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

reared and pawed the sky. Fire rained down around Juan and him. Respina stood, scraping her hooves across the ground angrily with Jade sitting on her back, looking scared.
    "I won't let them hurt you" Dervisa whispered. Rain poured, lightning struck, fires burned, and sand and dust blew. The horses tails and mains blew around them, as did Mariah's hair. Dervisa pulled her up closer, sheltering her from the elements.
    Kravan shouted a comand to Juan. The boy ran over, trying to pull Mariah away from Dervisa. Kravan wants me dead. Mariah thought. It was true. She dove into the stallion's mind, and it was the first thought to surface.
The next thing she knew, Devisa had thrown her to the ground and covered her body with his own. Fire rained down. Even Respina was begging Kravan to stop the fire fall. Nivia and Solay had arrived at some point, and Mariah could hear the Isreali girl crying and begging in Farsea. "Leave her alone! It's my fault, not hers! Don't hurt her!" Dervisa begged as Juan tried to pull him away. But Juan was stronger than him. That was the last thing Mariah remembered.
  Chapter Six

    Mariah woke up alone in a cave. "Dervisa?' she thought, casting her mind out. He was alive and close by. But somthing was wrong. She cast her mind out again, searching for the others. Solay and Nivia were close, within a humdred feet. Guards.
    "You can get out. Think. Don't let yourself be caught. Run. Don't look for me. I'll be okay. Run!" She heard Dervisa think.
    She replied, "But, I can't leave you! I may have only known you a few days, but, you're my best friend, Dervisa. I can't leave you. They are going to kill you."
    He responded, "I don't need your mind reading abilities to know that. I'll be dead before you get to me. Please, save yourself, Mariah."
    "I can't leave you. I... Can't. Please don't tell me to leave. I can't. Not without you." She thought.
    There was a moment of silence. Mariah was scared that he was gone. Then he said, "I love you, Mariah. And I want you to live and get out. Please, love." he said. "Don't stay here and die with me."
    Then there was nothing. She thought she would feel him die, feel the pain shooting through him, experiance the oblivion with him. But she didn't. She started to cry, tears rolling down her cheeks. Solay came over and put her arms around her. The Isreali girl whispered, "Push.. me.. run.. Dervisa, still alive. Push me." Mariah knodded ever so slightly, then pretended to pushed her to the ground, then sprang to her feet. She ran past Nivia to the cavern where Dervisa had been. He was still there, alone. Barely breathing. She knelt beside him and pulled his head into her lap. He was so cold.
    "Hold my hand?" he asked. She took his cold hand in her warm one and held it. She brushed the hair out of his pretty blue eyes. "You have to go." he said, his accented voice barely a whisper.
    "I'm not going to leave you. Not now, not ever." Mariah replied. She kissed him softly and swiftly on the forhead, then brushed the hair out of his eyes again.
    He didn't look away. "Please go. I don't want you hurt. Go, please." he whispered. Mariah used her other hand and put a finger to his lips. Dervisa took her hand and moved it from his lips to his cheek and held it there.
    "No." Mariah whispered. She could hear the others coming now. Almost at the cavern. "No. Not ever. " she added. They were right outside the cavern.
    Dervisa Looked at her pleadingly, then shook his head weakly. "Fine. If you must stay... One more time?" He asked.
    It took Mariah a moment to realized what he wanted. Once she did, she nodded, then leaned in and kissed his head again, then his hand. This time, she let her lips linger there a little while. She could hear the others enter the room. But she stayed how she was. She held her hand to his chest, feeling his weak heartbeat. It was slowing down, fading. She pulled away from him and turned on the others. They killed him. It's my fault, not his.

She felt the power of the wind fill her. And the power of a beautiful paint Mustang mare. She didn't understand what was happening, but she reared up and pawed at the closed off sky. Lightning struck right above their heads, outside the cavern. Kravan raced at her, but she used the powers on the wind to push him away. Nivia and Respina danced nervously.
    "We are leaving now. Get him onto my back, and we will go." she commanded. The nodded, and Solay ran to follow the order.

