by Lena Austin
He looked up at the sun. It was just after midday. If he hurried, he could consult with the one other mage who could be trusted not to kill Kella on sight. Then he would have time for a nap before he returned to speak with Sedna. He hoped his mother was free. “I must go now, Kella. Will you pass on a message for me? Would you tell Elder Sedna I would speak with her tonight?”
Kella brightened. “Is that the reason you came to our village? I will be happy to act as your messenger, Tanne!”
He was grateful for her simple explanation as to why he had appeared. Tanne took Kella’s hand and kissed it. “I hope to see you tonight. Will you be there?”
Kella looked at her hand as if he had painted it gold, then blushed. “I will, because you ask it.”
He heard in her mind the whispered wish that she could see his natural form. It was a wish easily granted. Tanne stood, and moved away slightly so as not to trample her. Then he transformed. Until later, he sent to her mind.
Kella’s jaw fell open. “Yes, until later!” Her admiring gaze roamed his entire length. “You are very beautiful,” she sighed.
He lipped her cheek in thanks, as close as he dared come to a kiss, and galloped away.
Chapter Two
Spending the day in the company of a Unicorn had been both exhilarating and disappointing, all at once, Kella decided as she strolled toward the temple to deliver the herbs. She desperately needed someone not in authority to speak with.
In fact, spotting her best friend, Reimy, working in her mother’s garden was the perfect solution! If you couldn’t tell your best friend of an adventure, whom could you tell?
“Kella!” Reimy stood, and brushed off her hands. “I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you today. I hope you had a better time than I did!”
“Oh, how I wish you had been with me, Reimy! You will never guess what happened.” Kella paused. “I met a Unicorn! Can you believe it?”
Reimy hurried to the fence, wiping her dirty hands on her tunic, and sucked in her breath. “No!”
“Yes! He helped me gather herbs! He kissed my hand!” She brandished the hand at Reimy, as if there might be some visible mark of a Unicorn’s attention.
“A stallion? Oh, my! Oh, my! Tell me everything!” Reimy leaned on the fence that separated them. “Was he handsome?”
“Oh, yes! Very! He had silver hair and blue eyes and blue clothes, and…” She sighed. “Oh, Reimy! I was so hopeful that I might be covered by one such as he.”
Reimy gasped. “And?” The rickety white fence that surrounded Reimy’s home and garden creaked precariously as she leaned more upon it. She blinked her big brown eyes. “What did he want with you, Kella?” Her tone became insinuating, and her eyes flicked to Kella’s skirts, as if expecting to see blood. Kella’s brown skirt was only grass-and-dirt stained, and at least her bodice modestly covered everything. It was perhaps Kella’s only pride that bird-bright embroidery done by her own hand decorated the neckline.
“He didn’t touch me!” She pouted in disappointment. Kella remembered Tanne’s long-boned, aristocratic hands casting the blue ball, and wondered briefly what it would be like to see those beautiful hands healing. Or, perhaps, on her.
Reimy seemed to relax, and said carefully, “Perhaps it is better this way, Kel. You should stick to your own kind.”
Kella laughed at that. “Oh, come now, Reimy! I’m uglier than a homemade mud fence. I’ve never been wanted by anyone, so why would a Unicorn want me? I will just limit myself to dreams, thank you! And Tanne Brae is the stuff dreams come from.”
It was an old hurt she’d learned to disguise with laughter and pride. No prince or stallion had ever chosen Kella for his pleasures. She’d lost count of the number of heats she’d suffered in silence in the depths of the temple cells, where a raging bitch might stay until her talons no longer ripped upholstery and her temper cooled.
Reimy was stone-faced. “I think you’d better tell someone. Kella, you could be very deep in the midden, and you wouldn’t know it.” Her voice held veiled threats, and an edge Kella did not understand.
“I’m on my way to the temple now to tell Sedna. It was one day. What could possibly come of it?” Kella picked up her basket.
Reimy just shook her head. “More than you think,” she said darkly, before turning back to her garden.
