In truth, Majherri didn’t care one bit for the reflection he’d seen in the fountain. He could still feel his horn, but the illusion was too convincing for his liking. The reasoning behind the move made sense. A black unicorn had never existed and would draw far too much attention. A Battle Maiden leading a score of warriors would also be noteworthy, but a woman riding a black horse amongst other riders would nothing remarkable.
It didn’t mean he was happy about it, but that could describe every day since he’d returned to Danella’s side.
His rider wore an enchanted necklace that made her eyes appear normal. When she’d first come to him, he’d saw her eyes and his spirit soared, only to be disappointed shortly after.
They would be riding light, which meant no wagons to slow them down. It also meant heavier saddlebags, laden with food, coins, and jewels. A portion of the treasury of Jaruciax would be a gift or bribe to the Yar - to buy their allegiance.
Humans and their shiny trinkets, he thought. I doubt that I’ll ever truly understand.
If their gifts weren’t well received, then Danella would take what she needed by force. Already, he could tell which his rider hoped for. The bloodlust consuming her, and him by extension, sickened Majherri. Certainly, they’d never turned away from a fight, but now she actively went looking for one.
Danella must have noticed his foul mood because she turned and said, “If you’d like to go somewhere else while I finish up here, I give you permission. In fact, I heard a rumor that they captured one of the trainees and her ’corn in Shiftla. Why don’t you go and see what you can learn, or entertain yourself by annoying the Master’s beast? I know how much you enjoy that.”
He bristled at receiving her “permission.” It was a subtle reminder of the power she wielded over him, but her suggestion had merit. Majherri moved close enough for his rider to remove the bewitched gear. He had no desire to travel in the guise of a lesser beast and fight off the hands of any who would try to claim him.
Freed from both the whims of his rider and the wretched thing that made his horn disappear, he wandered away in search of the new unicorn. Try as he might, he barely remembered any of the names of the trainees. The only other experienced unicorn in the group that went through the portal was that arrogant colt, Rheysurrah. He’d carried that fire maiden who Kayleigh was fond of, the one with the annoying high-pitched voice. As much as he didn’t like that unicorn, he would not wish this fate on an enemy.
The streets of Jaruciax did not have nearly the numbers of humans Majherri had recalled during more peaceful times but, even so, people still ventured into the streets for reasons the unicorn could not fathom.
“Look, Mother! Father,” a girl said from the stand where her parents sold pottery. “Is that a unicorn?”
The child reached her hand out, but her mother snatched it back, saying in a hushed whisper, “Don’t even think of touching that thing! They say a spawn of the nether rides the monster.”
Majherri considered stopping, but thought better of it. What would it accomplish, outside of frightening a peasant family? Sadly, I cannot be certain those rumors are far from the truth.
His journey through the streets only reinforced the aura of fear surrounding him. Before, when his coat was light and his rider had free will, he’d enjoyed the attention of the other humans. Now, they had good reason to fear. From an outsider’s view, wherever he went in this city, death followed.
Soldiers from the occupying army stood at each intersection. The first group looked bored and he ignored them, but the second seemed intent on intimidating any who passed. Shattered pottery littered the wet cobblestones.
“Another with no tithe for their new rulers!” one of the three men shouted. “No water for you either!”
The man held at spear point was forced to dump the water he carried onto the street.
“Go on,” the soldier threatened. “If you don’t I’ll break it and something else.”
The fearful man dropped the clay pot onto the ground and it shattered. The taunting nomad took three quick steps forward and kicked the broken container, ensuring it would not be salvageable.
“There is a water tax in effect! If you want water, you’ll pay the tax.”
If this was the desert, Majherri thought, they wouldn’t dare waste water like that.
Unfortunately, Majherri was part of this army and their actions, in a way, reflected poorly on him. He decided, after only a moment’s consideration, to intervene. He trotted past the small crowd that had gathered. Most held empty jugs and were too frightened to try their luck with the warriors.
The men failed to notice his approach until he snorted loudly. They turned, no doubt expecting one of their officers, but found him instead.
“It’s that woman’s unicorn!”
“Relax, it’s on our side,” the person who had been doing most of the talking said. What amazed Majherri the most was how humans could say so much and have their words mean absolutely nothing.
“It doesn’t look happy,” one of his comrades warned.
Majherri snorted for a second time.
“It’s just a stupid ani...”
The man didn’t get to finish his statement. Majherri pivoted and pointed his horn at the man, who immediately took awkward steps backward.
Rearing, he expressed his displeasure.
“Does it want the money?”
“I don’t know!”
“I think it wants us to leave!”
Majherri nodded and dragged a hoof across the ground and the warriors walked away. It was a tiny victory, but that was the only kind available to him for now.
He searched until he found the wagon and cage to which Osalon had previously been shackled to. This time, the cage contained a younger girl, one from Kayleigh’s class. The female unicorn stiffened and took a defensive posture as he neared.
“Stay back!”
“I mean you no harm, youngling,” Majherri said to the female. “I may look different, but I am still Majherri. Forgive me, but I do not recall your name.”
