Horse Stone (Book 1 of Ilyrian Series)

Chapter 29

Liam looked at me in shock. His eyes were wide with fear, and I could tell that he didn't believe me. "Are you serious?" he asked, and I nodded. "Why? No one had ever tried leading him, not after he had almost killed..." He trailed off, his voice growing softer.

"He had almost killed someone?" I asked, and he hesitated and nodded. "Do you think that this would change my mind of him? Is that why you didn't want to tell me?"

"Yes," he said, his voice soft. He cleared his throat and licked his lips. He shifted on his feet and looked down, looking rather conflicted. "It... was bad."

"I didn't mean to," Vanar said. He felt rather guilty as he moved to the wall that was separating us. "She had caused a nightmare, a bad memory to appear in my head."

"La Petite Beauté," I said, thoughtfully. "Beaut for short." I cleared my throat, my heart aching for the mare that I had known when I was younger. "She... was a horse that had almost killed me. Um... she had been abused before my mom was able to rescue her from a place that treated their horses wrong."

"How did she almost kill you?"

"Uh... a truck backfired, and it had startled her," I said. "It turned out that was how her abusers arrived, so she spooked. And she spooked very bad." I shrugged my shoulder. "She somehow managed to throw me into the path of the truck, and... ya. It was not a pretty sight."

Liam cringed. "How bad were the injuries?"

"Ummm... pretty bad." I furrowed my brows, trying to think about what had happened. "I have a metal plate in my head because of that," I said. "I know that I had to go through a lot of surgery and therapy to make sure I could walk and talk again. I had to learn those as well as riding a horse again."

"Were you placed in a coma?" Vanar asked.

"I was placed in a medically induced coma. I think that the doctors had thought that I wouldn't survive, but... I did."

"What else happened during that fall? What other injuries?"

"I had crushed ribs. I broke my collar bone. I think my pelvis was smashed, or that could have been another time. Ummm... a lot of bruises. And ya, I think that is it." I furrowed my brows and shrugged. "I have had so many hospital visits that I forgot which injury was from which fall or car crash or something."

"So... do you think horses feel remorse?" Liam asked. "For putting someone's life in danger?"

I nodded. "I definitely think that horses can feel remorse. I know that Beaut hadn't been doing well after the accident, so my parents decided to sneak her to the hospital so I could see her and tell her that I had forgiven her and understood."

"What happened to her?" he asked.

"The last I heard, she was becoming famous for her Grand Prix run and had a lot of babies," I said. "Her name now, I think, is... Mon Petit Miracle unless it had been changed. She was bought by someone really rich and famous."

"Is she... you know?"

"She still gets flashbacks, yes," I said, nodding my head. "But, I had found a way to catch them early and had taught her new owner how to come with them."

"Do you miss her?"

"'Course," I replied. "I miss all of the horses that I have dealt with and had worked with. You get this... bond between them because you have seen them at their lowest point, and sometimes they see you... at your lowest."

Liam nodded his head, frowning. Worry filled his eyes as he studied me, and I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet.

"Ummm, where is Serena's office?" I asked, changing the subject. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and shifted on my feet. "I want to ask her."

"We'll have to ask my mom, too," Liam said.

"No, you will ask your mom. I will ask Serena."

"But, she will just say no."

I shrugged. "Then tell her that I will call my dad and tell him to have her reported for abusing an animal. If she doesn't want that to happen, then she will either a. put him in a new pasture or b. my dad will take him off her hands."

"And do what with him?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Don't know, but I'll think of something. It's just him that seems to have this type of abuse, and it is not his fault for what he had done."

Liam sighed and nodded his head. "Ok," he said. "I'll ask her, but first, I will take you to her. Follow me." He started to walk away with me following him.

"Hadley," Vanar said, and I stopped and turned my head to the side."Come here."

Quickly, I took my bag off my back and started to "search" through it, and Liam stopped and looked at me. "I think I left something," I said. "I'll be right back."

I zipped up my bag and walked closer to the fence that separated the horse and me. I walked to the place where the feed bucket was and opened the door to look in.

Vanar was standing on the other side of the fence, and I could see this newfound respect in his eyes. He bowed his head, the scar more prominent. "Thank you," he said. "For helping me and not giving up on me."

I offered him a smile, not saying a word. I knew that Liam watched me as I closed the door to the food and walked back over to him with a scowl.

"What?" Liam asked.

"I lost my brush," I said, lying. "I thought it was in my bag, but it wasn't, so I checked inside. I didn't see it."

"Oh, why did you need the brush?"

"To brush Shadow's mane and tail, of course." I shrugged my shoulder. "It's ok. I think I have another one that I haven't used yet. I can use that instead."

"Ok... if you say so." He gave me a weird look, and I smiled innocently at him. "Well, follow me."

And with that, we walked away from the stallion that I was having to train and earn his trust.

Hopefully, he'll trust me soon, so I could learn more about the world I was now a part of.