Slowly, a pair of blue inferno eyes flickered open right above her.
The night mare whinnied loudly as Aru scuttled back.
Rudy squeaked. “I thought you said the stable was empty, Aiden!”
Aiden backed up, too. “I was wrong.” His scimitar cuffs glinted in the blue glow of Brynne’s wind mace.
“Okay, maybe if I’m up close when I blast it,” said Brynne, “it’ll stay away longer.”
The horse screamed, and a wave of dizziness crashed over Aru as her fears rose again.
“WAIT!” said Mini, stepping in front of the horse. “Justwait.”
“Mini, get away!” shouted Brynne. “That thing could hurt you!”
“The nightmares are both outside and inside us!” said Mini. “Blasting the horses isn’t going to help us get to the portal! There has to be some other way. Just…Justtrust mefor one second, okay?”
Through the mind link, Mini uttered one word:Please.
Brynne frowned. After a few seconds, she lowered her wind mace. “What’s your plan?”
Mini took a deep breath as she faced the night mare. It whinnied, its great wings beating the air and gusting fear around them. But Mini didn’t flinch.
“I need more light,” she said calmly. “Not the Sun Jewel—nighttime and sunshine don’t really mix. Rudy? Help me out?”
Rudy, who was cowering behind Aiden, took a few steps forward. Slowly he opened his backpack and set two quartz stones on the dirt floor. He tossed a third one to Mini, who caught it smoothly.
A cool moonlit glow washed over the stable. A few feet away from Mini, the night mare huffed. In the silvery light, Aru saw that it was indeed a mare, not a stallion, and it had one front hoof raised.
“I’m Mini.” She glanced up at the plaque inscribed with the horse’s name. “And you’re…Loose Teeth?”
The horse whickered. She still looked more demon than animal, but now when she swung her head, there was something gentle in her movements. Something…shy.
Mini took a step forward. “Why aren’t you out with the others?”
Loose Teeth snorted. Smoke plumed from her nostrils. Aru thought she looked somewhat offended by the question. She reared back and then hit the floor—except for her right foreleg. She kept that hoof bent toward her belly.
“Oh…” said Mini. “You’re hurt, aren’t you? Must be some kind of obstruction….”
She was using her besttrust-me-I’m-a-doctorvoice. And it seemed to be working. The night mare didn’t startle when Mini moved closer, and when the Daughter of Death knelt and held out her hand, it took only a few moments for the horse to tentatively offer her hoof. Mini held up one of the stones for light and made a loudhmmsound.
The night mare’s ears pricked and swiveled backward. Aru imagined her askingIs it bad, Doctor?
“You have a rock stuck in there,” said Mini. “May I?”
The horse’s ears pointed forward. Aru wasn’t sure what that meant, but Mini must have found it reassuring enough to reach for her backpack. Whereas Brynne’s backpack was full of candy and Aru’s was full of candy wrappers, Mini’s backpack was a portable hospital. She had gauze and a few EpiPens, two first-aid kits, suturing thread and a wickedly sharp needle, several tweezers, and enough sanitizer to dissolve a person. With quick, practiced motions, Mini disinfected her hands and then removed a pair of tweezers from its plastic packaging. “This won’t hurt.”
Lie!Aru wanted to say.Whenever a doctor says that, they’re lying!
“Mini…” said Brynne, her voice coming out low and distressed. “You sure about this? If it gets mad, then what?”
Mini ignored her. The night mare looked down at her, curious, ears bent back. Mini poised the tweezers over her hoof, humming a little. “Okay, on the count of three, I’ll pull it out,” said Mini. “One…”
The muscles of the horse’s flank rippled.
“Two…” said Mini. Quick as a flash, she pulled out the piece of gravel.
The horse whinnied in pain. As much as Aru hated night mares, she had to sympathize with this one.I told you they lie!
