by RJ Blain
If anything, being with my horses made everything worse. Even my mare took pity on me, only biting me a few times before deciding she’d punished me enough for my absence. I hid my head beneath her long, flowing mane, breathed in her scent, and clutched her neck as though she were a lifeline.
“Normal people don’t like it when their horses bite the shit out of them,” Todd observed from the safety of the stable hallway. “Are you aware you’re bleeding?”
“Go away,” I mumbled.
“If I went away, Cleo would mule kick me for leaving you unattended while your aunt and uncles would hunt me down and use me as a plow horse. I’m far too magnificent to be hitched to some plow. Just be glad I convinced Gentry and the others to stay in the Oval Office. I talked them out of summoning Anatoly and your detail. If you think my hovering is bad, that trio will drive you insane within minutes. I’m doing you a favor.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
Whether Devil Spawn just didn’t like the stallion’s proximity or she blamed him for my emotional outburst, my mare thumped her hind hooves against the stall door and squealed.
“She’s challenging me. That crazy mare is actually challenging me.”
“Don’t try to change the subject.”
“I’m being nice to you because I like you. I don’t need a reason to be nice to you. You’re my friend. I’m always nice to my friends. I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. Don’t worry. We understand you’re not having an easy time coming to terms with everything. Just try to relax. While I’d say we won’t bite you, I can’t speak for Anatoly, as he’s rather determined to do just that. You could pick a worse man.”
“What a ringing endorsement.”
“See? You’re doing better already. You get a passing grade for your use of sarcasm.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t start, Jesse. I understand. I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same if I were in your shoes. While I don’t like the card Steph played—in this case, you—I get why she did it. You both were dealt a crappy hand, and you both made the best of it. Your hand was probably worse than hers in some ways. She’d had time to come to terms with her brother’s betrayal. You hadn’t. Until recently, I doubt the thought you have a mother or father even crossed your mind. You hadn’t even adjusted to the fact you have aunts and uncles before you were contracted to kill one.”
“Two,” I corrected.
“Two. I can’t even imagine it, Jesse. I don’t want to, either. And knowing you like I do, I’d bet every last one of my foals you thought we’d hate you for doing what was necessary.”
Lying would have been a lot easier, and it took every scrap of my will to bob my head in a nod.
“We don’t hate you. We like you because you’re you. You’re smart, and you’re one of the best damned mercs I’ve ever seen. I’ve also reached my quota of compliments for today, so you’ll have to come back tomorrow for another one. Why don’t you come out of that stall before I have a heart attack from worrying that damned horse is going to splatter your brains everywhere? That thing isn’t a horse. It’s some form of demonic entity.”
“Her name’s Devil Spawn, Todd.”
“Exactly. Good job picking a suitable name for her. I can’t believe you breed her on purpose. What were you thinking?”
“She’s a good horse.”
“Good is obviously a very subjective word. Come on out of there. We can go visit your other mare. She’s at the end of the line in the quarantine stall since it’s bigger and better cushioned for her hooves.”
It took a mixture of cajoling and brute force to get out of Devil Spawn’s stall without her biting me again or landing a kick. I visited Dipshit and the champagne mare, who took their turns rebuking me for abandoning them. When my head no longer felt like it was splitting in two and my throat stopped hurting, I’d take the time to name the mare properly instead of thinking of her as Anatoly’s horse.
My stubborn little bare-skinned mare huddled in the corner of a stall easily large enough for three horses, and it wasn’t until I approached her I realized there had to be an oven or some other source of heat on the other side of the stone wall. Although she wore a thick blanket, she shivered. Her head drooped in slumber, and I watched her, leaning close to listen to her breathe.
None of her coat had grown back, and while I’d been sick and recovering, her tail had also fallen out. The sores fared better; scars marring her skin, but only a few crusty patches remained. Something herbal and pungent lingered in the air.
