Blaze of Silver by K. M. Grant

that?” he stormed, shaking his head violently. “She could have been killed.”
    â€œNo,” said Kamil, “really, no. We do it to fool our enemies so that they never know what to expect. It’s all about timing. How extraordinary that she should be able to do it so fast, faster than me even, I think. She must have been practicing a lot since we left.” His eyes sparkled as he and Will cantered on together and Ellie circled back between them. Her face was shining, but if she expected praise from Will she was disappointed. He almost refused to acknowledge her. Kamil, however, was full of admiration and grew, for him, quite talkative, telling Ellie how the horse on which he had learned the trick had decided it was much more fun with Kamil on the ground than in the saddle and had taken to throwing him off whenever it felt like it, then expecting a reward when it stood like a rock for Kamil to remount. They discussed techniques and different ways of vaulting. Kamil swung his legs over, ran for a moment beside Sacramenta, then swung himself back on from the opposite side. Ellie wanted to try and suggested to Will that he should, too. But Will shrugged his shoulders and gradually Ellie and Kamil stopped swinging on and off and fell silent. They all spoke civilly to each other thereafter, but things were not quite as they had been. When Whitby Abbey appeared on the horizon, their rejoicing was muted.
    The abbey towered over the town spread out below, some of it almost falling into the sea. As soon as the Hartslove cavalcade hove into view, the abbot cantered out to meet them, just in time also to greet three monks,flushed and sweating, surrounded by a pack of hounds. As fat as Hugh was thin, the abbot greeted Will warmly. “Just hunting for the pot,” he said, waving his hand at the hounds. “Visitors must be properly fed.”
    Ellie was shocked. “What a lot of meat they must eat if they keep a pack of hounds! It’s quite against the rule!” she whispered to Will. He did not reply. He could not forgive her quite yet.
    The hunting monks could not get over the beauty of the Hartslove horses. Hosanna lowered his head and allowed them to stroke his face. Instinctively, the monks touched his star, and Will, climbing off and touching the star himself, felt some of his ill humor blown away by the red horse’s comforting solidity. He glanced over at Ellie, wanting her to see that he was recovering himself, but she was on her knees petting the hounds. He watched her, then saw Kamil watching her also and sulkily turned back to Hosanna. He was glad when the carts rolled up and he had something to do.
    The treasure was immediately transported down to the harbor, for they would set sail early in the morning. Although a day’s rest would have been welcome, it was important to catch what remained of the good weather. Marissa climbed out of her wagon and, much against their respective wills, both she and Ellie were hurried inside the guesthouse by the guestmaster. The advent of the two young women made the younger monks restless and distracted, and it was best to get them out of sight. “Time for Vespers,” the abbot declared, clapping his small hands neatly but without much conviction.
    Ellie didn’t like being bundled along with Marissa. “Maybe the earl’s young ward should hear Vesperssung,” she said, “but I don’t need to. Marissa’s going to be a nun.” She saw Elric grin and was ashamed of herself.
    The abbot turned to Marissa, impressed. “Really?” He looked at her with new respect. “You will be wanting to pray, of course, my sister, so I’ll show you where you can stand behind a pillar at the back of the church. We take some pride in our chanting.” Marissa almost choked and lashed out at Elric, who skipped away, crossing his hands with mock sanctity.
    When dinner was served, the abbot came to sit near Will.