“No!”
The horrifying image of him stabbing Juan polluted Diego’s mind, sending chills down his spine. He felt bile in his throat, but he tried his best to swallow it. Did it suddenly become hard to breathe?
Tornado cantered back to Zorro’s hideaway. The second they reached it, he slowed to a trot and ducked inside. Tornado stopped in the cave the tunnel led to and glanced at Diego.
Shaking, Diego tossed his right leg behind him and hopped off his mount. He ripped his mask off and chucked it to the ground. From there, he removed his gloves and ran his fingers through his hair. How on Earth would he explain this to Bernardo—let alone his father? They were expecting Zorro to return with Juan alive.
“Dang it! Dang it! Dang it!” Diego whispered to himself. What had he done?
Concerned, Tornado approached his rider’s side, but Diego pushed him away. He picked up his mask and stomped up the stairs to his room.
Tornado watched him leave.
Once in his room, Diego marched to his fireplace and tossed his mask into the hot, orange and white flames. The smell of burned cloth passed through his nostrils, and he punched a hole into the wall.
Only a few minutes later, someone knocked on his door. “Diego, are you in there?” asked Alejandro's voice.
No, no, no! Why was he there? Diego chewed on his fingernails and quickly looked for a place to hide. His eyes landed on his bed, and he nodded to himself. Quietly, he fell onto his stomach and slid under it, pulling the bedspread down to hide him. As soon as he did, his door opened.
Diego barely caught a glimpse of two pairs of feet stepping into his room, Alejandro and Bernardo, and held his breath.
“I thought I heard him, Bernardo,” Alejandro said. He rummaged around the fireplace, but then his eyes landed on the hole in the wall. “What on Earth happened to the wall?”
Bernardo stretched his arms like he had earlier with Diego. He pointed at Diego’s bed and nibbled his own fingernails.
“Yes, Bernardo,” Alejandro said. “I’m worried something’s happened to him, too. Come on.” He patted Bernardo’s shoulder and led him out of Diego’s room, shutting the door behind him.
Diego let go of the breath he was holding and crawled out from under his bed. Standing, he took off his cape and hat and stuffed them into his mattress. From there, he changed quickly into one of his civilian attires—a blue matador with gold trimming—and tossed Zorro’s outfit on top of his wardrobe. He couldn’t stay there.
Diego propped his back against the wall and tiptoed to the fireplace’s switch. He hastily ducked back into the secret passage before Alejandro or Bernardo returned. Where would he go? Would he become a hermit and live deep in California’s deserts, or would he go to Los Ángeles and figure something out? That sounded better. Diego just needed a horse. Not Tornado, though.
He returned to the cave and noticed his horse munching on hay he had left for him that morning. Oh, wait, he forgot to take Tornado’s bit out! “Oh, I’m sorry, Tornado,” Diego whispered. He approached him and undid his bridle.
As soon as he pulled it off, Tornado wiggled his now-free tongue and shook his mane.
Diego wiped the bit free of the slimy hay and set it down on the small wooden table in the cave. “I’m sorry, boy,” he said, returning to his horse, “but I can’t stay here.” Diego stood before Tornado’s face and clutched his chin. He brought his horse’s forehead to his and shut his eyes. “You’re my good boy,” Diego said, patting Tornado’s neck.
Wait! Tornado seemed to nicker.
Diego remembered all the good times he shared with his horse: them riding through California’s open plains and fighting side-by-side to protect her from the foolish comandantes—not the ones who tricked Zorro at the last second. Oh, how Diego would miss them.
He removed his forehead from Tornado’s and rubbed him behind his left ear. “I love you, Tornado,” were his last words before he removed his hand and jogged toward the cave’s exit.
Whinnying, Tornado leaped back and started to buck. With each buck, he waved his hooves. One of them hit the table where his bridle was and knocked it over.
Diego! Diego! Tornado cried, but Diego did not return.
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