The Horses Know (The Horses Know Trilogy Book 1)

by Lynn Mann

  All three horses were very cooperative about having string laid in their mouths until Newson was satisfied that he had a length he could work from for each of them. ‘I’ve not much on this morning so I’ll aim to have them done before you’re due to ride. Stop by my workshop and pick them up, alright?’ he said.

  ‘You can really do it that quickly? It won’t tire you too much?’

  He smiled. ‘Amarilla, I’ve been a Metal-Singer for most of my life and I’m among the strongest of them. Something to do with a cast iron will, according to Integrity, if you’ll excuse the pun. They’ll be done on time, have no fear and then I suppose I shall be answering to Feryl about it.’

  ‘I’m sorry if it causes you problems, doing this for us.’

  He chuckled. ‘You only have to consider the name I gave my horse to realise that I do have to risk causing offence to people every now and then!’

  My morning passed tediously. I continued to plough through the different combinations of herbs in my collection and by the end of the session I was none the wiser as to those that I could combine to help cure insomnia. Adam was nowhere to be seen, so I couldn’t pop in for a chat to give myself a break. It was just me, my plants and the pain of heartburn — after two days of it, still no amount of tea or water was having any effect.

  I made my way to collect the bits from Newson at the appointed time and as I walked, I thought about Infinity’s assertion the previous day, that the discomfort I was experiencing was in my heart. Could she be right? I wondered to myself.

  Your tendency towards denial is understandable in this instance. You are capable of diagnosing and healing your symptoms fully by yourself but hearing some of what you need to hear from another human will help you to accept your situation far more readily.

  Another human? My situation? What do you mean?

  Silence. Infinity waited patiently in my mind. I was nearly at Newson’s door when I asked, shall I ask Adam if he can help?

  He Who Is Peace is a suitable choice.

  Newson was as good as his word and all three bits were ready and waiting for me. ‘I’ve coated the mouthpieces with a thin layer of honey,’ he said, handing them over by the bit rings. ‘I thought it might take the taste of the metal away to begin with, help them get used to having it in their mouths, so take care, they’re sticky.’

  I thanked him for both his work and thoughtfulness and he told me to be sure to return the bits if any of the horses found them uncomfortable or needed to have adjustments made.

  I found Rowena and Justin in the tack room. We hung our bridles from the backs of our saddles as we attached the bits and reins, trying to avoid getting covered in honey as we did so. Infinity and Oak were waiting for us at their gate and Justin ran on to saddle and bridle Gas, saying he would meet us at the riding paddock.

  I bridled Infinity first. I had the cheek pieces set too long to begin with and the bit clanged around against her teeth. I wasn’t sure what to do about it until she demanded that the bit be lifted higher into her mouth immediately. She opened her mouth for me to see the natural gap between the incisors at the front and the molars that were set well towards the back of her long mouth. There, the bit could sit comfortably, so I adjusted the cheek straps until she was completely satisfied that the bit would indeed rest in a comfortable place. Oak was equally helpful in indicating where different straps needed adjustment — albeit in a less demanding way than Infinity — and we soon had him comfortable in his bridle.

  As I stood back from him and registered the image in front of me, my heart lurched painfully in my chest. The two horses standing side by side, fully saddled and bridled, brought back to me with full force the scene from the previous life that Infinity and I had shared, of the horses lined up and ready to charge before being gunned down. Emotion flooded me. Immediately, Infinity’s nurturing energy enfolded me, reassuring me that the increased pain I was now experiencing in my chest was nothing to fear. She loved me. Her energy eased its way through my whole being, caressing my soul and I knew that she loved me with all of herself, unconditionally. Her love enfolded me and held me together as my pain and emotions risked spinning out of control. She only relaxed her support when the pain in my chest had subsided and my emotions were stable once more.

  ‘Right, ready to go?’ asked Rowena. She had just finished girthing up, which meant that what felt like a mountain of pain and emotion had arrived and departed within less than a minute.

  ‘Um, yep,’ I said, rubbing my face vigorously with both hands.

  What just happened? I asked Infinity.

  Do not concern yourself with it at present. You are stable for now and we have work to do.

