The Secret Of The Unicorn Queen -The Dark Gods

by Josepha Sherman

  But before Illyria could catch her balance, Dian rushed up behind her—and shoved her right into the shimmering portal. There was a bright, blue-white flash of light—and then it was dark again. Sheila let out a cry of sheer, disbelieving horror.

  Illyria had disappeared!

  6

  Kumuru!

  Sheila jumped in alarm as her cry of horror was echoed by others. She whirled to see Myno, Nanine, and Darian staring wildly as the mind-fogging spell suddenly shattered.

  "Oh, thank heavens, you're all okay!"

  For a second the others stood frozen, too stunned by Illyria's disappearance to move.

  "The portal!" gasped Darian. "Maybe it's still open! Maybe we can get my sister back!"

  Swords drawn, they all rushed forward. Suddenly Sheila felt another icy tingle shake her.

  Oh, no, she thought in despair, not another spell!

  But nothing seemed to have happened. Maybe this time the spell had failed.

  Hey, wait a minute! All of a sudden, no one else was running with her! Where was everybody? Sheila stumbled to a hasty stop, almost afraid to look back over her shoulder.

  The others had stopped, too-as abruptly as though they had run right into an invisible wall!

  "What is this?" gasped Darian.

  "I . . . can't move!" Myno wheezed. "What . . . about you, Pelu?"

  "I . . . can't budge, either!"

  Nanine's face contorted with strain. "I'm stuck, too. What's holding us back?"

  "Sorcery!" Darian’s voice was wild. "It . . . has to be ... sorcery!"

  Bewildered and frightened, Sheila saw the others struggling to move forward even an inch, fighting air that suddenly seemed as thick as glue.

  "But it's just air!" she protested, waving an arm. "Look, I can still move. Nothing's holding me!"

  This didn't make sense at all! Everyone else was stuck fast by the sorcery.

  How can a spell catch everyone but me? Sheila wondered wildly.

  Maybe the sorcerer was sneaking up behind her? Sheila shot about to face the vanished portal again—But it hadn't vanished! All at once the oval shimmering was bright once more. Biting her lip, she took a cautious step forward.

  Without warning a dark, shrouded Something sprang between her and the portal! Sheila jumped back with a startled squeak. But then she determinedly raised her sword. She was a warrior, not a frightened little baby!

  "W-who are you?" she asked, blushing at the quiver in her voice.

  The figure laughed, and threw back its bat wings.

  Sheila let out an involuntary shriek before she realized they weren't bat wings at all, but a blazing red cloak. It had only looked dark against the blue-white shimmering of the portal. Now that the figure had moved back a little, Sheila could see by the eerie light of the stone circle that this wasn't a monster, at all, but a man.

  "Who are you?" she repeated, more sternly this time.

  "Don't you recognize me, girl?" His voice was smooth and elegant, with the faintest hint of an exotic accent. ''I am Kumuru, King of Samarna."

  Kumuru! Sheila swallowed dryly, tightening her grip on her swordhilt. But what good would one sword do against the power of the Dark Gods?

  Kumuru tossed back the hood of his cloak. Sheila stumbled back another step, staring. But this time it wasn't in fear. Nobody had ever told her he was so—so gorgeous'

  Kumuru was tall and slender, his body rippling with sleek muscles, like some great, golden-skinned panther. His gleaming hair, blacker than the night, was bound back under a crown of red feathers. Released from the hood that had bent them down, the plumes had sprung up into a blazing semicircle around his fine-featured face, making Kumuru look even taller.

  His eyes, too, were black, and elegantly slanted. But within their ebony depths glinted a certain light: cold, hard, and cruel. And suddenly Sheila remembered. Good as he looked on the outside, there was nothing but evil within him. All at once she knew she didn't want to look into those eyes too closely.

  Kumuru was staring at her with a sharp curiosity. "Now, how is it, girl, that you have escaped the Spell of Binding?"

  "I don't know."

  "Oh, come, surely you can come up with a better answer than that."

  "I'm telling you the truth!"

  "Of course," he said sarcastically.

  Smiling, Kumuru raised his hand to an intricate pendant, a gleaming red stone suspended from a golden chain about his neck.

