“Your challenge is officially noted, Trainee … What is your name?”
“Andrea Hawthorne.”
“Trainee Hawthorne. Now, for disrupting my infirmary and causing this ruckus, every single one of you just earned extra duty. You’ll all be in here next free day and you won’t leave until this place is spotless! I am going to speak to your captain right now and if anyone other than my patient is here when I return, there will be hell to pay!”
All but Rebekah scattered and followed the healer out of the room. She lingered looking like the cat that ate the proverbial canary. Leaning against one of the wooden columns, she let out a self-satisfied chuckle.
“Do you think this is funny?”
“Hilarious is more like it. Now, you can’t resign, Reese. The captain can’t even fire you until the challenge is held.”
“I thought you wanted me to resign. Now you’re happy I’ll be lead rider for at least a few more weeks.”
“Positively ecstatic. I want to see you humiliated – in front of everyone! Even if you win, you’ll get fired, sooner or later. My guess is sooner. You’re a toxin.”
Kayleigh laughed and pointed at Morganstern. “You’re pathetic, Rebekah. Do you really want to be lead rider that badly?”
“No. I’m not really even interested in being lead rider, but I won’t stand for it being you. You don’t deserve it!”
“Why? Because of my mother? Because your father was unfaithful?”
That got under the girl’s skin. “You’ve no right to speak about my father!”
“And you’re just a petty little girl clinging to your father’s pant leg. My mother’s flaws are many, and I know it. But you can’t bring yourself to think of him as anything less than perfect. You don’t really hate me, Rebekah, you hate him and yourself.”
The girl took a step toward Kayleigh’s bed and stopped. Her face was red with rage, but somehow Rebekah regained control of her emotions. “You’re just trying to keep me here with your lies until the healer gets back. It’s not going to work.”
She spun and began her retreat. Kayleigh let her words chase after Morganstern. “The only lies here, Rebekah, are the ones that you tell yourself.”
Chapter 17 – A Final Breath
“Your rider will be defeated. Andrea has been schooled in the blade since she was old enough to walk.” Kyrinda boasted.
Majherri was in an ill mood to begin with and this idiot female wasn’t improving things. As the challenged rider, Kayleigh has the choice of combat. If she chooses to joust, your Andrea cannot possibly win.
“They aren’t going to let you joust after the incident at the stable two days ago,” Lycenae interrupted. “I heard they’re forcing your rider to choose hoof-by-hoof combat.”
“It’s hand-to-hand combat, fool. Try to at least learn something from that spineless wretch that sits in your saddle.” Majherri was angry. Much of this was his fault and it was being laid at his rider’s feet. He hated the knowledge that Kayleigh was suffering due to his actions. Worst of all, it sounded like he would be forbidden from helping her during this first challenge. Again, he sensed the human rules were getting twisted in order to place Kayleigh at a disadvantage. She’d told him about the challenge during their visit yesterday, but her not being allowed to choose the style of combat wasn’t mentioned. He wondered if she knew, or were they going to ambush her with this news as well.
Majherri trotted off, turning his backside on the two of them and flicking his tail in an insulting gesture. Already the first wave of unicorns was arriving for mating season. Tents were springing up everywhere he looked. These would mate quickly and after the first few days, leave for the Portal that would carry them back and allow the others to race across the continent before the season ended.
“I can see you are in a foul mood. Should I even bother with conversation, or are you going to circle the island in unpleasantness?”
“Pasha, I’m in no mood for your games this evening.”
The female ignored his ire. “I’ve been with Gomlius in the stable. He’s resting now, but he continues to grow weaker. He wishes to speak with you.”
“There is nothing I can do for him. Whatever helped me to survive The Wasting is not going to help him. He’s already progressed further than I ever did.”
“That doesn’t matter. Go speak with him not for his welfare, but for your own. I believe you can help Gomlius accept his fate and more importantly, he can help you deal with your survival.”
Majherri snorted and thrust his snout into the stream. When he looked up, she was still staring at him. “Oh, you actually wanted an answer. A conversation with a dying unicorn won’t serve any purpose. He has no answer for my questions and I have no answer for his. If you’re expecting me to attain some new level of awareness, disappointment is on the horizon. I’ve accepted my survival.”
“I am unconvinced. Why are you mocking me?”
“No, I am just recalling a conversation with my youngest offspring, who visited the island recently.”
“You’re avoiding this issue, Majherri.”
“And you, dear Pasha, are trying to create an issue where none exists.”
“Then, perhaps, there is still time to find a different mate. My current choice is infuriating.”
“For a change, I agree.” He stopped what he was doing and began moving away from her. She’d used that phrase far too often for his liking. Another barge was arriving shortly and he could continue his search for answers with them.
Pasha didn’t follow.
After speaking with several of his brethren, he finally tracked a unicorn down. She’d aged some since he last saw her. The muscle tone wasn’t quite as defined as it had been almost twenty seasons ago, but he approached just the same. The stars were out, but the moon was obscured by clouds.
“It is good to see you again, Cyemma.” His last successful mate was very chatty. News always seemed to find her.
“Who’s that? Majherri! This light is a good look for you.”
