Free The Dream-Maker's Magic by Sharon Shinn

be too tired till she comes to Thrush Hollow,” I said.
    Ayler nodded as if accepting a commission. “I will send her on her way.”

    When Ayler learned that Gryffin had never been to a Summermoon Festival, because it was too difficult for him to navigate both the crowds and the distance, he was determined to rectify the omission. “Can you ride?” he asked.
    Gryffin and I both stared at him. “Ride a horse ?” Gryffin repeated. “No.”
    â€œWell, you could sit on one, couldn’t you?” Ayler said. “My little mare is very docile. I put children on her back all the time. I think she’ll carry you as long as my hand is on the bridle.”
    â€œAnd if she bolts while Gryffin is on her back?” I demanded.
    Ayler grinned. “That at least won’t happen. Gryffin may tire, for it is not so easy as it looks to sit on a horse, but then we will take him aside and let him sprawl on the grass awhile. I’ll bring a blanket. I think this will not be so difficult to do.”
    Gryffin was trying hard not to look excited. “I would like to try,” he said casually. “If it’s not too much trouble.”
    Ayler smiled. “I think it must be why I felt compelled to come to Thrush Hollow.”
    We scattered for a time, Gryffin returning to the kitchen to finish his chores, me returning to my own house on the same errand, and Ayler off to canvass the town for secrets. We all met at the tavern again in three hours, just as the sun was finally sinking enough to abate some of the high heat of the afternoon. The Safe-Keeper was leading his horse, a rather squat black mare with a diamond-shaped white mark on her face and eyes as dreamy as Ayler’s own.
    â€œI borrowed a saddle from Josh Parmer,” Ayler said. “We can adjust the stirrups till they feel right for your legs.”
    The little mare showed amazing patience as Ayler lifted Gyffin into the saddle and went to some trouble to make him comfortable. I could tell that my friend still felt noticeable pain in the unfamiliar position, but his face was so creased with delight that it was obvious he considered the trade-off worth it. He looked down at the two of us and laughed out loud.
    â€œI feel so tall!” he exclaimed. “This is great fun!”
    â€œLet’s see how it feels once you’re in motion,” Ayler said, and gently tugged on the horse’s bridle. The mare obediently stepped forward. Gryffin whooped and grabbed the saddle horn, but he stayed on. Ayler continued to lead the horse toward the fair.
    â€œI’ll bring your canes,” I called to Gryffin. “Just in case you need them.”
    So we made an odd procession as we slowly moved through the streets of Thrush Hollow, the man leading the horse with the boy in the saddle, me behind them with the canes slung over my shoulder. Every once in a while I would hear Ayler ask a question; every once in a while I would hear Gyffin laugh for what appeared to be no reason at all.
    The streets were fairly empty, as most people were already at the fair. I was not sure how Ayler intended to negotiate the narrow, crowded aisles between the close-set booths, but it was soon clear that was not his plan.
    â€œWe’ll walk around the perimeter,” he said, for the booths lining the four sides of the fair had their tables turned outward. “That will at least give you a taste of what’s available. Then perhaps Kellen will run quickly through the inner booths and report back to us what might be for sale that you would be interested in purchasing, so you don’t have to miss any possible treasures.”
    â€œI don’t have much money with me,” Gryffin said.
    â€œYou won’t need much,” Ayler assured him. “Everything is cheap at the fair.”
    And indeed, he was right. Merchants were selling everything from shoes to gloves to shirts to bows to beads to pottery to cakes and