Rider (Spirals of Destiny)

by Jim Bernheimer

  The winds rose to almost tornado like intensity. He fought his way forward and told Kayleigh through their bond to hold on. Her arms wrapped around him as the falling sensation began, only this time the falling was like crashing down a hillside.

  The screams of the others, both unicorn and human worried him. They jostled next to another unicorn. That one’s rider was trying to hold on with one arm and fight the winds blowing against the shield on the other. It threatened to pull her right out of the saddle. Kayleigh reached over and grabbed the other female’s waist to help steady all of them.

  The deceleration was ferocious. Majherri dropped to the ground, as his rider was thrown clear. The landing was awkward and painful. Breath rushed out of him like he’d been hit by an ogre’s club, but then he realized it was the other female rider they’d been next to.

  He winced, blinking in both pain as the mist swirled and went from darkness, to a fiery red before starting to dissipate.

  It’s never done that before! I must get up … must get to Kayleigh!

  As the vapors disappeared, he saw darkness. The eastern city of Derab would still be light. This was not Derab. Momentarily forgetting Kayleigh, he struggled to recognize where they were by the surrounding structure. There was the slightest hint of light on the horizon. It filtered in through the holes in the wall. That’s what troubled him. Every Portal, except two in the north, was either in a large market area or behind fortress walls. None, except for the broken Portals were located in ruins and these ruins were recent.

  From the position of the sun, we’re in the west! How is that possible? Is this Salif? No! The hills to the north! We must be in … Mon Alder. The westernmost portal city is in ruins! When? How?

  “Sound off! Everyone on your feet! Call out if you’re injured?” A voice barked the command. It belonged to Lieutenant Sandra Townsend, a tall woman with long auburn hair. She was the History of Warfare and Air Magic instructor for the third year riders. The woman used her right hand to cradle her left shoulder. Her face betrayed the amount of pain she was in.

  Majherri moved his head back and forth. He counted nine unicorns and as many riders. Where are the rest? Beyond the Portal frame, there was wreckage strewn everywhere – wagons, tossed like a human child’s playthings. He sniffed deeply, but failed to find the stench of death and decay. The fact that the smells were missing was even more troubling. Sensing movement, Majherri scanned the debris searching out the source.

  “Trainee Reese, no injuries … just shaken up.” The sound of his rider’s voice brought him out of his stupor. Her touch brought concern as she quickly checked on his physical condition. His side was bruised and her leg moving against him in the saddle would probably bother him if they were going faster than a trot. He practically screamed for her to get on.

  Other voices shouted out, reporting their condition, but the Lieutenant shouted them down. “We need light and a defensive perimeter! Somethings moving out there!”

  The trainees scrambled to comply. Another fire maiden, the Welsh woman sent a burst of fire into the air. After a second, Kayleigh followed suit and the area was partially illuminated.

  Majherri tensed, identifying a hostile shape moving toward them. Kayleigh saw it as well. It was a desert creature, but it was impossibly large. Its claws clacked together with audible noises. The tail waved over the monster’s head. Scorpions were always a problem in the steppes of the west, but at most, even multiple stings would only make a unicorn ill for a day.

  Of course that was for a normal scorpion, the kind that could be crushed under his hooves with barely a second thought. That wouldn’t work for a scorpion nearly the same size as himself! It was black, almost obsidian, and blended in with the predawn darkness. Only the forward motion and the quivering tail gave it dimension.

  “Sacred Mother preserve us! There’s more! Over there!” A human screamed.

  Majherri wanted to look, but he couldn’t. The abomination was too close. He fought down his own fear and Kayleigh’s. Do something, girl! Now!

  Her arm extended, slowly, almost as if he was willing her too inch-by-inch. The thing moved closer and he began forcing magic into her as he backed away, trying to give her some extra room.

  The flames formed on her finger tips. She was scared and resisting. Unleash it, or we die!

  His plea touched something in her and whatever dam had been there burst. Majherri’s power flowed through her. Kayleigh’s fear was a tangible presence and that with that fear came a tidal wave of energy.

