Sorceress (Book 2)

by Jim Bernheimer

  The two men moved to flank Danella while the giant bird circled in the air, careful to stay in the confines of the circle. Their strategy was obvious – they would keep his rider occupied while the hawkwoman ensnared her from above. If that happened, she would be at their mercy. From Danella, he sensed nothing but confidence. If it wasn’t somewhat sickening, the unicorn could admire the way she felt. This new version of the woman he used to know fought with a reckless abandon that bordered on insane…which Majherri supposed described the fire maiden now.

  Closing in, the two warriors were mainly focused on keeping her in a spot for the bird to release the net, but Danella had prepared herself well. When the bird started to release, she sent a weak fireball at Chief Tessa. The bird squawked loudly in surprise and missed badly. It nearly caught the man carrying the axe and shield. Danella used this distraction to her advantage and engaged the man carrying the spear. Her whip became a tendril of flame, snapping against his hide leather pants and scorching them. The burn had gone through and the barbarian grunted loudly, jumping backward with a noticeable limp. Suddenly, the task of keeping his rider contained became more difficult. Majherri noted that the Yar in general did not seem to care for the use of armor beyond chainmail shirts and shields.

  The warrior who narrowly avoided being caught in the hawk’s net also fell back, mimicking the distance his compatriot kept from Danella. The pair moved almost as one and the unicorn had no doubt that these two had spent long hours with their chieftain, training together, because as impressive as the bird was, it was ill suited for physical combat. He thought about one of Tessa’s titles, the great provider, realizing that what the spirit lacked in ritual combat it made up for when it came to hunting and bringing game back to her tribe. A wise leader would use their spirit’s strengths to increase the fortune of their tribe. Kuresh was no stranger to hard work, but even he was shocked by how much physical labor the Ice Claw’s asked of their chieftain.

  Then again, Majherri mused. They may be avenging their leader by exaggerating the labors Harik performed. Thank the spirits above that unicorns are rarely inspired to such pettiness.

  Of course, that line of thinking brought him back to T’rsa’s behavior toward him, which led him to wonder if he gave his kind more credit than he should.

  Somewhat lost in his thoughts, Majherri still watched the bird land on top of a second net and return to the sky. Meanwhile, Danella closed the gap between herself and the two warriors.

  Screeching twice, Chief Tessa signaled her men, making them aware of her approach. Majherri was wondering what Danella would concoct this time when he felt a solid pull on his magic.

  She’s summoning strength across our bond!

  The unicorn was stunned. There were tales, of course, about riders who could access the magic even across short distances. In fact, the leadership at The Academy had accused Kayleigh of doing that during her challenge against Andrea Hawthorne. Now, he suspected the girl tapped into the magic she had all along. He would have remembered this sensation.

  Again, the Glacier Hawks moved in tandem. As the bird approached and dropped the net, the spearman hurled his primary weapon at Danella’s left side. The ploy was designed to force the fire maiden into the clutches of the net or draw blood.

  Once more, they had a serviceable plan and, were it not for the magic Danella drew upon, their strategy would have worked. Instead, the intended target used her sword to turn aside the thrown weapon and dashed through it. Tessa’s net landed back where his rider should have been, but was not.

  The large man saw his doom coming and fumbled to get the spiked club hanging from his belt free before Danella’s blade arrived.

  He wasn’t quick enough and she slashed him from shoulder to sternum. Dying, the man managed to grab her with his still functioning arm and tried to hold onto her. She pushed him down and finished him off.

  Tessa didn’t go for the third net. She changed tactics and headed straight for his rider. The remaining warrior charged as well. The slashing talons and beating wings forced Danella backward. Majherri saw the clawed foot slice against the fire maiden’s arm and he felt the pain of the wound as if it were his own. The sword in her hand, the one she’d helped forge with her magic, exploded in dark flames as Danella counterattacked. The magic set feathers alight and the giant she-hawk screeched in pain.

