chapter 10 Chapter 11:
Tempus and Palomares walked away, they would come back the next morning, what they didn't know was that Toronado, who had seen everything, had run off. They hadn't seen him disappear behind the mountains.
Toronado ran as fast as the wind he was named after, he was going to need the help of Zorro's other partner, Felipe. He couldn't do it without him.
Felipe was sweeping the floor in the cave when Toronado came running inside stopping on the end of his stable. He was neighing, behaving very restless, he reared a little. Felipe ran towards the stable. He knew this was serious, even that time he had thrown his rider in the ravine by accident he wasn't this nervous, he was a rather calm stallion when he was in the present of Felipe or Zorro.
Felipe grabbed the second saddlebag they kept near the stable, excellent for emergencies like the one they were in now. He mounted Toronado with a jump. Felipe was good and well in the saddle when Toronado turned around and made his way out of his stable and out of the cave as quickly as he possibly could without hurting Felipe. He was fast but careful because this rider wasn't used to ride at full speed. The black stallion stopped behind a big rock near the abandoned farm. Felipe stood on Toronado's back, just like Zorro had done many times before. He watched over the large rock but ducked down immediately, one of the guards came in his direction. Felipe jumped of Toronado's back and dove between the two large rocks. Toronado wasn't hiding though, he grabbed the man with his arm and pulled him behind the rock towards the place where Felipe had hidden.
“ What the... AAAAAAAGH ...!” yelled the first guard.
Felipe grabbed a stone near him and smashed it on the guards head. The guard was immediately unconscious. Felipe tied him up and gagged him with his own scarf and dropped him between the rocks.
The second guard had heard him yell but didn't see the man.
“ Juan? Juan, where are you? Juan answer me!” yelled the second guard walking in the direction where the sound came from.
“ Juan are you he... What the... AAAAAAAGH... !”
Again Toronado grabbed the second guard by the arm and pulled him behind the rock with a force he never knew he had, even Felipe didn't know Toronado was that strong. The stallion smacked Andreas against the big large rock. He died at the spot.
Felipe looked at Toronado and signed, “ did we took all of them?”
Toronado shook his head and drew one line in the desert sand. The stallion was a smart stallion, but he was the King of horses after all.
Felipe signed again, “ one more?”
Toronado nodded his head in yes. Felipe jumped back in the saddle, placing his feet on the stallion's broad back. This way he could see over the rock without someone seeing him.
“ I think the last one is still inside!” Felipe signed. Felipe was still full of wonder, that although Toronado was a horse, he still understood the deaf-mute servants' signs.
S-Z
Desoto and Zorro looked at one another, this was ironic both captured by the same bandits. They both had heard the sounds outside. This could only mean one thing. Toronado was still outside, Zorro knew that and it gave him that little bit of hope he needed. Felipe needed to be quick though, not for him but he wasn't sure how long Clark could deal with whatever that little rock was. His breathing was becoming more and more shallow and he still hadn't regained consciousness.
Desoto and Zorro weren't the only ones who had heard the yells though.
Felipe was creeping up at the front side of the house, with Toronado on his heels. The third guard walked outside not expecting Felipe to be this close. Toronado had already turned around. The plan was simple.
The door opened and Felipe waited until the guard walked out. Felipe grabbed him, without letting anyone know he was there. He pushed the guard towards Toronado, who had turned around and was pointing his backhand towards Felipe now. Toronado aimed and bucked the guard right on top of the roof of the farm. One of his hooves landed on his head. That blow was fatal.
Everybody looked up the moment the guard had hit the roof.
“What was that?” Desoto asked, being really afraid for the first time in his life.
“ Not what but more like who was that?” answered Zorro with a smile. Toronado used that moment to walk inside.
“ You got to be kidding me! Is there something that devilish beast you call a horse can't do?” Desoto said in his typical sarcastic way.
Toronado looked Desoto's way, ears flat in his neck.
“ If you want to survive this, you better keep that sort of talks for yourself next time, Toronado understands us and has a mind of his own when it comes to insults.” Zorro smiled while Toronado was biting through Zorro's ropes.
