The Silver Sparrow

Chasing Gazelles

"She's nervous." Djari grimaced as she ran her hand along Twilight's neck, feeling the mare's pulse.

The horse was fidgeting a little, not an action that would have alarmed Hasheem, but one didn't question Djari about her horses, not when she spent half her days in the stable and slept in it several nights a month.

"I can take Bruiser."

She shook her head. "Bruiser won't be able to keep up with Nazir, and he gets jumpy in a big crowd," she said, then hesitated a little before arriving at a decision. "Take Summer."

Summer was Djari's colt, her personal mount and their best horse next to Springer. If he took Summer... "Who will you ride?"

"No one," she said. "I'm not coming."

The answer surprised him, and not in a good way. He had expected to accompany her on the ride. This was a ceremonial hunt, done in the afternoon of the same day before each Raviyani to bring back desert gazelles as holy offerings to Ravi. From what he'd been told, there would be over a hundred riders participating in the event. She would have been with a big crowd, and safety shouldn't have been a concern. "You can't or you won't?"

"I have...things to do," Djari said, keeping her gaze on Twilight, her lips stretched into a thin line and pressed tight together.

Hasheem knew that look. It was a choice she didn't want to make—one that had obviously been influenced by something else other than her own preference. He could tell by now when that happened, and that day it was all over her face how hard the decision had been. "Then I don't need to go," he told her. With all things considered, it made no sense for him to be there without Djari.

"You have to," she said, looking at him thoughtfully. "If Nazir wants you there then he has a reason. Besides, it's your first Raviyani. You'll enjoy it."

Hasheem doubted it. He'd never been someone who found hunting an enjoyable sport. There was nothing thrilling about chasing down helpless animals, not when he'd been that animal too many times. But whether or not he would enjoy the event wasn't the problem. The problem was the fact that Nazir definitely had a reason to want him there, which was precisely why he was having second thoughts about this whole idea. One never knew what an oracle could be planning—or seeing.

The sound of someone entering the stable drew their attention to the gate. Down the corridor toward the entrance, Nazir appeared in his spotless white robe. The zikh had been freshly pressed, Hasheem noticed, and over it hung a sash of blue and gold— the colors representing the Visarya Kha'gan. His hair, neatly braided in the White Warrior style, also had blue and gold threads in them. He wore a dagger and a long blade at his waist, carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows on his back, all of which were either heavily gilded or painted in the same symbolic colors.

Hasheem drew a breath at the sight that was entirely new to him. Nazir was in his most formal attire, which meant that he would be addressing a khumar, not Djari's brother, or a friend. It also meant that the hunt held a lot more significance than he'd originally thought. Nazir wasn't a man of excess. He wore the zikh only sometimes. His everyday sword was unadorned and ordinary, and his boots were usually heavily used and stained. They were brand new today, Hasheem noted as he stole an appraising gaze at the khumar. Nazir was making a statement with this, or he wouldn't have appeared that way.

Next to him, Djari was blinking in surprise. Apparently, she hadn't seen him in that get up many times either.

"He's letting you lead the hunt today?" She asked, stepping forward to take a good look at her brother.

Nazir smiled. "He told me he's too old to be chasing gazelles."

She shook her head slightly, then reached over to straighten the sash for him. "You know he isn't."