The Stolen Herd

by K Madill

  Ruger glared as one of Caucus’ men nervously approached him. Wrenching the spear out of his grip, he tossed it to the ground before clasping a cuff around Ruger’s arm. As he reached over to grab Ruger’s other wrist, Ruger darted down and sunk his teeth into the soldier’s shoulder. The man screamed.

  “That’s enough,” roared Farzad but Caucus and his men rushed at Ruger, bringing him down in a flurry of glass bats, sizzling bolts, and squirming eels.

  “Good boy,” said General Caucus, reaching up to stroke Arion’s nose. “That was a good ride today. We’ll make a Rakhana mount out of you yet.”

  Arion flared his nostrils and jerked away, rolling his wide eyes at the glistening king cobra that was coiled loosely around the general’s arm. The snake bobbed his head companionably.

  “Easy, Arion,” Caucus murmured into the horse’s mane. “Raja is a friend, not a foe. Now we get to go home and, hopefully, there will be someone new waiting there for me.”

  Arion, whinnied, muted through the muzzle that had been clasped over his mouth. He lunged into the air, pedaling his forelegs dangerously. Caucus yanked the reins and brought him crashing down.

  “See that he gets grain,” Caucus barked tossing the reins at a young boy in dusty breeches who waited to take the horse. “Don’t give him blood like you’ve been giving the others, he hasn’t been turned yet. Give him some apples too.” Caucus marched from the stable.

  Caucus, with Raja on his arm, crossed the tiled courtyard and pushed open the gate, leaving the castle grounds behind him as he headed to his house at the edge of the barracks.

  Reaching the tiny brick home, he climbed the stairs of the front porch and pushed open the door. Tossing his coat on a chair, he stared at the crumbs on the table and the cobwebs in the corners of the windows. The fireplace was cold. With a sigh, he made his way to the bedroom and pushed open the door.

  Dust had settled over the bookshelves and dressers. The dark curtains were drawn against the sunset casting purple shadows along the walls. His wife, Mirtha, was a hump under the covers of their bed. Stirring, she sat up and gave him a faint smile.

  “Caucus,” she said softly, clearing her throat. “I did not expect you home so soon.” She smoothed her fraying, corn-coloured braid and fixed the strap of her nightgown.

  “I caught the Snowbreth king today,” Caucus said triumphantly. “I also took his First Mate, Ruger, and the Second Mate, some geeky one, I don’t even remember his name.”

  Mirtha frowned. “You’re kidding me. You arrested Farzad? On what charges?”

  “Arion is finally acting as a proper mount,” Caucus continued, ignoring her question. “He cut effortlessly through the deep snow in the Harshlands and we made good time.”

  He strode over to the window and yanked the curtain cord. The setting sun streamed in turning the walls blood red. Caucus unbuckled the shining silver mask that covered his lower face and dropped it onto the wooden dresser, sending dust motes into the air.

  “When’s the last time you cleaned up in here,” he asked, eyeing the clothes on the floor and empty glasses on the bedside table. “I’ve seen pigs that live better than this.”

  Mirtha snorted. “Then go live with them.” She held her arm out towards Raja. “Come here, boy,” she called. Raja slinked down Caucus’ arm and landed on the bed in a heap. He glided over to Mirtha and coiled up in her lap.

  Caucus sat down at her cluttered vanity desk and untied his boots. “Those beasts managed to evacuate most of the tribe before we arrived, but we got who we came for. Queen Asura thinks she’s going to be able to get something called a Kalpana stone out of him.”

  Mirtha looked up sharply from where she sat, scratching Raja’s head. “She’s after the Kalpana stone?” she asked, with a deep frown. “Tell me you’re not serious.”

  “I am dead serious,” Caucus answered. “Oh, let me guess - you’ve heard of the Kalpana stone? Who am I kidding? Of course, you have. More of your river clan nonsense.”

  Mirtha made a disapproving noise. “It’s not nonsense,” she told him. “The Kalpana stone is the most dangerous power in all of the Silver Kingdom. It can be an instrument of good or evil, it depends on the user but no one in the history of the kingdom has ever been able to wield it. If Asura gets her hands on it, though” she shuddered, “you cannot allow this to happen.”

