raised its heavy head until he could breathe right into its nostrils.
The warhorse snorted. It pulled away a little. But the man stepped forward and again pressed his forehead against the horseâs brow.
Then he whispered something, Solveig couldnât hear what, and gently rubbed the horseâs neck.
The Horsemanâs Word, thought Solveig. Iâm sure it is, though I donât know what the words are. Who is he, anyhow?
Solveig couldnât help herself â the stench of the horse-stalls caught her by the throat, and she choked and then coughed.
Quite calmly and slowly, so as not to disturb his horse, the man turned round. His acorn hair all tangled, his face pink and open and eager.
âTamas!â exclaimed Solveig.
Tamas opened his eyes wide, and gave Solveig an incredulous smile. âSolveig!â he breathed.
âHarald changed his mind. He said I could come.â
Tamas put a filthy finger to his lips, but he couldnât stop smiling.
âSkarp told me you werenât even on this boat.â
âThe trickster!â
âHorse-whispering. Is that what you were doing?â
âYou heard?â
âNot the words.â
âTheyâre between me and him.â
Solveig nodded. âLike a charm.â She pointed to something sticking out of Tamasâs sleeve. âWhatâs that?â
âOh! A bone.â
âWhat of?â
âNot now, Solveig.â
Solveig spread her arms wide. âItâs terrible,â she said.
Once more Tamas turned to his horse and laid his forehead against the horseâs brow and rubbed his neck, and Solveig ran her fingers through his silky mane.
âIs he ⦠?â she hesitated.
âAn Arab,â Tamas told her. âAll our horses are Arabs.â
âWhatâs his name?â
âAlnath.â
âWhat?â
âOne of the stars.â
âWhat does it mean?â
âThe butting one!â
âIt sounds like a mixture of Norwegian and Saracen.â
âThere!â said Tamas. âIâve settled him now.â
âHarald told me to hoist them. Lift them and strap them.â
âOn your own!â
âHe said heâd send more men down.â
âThat horse,â said Tamas, pointing to one whose ears were flat back and who was baring his teeth. âMizer. Heâs terrified.â
Then Solveig and Tamas took hold of the broad strap under Mizerâs girth and, pulling together, they were able to tighten it until he was swinging free, still showing the whites of his eyes but no longer pounding the deck with his hooves.
Solveig puffed out her cheeks and noisily blew out her breath.
âTough work,â agreed Tamas.
âWe need help.â
âMuch more.â
âHarald said heâd send men down.â
âIâm here to go and get them. There are twenty-four horses here. All this ⦠rumpus! This havoc! Before long, the other horses will upset Alnath again.â
âIâll come with you,â Solveig said.
Tamas led the way to the deck-hatch.
âI had to jump down,â Solveig told him.
âMe too. I donât know where the ladderâs gone. Stand on my shoulders.â
Oh! Despite the stench and the squalor and the suffering horses, Solveig was feeling so light-hearted.
âSkarp said you werenât even on this boat,â she told Tamas for a second time, âand my father said he hoped we hadnât left you behind.â
âLeft me!â
âSearching.â
âWhat for?â
Solveig drew back a little. Her eyes were dancing. âDonât you know?â she teased him, and with both hands she grasped the lapels of her cloak.
âOhh!â exclaimed Tamas.
âMy father and Snorri found it in the guardroom. They wrapped me in it, and put a helmet on my head so they could ⦠spirit me out of the palace.â
âWeâll have to cut it in
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
John O'Riley
Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
Stephen Lloyd Jones
Karl Iagnemma
Celya Bowers
Jill Gregory
Aria Cunningham