  Before she could land a lethal blow, the man was there using his shield to protect his chieftain and swinging his heavy blade with no interest in self-preservation. Danella took a slash against her leg. Unlike the Yar, she had metal guards attached to the vulnerable areas of her limbs. Blood was drawn, but the wound was not as significant as the man hoped.

  Her whip snapped out and, just like what had happened against Kayleigh, Danella animated it. The thick leather came alive and wrapped around the man’s neck. As he struggled to breathe, flame slithered down the length past his hands. The barbarian frantically tried to pull it away and off his body.

  “Danella had planned to kill Kayleigh in a similar manner,” he recalled, knowing this man had none of the tricks his former rider possessed. The Yar warrior’s screams were cut short as his head became engulfed in a blaze of pure agony.

  Tessa attempted to fly, but her injured wing didn’t allow her to get far. Instead she hopped about twenty feet and landed.

  She’s trying to get out of the circle, Majherri thought and shuddered. Danella was pulling from him again, and he knew she would slay the woman. For a second, he resisted and she pulled harder.

  Danella ran through the wound to her leg and closed the gap with the injured chieftain. She slashed her blade across the she-hawk’s back as Tessa tried to leap once more. The birdwoman fell to the ground about two unicorn lengths short of the circle’s edge. She transformed back into human form as Danella moved between Tessa and the safety outside the circle.

  Bleeding from her back and with one arm burnt, the chieftain didn’t go for her blades. “You are victorious. I yield.”

  Even from the distance separating them, Majherri saw the smile on Danella’s face and guessed what was coming next.

  “An interesting choice of final words,” she said, repeating the chieftain’s earlier statement before she struck again.

  The remaining Glacier Hawks moved to surround the three cloaked women who had accompanied them. The Ice Claws cheered half-heartedly, seemingly torn between seeing another Yar chieftain fall at the hands of the outlanders and knowing that their tribe was no longer eleventh of eleven.

  Danella unbuckled the belt from Tessa’s body and examined one of the two swords. Satisfied, she turned away from the corpse and walked back toward Majherri. About halfway there, she stopped in her tracks and looked about.

  “You are a violent human. Was killing Tessa necessary?”

  Majherri heard the same voice his rider did. It had a feminine quality to it and seemed to come from all around.

  Danella’s mental reply could also be heard. “She underestimated me. I am not to be trifled with. So, you must be the hawk spirit. Does this mean you are considering me as a host?”

  “Perhaps,” the spirit answered with a mercurial quality to the voice. “I am Veyli, Rider of the Wind. Hmmm, I see you already have other entanglements. I sense another with us and the lingering taint of the Nether Realms.”

  “The other is my unicorn, Majherri. Creatures from the Nether Realms will soon walk this land again. Standing against their power would be unwise.”

  Majherri attempted to say something, broadcast his thoughts, but found that he was only a spectator in this bizarre discussion.

  “Ah, there he is! Hidden by magic. The spirits were allied with the Goddess and her daughters in the last great conflict. We were the familiars of her eleven daughters.”

  There was a brief moment of confusion. “I thought the Goddess had seven daughters.”

  “After the war with the Nether Realms you would be correct,” the spirit replied. “Our reward from her was a place for oursel
ves and those who fought with us. We were given these lands and those just south of here. In the time that has passed, those who pretend to follow the ways of the Goddess have forgotten her promises and driven us far into the north.”

  “The one I serve intends to break the barriers separating the realms,” Danella stated. “You will have to choose a side once more. Your followers would be restored to their promised lands and whatever you can seize by force. Already, the nomads of the Great Western Desert have benefited from joining the army Count Darius has amassed.”

  “Perhaps your count would do well to heed the tales of humans who thought that they too could control the monsters. Their endings were most unpleasant.”

  “That is always a possibility, Veyli. There is no reward without risk. Tessa called you the Great Provider. Imagine being able to provide your followers with the lands that were promised and then taken from them.”

