by Paula Boer
He wanted it to end.
But it wasn’t Yuma’s fault.
With determination driving him hard, Fleet galloped to a vantage point where an outcrop of rocks broke the tree cover.
Muffled screams of fear and rage drifted up through the forest. Horses whinnied and people yelled, interspersed with yowls of pain.
Frustrated the action happened elsewhere, Fleet hastened back to Rocky, intent on joining the fight. He needed to wreak vengeance on the beasts that had thwarted his plans of a settled existence for more than half his life.
He cantered through the oaks. His rump throbbed. He gagged on the rank scent of bloodwolf. Charging faster, he pounded down the narrow trail to where he had left Yuma and the other pair. He sensed a bloodwolf close in front. Reaching the stream, he caught a glimpse of crimson fur flash through the trees.
The skewbald stallion was nowhere in sight.
“Fleet! Here!” Yuma swung from a branch.
He dropped onto Fleet’s back as he cantered beneath. Without breaking stride, they tore after the bloodwolf, the track easy to follow from both the smell and the snapped twigs where Rocky had bolted.
Fleet broke into a clearing.
The bloodwolf bunched its hindquarters.
He spurted forward. An arrow whizzed past his ears, bowling over the bloodwolf as it launched its attack. The beast’s momentum carried it forward, knocking Rocky down, his rider trapped beneath him.
Yuma leapt to the ground before Fleet had even halted. “Delsin! Talk to me!”
Rocky scrambled to his feet.
The boy groaned and waved a hand. “I’m okay. Just stunned.”
Yuma retrieved his arrow from the neck of the bloodwolf.
Fleet trotted around the corpse, the stench keeping him back.
The bloodwolf heaved and lurched to its feet, shaking its jowls and spraying saliva in a wide arc.
Fleet leapt to attack. Before he had time to bring his front hooves down, the massive beast shuddered and crashed over. He gaped at the enormous carcass, crusted with gore and reeking of poison. “I thought it was dead.”
Yuma kicked the body. “It is now. Any other creature would have died instantly with a shot like that to the throat. It was too dangerous to try and cure it by shooting it in the rump.”
The boy shrieked.
They rushed to his side.
Yuma knelt beside him. “What’s the matter? Is something broken?”
Clasping one arm, Delsin shook his head. “It’s only a graze. But I think poison splashed me. It sears like fire.”
Fleet nudged Yuma. “You must stab him with an arrow like you did Tress.”
“No! I can’t do that to Delsin.”
Fleet tossed his head and flared his nostrils. “So it’s okay to risk my mare, but not okay to do the same to one of your clan? And you wonder why I’m angry.”
Yuma led Fleet out of Delsin’s hearing. “He isn’t as strong as a horse, not even as strong as a normal man. Can’t you see he’s crippled? An illness when he was young bowed his legs. I can’t risk injuring him further. And this is Laila’s brother. Imagine their father’s wrath if I return to Jolon having murdered his youngest son.” Yuma rummaged in his emergency medicine pouch. “I’ll try a goldenrod poultice, but I’ll need more water to wash the wound.”
Fleet snuffled the bag. “Give me something to fetch it in.”
When Fleet returned, the boy’s eyes had glazed over and he refused to speak. Curled up in the shade, he rocked back and forth, his arms hugged around his belly. The moans emanating from his contorted body didn’t sound human.
Fleet carried the suede pouch to Yuma. “Next time, don’t give me hog hide to hold in my teeth.”
Yuma retrieved the container. “I didn’t exactly have time to braid a grass handle.” He crouched next to the boy. “The wound looks clean, but the poison has taken hold.”
Still believing Yuma should stab Delsin with the jade, Fleet walked over to where Rocky grazed nearby. “If any poison touched you, we must wash it off.”
The stallion raised his head and checked his sides. “I’m fine. People are very vulnerable with their bare skin.”
He returned to where Yuma ministered to the boy. “He’s recovering! Your poultice worked. It’s a pity you didn’t use that with Tress.”
