Excerpt: Two Corbies

“Is it strange to want to care for the one you wed, and to wish to be cared for in turn?” Dasha snapped.
“Care and love are not the same.”
Dasha snarled a word that Ans had heard only from the coarsest guards and kicked her mare into a gallop. Ans followed, pushing her mount. “Dasha – hold!” The pounding of additional hooves assured her they would not outrun their escort.
The chase led further north than they had gone before, and glancing back, Ans could not see either escort or manor. They were perilously close to the Far Forest. The trees were inviting, but she could feel the winds of autumn now. Dasha ignored her calls to plunge into the forest.
The sound of hooves thundering grew louder, and Ans looked about again. The escort had caught up to them. She met the eyes of the nearest rider. He grinned back, and she recoiled, driving her horse between trees.
It was not her escort beside her – the bandits had found her. She felt her heart thunder as fast as the horse’s hooves. She gave the mare its head, letting it run free and wild, hoping it would follow its stable mate. The only sound was the pounding of the hooves and the harsh breathing of the mare. Time passed in a flash; she could only ride as she would to hunt, aggressive and firm in the saddle. She could outride bandits, she sneered, finding her courage. And if she could, Dasha could ride rings around them. These foxes would escape the following hounds.
When the mare faltered, Ans pulled up, listening carefully. Other than the wind that rustled the trees overhead, she heard nothing. No other hooves, no men calling to one another, no sisterly voice. She shivered. The fox had escaped, but it had left familiar grounds and was lost.
“Water first,” she whispered. The mare’s ears flicked back tiredly. “You gave a good run, mistress mare,” Ans said, patting the animal’s sweaty neck. “Bred for the hunt, and thanks be to the Great Ocean for that.” She dismounted and kilted up her skirts to walk with greater ease. The mare blew hot breath on her neck. “Water, and then find Dasha.” Thoughts of escaping to find their escort were banished. They were the two corbies of the Tarun family. They stuck together.
A croaking call above her signaled the presence of one of the black birds. She smiled and cast her eye up into the leaves. She saw nothing, but the call was encouraging. “Find us water, corby.”
A fluttering in the trees and the bird dropped lower. It hopped along the tree limb, eying her. After a moment it launched itself through the trees, arrowing towards something distant. Ans tugged her tired horse around to follow.