  Flames washed over the creature’s protective carapace. Claws rose to shield it from the heat. Majherri focused on the motion of the other claw and the tail, watching for every shift and calculating when to avoid a strike. The over-sized claw snapped out and he move left. The tail shot forward a split-second later. There was no room left to maneuver, so he reared, blocking with his hooves. The strike slammed against the metal shoe and dislodged it sending a jolt of pain surging up his right foreleg.

  Magic swirled around him and his hooves exploded in flame as both he and his rider responded as one. Enraged, he brought his front hooves smashing down on the claw. The heated shell cracked … and crumbled. Confused, he wondered if it was alive or a construct, but he didn’t put much thought to it. Whatever it was, it was a threat, an enemy to be destroyed!

  Majherri pivoted to the right giving his rider a shot at the damaged side and his rider sent a continuous spray of fire onto the shell. The center mass, where the “brain” should be, blackened the extreme temperature. It floundered as he pounced for the second time. The monster’s body vibrated and broke under the impact. Like the claw, it crumbled and sand ran like blood from an open gash. Majherri decided that it was some kind of a golem or construct as it sagged to the ground.

  His rider didn’t stop. She sprayed her flame without really aiming it. He sensed her terror and tried to redirect it against the next one. A trio of trainees, two earth maidens and one water combined their powers to sink the second creature into the sand, where it struggled to move.

  “They’re just statues!” Kayleigh screamed. “Made of stone!”

  That clued the two earth aligned warriors to start directing their magic directly at the monster. It began disintegrating as they ripped it to shreds.

  With two down and more approaching, Lieutenant Townsend conjured a wind slowing the advancing things and moving the debris back to give them more room. “Hicks, Anderson, make us a hole in the nearest wall! Reese, Welsh keep burning everything in sight.

  The broken wagons became a bonfire as his rider and the other sprayed their flames into the debris.

  “I see movement in the towers!” Laurel Whitaker yelled. Majherri saw men pouring out of the two intact towers and onto the catwalks carrying bows. They were wrapped in dark cloaks and bore little resemblance to the regular guardsmen. With the unexpected arrival, they were caught unaware. Majherri need only look at the flaming remains left behind by the previous ambushes to know what awaited the next regular Portal travelers.

  Towsend’s wind gusts pushed the heat and smoke into the faces of the archers, buying time for the earth maidens to break an exit point in the wall. Majherri sent a warning through their link, drawing Kayleigh’s attention to another one of the golem-like creatures closing with them. The flaming jet from her hands ceased and he felt more of their magic flowing across the bond. Momentary weakness invaded as a flame snaked around the knife she’d drawn. Kayleigh leveled it and a second later the flame gathered into a white hot fireball that leapt from her blade and slammed in the beast. The monster’s shell darkened and the front legs fused. Already, Kayleigh was creating a second fireball using the tip of her dagger as a focal point.

  Majherri was suitably impressed. Even Danella, couldn’t conjure fireballs that quickly. Kayleigh’s lack of control was an asset in this battle.

  The archers were firing blindly into the maelstrom of fire and smoke. One bit into his flank and he cried out.

  “Where’s t
hat blessed hole!”

  “Almost there, Lieutenant. One minute!”

  “Work faster! Whitaker! Protect Reese. Temple, you Protect Welsh. I’ll try and shield the rest of us.”

  The third year lead rider and her unicorn bolted next to him and he felt the air near them solidify. He maneuvered behind the small area of protection provided by the air maiden while his rider’s second fireball stopped the scorpion in its tracks. Kayleigh looked for the next target, when she didn’t find one, she pointed her sword in the direction of the tower area. She hesitated and he knew she was thinking about the difference between an enchanted rock monster and an actual living being. What he did next was distasteful, but he let her feel some of the pain from the arrow in his side.

  With that sudden reminder that the opposing side isn’t engaging in questions of moral values, Kayleigh began tossing random fireballs and forcing the enemies to seek cover.

  “The hole’s big enough!” An earth maiden trainee bellowed.

  “Get through! Fall back! Welsh take point on the other side. Lead us out of the city.”