Yuma sat back on his haunches. “I haven’t tried it yet. The water you brought sizzled when I poured it on his skin. Where did you get it? It’s a miracle. The wound is almost closed.”
Delsin coughed. “I saw flames and dark creatures. They were all over me. I thought I was dead.”
Yuma explained to him how the poison had entered his system.
The boy straightened and brushed down his arms and legs. “What did you use to heal me?”
Fleet stepped closer and sniffed the boy’s arm. He had been careful to check for scorcheels before dunking the container. He didn’t believe the stream water was any different from that in Yuma’s bladderflask, and the water hadn’t emitted the same essence as the healing waters of Shimmering Lake. “What do you normally carry in the pouch?”
Yuma looked up, his eyebrows raised. “The jade arrow tips. There must have been flakes or dust in the bag.”
By the time Fleet led his team back to Blackfoot’s warriors, all the bloodwolves lay dead or transformed. Those that had reverted to grey wolves had disappeared into the forest as if they’d never been there.
Fleet congratulated the stallions and their riders, but refused to follow them back to the village.
Yuma tried to coax him on. “I must tell the elders about Delsin’s recovery, and get him home to rest. You don’t have to go all the way.”
“Rocky will take him. It’s time I let you apply the jade to my wound.”
Yuma dismounted and unlashed the pouch from his waistband. “I doubt there’s any dust left. I can find stones and grind some more from one of the arrow tips if you give me a while.”
Fleet didn’t want to wait. “No. Shoot me. I’m strong, and can draw energy from the land to help.”
“Why don’t I just pierce the wound like I did with Tress?”
“The poison has been in my veins a very long time. Can you hit the wound accurately from a distance so the head buries deep?”
Yuma weighed an arrow in his hand. “Yes, especially if you don’t move. Stand over there by that oak. I’ll climb this one so I get a better angle. Are you sure you want to do this? I only pricked Tress, I didn’t shoot her.”
Fleet trotted to where Yuma indicated and pointed his rump back to him. “You’ve wanted to do this since you changed the first bloodwolf. Get on with it.”
Taking his time to aim, Yuma stretched his bow taut.
Fleet held his breath in anticipation of the pain.
The arrow struck deep, right in the heart of his wound, the shaft pointing out at an angle. Waves of nausea racked his body. He stood firm.
Yuma raced over and extracted the arrow, adding to the excruciation. “Can you feel anything?”
Flames roared in his head. Green clouds covered his eyes. Every artery pumped, every vein sucked, his pulse roaring in his ears. The green morphed to red like a fire-dragon readying to huff flame. His legs gave way.
A black torrent flowed into his bloodstream like a river in flood. Visions from his nightmares leapt around him: Shadow rising out of pits of lava, rearing and spewing fire, bloodwolves leaping at his throat, howling and slavering. Sapphire screamed and told him to run, and rotted into a mass of bloody gore. Jasper charged him, his horn contorted, striking him in the chest, knocking him over the edge of the cliff, stone crashing around his head, falling, falling …
“Fleet! Fleet! Come round! What’s happening?” Yuma sat on his neck, pinning him to the ground.
The poison retreated, leaving him drained as if a great
tide ebbed away his life. “The poison won. Shadow’s obsidian overpowered the jade.”
“How can you say that? Did Tress tell you what she felt? Maybe this is how the green stone works.” Reassured Fleet had recovered from his fit, Yuma rose and let him stand.
Fleet staggered about the woods. “I didn’t ask her, but I saw how the boy recovered. And I can feel the poison, stronger than ever. It’s made of the stone where Shadow lives.”
Yuma walked alongside. “Give it time. As you say, the poison has been in you a long time. Tress didn’t recover straight away, either.”
Fleet halted, his head drooping almost to the ground. “That was from foaling.” He looked north. “Call together your elders. I’ll talk to them, as you asked.”
