by Karen MacRae
“You be careful, miss. He’s a wily one and I don’t want to be explaining to no guards about how I let you get yourself killed.”
The horse backed up and bared its teeth, unsettled by the man’s voice. Without thinking, Anna reached out to comfort him. He reared up, sending her scuttling back into the corner. She fell flat on her backside with a thud. She was grateful for the straw-covered floor. She was not so grateful for the fact the stall hadn’t been mucked out in nearly two weeks.
She stayed down in the manure, making herself small and unthreatening. “I think I might have more success if you didn’t speak, Master Honiton.”
“Ah, right you are,” he agreed, embarrassed that he’d undone the young woman’s good work. He made himself scarce, fussing with the arthritic mare at the other end of the stable.
Anna was confident she could get the horse out of the stall with soft words and lots of feel good aura stroking, but there was little point as she couldn’t keep it up indefinitely. She’d have to work directly on his aura. Which was punishable by death. Which was a sentence she couldn’t even begin to get around unless she went to Ionantis and somehow persuaded the Quorum to admit her. Which would take months unless she had a horse. She sighed. Poor Blue must need a break too, though. He couldn’t be enjoying being stuck in a mucky stall with no view of the outside and no decent company. And Master Honiton wasn’t watching and it was an awfully long way to Ionantis…
Decision made, she began to whisper to him again, repeating her earlier nonsense. Now all she had to do was work out the best way to cheer the gelding up. She knew she could fix the problem permanently by getting rid of the horse’s memory, but that was rather drastic and might cause a load of nasty side effects. It was also something she’d never done before so there was every chance she’d make a mess of it. A temporary fix was much less risky, but it’d need regular top ups and that meant using up a lot of expensive crystal she didn’t have the money for unless she wanted to starve. Another sigh passed her lips. Perhaps she could avoid Shaping altogether and help the horse get some sort of closure? She laughed at herself. Closure for a horse? Hold on… closure for a free horse. Light, she was slow this morning! She had plenty of money for new crystal, assuming she could persuade Blue out of the stall.
When her gentle ramblings had distracted the horse from the livery owner he disliked so much, she reached out with her gift and gently stroked his muzzle and flanks. Ever so slowly, she felt the tension leave his muscles, felt him calm and accept her. This time he let her move her hand towards him. As soon as her fingertips touched his aura, she visualised the cloud thinning as if dissipating on the wind. She felt it flow towards her and quickly redirected it to the crystal hanging under her shirt. She didn’t fancy having equine depression.
She doubted Blue had a clue what was going on, but he was grateful to the girl who made him feel better. The memories and emotions remained, but they no longer dominated his thoughts. The gelding lowered his great head to the girl’s hand and allowed her to slip on his bridle.
The trader’s mouth flew agape at the sight of the horse being led from the stall. “I’ve never seen the like. Never. All my years. How did you do that?” he spluttered.
“Beginner’s luck, I guess,” she laughed. She changed the topic by asking if a saddle came free with the horse. As always, money was a wonderful distraction. Ten minutes later, she rode off with a beautiful, big beast of a horse and full tack for little more than the price of a saddle. Master Honiton even threw in an extra saddle bag for her manure-stained clothing. He’d also completely forgotten to ask any more questions about ‘How?’
The pair made straight for the market to get extra crystal. The horse plodded quite happily along the streets at the girl’s direction, completely unperturbed by the noise, the smells and crowds. The town square and surrounding streets were crammed with displays, many of which sold crystal in some guise or other.
Anna looked for someone she hadn’t bought from before. She didn’t have to replace crystal often, but she’d rather avoid people noticing her attraction to Aurovian crystal. She made her way over to a large, gaudy display being hawked enthusiastically by a very fat woman dressed in a dozen or more layers of perfume-drenched cloth, each dyed in a different, brilliant hue. Her aura was equally as vibrant.
“I’m going to be travelling. I’d like something to keep me safe,” she told the vendor.