  “What Queen Asura does with some stupid rock is no concern of mine,” Caucus growled. “Or yours.”

  Mirtha stroked Raja’s head looking anxious. “You said that Arion did well as a mount. He’s listening to you now?”

  “He has no choice,” Caucus shrugged. “I’m the one with the whip. Besides, his mate is dead and his herd, well, the wizard Dazra invoked Always and it turned his herd into blood drinkers.

  Mirtha gasped. “Caucus, no.”

  Caucus shrugged. “The queen promised the Alsvid immortality and she gave it to them. Always is called that because it lives forever. They can’t die because they aren’t even truly alive. That’s what being an Always horse is. Arion’s herd won’t follow him because they don’t even know him but he if leaves them, he’s got nothing left.”

  “Oh, Caucus, how dreadful.”

  “It is not dreadful, Mirtha, it’s progress. The Alsvid herd belongs to the queen now and she can do whatever she wants with them.”

  Mirtha shook her head. “But turning them into monsters? That’s wicked. It’s certainly not the way I was raised to treat a horse or any other animal for that matter. It will not end well.”

  “Don’t start,” Caucus sighed. He pulled off a boot.

  “We must leave this place,” Mirtha said fervently. “We have no reason to be here anymore. Your loyalty to Asura is—.”

  “My loyalty is what?” Caucus interrupted, yanking off his other boot. “You think Queen Asura would just let me walk away? I’m the leader of the Rakhana Army, the most powerful army this kingdom has ever known. You make no sense, woman.”

  “But my family can protect us,” she argued, sliding Raja from her lap. She tossed aside her blanket and swung her legs out of bed. “If we tell my grandmother what’s been happening here, she will be furious, I’m sure of it. What Asura is doing, capturing Farzad just because she wants the Kalpana Stone, turning the Alsvid into those…those things. It’s wrong.”

  “Do you hear yourself?” Caucus said incredulously. “Go to Roseneath and tell your grandmother military secrets? You’re delusional.”

  She turned away miserably. “How long will you be here this time?” she asked, reaching for a long robe that hung from a hook on the wall.

  Caucus strode over to the windows that looked onto the kingdom stables. “I don’t know,” he answered. “I suppose until Queen Asura gets the location of the Kalpana Stone out of Farzad. When that happens, I’m sure the Rakhana will be tasked to go and get it. In the meantime, there is a banquet to celebrate the taking of the Snowbreth. I expect you to come with me this time.”

  She laughed. “I am not going anywhere near that woman or her banquet hall and I’m certainly not celebrating the imprisonment of an innocent creature, a king no less. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were raided by the rest of the Snowbreth tribe tonight. We’d deserve it too.”

  Caucus clenched his fists. “They wouldn’t dare come here,” he scowled. “You don’t ever listen, do you? I just told you, we have his First and Second in Command. Who’s going to raid us? They don’t have an army, they swore off war. You’re being ridiculous.” Mirtha stared coldly at him but said no more.

  Caucus spied a bright folder which stood out on the messy nightstand. “What is happening with the adoption?” he asked, reaching for the booklet and scanning the sheets inside. “These papers are blank. Have you even looked at them? I was hoping I’d come back and you would have a child here. A fire going. Dinner. I keep thinking that having someone else to care for would leave you less tim
e to lie around thinking up reasons to be unhappy.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” she asked, looking stunned. “A child? You would want to be responsible for the innocence of a child living in a kingdom ruled by a murderess and psycho with magic? To a father who can’t decide between right and wrong when he knows better? And what Asura has you doing to those horses.” She pressed her hands to her face. “I don’t want any child of mine to see that.”

  “I am only doing what I am told,” Caucus said in a dangerous voice.

  “What you’re told?” Mirtha hissed. “Locking up innocent Snowbreth because she wants a dangerous stone with uncontrollable power?” She paced along the side of the bed. “She’s just gone ahead and broken the oldest treaty we humans have with the Snowbreth tribe. They stay where they are, and we stay where we are, only now you’ve gone and arrested their king. If she gets that stone, you’re not going to like what happens.” She sank miserably onto the bed and held a pillow up to her face. “I wish Prester was here,” she said, her voice muffled.

