The alchemist’s eyes were closed by the time the two got to him. Just glancing over those sunken cheeks made the prince feel sorry for him. After years of playing cat and mouse between two unicorns, Purification preparing, and cleaning up one mess after another, actually seeing his arch nemesis up close made him realize something else.
“Your father’s not the enemy, Abraham.”
“I know.”
A glint of metal in the dirt, and Wisdom stooped to uncover Ashpin’s gold-striped dagger. Chronicles’ bear hide must have been too thick to do much damage, and had dropped off in the heat of battle. Its slender craftsmanship was perfect for quick maneuvers. He eyed the gold chain around Jenario’s neck. Upon his breast lay the stone containing the piece of horn – the hub of the horn’s existence.
“Think we can get it off?” Wisdom held up the dagger until Abraham nodded.
“Right. We don’t want to risk that thing getting one of us.”
“You most of all.” The prince had him back away slightly. “Think of the destruction had your father had real magic instead of illusion.”
Slipping the blade’s tip beneath the chain, he slowly raised it. He was careful not to let the chain slip down to the hilt when Jenario’s hand shot up and grabbed his wrist.
With Abraham shouting from behind, the prince dropped the dagger. Jenario, however, held firm, those cold eyes flooding with the horn’s red presence.
“Oh, but surely a Healer is more preferable over any magic-user.”
A flash from Wisdom’s open scar caused the mage to suddenly release him. While the prince instantly jerked back, he could not help but notice how the scar cooled to its original color.
“Guess it’s not that simple if I have your counterpart.” He stood next to Abraham, who had raised a hand to ready a spell.
“So…my appearance bothers you, does it?” Jenario turned to his son. At a hand gesture, the vines pulled into the earth, taking the fallen with them.
Wisdom caught the last of Delexi’s furry form sucked under. A slithering vine crossing over his boot made him twist away. Several commands came from both groups to avoid the groping plants. When the last of it disappeared into ashen earth, Jenario made another motion.
An explosion tore through the ground, throwing ash every which way. From it, the leafy plants expanded upward into a column of entwining green, gray and white buds. The weighted structure then let itself collapse into a molding clump. Snaking up and around, it began to form the body of the dark unicorn. White buds protruded from facial sockets and around the feet, acting as feathering. A thorny patch rose in place of a horn, while active pieces flowed out in waves of hair strands. If not for the chaotic lull of power reeking from its form, there might have been beauty to it.
Wisdom braced himself, unsure of the horn’s intentions.
A chuckle escaped the alchemist’s lips. The plant unicorn dipped its flowered head. Five-petal buds opened in the eye sockets as a release of power withdrew from its horn into Jenario’s body. Soon, those sunken features began to fill in, until he was as the prince remembered him – a cocky illusionist expecting obedience of another.
Wisdom felt sick. He’s using the dead to draw energy! He then repeated those thoughts to the separate groups.
“That better?” Even the horn’s rasping was clearer as he took a bow. Behind him, the vine unicorn pawed the ash.
“Storm not enough for you?” Wisdom frowned, allowing his sight-reading ability to pick up random thoughts from others.
Many questioned, Why not just kill him?
Do you want the horn jumping bodies? We need Jenario in control of himself!
Leave that to us, came the multiple voices of Simpletons, with one standing out among them all.
Careful, Mididus, the prince cautioned.
“What..?” Chronicles peered around at the touch of grass sliding against clothing. Nearby trees and ground vegetation that had once been shielded slipped back into view. The burnt area now seemed insignificant to the amount of greenery taking its place.
A rush of Nature’s energy connected to the Healer’s flexing fingertips. Where purple and black swelled, healing took away. At last, Chronicles could fully see again.
Clever, those eyes seemed to say, which his son welcomed with a nod.
“Deceitful moves, Healer.” The horn grinned and directed his attention toward the prince. “But is it wise to reveal your secrets?”
Wisdom felt the presence of gathering Simpletons.
