Sorceress (Book 2)

by Jim Bernheimer

  Taking her hands away from the pair, she gathered a small handful of dirt and closed her eyes, locating the tightly wound ball of magic in the center of her being. In her mind she tried her best to mimic the spider web pattern and draw it tight just as Tamera had done.

  A wave of fatigue crashed over her. Forcing open a bleary eye, she saw a stone now in her hand instead of a lump of clay.

  “Whoa!” Tamera exclaimed. “You did it and transformed it into a pebble.”

  “Might have overdone it,” Kayleigh said, feeling the effects of her overexertion. “I should call for Majherri…I mean Rheysurrah.”

  She mentally kicked herself for that slip and made a half-hearted whistle before concluding that her new unicorn wouldn’t know her whistle from anyone else’s. That fact depressed her.

  After a minute or so, Tamera asked her unicorn to go get Rheysurrah.

  “Sorry, Amanda,” Kayleigh said. “I should have filled the rest of the canteens before I tried this.”

  “Don’t worry,” Amanda said. “I’m getting really good at conjuring water.”

  While waiting for Rheysurrah to arrive, the tired sorceress prodded the stone she’d created with her finger and noted that both Amanda and Tamera seemed much friendlier than she’d remembered. For a moment, she considered that it might just be them trying to be especially nice to her, but then she thought about her memories and how Danella was exerting an influence over Majherri, even when they were on the island. That meant she might have felt that influence as well.

  “Can I ask you two something? Do I seem different now? Not the whole sorceress thing, but…well…I don’t know.”

  “A little,” Amanda said. “You’ve always been a bit of a loner and didn’t seem like you wanted to be friends with anyone. What’s really bothering you?”

  She took a moment to compose her thoughts before saying, “Danella was using her bond with Majherri even when he was on the island, and I think some of it bled through to me. I’m starting to wonder if how I remember things and how I was acting might have been influenced by her.”

  Kayleigh didn’t dare tell them that she and Majherri had planned to sneak away from the patrol and strike out on their own. It would eventually come out when she returned to The Academy, but she didn’t want to fight that particular battle just then.

  Laurel returned at the same time Rheysurrah trotted over. Hesitantly, Kayleigh stood and touched his side, drawing on his vast pool of raw magic and adding it to her own. She showed them the stone she’d made and said, “Tamera sort of figured out that I’m a sorceress.”

  “Really?” Laurel said. Kayleigh could almost see the wheels turning in the air maiden’s mind.

  Kayleigh nodded and held out the stone before saying, “She was showing me some beginner’s earth magic and I was able to make this.”

  She sensed a feeling of mild interest from her unicorn, which was at least a start.

  Laurel took things in stride and said, “Tell the others when you feel like it. It will make having one of us work with you easier if the rest know, but it’s up to you, Kayleigh.”

  “Thank you, Laurel,” she said and turned to Rheysurrah. “I tried to whistle for you, but realized we hadn’t worked on calling for each other. The fault lies completely with me, but I suppose it’s something we need to work on.”

  The feeling of interest fled and was replaced with indifference. Removing her hand, she pasted a smile on her face and said, “I’m a bit too overwhelmed at the moment, but we can work on it when we break camp.”

  Rheysurrah merely nodded his head. Kayleigh didn’t want him to know just how much his indifference bothered her, and hoped she’d have effectively dealt with her emotional response before she climbed into his saddle.

  “That’s going to be soon,” Laurel said. “I spoke with the leaders of the refugees and the guardsmen that came with them. They want to start moving again within the hour. The leader says that we’re still two full days from Shiftla at this pace. We can drop them off there, get some supplies, and be on our way to Salif after a day of rest.”

  “That sounds like the best plan I’ve heard in a while!” Tamera exclaimed.

  Laurel smiled at the earth maiden and said, “We’ll use a standard perimeter escort pattern. Since there are seven of us, it’ll be two at the front, three at the rear and one on each side. Every hour, we will rotate clockwise with one leaving the rear and relieving the left flank as the left flank shifts to the front and so on. If we just pretend this is a training exercise, maybe it won’t seem so bad. Amanda, you, Tamera, and Kayleigh are first rearguards. Marcia and I are the fastest riders, so we’re on the flanks. Julie and Anna are on point. Any questions?”

  “Where are the guardsmen going to be?” Amanda asked.

  “The ones who don’t have horses will be riding in or walking alongside the wagons in the back third of the caravan. Those that have horses will be closer to the front. Aside from the one sergeant leading them, I think they’re about as green as we are, so I don’t know what to expect from them if there is a fight.”

  Kayleigh’s asked the next question. “And if the enemy does show?”

  The air maiden swept her bangs across her forehead and said, “Use your best judgment and hit them where you can do the most damage. Give the civilians time to get clear of the fight and hopefully the guardsmen will reinforce our positions. That said, don’t take any stupid risks and that goes double for you, Kayleigh.”

  “Obviously, she knows me too well,” Kayleigh thought before saying aloud, “No worries there, Laurel. I’m ready to leave the Western Kingdoms behind me.”

  The three Battle Maidens and their unicorns all echoed her sentiment.

