The Seer by Rowan McAllister (reading comprehension books .TXT) 📕

and closed his eyes. Shura would probably laugh herself silly if he ever shared half the shit that ran through his head.

He jerked awake when the wagon lurched steeply to one side, adding another bruise to Daks’s already sore body.

“Almost there,” Haruk called over his shoulder as he guided the cart off the road toward a small stand of trees. “This is where we’ll wait.”

As soon as Haruk pulled the horse to a stop, Daks eased out from under Ravi and crawled out of the back of the wagon, eager to stretch his stiffened muscles and shake off the lethargy that threatened to render him useless. Nothing disturbed the land around them beyond the sleepy chirping of crickets in the tall grass along the roadside, but he loosened the dagger in its sheath anyway and peered into the darkness beyond the torchlight.

“How long do you think it will take them?” Daks asked, twisting his neck from side to side and rolling his shoulders.

“Not long,” Haruk answered as he climbed down from his box. “They should be able to move faster than this old cart, despite having to go the long way ’round.”

“Thank you again for helping us,” Daks said as both men moved to join him.

“’Tis a fair trade,” Haruk murmured with a shrug as he pulled a pipe and a small cloth bag from his pocket and began to pack the bowl. “Things are happening here, happening fast. The whispers grow each day. Our prayers to the gods are being answered. If we are to take what the gods have given us, we must act and we must learn.” He turned to glance over his shoulder into the back of his wagon before lighting a stick from the mounted torch and using it to light his pipe. “We’ll need men and women like this one someday, I think. But there are many who’d disagree. Many who think magic is evil and should be snuffed out of all Kita forever. Lad will be safer in your land. Quanna, Moc, and Chytel willing, Rassa will be free afore too long, and without much bloodshed, and young ones like him will want to return to us.”

Daks opened his mouth to give a polite, noncommittal response, but the sudden, rhythmic clomp of hooves on packed earth stopped him. He tensed as he held up a hand for silence and searched the darkness beyond the torchlight. The sounds weren’t coming from Haruk’s cart horse or the direction of the city, and they were growing louder. The men beside him immediately fell silent and also tensed. When a blur of white crested the next hill, Daks narrowed his gaze until the shape resolved itself into that of a riderless horse. He blinked for a moment in surprise before glancing at his two companions, but they were staring also, no sign of recognition or understanding on their faces. At last Haruk turned to him, and Daks raised his eyebrows.

“’Tis a bit odd,” Vahal rumbled as he stepped away from the wagon toward the approaching creature.

The horse was very large and obviously well taken care of. It had no saddle, not even a bridle, but its long silvery mane and tail flowed freely, without a hint of a bramble or tangle. Shura’s admonition that they would only have two mounts for the four of them rang in Daks’s head, but he stayed where he was. He couldn’t afford to risk upsetting his newfound allies, if they wanted the beautiful beast. He wouldn’t be able to take it with him back to Samebar in any case.

The horse continued its sedate trot toward them, showing no reaction to Vahal’s approach until they were within a few feet of each other and Vahal reached out to it. Then the horse snorted, arched away from his grasp, and bared its teeth at him. For each step Vahal took toward it, the horse took a step back, showing no signs of running away, but also not allowing Vahal to touch it.

“Easy there, boy,” Vahal murmured in Rassan, continuing to try to get closer to it, but the horse would have none of that.

Appearing to lose patience with Vahal’s attempts to capture it, the horse snorted again, lunged at him, and snapped at the air, forcing the big man to scurry backward. Apparently pleased with the result, the horse whickered and lifted its head proudly as Vahal cast a beseeching look toward Haruk. “A little help here?”

Haruk’s lips quirked before he shoved his pipe between his teeth and strode purposefully over. He and Vahal approached the animal from opposite sides this time, while Daks watched in amusement. At least he had something interesting to pass the time until Shura got there. He folded his arms across his chest and rested against the side of the wagon as the two men tried time and again to coax the horse close enough to handle, but the animal continued to elude them, sending off periodic warnings of bodily harm with hoof and teeth, should they cross some internal line known only to it.

“I need to find a rope,” Haruk finally puffed. “Maybe one of Daisy’s leads will do the trick.”

“Or maybe we should unhitch Daisy and bring her over. She’s a mare. He’s a stallion. We might be able to woo him to follow us home,” Vahal suggested.

The two men had stepped back to give the horse some room as they discussed their options. The horse eyed them for a short time, but when they made no move toward it, the creature seemed to dismiss them completely and began walking again, right toward Daks.

Realizing the direction it was headed, Daks straightened and eyed the animal warily, keeping his hands unthreateningly by his sides. Amazingly, the horse didn’t stop until it walked right up to him and rubbed its muzzle against his cheek.

“Uh, hi there,” Daks said as his lips curved into an uncertain smile.

One huge pale blue eye captured his gaze and held. He wasn’t exactly