“I am Farlana. What have they done to you?”
“My first rider is tainted by very dark magic and it spreads across my bond. Before you ask, I don’t know if it will happen to you or your rider. I think my situation may be somewhat unique. How were you captured?”
The female said, “Amanda and I were at the docks in Shiftla when the city was attacked. The humans panicked and we were trying to keep things from getting worse when we were attacked by men using weighted nets. My rider was dragged from my saddle before I could mount an effective defense.”
“Human cities are treacherous places under the best conditions,” Majherri said and tried to reassure the female. “There is little room to maneuver and from your description, it sounds like the humans were trained to ambush Battle Maidens. I’m sure you did everything you could.”
“What will happen to Amanda? Can you free us? She’s been treated roughly by our captors, but not as badly as I’d feared.”
He shook his head side to side. “I cannot. They will probably use the foul heart of the netherbeast to convert your rider to the cause of Count Darius. You won’t be allowed any physical contact with your rider until her eyes become like those of the other thralls. Your rider will be able to control your movements and even your moods through the bond. I doubt you will like the feeling any more than I do.”
As Farlana protested this and then bemoaned her plight, Majherri noted that she gave no reaction to him naming Count Darius and he was annoyed that the younglings seemed to spend less time learning about human history than when he was first at The Academy.
“What do you know of my other rider, Kayleigh Reese?” he asked when he could not take her wallowing in pity any longer.
“She rides Rheysurrah now and has admitted to my rider and several others that she is not really a Battle Maiden. I don’t know if she survived the battle. I am sorry.”
Majherri’s head drooped at her words
. He did not like Rheysurrah at all. The male was arrogant, disrespectful, and thought far too much of the meager skills he possessed.
“I know that Kayleigh did. I have already learned that much. What of Rheysurrah’s original rider?”
“She was slain and the girl was able to forge a bond to prevent Rheysurrah’s wasting,” Farlana reported before returning to her comments about how unfair her situation was. Majherri lost interest in her instantly and felt badly for Kayleigh. She’d liked the other human, even if he hadn’t.
“Majherri? Aren’t you listening to me?”
He hadn’t, but didn’t want to admit it. “What did you say? I was thinking about Kayleigh and Rheysurrah.”
“I asked you to please come closer.”
“Why?”
“Do you need me to confess it? Fine! I am scared and in need of any comfort you are willing to provide.”
This made him worry about what happened between him and Cyemma. He observed Farlana. Her nostrils flared, and she had repositioned herself so that he could see her entire body. The female was only in her third year of training and too young to mate. She probably didn’t even realize what she was doing.
“It’s affecting you as well,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, confused, but her body’s movements told a completely different story.
“The dark magic afflicting me causes an unusual reaction among females. It will drive you into a mating frenzy.”
“I just want some comforting,” she neighed, confused.
“All I can offer is my apologies, Farlana. You’re too young to mate and even if I were interested, you are chained to your rider’s cage. The prospect does not entice me. I wish you and your rider safe journeys, wherever fate may take you.”
He began to back away over her protests. Perhaps she wasn’t offering what he thought, but he would rather not get closer to find out. At least this time, he remained in control of his actions, unlike with Cyemma. That made him feel better, but only slightly.
After leaving behind the confused and frustrated female, Majherri went to one of the city’s closed marketplaces and stared up at the spirits of his ancestors in the sky. He wondered if his light would be welcome there when his time in the mortal realm ended.
The area was blissfully free of humans, except a couple of bored-looking men guarding the area. They weren’t part of the invading army, nor of the city guard. Majherri guessed these were mercenaries, hired by the merchants to protect their interests.
Danella would be pretending to be such a person when they left this city and Majherri would be forced to act the part of a common animal. As he considered his existence, he heard a set of hooves approach. He snorted and shook his head, in no mood for anyone’s company.
“I am surprised I could get this close before you’d noticed me,” Osalon said.
“My mind is occupied, Osalon. Is there something you need?”
“I have spoken to a few of the others,” Osalon started. “They believe you are cursed.”
“They are probably correct. Is that what you think?”
“No. You’re considerably saner than when we were in the desert with the trainees. Now that Sandra is free of her physical shackles but wears a set of another kind, I am allowed to walk the city as you do. What occupies your mind so much that a noisy lancer can get so close to an observant scout?”
Osalon’s attempt at sarcasm actually amused Majherri and he responded, “I was wondering if we will be cast from the sky and not allowed to shine our light down on our kin after what has happened.”
“Interesting,” Osalon said with a swish of his tail. “I didn’t take you for a spiritualist.”
“I am more than the stories make of me,” he replied. His amusement quickly reached its limit.
“So it would seem,” the other acknowledged. “Sandra has dedicated herself to turning this migrating pack of scavengers into a functioning army.”
“She will have to settle for disappointment,” Majherri stated.
“Sandra is eager to prove her worth. She had hoped to one day be leading her own battalion of riders. As I am certain you are aware, this darkness removes the restraints on her ambition.”