  There was a brief pause while the spirit considered the offer. “You have a silver tongue and your words are laced with honey. However, Gursk chose your minion as his new host and you seem to have the strength to match your ambitions. I have spent the last several centuries cultivating hosts primarily for their wisdom. While you seem to have a measure of wisdom, it is not among your principal attributes.”

  “You are free to choose someone else in that case,” Danella responded. “I have the Ice Claws carrying my banner already. With you beside me, I suspect my words will carry more weight with the Council of Eleven and I am quite confident that I will be able to fend off any who would threaten the Glacier Hawk lands.”

  “Would you be so brave if you are forced to face Rokor, the Silver Hydra in the Circle? He is first of Eleven. When his hosts die, his new selection ascends back to his previous position in a matter of weeks.”

  “I look forward to the challenge, if his host makes the same decisions that my predecessor made.”

  “Your predecessor, Danella? You reach a conclusion that I have not come to.”

  “Then leave! I’m certain those cloaked females over there are quite wise and eager to be one with you. My unicorn and I will complete my mission with or without your assistance. It would be easier with your support, but it will be accomplished nonetheless. Tell me something, is this joining permanent or could it be a temporary arrangement? Tessa seemed to be in control. Would I be fighting against you for possession of my body?”

  The spirit hesitated before answering. “There have been instances in the past where one of the eleven has abandoned their chosen. It can be undone, but we both would suffer great pain. My spirit cannot command you, but I can assert some influences. You will feel the need to take care of your new tribe and provide for them. With meditation and discipline, you will be able to speak with me and I will advise you, but that usually takes time for a new host to master. Otherwise, you will only hear my voice in your dreams. It is part of the reason the Goddess asked us to choose with great care as we are turning our power over to a mortal. I have done my best to follow her dictate through the ages, but not this time.”

  “I am no stranger to great pain,” Danella responded with confidence. “Let us form an alliance for now and see what path it leads to.”

  Majherri’s dread grew with the knowledge that Danella had found another way to become more powerful. He did not like this new development at all. He could only hope that the spirit might provide a way for his rider to throw off her own shackles.

  The joining of the animal spirit and his rider was an odd sensation. It was not painful, nor was it pleasant. The feeling made him uncomfortable as something intruded on their bond. Moments later, it was over and the confused Glacier Hawk entourage found themselves in the same awkward position as the Ice Claw only seven days ago, bowing to an outlander, a human they likely considered unworthy. She summoned him to her side and removed the enchanted straps of leather hiding his true appearance.

  “Now they understand how I feel,” he said with an irritated thrashing of his tail.

  Danella’s eyes were upon him and her head tilted, examining him as if she’d never seen him before.

  “I understood that,” she said aloud. “Say something else, Majherri. Tell me how you really feel.”

  “You should cast aside your false worship of Count Darius and remember who you once were,” he replied.

  She crossed her arms and said, “Interesting. My partnership with Veyli allows me to finally understand you, old friend. As for your comment, I probably should do that, Majherri. I do remember who I was, but I also know I no longer wish to be that person.”

  The valley surrounding the Yar sacred mountain was heated by thermal geysers and sported farmland. Obviously, it was the most desirable territory the Yar had to offer. They did not linger and were led to up a trail to a naturally formed cave at the base of a massive mountain by the guides from the Silver Hydras. Statues symbolizing victories lined the edge of the cave. In the center of the chamber were the eleven large thrones arranged around another enormous circle.

  “They appear to be arranged in the current order,” Majherri observed. “That must be a daunting task for those who must move them.”

  Danella laughed and said, “More so since our arrival.”

  “I agree,” Kuresh said as he and a few of his men turned to walk toward his throne. Majherri learned that the nomad turned chieftain could also understand him and had heard several of his previous comments since the warrior became Gursk’s latest host.

  Because of this, the unicorn quickly became more cautious when it came to speaking his thoughts aloud.

