12

FAMILY

STAR AND FROSTFIRE SWOOPED DOWN FROM THE clouds and hurtled across the hot, flat desert. They’d left Jungle Herd’s territory two days earlier, and they’d been searching Western Anok for sixteen days since Nightwing had captured the pegasi. Today they arrived in the Desert Herd lands, and Star marveled at the wide expanse of dusty soil, as unmarked as the ocean, dotted only with scrubby brush and short cacti.

“It’s bleak,” said Star. The Red Rock Mountains and the steady march of the sun across the sky were his only reference points for navigation. His sharp eyes could see for miles in every direction, and there was no sign of pegasi, let alone twelve thousand of them. The striated mesas of the scarlet mountain range, however, piqued his interest. The plateaus were stepped and angular. Deep canyons created sheer cliff walls that were pocked with thousands of caves. “Look there,” said Star. “Are those caves deep enough to hide pegasi?”

Frostfire nodded. “Yes, those caves are the homes of the Desert Herd steeds. Each family has one.”

“This is the last territory,” Star reminded Frostfire. “If we don’t find Nightwing here, then it’s time for you to take me to the place where he plans to settle them. All along, we keep missing him.”

“I know. He’s making good time flying with such a large herd,” said Frostfire.

“And they have nursing foals with them,” said Star, shaking his mane. “He should be stopping often to rest, making it easy for us to catch him. The mothers will have to wean their foals early to keep his pace, and that’s not healthy.”

Star swooped toward the desert canyons, feeling the dry air burn his lungs. He and Frostfire hovered along the cliff walls, examining the caves. They darted up and down the steep divide, searching for fresh signs of pegasi. Each cave was about the size of the one Star had lived in on the coast of Anok, just large enough to hold four or five steeds comfortably. “Are the caves connected?” he asked Frostfire.

“Not that I remember,” said the stallion. “I was here to fight, not to explore, you know.” They landed inside a cave to look around.

Star’s hooves clattered as he explored the foreign steeds’ home. The rock floor was worn smooth from years of pegasi lying on it. Layers of ferns and feathers softened the area. The rest of the rocky surface was scuffed with hoof marks. Three straight red lines were painted on one wall. “What are these?” Star asked, tracing the lines with his wingtips.

“Desert Herd uses ochre to mark their caves. Three lines mean that three pegasi live in this one. It’s how they count their numbers.”

“Morningleaf would love to see this,” Star said, his spine tingling. “She counts well in her head, but I think she’d be interested in these lines that keep track of pegasi.”

Frostfire erased the red ochre with his wing and started walking away. “Well, no one lives here now. Let’s move on.”

Star flew out of the home, feeling suddenly claustrophobic as the truth slammed him. Western Anok was empty; all the pegasi were gone. He spread his wings and glided through the narrow, hot canyons. The air in front of him rippled, and his sweat dried instantly as the sun scorched his back. “There’s no one left,” he whinnied to Frostfire.

The white stallion cruised beside him, trying to comfort him. “We’ll find them, Star.”

Star leaked tears, and a trail of white flowers sprouted up through the dry, solid ground. Frostfire stared at them, almost crashing into Star. “That’s incredible.”

Star shook his head. “Not really.” He could grow flowers and heal wounds, but what use was that against Nightwing?

“Come on,” said Frostfire, trying to distract Star. “I think it’s time I washed these ashes out of my hide.” He veered left, and Star followed, soaring over the flat desert at top speed. Soon they were descending into another, much smaller canyon. Star drifted over the ridge and sucked in his breath at the sight below his hooves. After miles and miles of flat, brown terrain, the river ahead was an oasis of lush, green foliage and clear, rushing water.

The stallions landed on the shore.

“This is the Tail River,” said Frostfire. “It travels from the Black Lake through the Wastelands, and then dumps into the Sea of Rain.”

“Do crocodiles live here?” Star asked, thinking of the jungle.

Frostfire nickered. “No, this water is safe.”

The two plunged into the cool, wide river that ran through the divide. Star heard the distant roar of a waterfall and inhaled the comforting scent of damp soil that drifted from the shore. He ducked under the surface and swam with his eyes open. Large trout flitted past him, unafraid. He dived to the bottom, and then he cruised just over the small pebbles and plants on the river floor, swimming upstream so as not to end up tumbling down the waterfall.

Over his head, Frostfire kicked his hooves, paddling against the current. Star glided underwater, remembering his daily swims in Crabwing’s Bay when he was a weanling, and then he popped up next to Frostfire, speaking the thoughts that had been on his mind for days. “What will I do when we find Nightwing? My shield and invisibility might help me survive him, but they won’t help me defeat him.”