  Most were already through the gap created in the wall. Lieutenant Townsend’s protective dome rose over Whitaker’s as the older woman said, “Whitaker get out. Reese and I will bring up the rear. Go! Go!”

  Majherri always appreciated the human officers in the battalions. Only the best rose to command and Townsend was no shrinking violet. Her unicorn had three arrow injuries and the human sported one sticking out of her thigh along with another in the shoulder.

  “Reese! Turn off the flames and go! I’m right behind you.”

  The flow of magic through their bond ceased and a sudden wave of exhaustion passed through them both, but their combined adrenaline pushed it away as he bolted through the rough arch created in the wall and onto what was once the streets of a populated city.

  A few arrows from the ruined fortress walls chased them into the darkness, but Majherri sped up. He knew this city well. Danella had been stationed here for their final three seasons. We’re heading the wrong way!

  He reared and snorted! Drawing the attention of the other unicorns, before bolting.

  “Reese! Get back here with the patrol!”

  “It’s Majherri, ma’am! He knows the quickest way out!” His rider shouted. “It’s this way!”

  “Alright then, everyone follow Reese. Ride hard and stay low.”

  Through the streets, filled with rubble, but devoid of life, Majherri guided himself by memory and instinct. Seeing some campfires near the oasis cluster this city was founded on, he pivoted and skirted that area while hearing the shouts from the people around them. Some came running with bows or spears, but the unicorns were moving too fast. He caught a glimpse of the royal palace. It was a ruined shell. This once proud city wasn’t captured. It had been razed.

  The only thing slowing his frantic run was the damaged hoof on his foreleg. The breached walls of the city drew near. He searched for the gap that would lead them to freedom.

  There! There it is! He leapt another rubble pile and skidded on the stones of the street. Breaking free into the desert he breathed in the cool morning air, knowing that with the rising sun, it wouldn’t last.

  Townsend and her unicorn caught up with him. The superior speed of an air maiden and his shoeless hoof made it easy for them. The lieutenant pointed to a cluster of rocks with some mangy scrub brush surrounding it. “We’ll stop at the rocks and tend our wounds.”

  Minutes later, the humans were dismounting and Majherri could tell the fear was setting in. The fact the trainees held up for that long was a credit to the instructors at The Academy. They obeyed the orders of their superior and did their job during the crisis. The aftermath might prove more difficult.

  Other than the bruises from being thrown off of me at arrival, Kayleigh seems … no wait, her hand is badly burnt again. She just doesn’t know it yet.

  The weight on his back was less than when they left Talcosa. Some of the equipment Majherri carried had been lost in the battle. He wondered if they still had enough to leave and, more importantly, if leaving was still an option.

  Chapter 24 – Wasteland of a God

  “Hold your hand out. These tears are going to sting a little. You might have overdone it this time. This will probably leave a permanent mark.”

  Kayleigh winced as the drops of water hit the reddened and swollen skin on her hand. “I guess this is where you tell me that I still need to learn how to control my fire, isn’t it?”

  Annabeth gave a morbid chuckle and said, “Reese, if that’s what you’re like with hardly any control, I really want to see the day you do master your abilities. If I threw as many fireballs as you did back there, I’d be crawling under that rock over there to sleep it off!”

  The older rider placed a hand on Kayleigh’s shoulder and continued, “Control or not, you did what you needed to do to survive and we’re not of this yet. If we get attacked again, you just keep doing the same thing. Okay?”

  Nodding vigorously, Kayleigh said, “Okay.”

  “Here, put some salve over the palm and wrap a bandage around it,” Welsh said while turning to inspect Majherri’s arrow wound. “It’s not too deep. You steady him, while I pull it out. Good thing for us that these aren’t barbed tips, otherwise we’d have to cut them out and that’s never fun.”

  “What happened? Why are we here? I’ve never heard of the Portal doing something like that.” Kayleigh’s words echoed those of the other recruits milling around and tending to the injuries. Majherri’s snort told her that she was doing little to calm him down while Welsh removed the projectile from his side.

