Sorceress (Book 2)

by Jim Bernheimer

  Many of the humans passing by looked upon him. Some stopped and stared while others made protective signs against evil and hurried on their way. He supposed that he did make a fearsome and unusual sight. He pondered the irony of his new existence. For the longest time he had searched for a way to distinguish himself from the others of his race. Now, he was uncertain if he could ever be a part of the herd again.

  He spotted a single unicorn, the male, Osalon, being led to the tent with his still injured rider. They’d been with Kayleigh and had been captured. The other unicorn regarded him with abject horror and they had to strike the injured lieutenant before he calmed. The brave air maiden officer was to undergo another session with the heart.

  At least Osalon does not find me enticing, he mused. I can take a small sense of normalcy in this maze in which I find myself trapped. He admitted to supporting my sister’s decree preventing me from mating. Is it wrong for me to want to see him suffer for standing against me?

  As expected, there were no easy answers to his questions and the lack of fluids continued to gnaw at him through the long, lonely night.

  Watching another false charge against the city, Majherri remained vigilant in the dark. He surmised that the real attack would begin at dawn’s first light, but the skirmishers, who would halt and withdraw just at the edge of arrow range, were keeping the defenders from resting.

  A human approached carrying a bucket in one hand, a feed bag in the other, and a saddle over her shoulder. He sensed it was Danella and strained his eyes to get a look at his rider. Majherri feared what changes he might see.

  The light, golden tresses on her head had turned the same color as the hair on his body. They were so dark that they almost seemed to absorb what little light was around.

  “I could probably feel your thirst all the way from Talcosa, old friend. Here, I brought you some water. I mixed in some spiced wine, the way you like it, just a little though. You’ll need your edge for the battle.”

  Drawing closer, he saw that her skin seemed darker, gray mixed with pink. Her strange new appearance matched the obsidian shade of her eyes. The vibrant green was an almost forgotten memory.

  “I like the new look for you, Majherri. Apparently, someone liked it even more than I did. It was Cyemma wasn’t it?” she said and laughed as she set the bucket in front of him.

  She stroked his mane and whispered good naturedly to him while he drank deeply and didn’t bother answering her question. Majherri suspected she knew the answer already. Her words seemed normal. They were similar to the kind of every day conversations the two had shared in the past, but he wasn’t placing his trust in them. Her side of the bond felt clouded and murky with only thin strands of emotions slipping through and Majherri did not like what he did sense.

  “It’s not going to be like it was before,” she explained. “It will be different. We are more than we were. Together, we can be so much more. Our destiny is now in our grasp.”

  He wasn’t sure what this destiny she spoke of was, but for a change, she did not sound nearly as fanatical. He figured that was good. He’d need her as well as possible for the coming battle. Majherri didn’t like what, and more specifically who, he was fighting for, but he knew his duty. He would do his best to get them both through the battle and then, he would determine what has happened to them.

  Majherri drank enough to quench his thirst, but not so much as to make him feel bloated and slow during the fight. Danella strapped the feed bag in front of him and he ate the mixture of hay and oats. His rider fished inside a pouch on her belt for the peach he knew she carried.

  “You get this for dessert, Majherri. I know you’re still upset with me, but we’ll get through this and come out the other side stronger. Finish up while I get your saddle on. After the main gate falls, we’re to be part of the cavalry charge into the city to break any last resistance.”

  Admittedly, there was a tiny, but growing, part of him that was eager for the fighting to begin. He wondered if that was due to some kind of emotional manipulation on her part. Even if it was, the feelings were still there and he nevertheless had to deal with them. He vowed to see what kind of fighter Danella Lynch was now. The woman he remembered was quick and deadly, but showed restraint when needed. The new Danella might have traded discipline for raw power.

  He signaled that he was finished with the feedbag and she removed it. He took the peach she offered, but even the sweet taste did little to ease his suspicions. His kind had a saying when it came to how humans dealt with the lesser animals: “The carrot or the whip.”

  Majherri had never, for an instant, believed that he would face that problem from Danella.

  “Alright, let’s get ready and join up with the rest of the cavalry,” she said and gestured to the ill-formed mob gathering behind the central pavilion. Lines of foot soldiers, some carrying ladders, gathered in front. He saw teams of sweaty mules and sand trolls dragging three large catapults that had been part of their march through the desert.

  It should be enough to breach the walls.