“She’s doing a lot better,” I said, and the truth of it broke my heart. Like me, she’d have a long way to go before she felt anywhere near better. At a glance, I couldn’t tell if she’d pull through or not.
I couldn’t bring myself to check her hooves for the damage I knew was there.
“If Adrian can’t help her, no one can. She’s improved since we got her here, a little each day. Maybe we don’t know what we’re up against, but so far, we’re winning the fight. Someone’s always nearby to keep an eye on her, and I’m afraid you’re going to have one very spoiled little horse in short order. Any idea what breed she is? We’re at a bit of a loss.”
“No idea. I’m assuming she was someone’s courier horse.”
“She’s just shy of thirteen hands tall. The jury is out on whether she’s a horse or a pony.”
“She’s a horse. She’s just small.”
“That’s what I said, but no one listened to me.”
“Her skin’s healed a lot.”
“That was one of the many battles Cleo and Henry fought for her. You’ve been pretty sick yourself.” Todd entered the stall with me and pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. “You’re still hot enough to fry an egg on. You’re pretending everything is fine again, aren’t you?”
I glared at the stallion and ducked out from beneath his hand. “Don’t push your luck.”
Even before I had lost weight, Todd had been strong enough to manhandle his way to victory when we sparred. He tossed me over his shoulder and headed out of my horse’s stall, ignoring my hoarse protests and the drumming of my fists on his back.
When Randal and Simmons discovered I’d given them the slip in the middle of the night to visit my horses, they’d crucify me. I was so, so tired of people tiptoeing around me like I’d break. Although the stablehands ignored my presence, I suspected they notified the Secret Service of my whereabouts.
“If your horse is in worse shape than you, little girl, she must be in dire shape indeed. Whatever have you done to yourself?” Maybe Adrian had become a unicorn, but his voice remained the same, as cocky and self-assured as ever.
My shriek woke every horse in the stable, triggering a cacophony of startled squeals, whinnies, and hooves thumping into stall doors. “Adrian!”
I whirled around. I expected a unicorn and got a man, one with skin whiter than the purest cloud, his eyes a match for the Hope Diamond hanging from my neck, and his golden hair tinged with red. Once upon a time, before a Starfall stone had changed him, he’d been the mirror image of his father, tall, with tanned skin, dark hair, and devastatingly handsome.
He wore worn jeans and a ratty black t-shirt I remembered from years ago.
Something about him told me no matter what he looked like, I’d always recognize Adrian. “You’re human. I thought you did the majestic unicorn thing most of the time now.”
While his smile seemed sad, his eyes glinted from some amusement I didn’t understand. “From what I understand, we should get together and form an endangered species club. We’ll be the founding members. If I have to hear my father whine one more time about how unfair it is you’re a mate-for-life species, I’m going to kick him into the crater.”
“I’m sorry you had to come all this way.”
“It’s your horse. Of course I’d come. Let’s not waste any time. Where is she?”
I headed for the last stall in the aisle and opened the door to let him in
. “Cleo and Henry don’t know what’s wrong with her.”
“So Father said. I saw him before coming here. If you’re going to hover and watch me work, you may as well make yourself useful. What’s the deal with the rock, by the way? Since when did you start wearing gaudy jewelry?”
The headache plaguing me strengthened, and I grumbled a few choice curses under my breath. “The rock won’t come off, and if you expect me to do anything right now, turning into a unicorn fried your tiny horse brain.”
That was the closest I’d get to confessing my misery, if the hoarseness of my voice hadn’t tipped him off. Knowing him, he’d probably taken one look at me and immediately used his mystic abilities to sense my health problems.
I hoped he wouldn’t share the details with me for a change.
“Ah, how I’ve missed your temper. You always say such nice things, Jesse.”
“That’s me, Miss Nice Lady.”
“Why are you wearing that gaudy necklace?”
“It’s stuck.”
