Tagus the Night Horse Read Online Free PDF Page A

fell and Tom could hardly make out the herd among the shadows. The darkness was dotted with the red glow of other campfires.
    “One of us will have to stay awake,” Elenna said. “You try to get some sleep, and I’ll take the first watch.”
    “All right.” Tom pulled his blanket around himself and lay down by the fire. “Don’t forget to wake me.”
    “Tom — Tom —”
    Someone was tugging at Tom’s shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Elenna’s face just above him.
    “Everything’s quiet,” Elenna whispered. “And it’s your turn to keep watch now.” She gave an enormous yawn. “I can’t stay awake any longer.”
    “All right, I’m up.” Tom walked over to the riverbank and splashed his face with water to wake himself up.
    Elenna built up the fire and then lay downbeside it. “Wake me if you hear anything,” she murmured.
    Tom scrambled up the tallest tree and found a fork in the branches where he could sit and look out over the plain. A half-moon was shining through thin clouds. Beyond the camp, nothing disturbed the darkness.
    Hours went by, but Tom still saw nothing. The sky in the east grew pale as dawn approached. The danger seemed to be over for another night. But Tom was desperate to find Tagus. When would he appear? Every muscle in Tom’s body was tensed with anticipation.
    Tom was about to climb down from the tree when he spotted a black outline where the sky was the brightest — right on the other side of the river.
    “Tagus!” Tom whispered under his breath.
    At last!
    It was a powerful figure, half man, half horse. As Tom stared, the creature reared, hooves striking
    out at the air. A battle cry louder than Tom had ever heard before echoed across the plain. Tagus began to gallop toward the camp.
    But Tagus attacks only at night!
Tom’s stomach tightened and he gripped the branch. If Tagus was now attacking during the day, it meant he was growing bolder. He obviously didn’t care about keeping himself hidden.
    Tom swung himself off the branch and dropped to the ground beside the campfire. Tom felt a rush of adrenaline. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. He could feel the ground vibrating as Tagus pounded toward the herd. Tom drew his sword. “Elenna! Elenna!” he called.
    Elenna sat up, pushing her hair out of her eyes.
    “What’s the matter?”
    “Tagus is coming,” Tom said. “This is it. We’re going to face him,
now
.”

C HAPTER S EVEN

T AGUS B OUND
    “W E HAVE TO HEAD TAGUS OFF,” TOM WENT on. “We can’t risk him getting near the herd.”
    Elenna sprang to her feet and followed Tom as he skirted the edge of the camp. Silver padded at their heels. They quietly passed Samuel’s campfire. The cattleman was wrapped up in a thick blanket. Elenna stooped to pick up a coil of rope from near the fire and slung it over her shoulder. “Which way?” she asked Tom.
    Tom gazed out across the plain. Tagus had disappeared from view, but Tom knew he must be near. He strained to pick up the sound ofhoofbeats, but all he could hear were the soft sounds of drowsy cattle.
    Then the mist parted and Tagus appeared. The Beast was on the other side of the river, hooves pawing the ground in a fury. His muscles rippled beneath the shiny black coat of his horse’s body. He flicked his tail in agitation. His face was handsome, and he had curly black hair and a beard. Tom could see that Tagus was ready to attack and was only waiting for the right moment. There was no time to waste.
    Tom gripped his sword and stepped toward the river’s edge. His stomach churned in fear at the thought of those pounding hooves.
    “No!” Elenna clutched at his arm and dragged him into the shelter of a jutting rock. “Maybe we should wait for him to come to us.”
    “We can’t,” Tom said. “If we let him cross the river, he’ll be close enough to attack. We need to stop him from crossing.”
    “But how?” Elenna asked, a worried look on her face.
    “I’ve got an idea,” Tom said