“All round evil spirits, bandits, robbery, loss of belongings, ill health or something else? I’ve got them all,” she told the girl proudly, her many bracelets jingling as she opened her arms to show off her extensive wares. “Best you can get in town.”
Aurovian crystal was generally used in the most expensive charms and did absolutely nothing to keep anyone safe from anyone or anything unless you happened to be a Shaper and they, of course, were just a myth. A myth Anna tried very hard not to disprove. She didn’t fancy being summarily executed.
“I think it needs to cover everything. I’m not sure what I’ll come across after all.”
“Here you are. Top of the range. Feathers from the Danjeon raptor, polished beads of quality Ruustran beritz, bark from the finest firgeon and pure Aurovian crystal, all blessed by a high priestess of the Light.”
Anna recognised feathers badly died to match the Danjeon colours and plain metal beads so her hopes for the bark, crystal and blessing being genuine were nonexistent. “I didn’t think that beritz corroded,” she said to the stall holder. She noticed a guard making his rounds nearby and looked straight at him as she added, “Or that Danjeon raptors had blue in their plumage.” She looked back at the trader and held her eyes. The woman smiled queasily, quickly reviewing her opinion of the heavily made-up girl before her.
“What was I thinking, offering you that paltry piece? Let me find you something more suitable.” She quickly hid the offending charm and rustled through a bag hidden beneath the table, this time coming up with the genuine article.
“A beautiful red Aurovian crystal and all the trappings. Only three gold pieces.”
“Only?” asked Anna in shock.
“It’s the colour. It’s exceptional. Very rare. The size too. Red just doesn’t come in that size.” The woman’s aura wavered throughout. Anna wondered if it had all been false. Still, she had never used coloured Aurovian crystal and she wasn’t about to start experimenting now, even if she’d been able to afford it.
“A plain one will do. And not above ten silvers. I’m sure your competitors will be able to find me something in that price range if you can’t.”
While the woman grumbled and rummaged, the girl inspected the other charms on the table. Her eyes kept returning to the back of the array. Looking closer, she saw a selection of plain, woven bracelets hiding under some garish love charms. They were marked at only one copper piece but were covered in dust; clearly not a fast-moving item despite the price. They called to her though.
The vendor brought out a selection of simpler travel charms, all legitimate and all containing clear crystal. Anna offered her ten silvers for the two middle-sized ones, if she would throw in some love charms. They finally agreed on ten silvers for the largest crystal charm and all eight of the bracelets.
The trader chuckled as she wrapped up the goods. “You must want that man bad, girl.”
Blue was waiting for Anna, an immobile island in the chaos of the busy marketplace. She walked him over to the mounting block and they were soon on their way, heading towards the Western Gate just as the bells rang midday. Anna inspected one of the bracelets as they went. It was a simple three-strand leather weave with the middle strand threaded through a bead so it was fixed at the apex of the circle. The leather was nothing special, but the bead was of a type she’d never come across. At first glance, it appeared to be poor quality beritz, but she caught a gleam of bright yellow when the light caught it just so. She felt the urge to touch it with her gift but shoved it back into her pocket. There’d be time enough later when she was aw
ay from streets full of prying eyes.
Thoughts of her mother intruded as she neared the gate where she would leave Straton for the last time. Her body would be dust by now, but every small Healing she had done for her daughter had left something of her behind. Those links were now severed, but Anna could feel her presence nonetheless. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but she would always be part of Anna’s memories.
Anna’s melancholy came to an abrupt end when Blue planted his feet and refused to move. She jumped down and tried to lead him through the gate. He wouldn’t budge. The guards laughed at first, but then traffic started to pile up, irate carters shouting at the girl to move the light-forsaken horse out of the way. The guards tried shoving the horse as Anna pulled, but he wouldn’t move even an inch. A crowd quickly gathered, laughing at her predicament and the guards’ impotence to solve it.
“Oy! What are you doing with Blue?” a grubby boy yelled from the throng. He ran forward and grabbed the bridle, trying to take the horse back into town.
