Flame of Sevenwaters Read Online Free PDF Page A

the Otherworld. Some men were killed; not my father’s, but the sons of another chieftain and their party of men-at-arms.” Rhian was listening with such fascination that she had completely forgotten the packing. She knelt stock-still watching me. “That was only a few moons ago, Rhian. I thought I should tell you, in case you decide you don’t want to come with me.”
    “Not come?” The rapt expression was replaced by one of horror. “Not go to Sevenwaters? Of course I want to come!” After a moment she added, “Besides, how would you manage without me?”
    I grimaced. “Someday you’ll want to marry and have a family of your own. I can’t expect to have you with me forever. It’s not much of a life for you, being my shadow day and night.”
    Rhian grinned. “If the fellows around here are the best I get to meet, I might be still unwed when the two of us are old women,” she said. “Now, should I pack another pair of shoes?”

CHAPTER 2

    W e set sail from a sheltered bay half a day’s ride from Harrowfield. The boat was a sturdy cargo vessel, not large, but fitted out for the transport of horses; the crew did not seem unduly alarmed by Swift’s rolling eyes and twitching tail. We’d stayed a few nights at a local farm, waiting for the right conditions, for the boat’s master wanted to make the trip across to Erin in a single day. That could only be done with calm seas and a favorable wind, and the day would be a long one indeed, but nobody wanted to unload and reload our precious cargo on an island mid-voyage, nor was the master prepared to lengthen the trip by trailing a sea anchor overnight.
    The boat was beached and a ramp laid from the pebbly shore up and over the side. The vessel had raised deck areas fore and aft, with long oars to maneuver her in and out from her mooring. In the open hold between these decks was a pair of horse stalls, solid timber with a system of ropes to secure the animals.
    We blindfolded Swift; we’d never have gotten him up the ramp otherwise. Emrys led him; I walked beside him, my hand on his neck. I talked him up step by step, feeling like a liar as I reassuredhim with visions of green fields. When he trembled and froze halfway up the ramp, I whispered in his ear, stroking him gently, until he took another step forward and another.
    The crew were patient; they knew horses. Eventually we had Swift in the hold and in a stall, with a contraption of canvas and ropes holding him securely in place. Emrys had bandaged his legs, fearing he might otherwise hurt himself by kicking out in the close confines of the stall. Once he was settled, the crew launched the boat with an efficiency born of long practice, and we were on our way.
    We were at sea from soon after dawn until close to nightfall. Rhian was sick. I was so busy with Swift that I had no time to consider how dizzy and wretched I felt. I hadn’t a spare moment to think about Sevenwaters or being afraid or how small Uncle Bran and Aunt Liadan and my cousins had looked on the shore, waving good-bye. Emrys and Donal shoveled dung and brought water and hay. The crew did their job, fastening and unfastening ropes, adjusting the sail, from time to time exchanging unintelligible shouts. I stood by Swift’s head, soothing him, talking to him, singing him through the long, nightmare journey as he traveled farther and farther away from everything familiar. “Green meadow. Clear water. Kind hands and quiet.”
    We reached the shore of Erin in fast-fading light. I had hoped that Swift’s exhaustion might mean we would get him off the boat more easily, but he was beyond frightened. Still blindfolded, he made a wild surge for freedom the moment we got him out of the stall. The grooms managed to hold him.
    At the top of the ramp he shied, whickering, and almost knocked me over. It took some time to get him down. When his feet finally touched solid ground I felt myself let out a long sigh, as if I had been holding my breath all the