“It’s stuck,” he echoed, looking me over head to toe. “Why are you wearing Native American accessories, a replica of the Hope Diamond, and… did my father pick your clothes again? If I didn’t know better, I’d mistake you for one of his ladies.”
“I’m not one of Todd’s ladies, and the necklace isn’t a replica.”
Adrian’s eyes widened before his expression smoothed to a neutral mask. “What sort of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?”
I glanced towards the stable entrance to confirm no one could overhear, entered my mare’s stall, and closed the door behind me. “Do you want the long version or the short, blunt one?”
“Let’s go for the short, blunt one.”
“My uncles stole the Hope Diamond, kidnapped me, took me to Fort Lauderdale, and used me to burst the stone.”
“And now it’s stuck around your neck?”
“Right.”
“You know what? I don’t even want to know. Tell me about your horse.”
Some things never changed, and I hoped Adrian never lost his straight-forward, determined personality. Facts mattered to him, but so did motivation, reason, and emotion. With three words, he would understand everything.
“She saved me,” I whispered.
“All right. How long has she been like this?”
“This is a lot better than she used to be. My uncles had her. I think she was a stolen courier horse. Anyway, they were going to kill her, and I convinced them to let me keep her instead of putting her down. The other horses all died. All of them.” My voice broke, and I stared helplessly at Todd’s son.
He reached out and stroked my cheek. “They hurt you.”
I feared if I spoke, my voice would crack and all the emotions I wanted to hide would bubble out, so I nodded.
“Describe her original condition. Everything you know, please.”
“When I got her, she still had some of her coat, but in patches. She was covered in sores. Some bled, some oozed. Her mane fell out, too. I rode her from somewhere near Charlotte to Fort Lauderdale. Maybe ten miles a day if that. The horses could only handle a walk. The others were worse. Some fell over dead. Convulsions. Bleeding.” I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “I had to coax her to eat, and she wouldn’t forage much at night. When we reached the islets, I washed her down with sea water every night and tried to clean the sores. Her tail fell out during the trip back from Fort Lauderdale, I guess. I’m not really sure. I’ve been sick, too, and I only saw her for the first time earlier today.”
“You did fine. Hold her head and try to keep her calm while I look her over.”
My little horse barely stirred, even when I crouched beside her and cupped her muzzle in my hands. She cracked open an eye, bumped me with her nose, and relaxed while Adrian ran his hands along her back before inspecting her legs.
“I think she’s used to mystics by now. Cleo and Henry have been trying to help her.”
“Henry?”
“Anatoly’s mystic.”
“Ah, your tiger boyfriend?”
My face flushed. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“You smack him around like he’s a punching bag. In tiger terms, I’m pretty sure that makes him your boyfriend. You could do worse. Anyway, I’ve heard a rumor you had a little fun at his expense with some ink. Toss the man a bone and just call him your boyfriend already.”
“I swear, every time I see you, you say some stupid, shitty thing that makes me want to kill you, Adrian.”
Adrian laughed. “Don’t try to deny it, Jesse. It’s why you like me.”
Like father, like son. I sighed and shook my head, unwilling to deny the truth. “Heaven help me.”
I doubted I’d ever understand how mystics worked. Even before becoming a unicorn, Adrian’s abilities hindered as much as they helped; pain and suffering fueled his strength, making him one of the most effective trauma healers I knew. Few could match him at bringing people back from the brink of death, but all magic came with a price. When it came to his work, Adrian had no scruples about inflicting agony on his patients to save their lives.
I expected my mare to buck and scream, facing the horrors of hell. I braced for the worst, securing my hold on her and nestling her head to my chest. While she snorted and flattened her ears, she otherwise stood quietly. The whites of her eyes showed.
“Relax, Jesse. You look ready to take flight. Did you not get the memo cats can’t fly? She’s an equine. For me, they’re easier to work with. I promise to live up to your expectations when it’s your turn.”
