Chapter One
Terra


Someone once told me that even the strongest people cry when the time comes. Well, I am one of those people. Tears slip down my cheeks as I stare down at the mud brown casket that holds the one person who matters to me. My dad died in a car accident yesterday. He died doing what he loved. For as long as I can remember, my dad loved cars. He cherished his nineteen seventies charger that had been his dads. When his dad died, he fixed it up and ever since he had been racing and driving it everywhere. He had been driving that car when he died. According to the investigators, he had been on his way to work at the car repair shop he owned when a semi-truck turned into him and killed him instantly. I remember getting the call from the police saying that my father had died in a car accident. I ran outside to his garage, where he constantly worked on his Charger, and cried. I could not believe my best friend was gone.


A soft tap on my shoulder tore me from my thoughts and back to reality. I turn around slowly and see my mother standing there with a Kleenex in one hand and a single white rose in the other. I stand stiffly in place and pretend to be intently cleaning dirt out from underneath my ragged nails. “Come on Terra, it is time for the procession,” she says quietly, finally breaking the silence.


I nod slowly and begin to walk to where the line of people stood, waiting to walk to the burial site. In a line on the street was a group of beautiful black horses. Among them was my horse, Hades. My father had also been an avid cowboy and his horse Hades had been left to me. He was a huge black Arabian that towered over everyone and everything. He stood there, champing at the huge decorative bit in his mouth. I felt sorry for the tiny stable hand that had to hold on to my massive beast of a horse.


I walked slowly over to him and gently rubbed the white star on his nose. His warm breath warms my freezing hands and sent chill down my stiff body. I put my foot in the saddle and swing my leg over the side of his huge back. The saddle creaks as I adjust myself on his back. I look up and see the casket being lifted up and procede to the front of the procession of horses. Hades stamps his foot impatiently and snorts. Then he pins his ears and whips his head around, ready to lunge at the horse that dared get too close to him. I turned around quickly to see who was stupid enough to get that close to him and I saw a face I had never seen before. A pair of deep blue eyes met my fiery gaze and a mop of blonde hair fell in strands from underneath his black cowboy hat. He looked about my age and was sitting on a gorgeous grey quarter horse stallion who pins his ears right back at Hades. I roll my eyes at him and turn back around in my saddle. What an idiot, I thought to myself. I wonder who he is. I have never seen him before.