Yevgeny walked up to the horse farm and knocked on the door. After a few moments, the owner opened the door, frowning at him.
“What do you need?” the farmer asked. Yevgeny crossed his arms.
“I must admit, I am surprised you would greet a potential customer in such a way,” he said. The farmer’s eyes widened. He cleared his throat.
“My apologies. You wish to purchase a horse?”
“Yes. I need to travel, but had to leave behind my steed. I heard your farm has the best horses around. Would you show me around the stables?”
“Yes!” The farmer seemed so eager that for a moment, Yevgeny felt bad about misleading the farmer. But then he reminded himself that the man had taken Sassy from Anya without her permission. He needed no sympathy.
“Lead the way, then,” Yevgeny said. The farmer took him to one of the two stables and showed every single horse to Yevgeny. Yevgeny silently reached out with his magical senses. Every horse he was shown was just a horse. Once they finished with the barn, the farmer waited to hear what Yevgeny wanted. “Are these all of your horses?”
“All of my horses available for sale,” the farmer said. “Those in the other barn are my breeding stock and nursing foals.” Yevgeny stifled a curse. That didn’t bode well. He hid his emotions and smiled.
“May I see them?”
“They’re not for sale,” the farmer repeated.
“I know. But I have always been fond of foals,” Yevgeny lied. The farmer reluctantly nodded and led him to the other barn. The moment they set foot inside, Yevgeny could sense that one of the mares was transformed. He let the farmer lead him through the barn, but came to a stop in front of the transformed mare. It was a gorgeous black Arabian, just as Anya had said.
“This is Sassy,” the farmer said. “She has quite a spirit.”
“A fine mare.”
“Yes. And pregnant with a foal just as fine, according to my horse witch,” the farmer said proudly. Yevgeny nodded. “She is worth much gold. Much more than you could likely afford.”
“I understand,” Yevgeny said. Sassy looked at him with a human intelligence. Yevgeny nodded slightly at her, hoping she would understand he was there to rescue her. “We may return to the other barn. I thought the buckskin thoroughbred was quite interesting…”
While the farmer led Yevgeny back to the barn to look at horses he had no intention of buying, Yevgeny was already mentally working on a plan. Sassy being pregnant would make things difficult, but not impossible.