  Caucus charged at Mirtha and grabbed the collar of her robe, pulling her to her feet. “Never say that again,” he roared, giving her a rough shake.

  She stared at him hatefully.

  “The queen gives the orders and I follow them,” he hissed. “Do you think I have a choice?” he asked letting her go with a rough push. “If she tells me to capture the Snowbreth, then I have to do it. If she tells me to get the Kalpana Stone, then I have to get it.”

  “You know what you’re doing is wrong and you’re too scared to stop it. Thank goodness King Prester, your own friend, is no longer here to witness the coward you’ve become,” Mirtha snarled. She dropped down and sat on the edge of the bed, covering her face with her hands.

  Caucus reddened. He grabbed mask that lay on her dresser and hurled it at the wall. Raja, who had curled protectively around Mirtha, raised up, flaring his hood. “Caucus, get a hold of yourself!” he hissed.

  “DON’T CALL HIM MY FRIEND!” Caucus thundered, ignoring Raja. He kicked Mirtha’s vanity, sending perfume and lipstick clattering to the floor then towered over her, his face screwed up with fury. “Prester is dead, Mirtha! He’s dead. He is not coming back. He made Asura his queen and I respect that. She makes the rules, I follow them, and I suggest that you do too.” He looked at her stricken face and the fight seemed to drain out of him. He crouched down beside her, resting on his haunches.

  “I don’t understand you,” he said softly as he reached out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You refuse to listen. You’re unreasonable. You criticize everything the army is doing. My army. We are lucky, you know that? Lucky that I was promoted to general and that we still have our home here in the kingdom. You remember what she did to the older soldiers, don’t you?” He dove for his mask that lay on the ground and snatched it up. He polished a smudge off its surface with the edge of his shirt before tucking it into his belt.

  “Lucky, right,” Mirtha said hoarsely, loosening her braid. Her hair unwound and spilled around her shoulders like spun gold. She ran her fingers across her scalp.

  “I think we’re lucky,” Caucus told her. “I am grateful. I went from being a lowly private with no authority to the general of the greatest army in the land. One would think you’d be proud of me too. You know, if you’re having troubles, I’m sure Wizard Dazra can make something to help you feel better.” He reached for his boots.

  “Dazra only knows poisons,” Mirtha said darkly. “And I’m not having troubles, Caucus. If anyone is having trouble, it’s you and the worst part is, you don’t even realize it.” Her mouth turned down sadly. “You used to be my best friend and we could talk about anything without screaming and throwing things. Who are you? I fail to see why I should stay with a man who has become a stranger to me.”

  “Then go,” Caucus said with a shrug. “If that’s what’s going to make you happy, do it.” He stood at the edge of the bed and held out his arm. Raja, come,”

  Raja shot Mirtha a sympathetic look then streamed over to slide up Caucus’ outstretched arm. He swayed gently on his shoulder, locking eyes with Mirtha, as Caucus stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

  “She has no idea, does she, Raja?” he fumed, throwing himself into a chair at the crumb-covered table. Raja wound comfortably around his bicep and rested his head on Caucus’s shoulder. Caucus’ hands shook as he pulled on his boots. “She has absolutely no clue what it’s like to be a Rakhana soldier. This isn’t like when I was in the Castle Service; I don’t enjoy killing or capturing animals.”

  “How could she know?” Raja asked, flexing. “You don’t tell her about it. You never tell her anything. She’s the best human friend you have but she won’t stick around for much longer if you keep treating her like you just did. Talk to her. Tell her how you feel.” Raja slinked down Caucus’s arm and tenderly nipped his wrist. The angry lines around Caucus’s eyes began to soften.

  “I can’t tell her about the horrible things that go on,” Caucus whispered, stroking Raja’s head. “It will only make her hate me more. Can you believe her? She thinks we should run away and hide in Roseneath! Like Asura wouldn’t find me there.”

  “Mirtha was only trying to help,” answered Raja serenely. “Maybe a visit to Roseneath would do you some good. See her family. Why don’t you go?”

  Caucus’ face tightened. “You know why,” he answered.

