Free Four Horses For Tishtry by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Page A

still leaving her.
    “I will do what Atadillius requires of me, I suppose,” Macon said, frowning. “He has already given his word that I may continue to make tack of all kinds, and that work and money will be mine, of course, but there are responsibilities to being a wife and he has good reason to expect me to ... to honor them and him.” She looked down at her hands. “He is not a bad man, and I like him. When he tells me stories, I laugh at them because they please me, not because I want to please him.”
    Tishtry shrugged. “Well, if that is what you want, then you are fortunate to have it. I would rather keep as I am than bepaired with a man. Maybe when I am older, I’ll change my mind as you have.” She rubbed her hands together. “I ought to be grateful, Macon. Atadillius has spared me the task of buying your freedom. But I was looking forward to doing it. If I earn enough to free the rest of our family, I will not be able to seeit, but with you here with me, I thought that there would be one time that I could see it, could share in the celebration. And now, that’s not possible.”
    “Tishtry!” Macon said, not quite able to keep the rebuke out of her voice. “How can you begrudge me this?”
    “Oh, I don’t,” Tishtry responded quickly. “I didn’t mean it that way. But I wanted to have the opportunity ...” She faltered, then went on, “I know it’s foolish, but I always thought it would be my right to be the one to free you. That is what our father taught me from the first. Don’t you understand? I’m glad you are free and that you will have a husband and have children that are freemen and never wear a collar. You will not be paired off with another slave at the master’s orders, and need never fearagain that it might happen. You’rethe first of us to be free, Macon. It was something I wanted to give you, for all of us.”
    Macon sighed and reached out to put her hand on Tishtry’s shoulder. “Little sister, you areshaming me.”
    “No, no,” Tishtry protested. “I don’t want you to feel shame. I just wanted you to know why ...”
    The sisters looked at each other in silence. Then Macon gave her attention to the stove. “You have enough to contend with, Tishtry. I’ve thought for some time that it was not proper for our father to expect so much of you.”
    “I don’t mind,” Tishtry said with a touch of pride.
    “Not now. But in a year, you may. Barantosz has only given you a year, and that is not very long. You have too much of a burden now. At least you need not carry me along with the rest.” She finished adding wood, then slid the grate back into place.
    “But I don’t mind !”Tishtry insisted. “And if that is why you are going to be Atadillius’ wife—”
    “No,” Macon said. “No. I will be his wife because it is what I want to be. If he had not freed me, but only bought me, he still might have taken me with my goodwill. There are few menI would rather be paired with.” Color rose in her face again. “That’s the true reason, Tishtry.”
    “Ah.” Tishtry said, trying to sound as if she understood, no matter how baffled she was.

FROM APOLLONIA , Tishtry , Macon, and Atadillius took a ship onto the Pontus Euxinus, south and east to Byzantium, then westward through the Propontis, with Thracia on the north of them and Asia and Bithynia on the south. They arrived in Troas four days later, bored and restless from the confinement of the ship, and with thehorses suffering from frets and fidgets that made them hard to handle.
    At the amphitheater, they were met by the Master of the Bestiarii, a grizzled old Greek with a much-broken nose and an enormous paunch that overhung his belt. He sniffed once at Tishtry’s mismatched team and stared hard at Atadillius. “You’re the one that fellow Barantosz sent?”
    “Yes,” Atadillius answered. “I’m Master of the Bestiarii in Apollonia in Thracia.” He tried to make it sound important, but in this larger