Liberty and the Dream Ride. Stacy Gregg

get some sleep.”

      As soon as the door was shut behind him Stella began pressing the buttons on the TV remote, flicking through the endless channels. “Ohhh! There’s a vampire versus werewolf movie marathon on channel forty-seven,” she said. “Issie, we have to watch that!”

      Issie knew they were supposed to get an early night, but if they were only going to be driving again tomorrow, surely it didn’t matter how late they got to bed?

      “All right,” she agreed. “Turn it on then!”

      “Wait!” Stella had an idea. “All those vampires will make us hungry – we need snacks!”

      The vending machine in the motel forecourt was filled with strange sweets and chocolate that Issie and Stella had never heard of before. They pushed their coins into the slot and bought two Hersheys, a Butterfinger and a Peter Paul Almond Joy and took their chocolate haul back to their room.

      “Imagine having to live on blood instead of chocolate,” Stella said as she bit into the Almond Joy. “It must suck to be a vampire.”

      The movie marathon seemed like a good idea at the time, but the girls had underestimated just how tired they were. Stella was asleep within minutes, way before the first werewolf even appeared onscreen and Issie was left awake watching the TV.

      The movie had just reached a particularly scary bit where the girl was all alone in the house and the werewolf was coming for her, when Issie heard the sound of an animal howling outside, somewhere in the darkness.

      “Stella?” Issie hissed. “Did you hear that?”

      Stella responded with a snore. Issie tried to pull herself together. She was imagining things. It was just one of the werewolves in the movie.

      She’d almost convinced herself that this was true when she heard the noise again – definitely outside this time. It was a long, high-pitched howl, like a wild creature baying its heart out at the moon.

      Probably a coyote, Issie thought. She recalled Avery saying that the hills around this region were full of them. As long as the coyote kept its distance and didn’t bother the horses…

      The coyote howled again and the motel lights outside flickered for a moment, and suddenly Issie had the strangest feeling. Something was out there – not far away in the hills, but right there – outside her room. She could sense it somehow and it made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.

      Turning down the volume on the TV she got up out of her chair and padded silently towards the window. Issie held her breath as she slowly pulled back the curtain. The neon glow of the motel sign bathed the car park in pink light and at first Issie didn’t see anything moving. She was about to let the curtain drop when she caught a glimpse of a shadowy shape heading towards her.

      “Stella?” Issie hissed. “Stell? I think there’s something out there!”

      Issie looked back over her shoulder at her best friend who, despite everything, was still fast asleep. For a moment she considered waking her, but then she realised she would feel pretty stupid if it was just a stray dog outside.

      Issie turned back to the window once more and immediately jumped back in fright. Right outside the room there were two coal-black eyes in a ghostly face, staring straight at her!

      “Ohmygod!”

      This was what happened when you watched silly movies! Issie had got herself totally freaked and had begun to imagine a werewolf lurking outside the window. What she hadn’t been prepared for was a pony. But there he was, his snowy white coat taking on a pinkish glow from the neon light, making the sight of him strange and ghostly, but no less wonderful.

      It was Mystic.