by Lynn Mann
The Horses Rejoice
The Horses Know Book 2
Lynn Mann
Coxstone Press
Copyright © Lynn Mann 2018
First edition published 2018
Second edition published 2019
Lynn Mann asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work.
Published by Coxstone Press 2019
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Prologue
1. Mission
2. Encounter
3. Homecoming
4. Rockwood
5. Serendipity
6. Celebration
7. Attraction
8. Flame
9. Friends
10. Vortex
11. Momentum
12. Centre
13. Horses
14. Collective
15. Perfection
16. Courage
17. Obstruction
18. Weight
19. Forgiveness
20. Enough
21. Love
22. Sacrifice
23. Group
24. Humour
25. Rejoice
26. Evolution
Epilogue
Review
Other books by Lynn Mann
Get in touch!
Acknowledgments
Reader Stories
Dedicated to the memory of my mum,
Ann Carolyn Palmer (3/10/40 - 9/10/16),
to whom I owe so much.
Now I know that she is me,
The truth is easy to find.
For we are both Infinity,
One love, one heart, one mind.
Amarilla Nixon
Prologue
4th May 2842, The Gathering
Dear Mum, Dad, Robbie, Con and Katonia,
I hope you are all well, I think of you so often. I’m sorry it’s been ages since I was last able to write, I know it will be summer before this reaches you. I’ll be picturing you all working long days and then sitting down to eat dinner together in the garden, chatting as the sun goes down.
So much has happened here and I have so much to tell you, I hardly know where to start – but here goes. Brace yourselves!
The Woeful need our help. A group of them attacked our horses a few months ago out of sheer desperation, because they and their families were starving at the end of the awful winter we all had. They were terrifying, with their fangs, talons and sheer size, but they were so human at the same time, and so hungry, so sad and frightened. I’m ashamed that the Woeful have been feared and shunned for so long, and I’m sorry that they had to be driven to such extreme measures before we could see that we should be reaching out to them and trying to help. Anyway, at least we’ve realised now that there is a wrong that needs righting.
You’re not going to like this, but I have to tell you that two of my friends were killed when the Woeful attacked. Please believe me, their deaths were totally accidental, the Woeful never meant to hurt them. Both men had help from their horses to move on to a better place and they are absolutely fine where they are now. A horse was also killed and a few others, including Infinity, were injured. Infinity was very badly hurt, but I managed to heal her using both bone-singing and tissue-singing – I did, I promise you! It was such a horrible thing to happen but at least some good came of it, as I managed to unintentionally demonstrate that multiskilling is possible with no training, just by knowing I could do it.
Unfortunately, some of the Horse-Bonded were so frightened after the attack that they stopped listening to their horses. They were adamant that the Woeful should be hunted down and killed, and a group of us and our horses had to stop them leaving to go on their hunt. Once we managed to calm them down, they were able to hear their horses’ wisdom again, and then there was no way they could think of hurting anyone, thank goodness.
Changing the subject, I have good news... I know I told you all that I was trying really hard to improve my riding so that I could help Infinity to balance better, well guess what, I did it! I’ll try to explain. When I ride Infinity, I sit just behind her shoulders. To begin with, that meant that my weight was pushing her down onto her front legs. She couldn’t move very easily and her chest was being compressed, so she was shutting down (she couldn’t think straight or communicate very clearly and her emotions were dampened down). I had to work on helping her to lift up her front end and sit her weight back onto her hind legs, so that her chest could open and she could express herself fully. When I finally managed it, her chest area opened right up and released emotions and memories that her soul had been holding on to for many lifetimes. It was heart-wrenching for her to relive all of the memories but she released every single negative feeling and emotion that had been trapped within her body, until she was clear of it all. She was so happy about it!
In helping Infinity to improve her balance, my own improved to a point where something amazing happened... I found myself in perfect balance with Infinity – our bodies were aligned so perfectly within themselves and with one another that they were in complete harmony. There were no barriers between us at all, or between us and anything else! I felt totally at one with everything and I still do – it’s amazing, to feel my connection to everything, to be Aware (with a capital ‘A’!) of everyone, of what they are thinking and feeling.
It’s helped me to not miss you all quite so much, as I can be Aware of you any time I want to – I know when you’re tired, when you’re happy and when you’re sad. Don’t worry though, I don’t pry any deeper than that. I’ve been trying so hard to nudge at your minds in case you can feel me there, but I don’t think you have so far. I normally try before I go to sleep, so please, please, if you sense anything around sleep time, anything at all that reminds you of me, notice it and try to open to it, and maybe I’ll find a way to communicate with you in the same way Infinity and the other horses do with me – oh and how Justin does too, I need to tell you about him.
