LITMIR.BIZ

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the Stable Master.

      “And why would I listen to you?” I demanded.

      He smirked. “Because I’m your instructor.”

       11

      “NO,” I SAID. “YOU WILL not be my instructor.”

      “No choice,” said the Stable Master. He glanced at Cahil then me, looking puzzled. “There’s no one else and Fourth Magician insists you start right away.”

      “What if I help you muck out the stables and feed the horses? Will you have time to teach me then?” I asked the Stable Master.

      “Young lady, you already have plenty to do. You’ll be mucking and caring for your own horse, as well as studying your lessons. Cahil’s been a stable rat since he was six. No one, other than me …” He grinned. “… knows more about horses.”

      I planted my hands on my hips. “Fine. As long as he knows more about horses than he does about people.”

      Cahil cringed. Good.

      “But I keep this horse,” I said.

      “She’s a walleye,” Cahil said.

      “A what?” I asked.

      “She has blue eyes. That’s bad luck. And she’s been bred by the Sandseed Clan. Their horses are difficult to train.”

      Kiki snorted at Cahil. Mean Boy.

      “A silly superstition and an unfair reputation. Cahil, you should know better,” the Stable Master said. “She’s a perfectly good horse. Whatever’s going on between you and Yelena, you’ll have to work it out. I’ve no time to babysit.” With that, he stalked away, once more muttering to himself.

      Cahil and I glared at each other for a while until Kiki nudged my arm, looking for peppermints.

      “Sorry, girl, no more,” I said, holding out my empty hand. She tossed her head, and resumed grazing.

      Cahil stared at me. I crossed my arms over my chest, but they seemed an inadequate barrier between us. I would have preferred thick marble walls. He had exchanged his traveling clothes for a plain white shirt and tight-fitting jodhpurs, but he still wore his black riding boots.

      “You’ll have to live with your decision about the horse. But if you’re going to fight me every time I try to teach you something, let me know now, and I won’t waste my time.”

      “Irys wants me to learn, so I’ll learn.”

      He appeared satisfied. “Good. First lesson starts now.” He climbed over the pasture’s fence. “Before you learn how to ride a horse, you must know everything about your horse from the physical to the emotional.” Cahil clicked his tongue at Kiki, and when she ignored him, he approached her. Just as he came up beside her she turned, knocking him over with her rump.

      I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Every time he tried to get near, Kiki either moved away or bumped into him.

      His face red with frustration, Cahil finally said, “The hell with this. I’m getting a halter.”

      “You hurt her feelings when you said she was bad luck,” I explained. “She’ll cooperate if you apologize.”

      “How would you know?” Cahil demanded.

      “I just know.”

      “You didn’t even know how to dismount a horse. I’m not that stupid,” he said.

      When he started to climb over the fence, I said, “I know the same way I knew Topaz wanted milk oats.”

      Cahil stopped, waiting.

      I sighed. “Topaz told me he wanted the treat. I connected with his mind by accident, so I asked him to go smoother because my back hurt. It’s the same with Kiki.”

      Cahil pulled at his beard. “The First Magician said you had strong magical abilities. I guess I should have known it before, but I was too focused on the spy thing.” He looked at me as if noticing me for the first time.

      For a second, I thought I witnessed cold calculation slide through Cahil’s blue eyes, but it disappeared, leaving me to wonder if I had seen anything at all.

      “Her name’s Kiki?” he asked.

      I nodded. Cahil returned to Kiki and apologized. I felt a sudden peevish annoyance. He should have been apologizing to me for all the pain he had caused. Spy thing, my ass.

      Push Mean Boy? Kiki asked.

       No. Be nice. He’s going to teach me to care for you.

      Cahil gestured for me to join him near Kiki. I clambered over the fence. As Kiki stood her ground, Cahil pointed to and lectured about the different parts of her body. Starting with her muzzle, he didn’t stop until he had lifted her right back hoof and showed me the underside.

      “Same time tomorrow,” he said, ending the lesson. “Meet me in the stable. We’ll go over horse care.”

      Before he could head back to the barn, I stopped him. Now that my annoyance that he was my instructor was gone, I wondered why he was here. “Why are you teaching me? I thought your campaign for the Ixian throne would take up most of your time.”

      Well aware of how I felt about his quest, Cahil studied me, seeking for signs of sarcasm.

      “Until I receive the full support of the Sitian Council, I can only do so much,” he said. “Besides, I need money to pay for my expenses. Most of my men are employed at the Keep as guards or gardeners, depending on what’s needed.” He wiped his hands on his pants, staring at the horses in the pasture. “When the Keep is on hiatus during the hot season, I focus all my efforts on gathering support. This season I thought I would finally get the Council’s backing.” Cahil looked at me. “But that didn’t work out. So I’m back to work and back to begging the Council to put me on their agenda.” He frowned and shook his head. “Tomorrow, then?”

      “Tomorrow.” I watched Cahil as he walked to the stable. He had been counting on catching an Ixian spy to influence the Council. I wondered what he would try next.

      Kiki nudged my arm and I scratched behind her ears before I returned to my rooms. Rummaging around for some paper, I sat at my desk and drew a crude sketch of a horse. I labeled the parts that I could remember. Topaz and Kiki helped me with the rest.

      The connection I had formed with the two horses was odd yet comforting. It was as if we were all in the same room, doing different tasks and minding our own business and having our own private thoughts. But when one of us would “speak” directly to the other, we would “hear” it. I only had to think about Kiki and her thoughts would fill my mind. The same was true with Irys. I didn’t need to pull power and project it to Irys. All I needed to do was think about her.

      Over the next week, my days fell into a pattern. Mornings spent with Irys to learn about magic, afternoons spent napping, studying and practicing my self-defense techniques. Evenings were spent with Cahil and Kiki. As I moved throughout the campus, I kept a wary eye out for Goel. I hadn’t forgotten his threat.

      Not long into my magical training, Irys began testing me for other abilities.

      “Let’s see if you can start a fire,” Irys said one morning. “This time, when you pull in the power, I want you to concentrate on lighting this candle.” She placed a candlestick in front of me.

      “How?” I asked, sitting up. I had been reclining on the pillows in her tower room, thinking about Kiki. It had been a week, and I still hadn’t ridden her. So far, Cahil had spent every lesson teaching me about horse care and tack. What an annoying man.

      “Think of a single flame before you direct your magic.” Irys demonstrated. “Fire,” she said. The candle flared and burned before she blew it out. “Your turn.”

      I

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