“What are you doing? Guard! Guard! This boy’s trying to steal my horse!”
“I don’t much care what the lad’s intentions are, miss, because he’s got the accursed beast moving which is more than the rest of us could. Right now, that’s all I care about.”
Sure enough, the horse, the boy and she were now making decent progress. In the wrong direction. Anna pulled hard on the bridle, winning the tug-of-war by brute force and turning the horse back towards the gate. He flatly refused to move. “Oh, for light’s sake!”
“What are you doing with Blue? He doesn’t belong to you!” the boy shouted at her indignantly, anger spiking throughout his aura.
“Yes, he does. I bought him from Honiton’s Livery this morning.” Well, sort of, Anna thought. He was legally hers though, that much was true.
The boy was surprised. “No way would Kai leave him,” he argued. The spikes in his aura settled some, but a grey cloud started forming above his head. It seemed there was reason for worry. It looked like closure for a horse named Blue involved someone called Kai.
CHAPTER 3
T he boy happily rattled off his short life story as they walked to the inn where he worked and lived. His name was Jaxom, he was nine and he had worked at the White Boar since he was five, he told Anna proudly. Mistress Hibnet had caught him nicking a leg of ham and told him it was the guards or work it off. She’d given him a bed over the stable and told him to make himself useful. He’d lived there ever since. It was hard work, tending the horses no matter what time they arrived, but he’d grown to love it. Didn’t like some of the customers, mind, but he managed to keep out of their way most of the time. Kai was a favourite. He’d saved Jaxom from a beating three summers ago when a customer had sworn that the boy had stolen a ring. Kai had stood up for him, helping the man double check his saddle bags. Sure enough, Kai had found the ring in a bag.
“I’m right worried, miss. Kai would never leave Blue.”
“When did you see him last?”
“Must be about two weeks ago. Said he was heading north and he’d be back in a couple of months. I can’t understand it. Maybe Mistress Hibnet will know something.”
Mistress Hibnet had no idea what Jaxom was on about. Master Hibnet, however, did.
“I heard he got in trouble with the Graysons and did a runner.”
“The Graysons?” Anna asked. “As in Alyson Grayson?”
“Aye. Bad lot, that family. She sticks to whoring, but her brothers are into all sorts. They’ve been in-fighting these past few months by all accounts. Flexing their muscles to see which one takes over from their pa. Reckon Kai got in the middle of it somehow or other. Be just like ‘im.”
Anna had expected to be long gone by now. Instead, she was the proud owner of a horse that refused to leave town and apparently about to be embroiled in a mystery that he wanted her to solve. Him and the boy. The pair of them looked at her with big, trusting eyes.
“You should tell the guards,” she told Jaxom.
“On Kai?” he gasped.
“If he’s in trouble.”
He shook his head emphatically. “He’d never forgive me. Anyway, they won’t listen to a stable boy.”
She sighed. Ah well, in for a copper… “Okay, fine, I’ll go and ask a few questions, but that’s it. I’m leaving town in the morning whether or not we’ve found your Kai.”
Jaxom grinned. “Thank you, miss. I knew you were a right ‘un. Only way Blue’d have you.”
His grin was infectious. “It’s Anna, just Anna,” she laughed. Under her breath, she added, “Let’s hope Blue’s faith in me isn’t misplaced.”
She tried to think about what she was going to say and do as she made her way on foot to the home she had left just hours before. The fact was she hadn’t a clue if Alyson Grayson had ever heard of this Kai character, she’d forgotten to ask what he looked like and she had no idea what he might have done. She thought perhaps she’d be better starting with one of the other girls. She didn’t want to wade in unprepared. She smiled ruefully. It was a bit late for that.
The house was open for the afternoon so she knew all the girls would be busy except Susie. Anna was soon up the back stairs and knocking on her door. If Alyson happened by unexpectedly, she’d just be checking up on the patient before she left for good.