  Kumuru murmured something too softly for Sheila to make out the words. Once again she felt that chilly tingle run through her. And once again nothing worse happened. Or, at least, she didn't think anything worse had happened.

  Kumuru, however, seemed to be pretty certain that this time his sorcery had succeeded. Still smiling, he stared deep into Sheila's eyes, and in a soft, insinuating voice he said, "Now, you will tell me all about yourself, won't you?"

  Sheila hesitated for an uneasy moment, wondering if she had been enchanted. . . . Ah! She felt no compulsion to speak to him! The spell had failed.

  "No," she said shortly. "I don't believe I'll tell you anything." As Kumuru eyed her in surprise, she raised her sword threateningly. "But you will tell me where Illyria is, won't you?"

  The cold black eyes flashed in insulted fury. "What's this? You would dare to threaten me, you-you child?"

  "Oh, I'd dare, all right!" But what was she going to do if he wouldn't yield? Bluffing desperately, Sheila continued, as fiercely as she could. "Now, are you going to talk, or do I have to-"

  "You dare to threaten the king of Samarna?" Kumuru's eyes blazed with rage. But Sheila held her ground and he thundered, "Then suffer the consequences!"

  Again his hand flew to the red stone amulet. This time Kumuru spat out something harsh and twisting, and hot red flame blazed out from the stone! Sheila only had time to think, I'm going to die!

  But as the fire blazed at her, it split neatly in two, parting about her body like a stream of water parting about a rock in its path. Sheila stood frozen, staring in disbelief, while the fire coiled lightly about her, then faded away into nothingness without so much as scorching a hair on her head.

  Kumuru plainly couldn't believe what he had just seen. For a moment all he did was stare back at Sheila, eyes wide with shock. Then one black eyebrow shot up in sudden comprehension. "Ahh, I see the way of it!" He gave Sheila a mocking bow. "Small sorceress, forgive me for not sensing the truth about you from the first. I admit, your powers are strange to me. But, I warn you," he said sharply, "don't try to stop me. You may have your odd little defensive spells. But I have the full power of the Dark Gods behind me.”

  Instinctively, Sheila raised her sword, but Kumuru just smiled.

  "Tsk, little one. Threaten me, and all I need do is leap through my portal and disappear. Lower your useless weapon, now, or that's exactly what I'll do. And then you'll never see your dear Unicorn Queen again. Come, lower it!"

  Sheila hesitated. And then, with a sigh, she obeyed. "All right. What do you want?"

  Kumuru looked past her to where the other unicorn riders still struggled against the Spell of Binding. "Hear me, all of you. I did not come to this circle merely to work my magics. I had no need of this petty little rock heap! No, my dear friends, this was simply a trap. And how nicely you fell into it!"

  Myno gave a low growl of fury. "Release me. Release me, and I will-"

  "No, fierce one. I am not such a fool as that." He straightened regally, drawing his red cloak about him. "1 wished to snare only one person: Illyria, the Unicorn Queen. And I succeeded. Even as we speak, she is my captive."

  "Stop boasting, okay?" Sheila snapped. "We know you have Illyria. And you wouldn't still be here if you didn't want to make a deal. So why don't you just tell us what you want, and how we can get her back."

  "Clever little sorceress! Child, I wish to offer an exchange, a trade, if you like. I have the Unicorn Queen. You have—the unicorns." Kumuru's sly smile broadened.

  "Ahh, the magic within the
m! Were I to slay those beasts and draw their magic into myself, I should no longer need my patrons' strength." One hand touched the red amulet: he was talking about the Dark Gods. "I should have true sorcery then! I should wield mighty Power, Power to conquer, Power to rule!"

  "Dynasian thought the same thing," said Sheila dryly. "He didn't wind up very powerful."

  "Dynasian was a fool!" Kumuru snapped. "I knew it when I made that ridiculous alliance with him. Did you think I really wanted Dynasian as an ally? Bah, never! I wanted one thing, and one thing only: the unicorns." He glared at the unicorns. "And I would have had them. They were nearly mine, all but within my grasp! But then you slew Dynasian. You freed the unicorns and spoiled everything."

  The words popped out before Sheila could stop herself. "Well, that's show business!"

  Oops! I shouldn't have said that, she thought. The last thing I want to do is make him mad!