  “Still,” Danella said, riding Majherri proudly into the Cavern of Spirits as the Ninth of Eleven. “Mine should be a little closer to the front.

  Haylock the Ivory Bear’s host decided to tempt fate and challenge his rider a week ago.

  Haylock had a new host now, along with Derca the Snow Cat, who was defeated by Kuresh. The deaths of four chieftains in a matter of three weeks at the hands of two outlanders became difficult to ignore. That these two were now also chieftains themselves turned difficult into impossible. A messenger from Chief Slorn of the Silver Hydra tribe arrived with a summons to the Cavern, located in the heart of the mountain range and firmly in the grip of the Silver Hydra tribe.

  Majherri’s could only find happiness in that he no longer had to maintain the illusion of being a common beast. Eyes followed him once more wherever his hooves walked and now he could have actual conversations with his rider, even if they were not as fulfilling as he hoped. Danella seemed slightly more grounded and less prone to chaotic outbursts, but her opinion remained that both she and he had been irrevocably changed. Danella reasoned that they must accept the change and move forward together.

  Every unicorn wished for the ability to speak directly to their rider. He now could, but found it oddly frustrating.

  The Silver Hydra throne closely resembled a massive flat bench. Slorn was already upon it in his beastform. All eight eyes of the four headed hydra watched them. To Slorn’s right was another huge platform for Chief Orgo, Chosen of Krunax the Tundra Serpent and the longstanding second of eleven. Torchlight danced in a mesmerizing pattern from the almost mirror-like scales covering the giant reptile’s frame.

  Danella’s new handmaidens, the same women who had hoped to be selected as Tessa’s successor, informed her that Orgo tries to fight on bright sunny days when his opponent has difficulty looking at him. The unicorn found some amusement in the manner the women followed Danella about. For now, she tolerated their constant presence, but he knew it irritated her to no end and some kind of outburst was only a question of time.

  Majherri paid attention as well, learning as much as he could about the two most physically imposing Yar spirits, as well as the other seven. Danella dismounted when she arrived at her throne. It had a seat, but also a silver bar along the top where she could perch in her animal form, which she decided to do. Majherri stayed in the area behind the throne along with the single nomad bodyguard she�
�d brought and the ever present handmaidens.

  The unicorn observed the final two chieftains and their entourages enter, with the last looking particularly nervous. It was rumored that the Snow Cats would have already been challenged for their lands except for this council.

  “We are convened!” the four gaping maws of the hydra roared.

  “I wish to speak first, Slorn,” Orgo hissed and beat the end of his tail against the base of the throne.

  “Speak your mind, brother.”

  “For the first time in history two outlanders sit in our hallowed circle at the same time! I say this travesty shall not stand!”

  Several of the other chieftains expressed their outrage. The hydra’s heads weaved from side to side, saying nothing but clearly condoning the behavior of the others.

  The acoustics of the space amplified the noise from the monsters. To the unicorn’s sensitive ears, it approached deafening levels.

  Danella hopped down from the perch and returned to her human form – an obvious insult to all.

  “Are you finished yet?” she bellowed.

  “I should swallow you whole,” Orgo threatened.

  “You’re welcome to try, maggot,” Danella answered, leaning forward. “But before you make the last mistake you’ll ever make, I should warn you that I have faced a greater netherbeast in combat and still stand before you to tell the tale. You seem formidable, but I would prefer not to kill you needlessly. You might be useful.”

  “Impossible!” the shimmering serpent countered.

  “I too am skeptical of such a boast,” Chief Slorn said, bringing a measure of order to the gathering. “But there have been troubling signs. My shamans see bad omens too often these days. What is it you wish to say, Chief Glacier Hawk? You’ve earned a place amongst us, so return to your form and respect our traditions.”

  Danella gave a slight dip of her head to the Hydra and returned to her avian form, and flew to the perch above her throne.