“You have no idea,” the prince said.
With those words, he felt a flow of mental waves streak around him. As the Simpletons unleashed their full opinions concerning the horn, Wisdom could not help but return the smile.
The alchemist never knew what hit him. Voices swarmed his mind, first coming in contact with the horn, which instantly withdrew in the dark confines of the protective crystal. With no guidance from its master, the plant unicorn lost its form and withdrew back into the earth.
Temporarily free of the horn’s control, Jenario was left to deal with the unknown clutter of shouts drowning out his own thoughts. Confused, he swiped at the air, to no avail.
Mididus was first to realize two minds were just one again. A single thought directed his clan away, leaving Jenario to himself.
“That looks painful,” Abraham said, to which Wisdom nodded.
“Oh, trust me. You don’t want the pleasure of them greeting you the same way.”
“I take it you have.”
“Not to be repeated any time soon.”
‘Tis clear! the two heard from retreating voices.
“Now’s your chance, Abraham,” Wisdom said. “Talk to him before the horn returns.”
Jenario was hunched over with hands on his either side of his head when his son approached. His incoherent mutterings about multiple voices solely captured his attention. All else went ignored, even when his son stood directly in front of him.
“Father?” Abraham carefully reached up and placed his hands over Jenario’s. Hoping a gentle touch might help, he kept trying. “Can you hear me?”
“That’s not it. Not him. It can’t be! Where are they?” Jenario’s gaze finally focused on a familiar face. “Where...are they?”
“They’re gone now. It’s just me. Abraham. Your son, remember?”
“Abraham?” Jenario’s eyes darted back and forth over his son’s features while his thoughts tried to recollect the name’s meaning. “Abraham...” There was a hint of recognition when he suddenly thrust himself away. “No! Stay back. You mustn’t be here!” When his eyes locked with the prince not more than a few yards away, Jenario’s face twisted in fear. “The horn! It desires what I cannot provide. Why did you come knowing what it wants!”
“He didn’t,” Abraham answered for the prince. “You came to him.”
His father blinked. For the first time, Jenario took a look around. This was not the castle setting he was accustomed to in Sapphire. There were people, more than he was willing to admit, standing in close proximity. Yet it was the ears of one particular group that confused him.
“Lo-ans’rel...” he whispered coldly, then checked the other group of humans. “The war. It’s started.”
“I take it the horn has been masking quite a few people’s memories,” they heard the prince say.
“Except the war is over,” Abraham said. “We know who the real enemy is now.”
“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be this close!” Jenario clenched his teeth in anger. “I was a fool to believe I could possess such power. Don’t you see? It would feed off your abilities!”
Grasping the crimson stone in one hand, Jenario yanked the chain from around his neck with a loud snap!
“I will not have my son taken! I will not be used for that! Never!”
He lifted the stone to slam it over a metal shield laying at his feet. Just as his hand reached the climatic point of toss, the stone flashed a brilliant red.
Time slo
wed to a crawl. In that moment, those nearby shielded their eyes from the light. Jenario himself was locked in place, hand ready to smash the very thing he had created to house his newfound power. Instead, it held him while a voice resonated from the stone, loud enough to be heard across the field.
“Know that this is just the beginning.” The light dimmed a mere moment before bursting in a burning, red-hot ball of light.
“Let go of it, Jenario!” Wisdom shouted over the man’s agonizing scream.
If Jenario had heard, it did little good. Unable to even move, he was forced to endure the horn sucking its presence from his body. Once the light finally dimmed, the stone fell from his unmoving fingers and landed in the ashen field.
Jenario poised a moment more, the shock of it reflected in the dying light of his eyes.
“Father!” Abraham rushed to his side as Jenario finally crumpled into his son’s arms. He pulled his father close, his breath no more than a wheezing whimper.
Deep, brown irises opened to his son’s soothing voice. For once, there was no red taint in them. The horn, it seemed, had abandoned its host.
