Dark Horse Read Free Page B

her tunic, and surveyed her work. She felt a moment of pride.
    The mare's front quarters were free of the clinging mud and her front hooves rested on a short ramp of logs embedded in the mud and banked on either side with rock and dead brush. The horse's bel y and hindquarters were still firmly mired, but Gabria felt a little relief and a twinge of hope.
    The girl ate a quick meal and returned to work. First, she laid a narrow platform in the mud around the horse so she could work without fighting the mire herself. Scraping and digging with her rock shovel and her bare hands, she cleared away the mud from the Hunnuli's sides, then packed in handfuls of gravel and shale to keep the walls from slipping in. It was agonizing work. Gabria's back was soon a band of pain and her hands were sore and blistered. The mare watched her constantly, remaining motionless except for the occasional swing of her head. Only her tail twitching in the mud betrayed her controlled impatience.
    The first stars were glimmering in the darkening sky when Gabria stopped digging. She looked at the trapped mare in dismay and said, "I'm sorry, it will be another day before I can get you out." She groaned and staggered to her feet. "The digging's going so much slower than I expected."
    In the long afternoon's work, she had only cleared away a distressingly small area of mud surrounding the huge horse. At the pace she was going, it might be several days before the mare was free. Weary and depressed, Gabria collected more grass for the horse and rubbed down her front legs to stave off swelling. She was rewarded with a soft nicker.
    She looked at the Hunnuli in wonder. The mare returned her gaze calmly, her eyes glowing like black pearls. Impulsively, Gabria leaned over and buried her face in the Hunnuli's thick mane. It did not seem possible she could feel something after the destruction of her home and family. She thought every emotion had withered within her when she looked on the mutilated bodies of her brothers. Only revenge had remained to hold her together and fill her heart. Yet, this trapped horse awoke a feeling of kinship in her, and the battered remnants of her old self reached out desperately for comfort. Perhaps, she thought with a frantic yearning, this great horse would accept her as a friend. If so, that friendship was worth a lifetime of labor.
    But after a while she stood up and rubbed her face, chiding herself for her fantasies. Hunnuli only accepted warriors and old sorcerers, not exiled girls. It was ridiculous to even imagine. She cleaned herself off as best she could and rekindled her fire. She ate some bread and was asleep before the flames died to embers.
    The next morning came with a dismal dawn and a brief but heavy snow. The mountains were veiled behind a raiment of gray and silver clouds, and the wind gusted through the val eys.
    Gabria woke with a groan. She was 15adly chilled and so sore she could barely move without pain stabbing somewhere in her body. Her shoulders and back ached and her arms felt petrified from her exertions of the day before. Closer inspection showed her ankle was still swollen. She moaned irritably and pul ed her boot back on. Much more of this, she thought, shaking the snow off her cloak, and the wolves wil have two meals. She decided to wrap her ankle for better support and hoped the rest of her abused body would gradual y lose its kinks.
    The Hunnuli was watching her as she ate her meal, showing none of the impatience of the previous day. The snowfall had patterned the horse's black coat like a bank of stars in a midnight sky, yet she did not bother to shake it off. Gabria glanced at her worriedly and wondered if something was wrong. The wild horse seemed abnormal y subdued.

    The girl became more alarmed when the Hunnuli ignored a fresh armload of grass. The horse's eyes were withdrawn and dull, as if the light of their glance was turned inward.
    "Please, tell me it's not true," Gabria said, sick at the