Pego was right. The river did run into a long, deep canyon, a shadowy cleft of dappled light. Sometimes the cliffs soared so high that only a blue ribbon of sky could be seen. But there were no carvings on the sandstone. The little horse had vanished and the scent of the sweet grass was fading as well. Estrella tried to conjure up that flash she had seen in the enormous eyes of her dam as she was dying. But she couldn’t. She tried to recall the tiny horse figure. All the touchstones that had guided her seemed to be melting away. She had never felt so alone, even with Hold On trotting beside her. And with each step that took them deeper into the canyon, Estrella felt as if she were approaching a profound danger, something she could not understand or control.

Yet Pego had been right. It was cooler.

The river was becoming more shallow. They had swum in its cool waters earlier, but now their feet scraped the bottom. Gradually, it became more a creek than a river, and within a couple of days, it was only a trickle. The trees had grown sparse and the soft sand beaches the horses loved to sleep on thinned away to small strips.

One evening, Pego, the three mares, and Azul slept apart from the rest of the herd on the other side of the trickle where they found a small patch of sand. Bella, whose girth had expanded with the foal she carried, needed a soft place to rest.

“Is her time coming near?” Estrella asked Hold On.

“Not yet. It takes a long time to grow a foal. She is not ready, but it’s hard for her and will become even harder.”

Hold On looked at Estrella. She had been unusually quiet since they had entered the canyon. “What’s wrong, Estrella? Something is bothering you.”

She gave him a stricken look. “I think I’ve lost the way.”

“What do you mean?”

“The sweet grass,” she nickered, so softly he could hardly hear her.

“Try not to worry. You’ll find it again. It will come to you.”

The more she thought about the haunting scent, the more elusive it became. And it wasn’t just the scent of the sweet grass that was dying away. Ever since they had entered the canyon, Estrella’s memories of her dam had begun to fade. She tried hard to bring them back, to recall them, but the only thing she could remember of her time with her dam was the stall door. She began to miss Perlina desperately, yet she could not quite remember what she was missing. The image of her dam started to dissolve, like the figure of the tiny horse.

Estrella could not sleep. Shadows scuttled across the moonlight and she heard the shuddering hoot of an owl. Estrella wandered toward a small clump of a brushy shrub that they had started to call rabbit brush since there were often rabbits around it. The rabbits scattered when the horses approached to graze, but there were no rabbits near this bush. The flowers were more white than yellow, and the bush had a different smell. Still, Estrella was hungry and she nibbled for a while on the slim tender branches with their clusters of fragrant flowers. They were delicious and the more she nibbled, the more she wanted. Her hunger seemed insatiable. Soon she had eaten the shrub down to its roots. She was left with the loveliest thoughts and she felt a soft tranquility flow through her.

A dark shape flitted by. Coyote? she thought, not even afraid. She pricked up her ears and decided to follow it.

Two bats swooped through the air. Estrella thought she spotted a small patch of light ahead. As she walked toward it, the patch seemed to glow brighter, as if a piece of the moon had fallen down through the night. The shape of the patch was vaguely familiar to her. A stall door! she thought suddenly. But a stall without walls? The door hung in the night between two rabbit bushes. Estrella blinked. How could this be? She was a bit woozy in her head, but the ground felt like ground. She stepped up cautiously and through the door. Would she see the little horse?

Not the little horse, but your own dear dam. A misty figure melted out of the darkness.

Mamita? Estrella was flooded with joy.

Hold On woke suddenly. Something was wrong. The stallion sensed it immediately. Where was Estrella? He got up, found her tracks, and followed them to a shrub with an oddly familiar smell. Estrella had been here grazing, but why would she eat a strange plant down to the ground? Some horses were known to eat odd things when they were disturbed or nervous. Was Estrella truly losing the scent of the sweet grass as she had feared? Hold On was stumped.

Everything seemed upside down. The proud stallion Pego had become much more agreeable, even companionable, and so had Azul. Pego finally seemed to acknowledge that Estrella was the leader of this herd. He would not break away from them, Hold On believed, not until Bella had foaled. It was very possible that after the foal arrived, Pego would leave with his three mares and the new foal to start a new herd. But for now, Pego and Azul were both behaving well. So what was there to bother Estrella?

Hold On continued to follow Estrella’s hoofprints. Then he came upon an unbelievable sight. Estrella was speaking to a coyote, speaking to it as if it were her dam. Suddenly, it all made sense to him. The plant, the one she had eaten to the ground! It was flora loca — crazy plant! It grew in the Old Land as well, but horses learned to avoid it because of the strange behavior it caused. But to talk to a coyote! Hold On charged forward.

“Mamita, I’ve been trying to find you,” Estrella said. Her dam’s back was to her, and Estrella couldn’t see her face. She so wanted to see those dark, reassuring eyes.

“Have you?” her dam replied, still turned away. “Have you really?”

“Of course! But I thought you had left me! I don’t understa —”

“Oh, let’s not talk about that!” Her dam shook her head dismissively.

“Sorry,” Estrella said quietly. Her dam didn’t seem to hear her. On the other side of the door, something stirred. Was it the little horse? Estrella wondered, beginning to turn her head.

Her dam wheeled around, her eyes glowing a pale greenish yellow.

Had Mamita’s eyes always been that color? Estrella didn’t speak out loud, but her dam knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Yes, of course, Estrella! You never noticed, I suppose.” Her tone was sharp. Perlina never spoke like that. Never!

The joy Estrella had experienced moments before began to drain away, leaving a terrible hollowness again. Perlina’s yellow eyes narrowed, and her lips parted into a hideous grimace.

“Mamita?” Estrella asked, trying to control the trembling in her withers.

A cackle slithered from the creature as her grimace split to reveal a mouth studded with sharp, bloodstained teeth. The creature began to circle Estrella, coming closer each time. But Estrella could not make her legs move. She was rooted to the ground. She smelled carrion breath. Then her dam’s head seemed to split again. A new face rose as her dam began to wither away. Estrella shied as the new head, sly and dun-colored, with fresh blood dripping from its muzzle, barked. A coyote reared up before her. The night shredded with its savage yips for fire, for blood.

There was a loud crackle and hot gusts began to rip through the canyon. Grullo gave a piercing whinny, followed by the squeals and shrieks of the herd. Estrella reared and screamed as the coyote lunged at her.

Its eyes glittered with malice. “You thought I was your dam, fool!” The rabbit bush caught fire and flames whipped around them. The coyote rose on his short hind legs and began to dance through the flames untouched. His eyes rolled madly in his head as he sang.

I am coyote,

I am coyote.

I slip and slink

Into your head

So you can’t think.

I am the dream stealer,

The fantastic concealer.

Crafty and sly,

I’ll sell you lies.

A merchant of death,

I’ll swipe your breath.

I am coyote,

I am coyote.

And now the fire winds shall blow!