“I’m here. It’ll be all right.” Abraham wanted to believe his own words, even as he could see the paleness of death stealing his father’s features.
Jenario’s chest heaved as he tried to take in a breath. “Don’t...ever...use it,” he managed before his eyes lost all shimmer. Slowly, his head tilted back, the last of his breath exhausted.
Abraham continued to hold his father’s lifeless body even when he felt the hand of the prince on his shoulder.
“He’s finally free,” Wisdom said in a solemn tone.
“It...sucked out his life.”
“The price of using a unicorn’s power. I’d be bound to the same fate if I attempted it with the one I have.”
“The horn...told me all those things.” Abraham cast his gaze up at the prince. “About the Purification.”
“And now we have a chance to make it right.”
He peered over his shoulder to notice a lax in tension between the clansmen. People were spanning the fields, checking for more wounded. Chronicles had even ordered his people to start healing some of the humans. That brought a slight smile to the prince. How long since the Lo-ans’rel had allowed human connection?
He caught his father’s prying gaze, not that harsh look he was accustomed to. There was a touch of softness, one that read, “Are you okay?”
After so long, the task of building back relationships was lifted from his shoulders. With one burden gone, Wisdom viewed the remaining obstacle with ease. To Chronicles, he nodded with tears welling in his own eyes for a father’s love he had never known.
We’ll talk later, Chronicles signaled as he continued assisting humans.
When the prince returned his attention to Abraham, the young man had buried his face into his father’s velvety robes. Now and then his shoulders shook with silent sobs.
“I’m sorry, Abraham.” Wisdom knelt by his side. “We’ll hold a service him. For everyone...who passed during the horn’s reign.”
A tear-streaked face lifted slightly in order to say, “Thank you.”
As Wisdom rose to check on others, his gaze fell to the necklace halfway hidden in the dirt where Jenario had dropped it. For a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of fading light. Perhaps it was his remaining soul fighting not to be devoured by the horn. Either way, one question remained.
“What to do with you now?” He let his words lose themselves on an incoming breeze. It was northbound, a reminder to inquire about Lexington’s status, as well as his brother’s travels. Thoughts dwelled on Glory, the Elite family’s beautiful daughter, and the Thieves’ Guild.
Had any of them been spared?
CHAPTER 6
“The city was in shambles when I left.” Chanté let his wings spread to enjoy the warmth of evening sunlight. Accompanied by the prince and his father, the three stood on the docks to wait on the ships carrying many of the townspeople and Simpletons. “I’m sure they’ll be glad to hear of the war’s end.”
Looking out over the calm water, they could see clear skies to the north where once foreboding clouds covered the sea cliffs. Further out, several ships could be seen heading inland. They were slow sailing back, allowing time to savor the present peace of laughing gulls overhead and a salty breeze whisking briefly along the coastline.
Simpletons waste no time with communications, Wisdom thought. “Which part? That Healers aren’t to blame, or the fact that Jenario was finally stopped?”
Chanté crinkled his feathered brow in thought. “Should’t it be that...thing? That’s what caused all of this in the first place, wasn’t it?”
“Generally speaking, yes,” Chronicles said. “However, it might not have gotten far without a host. Jenario just made himself…less useful.”
“Speaking of Jenario…” Wisdom turned to his father, a fresh breeze catching a few wisps of hair around his face. “How did you know that name?”
“It’s been years, I’ll admit. But when I finally saw him, it just came to me – one of four humans Windchester introduced to the clan. I was...still trying to understand a few things at the time. Why my father picked another to lead the clan. Half-breed relationships. Then, there was your mother.”
The ships had made some progress. They were just able to make out movement along the deck when Chanté broke the uneasy silence between the two.
“By the way, I did come across your brother while in Lexington. He wanted you to know that Glory was safe.”
Wisdom could have shouted for joy. As he closed his eyes, imagining her playful smile, his relief that she would soon return released a long sigh. “Thank goodness.”
