Eye of the Storm

hand on his neck, her gaze running over his head, his body. She didn’t want to stop looking at the two sky horses, didn’t want to imagine a time when she couldn’t see them any more.

    ‘Thank you for everything,’ said Tor, nuzzling Chloe.
    Chloe stroked him. ‘G-goodbye, Tor.’
    Tor stepped towards Erin and put his muzzle to her forehead. ‘When you look up, I’ll be there,’ he said softly. ‘Always.’
    Fresh tears filled her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but they spilt silently down her cheeks.
    Tor turned to Mistral. ‘Come!’
    The two horses reared up. For a moment they were silhouetted against the starry sky. Then they swirled into mist and swept past the rockfall in a glittering haze for the last time.
    Come back! Erin cried in her mind.
    But the sky horses had gone.
    ‘So that’s really goodbye?’ whispered Chloe as if she couldn’t quite believe it.
    Erin stared at the cave, her heart aching. ‘Yes.’
    Trying to block out her unhappiness, she knelt down and opened her bag. ‘Let’s seal the gateway,’ she said numbly. Now Tor had gone, she just wanted to do what she had to do and leave. She took out the diary, the silver bowl, the crystal bottle, the pot of earth, the candle and the feather.
    She led the way into the cave and through to the gateway. Then, laying out the things she needed, she followed her mum’s instructions in the diary, trying not to think about Tor or Mistral. Trying not to think about anything. She finished by holding the hagstone in the centre of the circle of moonlight.
    ‘Be sealed,’ she whispered. The silver circle shivered and then was still.
    ‘That’s it,’ Erin said. ‘It’s done.’ She stared at the gateway for a moment. ‘I’m… I’m going to miss them.’
    ‘Me too.’ Chloe looked at her in the moonlight. ‘But I know you’ll miss Tor more.’ She took a deep breath. ‘At least you can still talk to him with your weather weaving, Erin. He’s right, it isn’t goodbye forever. And although I know it’s going to be horrible not seeing him and Mistral, at least Marianne’s gone. There won’t be any more great storms now and there are lots of fun things we can still do – stardust stuff in the evenings and riding Kestrel and Ziggy in the day.’ She took Erin’s hands and squeezed them. ‘It will be OK.’
    Erin slowly smiled at her. ‘Yes,’ she said, believing her as always. ‘It will.’ And she knew it was true.

Afterwards…
    Dear Mum,
    I know I haven’t written much the last two weeks, but it’s been so busy! I thought everything would be quiet after Tor and Mistral had gone, but then Xanthe, Allegra’s mum, invited me and Chloe to stay with her and Allegra for three nights. I met all of Allegra’s friends and Xanthe showed us how to start using different stardust magic. Her ankle’s getting better now. We learnt loads. Xanthe told us we have higher powers. I’m not very good at using mine yet, but Chloe can make invisible shields. She’s really good at that! When we got back we found out that there’s a pony club show on this weekend so we’ve been practising for that too. Kestrel’s brilliant at jumping! And Ziggy’s the fastest at all the gymkhana games. Anyway, I’d better go now because Chloe and I are going to the stables early and then Chloe’s coming back here for a sleepover tonight. Tomorrow we’re going to bath the ponies for the show. I can’t wait to tell you about how it goes. More soon, I promise!
    Erin and Chloe rode on to the beach. It was early in the morning and the sands were empty apart from a few dog-walkers. The sun was just rising in the sky, its rays glittering on the water. The tide was going out. The sand was damp and firm beneath the ponies’ hooves.
    Erin sighed happily. The whole summer was stretching out ahead. Kestrel and Ziggy tossed their heads, their bits jangling. They wanted to gallop.
    Chloe looked challengingly at Erin. ‘Race you to the breakers!’
    Erin didn’t even bother to say yes. ‘Ready, steady, go!’ she shouted, throwing herself forward on Kestrel’s neck.
    The two ponies raced along the beach, their hooves pounding on the sand.
    Erin glanced upwards. Overhead, a white cloud in the shape of a stallion was flowing across the sky.
    When you look up, I’ll be there , Tor’s voice echoed in her head.
    She smiled. He was there, just as he had said.
    For always.