Page 20 of Wind Rider

Anjo squealed and tossed her head as she flooded River with negative feelings.

Surprised, River stroked her filly’s neck. “Hey, okay, it’s okay. If you don’t want me to tell anyone about Ghost I won’t.” River felt Anjo’s relief, and she decided she was in agreement with her filly. “You’re right. Let’s keep him to ourselves. Obviously, he doesn’t want to return to the Herd—for whatever reason. So, you and I will just have to keep returning to him—with plenty of carrots. Maybe someday he’ll trust us enough to follow us all the way home and be reunited with our Herd.”

Anjo snorted in agreement as River smiled, imagining the look on her mother’s face when she and Anjo trotted into camp with the golden stallion following them. “And people say nothing happens in a Herd without the Lead Mare and her Rider knowing. Ha! Ghost will definitely be a surprise toeveryone,even Mother and Echo!”

As the sun set, they trotted slowly into Herd Magenti’s spring campground, which sprawled around the stone monoliths that marked a convergence of ley lines. These stones weren’t as huge or as numerousas those at the massive Rendezvous Site, but the cave that lay at the center of the spiral was large enough to hold all of Herd Magenti, and though the beautifully dyed purple tents with the Magenti standard flying proudly were pitched outside the enormous opening into the earth, at the first sign of dangerous weather or predators the Herd, complete with every horse, could retreat to within the safety of the cave—and with supplies stockpiled within, as well as an underground river, they could remain there, invulnerable, for many months.

River meant to go directly to the private tent she shared with Anjo that had been a gift from her mother after the Choosing, but not far into the campsite several people greeted River and Anjo, “The Mother Mare’s blessings on you, Wind Rider!” and as the Herd realized they had returned from their maiden ride, a cheer of celebration rolled through the Magenti.

She tried to wave off the congratulations nonchalantly, nudging Anjo to pick up her pace so that they could disappear inside their tent, and they almost made it, but just before they reached the privacy their tent promised, River saw a group of Riders spread out around the center monolith. Led by her beautiful, strong mother, they were wind dancing. In time to a circle of drums, they were practicing the intricate series of poses that kept the Riders strong but lithe, focused on the present and able to draw on that focus in times of stress and even battle. Anjo slowed as she and her Rider appreciated the graceful flow of the wind dance, as well as the difficulty of the complex movements that had the dancers’ bodies slick with sweat.

Then her mother glanced above the heads of the others to see River and Anjo—and she motioned for her sister, April, to take her place, then hurried toward the newly arrived pair.

“Get ready. She’s not going to be happy about this,” River muttered to Anjo, whose ears twitched back to listen.

“My daughter and sweet, sweet Anjo!” Dawn gently caressed the filly’s muzzle as Anjo nickered a greeting. “I see that you have completed your maiden ride. The Mother Mare’s blessings on you, Wind Rider.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

Dawn was walking a tight circle around Anjo, inspecting the filly with her eyes and hands, making sure she was sound.

“Well?” River asked.

Dawn raised a brow at her daughter. “You know as well as I that you wouldn’t be riding Anjo into camp were she not sound.”

“Then why are you studying her like you think you’re going to find something wrong?”

“First, out of habit. Second, because I am Rider of the Lead Mare, and I noticed that your filly shows signs of being ridden hard and fast, though I also see you took your time cooling and grooming her.” Dawn rested a hand on River’s leg. “What happened out there?”

Thinking quickly, River decided it was best to stay as close to the truth as possible. “We were hunted by a Flyer.”

“Mother Mare! Are you well? If Anjo was even scratched by the creature the poison could cause her problems in the future. And you—did it touch you?” Dawn redoubled her inspection until River slid from Anjo’s back, hooked her arm with her mother’s, and made her walk with them, stilling her.

“Mother, we are well. Both of us. We were near the cross timbers when it began hunting us. We did have to sprint for the tree line, but we made it.”

“Is that why you are so late returning? You had to wait for the Flyer to leave?”

River lifted her chin with pride. “No, we killed the Flyer. We’re late because I made sure Anjo stood in the stream inside the cross timbers to cool her legs, and then I let her graze while I rubbed her down.”

Dawn stared at her daughter and would have stopped walking had River not pulled her along.

“You killed a Flyer.”

“Well, I had the help of powerful hooves,” River prevaricated. “And Anjo and I are going to start practicing spear tossing—right away.”

“You killed a Flyer with a spear!”

“Mother, why do you sound so shocked? I’m not a child anymore. As of today I am officially a Wind Rider.”

Dawn wiped a shaky hand across her forehead, as if trying to soothe a headache. “River, I don’t doubt your capability, but I worry. It is why I wish you’d take an escort with you and stop with these solitary outings. Next year completes Echo’s decade as Lead Mare. You know the Herd is looking to you and Anjo as our future.”

“I know that, Mother. I’ve never forgotten it—not for one second since Anjo Chose me. But a year is a long time. A lot can happen between now and the Mare Test. Who knows? Maybe the Mother Mare will whisper the name of another pair to the Elders. Skye and her Scout took their maiden ride before Anjo and me, and they’re a well-bonded pair. Maybe the Mother Mare will tell the Elders to choose them.”

“Impossible. Skye is too self-serving and Scout, while a lovely filly, is too delicate to base the bloodlines of a herd on. No, River, it will be you and your Anjo who will win the Mare Test and be named Lead Mare and Rider by the Council, with my blessing,unlesssomething happens to one of you over the next year. That is why you must remember your responsibility to the Herd and be certain you and your filly remain sound.”

River stopped to face her mother. “It is my responsibility to continue to learn—to experience—to grow wise, like my mother, and I cannot do that being constantly watched and protected. A cage is still a cage, no matter how well intended the jailor might be. And that is why I insist that I willnotride out with an escort. I must have enough experiences so that Anjo and I trust ourselves—our judgment—our decisions. Please don’t make me sneak around and play a ridiculous hiding game with you.”

Dawn’s wise hazel eyes studied her daughter. “So, you wish to keep your own counsel?”