Chapter Three
What? Mage power? In a Vampire girl? Tanne’s mother switched her tail and pranced in distress for a moment.
“Bitch,” Tanne muttered.
Tanne Brae!
Tanne held up his hands in defense. “No, Mother! Not you! ‘Bitch’ is the correct term for a female Vampire. It seems an insult to me, but there you have it.”
You sound like you know this, uh, bitch.
The irony of the situation struck Tanne, but didn’t lighten the guilt. “You might say that. I hope I’m wrong, but if I understand Vampire law, she may be my daughter.”
You might want to explain that, Jenna drawled.
“By Vampire law, if her biological father doesn’t claim her, she’s mine by virtue of my helping her mother at her birth.” What was he going to do? He couldn’t take her to the herd. They’d kill her in an instant.
Ah! I remember. Jenna’s mind voice became calm. More than that, Tanne. That’s an untrained mage of nearly limitless power. If you don’t train her, she’ll destroy herself or the Valley. If the Vampires are like other predators, they are trying to destroy, drive out, or at least subjugate one whom they recognize as different.
Tanne nodded. He’d seen what could happen when a mage did not learn control, and lashed out at full power. The results were always messy. “If they abuse her, somewhere along the line, her magic will flare uncontrollably. She could make a Dragon’s fiery breath look like a candle flame in comparison.”
You need information to find out what is going on with, er, Jenna hesitated, your daughter. If that’s what she is, you owe her a duty.
“Even if she is not, I owe her training.”
I’ll even take over the healings that may arise over the next few months, until you are assured of the girl’s training, Jenna offered. She shook her silver-white forelock out of her eyes. And I agree with you. The term ‘bitch’ is disturbing. The poor child is only a girl of eighty, for goodness’ sake!
“Should I take her away from the Vampires, Mother?” Tanne was quite willing to admit to Jenna he felt out of his depth with the cultural problems.
Jenna sighed. It would be best, but I doubt that the Vampires will voluntarily let her leave. That damned religion of theirs makes her half-dangerous and half-holy. Now, stop that!
Tanne had hung his head at the mention of how Kella might be considered holy. That was his doing, having given her mother his blood. Guilt ate at him. This was his fault. He had loosed a mage-gifted Vampire on the world. Would that day never cease to haunt him?
You did what you thought was right, saving that woman’s life. Who would have thought the child would retain the magic? That is the crux of the matter. Unless it is forcefully proven to the Vampires that they cannot control her, you will have to make do with regular teaching visits. Jenna nudged her son with her nose. Acknowledge the responsibility and move forward. There is no changing the past.
* * * * *
As night fell, Tanne returned to the area surrounding the Vampire village. He leaned against the oak where he’d sat with Kella. He was now rested after a few hours of sleep, and relieved his mother agreed that Kella must be trained, no matter what the outcome of the conversation with Sedna this evening.
Tanne transformed to his human form and scrubbed his eyes. He briefly considered beating his head on the oak’s solid bark rather than merely leaning against it. He felt more than responsible.
Kella was lovely, sweet natured, spunky, and wise beyond her years. Even after just the few short hours he’d spent in her company, he felt attracted to her. No filly had caught his eye and his heart the way one little Vampire wench had.
; “Caught in a trap of my own making,” he chuckled ironically. He listened to the crickets in the grass, chirping in the night air, searching for their mates. “Could I have found my own mate outside my herd?” He snorted. “It doesn’t matter, until I find out if I am considered her father or not.”
He blew out a breath, and transformed into a bat. He could not manage the form of a Vampire bat, so he did the best he could with a fruit bat’s form. He hoped the gesture of using a Vampire’s favored form would soften Sedna’s sternness. He would need all his powers of persuasion to implement his plans. He took off.
* * * * *
Sedna sat in regal splendor in her chair, ruffling the fur of a red wolf, when Tanne fluttered through the open window. He managed to land on a low stand, made for those who were in bat form, without looking too graceless.
Sedna merely smiled. “We are honored you learned our form, Lord Tanne Brae. Would you like some tea?”
