I’m on my way, dearest one. Tell me where to find you.
I’m in Mandar City. She could feel their link being forced closed as something dark rose within her body to fight against it.
I’m coming. The last words from Arius echoed in her head before the bond failed. She dropped to the floor and curled into a ball, weeping.
Hazel rushed to her side and wrapped her arms around her. “Sera! What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did the mixture not work?”
“No, no, it did! Sort of. I don’t remember but I…” Sera’s brows furrowed together. “I felt a connection with someone. But... it’s fading.” She pummelled the floorboards with her hands and yelled, “I’m forgetting again. I don’t remember what just happened!” She wanted to throw something, preferably something heavy that would make a satisfying sound when it shattered the glass window.
Hazel made soothing noises and held Sera as she let her fury out in the form of tears. Once her anger had abated slightly, Hazel murmured, “I’m so sorry it didn’t work.”
“It’s not your fault that my head is mucked up,” muttered Sera darkly. “I’m sorry you wasted your special mountain snow on me.”
“It wasn’t wasted. It’s never wasted on you.” Hazel squeezed her in a tight hug before standing. “Come on, go have a shower and freshen up and I’ll get dinner sorted.”
“I should help you,” mumbled Sera, wiping her face.
Holding her hand out, Hazel helped Sera to her feet. “To be honest, you’re not looking your best,” she joked in an attempt to cheer Sera up. “A nice, warm shower will do you a world of good.”
Sera placed her hand on her friend’s shoulder, meeting her eyes, and said seriously, “Thank you, Hazel. For trying. You are always there for me, and you’ve gone above and beyond to help me get my memories back. I don’t know what I would do without you. I hope you realise how much I appreciate everything you do.”
Hazel blushed. “Yeah, yeah, no need to get all sappy,” she blustered. “Now let me go so we can eat!”
Chapter Five
“Come on, Tracker Seraphina, we’re waiting.” Tracker Helena sat astride a young unicorn, its chestnut coat glowing in the afternoon sun. As if to get the point across, the unicorn pawed the ground and snorted emphatically. “That will do, Rella.” The old woman laid a comforting hand against the filly’s neck.
The strange events following Hazel’s attempt at getting Sera’s memories back last night were fuzzy. Sera knew she’d connected with someone or something but couldn’t remember what she’d learnt. She had been looking forward to this training ride through the monotonous paperwork all day. Balthazar was standing nearby, waiting for her, so she dashed into the tack room to grab his bitless bridle, saddle and saddle cloth and tacked up. Tightening the girth, she swung up easily and settled into the seat. The brown leather squeaked as she slipped her boots into the stirrups.
“Move out,” the Head Tracker commanded.
With a squeal, Rella jumped into a swift trot, holding her head high as if to show off her pearlescent horn and the amber stones that circled the base. Balthazar blew out a long-suffering sigh before trotting after them. The buckskin stallion’s long stride easily matched Rella’s and they established a steady rhythm. Their trot was a floating gait and comfortable to sit to. Both Trackers left their reins loose, allowing the unicorns their head. Covering the ground smoothly, it didn’t take long for them to pass the farms surrounding Mandar City. Paddocks filled with cattle or crops flew past them. Instead of turning right towards the Kaldern Ocean, they followed a dirt road that curved to the west, towards the mountains. Tendrils of auburn hair escaped Sera’s plait as the wind gusted over them. Tracker Helena remained silent, so Sera followed her lead and kept her mouth shut. Looking over her shoulder, Sera could make out the massive dome of wire fencing that was the Iniques Rehabilitation Centre. She shuddered and turned back to watch where they were going.
Leaving the fenced farms behind, they entered a timber plantation. The pine trees were planted in long lines, the unnatural symmetry putting Sera on edge. However, Balthazar’s steadying presence eased her troubled thoughts. She was lucky that Balthazar had chosen her as his rider. He’d been partnered with another man for years until Tracker Emmett passed away on a mission the year before Sera had graduated. It was a rare but very real threat in this job. Not everyone came home. Balthazar had grieved for months after his rider died and every now and then Sera would catch him gazing into the distance with a sad expression. He’d never told her the story of how he lost his rider and Sera respected his wish for privacy. At Tracker Helena’s command, they slowed to a walk, riding side by side between the long lines of trunks.
