Silver Hooves in the Darkness

Chapter Twenty

It was odd to be in the same room with two humans who were identical in appearance except for the fact that one was bald. "I know what you must be thinking. Yes, Alessandro and I are twins," the wealthy man said with a chuckle when Paola looked quickly from the healer to his brother. Giovanni tugged his black braid and patted the slight paunch beneath his loose green robe. "But I am the handsome and prosperous one. The spice business is lucrative for people that survive only on a diet of fish and vegetables," he added. "Would that we could have some meat as they do in Dome Royale."

A flash of sadness had darted across the spice merchant's dark eyes for a moment and belied his lighthearted comments. He clearly had difficulty hiding his feelings for his injured equino. What would it be like to have such a caring master?

"Giovanni is older by a few moments, so he has inherited the wealth of our family," Alessandro interjected, an unspoken quip caught on his tongue.

"But you, dear brother, will be remembered well after I am gone, for your skill in healing is already legendary."

Alessandro ran his right hand over his bald head nervously. "If that were so, Cappello would be up and running once more."

And that comment brought what everyone danced around back to the center of the conversation.

Giovanni opened his arms wide in sympathy. "You have done all that you can do by the natural ways. In Dome Scienza, they may know another path to recovery for my dear Courier."

Paola stared at the sleeping figure on the bed as the men's conversation drifted away from her awareness. Cappello's mane no longer had its bright display of boast ribbons. A lozenge shaped sapphire rested against his brow emitting light far stronger than that of his nearly depleted gem. She knelt by his bedside. She fingered the unadorned stands of his white mane and fondly recalled the night of their first meeting. She knew that he would not last seven more days and that her world would dim with his death. Who would suffer grief when the name of the dead equino in the Maze was finally discovered?

"Do you find it odd that Cappello is not resting in his stable, little one?" Giovanni asked kindly. "Since his return, I thought that the softness of a bed would ease his suffering." The merchant smiled in remembrance of happier times. "All Couriers registered with masters have come from Dome Royale, for the people there have perfected their method of training. A Transporter brought Cappello to me for final conditioning when he was still a foal. Here in Dome Erba, he fully bonded with me, his master, before his first Run in the Maze." Giovanni chuckled. "Cappello has always had a fascination with the possessions of humans. However, for sleeping, he only wanted a stall in his own stable." Giovanni sighed, memory becoming a burden. "You should see the paintings with which he has decorated it. Cappello would have made a fine human, for he has an eye for art and beauty."

Giovanni might have said, "He would have made a fine son," such was the affection in his voice and such was the sorrow that threaded his words. Why had the man not taken a wife? That seemed to be a way to get an heir among the humans. But another emotion darted across her heart: a building resentment of the servitude her kind had endured for endless cycles.

Reining in her emotions, for her feelings would accomplish nothing for her or her friend, Paola said plainly to the healer's brother, "Cappello might prefer to die in his stall." The twins gasped at the acceptance she had come to regarding his fate. "He will not see the beauty of his stall, but he will know it is there. He will smell the sweet straw surrounding him. The warmth of the daylight entering from a window will caress him and ease his soul from his body. In Dome Pasture, the last destination for all equinii, his spirit will ride the wind and be free forever from the darkness and danger in the Maze."

She held both of their gazes. "Something no human will ever know."