Yuma hadn’t expected so many people to meet Fleet in the woods. The stallion shortened his stride, jittery and nervous, as Yuma accompanied him into the clearing. Ituha and Ayiana sat in a semi-circle with the rest of the council of elders, plus Gomda Hunter and Mojag Carol, the chief and spirit-man from Bloomsvale, on whatever stumps or logs they could find. Chaytan, Jolon, and the other older clan members stood behind them. None of the young people attended, having met Fleet to refine the signals with their mounts, and Ituha had promised to keep numbers to a minimum.
The chief opened the meeting. “The first battle has been a success. Three bloodwolves were killed and six escaped after reverting to grey wolf form. Our only injuries are minor, with one broken arm from a fall and the odd laceration from galloping through branches. I thank Yuma Squirrel of Waterfalls for showing us how to defeat this enemy.”
A loud beat of drums reflected the acknowledgement as a murmur of gratitude ran among the attendees.
Yuma held up his hand for silence. “I’m glad we found a way to fight this terror. But if thanks are due, they are for King Fleet of Foot of White Water Cliffs, not me. Without his knowledge, strength, and determination, we would still be cowering behind our barricade.”
This time the murmur contained a mix of dissention. Jolon stepped forward and punched the air. “We would have overcome the beasts without your intervention. We still have no proof it wasn’t your horse that brought the bloodwolves in the first place. And what about the poisonous fish lurking in the waters? What do we do about them? People want to return home. How do we know next winter won’t bring more hardship? I think the pestilence is far from eradicated.”
Sensing Fleet wouldn’t remain if Jolon continued his tirade, Yuma held back from mentioning Delsin’s recovery from the poison. “I agree the scorcheels are still a problem. That’s partly why Fleet is here, to discuss what we do next. He’s also offered to tell you about Laila. Isn’t that what you wanted? I suggest you give him a chance to speak.”
People shuffled on their seats and the murmuring grew.
Ituha signalled for them to settle. “I add our thanks to King Fleet of Foot of White Water Cliffs and welcome him to speak of his travels. We’re keen to know how we might work more with horses, and hear about unicorns.”
Quiet descended.
Fleet stepped forward. At first hesitant, he told how he had been born in Dark Woods, of Sapphire’s death, and meeting Yuma. Many of the people had never heard the full tale. No-one interrupted. Fleet became more animated as the story progressed, prancing around the clearing as he spoke of finding Gem, fighting Jasper, and escaping Shadow’s territory. He skimmed over the ceremony on Tern Island and Jasper’s death, expounded on Gem’s healing powers and her befriending of Laila, and ended with Delsin’s miraculous cure.
When he finished, multiple conversations erupted. Everyone babbled about a horse who could talk and whether or not to believe the fantastic story. How could they not have known such magic abounded? Why had they never encountered unicorns? What if Shadow escaped and came south?
Yuma didn’t want to lose the focus of the meeting. He borrowed one of the drums and beat a tattoo.
A hush fell.
Yuma placed a hand on Fleet’s neck. “Without the horses, we would never have overcome Shadow’s foul beasts. Even though we’ve had a small victory with the nearby bloodwolves, many more must roam the land. We need to seek them out, and cure or destroy them. We need to tackle the scorcheels in the waters. Without doing all this, we are still at war. And then we need animals to return to our country and re-establish the food chain.”
Fleet side-stepped away from Yuma. “It’s time the unicorns helped. The goddess created them to protect Equinora. I’ll call them to join us.”
At noon the next day, Yuma returned with Ituha to the clearing at Fleet’s summons. He refused to permit a large number of people like before, only relenting to allow Ayiana when she insisted someone needed to represent the women. Yuma suspected she desired to meet the fabled unicorns as much as not wanting the men colluding. She walked between them, her head held high, a heavy necklace of hog tusks and ermine tails overlying her ceremonial suede dress, her braided hair heavy with freshwater shells.
They reached the agreed meeting place and waited in silence while Fleet disappeared into the woods.
He returned in moments, Diamond and Echo striding out beside him, sunlight sparkling on their coats.
Ayiana drew in a sharp breath.
