The general stopped at the table by the main stage where the staff stood and saluted. She beckoned for the three of them to line up beside her and the four unicorns turned as one to face the student body. Someone began to clap and it spread like wildfire until it the noise was a roaring ovation that lasted a full two minutes before the general raised her hands.
“Be seated, my sisters,” she said. “I have news, both good and bad.”
“You’ve heard the rumors of a war in the West. You’ve probably pried enough details from your fellow students who had the misfortune of ending up in the middle of the conflict to have a good picture of what is happening out there. Two days ago, the bulk of the King’s Battalion along with elements of the Eastern Battalion deployed to link up with General Hawthorne’s forces. Along with the thousands of soldiers provided by the Council of Kings, they will turn the tide in those kingdoms currently under attack by our enemy and I ask for a moment of silence and prayer for their wellbeing, along with our sisters in the West, wherever they might be at this time.”
There was a long pause as the faces of Sandra Townsend, Penelope Garrett, and Amanda Edwards flashed through her mind. General Hawthorne had kept the two in Salif to continue treating Garrett and because Edwards had suffered side effects of her temporary enslavement.
“Thank you. We ask that the Goddess and her daughters watch over them. Now, word has arrived only yesterday that our sisters in the North are under attack by the barbarians known as the Yar. With everyone else heading for the front lines, there is no one left to come to the aid of those fighting in the Northern Kingdoms. I am going to ask for volunteers…”
Her words were cut short by the sounds of benches sliding backward as the entire assembly came to their feet.
Naomi Jyslin shook her head and clasped her hands to her chest. “Oh, my precious warriors, you honor me so!”
There was another ovation. When it ended, the General continued, saying, “Still, allow me to finish. I will ask for volunteers from the third, fourth, and fifth years to form a provisional battalion. Lady Tomas has pledged that her husband will meet us with two hundred horsemen to bolster our ranks from her kingdom. There will be another one hundred coming from Rosha. We will be tasked with breaking through the Yar forces and reclaiming the areas they have taken. I cannot ask you to do something I’m not prepared to do myself. I and several of your instructors will lead you. Those that remain here will continue to train and learn under Brevet Major Sycroft. If you are not asked if you’d like to volunteer, do not be disheartened. You must work harder than ever. We will need you soon - too soon I fear. The threat is real, as is the danger.”
Chapter 23- The Taking of Pinella
The city of Pinella’s sprawling courtyards, sleeping populace, and only marginally alert guardsmen never saw its sudden and complete conquest coming in the predawn hours. That much Majherri knew. The “bounty hunters” who had passed through the area previously had returned with their quarry – a group of Yar barbarians who had sheltered the bandits responsible for killing that nobleman they’d spoken of during their earlier visit. They were in a rather festive mood and seemed quite happy despite the loss of some of their numbers in the mountains.
From the perspective of the city dwellers, other people killing the Yar was a wonderful concept. Majherri heard several people say similar comments. The citizens of Pinella were far enough away from the mountains to be concerned about the threat of raids, but since the Duke claimed the lands to the north, they’d seen many of their soldiers die protecting those “people who choose to live up there.”
The captain of the guard graciously allowed the travelers to use the jail cells to hold these heathens for the night. The bounty hunters were very grateful and placed two of their own outside those bars to not trouble the town’s militia any more than they already had and even offered a barrel of spiced mead they’d taken when they caught up with that scum. His men gave a playful nudge when their captain seemed quite taken with the pale skinned brunette as the two retired to the man’s private quarters.
While the city dreamt, a shape took to the sky, leaving a man seeing through blackened eyes to carry out her will. Majherri watched it as he stood in the midst of the horses. The rope that should have secured him to the hitching post was forgotten. The giant hawk landed at the jail, meeting up with several who had just emerged. The great bird hopped onto the man’s padded shoulders and grasped his harness with her talons. Beating her wings furiously, she struggled to get the man airborne. Moments later, Danella’s hawk was joined by the large owl also struggling against the weight of a human.
His rider, Orgo, Kuresh and Kraise would strike at the sorcerer who ruled this city and use their beastly forms to overrun the small castle by entering through the bedroom window of Duke Castor. The hawk, the serpent, the beast, and the owl - in a fair fight, even Orgo’s powerful serpent might not be enough to tilt the balance in the Yar’s favor against a sorcerer and his guards, but Danella’s plan could not even be remotely described as fair. It was an ambush and a slaughter before their victims could wipe the sleep from their eyes…a brutal scheme from a woman who no longer possessed a shred of compassion.
The rest of the plan reinforced her savagery. The other chieftains, with the exception of the hydra, would slay the guards who didn’t succumb to the tainted mead and secure the gates with the rest of the nomads. What would a bored soldier standing on the walls do when suddenly faced with a timber wolf the size of a small pony or a mountain lion driven by a human intellect? What could men staggering out of a guardroom, wondering at the ruckus do when they saw a mammoth bearing down on them? Those that arrived at the mustering point would find the captain telling them that the battle is lost and that he’s ordering surrender.
