Read Rocking Horse War for Free Online Page B

The boy’s voice rolled round the gully as she weighed them in her hand.
    “The horses were a gift from us, to protect you until you were old enough for the crowning ceremony. They did their job today, getting you away from the Laird’s ambush. I just wish they hadn’t split up! If they’d stayed together I would have all three of you already.” 
    Pearl lifted her arm and flung one stone as hard as she could over the top of the gully to the other side.
    It landed silently in the heather. She sighed.
    She lifted her arm again and flung the other stone. It clattered on a rock.
    The boy below stopped talking. Pearl held her breath until she saw him clambering up the other side of the gully, towards the noise.
    Pearl slid her head and shoulders over the edge. “Oi!” she whispered to Jasper. “Come up here now!”
    Jasper looked at her and frowned. She mouthed, “NOW!” and reached her arm down to him.
    He shrugged and climbed towards her.
    She grabbed him, almost lifting him off his feet, though he was nearly as tall as her, then she ran with him towards the rocks.
    Behind them, the horses neighed in alarm. But however swift rocking horses were on the flat, they wouldn’t be very fast scrambling up the gully’s steep sides.
    Pearl and Jasper sprinted to the Twa Corbies, where she shoved her brother through a tiny gap she’d guessed was hidden between the two grey rocks, into the cramped cave which Peter had marked on his maps.
    As she got used to the dim light, she noticed words scratched into the rock at the narrow entrance. Peter Chayne, August 1915 . Her big brother had been here exactly twelve years ago. She ran her fingers over the grooves forming his name. 
    Jasper wriggled beside her, jabbing his elbow into her leg.
    “Be quiet, and they might not find us,” she whispered.
    “What are you doing, dragging me in here?” he whispered back.
    “Saving you from that boy and his horrid horses.”
    “That boy is my friend and my stallion is fantastic. I don’t want saved!” Jasper’s voice was rising.
    “Shhhh!” Pearl slapped her hand over his mouth.
    He squirmed.
    “Shh shh shh, Jasper,” she murmured, like he was a wee boy again. “Shhhh.”
    He bit her fingers and shoved her off.
    Then he screamed, “I’m here! I’m here!” His voice rattled round the tiny space.
    “You little … toad!” spat Pearl. “I don’t know why I bother …”
    “Come out, dearest Jasper.” The tall boy’s voice moved nearer as he spoke. “Come on out.”
    Jasper pushed past Pearl and slid out.
    She crouched on the cold ground. Would her brother betray her, or would he leave her, hidden and safe?
    She didn’t really have to wonder.
    “I didn’t run off, really I didn’t. She grabbed me. I bit her, though, and that’s when I shouted. She’s still in there. “
    “What a hero you are, Jasper. Shall we ask her to come out too?”
    Pearl pressed herself to the back of the stone space. 
    A voice whispered just outside, “Will you come out? Or shall I come in and get you?”
    Pearl shivered, and looked at the narrow entrance. She remembered the boy as tall but slim, and he could probably fit through. She would rather meet him again, if she had to, in a larger space than this.
    “I’m coming out.”
    She squeezed out awkwardly, to the cool smile of the tall boy and the sideways smirk of her revolting little brother.
    “A brave rescue attempt,” sneered the boy. “It might even have succeeded, except Jasper didn’t want to be rescued. Just a slight flaw in your plan.”
    Pearl glared at Jasper as she stood up. He retreated, muttering, “This is my big sister.”
    “We’ve met,” said the boy, towering over both of them. “I thought I’d left you safely at home. You must be brighter than you look.” He glanced in amusement at her muddy clothes.
    Then he looked behind him very briefly, perhaps checking the horses were out of sight. He began to twirl his stick.
    “Your brother and I were just