Chronicles cast his son a quizzical look. “Someone you’re quite fond of, I take it.” When he saw those ears lay back in guilt, the Healer gave a chuckle. “Yes, you probably did right to keep that from my previous state of mind. Especially being human.”
“Wait ‘til you meet her!” Chanté piped, his wings fluttering with enthusiasm. “I’m not much into humans myself, but her beauty is top quality. Even her touch is golden!”
Wisdom purposely cleared his throat. “And what would you know of that?” His gaze held a hint of challenge, one the harpy returned with a mischievous grin.
Feigning an apologetic gesture, Chanté held his wings in close and puffed out his facial feathers. “Well, when you’ve got a pair of warm wings to sleep with, it kind of knocks off the chill at night.” He then pulled those feathers flat against his cheeks. It was as human-looking as he could get. “So yeah. She may have slept with me, but she rode your brother all the way from Lexington.”
“Do what?” Chronicles cocked his head curiously at the White Wing, who burst out laughing. The image in his mind showed a young woman riding a white horse, but his words created a whole new meaning that suggested otherwise.
“You little!” The prince lunged for Chanté, who easily lifted himself into flight by jumping off the dock. “I’ll have your wings for that!”
“Hey, you should thank us for keeping her safe – and warm!” Chanté hovered just above them while Chronicles just shook his head at their little game.
“Since we’re discussing Wings,” he said, “where did those dark ‘Keyarx come from?”
After recomposing himself, Wisdom returned with a slight pant, “Friends I made along the way. I believe they’re at the clan.” He then pointed at Chanté. “Which is where you should probably be headed! We’ll meet you there.”
“Yeah. I guess I should be getting back. With father’s death, well...I need to send word to my clan.”
“I’ve already heard from Windchester. He’s informed them of your safe arrival!” Chronicles called up to him. “Now they just wait for your return...and orders.”
Dipping low enough so that his wings skimmed the top of the water, Chanté raised back up over the docks and headed in the direction of the Eastern Clan.
“Naturall
y!”
“He’s nervous.” Wisdom watched him leave. “But who can blame him? When family is wiped out literally in front of you, what can you do except move on?”
“Was that your experience?” Chronicles did not make contact, but continued to watch the wind gently wavering the white sails of the approaching ships.
“Please...” Wisdom shut his eyes against the memories. “Don’t make me relive that moment.” When he felt his father’s hand upon his shoulder, his body felt ready to break.
“I won’t try to read your thoughts,” he said. “Not ‘til you’re ready. But I at least owe you for that mark branded on your shoulder, and get you some suitable clothing. Clothing a prince should wear.”
Wisdom placed his hand over his father’s, unable to hold back a weak grin. Abraham’s abandoned robe made for a quick cover after his own clothing had been shredded, exposing his shoulder tattoo and adding lightning marks across part of his back.
“I wouldn’t put the full blame on yourself, not when the horn planned the majority of it.” The prince managed to lift his head up and blink back tears. He needed to at least look the part of a prince until his clansmen were back on the mainland.
“Which I cannot understand why anyone would want to be around it, knowing what it’s capable of,” Chronicles said sternly.
Wisdom did not immediately reply, and felt his father’s hand remove itself from his shoulder. His thoughts traveled in the direction of Sapphire, where Abraham had agreed to take the horn. Though not alone, as a band of Healers accompanied for safe-guard, the idea he would be left to himself afterwards bothered the prince. He thought back to Jenario’s final moment.
The horn wanted Abraham trained, he thought as the ships neared the docks. He nodded in returned greeting to a crew member.
“I hope your friend understands the risk he’s taking,” Chronicles said, having followed his thought patterns.
“I’m sure he does. Will the others be traveling to Lexington once they’ve finished in Sapphire?”
A nod. “They’ll be joining others near the city to help heal any wounded.” He glanced over at his son. “You know, half-breeds can’t access Nature. They still need us to cover that part.”
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