Free Tagus the Night Horse by Adam Blade Page B

massive animals. Tom could feel Elenna squeezing him tightly as they flew across the plains toward Dareton. They were almost out of the way of the stampede when Storm skidded to a stop.
    “Go, Storm! Keep going!” Tom yelled, kicking at the horse’s flanks. “We’re almost there —”
    Tom heard a crackling sound and looked up. Instantly, he knew why Storm had stopped so suddenly. Just in front of them, a raging fire was consuming the tall, dry grass of the prairie.

C HAPTER T WO

T RAPPED!
    T HEY WERE TRAPPED. T HE RAMPAGING CATTLE were closing in and there was nowhere to go. The only thing they could do was run with the stampede. This would be risky, but they had no choice.
    Tom wheeled Storm around, and the brave horse began running alongside the cattle. Before they knew it, Tom and Elenna were surrounded by a raging sea of stampeding animals.
    Choking on the dust and smoke, Tom urged Storm to run faster. “Go, boy! Go!”
    After a quarter of a mile, they had outrun the spreading fire.
    “Quick, go left!” Tom yelled, pulling on Storm’s reins. The horse made an abrupt turn, breaking from the stampede. Tom eased him to a stop.
    “We need to make a firebreak, to stop the fire from reaching Dareton!” Tom yelled above the thundering hooves. “I’ll need my sword and shield!”
    Tom jumped down from Storm’s back as Elenna handed him his shield and weapon. Running toward the approaching flames, Tom began chopping the tall grass with his sword. He knew if he could clear a wide enough break in front of the fire’s path, it would have nowhere to go.
    Running and chopping, Tom cleared a large swath of grass. The dragon scale in his shield kept him safe from the blaze. He did it again and again until the flames had nothing left to consume and began to die down.
    As the fire flickered out, Tom collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. His face was covered in sootand he was coughing from all the smoke he had inhaled.
    “Let’s rest a bit before moving on,” Elenna suggested, handing Tom some water and a little food. “Storm could use a break, too.”
    Tom walked a little ways to survey the damage. But he didn’t want to stay put for long. “We’d better get moving soon,” he called to Elenna as soon as he’d finished his bread. “The town will have stables where Storm can rest properly.”
    Just then, a shout rang out. “There he is!”
    Tom looked up to see a band of men approaching from the direction of Dareton. Tom was glad he had stopped the fire before it reached the town.
    “Hurry, let’s get him!” another man shouted.
    As the men approached, Tom knew something wasn’t right. These men weren’t here to thank him — they were angry and carrying weapons. Tom gripped his sword and shield tightly.
    “Elenna, leave them to me,” Tom told his friendas the mob drew nearer. “Take Storm and Silver to safety.” He watched as Elenna mounted Storm and galloped away, with Silver at her side. She cast him a worried look, but Tom did his best to look calm.
    The crowd surrounded him. They were all big men, brandishing scythes and pitchforks. Their faces glared red with rage. But at least they hadn’t seen his friends get away.
    There were too many of them to fight. And Tom didn’t understand why they were so angry — all he’d done was save their town from a wildfire. He took a step back as they jostled one another, trying to grab him.
    “Wait a minute. I haven’t done anything wrong —” Tom began.
    No one listened to him. One of the men pushed forward and grabbed Tom by the shoulder. “Where’s Victor?” he demanded.
    Everyone seemed to be shouting at once. “Lookat him — covered in soot! He must have started the fire.”
    “And what about our cattle?” Another man thrust his face close to Tom’s, glaring fiercely at him. “You’ve caused them to stampede.”
    Someone else struck Tom a powerful blow on the back that knocked the air from him. “Our families will starve!”
    “Who’s