The Secret Of The Unicorn Queen - The Final Test

by Dory Perlman

  "Ummm.. ." she stalled. Suddenly an idea popped into Sheila's head—her lucky baseball card! It was odd enough to spark the guard's interest, but not so odd that he would get suspicious.

  Quickly she slid her hand under her tunic, careful not to reveal her bow. Breathing deeply, she took the card out of her pocket and flashed it past the guard. Mookie Wilson's face smiled serenely on the card.

  "What's this?" the guard gasped as he took the slightly bent card from her.

  "That is a picture of King Mookie the Met—he's very famous over in the land of Baseball." Sheila tried to sound imperious and convincing. She knew the guard didn't understand what she was talking about—and she was counting on that to confuse him enough to let her through. "Don't tell me you've never heard of him!"

  "Uh, King Mookie?" The guard hesitated. "Of course I have heard of him. In fact, he came through here last year. We were the guards who protected him." The guard studied the card closely. "What fine court artists he must have to make such a lifelike painting."

  There were no cameras in this world. A photo would seem like a miracle here, Sheila realized. She screwed up her face into a condescending sneer. "The painters of the land of Baseball are known for their brilliant talents. Only a fool wouldn't know that! Why-"

  "I was just testing you," the guard broke in peev­ishly. He clutched the photo a little more tightly. Then he motioned her to go in with the other hand.

  Sheila looked at the guard. Obviously he planned to keep the card. Sheila was surprised to find that the thought of going on without it really hurt. She sighed. Well, it didn't really matter. Getting into the city and saving Laric and the unicorns did.

  Sheila stepped through the huge iron gates and into the dirty, crowded streets of Campora. Sheila was amazed at the sight and size of the crowd. There were mothers with crying babies, aristocrats reclining in pillow-stuffed litters carried by sweating slaves, beg­gars, and pickpockets. Anxious for the action to begin, Sheila rushed to the central square.

  She found it was already jammed with people. They were packed into the cobblestone area, squeezed onto balconies, and balanced precariously on the rooftops. A huge platform with stairs leading up to it had been erected in the center of the square. Sheila assumed it was from there that Dynastan planned to address the crowd.

  Sheila scanned the crowd for soldiers. Their sharp­ened spears looked more than a little lethal. A group of them were packed tightly, close to a high pen on the far side of the platform, which was constructed of wood.

  Inside the pen were the remaining unicorns. There were almost fifty of them of many sizes and colors. It broke Sheila’s heart to see them pawing at the ground, their eyes wild with fear.

  As she looked through the slats of the pen, Sheila saw something else that made her heart stop-a large wooden cage with an eagle in it. Laric. An ugly wound marred one of his wings and a trickle of blood wet his feathers. His wings were tied with a tight rope. And yet Sheila felt like shouting with joy. Laric was alive! The warriors still had a chance of saving him.

  Sheila glanced around and caught sight of the other warriors, who were beginning to station themselves in strategic spots around the square. She saw Illyria in the crowd standing straight and tall, She suppressed the urge to wave and shout the good news about Laric. She couldn't afford to attract that much attention with Dynasian's guards on the alert everywhere.

  Sheila had time to reach the spot Illyria had as­signed to her before Dynasian made his grand en­trance She positioned herself just to the right of the pen as Dynasian was carried in on a litter draped with garlands of finely crafted solid-gold olive leaves.

  Four little girls walked alongside the litter, carrying torches to illuminate the overstuffed emperor. A dozen slaves lifted the bed high. Dynasian lifted his fat hand in a lazy wave. His oiled hair was arranged in curls around his low forehead, and he was swathed in a bil­lowing robe spun of pure gold that wafted around him in the gentle night breeze.

  That cloth! Sheila had seen it before. Dynasian's robes were made of the beautiful golden material she had seen in Mardock's chamber. Is Mardock's magic working for or against Dynasian? Sheila wondered.

  Behind Dynasian, Sheila spotted Mardock. Wrapped in his inky robes, he was like a puddle of night in the midst of all the torchlight. His dark form seemed to suck the light around him into the black void of his soul.