You already know that he’s a really good friend of mine here, well he and his horse have achieved perfect balance in the same way that Infinity and I did, with the same result. So now that he and I both feel at one with everything, we’re Aware of each other’s thoughts and feelings. It’s not easy at times, as I’ll be talking to someone and he’ll come crashing into my mind to tell me something (he’s not subtle like Infinity is) and throw me off completely from whatever I was saying or doing. We’re both working on getting more used to what we can now sense from everyone and everything around us, so hopefully it will get easier soon.
You should have had a visit by now from one of the Horse-Bonded who are spreading the word that anyone can do any of the Skills they want to, just as I did when I healed Infinity. I know you’ll all find it hard to believe, as we’ve thought for so long that we have to show aptitude for a Skill during testing to be able to learn it, but please believe Salom when she gives you this letter (she is a Herald after all!) and whoever of the Horse-Bonded comes to Rockwood to tell you about it, because it’s true. There are Tree-Singers here who are now singing the weather to help the growth of their trees, there are Glass-Singers who are singing metal so that they can make lids for their bottles and jars, Mason (my friend, who is the Saddler here) is singing metal into bits for the horses’ mouths and making all o
f his own stirrups and buckles, and nearly all of the Healers here are doing all three Healing Skills, whether they showed aptitude for them all during testing or not. All of us have been able to do these extra Skills as soon as we knew we could do them.
Another thing to tell you is that my friends and I now teach the other Horse-Bonded to help their horses to balance better, in the hope that they’ll achieve perfect balance. As soon as one of them does, they’ll be able to take my place teaching and I’ll be able to come home to see you all. I can’t wait, there’s so much more to tell you than I can fit into a letter.
Anyway, I’d better go, Infinity is waiting for me to go for a ride with her, Rowena and Oak and then we have three lots of students each to teach, and that’s all before lunch! Remember to try to sense me when I reach for you before you go to sleep.
I love you all,
Amarilla xxxxxxxx
PS. Enclosed is a letter for Katonia’s eyes only – it’s sister stuff!
4th May 2842, The Gathering
Dear Kat,
I know that Mum will have either fainted or had one of her rants after reading my letter to you all and I’m sorry for you and Dad, as I know it will be down to you both to cope with her. I knew that she’d hear about the Woeful attack from Salom anyway and I wanted you all to know that Infinity and I are absolutely fine, so please big Sis, reassure Mum and Dad that everything is okay.
There are a few things that I don’t want them to know, and since Salom doesn’t know the exact details, they won’t find out, but I want to tell you.
Adam, my friend and Master of Herbalism here, sadly died. Sadly for me, anyway – he’s ecstatic! He reached the same stage as Justin and me and once he knew of his oneness with everything, he stayed just long enough to help us turn back the group who were leaving for the Woeful hunt, before taking himself off to where his original Bond-Partner, Peace, was buried and then leaving his body to join him. I felt him go and I have been Aware of both him and Peace since then. They are so happy! I didn’t mention it in my main letter, because I didn’t want Mum and Dad worrying that having reached the same stage as Adam, I would leave my body too. I did have an experience where I could have made that choice though - when I achieved perfect balance, I did what Infinity did and released a load of emotion that was tied to an experience I had in a previous life. I kind of fainted as it was all a bit too much for me, and then I left my body. Infinity was with me and we had the choice of returning to our bodies and continuing our lives here, or leaving and moving on. I was deciding what to do when Justin and Gas arrived with us! Apparently, Justin had been so worried when I collapsed and he couldn’t bring me round, that he and Gas worked flat out until they achieved perfect balance. As soon as Justin felt his oneness with everything, he was Aware of what had happened to me and where I was, and he left his body voluntarily to join me.
Anyway, obviously, we all chose to come back and much as I love you all, it wasn’t because of what I would have been leaving behind. I know I can tell you this and you’ll try to understand when no one else in the family will – I came back because I need to help the Woeful. I need to find them, befriend them and then try to integrate them into human society. It’s exciting being here, seeing how hard everyone is working with their horses and how much their balance is improving, but it’s frustrating having to stay when I’m desperate to be off on my mission to find the Woeful. I don’t need to ask you not to tell anyone any of this as you know how they’ll react. I’m sorry to give you a secret to keep, but as always Kat, there are no secrets between you and me.
I miss you so much and will come to see you as soon as I possibly can. In the meantime, please write back with all of your news. Remember to see if you can sense me at sleep time – if anyone can, it will be you.
