Turning on a dime, Hardwicke wheeled around, the pegasus protesting about howundignifiedandridiculousthis was. Still, this was more or less exactly what he’d been looking for – an alley between two houses. There were balconies overlooking it with wide windows, and rather than risk someone looking out at the wrong moment, Hardwicke trotted on, his hooves clacking against the cobblestones, to where the alley doglegged a little –
“There you are! We’ve been looking all over for you!”
Hardwicke raised his head in startlement, only to find himself staring into a pair of steely, determined eyes.
These were eyes that were obviously not going to take no for an answer.
They were also clearly the eyes of a young child of about seven.
“Get the halter on him, Louie! We’ve got thirty seconds before we have to get moving, tops!”
In the end, Hardwicke broke first. He glanced down at the child’s hands, which were, indeed, clutching a worn old halter that had, improbably, been bedecked in feathers and sequins.
There were, Hardwicke reflected dazedly, many times in his life when he had had to think his way out of an impossible situation within a split second. He never would have made it so far in his career if he hadn’t been able to take out an enemy without harming their innocent hostage, or work out how to defuse a ticking bomb planted inside a convention center, or safely land a plane after the pilot had been knocked out cold by a bank thief who’d gone on the lam.
Suffice it to say, he had always prided himself on his cool head and ability to get out of any situation, no matter how sticky.
But this…this…
What can I do?! I can’t just kick them and run away! They’re kids!
His pegasus, it seemed, had nothing to say to that, and had in fact gone strangely silent in general. Perhaps the idea of being bound, even in such an amateurish fashion that they could have easily broken free from if absolutely necessary, had spooked it.
Some help you are,he thought frustratedly. Theremayhave been the slightest frantic edge to it, though he didn’t like to admit it.
Focus,he muttered to himself.You may just have to go along with it. Youdidspend several months undercover at one point, after all – you know that people are willing to look past all kinds of things that don’t feel quite right if you just carry yourself with confidence and act like everything’s normal.
It seemed like he might just have to grit his teeth and bear it, at least until he could find the right moment to make a stealthy escape. If he’d wanted a life free of such unexpected indignities, he should’ve just taken a boring, regular office job, where the biggest thing he had to worry about was someone stealing his lunch from the fridge.
Not that he didn’t have to worry about that kind of thing now, he supposed. Rowan had been on toilet-cleaning duty for a month afterthatparticular incident, no matter how much he had pleaded that it was an honest mix-up, and that he’d only finished it off because he didn’t think that Hardwicke would want to eat a chicken chow mein that had made indirect contact with Rowan’s lips, and so he’d been doing him a favor, really.
There had been no need for an official ‘don’t eat other people’s lunch’ policy after that. It had beenknown, written into the psyche of everyone who stepped foot in the office.
The toilets had never looked so sparkling clean, though. Rowan had done an excellent job.
Hardwicke supposed that he might have been getting strangely hysterical, but then again, he had never had someone – let alone a small army of very young someones – fasten various things to him while in pegasus form. His pegasus was still keeping silent and not letting its feelings be known at all, which just added to his sense of unease. If nothing else, his pegasus could usually always be relied upon to let its opinion be known, no matter how unhelpful or irritating.
“Who made these wings, Kayleigh?” a squeaky, semi-broken voice piped up. “Was it you? I told you to use the silver glitter, not the gold! They look like crap! No one’s gonna believe they’re real!”
Who dares say such monstrous things?! Who is this mere child, to speak of us in such an unbecoming manner? We are magnificence its very self! He should tremble before us, and beg permission to lay his eyes upon our splendorous being!
Welcome back,Hardwicke said wryly.Glad you can be relied upon to show up when the true danger reveals itself.
Our wings are not crap!the pegasus bellowed.They are as unto the finest shimmering threads of gossamer! Has that whelpseenhis own hair?! How dare he cast such aspersions!
Strangely, the pegasus’s unhinged rant calmed Hardwicke’s nerves somewhat. If vanity was the biggest concern it had with this whole situation, then things couldn’t be that terrible. Although he was already wondering whether he could justify leaving this…interludeout of his report to Lausten.
“Okay, Prancer, you’re good to go,” the girl – Kayleigh, he supposed – said, patting his flank gently. “Don’t go trying to escape again, yeah? There’s a whole basket of carrots waiting for you when you’re done.”
Prancer? Who is Prancer?!
Hardwicke looked around, taking in the situation more fully now that the children had completed their work. He noted with disappointment that he would not be able to make an easy escape, harnessed as he was to seven other horses, plus a confused-looking goat with a big red nose strapped to its face.
Relax. At least we’re not Rudolph. I don’t think I could deal with having to wear that nose.
Weshouldbe Rudolph! All eyes should be upon us!! Why should that goat get all the glory?!
Hardwicke let out the slightest hint of a sigh and started to trudge forward along the cobblestone streets, watching Dancer’s tail swishing in front of his face.