"Save him." Solay whispered. "Hospital."  Mariah knodded, then she ran away down the cavern, to where she instinctivly knew the exit was.
    "Hold on love." she thought to Dervisa. He was uncontious, but she knew he felt her strength protecting him, the way he had protected her.

Chapter Seven

They were outside again. Finally. Mariah was so relived to breathe in fresh air, feel the wind in her mane, that she took off into the air, flying up about thirty feet without ever realizing. When she did, she was scared. But she had to get Dervisa home. Or at least away from here. She decided that it would be faster to get to the UK than any where else. Fast. She thought. As fast as I can.

It didn't take long to get there. At least it didn't feel long. Dervisa was still breathing when they landed outside a hospital. Mariah stood there, not knowing how to get him inside. Suddonly, he became heavier on her back. She fell to her knees. A person again! She gentally pushed his limp and cold, but still living body off of her. Then, she put her arms around him and pulled his arm over her shoulder.She pulled him threw the door.
Despite the late hour, there was a young woman sitting at the front desk. When she saw Mariah half carrying Dervisa and ran over to them and Helped her. "What happened? What's his name? How old is he? How do you know him?" the nurse asked.

Mariah answered every question that she could, with the exeption of the last. she didnt think, "He was my horse, then we flew to some island, and I became a horse." would be an acceptable answer. Instead, she told the nurse, "I dont know.. We were walking, and I looked away, went down the street to get... um... coffee. When I got back, I found him like this."

The nurse knodded, seeming to belive the vauge story. By that time, several doctors had lifted Dervisa onto a gurny. "Can I stay with him?" Mariah asked. One of the doctors knodded at her. As Dervisa was pushed out of the room on a rolling strecher, Mariah trotted along behind him. As she walked behind the gurny and the doctor, she thought abouth her situation. She was in a british hospital with a boy who was a horse who was a boy, whom she had only known a few days and was in love with. She was in her Pajamas, a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, which were covered in mud and dust and rain water. She was way too far away from home, farther than shed ever been before. She wanted to cry.

The doctor wheeled Dervisa into a window-less room and told Mariah to wait outside. "Whats wrong with him?" she begged. The doctor simply shook his head.

Mariah sat in an uncomfortable metal folding chair and held her head in her hands and cried. she wasnt sure how long she sat there for before there was a hand on her shoulder. Expecting the doctor, Mariah looked up to see a very out of breath Solay. "Others.. here. Juan me.. eh.. help you. Lead dem.. away. How long? she said, gesturing into the room. Mariah shook her head, confused. Solay tapped her on the forehead. Mariah knodded, the reached into Solay's mind. The others are outside. They sent me in to look for you. Juan and I will help you. I'll steer them away from here, but it may not be long. Do you know how long it will be before he's out?

No idea. Mariah replied mentaly.

"Hurry." replied Solay outloud. Then she ran down the hall away from Dervisa and Mariah.

Chapter Eight

Mariah banged on the door to the room where she knew Dervisa was. "Please! Let me in! I need to see him! Someone!!!" she begged. A doctor opened the door.

"Miss, please stop this at once. He is concious. Can you answer some questions for us?" the docter said, starting rather condesendingly, then calming his voice.

Mariah knodded. "Yes.. Yes, i'm sorry." she said, tryig to calm herself.

"What is his name?" the doctor asked, kneeling infront of her.

"Devisa. Dervisa..." she tried to think of a german sounding name. "Hamburg..." she finally said. she instantly regretted her choice, but she decided to go with it.

The doctor looked at her with a sceptical expression. "So his name is... Dervisa Hamburg?" he said. 

"Yes. He's 19. hes an exchange student. From Germany." Mariah said confidently.

The doctor nodded, looking as if he belived her, but thought she may be streching the truth. "Okay. And what's your name? how do you know Mr.... Hamburg?" 

"Oh, I'm Mariah Wilcox. Im 17. I'm also an exchange student. From America." 

"Right, right. And, where do you go to school?" the doctor asked, writing on his clipboard as he spoke, not looking at Mariah anymore.

Mariah hesitated. "Why