Twisting in the saddle to face Sera, Tracker Helena asked, “Do you have your weapons?”
“No, Tracker Helena. I lost both my rifle and my blade during my time away and haven’t received a replacement yet since I’ve been on desk duty.”
“You can call me Helena when we’re alone. You’ll be needing a gun for field work. Here,” the older woman said, lobbing a box of bullets to Sera before pulling an unloaded pistol from her holster and tossing it to her too.
The unicorns didn’t flinch at the weapon being thrown between them. Sera lurched sideways and Balthazar shifted smoothly beneath her, allowing her to snag the bullet box easily but fumbling slightly on the catch of the gun. She weighed it in her hands and admired the intricate engraving on the walnut grip. Raising the barrel, she lined the sights up and stared into the distance, pleased with the balance of the handgun.
“Thank you, Helena. This is a superb weapon.”
“Try not to lose this one.”
“I won’t. May I ask, where is it from? It doesn’t appear to be one of the standard issue pistols from the Weapons Department.”
“That’s because it’s not. It was mine from when I was still doing field work.”
“What? You can’t give me this! You still need it.”
“I’m formally retiring from field work this month. I thought I would take young Rella here out for one last training ride before she chooses her rider this weekend. My focus will now be on the training of the MRO’s Trackers and assigning missions. I’ll also be running occasional classes at MINATH for the apprentices. I won’t be needing this weapon anymore. I’d rather see it used and taken care of than sitting locked in my safe at home.”
“This is truly a great gift. Thank you. I’m not sure I deserve it, but I will do my best to use it wisely.” Taking the offered holster from Helena, she threaded it onto her belt and tucked the gun inside.
Grey eyes scrutinised her closely before Helena’s face broke into a rare smile. “I believe you will.”
Rella shook her mane and pranced on the spot, waving her tail at Balthazar coyly. The buckskin stallion snorted derisively and ignored her flirting. Helena rested her hand on the filly’s neck again and whispered something in her ear. The unicorn calmed down and relaxed into their walk once more. The plantation abruptly gave way to the wilds. Tangled undergrowth surrounded the trees that grew haphazardly through the thick bushes. Without any guidance from their riders, the unicorns followed a narrow path in single file.
They rode on in silence a while longer before Sera mustered up the courage to ask the question that had been plaguing her since yesterday. “You mentioned that you’d seen a scar similar to mine in the past?” she prompted. She held her hand out to reinforce her question.
Helena sighed and scrubbed a hand over her face. “Yes. But perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned it. It’s impossible for it to be the same kind of mark.”
“Please, tell me what you know.”
This could be my only chance to find out what happened to me.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Helena warned Sera. “I was a young woman when the Mythic War ended. I’m not proud to say that during the war I was involved in the killing of mythics that didn’t deserve to die. There was one that I will never forget.” She closed her eyes for a
moment as some strong emotion twisted her features. “The last dragon. I was one of the guards watching his cage as we waited for the final decision on his fate. The last night of his life, he spoke to me. He told me his name was Volkuhn and he was ready to die.” She paused and took a deep breath. “He’d lost his mate in the war and didn’t want to live without her. He called her his Soulbound and showed me the golden scars on the palm of his talon and over his heart where he had pledged himself to her. It’s a unique bonding between dragons that they believe is sanctioned by the Four Gods. I never found out her name. They executed him that night. He didn’t even put up a fight. It was over forty years ago, but the memory is burnt into my soul.” Helena turned her face away whilst she composed herself.
Sera’s heart crumbled, not only because of the terrible story, but because she knew now that Helena’s knowledge had nothing to do with her scars. The dragon species had died with Volkuhn. Besides, she was only a human. Helena was right. It is impossible. Yet a small bubble of rebellion refused to be burst inside her heart. The golden scar over hand and heart was a strange coincidence.
