Shades of Starlight (Hiatus)

Book Two: Chapter Two

I steadied Sophie as she wobbled slightly, keeping a calm hand on the alicorn as well, who I could tell was freaking out by the terrified whinny she had let out. Once I was sure Sophie was okay, I turned my attention to the alicorn, stroking her beautiful mane and murmuring reassuring things in her ear. By the time Grady and Sandor found us, the alicorn was calm.

"Are you two all right?" Grady asked worriedly, seeing Sophie's blank expression. I nodded, not wanting to scare the alicorn again. The sight of Sandor seemed to frighten her, though, so I pointed at the goblin and made an X with my fingers. I could feel Sandor's glare without having to look at him, but I heard him stomp away again.

"We need to make sure she doesn't fly off or anything," Sophie pointed out. She was right. If the alicorn was spooked by anything and flew off, there was pretty much nothing we could do to get her back.

"Give her some of these." Grady handed me several twisted, pale blue stalks of swizzlespice. That was smart. I'd given swizzlespice to plenty of animals here, and they all loved the cinnamony taste.

"Here, girl," I said to the sparkling horse. "Treats!" She studied me with her enormous brown eyes for a moment before chomping down on the tops of the swizzlespice. I held my hands out flat so that she wouldn't take my fingers when she grabbed the rest of the treats from me. A rough alicorn tongue was licking my palm, making the alicorn's terrible breath fill the air.

"Where are we going to put her?" Sophie asked Grady. He pointed toward the aviary, at an enclosure that used to hold pterodactyls. A gnome I hadn't seen before was lying more swizzlespice down to make a path to the enclosure. I beckoned for the alicorn to follow me as Sophie and I made our way down the trail. She eyed the stalks nervously, but after a bit of encouragement, started eating them enthusiastically.

A large pile of swizzlespice had been placed in the center of the enclosure. Sophie and I waited outside the cage while Grady closed the gate, locking the alicorn inside. Sophie winced and frowned at the interlocking dome of bamboo.

"I know," Grady said, seeing Sophie's expression. "But it's only for a few hours. The gnomes are already working to enclose the Cliffside pasture."

The Cliffside pasture was, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of Havenfield. Grady and Edaline had refused to use it after Sophie and I had been kidnapped, though, so right now it was empty. I understood their decision, and I knew that none of us ever wanted to set foot in those caves for the rest of our lives. The Cliffside pasture was perfect for a flying horse, though. I could already picture her in it.

I glanced at the alicorn again and spotted the gnome that had helped us trap her. That reminded me of the project I'd been working on.

"Excuse me?" I said to him. He smiled at me.

"Yes, Miss Sencen?" I waved the name away. Nobody called me that except for some of my more formal Mentors.

"Call me Cass, everyone does. What's your name?"

"Prend, Miss Sencen. Thank you for asking," he responded. I mentally stored his face and name in my photographic memory for my project.

"It's Cass. And thanks," I said, giving him a bright smile and going to talk with Sophie and Grady.

"I want Elwin to check you out in the morning, to make sure that you're really okay," Grady was saying to Sophie, who really did look fine. I'd given her enough of my concentration that she hadn't faded one bit.

"And you get to bathe the verminion for the next month," Grady added. Sophie groaned. I giggled.

"That's just mean," she complained.