  But the phrase had come out in English. The words themselves meant nothing to the Samarnan.

  "Trying to cast a spell on me, sorceress?" Kumuru said, giving her a wary look. "Have you forgotten that the Dark Gods shield me from all harm?"

  “Uh…no.”

  Ignoring her, he continued coldly, "After you freed the unicorns, I vowed revenge. Oh, I wasn't foolish enough to attack Campora. What good would that have done me? No, I merely waited. I knew that with time, you would come to me. And so you have! Now shall you hear my royal decree:

  "Deliver those unicorns to my palace at Erech-ban, capital of Samarna. Deliver them by the time of next moon-dark."

  Kumuru paused dramatically. "Hear my further decree:

  "If you fail me, if you do not obey-then shall you have reason to grieve! Fail me, and Illyria shall die on the altar of the Dark Gods!"

  It was too much for Sheila. "She won't die if you don't make it back to Samarna! There won't be any exchange, because I'm taking you prisoner!"

  "Are you, indeed, little sorceress?"

  And just as Sheila reached him, Kumuru sprang lightly into the magic portal. Furious, she slashed out with her sword. A scrap cut from the red cloak floated softly to the ground and then burst into flame.

  But both Kumuru and the portal were gone.

  7

  Desperate Plans

  As the magic portal whirled shut, the Spell of Binding abruptly dissolved. The unicorn riders cried out as the pressure holding them back vanished without warning and sent them staggering helplessly forward till they could catch their balance again.

  At the same time Dian moaned and crumpled to the ground.

  "Dian!"

  "What's wrong with her?"

  "Never mind that!" Myno yelled. "She's the one! She betrayed Illyria!"

  The angry warriors seemed ready to pounce on Dian like cats on a mouse. But Pelu darted in front of them, sheltering the girl's limp form in her arms.

  ''Wait. I said, wait!"

  "Come on, Pelu." Myno's voice quivered with impatience. "She's faking."

  Pelu gave her a stern glance. "Are you telling me my business as a healer?"

  "Well, no, of course not. You know that. But she's a traitor, Pelu, you can't deny it."

  "I don't think it was her fault."

  "What!" Myno protested.

  "Oh, Myno! I'm pretty sure Dian was bespelled. Just like the rest of us."

  Sheila tensed, remembering Dian's blank eyes. She had known something was wrong with Dian, but . .. a spell?

  "Of course! It all makes sense. No wonder she wasn't worried about Swiftfoot!" Sheila hurriedly wriggled her way through the crowd to Pelu's side. "A spell is exactly what it must have been, because Dian's eyes looked just like Illyria's, just before Illyria went through the portal."

  "Before Dian pushed her through, you mean!" cried Myno.

  "Please, let me finish. Maybe Dian and I have never gotten along too well, but you've got to admit that she's always been loyal to Illyria."

  "Well . . . yes," Myno admitted gruffly. "Of course she has."

  "There you are! I refuse to believe someone as faithful as Dian could turn traitor overnight. A spell! Ha, I knew something was wrong.”

  "Uh . . . yes." Darian reddened. "You kept trying to warn us all along. And no one took you seriously. Even I thought it was just your imagination. Forgive me?"

  Sheila nodded. "Sure. Quiet, now. Dian's waking up."

  Dian moaned, stirring in Pelu's arms. Pelu let her go, and the girl sat up, blinking in confusion.

  "What am I doing here? And where's Swiftfoot?"

  "You don't remember?" asked Nanine.

  "I-I'm not sure. Illyria . . . ? Is she . . . ?"

  "Gone," said Myno shortly.

  Dian stared at her in horror. "Then it wasn't a dream. I really did—Oh, no! I didn't mean to—I didn't want to—“

  "Whoa," murmured Pelu. "Take it easy, Dian."

  "And start from the beginning," added Nanine. "Tell us your story.”

  "The true story this time," Myno finished.

  Dian nodded, head down. "The part about my riding off into the night like that was true. And about getting lost in the fog, too. And getting thrown from Swiftfoot."

  "What about Kumuru? And his warriors?"