He transformed, and stepped forward. “I’d be delighted.” His gaze fell on the red wolf, who thumped her tail. “Good evening, Kella. Aren’t you going to join us?”
Sedna chuckled. “So, you remember her birth form, do you?”
Kella transformed to human, and sat on the floor in openmouthed shock. “You? You were the Unicorn that helped birth me?”
As Tanne nodded, Sedna passed him a teacup. He accepted it and sat down with a calm he did not feel.
“Yes, dearling, he is.” Sedna pressed a teacup into Kella’s fingers. Glancing at Tanne, Sedna continued. “I think it’s time you knew and that I ask you to forgive me for keeping you in ignorance. I’d hoped…” She shrugged. “I’d hoped it would all just go away.”
Tanne didn’t feel the need to speak. Once Kella was informed of her true nature, he would see where things led.
Kella sipped her tea, but her fingers trembled. “What would go away, please?”
“Your magical abilities, of course.” Sedna closed her eyes for a moment. “Let me start at the beginning. Tanne can fill in details as he sees fit.”
Tanne watched Kella shoot him an unfathomable look from under her eyelashes, and wondered at her calm demeanor.
Sedna drew breath, and then launched into what sounded like a speech prepared long ago. “When your mother took blood from the Unicorn healer, we knew there was a possibility you might be affected by the very nature of his blood. As you well know, what the mother consumes often passes through her milk to the infant. Tanne’s blood did not affect your mother, but it did affect you.”
“I have a theory that it has to do with your being born here in the Valley,” Tanne added.
“That may well be true.” Sedna took up the tale again. “The reasons do not matter. The fact is, the Unicorn magic never left you. In truth, it seems to have grown.”
“I see.” Kella shook her head as if to clear it. “Is that the reason that I am your student?”
“Yes,” Sedna agreed. “I hoped that I could at least train you to control the energies.” She sighed. “But I admit, I am hunting blind. Yours is not a magic I understand.”
Tanne saw his chance to speak, but Kella stopped staring at her teacup and looked up, her eyes blazing. “And that’s the reason I am hidden and outcast, isn’t it? Because I’m different. Goddess forbid the Unicorns should see me.” Her gaze darted to Tanne. “Am I an affront to you? A lowly Vampire should not have access to the magic of the gods, I should think.” Her voice took on a note of fear.
Her whole demeanor was a combination of fear and defiance. It was easy to read that she feared a heretic’s death. Tanne shot out of his chair. “No, you aren’t offensive ‑‑ at least, not to me.” He knelt on the rug in front of her, set aside her teacup, and held her chilled hands. “However, I feel responsible. I would like to offer you training, so that you may learn to control what gifts you have, before they control you.”
“I agree,” Sedna jumped in. “I, too, could benefit from learning, if you are willing, Tanne.” The relief in her voice told Tanne a greater tale than any words.
He hadn’t taken his gaze from Kella’s. There was confusion and anger flickering in those green eyes as she assimilated all the implications.
Kella slowly removed one hand from Tanne’s grasp and gave him a tight, controlled smile. The other hand remained in his as she reached for her tea.
Through the contact of skin on skin, Tanne read some deep-seated hurt. Something was buried behind walls he chose not to breach, but which pulsed like an open wound. He broke contact before he invaded her privacy, then turned to Sedna. “I have no issue with teaching you both, but on one condition.”
Sedna’s calm snapped for a moment, and she looked at him with apprehension. “I fear I know what it is,” she muttered, and looked away.
Kella seemed indifferent to her fate being decided by others, but listened closely with an unreadable expression on her face. She put her empty teacup aside and folded her hands in her lap. “Since Sedna won’t ask, I will. What is your condition, Tanne?”
Curiosity gnawed at Tanne. She shouldn’t be so calm. What was that hurt she hid so well behind walls of stone in her mind? He had to admire her skill at hiding her innermost self even from one who should be able to read her without a touch. It was an unconscious skill, not uncommon for those who must keep secrets, to learn to hide their own thoughts. It would be his job later to make sure all thoughts and all magic came in or out of her because she willed it. He took her hand, determined to know what she felt.
