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(c) Terry Robinson / CC-BY-SA 2.0

IN PLACES THE road dwindled to a bare line in the grass, in others it became a muddy bog. By late afternoon the path began to travel past cultivated fields and thatched houses. Coming over a hill, Meagan and Henryk saw a village ahead. The road ran through the settlement and up another hill, disappearing under a stone archway—the walls of the Castle Sobrezy.

There was no drawbridge, though the stone walls were square and crenellated, and towers rose from the corners. Guards walked the parapets and flags waved from high turrets. Below, men on horses practiced archery before the rampart, cantering across the green in a display of rolling color.

“Allez!” Henryk called, slapping Chouchou heartily. Meagan hesitated. The stone fortress seemed to forbid visitors, not welcome them. She looked up; the overcast sky hid any sign of the nomad army. She gave Targa a reassuring pat—for herself—and started towards the castle.

No one challenged them as they rode past fields of men swinging rakes. A gray ox pulled a cart across the shorn field as hands heaved bundles of hay aboard. Swarms of children gathered scraps.

The road through the village was rutted and foul. Buzzing hornets and flies, squealing cartwheels and babies’ cries filled the air. Geese flapped from round poultry houses, bells hanging from their outstretched necks. A pond lay at the bottom of the hill, with a trough dug into one end. The horses nickered at the sight.

Meagan steered toward the pond. “We should water the horses here, Henryk, before we go on.”

Women gathered in groups at the edge of the brown water, washing laundry with hiked skirts. Henryk lifted his sword to them and kissed its hilt before dismounting. The women tittered and whispered to each other as Meagan rolled her eyes.

Arriving at the trough, Targa made dainty sips while watching the women carefully. Chouchou dunked his head into the green water and took long draughts, his ears moving in time with his swallows. Targa suddenly lifted her head. The mare’s tiny ears strained forward, nostrils wide and testing the air. Henryk’s smile faded and he pulled Chouchou from the water.

Seven horsemen riding massive horses moved ponderously toward them across the field.

Copyright © 2008 John Royce

Eclipsed by Shadow (Book #1 of the trilogy) won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.

» Read the 1st Chapter online.

» Check out Book #2 of the trilogy: The Golden Spark.

» See the Media Kit for more information about the trilogy.

Check out the trilogy’s page on Facebook!

MEAGAN WAS HAPPY to get back to the road, even if it meant another ballad from Henryk. The path splayed over rolling hills of knee-high grass, then dipped as they entered a thicker part of the woods. It was dark beneath the trees and the air was heavy.

Henryk stopped singing when Targa raised her head and whinnied. A horse’s neigh answered from within the woods. The young knight snapped his head around, looking for the source. Targa pranced in a circle, and as she turned, Meagan looked down the part of the road they had just traveled. Someone was following them. Someone who had not been there before.

Black shapes moved quickly in the far trees.

“Meagan!” Henryk urged Chouchou forward. “We go!”

Crashing vegetation and cries sounded from the right, and Meagan saw distant forms leaping through underbrush. Chouchou continued his leisurely walk, undisturbed by Henryk’s efforts to accelerate.

Meagan hesitated, afraid to leave them behind. Henryk and Chouchou were a waddling target. “Hurry up, Henryk!” she screamed. “They are coming!”

“I try!” Henryk was flailing his legs without result.

On the road behind them, their pursuer dropped to one knee and reached for the bow behind his back. Meagan turned and closed her legs—Targa leapt forward, and before the man could string his arrow the pony was coming fast upon him. The man leaped out of their path, dropping his bow on the road. Meagan pulled up and turned back, deliberately taking Targa over the bow until she heard a sharp snap.

Further up the road, Henryk was still trying to kick his mount into something faster than a slow jog. Meagan galloped back again, passing men just breaking free of the trees. She pulled up beside the hapless knight and together they looked back. Eight men were gaining quickly, brandishing staffs and long knives.

Henryk’s face was blotched with exhaustion. Giving up on Chouchou, he stopped kicking and drew his sword, holding it out and waiting for the attack. On impulse, Meagan reached out and grabbed the sword from him. It was heavier than she realized and the blade drooped.

“Arrêt, Meagan! No!”

Circling Targa, she wrestled with the sword before swinging the flat of the blade across Chouchou’s hindquarters. The startled horse shuffled forward a few steps and slowed again to a creeping walk … and then Targa pinned her ears and bit down on the base of the waddler’s tail. The pony had had quite enough of his dullness.

Chouchou gave a squeal and tripped into higher gear, with Henryk holding on as if riding a runaway. The horse rumbled down the dirt road, his eyes ringed white with fear, as Meagan kept Targa close behind him for motivation.

Their pursuers fell behind. The path rose and trees thinned into open land. Safe now, Henryk pulled on the reins and nearly bounced off as Chouchou broke into a rough trot. He took his sword from Meagan sheepishly, deliberately giving Targa a wide berth.

“That was a good girl,” Meagan said, patting Targa’s neck. “Never mind them.”

Henryk smoothed the ruffled tufts of hair on Chouchou’s plump hindquarters. “Lunatique,” he murmured privately to his scandalized mount. Both sent offended looks in the pony’s direction.

Copyright © 2008 John Royce

Eclipsed by Shadow (Book #1 of the trilogy) won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.

» Read the 1st Chapter online.

» Check out Book #2 of the trilogy: The Golden Spark.

» See the Media Kit for more information about the trilogy.

Check out the trilogy’s page on Facebook!

THE MUFFLED CRYING sound came again, from just over the hill. Meagan crept forward. A man was crouched at the base of the knoll, sobbing. He wore chain mail over coarse brown fabric. Next to him lay a shield and a long, tapered, brightly-painted wooden pole: a knight’s lance.