  "That was true, too. I ran, all right. But I didn't run fast enough. The warriors caught me. They dragged me back to the stone circle—and Kumuru." Dian shuddered. "He laughed at me, then said something like: 'How delighted I am to have so convenient a tool fall into my hands.' I asked him what he meant. But he wouldn't answer. Instead, he cast his spell on me. After that…” She paused, then shook her head. "I don't know. From then on, everything seems like a vague dream. A bad dream."

  "But you're awake now," Pelu soothed. "The nightmare is over.

  "No, it isn't!" Dian wailed. "I've betrayed Illyria!"

  "Maybe. Maybe not," Nanine told her grimly. "But this is not the time to worry about it. The question is: what are we going to do now?"

  "Too bad Laric isn't here," Darian said. "I bet his magic could wipe out Kumuru in nothing flat!"

  "But he isn't here," Sheila reminded him with a sigh. "Illyria sent him winging off to Campora, remember? By now he's probably all the way back in the royal palace."

  "And we have no way to get a message to him," added Pelu. "Not in time, anyhow. Not before moon-dark."

  There was a moment's silence. Sheila knew that everybody was remembering Kumuru's threat:

  Fail me, and Il yria shall die on the altar of the Dark Gods!

  Suddenly Nanine spoke up. "Since when have we had to depend on someone else to rescue us?" she asked with forced cheerfulness. "So we can't have Laric with us? So what? We'll just have to rescue Illyria on our own!"

  "But is there time for that?" Dian wondered.

  "Oh, easily! Let's see, now. . . . It's a good seven days till the next dark of the moon, right? Right. The border of Samarna isn't more than a day's ride from here, we all know that. And Erech-ban, the capital, is another . ... mm… four days' hard riding from there. With the unicorns cooperation, we can make it."

  "Yes, but then what?" wondered Darian. "We can't just let that—that sorcerer have the unicorns!"

  "We won't," Myno muttered.

  Pelu nodded. "They should make a good distraction, though, while someone steals into Kumuru's palace to rescue Illyria."

  "Sure. The only thing is: who?"

  Sheila swallowed dryly. Who, indeed? She was the only one of the unicorn warriors to be totally unaffected by Kumuru's spells. Though she couldn't imagine why that should be. She certainly hadn't been immune to Mardock's magic! Well, never mind the hows and whys. The fact remained that for some reason, the Power of the Dark Gods seemed unable to harm her. At least, for now.

  That meant…

  Sheila swallowed again. Like it or not, she had a pretty good idea of just who was going to be sneaking into Kumuru's palace. Of course, there was no guarantee that her strange immunity to his sorcery was going to last forever. But, danger or no, how could she refuse t
he mission? Illyria's life was at stake!

  Nervously, Sheila reached back to touch her backpack. So far its "magic" had protected her. But how could anything from the world of science possibly help her in this world of dark sorcery?

  8

  Perilous Journey

  Sheila turned around in Morning Star's saddle to look nervously about for maybe the hundredth time that day. Had anything changed?

  Ugh, no.

  The Samarnan landscape still surrounded her. And what a dismal land it was! No grass, no trees, not even the soothing calm to the eye that the sweep of an open plain could provide. Hour after hour it had all been the same: nothing but hot, empty sky; great mounds of broken red rocks that kept the eye from seeing more than a few lengths on any side; and narrow, winding paths twisting their way between those rocks—tricky, slippery paths over which the unicorns picked their careful way with obvious distaste.

  Sheila sighed. So far everything she had seen of Samarna had been like this. It looked as though someone, long, long ago, had dropped the sorcerous version of a bomb on it.

  Could that "someone" have been the Dark Gods. . . ?

  Oh, no, she wasn't going to start thinking about them again! Besides, maybe this place wasn't quite that bad. What Samarna really looked like, at least so far, was a more rugged version of the Red Rock area of the American Southwest that her family had visited many years ago. But then, of course, she hadn't had to worry about Things jumping out at her, or weird sorceries striking, or— Oh, this is silly! Sheila chided herself. No one has even tried to hurt us.

  How could they? There was no one here! There was nothing here!

  Still, it was a little bit eerie to think that the unicorn riders had been able to slip across the Samarnan border so easily, without a single soul to stop them. It was even eerier that so far they hadn't seen anyone at all. They hadn't even seen any animals, other than one small, terrified lizard that had scuttled frantically away from the unicorns' hoofs.