Free White Horse Talisman by Andrea Spalding Page A

squeaked with tension.
    Holly crossed the turf and stood before the lintel stones.
    â€œThe stories say to leave a coin on the entrance stones if you want your horse shod,” she said.
    â€œWe don’t,” Adam said flatly. “And it isn’t a coin.”
    â€œTry it anyway.” Holly pointed to a rock between the stones. “Put the talisman there.”
    Adam edged towards the dark entrance. His fingers didn’t want to let go, but he dropped the talisman. It landed with a tinkle. Wave upon wave of mystery flowed from the dark tunnel, wrapping tendrils around his body and tugging him towards the entrance. Adam retreated fast.
    Holly climbed casually on top of the burial mound. Owen also seemed unaffected by the atmosphere.
    The talisman lay there. Nothing happened.
    Owen fidgeted for a few moments, then walked over and picked it up. “Maybe someone has to take it inside.”
    A surge of relief swept over Adam. Yesit didn’t have to be him. Let Owen go in the dark hole.
    Owen held the talisman between his finger and thumb, bent double and slipped inside the barrow.
    â€œAny skeletons in there?” Adam asked Holly.
    She shook her head. “No. The burial chambers were excavated years ago.” She jumped down from the side of the mound and ran back towards the lintels. “They took the skeletons to a museum somewhere.” She looked at Adam and laughed. “It’s not scary, silly. The entrance just leads to three little hollows. You can always see daylight, even from the deepest one.” She bent down and peeked inside. “Anything happening?” she called.
    â€œNot a thing,” Owen’s disembodied answer wafted up. He crawled out of the entrance and handed the talisman to Holly. “Try something else.”
    Holly looked around. “Chantel walked widdershins around the eye. Let’s try that.” She ran past Adam to the entrance of the beech-tree circle, paused and, holding the talisman before her, walked slowly around the edge of the clearing in an anti-clockwise direction.
    She made seven circles. Nothing happened.
    Holly offered the talisman to Adam. “Your turn.”
    Adam shrank back. He had known that it would come to this. He was going to have to crawl in that hole. It was still pulling at him.
    â€œCome on, Adam.” Holly pressed the talisman into his palm. “What’s the matter?”
    â€œHe’s scared,” Owen said, grinning.
    Adam looked at them. “Don’t you feel it?” he asked.
    Owen stopped laughing. “Feel what?”
    â€œAs though … as though the hole … is trying to pull you inside?”
    Holly and Owen stared at the entrance to the barrow and back at Adam.
    Owen slowly shook his head. “I don’t feel anything. Does it feel like that to you?”
    â€œYes,” whispered Adam.
    â€œThen it’s got to be you who takes the talisman inside. Go on. We’ll be right here. Yell if you need help, but you’ve got to try.”
    He pushed Adam towards the barrow.
    CCC
    Adam crouched in the entrance. It was dark, and smelled of damp rock. He was going to have to move if he wanted to see inside. His body was blocking the daylight.
    He crawled forward. Loose stones and rocks poked into his hands and knees. Air swirled around him. The rocks throbbed gently, as if to a giant heartbeat. Or was it his heart thumping? Adam couldn’t tell. His imagination worked overtime. What if a bat flew into his hair? What if he knelt on a snake? What if spiders fell down his neck? What if the magic sucked him in and he was never seen again? Heart pounding, he eased himself into a hollow on one side of the passage and let a shaft of sunlight through.
    After his flights of imagination, Adam was relieved to see a short, well-trampled rocky passage opening into three alcoves made of gigantic slabs of rock. Interesting, but not scary.
    â€œAnything happening?” yelled Holly