Free Voyage of the Snake Lady by Theresa Tomlinson Page A

her with confidence, anxious to give Snowboots and Sandmane their names before the last rays of sun left the plain in darkness.
    That night, as the women moved back to the circle of campfires, some of the horses raised their heads, almost as if they regretted that their new friends were leaving them so soon. They watched carefully to see which path their chosen Moon Rider took.
    Later that night, as Myrina sat eating the roasted mackerel that Kora had provided, Fara and some of her friends walked to her. Myrina looked up, concerned that they had left their side of the circle unguarded.
    “Snake Lady, there is something we think you should know!” Fara spoke quickly. “We watch the horses—but we ourselves are watched!”
    Myrina looked about in alarm. “Where? Who?”
    Fara pointed over to the north on the far side of the river. “There beneath those rocks that we think have the shape of an eagle. There is a small camp of men with horses,” she whispered. “Not many, I think—they seem to do nothing but watch.”
    Myrina swore. This was something they could really do without, but she knew that they couldn’t expect to turn up in a strange land and find it empty of inhabitants.
    “We have heard that bloodthirsty warriors ride in this land.” Fara made a fierce face. “But we are no cowards; we can fight!”
    Myrina was irritated; she really did not want to hear such news, just as things were going so well. “Yes, we will fight if we have to, but”—she shrugged—“I know what it is to have your traveling lands invaded by strangers. These men cannot know who we are or what we want.”
    Coronilla, who was usually the first to leap into a fight, supported her. “I have never forgotten the fear we felt when strangers came raiding our home. I would not rush to attack them. If they were going to expel us, why have they not done so already?”
    Fara shuffled her feet and huffed impatiently.
    “If they do attack, we will defend ourselves,” Myrina assured her. “But I do not wish to interrupt our horse taming at the moment. If we have to stop and fight, we may lose the whole herd. It will not be long now before we have steeds to carry us. With these we may defend ourselves from a much stronger position.”
    Fara nodded. This couldn’t be denied. “Can’t we speed up the horse taming?”
    “No!” Myrina snapped.
    Fara flinched.
    Myrina saw at once that she’d been ungrateful. “Do not look so hurt,” she begged. “You have done well to tell me. But while they hide in rocks and peek at us, let us ignore them. Pass the message around that they are there. We must keep an eye on them and have our bows ready at all times.”
    Fara nodded and went off obediently, but it was clear from their resentful whispering that she and her friends were keen to take action.
    The next morning the women returned to mingle with the herd, each Moon Rider following her chosen beast. By the late afternoon handfuls of fresh grass were being offered and accepted; firm but gentle hands stretched out to soothe a nose or fetlock. When darkness fell and the women walked away, faint whinnies of disappointment followed them. They smiled at one another, well content to hear the friendly sounds.
    “The men still hide out in the rocks and watch us,” Fara told Myrina.
    “Yes,” she said. “I have seen them myself.”
    The following morning they were delighted to see that a few of the horses had wandered up the slope toward their camp and were waiting patiently for their special friends to come and feed them grass. Big Chief trotted away from the waterside and up the bank, looking for Myrina, ready to fix her with his fine black eyes. The morning was spent again in friendly feeding and grooming; blankets were slipped onto the horses’ backs so that they could get used to the feeling of weight.
    Days passed and both women and horses fell into a contented pattern of companionship. Each night the Moon Riders sang and danced while the herd