Most Betas would have obeyed instantly, as an Alpha’s bark was as effective as a whip. But I was not like most Betas. The command dissolved like salt in a rainstorm, gone before I even noticed it.
Without dropping my gaze, I grabbed a handful of coins out of one of the saddlebag pockets. “Sir, just take my goldani and give me the gray pony in the back stall. This doesn’t have to get unpleasant.”
He blinked at me, his thoughts churning sluggishly in his dull eyes. I blinked back, my patience evaporating as the smell of burning wood grew stronger.
Greed won out over curiosity. He grabbed the coins, his thick lips moving as he counted them out. There was more than enough for a half-dozen horses. It should have been plenty.
I should’ve known better. An avaricious smile curled on his face as he straightened. “Give me them bags, too, or I’ll knock out your fucking teeth.”
“You can’t have them,” I warned. “They belong to my mistress. I’ve been charged with protecting them.”
“Fuck your mistress. Better yet, I’ll fuck her and make ya watch.” He lunged for the saddlebags with his right hand, but when I moved smoothly away, he aimed his left fist for my face. I let the blow land, though I tilted my head so it only grazed my cheek lightly.
I had to. I’d taken a vow, and that was the only way I could be released from it. In my next movement, I slid the bags across the alleyway, out of the way.
The fight, if you could call it that, didn’t take long. His blows were slow and clumsy, though if even one had connected, I might have been knocked off my feet.
The priests who’d taught me this dance had trained me well. I slid under the Alpha’s swinging arms and twisted around his feet, maneuvering him until I had him where I wanted. Then it was his foot by the pile of horse dung and his back that landed in it, followed by his head bashing the gate post.
Butmyhand that struck the nerves in his shoulder just so, sending him to sleep. He collapsed with an odd, muffled groan, his eyes rolling back in his head.
I bowed, muttering a prayer to protect him while he lay unconscious. Then I grabbed the bags, slipped enough coins into his pocket to cover the pony, and turned to the back paddock.
A distant cry went up from the square, and my blood ran cold. I ran, too, grabbing a halter and slinging it over the old pony’s back. I was only three steps out of the stable when the animal pulled hard on the leading ropes.
No. She wasn’t pulling. She’d fallen, foundering on the stones.
“Lame?” I half-shouted, as she made the most pathetic sounds of distress. The pony’s sides heaved, her legs kicking in the air.
The pitiful thing wasn’t dead, but so close that it made no difference.
Heart racing, I closed my eyes for a second, praying harder than I ever had. When I opened them, the heavy gray clouds above parted, allowing a single sunbeam to descend, landing on the back of…
“Thank you,” I whispered, making the sign of peaceful passing over the old pony, then running to the warhorse. The monster drew back his teeth at my approach. I stopped just out of range of his bite, and bowed. “Please, noble steed. My mistress is dying. In the name of the Goddess, I ask you to carry me to her.” I stood still as the beast’s nostrils flared, neck extending to sniff at the cloak I wore. His warm, hay-scented breath covered me as he nickered twice.
Then, to my shock, he bent his neck down, obviously waiting for me. I blinked. The saddle and reins rested on the nearby gate, but I didn’t have time to tack the beast. Instead, I grabbed a ropehackamore from the stable wall, sliding it gently over the horse’s lowered head, though he was still far taller than I was.
I had very little experience riding, as my island home had only deer, sheep, and goats. Since meeting my mistress, I’d only ridden with her, on one horse. I slung the saddlebags over the horse’s neck, gathered my courage and my strength, and leaped up. I pressed in with my knees, moving the ropes of the hackamore slightly to one side. It was a good thing I was so flexible from all my training; I was close to doing a full split on the creature’s wide back.
What man rode a horse this size? I was sure I didn’t want to find out, and equally certain I would if I didn’t steal the beast more quickly. “To the fire!” I urged.
The creature didn’t move.
“Go, I beg you,” I muttered, louder. “She’s being burned alive.”
The beast swung his head back, eyes rolling to look at me. I wasn’t sure if a horse could feel such things, but I thought I saw disbelief and condescension in his gaze. A waft of smoke, smelling oddly of roasted tomatoes and burning flesh, swirled around me. Then her distant voice cried out, screaming obscenities.
The sunlight dimmed. The crowd roared. I wanted to jump down from the horse and run to save her, but I knew I couldn’t do it alone.
“To my mistress!” I shouted, driving my heels in as best I could. “In the name of the Goddess, I beg you, take me to her.” He shivered all over. “Take me to Rada!”
Suddenly, the beast sprang into motion. It took all my balance and coordination to hold on and keep the saddlebags from sliding off as he lit out, straight for the fire. I didn’t bother holding to the hackamore lead ropes; I just grabbed handfuls of his short mane and squeezed with my knees. In seconds, we’dcareened down the alley behind the stable and down two more streets. The horse knew where to go, and if I hadn’t lived a life full of miracles, I would have been shocked.
He gave a loud, whinnying cry as the crowd came into sight. I prayed as hard as I could that no one would be hurt, but closed my eyes as we plunged into the melee. Massive, iron-shod hooves pounded out a drumbeat of war on the stones in front of the great palace and plumes of steam poured from his nostrils as he ran.
People screamed around me as the beast followed a straight line to Rada. To the flames that were licking at her calves. Was I too late?
She wore a rough, open-necked shift of some kind and nothing else. Blood was dripping from her temple down one side of her neck and shoulder. A few flames licked as high as her thighs, though a sharp northern wind blew them back. Her mouth was wide in shock and pain.