  “You’re going to have to face him sooner or later,” Raja said.

  Caucus sagged. “I know.”

  Chapter 12

  Luco and the River Hag

  Mandamus was trapped inside Luco’s glass cube and the water that surrounded him was swiftly rising. He kicked out, hoping to shatter one of the panes, but his hooves, slowed by the water, slipped uselessly across the slick surface without making even so much as a crack.

  Frigid water swirled around him, so cold he thought his heart would stop. The water engulfed the trap, and he was dragged down into the dark depths of Lethe’s lake. Unable to hold his breath any longer, he gasped and icy water filled his lungs. Mandamus’ racing heartbeat filled his ears as he fought and thrashed against the force that pulled at him until everything went black.

  Mandamus snapped awake. It was dawn and the air was still and grey. He chest heaved as though he had just finished a hard gallop. He closed his eyes and calmed himself, trying to slow the frantic thrumming of his heart. The dream of icy black water still bore down on him and he shook his coat, trying to rid himself of the memory.

  He looked for Luco, wanting comfort, but Luco was wrapped in a blanket, his face softened with sleep. Mandamus would not wake him for Luco had worked late into the night. Luco had tested his weight on the dock and had Lethe slide the trapdoor shut, over and over until she begged to be allowed to go to bed.

  It was the morning of the full moon. Nadee would be coming to the river and when she did, they would be ready for her.

  The day wore on. Arkas took Fallow into the woods to fish and Samhain was nowhere to be seen. Luco prowled around the trap, testing his weight on the dock and resealing the roof.

  Mandamus, stayed close to him, nibbling absently on the scrawny patches of grass that grew along the river bank and sniffing anxiously for any sign of Nadee’s arrival. Lethe helped Luco from her place in the water, diving under the dock to check that the ropes were tied correctly.

  Mandamus felt like he had a swarm of moths in his gut and he tried to squelch the feeling with grass but as the sun crossed the sky and night drew nearer, the swarm turned into a frenzy. All they could do was wait.

  Finally, sunset came and if they hadn’t been so nervous about the evening’s activities, they would have admired the rosy sky that bloomed as the sun dipped below the horizon. Instead, they sat in tense silence, waiting for the light to fade and the darkness to come.

  The hours ticked by with no sign of Nad
ee. Mandamus was tired, and his eyes grew heavier with each blink as he struggled to stay alert. Luco was stretched out on the beach and nodding off. Where was she?

  Mandamus was about to yawn for what seemed like the hundredth time when an enormous wave came rolling up the river. He jerked to attention and was just about to nudge Luco, who’d fallen asleep, when Luco sprang to his feet, eyes fixed on the wave.

  The wave grew large as it drew nearer until it was almost as high as the canyon wall. Two pale, eyeless worms poked out of the wall of water and Mandamus’s skin crawled when he saw that their tiny mouths were lined with many rows of needle-like teeth.

  The worms wiggled out of the wave and slithered up the bank. It was then that Mandamus noticed their wriggling bodies were harnessed to enormous shell and seated in the shell, grasping reins that attached to the worms, was the ugliest creature Mandamus had ever seen. She had bulbous eyes and flabby lips. Her black hair was coarse, and her skin was speckled like a trout’s. Her dumpy form was squeezed into a green cocktail gown with a plunging neckline and her cleavage was covered in warts.

  The glass trap shone in the moonlight and the rays filtered through the grey-tinged water inside, illuminating the pretty bed. Nadee yanked on the reins and brought the worms to a squelching halt. She clamoured out of her carriage and landed squatly on the pebbly shore, wheezing.

  “Lethe!” she croaked in a frog-like voice. “Where are you?”

  Part of Luco’s plan was that Lethe would stay hidden until it was time to do her part. It was up to Mandamus and Luco to lure Nadee onto the dock and inside the trap.

  Nadee waddled down to the long skinny dock. This was Mandamus’ and Luco’s cue. Mandamus nudged Luco from their hiding place in the shadow of the canyon wall. Luco, in what Mandamus considered an admirable act of bravery, stepped into the moonlight and cleared his throat. “Hello, fair Nadee,” he called, walking purposefully towards her.