Seeing her puzzled expression, Garth told her, “You’ll find it too warm to wear so much clothing in this region. I recommend you tie that halter style and,” he tossed her a pair of black leather pants like those he wore, “I think these will fit now.”
Kayla took his advice and tied the long ends of the silk shirt together leaving it unbuttoned down the front and pulled on the soft leather pants. Stuffing the discarded bra into her saddlebags, she rummaged through them in search of her hairbrush and other necessities before heading for the stream.
Kayla finished her morning routine in record time and returned to find that Garth had already broken camp. Everything packed away or disposed of and the fire buried with a thick layer of sand.
When she joined Garth at the edge of the clearing, where he was saddling Star Dancer she discreetly looked over his saddle at the small pack tied to the back.
“Okay, I give. How in the world did you get all that stuff you made camp with last night into that one bag?” she demanded with a shake of her head.
“Ah, now that, my love, is magic,” he told her grinning broadly at the look she gave him. “And today we will begin your schooling. We’ll start with some simple little tricks that are easily mastered compared to what you soon will be capable of.”
Finished with the mare’s saddle, he hurried her, “Now, get Hawk saddled. I made you some breakfast to eat on the way,” he indicated a napkin-wrapped parcel and a cup of steaming coffee set on a nearby rock.
They were soon riding at a brisk cantor along a broad trail that allowed them to ride abreast.
Kayla had to raise her voice to be heard over the sound of the horses’ hooves on the hard ground. “Yesterday, you called Shadow Hawk a Ral’i. What does that mean?”
“The Ral’i are the Imperial Horses and found only on Vega 4, which by the way, is also where the Witches’ Council is located. These ‘horses’ are not the animals most people associate with the name, but are sentient beings with a complicated culture and abilities that classify them as full members of witch-kind. When there is an excess of breeding age mares, the Ral’i society allows those who would, to become companions to some of the more powerful witches and warlocks, aiding them in their travels and even in battle. But there are few stallions born to the Ral’i, and it’s rare for one to leave the herds. When one does, it is always to accompany, for some reason known only to the Ral’i, an exceptionally gifted sorcerer or sorceress.”
“You mean that…” Kayla was momentarily too much in awe to speak and instead leaned forward to rub the silken neck of the magnificent creature she rode. “You mean Hawk chose me? Am I that special? I really can do all those things you talked about last night?”
“It would seem that the Ral’i believes that you are,” he answered solemnly.
By mid-morning, the trail they were following had opened onto a broad savannah where the tall, russet-colored grass grew high enough to brush the undersides of their mounts.
Kayla was staring at the hazy image of the purple mountains lining the distant horizon when Garth announced, “We will begin your first lesson now. Watch.” He pointed his right hand at a small bush a short distance from the path. His hand began to glow with an eerie aura until a searing blue beam erupted from the tips of his fingers. The bush he was pointing at burst into flames.
“Wow! Show me how!”
“Okay, now concentrate,” he instructed her as she imitated him, lifting her left arm and pointing her fingers at another bush. “Close your eyes and envision the bush burning within your mind’s eye. Think of the heat and bring it up from inside of you. See the blue light?”
Kayla’s brows came together as she concentrated on his instructions, and now she did see the heat surging down the length of her arm and felt the pressure building.
“Now, let it go!”
Kayla was unprepared for the loud explosion. Eyes flying wide, she saw that, not only had she burned the bush, she had blown it apart, leaving a blackened crater where it had stood.
“Oops! I guess that was a little bit too much oomph!” She cautiously examined the tips of her fingers for damage before looking back at Garth, who looked suspiciously like someone trying very hard not to laugh.
“That was great,” he told her, but the half smile quaking at one side of his mouth and the redness of his face gave the lie to the serious tone of his voice.
The lessons continued for the rest of the morning and through a lunch of leftover roast duck, which Kayla had eagerly barbequed for them.
