Star Stable: A Forgotten Secret

Chapter Six: Devil's Gap

Alex summoned the Lightning Circle and used her lightning power to make a tunnel and mist poured out of the tunnel. Freya and Stormchaser were standing next to Galloper Thompson and Morrigan, but Freya noticed that her ancestor trembled at the sight of the mist. Taking pity on him, Freya placed a hand on top of his and his trembling slowly stopped.
Alex saw this at the corner of her eye and is impressed by Freya's courage and empathy towards the legendary horseman. Linda smiled softly at the sight as Freya and Stormchaser stood next to Galloper Thompson and Morrigan. Lisa admired Freya's quiet calmness and levelheaded nature that she has since they both had met. Anne couldn't help, but feel a little jealous of Freya's understanding of her destiny and the complete control she has over her powers since she had discovered that she was the fifth Soul Rider. Lastly, Galloper Thompson hadn't met Freya till she freed him from the Tower of Regrets and has been helping him in more ways than one, which earned his respect towards her. But when he finally saw her, he was stunned to see that Freya resembles his late daughter. It brought some bittersweet memories to him at the sight of her and wants to do everything he can to protect his remaining family on Jorvik.
"Lets go everyone." Alex and Tin-Can led the three Soul Riders into the tunnel, while Freya and Galloper lagged behind for a bit till they can't hear the Soul Riders and started following the others from a fair distance.
Once they had gotten out of the misty tunnel, Freya could see some weeds around the area. She saw a good deal of tunnels in the area and white mist was floating around them. There's scrawny, leafless trees and cliffs all over the place. Freya could see black, green, white, and brown ravens perched in the trees. It was dark as it was in the Forgotten Fields. The mountains surrounded them like a Roman battle arena, trapped and forced to fend for themselves. She cringed to see that the headless horseman was headless again and had disappeared into a green portal, Freya's friends had sympathetic expressions towards the cursed rider. But Freya had felt his desperation and anguish when he and his mare were forced to disappear like a pair of ghosts.
"Keep going." His voice was in the misty breeze and his green eyes were filled with sorrow.
I need to free him from his curse, thought Freya as she narrowed her eyes determinedly.
She heard fierce voices speaking up ahead and made Stormchaser his themselves within the bushes when she saw the Soul Riders speaking to what seems to be the leader of the Vala Witches. The witch was wearing a fluttering night-blue cloak and darker blue dress, Freya saw the whiteish-blue antlers of a stag adorned her head and dark curls tumbled out from the hood of her cloak.
Where is Galloper Thompson at? wondered Freya, worriedly. I hope he's okay.
"Try to avoid THIS!" yelled the Vala Witch.
This getting out of hand. Freya narrowed her eyes angrily. We need to end this... and fast.
She was afraid that the Vala Witch would noticed them, but the witch took no notice of them and continued talking to the other Soul Riders. She felt her heart race when she saw that the trapped Vala Witches had saw her and Stormchaser, but they made no comment and looked at the Soul Riders arguing with the Vala Witch.
Freya let Stormchaser entered a mysterious cave and looked at it in shock. The cave was a gorgeous work of art. There was many carvings and paintings on the cave walls from the past. On the ground was many pieces of artwork: jugs, jewelry, weapons, cloths, and much more. As she and her stallion went deeper into her cave, there was towering stone pillars entwined with more carved horses rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long shadows through the fiery amber glow that filled the place. She looked away when she saw something in the back of the room. It's a stand with a skull and Freya dismounted and saw a faint green glow surrounding the skull, which confirmed that the skull belongs to the headless horseman. She gently took it from the stand, wrapped it up into a cloth, and carefully slipped it into one of the saddlebags.
Stormchaser's ears perked up and said, "Sister. Our siblings needs us."
Freya quickly mounted onto her stallion and galloped towards the others when the stans was somehow pressed inwards and all of the sudden, fire had appeared out of nowhere that surrounded Freya and Stormchaser.
"We can do this Freya," said Stormchaser as picked up the pace in his galloping.
"We have to do this for everyone," Freya said, ignoring the urge to start coughing from the smoke.
Freya's eyes teared up from the force of the wind and the fire as she raced along. Stormchaser galloped even faster than before. His breathing was rapid and rhythmic. She tightened her grip on Stormchaser and looked towards the fire as Stormchaser had taken a flying leap over the fire. It was a huge and dramatic jump which almost made the bottom drop out of her stomach and her limbs tingled with electricity. She heard Stormchaser let out a powerful neigh as he jumped over the fire.
She and Stormchaser re-entered the center of the Devil's Gap. Freya was angry to see her friends and their horses were all trapped in green magical bubbles. Much to her shock, Freya saw other Vala witches trapped in caves that's probably covered by glass-plastic material.
"So, you are the Light of Aideen?" Freya and Stormchaser both spun around to see the Vala witch. "Looks I'll finally have the power that I needed to control of Jorvik!"
"Be careful of Harpy!" yelled Lisa.
Freya and Stormchaser both gotten into battle stance and glared at the witch. She lifted her hand and felt a massive amount of warm electrical energy, there was a bright flash, and Harpy was sent flying back into the cave wall. It had knocked Harpy out and released everyone from her captivity, much to Freya's satisfaction.
