Free Destiny and Stardust by Stacy Gregg Page B

leaving Aidan standing there with Diablo and Paris.
    â€œOhmygod, could that have been any more embarrassing?” Issie murmured to Blaze, burying her head deep into her pony’s mane as they stood together in Blaze’s stall. Not only had she chickened out on doing the Flying Angel stunt, she had held hands with Aidan! This was just the worst!
    Untacking Blaze quickly, Issie slipped out the back door of the stable, hoping she stood less chance of running into Aidan again if she went out that way. Then she ran across the lawn, up on to the porch and in through the back door of the manor.
    As she walked towards the kitchen she thought for a moment that Aidan had somehow got back there before her. She could hear a man’s voice in the kitchen talking with Aunt Hester. When she got nearer, though, she realised the voice didn’t belong to Aidan.
    â€œIsadora! Is that you? Come and meet Cameron,” Aunt Hester said. “Cameron is the head ranger for the Blackthorn Hills Conservation Trust.” Her Aunt smiled at the sandy-haired man in the khaki jacket sitting next to her at the table. “Cameron, I’d like you to meet Isadora, my favourite niece. She’s the one who first sighted the Grimalkin up on Blackthorn Ridge yesterday.”
    â€œIs that so?” The ranger looked at Issie.
    â€œWell, kind of…” Issie said. “Something was there and it chased me and my horse, but it was hidden by the trees so I never actually saw it. I just heard it.”
    The ranger cocked a suspicious eyebrow at this.
    â€œBut I did see it last night!” Issie added hastily. “It was right there on top of the cattle pens just before we found Meadow. It was balancing on the top of the wooden railings, running along them like a cat.”
    â€œCould it have been a cat?” Hester wondered.
    â€œOhmygod no! Not a normal cat. It was enormous. I mean, really huge,” Issie said. “Bigger than Nanook even.”
    â€œDid you see what sort of an animal it was?” Cameron asked.
    â€œUmm, not really. There was a full moon but it was still very dark. It was black, I think, and it had a long thick tail, but I couldn’t really see much more than that. It disappeared pretty fast and then Aidan found Meadow and…” Issie’s voice trailed off as she remembered the awful events of the night before and the gruesome discovery of poor Meadow.
    â€œCould have been a stray dog,” the ranger assessed. “We’ve had a couple of reports of stock loss lately. Once a dog gets the taste for blood, they’re trouble.”
    â€œIt wasn’t a dog,” Issie said firmly.
    The ranger looked at her again. “Well, whatever it was, we’ll find it. I’m going to take a couple of men up to the ridge today and we’ll try and track it.”
    â€œWhat will you do if you find it?” Issie asked.
    â€œWe’ve got long-range rifles. Our men are trained sharp-shooters,” he said coolly.
    â€œWould you like more coffee, Cameron?” Aunt Hester offered the ranger. “Issie, why don’t you join us?”
    Issie sat down reluctantly next to the ranger as Aunt Hester poured more coffee from the pot for herself and their guest.
    â€œAnyway, I didn’t come here just to look for your… what did you call it? A ‘Grimalkin’?” the ranger told Hester as she sat down again. “You know the Conservation Trust has been concerned for some time now about the damage the Blackthorn Ponies are causing to the native wildlife.”
    Hester nodded.
    â€œWe’ve been discussing the problem for months now. The Blackthorn Hills district is rich with rare native flora. There are species of lichen and moss here that simply don’t exist anywhere else in the world. It’s our job as the Conservation Trust to protect the land,” the ranger continued.
    â€œBut the ponies have been here for years, Cameron. Why is the