TCI: Book 1 Part 1: (N. L .A.) The Fire Stone. Book 1 Part 2 Continuing

Part 2. Chapter 16. The Black Keppet

Part Two 

Chapter Sixteen

The Black Keppet  

Chase was woken a few hours later by the keppets whinnying and stamping the ground. Wondering what was causing all the excitement, he quickly clambered out of the 'petticoat' tent to calm them.

And then he saw it.

High on a cliff, a short distance away from where they camped, stood a jet black keppet, its long mane and tail swirling in the breeze. It reared up, pawing the sky calling to Chase and Amy's keppets, who whinnied back, pulling hard on their ropes to break free. 

"Amy!" Chase called, "Come and look at this!"  

"What is it?" said Amy wiping sleep from her eyes. "What's all the–oh, Chase! Honestly!" she tutted, "Put your jeans on!" But then she looked to where Chase was pointing.

"Ooh!  Isn't he beautiful!"  

"What y'mean, he. It's a keppet. They're all female," said Chase frowning.  

"Oh don't be silly, the can't all be female. The males are black and a lot bigger," smiled Amy, pleased she knew something Chase didn't. "And very rare,"  she added, fetching the binoculars "We're so lucky to see one! Some people never see one in a whole life time. Watch, he has something the females don't have!"  

"Yeah, I bet he does–" said Chase in an audible undertone.  

"Ssshh! Don't be rude! Watch, he's bound to show them off any minute!"  

They watched and were not disappointed. A few moments later the black keppet reared up again and stretched out his magnificent wings!  

"Oh wow!" said Chase running forward for a better view, "He can fly!  What I wouldn't give to ride that!"  

"Please put your jeans on first! And you can't ride them," added Amy throwing Chase his jeans. Before putting them on Chase quickly checked the pockets. Something was making him look for his knife. "No one has ever caught one," continued Amy, "Prelli told me. No one's even been within a mile of one. That's why we're so lucky to see– Chase come back! You can't go off  without shoes or a shirt! Ooh! Look!"  

Chase stopped in his tracks. Suddenly there was something else on the cliff top and only about forty feet from the stallion. It too was dressed completely in black. The human shape swung something around its head and threw it at the black keppet. It spread through the air like some kind of web and as the creature reared up, coils of what looked like fine rope or cord tangled around the keppets front legs.  

"No!" yelled Amy shocked that anyone could do such a thing. "No one's supposed to catch them! They're sacred animals! They're supposed to choose you, to come to you of their own free will!"

Just as she began running forward, another human shaped figure appeared on the cliff top. It too had a webbed net and spun it high in the air towards the black stallion.

"No!" yelled Chase as he ran towards the cliff. He called over his shoulder, "Go back Amy, get the light sphere's from my saddle bag, throw them towards me–"

"But–"

"Just do it! Don't follow, stay there!"

By now the second humanoid had spotted Chase and saw a barefooted half naked human child, running towards them. First it called out something, probably a warning to it's accomplice and then yelled at Chase in its own language. It sounded like a threat.