by Lynn Mann
I was just about to go to him when I saw that Adam was already walking towards him in the moonlight. He spoke quietly to Jack as he helped him to his feet. After a while, Jack began to nod slowly. He lifted an arm and put it around his horse’s neck and hugged him as he listened to Adam. I was aware of Candour communicating with him now too, and I knew I could be aware of Candour’s counsel if I concentrated on the thoughts that I could sense. I chose not to.
Eventually, Jack and Candour walked off together, back towards The Gathering. Adam came to stand in front of all of us. ‘Well I think we can be pleased with the way that went, well done everybody!’ he said and I felt him send his love to all of the horses, who began to leave, sending thoughts to their Bond-Partners as they went.
‘Flaming lanterns, I thought we were going to be here all night,’ said Rowena. ‘Come on, let’s get back, Oak’s tired and I can feel a warm bed beckoning to me.’
‘That was fantastic!’ Quinta said as we followed Oak and Rowena. ‘I can’t believe we all did it! The horses were brilliant!’
‘It was somethin’ else, wasn’t it?’ agreed Mason. ‘I have to admit I had my doubts it would work, I just thought they were too angry, too scared for us to get through to them, I thought there would need to be some stern words at the very least, but I can’t tell you how happy I am to be proven wrong.’
I turned around to speak to Adam and saw that he and Spider remained by the river, making a silvery silhouette in the moonlight. A shiver went over me as I felt their intention. Infinity stopped and turned back to face them both. Justin and Gas appeared by our side.
‘Adam?’ The slight panic in Quinta’s voice told me that she too was aware of what they planned. ‘Come back to The Gathering with us? We can talk this through. Please Adam? Spider?’ She ran past us, back to where her friend sat astride her horse.
I was aware of Rowena’s voice raised in question from somewhere behind us, but ignored it as I asked Infinity to walk back to where Quinta was now crying into Adam’s leg. As I got closer, I could see his hand stroking her hair and heard the reassurance in his voice. She stepped back and looked up at him, and then nodded, wiping her eyes with the end of her sleeve.
‘You’re going,’ I said to Adam.
‘Yes, I am. Spider is going to take me somewhere that is very special to me and there I will leave my body.’
‘You’re going to lay down with Peace,’ said Justin.
‘There’s no keeping anything from you two, is there?’ Adam chuckled. ‘Yes, I would like to leave my body where I buried his. Not that it matters where I leave it, but it’s something I always planned to do. Spider is very kindly going to take me there. It’s not very far away Quinta, Spider won’t be gone long.’
‘Do you really have to go now?’ Quinta asked.
‘Go where? Adam, it’s the middle of the night, where’s so important that you have to go now?’ Marvel asked as he, Mason and Rowena and their horses reached us.
‘Adam’s leaving us to join Peace,’ I said. ‘Adam, I’m going to miss you more than I can say but I’m so happy for you.’ My personality took over then and my emotion left me as silent tears.
We all dismounted and Adam hugged each of us before remounting Spider. ‘It’s been a privilege to know all of you, but now, I have somewhere I need to be. Farewell!’ Spider turned and moved effortlessly up to a canter. I laughed at Adam’s ‘WAHOO!’ as they tore away from us in the moonlight.
And then they were gone. Gone physically, anyway. As we made our way back to the horses’ paddock, I realised that I could be aware of Adam and Spider whenever I chose to be. I could feel their happiness and contentment, and it eased the pain of losing Adam’s physical presence.
Quinta was pale at breakfast the following morning. ‘They’re so happy, I feel awful for feeling just the opposite,’ she said.
‘You’re aware of Adam as well as Spider?’ I asked.
‘Since he found his perfect balance and they became one, yes. They’re close now to where Peace’s body was buried, oh why am I telling you, you already know this, I imagine?’
‘I’m aware of them as a presence and I know how they’re feeling but I haven’t probed any deeper than that, it doesn’t feel right,’ I said.
