park, Erin saw Chloe being dropped off. She ran over to meet her. ‘I’ve got something to tell you.’ She quickly told Chloe about the vision.

    ‘That’s horrid!’ Despite her worry, though, Chloe smiled. ‘Bet your dad must have thought you’d gone mad. Talking to yourself and throwing stones!’
    ‘I know,’ groaned