  But you helped the pain go away?

  Temporarily. It will return. It is necessary. All is as it should be. For now you must concentrate on our work together.

  We made our way to our riding paddock. Once Infinity had pulled a small amount of my awareness in to share her body with her, I held the reins while Rowena and Justin called out suggestions as to how to have a contact with her mouth without restricting the movement of her head and neck as she walked. I found it difficult to concentrate whilst being so acutely aware that the longer I faffed around, the more compromised were Infinity’s body and emotional state. When I finally managed to find a contact with Infinity’s mouth with which she seemed comfortable, I squeezed her sides with my legs.

  Infinity lifted a little in front and tried to express relief and excitement, but her feelings bounced back in on themselves, unable to push past the heavy pressure that bound them within her chest. She lifted more and then leaned on the reins for support as her body began to overbalance forward. A tiny surge of relief at the extra support was almost expressed, but then the support wavered. I was dually aware of my own body as my hands, followed by the rest of me, were jerked forward and I was pulled out of the saddle, ending up on Infinity’s neck, and of Infinity’s body as she lost her balance and stumbled heavily.

  My friends appeared immediately on each side of me, pulling me back into the saddle while Infinity found her feet.

  ‘I think you need to be able to stay upright when she does that, so that she can lean against you rather than pull you forward,’ said Justin.

  ‘And I think you need to be aware when you’re stating the bleeding obvious Jus,’ said Rowena. ‘Maybe don’t squeeze so hard with your legs this time Am, just help her to lift a tiny bit and work out how to balance her with the rein before asking her to lift more.’

  ‘What, you mean try it again?’

  ‘Does Fin want to stop?’ she challenged me.

  As Oak and Gas once more helped Infinity to recover, she mustered up a feeling of anticipation and readiness for what we would do next.

  I sighed. ‘I don’t think so, okay, I’ll give it a go.’

  Our next attempt was slightly more successful in that Infinity didn’t stumble, but as she began to lift up in front, I panicked and took a strong hold on her mouth, which caused her to jolt to a halt.

  ‘That was a better effort, you just need to get your timing better so that as she leans on you, you take a steady pressure rather than grabbing at her mouth like that,’ Justin said and Rowena rolled her eyes, grinning at me.

  ‘Keep going Am, you’re doing great,’ she said.

  By the end of the session I was marginally happier as I’d managed to improve my timing slightly and Infinity had been able to take a few steps whilst lifting a little. Rowena found a rein contact with which Oak was more than happy in their session, though he hardly appeared to need to lean on the rein at all for support, unlike Gas, who took a hold on his bit and when asked to lift from Justin’s legs, leaned on it mercilessly.

  ‘Blimey, that was a bit of a workout,’ Justin said as he slid to the ground afterwards. ‘I can’t say I enjoyed it but Gas is ecstatic!’

  ‘Well done Justin, he looked much better, more connected, somehow and not just physically,’ said Rowena, and I nodded my agreement.<
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  We arrived in the dining room for lunch to find Feryl and Newson having a conversation just inside the door. Judging by the bread roll Feryl was waving around in his hand, he’d been watching for Newson and had accosted him the second he walked in.

  ‘He knows about the bridles then,’ muttered Justin. He moved to walk past them and I followed, trying to catch Newson’s eye apologetically.

  ‘It isn’t a case of taking sides, Feryl,’ Newson was saying, ‘I was asked to avail them of my Skill and I agreed to make what they wanted, just as I would for anyone else.’

  ‘But they don’t know what they’re doing, you might as well give a knife to a baby,’ Feryl said, glaring at the three of us.

  ‘Integrity has counselled me to remain open to what they are doing and I have every intention of taking her advice. I’m sorry Feryl but that’s just the way it is, now you really will have to excuse me, I only have time for a short lunch break,’ Newson said.

  Rowena spoke quietly to Newson as he followed us to the food table. ‘Thanks Newson, the bits are perfect.’

  ‘Well I’m glad someone’s happy. You’ve stirred up a proper hornet’s nest, the three of you and your horses, I hope it’s worth it,’ he replied.

