Ride the Wind by Kateri Eichler (books to read in your 20s .TXT) 📖

Then another, very country voice spoke. "Well hi, ya'll! I'm Jade. How ya'll doin' today?" the voice said. A pretty blonde, Jade, the last, had come to join them. "Oh, you're pretty. You Muslim?" she asked, looking at Solay.
   Solay looked pleadingly at Mariah. "You're pretty." she said, gesturing to let Solay know that Jade had said it.

Then Mariah turned to the blonde. "She's Israeli. So Jewish. She only knows a little English, so talk slow and clear. Simple sentances and small words." she explained. Jade knodded.
    "Okay. You're pretty, too. You from up north?" she asked. Mariah shook her head.
    "No, I'm actully from Georgia, but I'm from New York. So I'm a yankee at heart." she explained.
    Jade knodded. God, she's hot. Mariah heard Jaun say. She was about to turn and scold him like she would her brother when she relized that she had heard this in her head, not her ears. She then focused her mind on Solay.
    Crazy Americans. The boy is nice looking, and Mariah is nice, but the blonde seems... odd. Mariah gasped. She could read the others thoughts, just like she could the horses. She decided to pry into Jade's mind next. But when she tryed, she met a wall of resistance. Instinctivly she knew this wasn't normal. She resloved to tell Dervisa later.
    Thats when it hit her. There was a urning in her heart for Dervisa. She had only just met him an hour ago, but she already felt a crushing feeling of loss in her heart. How much longer? I need you. she thought to Dervisa.
     I know. I feel the same. Thats how it is now that we are bonded together, and it's a fresh bond. This will be done soon. Then you can tell me what it is that you are so despratly holding back from me. The stallion replied, a note of urning in his own voice.
Hurry. She concluded. Then she turned back to Solay, Jaun, and Jade.

Chapter Four

    Dervisa was right in his assumption that it would only take a little while longer. As soon as she could, Mariah ran to the stallion. As soon as she reached him, he thought, No matter what, I will NOT let the others hurt you. I promise you that right now.
    Mariah was scared that he would even need to make such a promise, but she put on a brave face and knodded. Dervisa... I got into the other's minds, even what they were blocking. All of them... Exept Jade... Is that normal? Any of it? She thought.
    Dervisa let her mount before replying. No. Don't let on at what you can do, If possible. That is probobly why Respina fought so strongly to let you live...
    Mariah couldn't keep the question out of her mind. The others want to kill me?  she thought.
    The stallion snorted. Well, Kravan certainly does, But Nivia, Respina, and of course, I, all dissagread. But if... Anything... Happens, the others will not hesitate. But I will protect you. You don't need to worry. he replied. But Mariah saw threw his mental sheilds to find what he was clearly hiding. 
    The four of you are really human, made this way by magical crystals you found one summer about fifty years ago. If you fall in love with a human, you loose your powers and throw the world into chaos. she thought.
    Dervisa angrily tossed his head. So you can see hiden thoughts. It's not nice to spy.  Yes... and Nivia and Respina both think it's too late for me.
It took a minute for Mariah to understand the words, there sheer idea, that Dervisa was trying to convay. Then her eyes widened. 
    Don't worry about it. They are wrong, anyway. I've gone 50 years without anything happening. I can manage. They're just worried because I haven't taken a mare, yet I have a female as a human partner. They are horses on the inside now. I'm still human. Dervisa said calmingly.
    Mariah knodded. I can see that. she said, smiling. He tossed his head happily, then took off.

   That night as Mariah lay in bed, she thought. Dervisa was human. He had explained that not only were the four horses breeds affected by there place of birth, but also there apperance. She had sliped deeper into his head and found an image of him before. The boy she had seen was about sixteen, with shoulder length black hair and pale skin. His eyes were blue as the sky that he now ruled, and he was tall and handsome.
    She didn't know if it was because she couldn't have him, or something else, but as soon as she had discovered that he was really human... She wanted to know him.

Mariah was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice Dervisa's mind in the more public part of her head for a few minutes. Come on! Get up, get out here! Kravan and Juan need our help! he thought to her.
    She climbed out the window of her new bedroom and ran to Dervisa's pasture. He was right by the rail, and Mariah practicaly jumped from the rail onto his back. He took off immediatly, hooves dashing through the air.
    Ten minutes later, they reached the scene of a terrible fire. Dervisa started to slip into some kind of panic mode, but she soothed him, and he came back to her. They looked to Juan for orders, then ran into the fire looking for Kravan and another horse called Nebraska. Respina and Jade appered, cunjering up mud and dirt to put out small sections of fire. 
    Try to get into Kravan's mind. The hiden part! Dervisa thought to Mariah.
     She obeyed, reaching out to the stallion, then invading his thoughts. Let Juan... or anyone in! You need help! 
     Mariah waited, then got a reply from the stallion. Thank you.