Susie’s face and aura were overwhelmed with guilt when she saw the Healer’s daughter, but Anna could see no sign of permanent damage. Her mother’s touch had been unswerving despite the knowledge it would be her undoing. “I’m so sorry, Anna,” Susie wept. “I didn’t know. I swear, I didn’t know.”
There was no point in castigating her. Of course she’d known. A Healer Healed by taking the poison into his or her own body. Everyone knew. What Susie meant was that she hadn’t known Anna’s mother was so close to her limit: that Healing Susie would be her final mercy. Her mother had known, of course, but she’d done it anyway. She couldn’t help herself. It was part of the gift. Inherit the ability to Heal and one inherited the need to Heal.
“I thought you’d left this morning. Did you forget something?”
“A friend asked me to do something before I left. I thought you might be able to help.”
“Me? Really?”
“You’ll keep it between us?” Anna asked, resting her hand on the other girl’s arm.
The resolve to help her saviour’s daughter appeared as a bright swirl in the prostitute’s aura. Anna pressed ever so gently to reinforce it. The girl would take it to the grave.
“I’m looking for a man called Kai. Apparently he knows Alyson’s family.”
Susie sniggered. “Is that what it’s called?”
“Sorry, is that what what’s called?”
“Kai’s been seeing Alyson for months. She’s completely smitten. Keeps it secret of course. Doesn’t want her reputation to suffer. They hide in her rooms when he’s here, get food and drink sent up, but you can hear her giggling and the bed springs groaning from two floors down.”
Anna was shocked. How the light had she missed it? Susie saw the surprise on her face.
“You couldn’t have known. Jenny is the only one who’s seen him and it’s only a few of us who’ve heard them. We’ve been warned to keep our mouths shut or find ourselves out on our ears and unable to get another job in town.”
She could tell the Healer’s daughter nothing more. Anna considered the puzzle as she made her way down the stairs. She knew for a fact that Alyson didn’t love Kai. If she did, Anna would have seen the change in her aura. There was no hiding it. So perhaps it had something to do with the family power struggle?
She’d just reached the ground floor when the woman herself stepped into the small lobby.
“I thought you’d left,” Alyson challenged the Healer’s daughter, suspicion rippling through her aura.
“I remembered my mother’s comb. She dropped it in Susie’s room yesterday.” Anna waved the comb Susie had given her as an alibi for her visit. She knew Alyson
wouldn’t know one comb from another. “I haven’t been able to leave yet. There’re only two horses for sale in the whole town and one’s too expensive and the other’s gone mad. Seems his owner has abandoned him. Some guy called Kai.”
The girl saw the head of the house startle at the man’s name and a prickle of uncertainty flicker through her aura. The fact she didn’t immediately dismiss Anna and swan off imperiously was confirmation that Kai was important to her. She clearly hadn’t known he was missing.
The brothelkeeper pretended to be unconcerned. “How long ago was the horse abandoned?”
“Master Honiton said just under two weeks ago, miss.”
Anna saw the woman’s face pale and her aura shudder. She’d last seen her lover about two weeks ago, no doubt. “Are you all right, Miss Grayson? Did you know this Kai person?”
The elder woman looked at the girl in horror. “I am absolutely fine. Don’t be impertinent!”
“I’m sorry, miss. You looked worried so I thought you must know him.” Anna pushed the blade in deeper. “Perhaps I could ask about for you, see if anyone knows anything?”
“Absolutely not! Light, Anna, I don’t know what’s come over you!” The woman’s brain was whirring with the dread of her name being bandied around town with Kai’s. The solution that occurred to her was to get Anna away from Straton as soon as possible.
“I’ve just realised that I didn’t give you your mother’s bonus before you left. How remiss of me,” she said snootily. “Come to the office. I wouldn’t want to keep you. I hear you’re to visit your o’mama. She’s up north, isn’t she? You’ll be wanting to get to an inn for the evening. The roads are dangerous by night these days.”