“Ever the comedian. Our son was by recently, he’s a courier in the south.”
“So, I’ve heard. What brings you in search of me, this night? Trying to line up a last minute mate? I was pleased to learn you somehow survived, just not that pleased.”
“No, that is a path best not traveled again. When I spoke with others, they said you and your rider found a raided caravan in the west. I wanted to know more about it.”
“I’m afraid there’s not much to tell. Broken and empty wagons, half-covered in sand. No signs of the humans. Their tracks were wiped away by the dust storms. The only thing we could find was the remains of a few animals. You know better than I do how hard it is to keep track of the wandering humans. One week, they’ll be camped at an oasis, and then, without warning, they pack up and move. Was it not you who called them defective little ants scuttling across the sand with no sense of civilization?”
Forced to concede her point, he agreed, “Actually, that was a compliment. The world would be safer if more humans weren’t so obsessed with claiming the land as their own. Still, I am concerned about the ominous portents in your area.”
“Oh, we’ll get to the bottom of it soon enough. All it takes is for a few scouts to ride with their herds and we’ll catch these raiders in the act. If you’re looking for real trouble, you’d be better served looking south. I hear some bad things out of that region and they’ve been too quiet for too long. Some self-important human is bound to start something there just like the last time and the time before that.”
Cyemma was making perfect sense, which is why Majherri was certain she was wrong. He could finally bear her company no longer and did her a good night, hoping that he would not encounter her again during the mating season. The past few nights, he’d stayed clear of his stables preferring the moonlit pastures and star-filled skies, but tonight was a dreary affair and he steeled his nerves and slowly traveled back to the stable.
He started to pass the duo of
unicorns from the east standing watch over their fallen friend. It would be so easy to just slip into stall number fourteen and ignore the labored breathing and the occasional whines.
Instead, he cursed Pasha and stopped next to the pair. They looked at him, questions in their eyes.
“I wish to pay my respects. How is he?”
“He sleeps in fits, friend. Who are you?”
“Majherri, born of Thaydra and Korin. If he wakes, I would speak with him in private. Return in the morning. I will stand with him through the night. Should his last breath come, he will not be alone.”
They hesitated, but eventually left. Part of Majherri hoped Gomlius would sleep until morning and he could hold his head high and say that he tried.
To say the dying unicorn looked bad was an understatement. Ugly blemishes and bruises marred the skin. They were indications that he was bleeding internally. The water in the trough, laced with water maiden healing tears would only slow the process.
They should have already stopped using them and allow nature to take its course. Someone still believes he can rally. Delusional fools! They’re just trying to get him to mate one last time to strengthen the bloodline. If he was a female, or this wasn’t mating season, they wouldn’t have even bothered bringing him back.
He didn’t know who he was angry with, or even why. He’d given them false hope that this wretch might endure. But he knew it was a terrible waste. With the third week since his rider’s death approaching, Gomlius would start to lose his mind. By the end of the fourth week, he’d likely need to be restrained. If he was still alive at the end of the fifth week, a mercy killing would be granted.
The minutes continued to pass. Nearly two hours went by when Gomlius bolted upright, startled, casting his head from side to side.
“Who’s there? Is that you Alvia?”
“No. I am Majherri.”
“Ah, I was wondering if I was going to meet you. They keep saying your name you know. If I just persevere, I could be like you. That’s what they say. They try to tell me that I’m doing better than expected, but I feel hollow, empty. So I ask you, what is the secret to surviving?”
“I do not know, Gomlius. I have no idea how long I wandered in the western desert. Those memories are denied to me, but when they found me, I was in pain. Probably the same agony you are feeling now. One day it just stopped. The bruises began to fade. My appetite started to return.”
“So, do you think I can best this foe?”
“You don’t want an answer to that question.”
“Yes. Yes I do.”
“Then prepare for the worst, Gomlius. Anything else will be a blessed event. Being a miracle survivor isn’t as pleasant as it seems. Some company would be welcome.”
“Why is that?”
“Our kind shuns me, or fears me, take your pick. At my low points, I feel I’ve betrayed my first rider. First and rider – those words shouldn’t belong together. They sound odd when used that way.”
“Ask me how they sound again in a few weeks, if I’m as lucky as you are,” Gomlius replied.
“Most of all there is the knowledge that something changed me out in that desert. I’ve tried to deny it, but my magic isn’t right. You saw it yourself. She and I were doing something unnatural. The flow felt wrong, like I was pulling from her. My new rider, she’s a sweet, young human. She is pure and desperately unwise in the ways of the world. I fear I could easily hurt her and the thought that I might outlast her as well terrifies me. What if I keep getting new riders only to see them wither and die? What if I can’t die at all? Is my gift really a curse and I won’t realize it for seasons to come?”
“You sound like you still are waiting for death’s final breath.”
“I suppose I do, but when I stood where you are, I wanted nothing more than to live and avenge Danella. If you live, we will discuss what comes next. Until then, tell me your story, so that when others speak your name, I can say I know you.”