She cleared her throat delicately. “Excuse me, is something wrong?”

The man whirled and rose to his feet, and Meagan saw two things immediately. First, the man was not much more than a boy, and second, there was a sword strapped to his side. The young man brandished the metal blade, then on another thought grabbed his shield. He took a fierce stance, wiping his red eyes discreetly.

“I am sorry, I did not see you before,” Meagan said cautiously. “Are you lost?”

The young man sniffed. He was blonde-haired and his plain, wide features were raw from rubbing. “Cheval go,” he said miserably.

Zhivago? Meagan enunciated clearly: “Do you mean as in ‘Doctor,’ by any chance? It’s one of my mother’s favorite movies.”

“Nie, nie!” He pointed to the bridle Meagan carried. “Cheval!”

“Oh, this?” Meagan held up the simple headgear. “It is not a shovel … it’s a bri-dle. For my horse.”

“Tak, tak! Horse!” The young man launched into an excited string of what sounded like gibberish.

Meagan held up her hand. “I am sorry, I do not understand. Do you speak English?”

“Small!” The young man nodded eagerly. “English mother once.”

“English. Mother. Once,” she repeated.

The young man pointed off into the distance. “Horse go. Mens.”

She straightened. “What do you mean, horse go? My horse or your horse?”

He pointed at himself sadly, saying, “Horse go.” Then he pointed at Meagan. “Horse go.” He made an angry face and pantomimed kicking, as if imitating a certain ill-tempered pony.

This person had no idea what he was saying. Meagan put her hands to her mouth and whistled the call that always brought Targa trotting. The pony did not come. Again she tried … the call sounded shrill and futile.

After a moment silent except for sounds of birds in the trees, the young man shyly cleared his throat. He pointed to himself apologetically. “Henryk.”

Copyright © 2008 John Royce

Eclipsed by Shadow (Book #1 of the trilogy) won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.

» Read the 1st Chapter online.

» Check out Book #2 of the trilogy: The Golden Spark.

» See the Media Kit for more information about the trilogy.

Check out the trilogy’s page on Facebook!

Panic began pooling in Meagan’s chest. If these people were not going to surrender, she had to escape. A thought came to her … if she could only get close enough to Targa. “I don’t know about the Tatar men,” she answered innocently. “But their horses have a weak spot. I could show you. Take me to any horse with a bridle on it, say … oh, the pony I was riding would be perfect. For a demonstration, I mean.”

“So, the devils ride a tainted bayard! Oh, ho! ‘Tis ferly never to have heard so.” The man reached for his goblet. “Tell on.”

Meagan breathed easier, pleased with herself. She would only need a head start. “It is a place on their horses’ neck. If an arrow hits it, the horse—I mean bayard—dies instantly. I can show you. It would be better to do it outside the city, really. We will need some room.”

“Nay, the courtyard below will serve. And we shall use your own Tatar bayard.” Juices ran into the man’s beard as he chewed his food. “My archers will aim where you show us and we shall see how it dies.”

Meagan choked on her drink.

“How is this? I think you be glad to see the foul animal die!” The man leaned closer. “If you be a Tatar prisoner, as so you say.”

“Well, of course I am,” she sputtered, red-faced. “I … I was just disappointed the animal is still alive. The sooner she is eaten by crows, the sooner I can forget everything.” She smiled weakly.

“Better this,” the man grunted, and motioned to a guard. “Find the alien’s bayard. To-luggid hither to the courtyard.”

A horn sounded from below. It was taken up in quadrants all around the city, until the rooftop platform was surrounded by a chorus of trumpeting. The Englishman rushed to the railing and began shouting orders.

Meagan followed the confusion to the platform’s edge. Knights were pouring out of the city gates below; already the fields were filled with their color. In the distance, on the edge of the horizon, a black flood could be seen flowing through the trees.

“They take not our answer.” The Englishman gazed in satisfaction. “They shall see our manner of surrender.”

Copyright © 2008 John Royce

Eclipsed by Shadow (Book #1 of the trilogy) won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.

» Read the 1st Chapter online.

» Check out Book #2 of the trilogy: The Golden Spark.

» See the Media Kit for more information about the trilogy.

Check out the trilogy’s page on Facebook!

The river of horsemen poured through the settlement. Meagan tried to pull Targa to the side to avoid a pileup ahead. She urged the mare toward a side path but the flow carried them beyond. Horses were coming in behind, overwhelming her. Bucking in the thickening brawl, Targa was pressed against a building. A knot of men on foot clubbed their way forward and a horse wheeled away, falling against Targa and bringing her down. Meagan slid hard against the wooden wall, scraped between the wood and her struggling mare. Her arm fell free into open space, and she pulled herself off the pony and through the opening of a doorway.

Inside, she watched the wall shudder with the weight of horses trapped against it. Meagan jumped away as one board splintered, then another. Backing behind a table, she heard a whimper and turned to see two children crouched under a crudely made chair. They were boys, hardly more than toddlers. Meagan made a move to comfort them but they flinched away, huddling tighter. She stopped, realizing that she was the enemy.

The wall was coming apart. A section bowed in. Beyond it Meagan saw her mare lying on her side, the top of her hindquarters trapped underneath another horse. Targa was kicking in her efforts to rise, but the mare could not move her head and lay helplessly whinnying.

Excerpted from Eclipsed by Shadow, the award-winning first volume of “The Legend of the Great Horse” trilogy. (Hrdbk pg. 191)

Book II: The Golden Spark is available! Book III announcements coming soon…

Read the 1st Chapter online!

Copyright © 2008 John Royce