He nodded, all too familiar with how the corruption worked and hoped the air maiden would retain some semblance of her identity.
“Still, the army consists of men from a culture ill-suited to taking orders from females,” Majherri said. “Your rider will face more obstacles than simple incompetence.”
Osalon agreed with Majherri’s assessment of the problems ahead before saying, “I am more concerned about the first time I must stand against one of our kin.”
“I haven’t had to face that either, Osalon. I share your concern that it will happen. Perhaps you should encourage your rider’s dreams of crafting invasion plans. The humans planning the battles are rarely the ones on the front lines.”
Osalon was silent and Majherri watched him consider his words. “I am not certain. If she is too successful, it means that many of our kin will die by her strategies. I do not know which is worse. Still, I am uncertain what this Count Darius wishes to accomplish. This army will overrun the western kingdoms and perhaps even make it into the central kingdoms.”
“He has allies from before in the southern kingdoms,” Majherri answered. “They will wait until he has made enough progress to switch their allegiance, but I think his plan hinges on something else.”
“What is it?”
“Danella and I interrupted his summoning ceremony, when he first attempted to call a netherbeast to our realm. He was forced to send it back to heal, missing one of its three hearts. He is looking for a place of power to open another rift and bring it and its ilk forth once more.”
“The human tampers with powers beyond his control!”
“I fear you are right, Osalon. Before, the sorcerer used a lost temple far into the Western Desert. I am not sure why he couldn’t use that ground again, but I think he must go elsewhere now. In truth, I believe that this invasion doesn’t need to reach Talcosa. It is only a ruse to get him to where he can open a portal to the Nether and call for help once more from those cursed realms.”
“Why are you telling me this, Majherri?”
“Danella and I are leaving to gather allies and attack from the far north and I want my suspicions known before I depart. If Sandra is to be involved in the planning, you may be able to learn where he intends to open his portal.”
Osalon seemed unsure of himself, before asking, “What can we do with this information?”
“We will do what must be done to stop the netherbeasts from defiling our world any more than they already have.”
“Agreed. I’d heard that you were leaving, Majherri. I waited outside the command tent and listened to the one called Amir saying that your rider was becoming uncontrollable. Count Darius allayed his fears, saying that your rider is an agent of chaos and that it serves no purpose to attempt to control such a force. Instead, he sends her where she can cause the most trouble for his enemies.”
“I’d be offended,” Majherri confessed. “But I cannot dispute what has been said. I know only that things will not end well.”
Chapter 12- In the Company of Solitude
The village Laurel had described was more a tiny collection of houses that made Helden appear like a major city in comparison. A partially built wall, which looked like it hadn’t been touched in years, offered more shade than it did protection.
It was also devoid of life. Upon closer inspection, the buildings, built from mud bricks, stones, and pieces of wood, were damaged and stripped of anything useful. In the fields were the signs of crops left to fend for themselves. Weeds had moved in and taken over and Kayleigh knew they were more likely to find a rabbit than any vegetables or fruits.
At least the unicorns will be able to eat their fill.
“I believe the inhabitants left over a year ago,” Orsa said from his spot in the wagon. Th
e wounded soldier was a pale shadow of the man who had drafted them into the defense of his city. Fortunately, Kayleigh had been scouting ahead and Tamera broke the news of how quickly Shiftla fell to the invaders.
It was possible that Tamera blamed him for the loss of her unicorn as much as she blamed their prisoner.
Kayleigh nodded and closed her eyes, checking the state of Cyemma’s bond with Penelope Garrett. She visualized the rope connecting the two and checked the place where the two were joined. The strands of darkness were still there, but they were fewer in number. Even so, she concentrated and pulled several away, similar to pulling loose threads from a bolt of cloth.
Their prisoner had tried to make trouble when Kayleigh attempted to sleep. She’d been forced to take Cyemma on a five minute ride out of the camp and secure the poor, suffering unicorn tightly to a tree. Kayleigh walked back to camp and then gave in to her guilt by going back to stay with Cyemma to protect the unicorn from any predators that might find her.
“Laurel said she’d seen it on the maps when you sent her with the messenger birds outside the city.”
“She should have asked,” Orsa said.
“And let you know where we intended to meet up if we managed to escape Shiftla?” Kayleigh responded and thought how she wouldn’t have asked either. “Besides, most refugees would be moving alongside of the Clef. The pursuit would head that way.”
“There is no defendable position here,” the man said. “We shouldn’t stay here long.”
“We’re going to wait a day,” Kayleigh said, uninterested in any argument.
“Don’t be a fool, girl!”
“You’re in no condition to ride, Captain,” Kayleigh said. “Even if you were, I couldn’t spare either of the horses pulling the wagon and neither of the unicorns here will let you near them. Unless you feel like taking a long walk, then I’m afraid you’re staying put.”
Orsa’s been angry and pitiful ever since he came to, Kayleigh thought. He acts as if he lost his honor as well as his city!
“I think we will not be attacked,” Rahzir said, urging the tired horses onward. “With the leader being driven back, I do not believe that my uncle will push south.”
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