A squad of unicorn lancers were stationed in Pinella. Slorn, in the form of his four headed hydra would descend on the unicorn stables while their riders rested inside. Even if their riders reacted quickly, they would find Majherri. Much to his horror, the tainted unicorn would be right there with Slorn to help the first of eleven slay every unicorn and Battle Maiden he found.
Majherri did his best to simply execute the plan and not think about what he was doing as the slumbering city woke to panic and chaos.
The strategists said the Yar were too stubborn to put aside their differences to work together. The chieftains believed themselves too valuable to participate in battle and risk their lives in anything but their ritualistic combat that no one outside those savages understood.
None of those so called experts would have conceived that all eleven of those chieftains would be in the same place, exposed, and supported only by a handful of warriors, who weren’t even Yar.
... And that was primarily why Pinella fell. The rest of the tale involved the screams and blood of men, women, and unicorns. The cost for the invaders was minimal. Five nomad warriors died and the new chieftain of the Snow Cats was seriously injured and barely clinging to his life while the other chieftains nursed numerous minor wounds.
Even Majherri wasn’t untouched as he limped through the streets. A sword wielding Battle Maiden left a nasty wound before he finished her. He’d tapped into enough of his own magic to burn the wound closed, but the stinging tenderness gnawed at him with every step he took as he patrolled the empty streets.
At the main gate the hydra, flanked by two nomad bowmen, sat on his haunches and dared anyone to approach. Danella circled overhead and would screech if she saw anyone who needed to be dealt with. The two other gates were also blocked by the Yar chieftains as the black warning pennants flapped in the wind, alerting travelers of a false outbreak of disease in the city.
Yesterday, Pinella had four aviaries where the public could send messages to other towns inside a cylinder attached to a bird. All the city could claim now was several burnt out buildings and hundreds of birds killed directly by the flames or smoke.
Kraise, the owl chieftain had left, flying north to meet the hundreds of warrior
s covering the distance between the mountain range and Pinella. The Yar infantry were to bypass two villages and one town on the way to Pinella. Its capture cut off those settlements from any help. They would be easy pickings and likely offer surrender in an attempt to receive more favorable terms.
People stared at Majherri from open windows while he roamed the streets. Danella had once more removed the illusion-creating reins from his head. They saw the black, riderless unicorn moving by them. Some pointed and others closed their shutters. Their reaction, combined with the soreness from his injury, placed him in a foul mood.
Turning right at the next juncture, he began making his way down the side street. That was when he saw her.
The building was a small, squat affair - the kind that one or two people at most could live in. He noticed the sign proclaiming artist for hire and then saw the face peering out at him.
No! He couldn’t unsee the human female any more than he could prevent Danella from discovering this encounter. She can’t be here!
Unfortunately, for the both of them, he stared back at the face of the woman who claimed to be Brenda Reese, Kayleigh’s mother. The only solace he could find in that moment was that he knew the orders Count Darius gave Danella demanded the woman be returned alive. His rider would not kill the woman with the true name of Brianna Nolan-West, but that was not a guarantee that the woman would not suffer at Danella’s hands.
“I was honestly hoping for more out of you, Lady Nolan-West,” Danella said, surveying the result of the punch she’d delivered to the woman she’d just knocked out of the chair.
“In that case, you’ll have to accept disappointment,” Brenda Reese replied, using the tips of her fingers to wipe away the blood on her lips. “I haven’t gone by that name in a long time.”
Majherri could not have hidden the knowledge of the woman’s presence. Instead, he brought it directly to Danella’s attention, along with the reminder that Count Darius wanted Kayleigh’s mother alive.
“Put the noblewoman back in the chair,” she said to the bewitched captain of the guard. The man woodenly responded.
“Interesting spell you’ve got there,” the captive said. “It feels rather dark. Ian’s taught you a few of his tricks, I see.”
“Oh, I’m much more than that,” Danella replied.
“No, I don’t think so. He toys with women. I should know better than anyone else,” Brenda Reese said. “If you believe you can simply lay claim to him, you’d be as deluded as I was all those years ago. At least I was young and foolish. You’re just foolish.”
Danella snarled, “If I were you I’d choose my words with more care.”
Kayleigh’s mother was unfazed by the threat. “I survived Ian trying to kill me, though at a great cost. I will not cower before the likes of you. Of course, you realize if I still possessed my magic that this conversation would be much different. Count yourself lucky in that regard.”
His rider raised her gloved hand once more, cocked and ready to strike another blow, but stopped short, toying with her prisoner. “Don’t be so certain, milady. Duke Castor and his family had access to their magic for all the good it did them. I am beginning to think that most of the power you ‘true mages’ claim is based more on bluffs.”
Placing her hands on her hips, Danella leaned forward and taunted, “Maybe most are just glorified tricksters and fakirs, who are at least honest about their limitations. Then again, what’s the point in debating this with a burnt out husk such as yourself? Why you can’t even conjure a simple flame can you, milady? Even the tricksters and the fakirs would look down on you in scorn. Come to think of it, maybe I should perform my little trick on you and turn you into a good little thrall. We could have so much fun together.”
Majherri could do without Danella’s behavior and snorted loudly.