  Climbing into the saddle, Danella paused and appeared to measure his reaction. He offered her no resistance, no excuse for her to seize control of his will. In battle that might prove to be a disaster for both of them.

  Satisfied, at least for the moment, Danella ordered him to move into position. Behind the tent, the horse riders massed. His eyes immediately found Cyemma and the other unicorns, but something else commanded his attention.

  He’d gotten a good look at the manticore back at the oasis. It was roughly twice as large as he was with the body and head of a lion, intimidating leathery wings, and a scorpion’s tail. It saw Majherri and turned to face him, pawing at the dirt and emitting a low hiss, establishing its dominance. The beast was clearly a male.

  Armed with the memories of fighting the netherbeast, Majherri snorted loudly and shook his head violently to each side, even going so far as to tilt his horn toward the creature.

  “You have no rider at this time, monster. I do. Face the two of us and you surely perish. Face me alone and die as well.”

  The manticore growled and, much to Majherri’s amazement, replied, “Perhaps, foolish unicorn. Though I doubt your rider would attack me, but maybe one day we could find out if you are able to match your boast.”

  “So, you are not just a dumb animal,” Majherri countered. “But we both know there is something far worse than you out there. If I can stand against that, I can stand against you without fear. Do you have a name or should I just continue referring to you as beast or thing?”

  Spreading his wings, the manticore laughed and said, “You are brazen and full of spirit, dark one. I like that you show no fear. Dominance must be challenged lest it become stagnate. I am called Gyer.”

  The name seemed appropriate enough. Majherri nodded and said, “Are there more of your kind out there?”

  “We are few in number and forced to hide in the swamps and places where humans don’t travel.”

  “And why do you serve this human?”

  “He will help restore my race. Maybe he’ll even give us that little island your kind enjoys.”

  Majherri snorted and said, “You have a sense of humor as well. A few cities in the desert does not make a conquest.”

  “Fight well this day, tainted unicorn. Show me you are worthy of my respect.”

  “Fly swiftly, sky monster. Show me that there is more to you than the one who sits in your saddle and you will have my respect.”

  “Your respect is a tuft of loose fur to me. I neither need nor desire it.”

  Majherri trotted past the creature. Very little was spoken of manticores. Most thought the monsters had been hunted into extinction. Those were the same who believed Count Darius among the dead from the last war. The unicorn knew both of these “facts” to be falsehoods.

  They took up position near the other unicorns. They seemed as fearful of him as they were of the manticore. He noted that the male, Osalon, was not present
. His rider had not broken yet.

  Good for her.

  Only a few minutes passed before the humans poured out of the tent. Many scrambled toward the soldiers preparing to lead the assault. Majherri’s focus was on the man in the brown leathers. His head was wrapped, making him nearly indistinguishable from the nomads following him. He moved comfortably, but Majherri noted that Count Darius favored his left side and that led him to wonder how badly he’d been hurt by the proximity to the fireshade Danella had unleashed against the netherbeast. Even with magic, burns like that never completely heal.

  Darius stared at Majherri and he caught a few stray feelings across the bond with his rider. From those, he gathered that Darius hadn’t been completely pleased with Danella’s actions.

  Apparently, he and Darius had something in common.

  The man stepped forward and gestured with his right hand, invoking a spell to carry his voice to his forces. It was not a shout, but a whisper in Majherri’s ear.

  “When the walls are shattered and the gates of the city are broken, you will make haste to your assigned positions. Spread chaos and destruction to prevent them from regrouping. Those on foot will sweep across the city behind you and crush all resistance. Victory awaits!”

  Seconds later, drums sounded, signaling the infantry and catapults to advance. Darius was already airborne on the manticore. Majherri was interested in the duel that would be fought between Count Darius and his attendants and whatever resistance the Sultan of Jaruciax could still muster.

  The mass of cavalry moved to the front of the tent and formed a pair of ragged battle lines. Danella kept him by the general in charge of the formation. The man wore a thick, bushy beard and had a shaved head. He and Danella were discussing when to send up her colored flame to signal the attack.

  In the distance, flashes of light lit up the morning sky as the mages clashed. Majherri had no real expectation that Count Darius would fail. He rode a very maneuverable flying mount and could rely on his beast to dodge the arcane bolts of the defenders. The sultan and his ilk were locked into a relatively static location that would suffer damage even when the count missed.

  As the boulders slammed into the city walls, he watched for damage and saw the rift torn in the wall sealing itself into a stone scar.

