Free Shadow of the Horsemen (Kalie's Journey) by Sandra Saidak Page B

reminded her that a warrior’s daughter didn’t need to be coddled just because a woman slapped her face a few times. She drank some of the willow bark tea Kalie gave her, but it seemed excitement over the feast she would be participating in was all the analgesic Varena needed.
    Kalie stayed to make sure Cassia was safely tucked back into bed, with a nourishing broth and some choice bits of meat, before going back outside to attend the feast herself.
    This one far surpassed the winter feast. Here was a beautiful summer night, with meat rich from spring grazing, and even some of the fruits and vegetables she had for so long craved.
    As Kalie wandered through the crowds, tasting food from this or that spit or basket, she looked for some of the women who had shown an interest in her hunting success. Varena had disappeared with a group of girls like herself: daughters of warriors and slave women. Kalie wished her well.
    Before Kalie could find any of the women she sought, two of them approached her. They were both younger than she by at least ten summers: both wives, but not yet mothers, although she suspected one of them was pregnant.
    “Can we see that strange…killing stick?” asked one, who said her name was Tiza. Her companion was Kiska.
    Kalie took the weapon from the thong where it hung at her waist, next her water bag. “Perhaps while the men are away, we can arrange a demonstration; maybe even a group hunt.”
    The women exchanged a startled look, as though such a thought had never occurred to them.
    “Is it true that Riyik asked you to marry him?” asked Kiska. “And that you turned him down?”
    Kalie knew she shouldn’t be surprised that word had spread. Still, she wanted tonight to be about things the horsewomen could do for themselves, and each other—not another round of gossip. “Yes, it’s true,” she said finally.
    “How could any woman turn down a man like that?” demanded Tiza. “Especially a slave!”
    Rather than answering, Kalie peered closer at the woman, and realized where she had seen her before. “Are you from the same clan as my kinswomen, Alessa?”
    “Alessa? Oh, yes, she was Tarnaak’s woman for a time.” Tiza lowered her voice. “The fool lost her in a game of knucklebones with that envoy from the Wolf Tribe! Our chief was furious, for she was clever with potions and charms. There was scarcely a one in the camp who she hadn’t helped.”
    “She was the greater fool!” snapped Kiska, a hand on her belly. “Our chief might have made her his own concubine, if she hadn’t given away all her magic for free! He never saw any reason to buy her until it was too late. Now she won’t be here to help with my baby, and everyone knows she’s more skilled than that fool Navia!”
    Kalie thought about pointing out that if Alessa had behaved like a woman of Aahk, she probably wouldn’t bother helping Kiska in the first place, but decided to drop it. The important thing was that Alessa might still be alive.
    She wandered around awhile longer, finally slipping into the fringes of the crowd that ringed the king’s tent.
    There were games and contests taking place in the open area in front of the tent. They mostly involved mock fights—and some that looked pretty real. The king himself was making one of his rare appearances. Reclining on a bed of pillows, swaddled in blankets despite the mild weather, there was no question he was dying. His eyes were sunk in his gray face and his body shook like a bundle of sticks beneath the richly embroidered linen robes and gaudy gold ornaments.
    Kalie could hardly believe this was the same man who had given her to Maalke less than a year ago. Strange, she thought. He’s really not that old, even by beastmen standards. Here, when men died young, it was usually in battle. She thought about which illnesses could strike a healthy man so quickly.
    Pushing her way through the crowd, Kalie strained to get a closer look, and now her healer’s eye began to