I slipped the bridle and yoke onto the horse in the same fashion Nusel had. The beast instinctively walked to the wagon and backed up to the hitch. I strapped him in, climbed onto the seat and cracked the reins, sending us both into the hottest part of the day.

I saw Clovis as I turned the wagon onto the road toward Mocha. He stood naked on the beach, knee deep in a wave that ebbed away from him. I opened my mouth but had nothing to say. I faced forward, aligned my head with that of the horse and snapped us both to a gallop.

I didn't look back, but I could sense the lighthouse getting smaller behind me. The sun was intense and sapped the energy from me like a giant leech. After several hours, the heat began to induce in me a strange feeling of communion with myself, not unlike that I had so often artificially induced through arson. The vast lifeless expanses of sand and sea on either side seemed an appropriate metaphor for the road I was on.

I slumped back on the bench seat, letting the reins go slack in my hands as the blazing sun and constant vibration from the road lulled me into a strange trance of acute, yet passive lucidity. After several idly staring miles, my mind wandered into that of the laboring beast before me.

It was a shock at first but I had no choice but to marvel at the bounty of fresh new sensations. Four strong legs pounded out a rhythm beneath me. I felt the blinders on my eyes, narrowing my normally wide field of vision to only the open road ahead. My heart thumped deep in my chest, coursing hot blood to hungry, fatiguing muscles. I felt the burden of the hard leather yoke as it dug into the flesh of my shoulders, the weight of the wagon attached to it, slowing me, making me work harder than I should have to. The cold steel bit between my teeth served a constant reminder of my lowly station. I could feel sticky sweat lathering under the leather straps. I strode on despite the heat and despite the bridle being put on incorrectly so that the brass rivets chaffed at my jaws. Placing my thick tongue against the bit in an attempt to ease it, I was able to lower the blinders just enough. Turned my long head slowly from side to side, I took in the fresh scenes and possibilities that had laid beyond the unknown edges lo those many trips before. I shortened my stride enough for me to turn my head around and finally look back up the reins to him that executed providence over me.