Cloud Magic

chestnut.
    ‘Should we climb over the fence and go up to the house?’ Chloe wondered.
    Erin hesitated. ‘There isn’t a footpath.’ She thought of the old farmer who had shouted at her the other day, and always told her off if she ever went into one of his fields without a footpath.
    ‘We can’t let that stop us!’ said Chloe. ‘Anyway, look.’ She pointed to one of the horses. ‘That bay horse’s rug has slipped. If anyone tells us off for going into the field, we can just say we were trying to get to the house to let the owners know about it.’
    Erin nodded. ‘OK.’ It was a good plan.
    They climbed over the fence and headed towards the house. There was a gate between its stable yard and the field.
    As they reached the gate, Chloe gasped. ‘Look!’ She grabbed Erin’s arm.
    Erin followed her gaze. On the roof of the stables behind the house was a black metal weathervane in the shape of a rearing horse!

C H A P T E R
    Six
    A black weathervane!
    ‘The new owners must have put it up!’ Erin whispered.
    ‘The stallion must be somewhere near here,’ Chloe said in a low voice. ‘I wonder if the owners know about him. What shall we –’ She broke off. A woman was coming towards them. She was tall and slim, wearing burgundy jodhpurs and a black T-shirt. Her long, dark-blonde hair, a similar colour to Erin’s, was held back in a low ponytail. She frowned slightly. ‘This is private property,’ she called.
    ‘We just came over because there’s a horse in this field whose New Zealand rug has slipped,’ Chloe explained.
    The frown faded immediately from the woman’s face. ‘Oh, right. I see. That’s my horse, Gemini. Well, thanks for coming to tell me, girls. I’ll go and fix it.’
    She opened the gate and came into the field.
    ‘Your horses are lovely,’ called Chloe. ‘Do you have any others?’
    ‘No, just those two,’ said the woman. ‘Are you two girls local?’
    ‘Yes, we both live in the village,’ said Chloe chattily, joining her. ‘We love horses. I’m Chloe and this is Erin, by the way.’
    ‘Erin?’ the woman turned. For a moment Erin thought she was going to ask her something, but she just smiled. ‘That’s an unusual name, Erin. Well, I’m Marianne. I’ve moved here fairly recently.’
    ‘Would you like some help with your horses?’ Chloe asked hopefully as they walked across the field. ‘We could groom or clean tack for you.’
    ‘Thanks for the offer, Chloe, but I’d better say no. I’m sure your parents wouldn’t like you coming here without them knowing me,’ said Marianne. ‘I’ll see you around, girls. Bye!’ She walked swiftly away.

    Chloe sighed as they wandered back down towards the cliffs. ‘Oh, Erin, Tor has to be close to here. Did you see there was a wood behind the stables? Maybe he’s in there somewhere.’
    ‘I want to go back and look,’ said Erin.
    ‘Tonight,’ Chloe told her. ‘We’ll turn into stardust spirits and go then.’
    ‘Do you think Marianne knows about him?’ asked Erin. A thought struck her. ‘Maybe she could be the dark one.’
    ‘Oh no,’ said Chloe. ‘She seems nice. Can you imagine her being a dark stardust spirit and capturing a sky stallion?’
    Erin agreed it did seem a bit ridiculous.
    ‘I bet he’s being hidden secretly near here by someone else,’ said Chloe.
    ‘But who?’ wondered Erin.
    Chloe lifted her chin. ‘I don’t know, but we’ll find out!’
    Now that there was nothing more they could do about looking for Tor, they decided to go to Chloe’s house. Chloe’s mum, Nicky, was delighted Chloe had made a friend and came round to Erin’s house to meet Jo. They got on just as well as the girls. Jo told Nicky all about Hawthorn Stables and gave her Jackie’s number.
    ‘I’ll ring as soon as I get home,’ Nicky promised. ‘I bet you’d love to go and help there, wouldn’t you, Chloe?’
    ‘Oh yes!’ Chloe breathed. ‘Will you ask if I can start tomorrow?’
    Nicky smiled. ‘OK.’
    They all walked to the door of Erin’s house, and as the adults said goodbye Chloe whispered in Erin’s ear: ‘I’ll see you tonight!’
    Erin grinned. ‘Yes! See you then!’
    ‘I believe in stardust, I believe in stardust,’ Erin murmured as soon as the house was quiet. ‘I believe in stardust!’
    On the last word she flew into the air. She had placed a couple of pillows under the duvet in her bed so it looked as if she was still asleep. She had left a note telling her parents not to