  As Dynasian hoisted his massive body out of the litter and onto the platform, the soldiers roared, "Hail Dynasian! Hail Dynasian!"

  The crowd picked up the chant as the guards stared at them menacingly, but Sheila could tell it lacked the conviction of true adulation. Sheila exchanged an anguished look with Kara, who stood on the steps of an ornate white building a few yards away.

  Up on the platform Dynasian began his speech. "Citizensss!" he cried, hissing hideously as he spread his arms wide. "You've come here tonight to see a great event—you've come to honor me, your em­peror.

  Polite applause rippled through the crowd. Up above, a single eagle whirled across the full moon. Then another, until finally nine golden eagles circled overhead. Laric's men had arrived.

  Sheila saw Mardock look up nervously at the ea­gles. She clutched her bow, ready to shoot if he even twitched in their direction. She was afraid he would use his power against them, but hoped that he didn't want to ruin the spectacle of the unicorn's slaughter For now he just stood behind Dynasian on the plat­form and glanced discreetly at the eagles overhead.

  Meanwhile, the emperor continued his vile, self-congratulating speech. "I know the love you feel for me, your leader, and of course, I wish to reward you for it. The ten subjects I've deemed to be the most loyal will be gifted with magical powder ground down from these unicorn horns."

  The eagles were circling nearer, closing in on the packed public square. And with each millimeter of their descent, Mardock became more and more agi­tated.

  "The unicorns will die before your very eyes in a few moments," continued Dynasian, unaware of the threat above him. "Once the beasts are dead, my sor­cerer Mardock will grind the horns into magic powder. This will be the greatest spectacle Campora has ever witnessed."

  Another cry swept through the crowd, but now it was mixed with cries of horror and fear. As Dynasian paused to let his words sink in, Mardock stepped toward him and whispered something, pointing at the eagles, who were winding ever closer.

  Dynasian seemed visibly shaken, Sheila thought, as she watched him confer with Mardock. The crowd began murmuring restlessly. People began pointing to the sky. Realizing he had to regain control of the crowd quickly, Dynasian signaled for trumpets to be blown from the ends of the platform. As the crowd quieted, Dynasian continued his speech.

  "Perhaps some of you have noticed the birds flying overhead." Dynasian's voice seemed a bit high and thin. He's scared, Sheila thought with a surge of ex­citement.

  "They are merely another part of the spectacle," said the emperor. "For tonight not only the unicorns wil die, but also"-Dynasian pointed dramatically to the cage that held Laric, a huge noble eagle with a wounded wing-"an enemy of the people, an evil wiz­ard who has brought blight and plague to the land as he flies with his servants disguised as an innocent bird."

  A horrified gasp shot through the crowd. The crowd was confused now, Sheila had no doubt. Dy­nasian’s words made her cringe. Her knuckles were white with rage as she clenched the bow under her tunic.

  I could kill him now, thought Sheila as she glared at the pig-faced emperor. She shot a glance at Kara, who, as best archer of the group, would take the first shot. That shot was important. Once the arrow left her bow, the battle would begin—there would be no turning back. Sheila gulped back fear. It was all about to hap­pen....

  Dynasian seemed near panic "Let the killing begin!" he shrieked, his voice full of hate and madness.

  The executioner stepped to Laric's cage. He drew back his arm, his spear tip trained on Laric's heart. The eagle prince gazed past him, his eyes steady with
unbent pride.

  At the same instant the spear was about to meet its mark, an arrow whistled through the air.

  "Aaaah!" came the strangled cry as the barb plunged deep into the executioner's shoulder.

  Kara had fired.

  11

  The Great Battle

  The executioner staggered back and collapsed in a pool of his own blood. For a few moments no one moved. Not the soldiers. Not Dynasian. Not the hordes of spectators. Not even the unicorn warriors.

  Then a single cry broke the silence. Someone in the crowd was cheering. "Freedom!" a woman had shouted. Then someone else took up the cheer. The chant swept like wildfire from the exhausted, op­pressed people.

  "Freedom!" they cried. They had had enough of Dynasian's tyrannical rule. Kara's single arrow broke the dam of fear that had long held back their outrage. Now the anger caused by many years of suffering and unfairness poured forth from the crowd in a torrent of vengeful cries.

