Gathering of the Chosen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Raya would never admit it, but the reason she didn't like horses and knew so very little about them was because she was terrified of horses. She was terrified of how big and strong they were, how they could kill someone even with a light clip of their hooves. She hated the smell of horses and didn't want anything to do with them.

  She wasn't exactly sure from where where this fear of horses came. As far back as Raya could remember, she'd always been afraid of the equines, even though most of the horses on Carnag that she had ever interacted with were generally pretty well-behaved. Even just riding in a horse-drawn carriage was a nerve-wracking experience for her. And the idea of actually riding a horse? For fun? To her, that was like jumping off mile-high cliffs into pointed rocks sticking out of the raging ocean for fun.

  And the large Steed that stood before her—with its fiery red mane and its striking dark eyes—was the most terrifying horse that she had ever seen in her life. It towered over her easily, with bulking muscles all over its body. The Steed, which a plaque on the back side of the door had told her was called Abacos, barely seemed to acknowledge her existence. Even so, Raya preferred that, because if Abacos decided to actually pay attention to her, she had a feeling that it would run her down and squash her into oblivion with its large, shiny hooves.

  How am I supposed to tame that thing? Raya thought, doing her best not to tremble or make any unnecessary noises. How is anyone supposed to tame it? I only go up to its shoulder, if even that. And I know almost nothing about actual horses, much less horses that have existed longer than I have even been alive.

  Of course, Raya couldn't just leave, even though she wanted to turn and run away. She needed to gather enough courage to approach the massive Steed and then tame it. That seemed like a simple task on paper, but in reality, she had no idea at all how to do it.

  How do you approach a Steed that has probably seen—and killed—countless number of humans like me? Raya thought. Do horses even acknowledge royalty? Or do they treat us the same as other humans?

  Raya decided that she would just start by introducing herself. Perhaps Abacos wasn't as rude or mean as he seemed. He might have even been an even-tempered horse, a gentle one. Raya had heard of those, even though she never really believed that any horse could actually be gentle. She told herself that Abacos was probably not going to kill her, because she was a godling participating in the Tournament of the Gods and so Abacos was probably not allowed to kill her.

  Besides, Raya, if you stand here afraid like this, you might end up losing to Zaos, Raya thought. Do you really want to lose to Zaos? Of course not. You want to win, because it is what you, the Princess of Carnag, deserve.

  That thought gave her enough courage to walk forward toward Abacos, who still didn't seem to have noticed her (or pay any attention to her if he had). She walked with as much authority as she could, remembering all of the lessons that she had received from her parents about the ways in which royalty were expected to carry themselves. One thing Raya did know about animals was that you had to act like you were the one in charge if you wanted them to listen to you. That meant she could show no fear in the face of even a creature as mighty and old as Abacos.

  Not certain how to address Abacos exactly, Raya stopped a few feet from him and said, “Steed, I desire that you pay attention to me, for I am Princess Raya Mana, daughter of King Tojas Malock and Queen Hana Malock of the House of Carnag. I am here to tame you in order to win the Tournament of the Gods and claim my rightful place as the Goddess of Deception, Thieves, and Horses.”

  Abacos actually looked at her briefly, but then turned his attention back to the grass underfoot, which he was now eating with obvious enjoyment. Now Raya knew little about equine facial expressions, but the way Abacos had looked at her seemed to say, And? Why should I care?

  Raya almost lost her temper and was about ready to shout at the Steed before she caught herself. No, Raya, shouting won't do anything. That will just convince Abacos that you aren't worthy of listening to. It might even cost you the Tournament. You need to approach this more calmly.

  So Raya, taking a deep breath to compose herself, said, “Great Abacos, what must I do to show you that I am destined to be your goddess? Is there anything I can do to prove that?”

  Abacos looked up at her again, chewing the grass in its mouth and snorting. Its look said, quite plainly, How am I supposed to know? before returning to the grass at its hooves.

  That was almost enough to make Raya lose her temper. She wanted to scream, You stupid horse! You're supposed to be an ageless, wise entity, not a stupid animal! If you're this stupid, how in the name of Grinf have you avoided breaking your legs? You are the dumbest animal I've ever met.

  But again, Raya caught herself just as the first word leaped to her tongue. She had to take it easy. Maybe this was part of the test. Abacos was probably acting stupid in order to test her patience. If she lost her temper now, then she might never be able to tame Abacos.

  So Raya, speaking as calmly as she could, said, “Great Abacos, if you let me tame you, then I promise to give you a lifetime of … er … uh … whatever it is that horses like to eat.”

  Abacos didn't even look up at her this time. It was almost like it was saying, Stop bothering me. I'm busy having lunch at the moment, which angered Raya even more. She was tempted to just kick the damn horse in the head, but she had a feeling that Abacos wouldn't appreciate that, so she once again beat down her anger and tried to think of some other way to tame him.

  Not easy, Raya thought. I don't know very much about horses at all. I don't have any treats to feed it. I am not even sure how to touch it without causing it to kick me.

