by L. EE
Ox and the staff stopped pursuing and roared at the sight.
“It likes you, Andy!” exclaimed Gwinny.
Andy finally stopped swatting at the bird when it became clear it planned to stay. It honked several more times and Andy questioned, “What am I supposed to do with it?”
“No idea, but it looks like you’ve got yourself a friend, and a stunning one at that. Silly thing landed on the windowsill a few minutes ago and wouldn’t leave,” Marta indicated.
“This’ll be interesting watching you play Oscray at week’s end with that thing following you!” Ox added, leading a chorus of cackling from the rest of the kitchen staff.
Andy forced a smile, not looking forward to the challenge. The goose lay down on his feet but remained alert, scanning the group for movement.
“Well, look at that,” Gwinny added.
Andy eased it off his feet and it reluctantly stood, but a golden egg now rested between Andy’s sneakers. Really?
The goose looked up at Andy as if inviting him to investigate. As he reached down to pick it up, the goose hissed. He quickly backed off, much to everyone’s amusement.
“Fine, then I won’t pick it up.”
The bird took a step toward its egg and drove its beak into the shell.
“Whoa!” several people gasped.
The egg split open, but instead of a yolk, Andy saw a folded piece of parchment. The goose stepped back, as if inviting him to investigate. Warily, he reached down and snatched the paper before the goose could connect its beak with his hand.
“How’d that get inside an egg?” Andy questioned, voicing what everyone else wondered.
He unfolded the paper and saw it was addressed to him:
To Prince Andrew, He Who Must Heed the Deliverer.
No kidding! Didn’t have much choice, did I? he thought. What was that story about the goose that laid the golden egg? I can’t remember.
“It’s a note to me,” he announced to the staff. Looks like it might be the next clue to break the curse.
“Mighty fancy messenger service!” Ox kidded. “It’s definitely a step up from the pigeon post. Guess this is what happens when you’re royalty!”
The group chuckled.
“Does anyone know where my father or Mermin is?”
“I saw the King heading up to the laboratory earlier,” Marta reported.
Andy moved toward the doorway, trying to avoid tripping over the bird. But the goose took three running steps in the opposite direction, launched itself into the air over the heads of onlookers, and headed back out the window.
“So much for your new friend. And so pretty, too,” Gwinny lamented.
Andy grabbed a handful of cookies as he’d originally planned, waved his thanks, and headed upstairs.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Whisper Stream
Andy found Father and Mermin in the laboratory.
“Look what I just got!” Andy announced after knocking and entering.
The King smiled. “Is that what I think it is?”
Andy nodded. “You’ll never guess how it arrived.” He then recounted the events in the kitchens, causing the King and Mermin to chortle.
“So, what’s it say?” Father finally asked.
“Before I read it, Mermin, do you remember the story from my world about the goose that laid the golden egg?”
“No, but we can look it up. Why?”
“Because the message is addressed to me, but it says I need to heed the messenger. I can’t remember what that fairy tale’s about.”
“Let’s go to my libwary and see,” Mermin suggested.
Once there, Mermin headed to a section against the far wall of the large room. He slid a ladder over and climbed three rungs, stopping at several short, colorful books. He ran a finger along the shelf and mumbled titles to himself until he located his prize.
“Faiwy Tales and Fables: A Pwimer,” he announced, rejoining Andy and the King.
The King grinned. “I honestly don’t know how you remember where everything’s filed, Mermin.”
“Thank you, sir,” the wizard beamed. He opened the book and scanned the contents. “Here we are, chapter seven: ‘The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg.’”
He handed it to Andy to read:
A cottager and his wife had a hen that laid a golden egg every day. After receiving this gift for some time, they questioned and supposed the hen must contain a great lump of gold inside it. To get the gold they decided they must kill the hen. Having done so, they found to their surprise that the hen differed in no respect from their other hens. The foolish pair, in hoping to become rich all at once, deprived themselves of the wealth they had been assured of day by day.
Lesson: Greed loses all by striving to gain all.
“Does that mean anything to you, Andy?” the King asked.
Andy thought, but nothing came immediately to mind. “No… Is it saying I’m being greedy?”
“That’s what I would understand, Son. Why don’t you think on it. Something will come, it always does.”
Andy nodded, frowning.
“Now then, what does the rest of the note say?” Father asked.
“I haven’t read it yet. I thought I’d wait and we could read it together.” Andy unfolded the note and began:
You’ve two ingredients of the cure,
The curse’s ending to ensure.
Much learning you’ve endured
And with it have matured.
Now the third you must pursue,
Noble, honorable, and true,
Pure of heart, full of splendor and grace
Horn of a unicorn embrace.
A young maiden’s help you will need,
With the unicorn to plead.
Though unworthy, its spire bestow,
The chains of fog to overthrow.
“Sounds like Hannah will be joining us this time,” remarked the King.
“Joining us?” asked Andy with some surprise.
