Page 9 of My Trojan Horse Majesty

“Calm down.” I tug on his lead at the same time that I fuss. I should’ve attached a stallion chain so my tugging would get his attention a little better. What was I thinking? “You’re going to be completely safe in there.” I gesture ahead. “The devil himself couldn’t get through that fence.” I laugh. “Not without hands, anyway.”

As I take one hand off his lead to open the padlock, Drago loses his mind. I drop the lock and yank sharply, turning him like Steve taught me instead of allowing him to race away, but when he shifts again and bolts, he breaks free.

I might release a string of profanities.

He doesn’t care. He’s galloping so fast that his tail flies straight up in the air at the top, then streams outward. Chunks of sod spray all over me as I’m completely ditched. He races past the other paddock, ducks around the edge, slowing only infinitesimally to poop, and then picks up speed yet again, racing toward the road.

My heart sinks.

I’vestolena horse in an insane long shot to try and help Tim, but my one claim to goodness is that I was going to give him a better life than he’d have had if he was put down. Now I don’t even have him in my custody, and the only responsible thing to do is call the authorities and report that I’ve lost control of a massive, dangerous animal. . .who isn’t even mine.

Only, just as he’s about to pass out of my view, rounding the bend of the property and high-tailing it up the street—I finally understand that phrase!—he stumbles, falls over, and stops moving. I immediately take off toward him, worried and nervous about something new, but as I draw near, it’s clear that something’s very wrong.

My massive stallion’s dead-still on the shoulder beside the road.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume he reallywasdead. But horses can’t go from racing pell-mell to dead in two seconds, can they? Surely not. . .

I lean down toward him, nervous to find out.

Chapter4

Leonid

After hours in that horrible metal box, a box that still stinks of the excrement of all the other horses who have been stuffed in it, the trailer finally stops. I’m proud of myself when I wait and let the girl unload me. I can’t see whether her soul’s light or dark, not now, not without my powers, but I can guess. She looks like depictions of Elena the Beautiful from the Ivan Tsarevich fairy tales, and Elena’s always the pure and innocent princess.

Even so, I can’t stick around here, hoping my powers return.

I have to get away while I can. Once I’m sure I can break free without harming her, as she stoops over the lock on the gate, I sense it’s my time. At first, she seems to have anticipated that I might bolt—yanking me sideways, and keeping control of my direction. But there’s no way a hundred and fifty pound girl can really control a massive horse. It was never a fair fight.

Once I’m free, I toss my head sideways to swing the lead line back over my neck and keep my legs free, and then I really take off. Racing at full speed in this form has a strange effect—my bowels loosen, and I find myself crapping.

Right in front of that girl I just left.

It feels terribly embarrassing, but I suppose it shouldn’t be. I’ll never see her again. I speed up once again, moving faster than I ever thought I might when spots start to appear in front of my vision.

Vision that’s already extremely strange in this form.

The design for horse eyes is moronic. I can only see with any depth perception in a narrow funnel right in front of my body, but on either side I can see nearly to my rump, and I have to choose which to focus on, only one at a time. At first, the spots seem like flecks of something that has sprayed up and covered my eyes, dimming the light. But then it worsens, and suddenly I can’t see.

A second later, I lose control of my legs and crash into the ground.

When I wake up, the girl’s back. This time, she’s threading a chain through the halter she’s already strapped to my face. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I must’ve given you too much sedation.” She straightens some, squaring her shoulders. “But I’m nottoosorry, since you took off like a maniac—I guess you needed to be sedated.”

I whinny.

“We have to go back to the paddock now. You were very naughty before, but I don’t think you’ll find it quite so easy to escape this time, not now that I know what tricks you’ll try.”

I can’t help noticing that she’s also carrying a large red crop. And wearing gloves.

Delightful.

“I’d rather not use this,” she says, “but better safe than sorry.” She stands up. “Now, it’s time for you to get up, too. Carefully. Slowly.” She tugs on the lead she’s holding, and the chain tightens down over my nose.

Yowch.

“Stand up, Drago.” She tugs again.

This time, I will my body to listen to the commands I’m giving it, and it finally does. A surge of energy shoots through me, and my muscles ripple, and I roll to my feet.

---