  Raya tried to remember what she had learned about horses. She had never actually had any formal equestrian lessons—that just wasn't part of her royal education, seeing as horse-riding was not a very popular past-time on Carnag—but she tried to remember how the stable boys took care of the Royal Family's carriage horses. Unfortunately, she kept drawing a blank, because she never paid much attention to how the stable boys took care of the horses. That was probably because the stable boys weren't all that great to look at.

  Have to stop drawing a blank here, Raya thought. Gotta remember something, anything. If I can't …

  Raya didn't even want to think about the consequences of her inability to tame Abacos. She did not want to return to Carnag in shame, having lost in the very first challenge of the Tournament. That was unacceptable. She knew that her parents—and the rest of Carnag, most likely—would still love her, but she still didn't think that losing was acceptable.

  Think, Raya, think, Raya thought. What did Yoji say about the Steeds? Did he possibly tell you anything that could possibly help you tame Abacos?

  The only thing she remembered was Yoji telling her about how Abacos kicked the head off of a human who once disrespected him. That hardly made her feel safer, much less gave her any ideas for how to tame Abacos. It just made her even more afraid of Abacos, even though the Steed was currently not behaving very threateningly toward her.

  Raya looked around the area she had stepped in, hoping that her environment might give her some ideas. It was an enclosed area, shaped like a wedge. The back, where Raya had come from, was wide, while the corner that Abacos stood in was narrow and pointed. She imagined that the areas that the other challengers were in must have looked similar.

  But unfortunately, aside from the grass on the ground that Abacos was happily munching on, Raya didn't see anything that she could use to tame the Steed with. She was so frustrated that she stomped her foot on the ground, but Abacos didn't even look up at her when she did that.

  Stupid horse doesn't even acknowledge my existence anymore, Raya thought. Why didn't Alira give us some tools or knowledge that could have helped me win? I bet she thought we all knew everything there is to know about horses before we entered the Tournament. Probably thinks that 'destiny' will decide who will win and who will lose.

/>   Not that any of those negative thoughts actually helped her in this situation. All they did was make her feel a lot worse about herself and her situation, but mostly it made her feel negative toward Alira. She looked up at the ceiling, wondering if Alira was watching her right now.

  Bet she is, Raya thought with a scowl. Probably even mocking me. Or laughing at my pathetic attempts to tame Abacos. Well, I'm just going to shut her up by taming Abacos myself.

  So Raya, steeling herself, carefully approached the Steed. Abacos still didn't look up at her as she approached, but she had a feeling that this horse was completely aware of its surroundings at all times. She tried not to feel freaked out about that, because she didn't want to make it think that she was more afraid than she actually was.

  Step by step, Raya approached Abacos until she was within reach of its fiery mane. And again, the Steed did not look up at her. Part of Raya was offended, because she considered herself too important to simply ignore, but another part of her was thankful, because she didn't like it when horses looked at her, even if they were tamed and well-behaved.

  Just go and stroke his mane, Raya, Raya told herself. I doubt he'll mind. He already considers you a non-entity, more or less. If you stroke his mane and tell him what a handsome stallion he is—assuming Abacos is male, though not sure, since I don't know how to identify a horse's gender, but I suppose it doesn't matter—then that will probably count as taming him and you will then go onto the main challenge.

  That, of course, was easier said than done, but that was why Raya was preparing herself mentally for this task. She reached out with her right hand, slowly and carefully, trying not to look threatening. Not that she thought she appeared that way, but horses could be unpredictable and there was no telling how this one would react if it felt threatened by her presence.

  The tips of her fingers brushed against Abacos's mane. As soon as they did, Abacos let out a great big snort that caused Raya to jerk her hand back. She also walked—more like stumbled—backwards as fast as she could, going so fast that she tripped over own her feet and fell on her behind. The fall wasn't painful, but it was embarrassing, especially with Abacos looking at her with his puzzled eyes.

  But Raya forgot all about her fear of horses now, because her fear was replaced by the anger she felt at being embarrassed the way she was. She stood back up and, pointing at Abacos, said, “You stupid horse! Here I was just trying to stroke your mane, but then you went and spooked me! Do you feel good about yourself, spooking a delicate princess like me? Do you get some sick pleasure from doing that? Do you?”

  Surprisingly, Abacos actually seemed to be paying attention to her ranting. This took her by surprise, making her temporarily stop speaking. As soon as she did, Abacos immediately returned his attention to the grass, which he apparently found far more interesting than she.

  Why did Abacos pay attention to me when I was shouting at it? Raya thought. I thought most animals hate being yelled at. Was it something in my voice?

  Unfortunately, Abacos did not seem to be in any hurry to tell her about what it was that she said that had caught his attention. That annoyed her again.

  “You dumb horse,” Raya said again, this time channeling her anger more consciously. “Ignoring me … how rude! I have never met a more inconsiderate horse in my life. And yet you are supposed to be the First Steed, which I take it to mean that you are the first ever horse. I see that wisdom didn't exactly come along with your age, now did it?”

