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for
a moment.” The girl lowered to the ground at the pony’s head. “I am
tired, that is all.”
    Boughs whispered in the night
breeze, the trees swayed softly, and a mouse rustled in the
undergrowth. The girl’s breath slowed. Calmed. There were no sounds
that didn’t belong – thank goodness. They weren’t being
pursued.
    “What were you doing there?”
Joanna asked.
    “I came to help a friend, but
the girl saw me. She screamed and the man ran to save her. He is
very strong.”
    “So how’d you get away?”
    “I… uh, surprised him and was
able to twist away from his grasp. Then you came to help me. Thank
you so much. What is your name?”
    “Joanna.”
    “I am Angelica. Thank you very
much, Joanna, for saving me. And thank you too, Raven.” The girl
rose gracefully to her feet, and hugged the pony around his
neck.
    “Was the horse in the shed
okay?” Joanna paused. “Hey, how do you know Raven’s name?”
    “You said ‘Ravie’ when we
approached him, remember?” She turned to face Joanna in the dark.
“I need your help. Can you help me?”
    “The horse in the shed is being
abused, isn’t it?”
    “I am afraid there is not one
horse in the shed, but three.”
    “Three? In that tiny little
shed?”
    “Yes. Three stolen horses.”
    “Stolen!”
    “I am afraid so. But that is not
what I need your help with.”
    “What’s more important than
that?”
    “My friend David, he was there
too, but now he is gone. I am afraid something has happened to him.
I am afraid the man that lives there did something to him.”
    “I heard Mr. Thomas and another
guy yelling at each other,” Joanna said. “Mr. Thomas called the
other guy a different name. I can’t remember what now, but then the
other guy said no, his name was David.”
    “Did you see what happened
then?”
    “No. Sorry. They just got quiet
and then I heard a door shut and the lights came on in the house.
Maybe they went inside to talk or something, and then he left.”
    “I do not think so.” Angelica’s
voice was slow and thoughtful. “I believe Mr. Thomas has done
something to him. Something unkind.”
    Joanna shook her head. “Mr.
Thomas isn’t mean or anything.” She drew in a sharp breath. “But
then he’s never stolen horses before either.”
    “Will you help me, Joanna?”
    Joanna hesitated. She didn’t
even know this girl. But if Mr. Thomas had three stolen horses in
his shed – three! – and possibly had hurt Angelica’s friend,
could she really refuse? “I’m not sure what I can do,” she finally
said. “But I’ll try.”
     

 

     
    Kathy was in bed. The horses were locked
safely away. Finally he could sleep. He lowered his bulk into his
bed, lay back, and closed his eyes, all the while dreading what he
knew would happen.
    Immediately he felt he was falling
backward, spiralling downward into the abyss. He jerked his eyes
open. No, he was still in his room.
    He closed his eyes again – and was
falling again. His eyes sprung open. This time he breathed deep a
few times before closing them. And still, when he closed them, he
fell. There was no use in fighting it. He might as well give in. He
was too tired and needed sleep too badly. So he would allow himself
to sleep, despite the dreams that would come again to remind him of
his failure.
    He fell. Down. Down. Down.
    And then a sudden thought jerked him
out of his restless pose. There was a car in the ditch that he had
to move, before it was discovered. Or had someone asked him to move
it? He couldn’t remember.
    But either way, the result was the
same. There would be no rest yet this night, which was just as
well. He hated this dream most of all – the horses standing about
him, boxing him in as they stared at him with flat grey eyes. They
were all coloured grey as well, as if they’d been standing there
for a hundred years and were covered with dust.
    Always, after standing with the herd
for a few minutes, he’d suddenly notice Kathy standing yards