Dervisa raced through the fire, clearing the way with huge gusts of wind that parted the flames. Fire was reaching nearly 20 feet high, over-comeing everything in sight. Then Mariah heard a triumpant whinny. 
Juan found Kravan!  Dervisa thought to her. The king of the fire could control the flames now.
Mariah through her arms around her stallion's neck, so glad to just be there with him. Almost as if it was ment to be.

Chapter Five

    Dervisa cantered out of the disapearing flames, Mariah seated confidentaly on his back. When they aproched the others, Juan took her hand and pulled her down from Dervisa's back to stand beside himself and Jade. "How did you do that? You calmed Kravan and even when I couldn'! Thats wild. So, how did you do it?" Juan asked her, smilinng.

Jade, on the other hand, looked almost angry. "I'll tell ya how she does it! She can look into secret thoughs! It's witchcraft!"

Juan blinked. "This is all witchcraft. Besides, that's not possible. Kravan told me so. And how would you know anyway?" he said, stepping a little closer to Mariah.

Keeping her voice at a low whisper, Jade said, "I... I can see it. Respina says its not normal. But I can see people sending eachother messages. Her's look differant. She's spying. She invades the private part of peoples minds. Hiding my thoughts isn't enough, I have to actively defend them against her."

Juan looked at the two girls, trying to decide which of them to trust. "Fine." Mariah admited. "She's right, but I haven't used the power to hurt anyone. I just saved Kravan and the mare. I won't hurt anybody. Look, we can learn things; we don't have to be left out. Watch."

Then, under the watch of Jade, Mariah cast her mind towards the horses, then into Dervisa's blocked thoughts.  "She's listening to them." Jade reported to Juan.

"What are they saying?" Juan asked, looking at Mariah in awe.

For a moment, Mariah listened to the three horses talk. Then, she turned to Jaun. Her face as pale as a ghost, she said, "They want to kill me. Kravan and Respina. They think Dervisa... loves me..."

There were several seconds of silance between the three teens. "Well, does he?" whispered Jade, not sounding nearly as hostile anymore.

Mariah shook her head. "I don't know. I can't pinpoint what love feels like. So I don't know," she added.

As soon as Mariah finished her sentance, Dervisa spun around to Mariah and the others.
     Up. he thought to her, and she instantly obeyed. Before taking off, Dervisa turned back to all the others and angrily snorted, You better not touch her. You do, I'll rip you apart. Then his hooves left the ground and the pair sored away.
    Mariah considered asking the question that burned in her mind, but she decided that he wouldn't answer, so she simply left her thoughts ungaurded.
    Yes, I do. he thought to her.

"Oh, Dervisa... No." she whispered, then remembered and thought it to him. Without responding, he simply knodded.

It's okay... But... The others will kill me before they let the world end. Mariah added. Again, Dervisa mutely knodded. Mariah ran her fingers threw his feathery mane. To her horror, it felt almost like human hair.
 I need to land. It's to late. He finally thought to her. Then , he plunged into a steep dive. We're over the Azores, so we won't drown. he added. Before Mariah could even reply, they hit the ground hard. Mariah rolled, trying to lessen the impact a little. When she staggered to her feet, she looked around for Dervisa. But all she saw was an teenage boy, with dark hair and dark clothes from a midevil period.
    "Dervisa!" she cried. Even as she ran toward him, wind started wipping the trees around wildly. The boy looked up at her, then at himself. Mariah reached out to help him up, and he grasped her hand.
    Dervisa opened and closed his mouth a few times before he was able to speak. "Mariah. I'm so sorry. And now the others will be looking for us. This is all my fault." he said, with a distinct German accent. In responce, Mariah threw her arms around him. He stood there stiffly for a second, then put his arms around her, as well. "I'm sorry." he said again.
    Despite the fact that he had been a horse until just a few seconds ago, Mariah couldn't help but notice how good Dervisa smelled. Some kind of cologhn or something. She burried her face in his chest. They both closed their eyes as the others landed around them. Kravan