"You alright?" Freya asked everyone.
"We're alright," whispered Linda. "Just a little dizzy."
"Good job Freya." Alex, Linda, Lisa, Anne, the Vala Witches, and their horses joined Freya and Stormchaser. Linda made Meteor inched closer to her and her voice was lowered to a whisper. "Do you have it?"
Freya nodded, but everyone stiffened when Harpy recovered from the electric shock. When she stood up, Harpy's eyes scanned the area and took in the situation — the five Soul Riders, the freed Vala Witches, and the destroyed cages. Harpy paled and fixed her angry gaze on the Soul Riders. In Harpy's eyes there seemed to be a cold flash of hatred, deep and fierce. This Vala Witch loathed Freya with all of her heart.
"Take down Soul Riders, imprison your own people, and mind control the headless horseman to gain more power, huh?" Alex and Tin-Can stood next Freya and Stormchaser protectively. "You're not playing fairly. Neither will us. It sure has been a while since we've kicked the heck out of another evildoer. This going to be fun."
Alex strike Harpy with a powerful Soul Strike and knocked the evil Vala Witch out cold again. Freya smiled at Alex's bold and protective attitude towards the witch.
"Uh oh." Everybody spun around to look at a Vala Witch around Freya's age. She seems to be African American. She is tall and slender with brown skin that gleamed flawlessly and has medium-length black hair that's tied in a low ponytail, while her emerald green eyes shone with assertiveness. She was wearing a fluttering purple cloak and a lighter purple tunic with purple boots. By her side was a buckskin pinto stallion with a medieval saddle and bridle. "Looks like he's back for round two."
"Don't hit him," ordered Anne. "We're trying to help them."
Freya and Stormchaser started leading Galloper Thompson and Morrigan away from the others. Freya could tell that Galloper Thompson was struggling to fight against the dark, mind-comtrol power of Harpy.
"Catch it! Don't crush it!" Freya yelled to Galloper Thompson and threw the skull to him.
His mare stopped in mid-gallop as the horseman caught the skull. The headless horseman put his aflame sword away and placed his his skull over his neck. A blinding green flash of smoky light had went over them and they heard Morrigan's amazed whinny. Once the light vanished, Galloper Thompson touched his faced and looked amazed. He looked the same as the illusion back in the Forgotten Fields.
"Galloper?" Freya made Stormchaser stepped hesitatedly towards Galloper Thompson and Morrigan.
His eyes softened as he looked at her, but sharpened when he saw Harpy was trying to slip away and threw his aflame sword at her. Instead of bleeding, Harpy had transformed into aflame dust and burnt her essence away to his Keep. Everyone was stunned to silent till Marazin had whooped and everyone had started cheering.
"Thank you for saving us," said Marazin as she and her stallion rode to the top of a boulder, underneath the tree that Harpy was in. Freya smiled to see that this brave and kind young Vala Witch is going to take up as a leader. Freya watched as the dark clouds and the mist faded away from outside of Jorvik as well as Harpy's dark magic had faded away from the woods. "We're forever in your debt." She smiled apologetically at Galloper Thompson as he stood next to Freya. "I'll lead you all out of here."
Marazin astride on Ulysses jumped from the ledge and started leading the Soul Riders and Galloper Thompson from Devil's Gap. Once they gotten out of the mountain range, Galloper and Morrigan stood apart from the group with his head bowed. Freya couldn't read his expression, but it was obvious that Harpy's dark magic has been lifted from him too. When he thought no one was looking, he lifted his head to the sky, closed his eyes, and breathed in the fresh air deeply... as if it was for the first time.
Galloper gestured for Freya to follow him, she smiled at him playfully. The two riders galloped away from the others across the beautiful green fields. They both galloped in a circle as they both playfully chased each other. Galloper Thompson's green eyes were brighter than before and Morrigan was beyond happy, his gaze softened as he looked at a laughing Freya and a joyful Stormchaser. He coaxed Morrigan to gallop to the top of a hill and looked at Goldenhills Valley with a guilty expression, in which caught Freya's eye.
Freya made Stormchaser moved next to Galloper and Morrigan, closing the space between them. She gently gripped his right arm with her right hand, leaned against him, and rested her head on his shoulder. It was the closest thing she could get to a hug that she thought he would be able to tolerate.
Immediately, she felt Galloper Thompson tensed up at the sudden physical contact and felt his muscles flexed and stiffened underneath her grip. She was determined to show Galloper Thompson her compassion and she didn't care about getting burns from the Horseman himself. She wasn't moving. She was relieved when she felt Galloper Thompson slowly relax instead of shoving her away or burning her.
They both stood there together for a few minutes, silent. The only sound being a rustle from the tree leaves behind them and the horses' soft breathing. Freya was surprised to see Galloper's arm go over her shoulder and pulled her into a sidelong hug on horseback.
Watching them from a fair distance was the Soul Riders and their horses. Alex smiled at the reunion between the Lord of the Dead and the Light of Aideen. Linda smiled as she understood the bond between them, life and death can't be without each other and they equal each other with their differences on Jorvik. Lisa knew that Freya cared for Galloper and finally understood that they're related. Anne knew that Freya was trying to help Galloper and the unknown connection between them has finally been revealed.