Eye of the Storm

of his hind legs tangled in the thick orange rope that was tied tautly between the fence posts. The more he struggled the tighter the rope pulled, cutting into the skin on his leg.
    ‘Steady, boy, steady!’ Erin gasped.
    Magpie had got free from Chloe and was galloping up the track in the direction of the yard. Chloe came running towards the gate, her eyes widening as she saw what had happened to Kestrel.
    ‘Chloe, get a knife!’ Erin yelled, her eyes never leaving Kestrel. ‘Fetch Jackie!’
    Chloe turned and ran as fast as she could back to the stables.
    Heart pounding, but feeling an inner core of icy calm, Erin moved closer to the terrified pony. She had to calm him down. ‘Steady, boy,’ she soothed, trying to avoid his kicking hooves. ‘It’s OK. I’m here.’ At the sound of her voice Kestrel’s wild movements slowed slightly. He swung his head to look at her, his dark eyes wide and scared, and then struggled some more. Erin knew she mustn’t move too fast in case it startled him. She walked forward, talking the whole time. ‘There,’ she said, as he stopped again. She crouched slowly down beside his neck. ‘Shh,’ she murmured, hardly daring to look at the rope wrapped round his leg. ‘It’s OK,’ she said, stroking him. ‘We’ll get you free.’
    Within a few minutes, Chloe and Jackie came running to the field. Jackie gestured to Chloe that she should stay back. ‘I’m going to cut his leg free,’ she said quickly to Erin as she approached the grey pony. ‘Keep talking to him, Erin. You’re doing a great job.’
    Kestrel’s eyes widened as Jackie walked round to the fence. Erin stroked his face, pushing back his long mane. Jackie bent down and moved swiftly, pulling a knife out of her pocket and cutting the rope by the fence so Kestrel’s leg came free. Then Jackie jumped out of the way, grabbing Erin and pulling her back as the pony threw himself over on to his side in relief and got to his feet, holding his injured leg off the ground.
    ‘This looks bad,’ said Jackie grimly, rain streaming down her face as she looked at the deep rope wound above Kestrel’s hock. ‘Let’s get him inside.’

    Jackie, Chloe and Erin stood in a stable with Kestrel. The girls had rubbed him down with wisps and then put a sweat sheet on him to keep him warm, but his coat was still soaking from the rain. He was pulling at a haynet. He didn’t seem too upset about his leg, but Jackie was worried because it was a very deep wound. She’d called the vet, but the roads were flooded and he had warned her that it would be a while before he could get there. Nicky had rung up on her mobile and said she couldn’t get to the stables because of fallen trees. Jackie had suggested she go home and come back when the storm had blown itself out.
    Now Jackie glanced out of the stable window. The thunder and lightning had stopped and the wind seemed to be dying down. ‘Why don’t we go back to the house and get dry?’ she suggested.
    Erin shook her head. ‘I want to stay here with Kestrel.’
    ‘OK,’ Jackie said. ‘But I’ll go and get you both a hot chocolate.’
    Jackie left the stable.
    ‘Oh, Kestrel,’ sighed Erin, burying her face in the grey pony’s neck and hugging him.
    Chloe looked out over the door. ‘That storm was awful. It’s a total mess out there.’
    Erin joined her. It looked like a hurricane had swept through the yard. Brooms and spades had been whirled up and dropped here and there, the hanging baskets that usually decorated the stables had fallen down, tiles had been pulled off the roof and one of the field fences had collapsed. A horrible thought struck her. ‘I hope Tor and Mistral are OK.’
    ‘They should be, shouldn’t they?’ Chloe said.
    They looked at each other uncertainly. Erin reached for the hair on her watchstrap. ‘Keep a lookout for Jackie. I’ll try to speak to Tor and check.’
    Chloe nodded.
    Erin held the hair in her fingers. ‘Tor,’ she called in her mind. ‘Tor, are you there? Can you hear me?’
    ‘Erin.’
    Erin felt a wave of relief as she heard the stallion’s voice in her head. ‘Are you all right?’
    ‘Yes. Do not worry. The woods are damaged, but Mistral and I turned ourselves into our cloud forms and merged with the winds in the skies. We are back in the woods now. How are you and Chloe?’
    ‘We’re OK, but Kestrel’s been injured. Oh, Tor. Marianne’s done so much damage with the storm.’
    ‘I know,’ said Tor. ‘And if she