“I wish to take you away for a day and test your abilities alone.” He ignored Sedna’s small intake of breath and concentrated on Kella’s emotions.
He read wild joy and something that leapt up and was quickly suppressed, even ruthlessly locked away. “I accept your condition, Tanne. I think everyone has forgotten that I’m fully grown. I can make my own decisions and accept the responsibility for those choices. No one owns me now. What has been done to me before ends here and now. I expect to be informed and allowed the right of choice.”
Chin up, Kella stood. “If I am to spend the night elsewhere, I must go pack some things.” Her smile was wry when she turned to Sedna. “I love you as if you were my own mother, and I have no objections if you wish to share my lessons. It will be interesting, no?” She swept out of the room, as regally as the favored mare of the Herd Stallion.
Sedna’s face was so dumbfounded, Tanne burst out laughing. It was not every day he saw the tables turned on someone so neatly.
“It’s not funny,” Sedna muttered, fuming. She drummed her fingers on the arms of her chair. After a few moments of staring at a blank wall, her lips twitched, and finally she, too, laughed. “Oh, very well. That,” she snapped her fingers, “for our plans to watch and control her.”
Tanne sobered immediately. “I fear your plans were hopeless from the start, dear lady. If she holds as much power as I do, then she is equally beyond even your formidable capabilities.”
Sedna’s lips thinned. “I have done my best to keep her sheltered and naïve, Tanne. I fear for her, as a mother fears for a child about to leave home for the first time.” Her eyes took on a haunted look. “I wasn’t always successful at protecting her, but I tried.”
Tanne conjured a small square of cloth and handed it to Sedna to wipe her filling eyes. “In some ways, you’ve been wise. She is sweet and good-hearted above all else. Removing her from the wandering eyes of my fellow stallions has undoubtedly saved her life.” He patted her hand. “If they’d touched her sexually, I would no doubt be healing some bewildered stallion.”
“Yes, I’m well aware of what happens.” Sedna’s eyes were full of quiet secrets, and no small amount of loss. She looked at the doorway Kella had exited. “I was once beautiful, too.” She sighed. “But let us return to practical matters. We will need to choose a place for you to teach us.” Her eyes darted about, as if to say the walls had ears.
Tanne nodded thoughtfully. “Why not the oak near the meadow where Kella harvested herbs? There’
s shade, and it would not be a long walk for you both to make.”
Sedna rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “That might do. In truth, I don’t know how much I can master. My power comes from within me, or from the blood I take when I feed. It is very finite. But I would still like to try, at least until I have reached my limits.”
“The oak sounds perfect to me,” came Kella’s voice from the door. “When will we begin?” She dropped a small bundle and a rolled-up blanket near the door and started to sit.
Tanne reached out his hand before she could fold herself back on the rug. “We’ll know more after I’ve assessed your skills and abilities tonight. But it is getting late, and our destination is some distance away. Shall we go?” He glanced at the large doors leading outside, to what looked like a garden. “Can we leave the temple through there?”
“Yes. It looks out on the fields beyond the village.” Kella picked up her things.
“Excellent.” Tanne opened the doors and walked outside to stand on cobbled pavestones. “It would be easier for you to mount me out here.”
Sedna’s jaw dropped, and Kella looked stunned. “M-m-mount you?” she repeated. “As in, ride on your back?”
Tanne was amused. “Of course. How else were you going to travel with me? Walk? It is a long way from here.”
Sedna got up from her chair, and muttered to herself. “I’m glad it is dark. This is too close to sacrilege for my taste!” She stood in the doorway leading to the garden, as if she’d block the view of what was to transpire with her thin body.
Chuckling, Tanne transformed, ending the quiet laughter with a soft whicker. He manifested a saddle and hackamore on himself, as well, so that they would both be more comfortable.
He gestured with his nose for Kella to mount, and after several awkward moments involving Sedna coming to hold the blanket roll and bundle, she managed. Sedna wordlessly handed Kella her things and found a bit of string to tie the bundles securely to the saddle horn.