“Of course, Andy. Now that I can travel, you don’t think I’d leave you and Alden to face the dangers of such a quest by yourselves, do you?”
Andy smiled. “I hadn’t thought about it, but having you along sounds good to me. In fact, it’s more than good. It’s great!”
The King raised an eyebrow and winked at Mermin.
“I hope Cadfael doesn’t mind us borrowing his daughter. She went and rescued the two of you without permission the last time. I’m just glad it all ended well,” the King added.
“Cadfael gave me a lesson in dagger fighting this morning, and he mentioned he’d help defeat Abaddon in any way possible.”
“We’ll see if that includes his eldest daughter,” the King cautioned.
“No offense to Hannah, but why do you suppose it says we need the help of a young maiden?” Andy inquired.
“Because unicorns are the embodiment of honor and puwity,” Mermin explained. “They will only allow humans who are closest to that ideal to come near. It is said only young ladies who display puwity may look upon or touch this magnificent animal.”
“But that’s not fair,” Andy protested.
The wizard chuckled. “Andy, it doesn’t matter if you think it’s fair. You won’t be getting anywhere near that beautiful animal. Neither will I or your father. We are unworthy, for men shed blood in battle.”
Andy bristled. “But Hannah’s killed vulture-guys before.”
“Yes, out of self-defense, not aggwession.”
“I’d love to see a unicorn too,” the King interrupted, “but we men must accept we aren’t going to retrieve that horn. It will be Hannah, assuming Cadfael approves.”
Andy remained unmoved.
“Life isn’t fair, as you know. Even when we want to do something, sometimes we can’t. Remember I told you that after the flood you caused?”
Andy nodded, remembering.
“Do you think it was easy for me to watch you and Alden retrieve the dragon scale on your own? No. Do you
think I felt it fair that two young boys were put in harm’s way to break a curse I caused? Never. It should have been me out there. With every fiber of my being I wanted to join you, but I had to accept that it was not my part to play. And…I had to be okay with it.”
“The ‘being okay with it’ is the hard part,” Andy commented, pacified only a little.
“Yes, no matter our age,” replied the King, smiling.
“Where do we find unicorns?” Andy inquired without missing a beat.
The King gave the wizard a meaningful look, then invited, “Ideas?”
Mermin shook his head. “Unicorns have been spotted in fowested aweas of the land fwom time to time, but to my knowledge, they don’t live here. They are mystewious cweatures, coming and going as they please.”
“Where do they go?”
“No one knows, Andy. It is uncommon to find unicorn hoof pwints as they twead lightly. I’ve only heard of sightings in marshy land. It’s impossible to twack them.”
“So are we supposed to wander the forests and marshes until we find one? That’ll take forever,” Andy chafed.
“What else do you know about unicorns, Mermin,” the King redirected.
“They are gentle and docile cweatures that live hundweds of years.”
“Anything else?” the King encouraged.
“The horn of the unicorn is quite powerful. It’s supposed to be able to cure any illness or wound instantly, no matter what caused it.”
“Really?” Andy clarified.
Mermin nodded.
Then Abaddon better not get his hands on one.
“If someone takes a unicorn’s horn by force, the animal will die instantly, for the act wobs it of its dignity and honor, the essence of its being.”
“What happens to the horn?” Andy inquired.
“Its power disappears and it won’t heal.”
“Okay, but what else? What more do you know about unicorns?” the King asked, trying to keep the conversation constructive.
“It is said that if you dwink unicorn blood you will have eternal life.”
“I think we’ve got that one handled,” joked the King.
Andy laughed as well, but a thought, not yet fully formed, began to percolate in his subconscious.
“So how is Hannah supposed to get a unicorn to give us its horn willingly?”
“If a unicorn judges someone in need to be worthy, it can offer the tip of its horn and it won’t die. That is a gweat, gweat honor.” Mermin paused, savoring the thought.
Andy and the King nodded in agreement.
“So Hannah has to make a convincing argument she’s in need and is worthy?”
“That’s wight.”
That’s not going to be easy.
“But we still need a way to find them,” Andy thought aloud.
“I don’t know if this will help, but they are also highly intelligent animals. The oldest and wisest are telepathic and can bwoadcast their thoughts and feelings to whomever they wish.”
“Really? That’s it!” Andy exclaimed.
“What’s it, Son?”
“They’re telepathic.”
“How’s that going to help us?” Father questioned.
“Dragons are also telepathic, right?”Andy clarified.
Mermin nodded.
“On my way here, Daisy told me about the whisper stream. Have you heard of it?”
Mermin shook his head.
“She said it’s a network that higher-level beings use to communicate telepathically. Her words, not mine.”
“Exactly what type of creature constitutes a ‘higher-level’ being?” the King probed, one eyebrow raised.
“She said dragons, centaurs, unicorns, griffins, the sphinx, and others use it.” Then, reading Father’s thoughts, Andy grinned as he added, “She said humans haven’t made it to that level yet.”
