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| cover art by omar rayyan |
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THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON
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The gypsies know that Moonsilver is a real unicorn now-and the people in Derrytown will soon figure it out.
It won't be long before Lord Dunraven's men are searching for the gypsies.
Now, more than ever, Heart needs a safe place... a home.
CHAPTER ONE
Heart led the way through the midnight forest.
Moon shadows striped the ground.
Kip trotted close beside Avamir, his ears high, his tail raised like a flag.
Behind Heart, Moonsilver blew out a long, soft breath. He touched her shoulder lightly with his muzzle. Heart sighed, thinking about the silver bracelet on her wrist as they started walked downhill.
How had the silver threads had woven themselves together?
Was it magic?
What else could it be?
A whisper of breeze touched the treetops. Heart looked up at the full moon, then back at the rocky hillside. They had to find someplace to hide.
But where?
Heart shifted the carry-sack on her back. Where were the moon-colored mountains she had dreamed about? Were they real? She shook her head. Chasing dreams would hardly help.
Heart tried to remember what Binney had told her.
"To the west is Lord Irmaedith," Heart whispered to herself.
Then she shook her head.
She knew nothing about Lord Irmaedith. Was he cruel? Worse than Lord Dunraven?
"And to the East, it's Lord Kaybale," Heart said aloud, repeating Binney's words to quiet the worries spinning in her thoughts.
Heart sighed.
Lord Kaybale.
She had never heard of him before, either. No one in Ash Grove had known anything about the world beyond the village. No one ever talked about it. Not even Ruth Oakes.
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| art by omar rayyan |
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A boulder took shape in the moonlit dusk ahead, rising out of the ground, as big as a farmer's house.
Heart led the unicorns around it.
The dry pine needles shattered beneath her feet and the unicorns' hooves, scenting the still night air.
Heart could hear Kip's quick, panting breath.
At least he was excited about this journey. No one else could be.
Ruth would be so worried.
Heart's gypsy friends would be sad when they discovered she was gone.
But Binney and Zim would understand, Heart knew. They would know that she didn't want to bring them trouble.
"I am afraid," Heart breathed, glancing down at the silver bracelet on her wrist.
The six silver threads were now a lacy circle.
"They tell the story of my life," Heart whispered to herself. "Or as much of it as I can remember."
It was true. Two had come from the blanket she'd been wrapped in when Simon found her by the Blue River.
One was a gift from dear Ruth Oakes.
Three were from Binney in thanks for Moonsilver helping Davey.
Binney had said the threads were strands of unicorn mane. Heart glanced at Avamir.
The white mare was beautiful and her mane was long and silky. But it was white, not silver.
So maybe that part wasn't true?
Avamir tossed her head.
The tiny gypsy bells in her mane jingled against the vast silence of the forest, then stilled.
Heart felt Moonsilver's muzzle against her shoulder, another quick, warm touch. She wished desperately that she knew what to do, where to go.
Derrytown was on the edge of Lord Dunraven's lands-his castle lay somewhere to the north. He would be the first to hear the rumors about Moonsilver.
If Tibbs Renner got his way, everyone would soon know all about it-and about her.
"Lord Kaybale," she said aloud, trying to break the panic-circle of her thoughts by repeating what Binney had told her. "Lord Kaybale is to the East."
Heart liked the rounded, strong sound of the name Kaybale.
It was plain and sturdy.
It sounded like an everyday word--like rainwater or hearthstone. But Lord Kaybale's lands lay to the East of Lord Dunraven's-beyond Ash Grove.
Heart was afraid to go back that way.
Lord Dunraven's men would search there first. He would send his men to watch the Derrytown Road and the village-and Ruth Oakes's house.
Heart took a deep breath.
Everyone in Ash Grove had heard the old stories about the unicorn and the Blue River.
But no one had thought unicorns were real.
Now, they would wonder.
They would watch.
"Where can we go?" Heart asked the sky.
Northward was Lord Dunraven's manor.
Southward lay Lord Levin's lands according to Binney.
North, South, East, West. There was no reason to think any direction led to safety.
Heart felt a familiar ache rising inside her.
Her family might help her-if she could find them.
But she had no idea where they were-or even who they were.
A rustling sound up the slope made Heart turn.
She caught her breath.
A vague shape was slipping in and out of the moon shadows.
Someone-or something-was at the top of the slope, following her.
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