Helena turned back towards Sera and asked pointedly, “I haven’t heard the full story from you. What happened to you on that camping trip?”
“I honestly can’t remember anything beyond my first night. I remember shooting a doe and skinning it on the Saturday, setting up camp and going to sleep. Then it’s just a blank until two Wednesdays later when I found myself on the road into the city with a heap of injuries I don’t remember collecting.”
“That is strange.”
“You’re telling me!” Sera let go of the reins to undo and plait her wayward hair once more. “It’s so frustrating. I have this niggling feeling in the back of my mind that if I can crack some code in my brain, I could unlock everything. It feels like…” she paused and glanced at the dark-haired woman before ploughing on, “like something important happened. Like there was a secret that I learnt, that I’ve been forced to forget.”
Helena examined her with a cocked head before asking, “Have you ever heard of the Little Birds?”
As Sera opened her mouth to deny any knowledge, Rella squealed and shied sideways, crashing into a bush. Helena grabbed a handful of her mane to stay mounted and murmured soothing words, trying to calm the filly. Rella flicked her ears back to her rider but the whites of her eyes showed as she threw a crazed look past Balthazar’s nose. Rearing up, she pawed the air before spinning around and bolting back up the trail, Helena gripping grimly to the saddle.
“Shit, why did she act that way, Balthazar?” Sera asked and shortened her reins. “We need to go after them!”
Balthazar stood frozen, ears straining forward, and stared into the underbrush in front of them.
“Balthazar? What’s happening?” Sera had never seen a unicorn act the way Rella had; even the foals had more sense than the filly did in that moment. The fact that Balthazar wasn’t answering her sent a chill racing through her body.
Something is very wrong.
Drawing her pistol, she loaded bullets into the magazine of her new weapon. Raising the handgun in readiness, she kept her finger off the trigger until she could see her target. As she studied the greenery, she noticed the onyx stones around the base of Balthazar’s horn flash briefly and she wondered what magic he was weaving. The leaves rustled in a sudden breeze and curled back, shrinking and twisting, until they revealed the mythic that watched them. A wild unicorn met their gaze before lowering its horn, pointing it directly at Sera’s heart.
Chapter Six
Confused, Sera lowered the barrel slightly but kept her finger near the trigger. The strange unicorn was a feral-looking thing, his matted mane hanging past his shoulders and his tail dragging on the ground. His coat was a deep sea-green, almost black, with scars chequering it. Leaves tangled through his mane and tail while sticky seedpods clung to his fetlocks.
“It is the king of my kind,” Balthazar murmured, finally breaking his silence. He bowed low, touching his horn to the earth in a show of respect. Sera gripped the saddle with her hand and lowered her heels to keep from sliding forward onto his neck. She bobbed her head in deference to the king before Balthazar stood once more.
“I don’t want your false allegiance,” the Unicorn King addressed Balthazar with an angry snort, ignoring Sera. “How you have fallen, to allow a human to sit astride you.” He tossed his mane in disgust.
“With all due respect, sire, the unicorns made a treaty with the humans.”
“Not all of us agreed to that. It was an abomination to lower ourselves to become mere beasts of burden.”
“It was a good decision. They offered us safety from those who would hunt us, easy access to food, and shelter from the elements.”
“You’ve gone soft! You have become... domesticated.” He spat the word out with such venom, it struck Sera like a blow. The unadulterated aggression that rolled off the unicorn in waves made her muscles tense as realisation struck.
Nothing we say will turn his thoughts. He won’t be convinced that we live in mutual respect of each other.
Fear closed around her heart with an iron grip, standing the hairs on her arm to attention. She laid a cautionary hand against Balthazar’s neck as she twisted in the saddle to search for any sign of Helena and Rella.
The king squealed and pawed the ground. “Don’t think you’re getting any help from your friends, I’ve sent them away.”
“Dismount, Sera,” her stallion commanded softly, intended for her ears only.
Without asking why, she did as he asked. Looking to Balthazar for guidance, she noticed his ears pinned against his head. Keeping her gun hand steady, she prepared to fight as she returned her attention to the mythic.