  I decided to try and speak to Adam over dinner about my unresolved physical discomfort and when I saw him sitting up near the food table by himself, I quickly got myself a bowl of stew and took the chair next to him. I was just about to ask him for his advice when a pot full of a foul-smelling substance was slammed down onto the table in front of us. A solidly-built, fair-haired woman stood opposite us both with her hands on her hips.

  ‘I’ve done it Adam, finally, I’ve done it, it’s passed all the tests I can think of to try and it definitely works. But will Verve let me put it on him? Even have it near him? No. He. Will. Not,’ she hissed.

  Adam said, ‘Amarilla, I’m not sure if you’ve been introduced to Vickery yet, one of our fellow Herbalists? She’s been spending rather a lot of time in the woods recently. Verve is her very dashing white stallion.’

  I smiled and nodded at Vickery, and she nodded back briefly before glaring at Adam. ‘Can you believe it? Can you countenance that he could possibly be that stubborn?’

  ‘Has Verve given you a reason for his decision?’ he asked her.

  ‘Wait right there,’ she said and dashed off to the food table, returning shortly afterwards with a bowl of soup. She sat down and slurped a mouthful. ‘Horse dung in my bed that’s hot,’ she spluttered, reaching for Adam’s glass of water. He passed it to her and she drank the lot. ‘That’s better. Verve is of the opinion that he has never smelt anything so foul and has no intention of undermining his scent by wearing it. Never mind that it could save his life, and mine come to that.’ She took another mouthful of soup, giving Adam the opportunity to fill me in.

  ‘Vickery decided to work on producing a paste that could be smeared onto the horses to deter or poison the Woeful,’ he said.

  ‘Not poison, Verve wouldn’t hear of it,’ Vickery said. ‘He told me never to work on producing a poison, not for anything. Damages the soul or something.’

  ‘Poison would damage the soul of a Woeful?’ I said.

  ‘No, mine apparently,’ she said.

  ‘Well quite,’ said Adam. ‘Do you think that if you could maybe refine it so it didn’t smell quite so strongly, Verve would alter his decision?’

  ‘Nope, the smell wasn’t the only reason. Verve has assured me that although he’ll do his best to escape any danger to his body and stay here with me, if he is caught by a Woeful then it will be his time to go and he’ll leave his body and return to “All That Is”, whatever he means by that. Have you ever heard anything quite so ridiculous?’ She looked from me to Adam.

  ‘Um, well, yes I have actually,’ I said. ‘Infinity said pretty much the same to me when I wanted to take a long route around some woods to avoid meeting any Woeful.’

  ‘And wouldn’t you have felt more comfortable knowing that you and she were coated in something that would have repelled Woeful from you? Kept you safe?’

  ‘Definitely, but I doubt Infinity would ever agree to it,’ I said. Infinity increased her presence in my mind briefly, confirming that I was right.

  Vickery gave a sharp sigh. She stood up and banged her hands on the table until the hum of conversation in the dining hall quietened. ‘Sorry to interrupt your conversations, folks,’ she said, ‘but I would like to announce that I have managed to produce a paste that will repel Woeful. It’s not the sweetest smell you’ll ever have the pleasure of experiencing, but it works. I’ve left pieces of fresh meat smeared with it in numerous places in the woods, and not one has been touched, despite tracks of more than one Woeful showing that they have visited and considered it. I would like some volunteer horses to trial it, so I can see how long the smell lasts once it is smeared onto the horse’s coat.’

  ‘Is your Verve not up for having his looks tarnished by it, Vic?’ someone called from a nearby table.

  ‘Er, no he isn’t actually, that’s why I need volunteers, but I’d need them anyway as I need to see if it stays smelling fresh for the same amount of time on different horses.’

  ‘Fresh? Pungent I’d call it, sorry Vic, Astral’s no more interested in having that smeared over her than Verve is!’ said another voice.

  Quinta waved from a few tables away and called out, ‘sorry Vic, Noble’s having none of it. Quite shirty with me for asking, actually, not like him at all.’

  Norieva appeared at Vickery’s side and said, ‘I’m terribly sorry but Dragonfly won’t have it anywhere near her. Something to do with being a slippery slope to The Old, she’s very put out about the whole idea. Good luck though, I think it’s a terrific idea.’ Vickery nodded, forlornly.