  Chapter 5- Rash Actions

  Majherri and Danella rode ahead to the encampment surrounding Jaruciax. A duplicate of the massive tent he’d seen at the oasis rested on the plains approaching the besieged city. Once the city fell, it would allow the forces under Count Darius control of the Clef River for leagues to the north and south.

  Still, the city refused to be defeated so easily. The unicorn surveyed the scene before him. The once proud dark gray walls defending the city were beginning to crumble in places and ugly black blemishes from tar pots stained other areas where direct assaults had taken place. Broken pieces of siege ladders littered the ground in front of those areas like so much rubbish. With his keen eyes, Majherri spotted bodies, left to decay in the sun as the vultures and other carrion feeding birds feasted on the folly of power hungry humans.

  Most armies would be allowed a period of time to retrieve their dead, but it looked like no effort was being made here. The attackers wanted the defenders to stand there, sickened by the smell of death and decay, another method to demoralize those manning the city’s defenses.

  The bowmen lining the walls were likely pressed into service and running low on arrows. Majherri took a closer look at the rabble comprising the attacking army. From what he could gather, the nomads had already been inside of Mon Alder and the westernmost Portal City had been unable to stop an assault from inside and out. This was their first siege and the inexperience showed.

  He could sense Danella’s frustration through their connection.

  “This city should have fallen already! Those serving The Master are not as capable as we had hoped.”

  His reply contained images of folly and failure.

  “I think not, Majherri. In the last attack, The Master fought the Sultan of this misbegotten collection of buildings. The Master has recovered and rested, but surely his opponent has not. The next engagement will see us inside the walls.”

  His response was a memory of Danella chiding her sister for believing secondhand reports. In truth, communicating with Danella was much easier than with Kayleigh. They had so many shared experiences to draw on. He just didn’t particularly like communicating with his rider at the moment.

  Danella’s anger flared and she said, “After all you’ve seen, Majherri, you still doubt
his power?”

  Majherri countered with the recently recovered memory of them slamming into the netherbeast and releasing her fireshade. He tried to push the idea that her idol was capable of failure.

  “We were wrong to oppose him!”

  He didn’t believe her and told her as much.

  “Your stubbornness is getting tiresome. Just a fraction of his power allows me to command you.”

  Shaking his head, he knew that wasn’t completely true either. Count Darius couldn’t have done this without the putrid heart of the abomination. The depth of her fanaticism continued to disturb him.

  “If you’re going to continue being like this, I suppose I’m going to be forced into punishing Cyemma...What!”

  As the threat left her lips, Majherri reacted before she could stop him. He’d had enough and bucked hard. Danella had been unprepared for his sudden outburst and lost her grip on the second jolt.

  He’d thrown his rider. It was the ultimate insult as far as his race was concerned. His message delivered.

  I no longer consider you worthy of riding me.

  “How dare you!” Danella screamed. Her twisted power froze him in place. Her whip lashed out and smacked into his side. She screamed louder when the corrupted bond returned a measure of that agony back to her.

  Frozen and in pain, he felt the touch of her whip for the second time. Majherri could only wonder if Danella snapped and killed him, would she die as well?

  The frightening part is that both of us dying might be the only way out of this.

  After the whip cracked against his side for a third time, she stopped and the mask of fury on her face returned to something approaching sanity.

  “You made me do this, Majherri. This is your fault! You made me! Why do you have to be … Don’t worry, I can fix this. I can fix this!”

  Danella pressed her will over him once more, forcing him into a calm state as she approached and removed a jar of salve from the saddle bags. He felt the cool sensation of it being applied on the areas where he’d been struck.

  “See? All better, but we can’t have you being stubborn when we go into battle. You just don’t understand...that’s it. I know the way. Stay near the main tent. I will return for you when I’m done.”

  It might have been instinct or it could have been something in their bond that he sensed, but Majherri knew she was going to the heart of the netherbeast. Danella sought more power to control him. Even this sense of foreboding could not break through the calmness she’d forced upon him. His revolt was driving her deeper into the clutches of evil.

  He called to her and attempted to convince her not to do this. His rider ignored him and though he couldn’t be certain what was coming, the one thing Majherri did know was that no good would come from it.

  Realizing his pleas were not working, Majherri decided to get some water, but found himself compelled to stay near the tent as she had commanded. Stamping his hooves in frustration, he waited for whatever would come next.

  Pain. It began with pain. A fiery bolt of agony that started at the cracked tip of his horn and slammed into his brain like an arrow. In comparison, the sting of Danella’s whip was like the bite of an insect. He screamed as the sensation trampled into all corners of his being. His hide alternated between burning itches and a freezing cold from which there was no escape.

  Vision blurred and he became dizzy, unable to stand upright. Seconds dragged on for an eternity as he fell over and thrashed against the ground. His legs flailed as if they had a mind of their own.

  Still, the torture rose to a new level of intensity and Majherri wasn’t sure which would break first, his sanity or his failing grip on life.

  Eventually, even his muscles stopped working and all he was reduced to was a motionless mass of misery making noises no unicorn had ever made before. His existence was being ripped apart. The foulness seeped into his bones and decimated his will to survive.

