A Snake Named Anwir

Chapter Nine

Anwir's compound did have a lunch break, to Crystal's relief, and it was mostly unsupervised. Anwir's men all left to convene in what she could only assume was a commonual mess hall of sorts, telling the new workers only that they had to be back to work in half an hour. Crystal stepped outside of the stable, gulping in fresh air for what felt like the first time in days. She'd been hard at work feeding and watering and mucking all morning, and she was beginning to wonder if the stench of the place was firmly imprinted on her nostrils and in her skin. She hoped it wasn't.

But, before Crystal had gone more than a few steps, she was almost crashed into by Rob, who had a small someone in front of him.

"Hey, watch where you're- Rob?" Crystal asked. She looked down, and her eyes widened. "Madison?"

"We talk inside?" Rob asked in a hushed voice, pointing. Crystal really didn't want to go back into the stable but, well, maybe it was unpleasant enough that people would avoid the area. And maybe the sound of the horses would cover up their conversation. So Crystal nodded begrudgingly, standing aside while Rob and Madison entered the stable. Madison immediately began crying, which broke Crystal's heart, but Darko was already hurrying towards them.

"Dear gods, does nobody clean this place?" Darko asked, covering his nose with his hand.

"I've been working at it all morning," said Crystal. "But I'm beginning to suspect that the only solution will be to burn the place to the ground."

"We will as soon as we get the horses out," said Madison, her gaze flinty. Her eyes were still red and streaming with tears, but after the initial upset, she was angry.

"Well, unfortunately, metal doesn't burn quite as well as wood," said Darko. "It does make things significantly more difficult, too. This whole place is a monstrosity of metal."

"It looks unnatural," Crystal agreed. "Dorian would hate it here. But let's talk in the tack room, the smell isn't as bad there." She'd spent some time cleaning and oiling the tack in there, if only so that there would be a better smell. Unlike the rest of the stable, the tack room now smelled only of tack, with just the faintest odour of the stable.

"Let's check in," said Darko. "Crystal, what have you discovered in your short time here?"

"You mean other than the fact that they clearly don't clean out their stables? Not much," said Crystal. "Though I hesitate to even call this a stable, what with the stalls looking more like cells."

"It's like they're in jail," said Madison, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks.

"I couldn't find your Nightdust either, sweetie," said Crystal, leaning down and placing a hand on Madison's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," said Madison, sniffing and wiping at her eyes. Her face looked muddy when she did that, thanks to the tears mixing with the dust on her face. "I didn't tell you what he looked like. He's a black pony."

"Okay, thank you," said Crystal, nodding. "In that case, no, the only black horse I've seen is Tan's horse Hieronymo."

"Did you see the horse I rode in on, Dorian's horse?" Madison asked. "I tried to hide her in the barn but she walked out from behind the hay bales and one of those stupid men took her."

"No," said Crystal, her heart dropping into her stomach. She hadn't even looked for the chestnut mare.

"I hope she's with Nightdust helping him," said Madison, hugging herself. "She's the sheriff's horse, she must be helpful like her rider."

"I hope so," said Crystal. "Anyway, that's all I've been doing. What about you two?" She looked to the two men.

"I found out stuff too," said Madison, butting in.