Gomlius forced himself to drink before beginning his life story. Twenty minutes into it, he began to wobble on unsteady legs. Majherri wedged himself into the stall and let the other unicorn balance against his side so the story could continue. At times he repeated parts or paused to recall a name.
When the shakes came for a second time, Majherri bore the extra weight and help the unicorn down to the ground. Instead of going to get a human, Majherri pulled the heavy blanket onto Gomlius with his teeth, taking care to leave the tail exposed so the other could continue his story.
The toll became too much and the ill unicorn drifted off into a restless sleep. Majherri watched every rise and fall of Gomlius’ breathing. He counted the seconds between each one and as the hours passed that time continued to grow.
“You can go now.” The pair returned with the rising sun.
He shook his head. “It’s almost time. Let us bear witness.”
The humans were heading to their first meal of the day when the breathing stopped. Three pairs of eyes watched, hoping to see movement. Five minutes passed without any movement.
“He is gone, but his story is known. I know of Gomlius born of Pheya and Tyrix. His story lives in me and by the end of this day three others will know it.” The female said.
The other male next to him said, “I too know of Gomlius born of Pheya and Tyrix. His story lives in me and by the end of this day, three others will know it. He will not be forgotten.”
Majherri agreed, “I also know of Gomlius born of Pheya and Tyrix. His story lives in me and by the end of this day, three others will know it. Stay with his body. I will get the stable master.”
The sun was just climbing into the sky, but it was difficult to bring his head up to meet it. Death had come quickly for Gomlius and it occurred to Majherri that perhaps his tale of life after losing a rider had sent Gomlius racing in the other direction. He was still alone; still the only one to ever survive the loss of a rider.
Chapter 18 – The General’s Request
“You’re getting more accurate with your knife,” Lieutenant Sheppard said.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Kayleigh retrieved her knife from the target. She spent nearly as many hours here on the range as she had in with Stable Master Tomas. All this practice had improved both her sewing skills, mending the cloth on the targets and her own throwing form.
“Don’t thank me, you’ve applied yourself,” the short brunette said while using a brush coated with a dark dye to draw a rough target on an upright hay bale perched on a slab of stone.
“Now, let’s see if you can tap some of the magic stored inside your knife throwing shouldn’t be a problem. Now, let’s try and tap into some of the magic you have stored in your weapon.”
“Are you sure that’s wise, ma’am?”
“Your unicorn isn’t here, correct?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Then the only source of magic you have is the tiny amount stored in your personal weapon. One of the reasons, we limit the amount of access you have to Majherri is that we want you to develop better control over the flow of your magic. The captain and I are in agreement on this and we will work with the magic inside your blade. Besides, if you manage to engulf the island in a firestorm with what little you hold in your hand … no amount of training is going to help you. My unicorn is here in the event we need to smother a fire. Let not your young heart be troubled.”
Kayleigh laughed at the woman’s light-hearted tone. It was a pity Captain Lynch couldn’t be more like her. She’s patient and treats everyone with respect.
Lieutenant Sheppard went to Pasha’s saddle and removed the worn, but still deadly looking mace from where it was kept. “This is my weapon. I didn’t get my first kill until I was out in the southern battalions. There was a skirmish with a rebellious duke’s forces and I ended up fighting a knight in full plate. I unhorsed him and thought he wouldn’t be able to get up because the weight of his kit and moved on to the next opponent. Somehow, the man did get up and pulled me ri
ght off of Pasha. He tried to bash my skull in with this, but I used to favor a short dirk back then. To make a long story short, I came out of the battle with this and a few broken ribs. That knight taught me a valuable lesson, which I’ll now share with you. Never assume your opponent is finished. It could be the last assumption you ever make.”
“I understand.”
“Thought you would. Now, I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on your knife. Can you feel the magic in there?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, pretend that it’s Majherri. Try and pull a tiny bit of magic out of it. Hold it in the throwing position and try to blend it with the blade. Be careful not to burn yourself. Easy. There’s not a lot in the knife. Don’t use it all up at once!”
Kayleigh opened one of her eyes slightly and saw the knife blade surrounded by a corona of flame. She didn’t feel like it was emptying the knife, but she pulled back, allowing the glow around the weapon to subside.
“Ready! Throw!”
As she released the knife, the flame spread over the surface and it was like she was hurling a small fireball at the target. The flame died in midflight.
“Why didn’t your weapon stay lit?”
Kayleigh could tell there was a lesson in the answer by the way the woman was asking the question.
“I’m not sure, ma’am.”
“You either ran out of stored magical energy, or you let it go out. Go get it.”
Kayleigh did as instructed as Lieutenant Sheppard continued, “Do you still feel any magic?”
“Yes.” Honestly, it felt the same as when Kayleigh first concentrated on it, but she figured that it would only confuse things if she mentioned that fact.
“That means you’ve let your concentration lapse. Watch this. I’ll make my mace vibrate. It increases the force of my blows. Now, when I set it down, it continues. If I focus, I can keep that going until there’s no more magic stored in my weapon. Let’s see you try it without adding too much by making you throw it and hit a target. Wrap it in flames and set it down, just like I did.”
Rider (Spirals of Destiny) Page 15