  At some point, he began to slip into the void of exhaustion. Part of him welcomed it and part of him feared what would be left of him if he survived.

  Something prodded Majherri. It was not a gentle touch either. There was a sense of urgency to it. His eyes struggled to focus and his entire body felt both sore and numb at the same time.

  Awareness returned. It was dark outside. He was still on the ground. He wondered how long he’d been there.

  Cyemma hovered above him. She nuzzled him impatiently.

  “Majherri? Majherri! Are you well?”

  “I’m still alive?”

  “Yes,” she answered, but the way she said it showed that the female was reluctant to say something.

  “What is it, Cyemma? You’ve never been one to hold back. Whatever you must say, it is best said now.”

  “Your coat. It’s turned black! By all the ancestors! What did your rider do?”

  It took a concentrated effort and a full minute to rise. He felt stronger with each passing moment. Considering the pain he’d been in, there was no conceivable way he should be alive. Yet there he was.

  Turning to the anxious female next to him, he said, “I fear she has sought a deeper connection to the abomination’s heart and it has affected me as well.”

  Majherri raised his left foreleg and, even in the nighttime, he could see that the hairs on his leg were different...darker.

  “So it is all over my body? Is my horn still white?”

  It was, but it remained cracked. Danella’s actions hadn’t fixed that.

  Cyemma circled and closely inspected him. “Your mane is still white also, but everywhere else is as the night. Are you still yourself?”

  He picked up on her fearful tone. Her question was well founded.

  “I believe so, but I won’t be sure until Danella returns. If this has happened to me, what has become of her?”

  “I don’t know, Majherri! Many humans were seen fleeing the large tent after you collapsed. This is exactly what I feared would happen when you said we should be resisting our riders! You never listen. That’s what your problem is!”

  “Calm down,” Majherri said. He knew the female was working herself into a complete frenzy and doubted his words would make a difference.

  “What if the others decide to do what your rider has done? What if we all end up just like you? We will be condemned, doomed, thrice cursed!”

  “Cyemma!” he snapped. “Stop acting like a hysterical filly!”

  Immediately, she fell silent at his outburst. Unsure of what to do next, he moved closer to the attractive unicorn, brushing his face against her neck and trying to calm her. She was rigid at first, almost fearful of his touch, but after the first few caresses, Cyemma responded. She pulled away and touched the tip of her horn to his and traced the channels and grooves. It was a very intimate gesture and coming from her, particularly strange.

  “What are you doing, Cyemma?”

  “Your scent has changed, Majherri,” she stated and placed her face against his once more.

  “How so?” he asked.

  “It entices me,” she answered and he felt her inhale deeply, nostrils flaring. “It calls to me.”

  Uncertain at this sudden transformation in Cyemma, Majherri sniffed the air and smelled the signs of Cyemma’s state. “Pity that mating season is over then. Perhaps you should leave? I would, but Danella’s compulsion forces me to remain.”

  Cyemma didn’t answer with words. Instead, she continued moving about him and brushing against his side, almost as if she were in a trance. The way she acted was like a female at the peak of mating season.

  “We’re not on the Sacred Isle,” he said in protest. “Mating here is...not possible.”

  Cyemma demonstrated that she was no longer interested in discussion. That in and of itself bothered him, but it was only a minor annoyance. Despite everything he’d just been through, her scent and her actions invigorated him in ways he too was not prepared for.

  Before he even realized what he was doing, he began actively participating
in the timeless mating ritual.

  After Cyemma had left, or more appropriately fled, he was in a better position to try and puzzle together what had happened.

  Mating out of season and away from the Sacred Isle? The only possibility is the dark magic Danella courts.

  For the briefest of moments, Majherri considered locating one of the other females supposedly around the camp and seeing if they too would behave as Cyemma had, but he discarded the notion. Whatever this was, he needed to be careful with it until he understood the repercussions.

  Also, much to his chagrin, he found that he still could not leave the area by the tent. Danella’s control over him had not weakened and he feared it would only grow stronger.

  If my sister could see me now, T’rsa would no doubt decree that I am a monster and should be destroyed. I can only hope that she and her rider are spared from this madness.

  His musings struck him as odd. It was the first time since before he’d been separated from Danella that he had kind thoughts concerning T’rsa or her rider, Meghan Lynch. Danella’s plans for their reunion involved Meghan’s enslavement as well. The prospect of that did not sit well with Majherri.

  In a fit of anger, when he’d considered attacking T’rsa, he’d told her that she should think about whether his power to survive might be something that should be spread to the Greater Herd. Now, he knew his survival had been a lie, but the question still remained even though the wording had changed. He wondered about the power of this dark magic.

  Could Cyemma even conceive out of mating season? More to the point, if she did, what would become of the offspring?

  Beyond this dilemma was the problem of his thirst. He still could not venture from the pavilion to get any water. It was as if he was leashed to a spot and his hooves would not carry him beyond a certain point. He focused and marshaled all his concentration, but that only succeeded in getting two body lengths further than his previous best effort before he was compelled to return to where Danella had told him to wait.