“Is this really necessary?” he asked. “She’s not exactly a threat.”
“Oh, you silly unicorn! I am taking it easy on her, Majherri. Nothing’s broken yet, though she might have chipped a tooth. Besides, I only want useful slaves. This woman – whatever she chooses to call herself – is completely and utterly useless.”
“Majherri? My daughter’s unicorn was named that.”
“He was never her unicorn!” Danella shouted. “Your daughter…your daughter…she’s only alive because the count wishes it. She tried to steal him from me, that little bitch!”
“You know that’s not true,” Majherri said.
“It’s true if I say it’s true.”
“Just saying the words does not lend truth to them,” he retorted.
“You keep defending her, but she’s out there riding a different unicorn. She doesn’t want you anymore, just like she doesn’t want anything to do with her mother!”
Danella spun away and stormed out of the room, before yelling, “Are you coming?”
Majherri glanced back at Kayleigh’s mother and sadly bowed his head, following his rider into the hallway while the nomad standing guard in the corridor closed the cell door.
Careful not to give voice to his concerns, he thought, I may have overestimated the influence the Yar spirit has on her.
Instead he asked, “Did you find the information you wanted to know?”
Majherri’s question caused Danella to sigh loudly as they rode slowly down the street. “No, I forgot to ask how the count survived. Perhaps I should go back?”
“I doubt she’d willingly tell you anything now,” Majherri said. The sun approached the peak in the sky. Despite being a northern city, it was quite warm outside. The guardsmen were ordered by Danella’s thrall to guard the marketplaces against the few people that ventured out.
“Well, I like a good challenge,” she answered with a feral grin. “After all, our warriors are still two days away. I need something to keep myself occupied.”
“Do you truly believe this city can be held?”
“It depends on what the opposition is. A large enough army can break even the mightiest of fortifications. We didn’t have to destroy the walls, so it is really a matter of making this city more effort to take than it is worth. As the army belonging to my liege threatens other lands, we may even be able to peel away some of the nearby cities when they know that the Yar are his allies. Some won’t have the necessary spine to fight a war. Surrendering to us might be an option easier for their leaders to accept.”
“Unless the Yar prove to be savages in their treatment of the people they conquer. Have you considered that?”
“I have, Majherri. I just don’t think it’s a top priority at the moment. I recall that you used to have such contempt for the city dwellers. Something about choosing to live behind walls and not out in nature. So, I find it odd that here you are begging on their behalf for tolerance and a gentle hand.”
The unicorn snorted and said, “Though I do not care for how they live, I do not wish them ill.”
“In that case,” she said, “I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens when all those barbarians get here.”
The unicorn snorted and swished his tail. Danella was becoming increasingly deceptive. The orders Count Darius gave were vague. He wanted her to make the Yar a threat. The taking of this city accomplished that. From there Majherri wasn’t certain what she would do next and that worried him.
“Are you enjoying being Queen of the Yar? Is it all you hoped it would be?” Majherri asked.
“It works for the time being,” she answered, pleased that her cryptic replies were annoying him.
Chapter 24- Defining Traits
This time, the city of Talcosa practically leapt out of Kayleigh’s way. Even those hardened denizens used to witnessing a handful of battle maidens traversing their streets found themselves taking a few steps backward at the sight of the understrength Provisional Battalion working its way toward the city’s main gate. Glancing at the ranks behind her, the young sorceress tried to see things from the spectators’ point of view. Wearing armor, carrying shields, and holding lances
pointed to the sky, the main body of lancers didn’t appear to be a group of trainees who had yet to complete their schooling. No, instead they looked rather fearsome. Lieutenant Lindsey Shepherd, leading the lancer column in her freshly polished armor, shimmered as the sun’s rays danced across the metallic surface.
Kayleigh was in the smaller group at the front with her shield strapped across her back. General Jyslin had given her, the fifth year Lead Rider, and Laurel Whitaker field promotions to senior riders and charged them with leading the three squads of scouts. Surprisingly, Brevet Major Meghan Lynch encouraged Kayleigh when she expressed uncertainty at being placed in charge of five other riders.
“Reese,” she said. “You have more actual combat experience than every trainee and the two maidens who brought your new unicorn to the island. You are also powerful enough to hold your own against a superior force. From my perspective the only thing you lack is situational awareness, and there is really only one way to learn that. It is one thing to be a dangerous warrior. Being able to fight while also directing others and bearing responsibility for their lives is another matter altogether. Even if you feel you are not ready, the position is yours because, of the available candidates, you and the others are the best suited for this task.”
Her gut instinct told Kayleigh that there was a story to the major’s comments on leadership. If Majherri were here, she could have asked him.
Iarisha shook her head and Kayleigh felt a pang of guilt over thinking about her first unicorn. The female Kayleigh sat astride seemed to have a good heart and was both grateful and unassuming. She’d come to the Sacred Isle to die, but received a new lease on life and an eagerness to be her partner. It was a definite change from the male unicorn Kayleigh recently released. Rheysurrah could never quite get over his feelings about Kayleigh’s responsibility for Annabeth’s death.
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