“Ooh,” Rahina stuttered. She leaned forward and gripped the saddle bar so hard she couldn’t tell where her fingers ended and the bar started. She felt Dakota anticipate her command and shift her weight to her hind end.

“Dakota be gentle. Launch.”

Dakota reared and sank onto her haunches. When the Aeroequine jumped toward the sky, Rahina squeezed her eyes closed so tightly, moisture trickled out the corners. The deep swoosh sound made by Dakota’s wings thumped Rahina’s ears.  It wasn’t unpleasant, it was calming, like the sound of a strong heart beating in the air.

“Please don’t tell anyone about this horse. If we tell Gram or anyone else, they’ll try to find its owner. The owner may be a cruel person. I want to check out the horse and make sure it doesn’t have signs of abuse.”

“I don’t want to lie to anyone,” Cassy said.

“You don’t need to lie. Just don’t tell anyone. I want to think about it. After I figure out what happened, we can let them know about the horse. I’m only here for the summer, so it won’t be forever.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Cassy said shaking her head.

I fell backwards through the vines and into a shallow cave. I hit the back wall of the little cave and instantly felt like I was being crushed, pressed in from all side, and at the same time it felt like I was free-falling. I barely had time to think about how to keep my body from shattering from the fall, when the sensation stopped without a crash landing.

A void of pitch black enveloped me, and my breaths were frozen from fear. Then I realized my eyes were scrunched shut and I wasn’t dead. On my hands and knees, I reluctantly stuck my head outside and almost fainted. In front of me, a wide grassy landing ended at a very wide river. The Witchdance trail rolled over gentle hills in a forest. This obviously wasn’t Witchdance.