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glanced up. Tor was standing just in front of her. Chloe and Mistral were behind him. They were all watching. ‘I think it’s ready.’ She avoided Chloe’s eyes. She had got to the clearing first again and hadn’t really spoken to Chloe since she’d arrived. ‘The stone’s really freezing.’
    ‘The colder it is, the more powerful its magic will be,’ Tor told her.
    ‘I’ll go and try it on Kestrel,’ said Erin eagerly. She flew into the air. Chloe followed her. ‘I’ll go on my own,’ Erin said.
    Chloe looked at her in surprise. ‘Don’t be silly.’
    ‘Oh, I’m silly now as well as jealous, am I?’ Erin couldn’t resist muttering. She flew off fast through the drizzling rain.

    ‘What?’ Chloe hurried to catch up with her.
    Erin shook her head as if to say it didn’t matter.
    ‘What’s up with you, Erin?’ Chloe asked.
    ‘Forget it,’ replied Erin.
    Chloe frowned. ‘You’re in a seriously weird mood tonight!’
    Erin ignored her and flew on. She wanted to see if she could heal Kestrel. That was all that mattered.
    Kestrel started as the door opened. Erin quickly let her camouflage drop. As soon as he saw her, he relaxed and whinnied softly. She went forward and gave him a hug. He looked curious, but not alarmed at the night-time visit. ‘I’m going to try and make you better,’ Erin told him, glad to be able to block out Chloe for a moment by concentrating on the pony. She gently put a hand on the skin above his bandage. Despite the injection that day, it was still hot and swollen and he was keeping his weight off that leg. She took the healing stone out of her pocket.
    ‘Do you want me to hold his head?’ offered Chloe.
    ‘It’s OK. I can manage on my own,’ Erin replied.
    ‘You don’t have to do everything on your own, you know,’ Chloe said in exasperation. ‘Honestly, Erin, I can help with some things!’
    Ignore her , Erin told herself, crouching down. She murmured quietly to Kestrel and placed the stone above the wound. Kestrel flinched, but then she felt him start to relax. Slowly, she moved the cold stone around the hot, swollen part of his leg. She brushed it over the bandage and then held it lightly where she knew the wound was. The stone tingled under her fingers. She closed her eyes, imagining all the healing thoughts she’d had when she had tried to free the power in the stone. She pictured Kestrel’s wound under the bandage. She imagined it slowly healing inside, leaving just a scar. She didn’t know how long she sat there for, but slowly she felt the stone start to lose its icy coldness. When it felt just like any normal stone, she straightened up. ‘Its magic is used up,’ she said. She gently touched the skin around the bandage. It felt much cooler and the swelling seemed to have gone down. ‘I think it might have worked.’
    ‘I suppose we’d better not take the bandage off to look,’ said Chloe. ‘We might not be able to get it on again.’
    That made sense even though, just then, Erin didn’t feel like admitting anything Chloe said might be useful.
    Kestrel rubbed Erin’s arm with his head. She was sure his eyes looked brighter.
    ‘We’d better get back to Tor.’ Erin hugged Kestrel goodbye. ‘See you tomorrow after school,’ she promised him.
    ‘That was really good,’ said Chloe, looking genuinely impressed as they left. ‘I’m so glad you could help.’
    Erin felt a small flare of triumph. Chloe should never have doubted her.
    ‘You know, while you were healing Kestrel, I was thinking about the prophecy,’ Chloe went on. ‘About the last verse especially.’ She recited it:

‘Yet danger is found with the new
gateway –
Beware the dark horse who leaps for
the sky.
With arrow of fire and grey feather’s
direction,
Two must help here or all hopes will die.
If the darkest impostor is not defeated,
Then never again will the cloud stallion
fly.’
    ‘ Two must help here ,’ Chloe repeated. ‘I bet that means us. That we both have