Grimacing at the thought of enduring Adrian’s special brand of magic, I considered the odds of making an escape back to the relative safety of my detail. Being crucified by Randal and Simmons would be a great deal less painful than Adrian’s method of healing. “I’m pretty sure Cleo and Henry agreed I was at my limit of mysticism. Too thin and sick.”
“Nice try. You do remember what happens if you run from me when I’m trying to heal you, right?”
I thought about it but couldn’t dredge up the memory. “You better remind me.”
“I’ll chase you down and do it anyway, and I’ll take my time with it.”
“You’re an evil, evil little man, Adrian.”
“Enough playing for a moment. Pay attention. I suspect it’ll take a month or two for her to recover. Don’t exert her at all. No riding. When you exercise her, start with short walks on a lead. Assume for the first two weeks she can go at no faster than a walk. You’ll have to rebuild her endurance from scratch. She’ll make a full recovery, but she’s got a tough few weeks ahead of her.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Long story or the short, blunt version?”
“Short and blunt.”
“All her organs are failing. Frankly, I have no reasonable explanation for why this horse is still alive. By all rights, she shouldn’t be. I thought I would be able to take care of anything she could throw at me tonight, but it looks like I’ll be here for a while. Ah, well. Dad will like that.”
My worry surged. “How long is a while?”
“All I’m doing right now is halting her organ failure. In a week or two, I should be able to reverse most of the damage.”
I sat down hard and stared at the mystic, the blood draining from my face. “It’s that bad?”
“She’ll make a full recovery if I have anything to say about it, so don’t you worry about a thing. She lived this long. She’ll make it. It’ll take her a while to heal, but she’ll make it.”
I really needed to stop bursting into tears.
Adrian ignored my crying fits, which were more numerous than I liked. According to him, stress and illness were to blame, and I’d be calmer in a few weeks. He worked with my horse for almost two hours before he was interrupted by two very annoyed Secret Service agents. Randal scowled, and Simmons crossed his arms over his chest. Both of them wore windbreakers over their suits, warning me the President meant t
o leave for Fort Lauderdale at dawn.
“Oh, you’re still in town?” I asked, widening my eyes in the hope they wouldn’t notice how red they were from bawling over my horse.
“Are you the unicorn?” Simmons asked, looking Adrian over from head to toe.
“Most of the time. Has Jesse been giving you any trouble?”
Both agents sighed, and Randal cracked first, chuckling. “I’m beginning to believe she has no other mode of operation, Mr. Jacobson.”
“Adrian. When you call me that, you make me think of my father. That’s horrible.”
“Have a little respect, colt,” Todd ordered, stepping into view. “Jesse, haven’t you gotten tired of imitating a waterfall yet? What’s gotten you so upset this time?”
“I may have made a slight error in judgement and told her what I have to heal. Sorry.”
“What’s wrong with her horse?”
“Ask me what isn’t. The list is shorter.”
“All right. What isn’t wrong with her?”
“Nothing. You’re going to have to deal with me invading your turf for a few weeks, Dad. The mare’ll live, but it’ll be a bit of work.”
“No problem, colt. Just keep that pearly horn of yours away from my mares. And I’m not responsible if you make the cranky tiger jealous. I’d also watch out for the cranky tigress. She hasn’t changed a bit, except now she’s equipped with claws and teeth.”
“She always had those, Dad. They were a bit duller, so she had to work harder to make it hurt.”
“Your second patient is right there. If you could do something about that fever, Cleo would appreciate it. He’s burned out his reserves to the point I’ll have to call in another mystic to keep an eye on him.”
“That Henry fellow that bad off, too?”
“Just about.”
“You should have told me Cleo burned out his reserves.” Adrian took a step back from my mare and looked her over, wrinkling his nose. “She’ll do for tonight. Jesse, come on. Sooner I get you tucked into bed and on the mend, the sooner I’m off to make sure Cleo’s able to help me with the heavy lifting tomorrow.”