Zorro was rubbing his left wrist, the place where the ropes had been.
“ Zorro, the Kryptonite!” Lois yelled her eyes red from all the crying.
“ Can it hurt my horse?” Zorro asked not wanting to risk Toronado for this.
Lois shook her head in no, “ no, it can't hurt him, but Clark is history otherwise.”
Zorro took the glowing green rock and turned towards his horse, “ drop this in the ravine we use to escape, that must be far enough from here.”
Toronado took the stone and made his way out of the farm, starting to run the very moment all his hooves hit the desert sand. Toronado didn't stop until he was at the ravine. He stood on the edge and threw the green poison down. The Kryptonite shattered in tiny little pieces. The stallion turned back around and made his way back towards the farm.
Zorro took the knife that once belonged to his fighting master and cut through Victoria's ropes, but instead of jumping in his arms, she turned around and start to free the woman she became friends within such a short notice. Lois on her turn made her way to the man that held her heart and was regaining his consciousness by now.
“ Clark are you alright?” she sniffed through her tears.
“ I will be fine soon I hope thanks to Zorro and his fantastic stallion.” Clark groaned while Lois did his best to free Clark, she didn't know how long it would take to regain his power.
Desoto was the last one to be freed by Zorro, “ Alright Alcalde, I know you want to capture me but what you think in taking revenge first? A truce until tomorrow ?”
Desoto thought about it, normally he would flat out refuse and tell them that he didn't make deals with outlaws but the thought of revenge for this humiliation was far more interesting.
" Alright Zorro, you win, but after tomorrow, I will see you hang," said Desoto evilly.
Zorro sighed same old cat and mouse game over and over again but hey it was his life, the only thing he did was shaking his head though.
“ I will be back tomorrow before dawn, with my lancers.” Desoto turned around and walked outside, but turned back, “ Oh and I am taking one of the horses of the De La Vega ranch to get there, your horse is so powerful that it will be no problem to get everyone home.” Desoto laughed before he left the others.
Victoria didn't speak until Desoto was gone, she was angry but not that angry to sign Zorro's death sentence by speaking in front of Desoto. She turned around and watched him with her eyes full of anger.
“ What is wrong Querida?” asked Zorro without knowing that Tempus had revealed his identity.
" What is wrong? Well, I will tell you what is wrong, you lied to me for four years and now you ask What is wrong? Did you like playing with me Diego!" tears run over her cheeks, anger filled her voice.
Zorro sighed not wanting to fight her, but he wanted to stop the lying. Victoria saw this as a sign that she was right. " Damn you, Diego, I could have been married by now!"
“ Querida please...” but Diego was stopped by a fierce senorita.
“ Don't Querida me Zorro! You of all people how worried I was about well … you.”
“ It was for your own safety,” Zorro tried to explain.
“ My safety, you of all people know that I am used as bait more than once!” Victoria yelled.
“ What do you want me to say, that I am sorry for making mistakes, for being human?” Zorro's temper was rising now.
Clark and Lois stood aside watching everything explode, Lois was angry too but she knew she needed to keep her calm, them fighting now wouldn't help them. They both looked up when they heard something behind the farm, Zorro also turned around, Victoria swallowed her next sentence, she was angry but Zorro was still an outlaw with a price on his head. They kept silent until Zorro saw who it was, he should have known.
“ It is alright Felipe, they know!” yelled Zorro in the direction of the farm. Zorro was glad that Desoto never saw him. The young boy stepped from behind the farm. This was the last straw for Victoria.
“ Do you mean that he knows?” asked with a still rising temper.
Zorro shook his head, “ It is thanks to Felipe that I always knew what was going on.”
“ He isn't deaf is he?” Victoria wanted to know.
“ No, the best spy for Zorro.” laughed Zorro but looking towards Victoria his laugh disappeared.
“ This is the last straw, Zorro! How will I be able to trust you again after this!” she groaned and stormed off, Lois on her heels.
TBC
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