A Scripta

The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears. ~Arabian Proverb

Grim lit down just beyond the gates of the Journey's End Horse Farm. He had called them earlier to ask if they had any horses for sale, and they said they had a few. With a name like Journey's End, he figured that this was where old horses went.

He walked up to the office. The woman at the desk looked up at him, and her mouth dropped in shock. "I called earlier about some horses for sale," he said calmly, knowing his appearance was probably what made her look shocked. He smiled, and tried to be as normal as possible.

"Uh, hm, right..." She picked up a walkie-talkie. "Danny, someone here to see you."

"Be right there," came the voice back, and Grim stepped back from the counter to wait by the door.

Soon, a handsome man came into the room, long brown hair pulled back in a pony-tail, dressed in a simple sweater and jeans. Grim smiled and held out his hand. "Michael LaBonte," he said.

Danny shook Grim's hand. "Danny Mason." He studied him for a minute. "Want me to take you around?"

"Sure," Grim said, and Danny grabbed a small tablet laptop and went outside with him.

"If you don't mind my asking, what were you planning on doing with a horse?"

"Does it matter?"

Danny stopped, and gave Grim a look. "To us it does. You look like one of those demon worshippers."

"I was. I'm not anymore."

"Then what do you want a horse for?"

He said quietly, "I need it for a ritual."

"You're going to kill it."

"Humanely. Honestly, I won't cause it any pain, and it's not going to be used to summon evil spirits or anything like that. I swear on the River Styx."

Danny looked at him. "Do you mind if they're sick or old?"

"That's what I was expecting to find here. The name of the place is Journey's End."

Danny gave him a small smile. "It's from a Western movie. It doesn't mean here is where horses come to die."

"Oh." He looked down. "Then that's my mistake."

"I really don't feel comfortable about this."

"Then don't do it."

"Nobody else will sell to you for that, you know."

"I figured I'd be up front and honest."

"There's such a thing as too much honesty."

"Why would someone want to buy a sick or dying horse?"

"Okay, I see your point. But you shouldn't say you're going to kill it."

"Humanely."

"It's still killing it," Danny said, turning around to look at him.

Grim only stared. Danny finally sighed. "I think I have one for you."

Grim followed Danny into the stables, and was assaulted by the natural smell of horses and manure. Grim knew that smell would be with him for hours. Danny stopped at the first stall and pulled out his tablet.

The horse in the stall didn't even move at their approach. He was brown with a long black tail and mane - at least it looked like a he. Or a she. He wasn't sure.

"This is Raymond, he's a gelding, he used to be a trail horse but now he's mostly blind."

At Danny's speaking, the horse turned in their general direction and came walking toward them. Danny pulled out a carrot from his pocket and gave it to him. The horse snorted on his hand before taking it.

"He used to be yours?"

"He belonged to the Bakers', they ran horses for nature trails over in Lincoln Woods, then we bought him about two years ago as a trail gelding until he started bumping into things and we realized he was going blind."

"So why are you keeping him?"

"He's still healthy otherwise."

He reached out to touch the horse, and it shied away from him for a minute. Grim offered his hand like he would to a dog unfamiliar with his scent, and the horse sniffed it, and stood still. Grim scratched the top of the horse's head as Danny kept running through his resume. "Short answer is," Grim said, "he's just blind."

Danny looked up from his tablet. "Yeah, that's the short answer."

"How much?"

"$2,500."

"That's fine. How much to board him until I need him?"

"$500 a month."

"I'll need him before then, but I'll pay for the month. Where do I go pay for it?"

"In the office."

Grim followed Danny to the office in silence. Danny held the door open for him and gave him a look that Grim couldn't actually read, it seemed empty of all emotion. Grim stepped into the office.

"Cassie, this man is buying Raymond."

The woman looked at Grim. "But Raymond's--"

"He knows."

"Oh." Cassie started drawing up paperwork. Grim explained he'd be boarded here and would pay for the boarding up front. When given the total, he counted out the money from his wallet in hundreds on the counter. Cassie took them without a word, and put it in the drawer. "You can come visit him any time you like."

"Thank you, I think I will now, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all," said Danny.

Grim nodded, and went back to the stable. As he walked, he felt around for ley lines. There wasn't much that he could grab hold of, so he let it alone and entered the stable. He stopped at the stall, and saw the horse in its same position as it had been when he first saw it.

"Raymond," Grim called.

The horse perked up its ears and turned its head. Grim looked over the stall door to see if it was clear, then vaulted over it. He walked across the hay-strewn floor carefully. He took out a long blue, and braided it in the animal's mane. He nodded, and stepped back. Then he turned to see hand brushes against the wall. He picked them up, and began brushing the horse down, singing a spell of calmness under his breath.