Ituha leapt forward with his hands outstretched.
Carrying over a large bowl of oats in both arms, Yuma greeted Diamond. “Are the others not coming?”
Small and delicate next to Fleet—he had grown a lot since Yuma first met him—Diamond’s white coat contrasted his glowing black, her namesake eyes sparkling more than usual. “Tempest is still trying to get Moonglow interested in mating. He won’t leave the island.”
Fleet hung his head. “Gem answered me, but said she was helping Equinora by looking after her charges. She wouldn’t come.”
Ituha offered Echo another bowl of oats. He had also dressed for the occasion with a headdress of eagle feathers and his best fringed leggings. “Lord Echo and Lady Diamond, thank you for coming. I never imagined the myths were true, let alone that the Mother would grant the delight of your appearance in my lifetime. I’m only sorry it’s the threats we face that brought us together.”
Ayiana trembled at Yuma’s side. “Lady Diamond, you are magnificent, more beautiful even than the legends describe! Is there anything else we can get for you?”
Diamond snuffled Ayiana’s hand. “No, thank you, we have no need of anything. Only, like you, to get rid of Shadow’s beasts. What is it you need from us? Fleet tells us the jade worked against the bloodwolves.”
The healer bowed her head. “Yes, but they are only part of the problem. Do you know how we can overcome the scorcheels? I’m sure there is much you could teach us. We have no experience of fighting water creatures, and the burning slime makes fish traps or nets impractical.”
Diamond paced the clearing. “Tell me again how the water cured the young man where poison splashed his wound.”
Yuma added his thoughts about the jade fragments entering Delsin’s bloodstream. “Although it didn’t help Fleet, we’ve tried feeding it to people suffering from the poison. It works for them. If only there were a way we could feed it to the scorcheels.”
Fleet fidgeted. “What if you dropped jade in every stream? The scorcheels might eat some.”
Ituha frowned. “That would take an enormous amount of stone. Do we have that much?”
Not being put off, and seeing merit in the idea, Yuma explored the possibility further. “We have many fragments too small to use as arrow tips. We could grind them to dust to make it go further. Dust! That’s it! Remember the prophecy?”
Excitement bubbled out of him. “It didn’t take much to cure Delsin. But how would we get the scorcheels to consume it? Do you think it would filter through their gills?”
Echo swallowed his mouthful of oats. “I could enhance the stone to make it appealing. After all, that’s my power, t
o change stone into food and medication.”
Fleet looked from Echo to Diamond. “How would we reach every creek and waterhole?”
Diamond twitched her upper lip while thinking. “It wouldn’t need every pond and stream to be seeded, only the source of each river. By depositing the dust there, it will find its way downstream. I can certainly locate all the waterways. But I’d need a lot, and would have to carry it with me rather than repeatedly returning. I don’t know how I’d do that.”
Yuma’s eyes lit up as another idea developed. “Perhaps I could ride you and carry the dust.”
Diamond rolled her eyes and backed away. “I believe you sat on Jasper to save him at Obsidian Caves, but I couldn’t allow a man on my back. I’d feel every movement, maybe even your emotions. I doubt I could translocate like that.”
Ayiana had been quiet for a while, a thoughtful look on her face. Now she spread her arms to measure Diamond. “We can weave grass ropes for you to carry leaf pouches all over your body. That would be different from having a rider. When you reach each destination, all you need to do is bite through the grass. The packages will come free and release the dust.”
“I don’t like the idea of being harnessed any more than carrying another living creature. What if I can’t release the ropes? There must be another way.”
Echo nuzzled her. “Take me with you, like we did to get to Tern Island and here. Then I can free the packages. The effort will cost you, of course, but I can also help by feeding any animals we meet. They’ll need all the help they can get.”
Ituha clapped Yuma on the back. “I thank the day you met Fleet. You are both mighty warriors. Now, while Lady Diamond and Lord Echo dust the rivers, you and our young people must seek and destroy the rest of the bloodwolves.”