barely attached.
Jericho erupted, kicked, then lifted her head and shoulders as if to heave herself upright. Everyone but Adam backed away. He moved closer, his hand in her mane, soothing her. At his touch, she laid her head down again.
Ray laid a large, dark case on the ground a few feet away and began to unpack syringes and a large vial. “It looks bad. A local, first. She’s not going to like it.”
“You don’t have to stay for this,” Adam whispered to me.
Grateful, I walked away from the agonized cries of the horse. For want of anything more constructive to do, I went in the house and prepared sandwiches and coffee. As I loaded the food onto a tray, another sharp neigh rang. I added a flask of whiskey on my way out.
Manny stood at a respectful distance, watching intently. The other horses in the stable were quiet, their ears perked. The odors of blood and the men’s sweat dulled the air.
A big utility light clamped to the stall rails shone down on Adam and Ray. Jericho, her legs tied, lay facing away from my view. I was grateful not to see her wounded chest or her terrified eyes.
Adam knelt at her back, stroking her neck. Her foreleg trembled spasmodically. Her hide rippled.
Ray paused, leaning back on his heels. “I didn’t expect anything this extensive. I’m out.” He held up an empty vial and shook it. “I can’t give her a local on these last two wounds. But I’ve got to close her up before there’s any more swelling. Twenty-five, maybe thirty more sutures. It’s going to be rough.” He glanced at Adam, who nodded.
“Evelyn,” Adam said without looking up.
Ray hesitated, the threaded needle poised over Jericho, and shot a questioning glance in my direction.
The cups rattled as I set the tray down. The only other sound was the mare’s shallow and rapid breath.
Not certain what Adam wanted, I stepped into the stall and stood next to him. Ray’s needle touched near a gapping slash of exposed muscle. Jericho flexed her forelegs and jerked her head sideways in a scream of protest. The two remaining gashes bled anew.
Adam touched my foot. I realized what he was going to do and moved to stand closer to him, giving tacit permission. Then I braced myself. His other hand slid up the taut muscles of Jericho’s neck. His lips parted in exhalation. A single, radiant chime rang out, pure and singular. A test, not his full range. Jericho nickered a soft response. Adam and Ray locked eyes for a second. As Adam’s voice increased in volume, Ray’s face opened in shock. Adam bent to press his chest to the mare’s shoulder.
Ray’s eyes followed Adam, then darted down the flanks of the horse who now lay completely still.
Adam’s monotone rose and flexed through the stable. His hand encircled my ankle. The air pressed into pure sound. But I heard an undercurrent of uncertainty, a falter in the swell of it. I realized with a shock that his goal was not only to soothe but to anesthetize. My head and chest hummed. I opened my mouth to breathe. His grasp on my ankle tightened. A chill ran up my arms as his hesitant tremolo blasted into full harmonic command. Soothing and hypnotic. To the bone. Ray blinked rapidly and shuddered before guiding the needle in. His hand dipped, then rose for the next stitch.
I closed my eyes. I reached out to steady myself. My hand landed on Adam’s head, and the resonance changed instantly as if some circuit completed.
His voice filled my skin. My arm and ribs vibrated. It pulsed down into my hips and feet.
I do not know how long Adam’s voice rang through me—through the mare and the stable. Slowly, evenly, he drew down to shallow waves. I opened my eyes. Jericho lay softly beside us, breathing regularly, her eyes closed.
Ray’s hands shook slightly as he smoothed the last bandage on. “I couldn’t completely close her up, but it will granulate in,” he whispered, his words slow and thick. His eyes glistened. “There was ligament damage on her chest that will affect her right leg. But it’s the best I can do.” His dazed face slack, he rubbed his arms as if they were cold, and stared at Adam, who still leaned over Jericho’s neck.
An expanse of white bandage covered her chest, her withers, and her upper foreleg. A small bandage glowed on her cheek.
Adam took a deep breath and released my ankle.