Free Tagus the Night Horse by Adam Blade Page A

see it, too. A glowing red line showed the road from the mountain town of Colton to the plain of Daretonin the middle of the kingdom. Tiny cattle moved about on the plain, eating the rich grass.
    “I think we’re about here.” Tom pointed to the edge of the hills on the map. “It can’t be too far now.”
    “Can you see Dareton?” Elenna asked, moving to get a better view of the map. “That’s the main town, isn’t it?”
    “There,” Tom pointed, “that’s where we’re headed.” He put the map away and looked at the plains below them. He could see the long grasses swaying in the breeze. With a nudge of his heels, he urged Storm onward. “Since we’re getting close, we should keep an eye out for the next Beast.”
    “Wizard Aduro said he’s half man, half horse,” Elenna said, shivering.
    Tom nodded. “Tagus. He’s attacking the cattle on the plain. The people of Dareton could starve.”
    Tom tightened his grip on the reins. He knewhow important it was to free Tagus from the evil enchantment. Storm nickered, as if he knew what they were up against. Tom patted his horse’s neck. With each Quest, their bond grew stronger.
    They came to the crest of a low hill. Tom looked out across the wide plain that stretched as far as he could see. A river wound through clumps of trees and gently sloping hills. In the distance, a lake glinted in the sunlight. Silver’s ears pricked up and he sniffed the air eagerly.
    “It’s beautiful!” Elenna exclaimed. “Maybe Aduro sent us here before Tagus had the chance to do terrible damage.”
    “Could be.” Tom’s heartbeat quickened with hope. In the south, the crops had been burned by dragon fire. In the west, Sepron the sea serpent had flooded the coast. Cypher the giant had destroyed the northern hills with rock slides. Tom had almost forgotten what ordinary, peacefulcountryside looked like. “Look over there,” he said, pointing into the distance. He could just make out square gray towers and rooftops covered with red tiles. “That must be Dareton.”
    “Then let’s go!” said Elenna.
    Storm cantered down the hill toward the plain. Tom enjoyed the steady beat of his hooves, sensing his horse’s rising excitement. Silver let out a joyful yelp and bounded ahead of them. He disappeared into the long grass until all Tom and Elenna could see of him was the tip of his tail.
    On the breeze Tom could smell a hint of smoke, as if there was a campfire burning nearby. He scanned the horizon to see if he could catch sight of it. Looking south across the plain, Tom spotted a herd of cattle. Moving in a thick mass, the herd appeared to be heading toward them.
    “That’s odd,” Tom said. “Shouldn’t the cattle be moving toward Dareton?”
    As they watched from Storm’s saddle, Tom and Elenna sensed that something was wrong.
    The herd wasn’t walking peacefully. They were stampeding!
    “We have to get out of here,” Tom said. “They’re heading right for us!”
    “Silver!” Elenna called to her wolf. She let out a piercing whistle, and within seconds the gray wolf was bounding through the tall grass toward them.
    “Good boy,” Tom said, looking east toward Dareton. If they could move quickly enough, they might be able to get out of the stampede’s way and reach safety. Tom squeezed Storm’s flanks and the horse took off through the prairie grass toward town.
    Running at full speed, Storm cut across the plain like a bolt of lightning. Silver followed at their heels. But they couldn’t get out of the way of thestampeding herd. Dust had begun to fill the air and the sound of their hooves pounding the hard ground was deafening.
    When Storm crested onto a slight rise in the ground, Tom caught a glimpse of the cattle. The herd was much larger then he had thought. There must have been a thousand animals, each the size of a large boulder. They were charging through the plain, trampling flat anything in their way.
    The ground was shaking under the weight of the