Frostfire floated on the surface with his wings tucked high on his back, like a swan. Star lifted his wings and folded them in the same fashion. They mirrored each other, he and Frostfire, but they were opposites—one shimmering white and the other shining black.

“Maybe you should focus on who you are and not who he is,” said Frostfire, preening his feathers.

Star jolted at his words.

“What is it?” the stallion asked.

“Silverlake said almost those exact words to me in the north.” Tears filled Star’s eyes as he thought about Silverlake, wondering if she was alive.

Frostfire looked away, whistling softly. “I’m beginning to understand why your guardian herd isn’t afraid of you.”

Star pricked his ears. “No one should be afraid of me.”

Frostfire slapped Star gently on the shoulder. “Nightwing should.”

Star huffed and wiped his eyes. “We’re done searching the west. Take me to where you think he’s going.”

Frostfire nodded, and the two lifted straight out of the water and surged into the sky. “Head east,” said Frostfire.

They traveled in a pattern, zigzagging across the sky, covering as much ground as possible and scanning the terrain for signs of the missing herd of pegasi—trampled grass, droppings, or molted feathers. After passing over towering mountain ranges, they came upon a dusty plain that spread for miles and seemed absent of all life except for a long, winding river.

“We’ve reached the Wastelands,” said Frostfire over the wind.

A bright splotch of color caught Star’s eye. “Look, feathers!” He dived toward a dirt mesa that was surrounded by shallow canyons. He touched down and cantered across the stony plateau, sniffing for the scents of his friends, but what he smelled was his enemy. “Nightwing’s been here,” said Star, curling back his lips.

“And Petalcloud,” said Frostfire, who’d also landed and was exploring the mesa.

Thousands of hoofprints marked the ground, and Star began to catch familiar scents, but they were so jumbled together, he couldn’t separate them into individual steeds.

Star’s heart swelled with hope. “Look at all these hoofprints; thousands of pegasi are still alive. This is good.” He trotted to the edge of the plateau and gazed east. The sky was clear of clouds and layered in gradient shades of blue. He could see all the way to the far horizon. He squinted, searching for pegasi, but as far as he could see, the sky held only birds. “I think I know where they’re going,” said Star. “To the interior of Anok, to the ancient lands of Lake Herd.”

Frostfire halted, not saying a word.

“The flatland territory is the largest in Anok. It’s nothing but grass and water. It’s perfect for pegasi,” said Star, glancing at his companion.

Frostfire avoided his eyes.

“But it’s dangerous,” Star added, waiting for a reaction from the white stallion that would indicate if Star’s guess was correct. “When I was looking for a territory for River Herd, Morningleaf’s sire told me all about the Flatlands. It’s infested with gigantic wolves and high winds, and no pegasus has traveled there in hundreds of years. If that’s where Nightwing is going, he doesn’t know what he’ll find. And no one knows why the Lake Herd pegasi disappeared long ago—perhaps they couldn’t survive there. It’s too risky.” Star felt suddenly angry. “And it’s thousands of miles away. They won’t all make it.”

“But Nightwing won’t have any trouble feeding them there,” said Frostfire.

Star peered at his old enemy. “So I’m correct? Nightwing is heading to the Flatlands?”

Frostfire’s wings drooped. “Yes, you’re correct.” He looked at Star with his one blue eye. “Are you going to leave me behind? Now that you don’t need me?”

Star spread his wings, feeling the hot breeze blow through his feathers. He stared at Frostfire, frustrated. “Did you know we’re related?”

Frostfire took a deep breath before answering. “Yes. My sire, Iceriver, told me. Your mother is . . . was my sister.” His lips curled over the words, and Star saw how distasteful the relationship was to Frostfire.

Star leaned closer, forcing the stallion to meet his gaze. “I won’t leave you behind, Frostfire, and I won’t let Nightwing attack you.”

Frostfire’s eyes dropped to his hooves. “Why? Because I’m your uncle?”

“No,” said Star. “Because we made a deal and because I’m the only pegasus in Anok who can save you.”

“But I don’t deserve your protection,” said Frostfire honestly.

“Maybe not, but you don’t deserve to be killed by Nightwing either.”

The two were silent for a long moment, and then Frostfire said, “Come on. It’s a long way yet to the interior.”

“Then let’s not waste time.” Star galloped forward, his hooves clopping across the rocks, and he leaped off the edge, free falling a moment before gripping the wind with his wings. He swooped out of his dive and cruised fast over the lower plains. The two stallions glided side by side, but after a while Frostfire dropped back and drafted off Star’s dominant wake.

Star was shocked at first when the older stallion took the submissive position behind him, but then he relaxed. And for the first time since Star’s herd was captured, he didn’t feel alone.