  "Freedom!” The shout shook the very foundations of the city. "Freedom!"

  Sheila felt the joyous cry resounding within her. Freedom Maybe now they could achieve it , . . now that the people were with them.

  At that moment Darian appeared in the square with the herd of unicorns. He looked confused. He had been planning to pass the unicorns off as gifts; now there was no need. The fight was on, and the unicorns ran through the crowd, each heading for its rider.

  Sheila pulled herself up on Morning Star's back. The unicorn whinnied a jubilant greeting. Sheila knew the unicorn would fight as fiercely as she always had. Peeling the surge of power that always came to her when she rode Morning Star, Sheila felt a new confi­dence well up inside herself.

  "Freed unicorns! Freed people!" someone screamed at the sight of the unicorns.

  "Open the pen! Open the pen!" the people cried together as one.

  "Silence them!" Dynasian screeched at his sol­diers. "Silence them now!"

  In horror Sheila watched as the guards turned to obey their leader. The soldiers raised swords and bows and were preparing to shoot right into the crowd. Sheila looked around quickly for her friends. They couldn't let the soldiers do this. It would be a massacre!

  Feeeeee! Seven arrows sailed through the air. Seven guards fell.

  Cawwwwi Ceeaaawww! Laric's eagles swooped to attack, and more of Dynasian's men tumbled to the ground. The furious birds attacked relentlessly as Illyria's band filled the air with arrows.

  Dynasian's soldiers were confused and disorganized at first, but all too soon their spears sailed up toward the eagles. Other guards took on the unicorn warriors.

  The unicorns reared up and beat back the soldiers with their powerful hoofs. Their horns were sharp and fearsome weapons.

  Sheila saw Dynasian struggling down the steps of the platform. She raised her arrow and took aim, but Dynasian spotted her and dropped to his knees and scuttled quickly under the platform, crawling like a scared dog.

  Suddenly a bolt of lightning flashed in Sheila's di­rection. Mardock! Had he seen her, or was this just a random shot? She looked and saw the wizard sur­rounded by crackling green energy that warded off every arrow that flew in his direction. Sheila saw one of Kara's arrows streak directly toward his heart, but bounce off the energy field.

  The battle raged fiercely. Many of the people took up the fight, attacking guards with whatever weapons they could find. The merchant who had walked into the city near her earlier whacked a guard in the face with his heavy pouch of coins. Women smashed sol­diers over the head with heavy copper pots and vases they had brought as forced tribute to the emperor.

  The less brave members of the crowd surged to­ward the exits to avoid the flying spears of Dynasian's soldiers. A few of the flaming torches that had been lighting the spectacle went over, and the platform be­gan to burn. As the flames leapt higher, they threw giant shadows and lit the square in a gruesome flick­ering light.

  Still, more people were fighting than panicking. One wiry little woman was throwing a whole month's tomato crop at the attacking soldiers, The fruit oozed in an ever-reddening mess. Sheila almost wanted to laugh, watching how the old woman was besting the guards. But suddenly the woman screamed, utterly ter­rified. One huge guard had snuck up behind her. He held her by her hair and raised a knife to her throat. Sheila reached for the bow that she had yet to use in the bloody battle. Without thinking she took aim and let the arrow fly. As it hit its mark, Sheila felt woozy. The guard slumped to the ground, his knife slipping away from the old woman, who turned to see who had saved her. There was too much confusion; the woman waved vaguely, as if to say, thank you, whoever you are. Sheila stared as the woman stepped over the body of the guard and resumed throwing tomatoes.

  It was too much to think about just now, Sheila knew. But over and over she saw the arrow hit, the guard slump, the woman smile and wave. Shaking herself roughly, Sheila tried to clear her head. She grasped her bow. Determined not to fall apart, she began firing to knock weapons out of the guards' hands. Her hands were shaking and her first shot missed, almost hitting an innocent woman in the crowd.

  Get control of yourself she thought. She took a deep breath and placed a second arrow in her bow. This time her shot grazed a guard's wrist, and his spear fell to the ground.

  "Good shooting!" Kara shouted encouragingly..