  “Listen up,” Townsend called for attention. “There’s no use dwelling on why this happened. Accept it and move on. We’re in the desert. That means we’ll need water. Edwards, you’re our only water maiden. How much can you conjure?”

  The girl meekly answered, “Only a few gallons at a time, but I’ve never tried it in a desert before.”

  “Doesn’t matter. You’ll be doing it now. Pull moisture from the air or try the area around the roots of those plants. We’ll need all you can summon. Akers, stone shape a trough or just make a depression in that rock so we can water the mounts. All of you riders will drink from your water flasks, but the unicorns need to stay hydrated or we’re going to be in trouble. Whitaker, don’t take your eyes off those ruins for a second. If they come after us, we’ll need to hit the trail quickly. Let’s get to it.”

  Using the same magic that helped break a hole through the wall, one of the earth maidens bored a hole into a rock as the water maiden placed one hand on her unicorn and held the other one over the crudely created area. A small distortion appeared near the girl’s palm and fell, like a thin stream into the hole. The amount Edwards conjured didn’t look promising with nine unicorns needing water.

  “Rider Welsh, you ever serve in these kingdoms?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Me neither. Alright ladies, I’ve only got maps for the kingdoms we’re supposed to patrol. We’re going to have to move using the trails and visual landmarks. Unfortunately, there’s an army out there, somewhere – the same army that just destroyed this city. They may already be attacking the towns and cities east of us. We may run smack into their rear elements at some point. I know you’re worried, but you’ve all trained for this. Right now, we’re better off together. If we’re forced to split up, you all need to focus on surviving and making your way east. The news about this has to get back to Talcosa.”

  Kayleigh walked around to the other side of Majherri and rifled through the sheaf of parchments in the saddlebag. “Ma’am, I’ve got a map of the area.”

  “That’s a lucky break. Bring it here, Reese. You’ll have to hold it for me.”

  She opened it and allowed the injured lieutenant to look at it while hoping the woman would be too preoccupied with their current dilemma to ask why Kayleigh had a map of the western kingdoms, along with all the other areas of the bl
essed continent. Her thoughts flitted back to the letters she’d left.

  I can’t think of them now. I’ll worry about them later.

  “Okay, any of you ladies from this part of the world.”

  Kayleigh watched as everyone shook their heads. The rider who had grown up closest to where they were was from a city over three weeks journey away. Kayleigh said, “Majherri gave me the impression that he knows this area pretty well. He was out here with his last rider for several seasons.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind, Reese. How’s that water coming?”

  Edwards was kneeling next to some of the bushes, the ground trying to pull more water out of the soil. “I’ve got a little over two gallons, ma’am, but that’s about all this place has to offer. If we’re not riding all out, I can fill the flasks while we ride.”

  “It’ll have to do. Give your unicorns some water and then get saddled up.”

  “We’re almost ready, Lieutenant. I just need to patch your wounds and fix up your unicorn.”

  “Okay, Welsh. While we’re riding, I need to know how much we have. Water is critical, but eventually food is going to become a problem. Each trainee was issued a vial of healing tears. Find out how much we have left. Edwards, can you make healing tears? … That’s okay trainee, I didn’t expect that you could.”

  Kayleigh was amazed that the officer kept asking questions and giving orders while Annabeth was pulling the arrow out of her shoulder. A short time ago, she’d wanted nothing more than the confidence and swagger of a third year student.

  She started to lead Majherri over to get some of the water, but he shook his head and basically told her that the others would already have drank it all.

  “There’s a group of riders leaving the city!” Laurel said with a hint of fear in her voice.

  “How many, Whitaker?”

  “Two dozen, maybe more.”

  Kayleigh could see the woman weighing the options. Majherri was ready for another fight, but expected he wouldn’t get a chance.

  He was right. “We ride east. We’re too close to their reinforcements. If they try to follow, we’ll find a good spot for an ambush and take them. Reese, take point. Your unicorn should know the way to Jaruciax and he’s our best scout. That’s the direction we’re heading in. Keep your eyes open for the enemy and remember – any spot that looks good for an ambush could already have one set up and waiting for us. Finish up that water and move with a purpose, ladies!”