The King chortled. “Well, maybe Daisy, in her infinite wisdom, would take pity on us poor humans and help us out. What do you think?”
Andy and Mermin nodded in sync.
“Let me call her.”
Remembering Daisy told him to call her in his thoughts if he needed her, Andy thought, Daisy.
The three waited several minutes with no response.
“Let me try again.”
Daisy! Are you there?
Yes, Andy. What do you need?
“Daisy just answered!” Andy reported, then turned inward once more. I have a favor to ask, but it’s a secret. Is it possible to tell you without anyone else finding out?
I better come see you if it needs to remain quiet. Where are you?
At the castle.
Give me two hours and I’ll meet you behind the stables where we landed that time.
Excellent! Thanks, Daisy!
At the appointed hour, Andy, the King, and Mermin stood outside the Cavalry Training Center in the arena, waiting to see Daisy materialize through the thick fog that blanketed the area. Within minutes, Andy heard the dragon announce herself in his thoughts and then land.
“Thanks for coming,” Andy welcomed.
You said it needed to be kept quiet, so this is the only way I know to accomplish that. We can speak face to face without our conversation being spread to the whisper stream. So, what’s your secret?
We need to locate unicorns in the land.
Why?
It’s a long story, but it has to do with breaking the curse.
I see. Well, I’m not allowed to speak into the unicorn part of the whisper stream yet. I’m not old enough. But I can listen in. In fact, we can link up and you can listen to the whisper stream through me. We can at least see if there are any unicorns in the land at the moment. If we hear any, we might get lucky and figure out where they are. Would that work?
Yeah, that’d be great! Andy filled the King and Mermin in on what Daisy suggested, and the King gave a thumbs-up.
Okay, what do I do?
Bring one of your ears up to mine and press close.
Andy scanned Daisy’s head; he’d never examined it closely before. Reptilian, gray skin covered her skull. Starting just behind her jowls were coordinating scales, quarter-size at first and growing progressively larger as they reached her chest. He saw two primary white horns protruding from the top of her head and noted secondary horns spiking out of her skull below that. He also noticed tertiary horns crowding her chin, cheeks and eyebrows. Nowhere did he observe ears.
Umm.
Daisy giggled. Missing something?
Yeah. Where are your ears?
Daisy turned the left side of her head toward Andy.
See my largest horns?
Yeah.
Down and to the right you’ll see my scales separate. There’s a slit right after. That’s my ear.
Oh, Andy chuckled.
Now then, press your ear into mine.
Andy stepped close. She had a unique odor about her, like the grill at home after Dad finished barbecuing. Daisy’s immensity gave him pause. It’s a good thing I trust you.
The dragon smiled as Andy cuddled close. Her ear slit measured more than half the height of his head.
Ready?
Yep.
Okay, let’s have a listen and figure out if unicorns are around.
Andy heard a buzzing, much like the howling of the old shortwave radio his grandpa played with from time to time, and then he heard a very deep voice say, “I have studied the stars, Cyllarus. Draco the dragon will soon overwhelm Orion the hunter. I fear for the peace of the land.”
Another equally deep voice responded, “While we must take care concerning our interpretation, I too am disquieted, Chiron. We live in uncertain times.”
“What shall we do?”
“The Fates will see to the proper end of all things.”
Sounds like centaurs, Daisy cut in.
What were they talking about? A dragon overwhelming a hunter? A knot formed in Andy’s stomach.
Centaurs are known for seeing over many years b
ut not necessarily the present. I wouldn’t put much stock in what you just heard.
The shortwave howling sound resumed as Daisy changed the whisper stream channel.
A voice with a British accent declared, “That scoundrel, Abaddon, shall never penetrate this mine. It is our sworn duty to protect it, and protect it we shall, with our very lives!”
“But his forces are massing again, sir! Are gold and silver worth giving our lives for?” replied another.
“Captain, we are noble creatures who shall not be overcome. Fire for fire. Claw for claw. Wing for wing.”
That sounds like griffins, Daisy guessed. Griffins zealously guard gold and silver mines.
Where are there gold and silver mines around here?
The land of Carta. That’s their whole economy. I’ve heard Abaddon conquered that land first to fund his conquest of the rest of the lands. Fortunately for them, the griffins are fiercely loyal and have held the mines. That beast and his minions can’t get at any of it.
Alden’s from Carta. He’s never mentioned gold and silver mines. Neither has Marta.
Andy heard shortwave buzzing again.
“The bonds between us and our human warriors are strong, but not strong enough. We face a foe of deep and ancient dark magic. You’ve heard the tale of our forefather being the mount of the Greek hero Bellerophon. Together they destroyed the Chimera. Our ancestor gave him great agility to dodge the Chimera’s many blows, and we must be prepared to do the same in our generation.”
The talk went on, but Daisy interrupted, And that would be the pegasi.