Justin and Marvel sat down on either side of Quinta. ‘What shall we do today lovely lady?’ said Marvel. ‘I think we’re all going to be feeling a bit strange after everything that happened last night, so my vote goes towards having a day of fun, just as our favourite Master Herbalist would have prescribed for us. Anyone up for it?’
Rowena and Mason joined us. Rowena was pale with red-rimmed eyes. ‘Up for what?’ she asked. Marvel repeated his suggestion and she said, ‘I probably should be keen to honour Adam in that way, but however much I know he’s happy and doing what he wants to do, I’m struggling with it all. I hardly slept last night, I’m going to miss that old man so much.’ Mason put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her.
‘I think we should each go and see some of the members of the hunting group before we do anything else, to make sure they’re all alright,’ said Justin. ‘They need to know that they’re welcome to join our riding groups — oh blimey, we need to sort out who’s going to teach Adam’s groups now as well.’
‘And who’s going to take over his patients?’ I said. ‘I could do it, I know all their histories and I’ve consulted with most of them before with Adam there, but I don’t know if the other Herbalists would allow a newly qualified Herbalist to take over the patients of a Master.’
‘You’re not exactly a run-o-the-mill newbie though are you my little Amarilla?’ chuckled Mason. ‘Mind you, I can’t help but think you’ll be wasted as purely a Herbalist when we all know you can multiskill, who knows where the future of healin’ will be now that everythin’s been turned on its head?’
Marvel said, ‘It’s thrilling isn’t it? Everything’s been thrown up in the air and has come back down to land in a different place; the way we ride, the reason we ride, the way we look at the Skills, the way we’ll be able to use the Skills… And now that, hopefully, the Bonded will be united in our goals and purpose again, who knows where the future lies? Amarilla? You and Infinity have been the catalysts for all this change, what are we all meant to do now?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ I said. ‘It felt like we were climbing a mountain before, but now we’ve got to where we were aiming for, there’s even more to do. I don’t know how we’re going to replace Adam as instructor for his riding groups when he’s irreplaceable and then there are all those people out in the villages who either failed their Skills testing or only showed aptitude for one or two Skills — we need to help them to open up to believe they can do any or all of the Skills if they choose to, I don’t know, I just assumed Adam would sort it all out at some point. And the Woeful, we need to be thinking about how we go about approaching them. Has anyone seen Salom yet this morning? She needs to know that the hunting group aborted their hunt last night…’
‘And… breathe,’ interrupted Justin. ‘We prioritise and with time, things will get sorted. First things first, we need to speak to Feryl.’
‘And he needs to speak to you.’ Feryl sat down with a bump next to Justin. ‘What in the clouds happened last night? Liberal told me he was needed elsewhere and would be back soon, and then all hell let loose in here when I stopped anyone leaving to see why all of their horses were heading off towards the river in the fading light with minimal explanation. I had to lock the door and bar it with my body, and I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that there was nearly a riot and I am possibly the least popular person around here this morning. Care to explain anyone?’
We all laughed and then Justin filled him in on what had happened. Feryl whistled through his teeth. ‘Well done, you guys. But Adam’s really not coming back?’
‘No, he’s not,’ replied Quinta. ‘We were just discussing how to fill the void he’s leaving as the senior Healer and also our senior instructor, whi
ch is where your name came up.’
‘Right, well can I make a suggestion regarding the riding groups?’ Feryl asked, and after we all nodded, continued, ‘for now, I think Amarilla you can take your group on your own and Justin can take Adam’s. If you’re all in agreement, I’ll move between the groups, assess how the riders are doing and put them into streams. Amarilla and Justin will take the top four groups and the remainder will be divided between the rest of you, all of whom will now be teaching on your own.’
‘But what about you, Feryl? You’re Master of Riding and the most experienced teacher, shouldn’t you be taking the top groups?’ asked Justin.
‘I propose myself as a roving instructor for now, moving around between all of the groups to offer help to all of you as you instruct, should you need it. And no, I may have the most experience of riding and teaching, but only you and Amarilla have attained the ultimate achievement and it would be unfair of me to hold back any of our students who have the same potential. In time, more may achieve the same as you two and then we’ll have more instructors for the top groups and you can have a break. How does that sound?’