The sun was just beginning to sink low in the pale orange sky when they emerged from the cover of a small island of trees only a few hundred yards from one of the great herds that Kayla had been able to get only glimpses of in the far distance until now.
Drawing Hawk to a stop, she stared in awe at the great beasts that appeared to be a cross between a bison and a gazelle. They had hides the color of fallen leaves streaked with rich cream zebra stripes and a fantastic set of spiraled horns that were balanced atop their elegant heads with the help of their thickly muscled necks.
Kayla caught her breath when the big herd bull bellowed and lifted his head to sniff at the air, seeking the source of the strange scent he’d tasted on the light breeze.
Garth drew his mare even with Hawk and whispered, “Those beasts are called Bazelle, and with a little luck, we will dine well tonight.” Checking that the gear attached to both of their saddles was secure, he turned and grinned at her excitedly. “Are you ready for a lesson in hunting with your new weapon?”
The horses were already dancing restlessly and tugging impatiently at their reins.
“See, the Great Ones are eager for the hunt!” Garth edged his mare closer and hissed some hurried instructions before riding off to circle the herd.
As instructed, Kayla headed in the opposite direction, circling the herd until she was in position to help Garth cut the young bull he had chosen from the rest of the herd.
Sensing danger and not liking the smell of the humans, the herd began milling about, moving away from the strange beasts closing in on them until their fear finally took control and they broke into a stampede across the broad plain.
Though she was an excellent rider, Kayla had never really had the opportunity to let the young stallion run at full speed as he was now. Thrilled by the speed and the excitement of the hunt, she leaned forward on Hawk’s neck and let his thick, black mane and her long, pale hair merge in the wind whipping behind them. Kayla was so enthralled with the chase that she nearly forgot that the purpose was to end the life of the brave young bull that she and Hawk had so deftly cut away from the herd until they were closing in for the kill.
Using pressure from her knees, she guided Hawk in closer forcing the bull to dodge into the open and toward Garth who was rapidly approaching on their quarry’s left. As the three racing animals matched stride, Garth leaned forward and pointed his right hand toward the bull while Kayla leaned off the side of her saddle and reached her left hand toward her target.
Simultaneously, they delivered a blast of blue lightning that struck the animal directly behind his laboring front legs and straight into his bursting heart.
The bull dropped, his head hitting the ground first. The momentum of his charge carried his large body over in a somersault, and he sprawled in the crushed grass, his long legs still kicking.
Hooting and hollering at the top of their lungs in celebration of their victory, Kayla and Garth brought the lathered Ral’i circling back to inspect their prize. Sliding to a stop in a cloud of yellow dust beside the twitching bull, they both leaped to the ground.
Garth reached the animal first and the blade of his crystal knife flashed in the last rays of sunlight as he reached for the shaggy head. Pulling it back with a powerful jerk, he drew the razor-sharp edge across the exposed jugular and let the beast’s lifeblood spill out onto the ground until he ceased struggling.
Releasing the Bazelle’s head, Garth caught Kayla up in his blood-spat
tered arms, and whirled her around in the air.
Her face flushed and breathing labored, Kayla wasn’t sure which excited her more, the hunt or the feel of Garth’s hot, sweaty body against hers as he held her in his arms.
“That was fantastic! And I didn’t barbeque it this time either!” Kayla declared triumphantly when he released her so could examine her first kill.
“Yes, it was great,” said Garth. Unable to tear his eyes away from the sight of the young witch, her face flushed with excitement, hair wild and eyes flashing, he murmured, “How beautiful you are, my little sorceress.”
The raucous shrieking of a flock of buzzards drawn by the scent of the kill jerked Garth back to his senses. Casting a steely look of annoyance at the vultures circling overhead, he bent to the carcass. Using the crystal-bladed knife, he expertly removed enough steaks from the haunches to last them a couple of days.