  A man with long, white-blond hair tied back into a tail, took the chair next to her. ‘Vic, I’m sorry but Candour says that no horse will agree to wear your paste, the very concept is repellent to them.’

  ‘Oh Jack, I only wanted to keep them all safe. The light knows how many Woeful are out there and we all have a duty to travel around from time to time, not to mention the fact that there are woods just the other side of the river. I know Woeful don’t swim but just knowing they could be so close gives me the jitters.’

  I felt thoughts from Verve dart past me to Vickery, like butterflies flitting around in the sunshine.

  ‘I know, I know, so you’ve said,’ Vickery murmured and then said to Adam and me, ‘Verve just told me that he’s always safe, no matter what happens to his body.’

  ‘But you worry what would happen to you, yourself if he were to die?’ Adam said gently.

  ‘Well of course I do, don’t we all? Oh, sorry Adam.’

  ‘You have absolutely no need to be. Peace is safe, just as Verve tells you he will be when his time in a body is at an end. Trust your horse, Vickery, and if you are considering following his advice to ditch the paste, do you think you could do it sometime soon? Everything I put in my mouth is starting to taste like it.’

  We all laughed and Vickery made a big show of taking her pot and hurling it from the nearest window, to much applause and laughter from the other diners.

  We were leaving the dining hall before I had a chance to talk to Adam on his own. I related how I had been out of sorts for the past few days.

  ‘By the wind of autumn Amarilla, why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well before?’ he asked, as he marched me to his consulting room.

  ‘I just thought it was heartburn and it would pass.’

  ‘Heartburn? For two days straight? And what do you mean you thought it was heartburn, didn’t you check?’

  ‘It feels just like any other time I’ve had heartburn so I didn’t think to.’

  His eyes twinkled. ‘My my, this will be a funny story to tell when you’re a celebrated Healer — of how you once drank endless water and greenmint tea for a heart problem!’

  My stomach turned over. ‘My heart? So, it
definitely is my heart? That’s what Infinity said.’

  ‘And do you mind if I ask why you didn’t listen to her?’

  ‘I was just so sure it was heartburn,’ I mumbled.

  ‘Well then let’s make today the first time you perform a self-diagnosis. Proceed when you are ready.’ Adam slipped into his role as my Master.

  I tuned into my body and could detect no problem with my stomach or digestive tract. I became aware that the pain that was slowly increasing in intensity again was indeed emanating from my heart, but I couldn’t seem to pinpoint an exact location or cause. I related my findings to Adam, who nodded and said, ‘my findings concur with your own. I think it would be wise to go and seek Thuma’s knowledge about this, I saw her light on as we passed her door and I know she’ll welcome the opportunity to meet you. Come on, let’s go and see what she thinks.’

  Infinity was monitoring the proceedings closely but hadn’t ventured any opinions or advice, so I went along with Adam to knock on the door of Thuma’s consulting room. Thuma was one of the Tissue-Singers, a middle-aged and very serious woman with a shock of short, black, spiky hair. Her green eyes were placed closely together on her small face and as she listened intently to what I told her about the symptoms of my condition and my and Adam’s findings, she reminded me of the black cat that lived next door to my family’s home in Rockwood.

  ‘How very interesting,’ she said, ‘let’s have a look at you then, shall we? Just relax now.’

  She bade me recline on top of a huge pile of soft cushions while she knelt on the floor beside me with her eyes closed. Candles flickered in sconces that were attached to the red-painted stone walls and their warm glow was both calming and immensely soporific. I was midway between sleep and wakefulness when I felt Thuma’s hand on my arm. She gave me a very gentle shake and said, ‘alright my dear, up you get when you’re ready.’

  I went to join her and Adam at her circle of comfy chairs as she threw off her slippers and curled her legs around herself in one of them. ‘I agree that your pain is emanating from your heart, yet I can sense no tissue that is damaged or otherwise unhealthy,’ she said. ‘It’s enthralling — your heart is being inhibited from working at full capacity because you are carrying something that weighs on it so heavily that it can’t contract and relax fully as a healthy muscle should.’