‘Sounds good to me mate,’ said Marvel.
‘Nice one Feryl,’ said Rowena.
‘Amarilla? Are you okay with that?’ Feryl asked me.
‘Yes, I think so, so now it’s the villages and the Woeful we need to think about,’ I said.
Mason chuckled at Feryl’s confused expression. ‘Amarilla’s taken it upon herself to worry about everything for everyone,’ he explained.
I giggled. ‘Sorry, it’s just that… Adam.’ I felt him leave. One minute he and Spider were there, a quiet presence at the back of my mind and the next, I could feel Spider’s lone presence and Adam was the faintest trace, as if he’d stretched my awareness of him so far that it had thinned to the most delicate of threads. Justin took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Quinta smiled, sadly, and said, ‘he’s gone home.’
A lot was achieved in the days that followed Adam’s death. Between my friends and me, we approached all who had been members of the hunting group and persuaded them to join our riding sessions. Jack was persuaded by Marvel to take up the challenge of organising those Bonded who were now choosing to multiskill, to go out to the villages to confirm and prove the news that Salom would be spreading ahead of them — that anyone could perform any of the Skills. We knew it would be difficult for those who were unbonded to accept the idea, as those of us who had had the encouragement and support of our horses had found it difficult enough to begin with, but in time, we hoped the concept would take hold.
Feryl was efficient and accurate in his assessments of the riders we were helping, and soon had them organised into groups of matching ability for us to teach. I was daunted at first to be teaching some of the most advanced students, but I found that within seconds of each session beginning, my nerves would disappear. I could feel where each horse and rider partnership was in their training and in their relationship, and I worked hard to make sure my instruction pushed them slightly out of their comfort zone so that they progressed, but not so far that they were overwhelmed and fearful. The horses concentrated intensely and it was a privilege to be part of their quest for balance for themselves and their riders.
I kept feeling an urge to visit my family but my mornings were taken up with healing and my afternoons with chores and teaching; I couldn’t just leave my riding students hanging while I took time off to go and visit my home village. And, much as I didn’t want to admit it, I didn’t want to miss a single thing that was happening with all the Bonded and their horses. The atmosphere at The Gathering was one of purpose and excitement, and it was an exhilarating place to be.
They are always close by. You know this, Infinity reminded me as I lay in bed one night, wondering how my family would react to all the news Salom took with her, as well as to the letters she carried from me; would my father expand his Skill set? Would he even believe it was possible? I had been wondering to myself. I could have kicked myself when I realised what Infinity meant, and immediately set about reaching out to my father. A thrill shot through me when I found him, and then each member of my family in turn. They were all tired at the end of a long day and each had their own worries and concerns, but nothing more than the average person carried around on a daily basis. I was overjoyed at being able to sense them and sent each and every one a surge of love, before I fell asleep.
‘We’re the luckiest girls in the world, Fin,’ I said as I groomed her glossy coat before saddling and bridling her. The birds were singing, the sun was shining and there wasn’t the faintest wisp of cloud in the sky. I could feel my mare’s pleasure as my brush strokes massaged her skin and the underlying muscles, and I lost myself in the feeling of oneness that was so magnified when I was in Infinity’s presence.
My friends arrived one by one to get their own horses ready to ride, Feryl included. ‘It’s been a bit of a busy time, my boy, I’m sorry you’ve been neglected,’ he told Liberal.
‘He’s the image of neglect mate,’ joked Justin, ‘just look at him!’
We all chuckled. I stood back from Infinity to look around our herd of horses as their partners groomed and fussed around them. I was struck by the image they presented. To a horse, they were bright eyed, glossy coated, toned of muscle and simply oozed presence, as if they took up far more space than my eyes were telling me they did. Infinity and Gas had an added lightness about their appearance, almost as if they were using the ground as a point of reference, rather than something to stand on. I just couldn’t stop smiling.