  Sheila turned toward her friend, "Kara, you're hurt!" She gasped at the sight of the warrior's blood-smeared face. Kara's forehead was opened in a red gash. Her usually ruddy complexion was pale.

  "A spear grazed me!" Kara shouted back. "It's just a flesh wound, not important, keep shooting."

  Obediently Sheila fired another arrow at a guard, but her hands shook. She needed at least an encour­aging look from Kara, but when she turned back, she saw that the archer's expression was stern and concen­trated. Her bow was raised.

  Sheila followed the direction of Kara's aim as the arrow sliced through the air. Kara was firing right into the pen of captive unicorns!

  "What are you doing?" Sheila shouted, a nauseous fear invading every muscle in her body. Had Kara gone totally mad? Had her head wound confused her so that she was trying to shoot the unicorns?

  But when the arrow hit its mark, Sheila felt a surge of relief. Kara had shot at the lock that held the pen. The lock cracked, but held firm.

  Thwif! Kara sent another arrow into the night.

  "Bull's-eye!" Sheila cried as the lock shuddered and broke in two. The door swung open, and though the unicorns were wild with terror, they hated their captivity and immediately flooded through the narrow entrance. They stampeded out of the pen, leaping off the platform to the ground below.

  Some unicorns fell in the rush to escape, but quickly righted themselves on their nimble legs. Even though the unicorns were naturally agile, they were spooked by the battle and the flames licking up on all sides of them. They bucked frantically, neighing with fear.

  "You heard your emperor!" Mardock shrieked at the soldiers from the platform where he stood, green energy making him impervious to all danger. "Kill those unicorns!"

  Two soldiers tried to obey, aiming their spears into the unicorns, but as they did, they were attacked from behind by the transformed eagle warriors Cam and Ge­bart, who cut them down quickly with flashing swords.

  Many of the unicorns had broken loose and were galloping aimlessly through the embattled crowd. Oth­ers were clustered together near the platform area, confused and trapped by a flaming wooden beam that had fallen into their path. With a flourish of his hand, Mardock caused the fire to spread in a circle around the unicorns.

  Sheila knew the unicorns might be burned alive, but she didn't know what to do. In the next instant she saw Illyria and Quiet Storm leap higher than ever before, right above the flaming circle and into the midst of the bucking unicorns.

  Illyria shouted something to Quiet Storm and then jumped from his back. As Sheila watched, Quiet Storm reared and whinnied an urgent command to the other unicorns. They seemed to gather new
resolve, and one by one they leapt fearlessly over the yellow flames.

  While Quiet Storm led the unicorns, Illyria let one of the leaping animals carry her back over the fire. She quickly jumped off its back and made her way up to the flaming platform, her sword held high before her.

  She faced off with Mardock, slashing her sword at the green energy field. Sheila saw that Illyria's sword seemed to bounce off the green light as Mardock looked at the Unicorn Queen smugly from within his magical field.

  Sheila's heart leapt into her throat when she saw Mardock raise his hands, as if to aim some of his evil magic straight at Illyria.

  "Come on, girl!" Sheila shouted to Morning Star. She headed toward the platform with no clear thought in her head except to somehow keep Illyria safe from Mardock's evil.

  Morning Star needed no urging, but she was caught in a throng of battling soldiers and citizens. "Look out, Illyria!" Sheila shrieked as Morning Star reared up to avoid the clash of swords below her feet.

  Illyria looked at Sheila for a split second and then instantly back to Mardock just in time to see a bolt of green sparkling light heading straight for her. In a blur of speed Illyria held up the blunt end of her sword in front of her.

  The gleaming blade crackled like a lightning rod with the energy of Mardock's blast. Just before the jolt of power reached the hilt, Illyria whirled the sword powerfully over her head and threw the bolt of sizzling lightning back at Mardock with all her strength.

  Zwap! Mardock’s protective field exploded with a burst of bright light. Illyria pounced on the evil wizard like a lioness, but somehow he managed to squirm out of his long black robe and leap off the platform into the crowd, Sheila saw Illyria leap off the platform in hot pursuit.

  In the meantime Sheila had worried her way out of the crowd around her and was looking to see where she was most needed by her companions.