Lots and lots of love,
Am xxxxxxxxx
14th June 2842, Nixonhouse, Rockwood
Our Darling Amarilla,
I am writing this letter while your mother has a lie-down. She was coming back from the village hall with your Aunt Jasmine when Salom arrived in the village, so she heard about all that has happened at The Gathering before she could read your letter. You can imagine her response to hearing everything that befell you all – she was hysterical and it took Jasmine and two others to get her back here. Salom came here as soon as she could with your letters and stayed for a while to reassure us that you’re okay.
I can hardly believe everything that has happened, yet from the sound of things you’re doing fantastically well, despite it all. It’s hard, knowing that your beloved Infinity was so badly injured and that you endured all that you did, while we were safe here and none the wiser. As your father, I feel I’ve let you and Infinity down by not being there to protect you and this is something with which I will need to come to terms, but I am also tremendously proud. To think that my little girl is not only Horse-Bonded, but has now worked out how to perform Skills for which she has no training (Salom confirms your assurance that we are all capable of this, but I am finding it very hard to believe) and is also helping her fellow Horse-Bonded with their riding.
I am not going to pretend that I agree with you about helping the Woeful, or that I understand exactly what it is that you have achieved when you speak of having achieved perfect balance. There is so much I would like to know about your experiences, your life now and of course your fabulous Infinity, please come and visit us as soon as you possibly can. It’s been all I can do to restrain your mother from packing her bags and coming to visit you there, even though she doesn’t know where “there” is! She’s all but threatened Salom with physical harm in the past for refusing to take her along on one of her trips to The Gathering, even though we all know that the Horse-Bonded must be allowed their space if they are to learn what their horses have to teach.
And we missed you on your birthday, love. From the sound of it, you would have been too busy trying to keep Infinity alive at the time to even remember it was your birthday, but we celebrated it here and hoped that somehow, you would know we were thinking of you. Sweet seventeen and changing the world, it doesn’t seem possible!
You seem very upbeat in your letter and Salom assures us that this is indeed the case, but I would still like to offer my condolences for the loss of your friends and the horses who died, as their deaths must have hit you all very hard.
Salom tells us that she will only be here for a day or two (she has a long trip planned, spreading news of multiskilling and all that you and Infinity have achieved), but I’m sure that Katonia at least will get a letter written to you in that time. Your mother will probably take a while to calm down but don’t worry, we’ll get her through it as we always do.
All that remains is for me to say, once again, how proud I am of you Amarilla, and that I will be sure to try to stay open to the thought of you nudging my mind before I sleep. It would please me no end to be able to hear you there.
Stay safe and give Infinity a pat from me.
With all my love,
Dad xx
15th June 2842, Nixonhouse, Rockwood
Dear Am,
I’m so shocked, I hardly know what to write to you! I’m starting to worry I might be taking after Mum, as it’s taken me a whole day to calm down after reading your letters.
On one hand, I’m thrilled for you, as you sound so happy and excited. On the other hand, selfishly, I feel sad and lonely as I feel as if my little sister is pulling away from me. You’ve experienced things that I can barely understand: previous lifetimes, leaving your body and then returning to it (??!!), being what you call “Aware” – it’s being aware of things on a whole new level to how the rest of us are, I think? I’m trying to understand, little Sis, I really am, but this is all so mind-blowing, so removed from how I thought things were.
One thing I do know about, however, is boys and in that respect, I can still pull rank on you so Am, you need to tell me everything and I mean EVERYTHING about Justin. None of this “very good friend” nons
ense that you feed Mum and Dad, a guy doesn’t leave his body (LEAVE HIS BODY for goodness’ sake – how is that even possible?!!!) to go after just anyone. And isn’t he a lot older than you? I’ll be expecting your next letter to include ALL DETAILS about him – as you said, no secrets.
The news here is that Greg and I have split up and Mum is devastated. Greg’s a lovely guy, but he and I want different things. I always thought that a family of my own was what I wanted, but now I’m not sure it is – I keep feeling this restlessness somewhere deep within myself, as if there’s somewhere else I need to be or something else I need to be doing.
Dad is still very much in demand for his rock-singing and so am I by association (although how much longer that will be the case if more people begin to multiskill, I don’t know). We often work together, as he says my strength is a match for his. Between us, we can get whole buildings up in no time. It’s usually the Glass-Singers who slow us down, as they refuse to believe we can work at the speed we do until they see us do it and by then, they can’t get the windows made on time!
Robbie and Con get a surprising amount of earth-singing done considering how much time they spend chatting up girls. Mum is beginning to despair of either of them ever settling down, which puts even more pressure on me as I’m fast becoming her only hope for grandchildren (unless you fancy becoming the first Horse-Bonded to have a baby? You’ve turned everything else on its head, so why not that?!).
