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

ravine. “Little Josie Rosie’s scared to ride with the
big boys?” Josie held up a middle finger. “Classy, Albright,”
Lindsey mocked. “Real classy.”
    “The only comeback in this situation is to
jump this ravine,” Lars said quietly enough that only Josie could
hear it.
    She bit her lower lip and glanced at the
ten-foot-wide crevice. A creek had cut into the earth like a razor
blade, creating a three- or four-story drop-off.
    “And Lars?” Rolf called to him from across
the ravine. “Remember what I told you about keeping Bolt’s head up.
Don’t let him eat whenever he feels like it. Show him who’s
boss!”
    “I know what I’m doing,” Lars said,
confidently. “Bolt knows who’s in charge.” A moment later, Bolt
reared up. Lars found himself flat on his back in the brambles,
gasping for air. “Damn, horse!” he groaned through his teeth. “I
swear he did that on purpose.”
    “Of course he did,” Dante yelled through his
cupped hands. “And it was hilarious!”
    “If that’s how you ride when you know what
you’re doing,” Rolf razzed. “I’d hate to see what happens when you
don’t!”
    Seeming to forget her troubles, Josie was
laughing so hard she snorted a few times, while the rest of the
squad told jokes at Lars’s expense.
    “What did Bolt say when Lars fell off his
back?” Lindsey yelled across the ravine. “The dweeb has fallen and
can’t giddyup!”
    Lars’s cheeks burned as he found his footing.
As he looked for his fallen dignity, Josie seemed to have found her
courage. She backed Buckwheat a little way from the ravine to get a
running start, and closing her eyes, dug her
heels into the horse’s flanks. Horse and rider soared over the
ravine. Everybody whooped when she landed safely on the other side.
The way her face beamed with the thrill of accomplishment made Lars
go to mush inside. God, she was pretty. Now, Josie was looking at
him from across the divide, expecting that he would join
her.
    Crap.
    If he hesitated to make the jump, everyone
would know that he was using Josie’s fear to mask his own. He
climbed back on Bolt and circled around once to prepare for a
running start, but it was really a guise to gather his nerve.
Digging his heels into the horse’s sides, he let out a loud, “Yah!”
Bolt leaped forward into a gallop and in three strides had reached
full stride. By five…they were up and over…
    He glanced at the creek passing beneath
them. Bad idea. His stomach felt like it had dropped out of the
soles of his feet, but before he could fall, Bolt had landed safely
on the other side. Heart pounding furiously in his chest, Lars
struggled to play it off as if jumping the ravine hadn’t scared him
at all.
    “See, Hogard,” Dante said smugly, as Hogard
placed a silver coin into his palm. “I told you Galatian men are
tougher than that. You weren’t afraid for one second—were you,
Lars?”
    “Nah,” Lars said nonchalantly, trying to hide
his shaky limbs. “Nothing to it.”
    “Good job,” Loyl said. “That was a dangerous
jump for inexperienced riders, but you had to learn some time.”
    “On my first mission,” Lindsey said with a
toss of her auburn curls. “I didn’t hesitate on my first jump and
it was twice as wide as this one. Dr. Steelsun said I was a natural
equestrian.”
    “You want a gold medal or something?” Josie
retorted. “Oh, wait, you have plenty of medals—stolen and
otherwise.”
    “I have never stolen anything in my life,”
Lindsey said with a gasp.
    “Two words: talent show. Five more
words: you stole my
trophy. ”
    “That’s only four words.”
    “My mistake. You stole my
trophy, bitch. ”
    “If I stole your trophy, Albright, then why
did the school put my name on it?”
    “It should have been mine and you know
it.”
    “You’re just a sore sport. My dance and
tumbling team won three years in a row. Did you really think a
silly children’s song about country bumpkins and frosty pumpkins
could beat