  Abacos looked up at her again. And unless Raya's eyes were playing tricks on her, the Steed seemed to be listening to her every word. It was like she was reminding him of someone that he had once known, someone who he was supposed to listen to whenever that person was yelling at him.

  Could he be reminded of Hollech? Raya thought. Perhaps Hollech yelled at Abacos for being such a dull horse in the past. That would certainly explain why he is paying attention to me. He must be reminded of Hollech. Perhaps the dullard even thinks I am Hollech reborn as a young, beautiful mortal princess.

  In any case, Raya was not going to give up this opportunity just because she didn't entirely understand it. She pointed at Abacos as sharply as ever, saying, “Oh, so now you're paying attention to me? I guess you think that will make me feel better. Of course it won't. And I won't feel better until you act like the First Steed and not like a young foal.”

  Abacos actually looked a little ashamed of himself now. He pawed at the earth, no longer eating the grass. Raya wasn't sure if that meant that he was becoming tamer or not. She decided that it was, so she kept pushing the point.

  “What do you have to say for yourself?” said Raya. “No, wait, don't talk, because I know you can't. Even if you could, I wouldn't want to hear any excuses from you. Your own terrible behavior condemns you.”

  Abacos now looked so ashamed of himself that Raya found it hard to remain angry with him any longer. She even felt a little bad for him. Abacos was clearly a sensitive soul, so maybe she was not right in berating him for making a mistake that he had obviously never intended to make.

  So Raya lowered her pointing finger and said, “Well, Abacos, I can now see that you are ashamed of what you just did. Since you can't talk, I will accept your humble behavior as an apology.”

  Abacos looked at her with hopeful eyes, which made Raya wonder if she had succeeded in taming him yet. She wasn't sure exactly what would happen when she succeeded, but she expected Alira to appear out of nowhere, declare her a winner, and then whisk her away from the Stadium, hopefully to a nice party where her major accomplishment would be recognized for its greatness.

  But nothing happened at all, even though Raya was now certain that she had accomplished the task. She looked up at the ceiling, hoping that maybe Alira would float down on her platform again, but there was no sign of the Judge anywhere.

  Raya waited as patiently as she could—only about five minutes, though it seemed longer than that—before she said to the ceiling, “Hello? Alira? Are you there? I won the challenge. What do I have to do next?”

  Still no response. She looked at Abacos, who had returned to munching the grass underfoot, as if happy that all was now forgiven. Raya walked back over to the room's entrance, wondering if for some reason she would have to go back through it herself to let Alira know that she beat the challenge, but when she grabbed the knob and turned it, the door refused to budge. She put all of her strength into forcing the door open (which really wasn't much, though she'd never admit that to anyone), but it held firmly under her strength, so she gave up eventually.

  Why hasn't Alira contacted me? Raya thought, folding her arms over her chest and pouting. I tamed Abacos. What could possibly be taking up her time? Is she taking a nap or something? Or is she ignoring me?

  That last one seemed likely to Raya. So likely, in fact, that she was quite content to think of it as fact. Alira had been quite annoyed with her yesterday, after all, when Raya had complained about getting assigned to the Hollech Bracket. This was probably just Alira's way of 'punishing' Raya, by ignoring her even though she won the challenge fair and square.

  Of course she would, Raya thought, scowling at the thought of the Judge. That's just the kind of petty person she is. But she can't ignore me forever. At some point she'll have to let me out. Then I can rub my victory in her face.

  That thought made Raya smile, but her smile vanished when she noticed Abacos raise his head suddenly. His equine eyes were looking directly at her. No, not at her, but just behind her, as if he saw something terrible sneaking up on her.

  Puzzled, Raya looked over her shoulder. She didn't see anything except the currently locked entrance to the room. She did a quick look around the room, but saw no one else besides herself and Abacos present.

  Still, Abacos continued to stare. It took Raya a moment to realize that Abacos wasn't actually staring at anything. His pointed ears were point forward. While Raya was no expert on equine behavior, even she understood that Abacos was listening for something,
though what, she didn't know.

  But Raya couldn't hear anything except her own breathing and the whipping sound Abacos's tail made as it darted through the air, so she said in annoyance, “What did you hear? A mouse or something?”

  Abacos let out a sudden, deadly-sounding snort that brought all of Raya's fears of horses rushing back to her body. Her heart beat increased rapidly and she stood there stock still, like every bone in her body had completely frozen.

  That was when she heard it. Something creeping behind her. It was a light sound, barely audible, but now that Raya heard it, she could not ignore it. Abacos was backing up, but there wasn't much room for the Steed to back up to, due to the tiny quarters in which they stood. He stomped his hooves, like he was trying to scare something away, but Raya could tell that it was a futile gesture.

  Then Raya felt something crawling up the back of her legs. It felt like some kind of insect, maybe even a snake, but Raya was certain that it was neither. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out of it. Her entire body shivered and shuddered, but she was unable to move even an inch from her current position.

  And then she heard a voice whisper in her ear: I've got you.

  ***