We led our horses leisurely up to the riding paddock, laughing and joking as we went, but the minute we mounted our horses, we were quiet as concentration took over. It didn’t last long in my case. Infinity and I were immediately in our perfect balance and I couldn’t stop myself from whooping as we powered our way around the paddock for a time, before slowing to a graceful halt. I laughed as Infinity then sat down onto her hindquarters and lifted her forequarter up off the ground and held herself there, just because she could. She landed lightly on her forelegs, pushed off into a slow, powerful trot and then acceded to my request to move sideways across the paddock. Whatever we decided to do, we did, easily, gracefully, powerfully. Infinity formed an intention. Why hadn’t I thought of it before?
Let’s go, I agreed with her and we cantered towards the paddock gate. I was expecting Infinity to slow to a halt so I could ask a nearby spectator to open the gate for us, but as she pricked her ears and gathered momentum, I grinned. We could do this. She checked her stride as we got closer, and then as her neck came up towards me, I folded at the hip and leaned forward. We were airbourne! We landed lightly on the other side of the gate and Infinity turned sharply to avoid having to make another immediate jump into the riding paddock on the other side of the path. She made the turn easily and then set off at a powerful canter in the direction of the river.
‘Am are you finished already? I was going to ask for your opinion on something,’ Rowena called.
‘Sorry, but we’ve waited a long time for this and Infinity’s not going to wait any longer!’ I yelled back and then realised the truth of my statement; Infinity had absolutely no intention of waiting, slowing down, or doing anything at all that I suggested, including slowing to a trot to avoid splashing water from last night’s storm over some people walking the other way. ‘Sorry!’ I called out to them as we thundered past, ‘Infinity’s on a mission, very sorry!’
I began to giggle and couldn’t stop. We arrived at the river bank and Infinity slowed herself to a walk, blowing slightly. ‘Okay, good idea, let’s walk for a bit then, shall we?’ I said, still laughing.
Infinity turned to the left and walked along the bank while she regained her wind. She then turned back on herself to face the long stretch of grassy river bank that positively invited us to indulge ourselves. She came to a halt and my left leg vibrated with the force of her heartbeat. We savoured the smell of the f
resh water as it entered her nostrils, the feel of the gentlest of breezes as it disturbed the sensitive hairs at the tips of her ears, the feeling of oneness with each other and with All That Is.
Infinity flicked an ear to the right as we felt our friends coming to join us. She lifted her forequarter into the air and let out an ear-piercing whinny, signalling to all that we were here, we were powerful, we were Infinity. And then we were off. She launched herself into a powerful canter and I folded at the hip slightly and took my weight off of her back, staying almost upright so that I could help her if she needed it. She didn’t. We passed the end of the path to The Gathering and I saw a blur of black, chestnut, brown and grey out of the corner of my eye as the other horses burst onto the river bank and fell in behind us.
Infinity increased her pace to a flat-out gallop. She stretched out her neck and for a second, I was worried she’d lose her balance, but then I realised that her forequarters were still back with me and I felt her back rounding behind the saddle as her hindquarters came right underneath to balance herself. We flew. We raced the river as it hurtled along beside us, we raced the horses whose hooves thrummed on the ground behind us, we raced life itself.
By the time I felt Infinity slowing, I couldn’t see anything for the tears that clogged my eyes before being whipped off from the side of my face. All I was aware of was the thundering of our hooves, the thumping of our heart and the infinite sense of love and peace that is the truth of our existence.
We cantered slowly and then dropped to a trot, tired but exhilarated. We slowed to a walk and our friends joined us, all of the humans but Justin laughing and shouting excitedly to each other. They Who Are Gas were as lost in their enjoyment of oneness as Infinity and I. A familiar presence touched us. Adam! He wasn’t quite the same as when he’d been in his body, he was more — Peace was with him! No thoughts were necessary. We felt their elation, their completeness before they drifted away and we knew that they were where they needed to be. As were we. Everything was as it needed to be.