“It’s too bad we can’t take the time to properly cure the meat, but in this heat we can only take what we can cook tonight, the rest we’ll have to leave for them.” Disgust was plain in his voice as he pointed with the bloody knife toward a clump of scraggly trees about ten yards behind them.
As he spoke, the Ral’i too, caught the scent of the jackal-like animals skulking in the tall grass and turned to face the threat, snorting and stamping their hooves in warning.
Cowards at heart, the scavengers kept their distance until the humans had finished with the kill and left the area before they dared emerge from cover.
Long after they were out of sight of the kill, Kayla could hear the eerie, high-pitched yelps of the jackals fighting for possession of the remains with the large vultures that had quickly dropped to the ground to join in the feasting.
That night they made camp beside a watering hole surrounded by a thin growth of spindly trees. Following their dinner of Bazelle steaks and ground tubers, Garth took time to teach his tired, but willing student, the fine art of levitating objects until he noticed her attention beginning to wander.
“That’s enough for tonight,” Garth told her and left to rummage in his pack a few moments. When he returned, he was carrying an expertly crafted guitar.
“Come, let me entertain you tonight, my love,” he called softly. He seated himself on a log he had rolled close to the fire and began tuning the fine instrument.
Wrapping a blanket around her against the chilly night air, Kayla curled up at his feet and leaned back on his knees to watch the stars above as he played for her.
Garth sang softly, strumming on the guitar, serenading her with sad songs of love lost and of love found again, and when he finished singing, they made passionate love far into the night until sated, both physically and emotionally, sleep overcame them.
By the time the sun was high in the sky on their seventh day of traveling across the great savanna, the purple mountains that had once been a mere smudge in the distance had grown to fill the horizon before them.
Until now, they had not encountered any villages or other people, and Kayla had begun to wonder if there truly were any other humans on this world, but as they drew closer to the foothills of what Garth had named the Phantom Mountains, the hazy smudge on the horizon became a village.
Kayla had expected Garth to show some enthusiasm for this, but instead, he grew quiet, his demeanor tense and uneasy.
Suddenly, he kicked his mount, sending her toward the village in a mile-eating gallop.
Startled by his behavior, but determined not to be left behind, Kayla urged Hawk into a gallop. He easily overtook the mare, but Garth didn’t even spare them a glance as he drove the mare on at a break-neck pace. He didn’t slow his mount until they’d reached the first cluster of drab huts.
At the front of one set apart from the others, he jerked Star Dancer to a halt.
As Kayla drew Hawk to a stop beside the mare and she was able to hear something besides the thud of the horses’ hooves, she became aware of the forlorn sound of a bell tolling from somewhere deep in the village.
“Garth, what’s wrong?” she managed to gasp out between breaths. But she got no answers from him. Flying from his saddle, he strode determinedly toward the dark doorway. Kayla could see the deep scowl marring his face as he ducked his head to pass under the low lintel. Determined to know what was upsetting him so much, she jumped to the ground and followed.
Kayla had been prepared for the poverty but not for the destruction she faced on entering the hut. What few pieces of rough wooden furniture there was had been smashed and lay with the shards of pottery and torn clothing littering the dirt floor of the poor hovel. The only things left undamaged were a pair of crudely fashioned cradles standing in one corner of the room. A breeze blowing in through the open door made the nearest rock gently to and fro and ruffled the edge of a finely sewn baby blanket that lay draped over the side of it as though its occupant had been hastily and carelessly removed.
“Damned them all to the blackest hell!” snarled Garth. Angrily, he slammed one massive fist into the wall above the empty cradles before storming out of the hut. Leaping at Star Dancer, he threw himself into the saddle.
Kayla was right behind him and quickly followed suit, leaping at the Ral’i’s side and hauling herself into the saddle. Still determined to know what was going on, she shouted, “Tell me what’s happened!”
“The fires still burn. We might yet be in time!” he shouted over the thunder of hooves as they tore down the deeply rutted lane. Garth drove the mare on, heedless of the danger of stumbling in the rutted, potholed dirt lane in a mad charge toward a building at the center of the village that appeared to be a crude chapel or church.