The green unicorn bared his teeth and hissed, “The time for talking has passed, colt. It is time for you to return to Ghaia’s embrace. Perhaps the Goddess can show you the error of your ways.”
“Get out of here, Seraphina!” Balthazar trumpeted to her.
“I’m not leaving you!” she shouted back, her finger hovering over the trigger.
“You must!” he whinnied, and leapt in front of her.
The king turned his head and pointed his horn at the nearest tree. Vines crept down the trunk, snaking towards Balthazar and Sera.
Eyes wide as she backed away, Sera asked, “What in the name of Ghaia is this?”
“This is his forest,” grunted Balthazar. “The earth, the trees, the plants... they all submit to him. May the Four Gods help us.”
With that, Balthazar plunged forward with a scream, his horn aimed at the king’s heart. With a sweep of his horn, the other stallion parried with magic and struck Balthazar with a tree branch. Sera’s unicorn fell heavily on his side, smashing his head on a rock. She screamed and dashed toward him, but was halted by the green unicorn advancing on her. The trees surrounding them leaned closer, the vines reaching their tendrils towards her. She raised her pistol once again and aimed at his heart, yet hesitated to fire. The king noticed her indecision and a puzzled look flashed over his face before he lowered his head and sent a blast of pure magic at her. She pulled the trigger at the same moment and something in the air between them shimmered and shattered. The intense magic the king had aimed at her split apart and warped. The power still blasted into her and threw her back, cracking her body into a trunk. The tree wrapped its boughs around her, holding her in place as he limped forward, his shoulder bleeding where her bullet had grazed his hide, the silvery liquid shining in the afternoon light.
“Stop. Please.” She feebly held her hand up to put one last effort in to her survival, the tree’s branches making it difficult to move even that much.
The king halted abruptly and stared at her palm, eyeing the golden scar. “What is th–”
His words were cut off when Balthazar rushed him from the side, smashing into his body. He stumbled, and Balthazar took the opportunity to swing his horn into the king’s. It slid down the length, producing a s
creeching sound that put Sera’s teeth on edge. The buckskin stallion’s horn glowed brightly before it suddenly sliced cleanly through the king’s horn. A massive blast of magic radiated from the horn and the green unicorn screamed. An eerie breeze swept through the clearing and then everything fell unnaturally still. The tree holding Sera went limp and she managed to struggle free.
Balthazar knelt in front of her and demanded, “Get on, quickly!”
She snatched her pistol from the ground, avoiding the flailing king, and scrambled into the saddle, her back screaming in protest from where she’d struck the tree. As soon as she was mounted Balthazar galloped away, leaving the king of the unicorns writhing on the ground as his magic leaked away.
A few minutes later, Balthazar slowed to a walk. Sera’s gut roiled and she focused on keeping her lunch down as she relived the disturbing scene. Squeezing her eyes shut briefly, she whispered in quiet horror, “Balthazar... what did you do to him?”
“It was you or him, Seraphina. I couldn’t...” his voice hitched, “I couldn’t bear it if I lost another rider. I had to choose you.”
Still tormented by the image of the mythic losing his magic, she stroked her unicorn’s neck and murmured, “Thank you for saving me.”
But at what cost?
Balthazar nickered low in his throat in response to her gratitude. The trees were back in their uniform lines now, giving Sera hope Helena and Rella weren’t too far away. Biting her lip to keep from crying out from the pain wracking her body, she fumbled in the pouch on her belt and pulled out the container marked Heal. Scooping a dab onto her hand, she rubbed it on her back as best as she could. Before she could tell Balthazar to stop so she could put some on his head wound, he stumbled unexpectedly and fell to his knees, throwing Sera forward. She curled into a ball and managed to roll as she fell. Her back flared in pain as she hit the earth, pine needles softening her landing. Slowly pushing herself onto her hands and knees, she breathed deeply, pushing the pain away. Raising her eyes, she cried out when she realised Balthazar was unconscious.
A Dragon's Body: A New Adult Fantasy Dragon Series (The MINATH Chronicles Book 2) Page 3