Horse Stone (Book 1 of Ilyrian Series)

Chapter 2

"Oh, no. Please, no," Cat begged, spotting something that she didn't like. She groaned and laid her head back on the headrest.

"What? What is it?" I asked, my whole body tensing. My heart pounded a bit in my chest, and I couldn't help but think that he had found me, that he was going to take me away from my family as he had promised.

Cat turned to look at me, mock fear and amusement in her eyes. "I think Umbridge and Trinket had a baby," she said.

"What?!" Fel, Gwen, Izzy and I exclaimed, having read both Harry Potter and The Hungers Games.

Cat smiled. "I'm serious it looks like they like they had a baby," she said. "I guess you'll have to see when we get out of the car."

We groaned and Izzy picked my cat up and tossed her at Cat. "Have a cat for getting our hopes up," Izzy said after my cat mewled and hissed from being mistreated.

I shoved Izzy and took my cat from my older sister's arms. "You are safe," I cooed, scratching her behind her ear.

Tigra purred and moved her face across mine. She looked at my sister and hissed, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, it looks like you made an enemy," I teased, causing Izzy to scoff and roll her eyes.

"Izzy, do not throw your sister's cat at your older sister," my father teased. He looked back at us, smiling. His blue eyes sparkled with amusement, showing that he wasn't mad.

"Let's just hope this Umbridge/Trinket person doesn't have a pen on her that uses our blood to write," Fel said, causing us to hum in agreement.

"Or get us into the Hunger Games," I said. "We all know that I won't win." It was true, I wasn't much a fighter even though all twelve of us had been placed in self-defense classes, starting at five.

"Yes, you'll be the one hiding with Fel and surviving that way," Gwen said, rolling her eyes.

"Until Fel stabs me in the back," I replied, causing them to chuckle.

***

"You are right, Cat," I said when we got out of the car to see the Umbridge/Trinket person. She was pudgy as Umbridge and had curly blonde hair that looked like both. I couldn't tell, but I was sure that she had blue eyes. "She does look like a mix of them."

"Please, don't let her say 'Welcome, Welcome," Izzy groaned while we all lined up from oldest to youngest.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing, thinking the same thing.

"Ah, Mrs. Treat," my father greeted. "How are you today?" He went over to her and kissed her on the cheeks. "It is lovely to see you, Old Friend."

A snicker escaped Izzy's and my lips when he said "Mrs. Treat". What last name was that?

"It is good to see you again, Joe," she said, kissing his cheeks. "Do you remember, Liam and Luca?" she asked, gesturing towards the two people standing beside her on either side.

Izzy grabbed my arm and squeezed. "It's him," she whispered.

I blinked and looked at the two figures, and sure enough, he was the one that had ridden those cross country jumps. And, he looked hotter up close than he did in the field. He stood about 6'5 and was a slender build. There were some muscles, and I was sure that it was from working with horses. He had blue eyes that had this bit of mischief in them and his blonde hair was bushy and looked somewhat like a girl.

"I call him," she said, teasingly. She winked at me, causing me to scoff back a laugh.

"Yes, I remember them," my father said. He glanced back at us and narrowed his eyes, telling us to behave. He turned back to Mrs. Treat and smiled. "How are you two?" he asked.

"Fine, thank you,' the female said. She looked like the same copy as her brother, but her eyes didn't have the warmth and merriment in them. She looked us over and scowled when she caught sight of me.

"I think you got an enemy," Izzy mumbled, causing Gwen to murmur in agreement.

Mrs. Treat followed her daughter's gaze and looked us over. "And these are your children?" she asked. "Are they all from the same woman?"

"Ah, yes," Dad said, nodding his head. "Sam and I had three sets of twins. She wanted a big house, something that she didn't have and I had."

Mrs. Treat nodded and looked us over again. "Now, who is the girl that is going to be riding horses with me?"

I stepped up and stood tall. "I am," I replied.