Seeker of the Four Winds: A Galatia Novel Read Online Free

But the Regalan prince, even in his sleep,
seemed to have a sixth sense whenever Lars tried to make a move. So
for now, Lars had to be content to hold her in his dreams.

 
     
     
     
     

Chapter Three
     
    (Larsen Drey Steelsun)
     
    The next week, on a cool morning that
smelled of rain, sunrise painted the sky in intense hues of
magenta. The foliage below was vastly less impressive—a wide meadow
choked with thorns and scrubby black pines. Loyl took the lead
position through it with Josie riding next to him if space
allowed.
    When the mission had first began, Lars
expected the hunt for the Blood Map to nourish their budding
romance, not to kill it. Unfortunately, things were not working out
as expected. He wondered if she shared his frustration about never
having a chance to be alone together.
    No matter how the path
wound, the Seeker always pulled to the south. Josie complained that
the cord dug into her wrist more whenever the Seeker was in float mode , so she held
it down with the leather bracelet whenever she
could . Sometimes
Loyl asked her to take the bracelet off and let the pendant float
free, when he needed to confirm the direction, usually before they
set out on a new leg of the journey, and more often if the terrain
forced them to do a lot of backtracking and course
corrections.
    Just ahead of Lars, Lindsey rode along with
a solar charger on her head, secured in place by a stretchy green
headband. The faint sound of techno music from her MP3 player
drifted back to him. Occasionally, he caught Loyl thumping his head
to the beat, which for some reason Lars found amusing.
    “Who’s in charge up there?” Hogard growled at
Lars from behind for allowing Bolt to stop and nibble at a strand
of leafy clover. “You or your horse?”
    In the evening, all the work involved in
preparing camp for the night—finding dry wood, starting a fire,
finding fresh food to conserve their rations, checking perimeter
security, feeding and watering the horses, checking their coats,
removing burs, checking each other for ticks, and personal hygiene,
left little opportunity for interacting with Josie in the way he
craved. His mind frequently went back to Galatia’s founding day,
how they wandered their new homeland hand-in-hand, danced in the
meadow, and later shared the sweetest kiss down by Spitfire Creek.
But out on the road there was less opportunity for that kind of
socializing. He had never spent more time with Josie, but felt less
able to reach her.
    “Halt.” Loyl held up a hand.
    The squad had come to a deep ravine obscured
by heavy brush at the top of the rise; less experienced riders
might not have seen it until it was too late. Everyone in the
squad, but Josie and Lars cleared the ravine with ease. Now Josie
clung to Buckwheat’s reins, shaking her head vigorously, refusing
to let the horse take her over. Under the guise of giving morale
support, he remained by her side, but the truth was his riding
skills weren’t up to the task either.
    “I can’t do it,” Josie said, echoing Lars’s
unspoken sentiments, jaw set firm. “I’ll find another way
around.”
    “That could take weeks,” Loyl said. “You must
jump it.”
    “No way on God’s green earth am I going over
that thing!” she hollered back to him.
    “Get your frilly hide over here,” Hogard
joined in. “And quit wasting everybody’s time, ya stubborn
cow!”
    The prince held out his hand, indicating that
the Bulwark wasn’t helping.
    “Remember, hold tight, heels down, toes up.”
Rolf offered. “Keep your body centered and upright. Buckwheat wants
to live as much as you do. He’s not going to do anything stupid.
Trust him to carry you over.”
    “Are you going to let Lindsey Burning show
you up again?” Lars appealed to her sense of pride.
    “What do you mean again ?” she
snarled.
    He didn’t say another word, but he could
almost see the vitriol spreading behind her eyes.
    “What’s the matter?” Lindsey called from
across the