The smoking remains of a large bonfire still smoldering in the churchyard was being tended by a handful of peasants that stood watching the spiraling smoke as if in a daze.
And as the Ral’i drew closer, the wind shifted direction blowing the smoke toward them and bringing with it the sweet stench of what Kayla knew instinctively was that of burning human flesh!
Hawk slid to an uneasy stop only a stride behind the mare. Kayla gasped in shock when she realized that she was staring down at the charred remains of what had recently been a small human body tied to a scorched cross of thick beams laying in the black fire pit.
The sight of the pitiful remains sent Garth into a rage. “The ungrateful heathens!” he roared. “She was their Healer! All she ever did was try to make their pathetic lives a little better. Now, they’ve gone and let the druids do this to her and the babes, too!”
“Someone will pay for this impudence!” The deep anger in his voice made even Kayla shiver in fear. Without another word, Garth spun Star Dancer around and drove her up the church’s short flight of stone steps and through the high arch of the open doorway.
Remembering the history of the witch burnings from her own world’s brutal history, it took very little imagination for Kayla to reconstruct in her mind what must have happened in this place. Pity for the poor woman that had died here in what could only have been tortured agony fed something dark lurking deep within her.
Suddenly very angry, Kayla drove her heals into Hawk’s sides, sending the snorting stallion lunging up the stairs after Garth. She slowed him nearly to a stop when they passed into the dimly lit hall to allow her eyes time to adjust. This was one time when she was almost sorry for her exceptionally sharp vision for the scene that came into focus before her spoke of a horror so vile she nearly retched.
In the center of the chapel, laying on a large stone altar of dull black stone and surrounded by a throng of chanting peasants, were two small, naked forms, only one still crying frantically as it thrashed in the pool of blood spreading from the mutilated body of its twin.
The arrival of the Warlock created a considerable disturbance, causing even the black-robed druid to look up from his grisly business. But the druid never missed a beat of the chant he was uttering nor did he release either the bloody dagger he was grasping in one hand or the still-beating heart of the sacrificed
babe that he held high in the other as he offered it up for the homage of his congregation.
Kayla was unable to tear her eyes away from the drama before her until the wretched wailing of the surviving infant pierced the horror that had frozen her in place. Fighting against the nausea that was making her stomach heave and the overwhelming horror assaulting her mind and soul with the darkness of this deed, Kayla felt an anger like nothing she had ever before ignite in her chest.
Drawing her dagger, she urged Hawk to follow the mare, but the surging crowd was preventing their passage. But Garth and the giant Ral’i were not to be deterred.
Standing in his stirrups, Garth snarled in rage, “Druid! Attend me now for I intend to see that your soul rots in hell for this day’s deeds!”
Kayla could see the terrible look of death raging in the eyes of the warlock as he leapt from Star Dancer’s high back. Striding determinedly into the horde of worshippers, he began swinging the crystal sword, cutting down any who were foolish enough to attempt to slow his progress toward the evil priest.
“Gladly will I send all of this venomous lot through death’s door before you,” he swore. Seeming to swell to huge proportions, Garth was truly magnificent in his fury, towering over the peasants as he ruthlessly hacked at them, leaving their bloody bodies to be trampled beneath the feet of their fellows. It seemed that he might finally reach his goal when there was a surge of bodies around him. Peasants barely able to keep their feet under them struggled with each other, trying to find a way out of the tangle of dead and dying.
The druid laughed manically. “Not even the Lord High Warlock shall stop the purging of these cursed witches that are corrupting the souls of our people! We shall hunt them down like vermin! They must all be burned and so scoured from this land!”
Eyes burning feverishly, the druid threw the bloody mass he’d been grasping into the flames of the brazier burning beside the altar, making it spew forth a noxious smoke. Throwing back his head, he cackled insanely at the look of desperation on the warlock’s face.
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