  If they had spellcasters available to fix the walls, Majherri would have to revise his assessment on whether the city could be taken, but he suspected it was just one or more earth maidens bolstering the defenses with their elemental magic. They would tire quickly.

  He didn’t relish the idea of fighting his brothers and sisters, even if they might no longer consider him one of them.

  The attack continued and Majherri looked for signs of other Battle Maidens amongst the defenders. Danella pointed to an area where fireballs were being hurled over the walls at the attackers.

  “One of our misguided sisters is inside,” she said. “If possible, I will not make you fight another unicorn. There will be enough enemies inside.”

  He acknowledged her, but nothing more. She’d test him at some point. It might be in the coming battle or days from now, but he knew it would happen.

  His musings were interrupted by the speck in the sky flying toward the main gate. Spellfire rained down from the air. Bolt after bolt of azure energy smashed into the fortification, forming a cloud of dust.

  A fireball rose up to meet him, but fell much too short of the mark. The magical storm expanded and swept to the source and Majherri doubted he would ever have to face that unicorn in battle.

  As the cloud cleared, Majherri saw that there was nothing left to mend for any earth maiden foolish enough to be near the center of that destruction.

  The general called to Danella and he felt a tiny pull on his magic as a spire of black flame leapt from his rider’s palm to signal the charge.

  Majherri’s hooves were already in motion. This was not a battle of his choosing, but it was one he would fight nonetheless. His stride was quicker than he’d ever believed possible. Even Cyemma and the air maiden on her were riding all out just to stay with him. Like a bolt unleashed from a high-tension ballista, he shot across the landscape, vaulting over bodies and shifting directions to avoid the dwindling amount of arrow fire.

  A side effect from Danella’s exposure to the heart of darkness, but I will use it to my advantage.

  The rush of adrenaline brought an entirely new clarity to his view of the battlefield. His senses were alive and crackling with information. He reached the gaping hole where the main gate to the city once stood. The stench of powerful magic was suffocating. Even the rubble had been banished from existence by the wizard’s might. He hovered high above, hurling eldritch energy to ensure that the defenders could not plug the massive breach which welcomed the invaders into the city.

  When the duo rode into the opening, Danella sprang to life. Scorching hot balls of multicolored, fiery death leapt from her outstretched hand, and wherever she gestured, pain and suffering accompanied. The draw on his energy was steady and rivaled what Kayleigh was capable of, except Kayleigh’s frantic bursts of energy were uncontrolled and fueled by desperation. Danella was very much in control and a practiced hand at the magic she wielded.

  Wagons, carts, and the debris of a falling city were being cobbled together as crude barricades by the panicked defenders. A few tried to fight, but most broke in fear at the terrible sight of a fire-spewing warrior charging them on a black unicorn.

  In their wake, the streets of Jaruciax burned.

  Danella pulled him to a halt as they reached a main juncture. The barrier here was more substantial. It blocked one of the entrances to this city’s Great Market. There were two wagons lashed together with chain and two more behind them. It was not something that could be jumped or broken easily.

  He noted that they had outrun the rest of the invading cavalry. The lack of support concerned Majherri and he communicated as much to Danella.

  As he feared, she was not interested in waiting.

  “Your city falls!” she shouted. “Your leaders are dead or dying! Surrender and my liege may yet spare your lives, but the time for decision is now.”

  The defenders answered with a dozen arrows that forced Majherri to spin and dodge in the narrow confines of the street. He felt one smack into his shoulder, but it did not penetrate his skin. He had no time to register his surprise as Danella opened the floodgates on his deep well of power and dark flames danced along his hooves and spread like a brushfire up and across his body. Her fireshade was almost effortless now.

  “They had their chance. No quarter, Majherri,” she commanded and made him charge. They covered the distance to the barrier with such speed that the arrows and javelins overshot or were turned aside by his thickened hide, now protected by dark magic.

  The impact was such that the pair of wagons in front virtually disintegrated and the ones behind them were turned into slivers of flaming death spraying across those who barred their passage.

  Breaking through the center of this maelstrom, Danella remained in the saddle. They were met by the wails of the injured and dying. Perhaps two dozen had manned this barricade. Only three remained standing.

  One, cradling his mangled arm against his chest, dropped the shield that had spared his life while sliding to the blackened stone.

  “Please...no more! We surrender,” he said, gasping for breath.

  Majherri sensed unmitigated glee come from his rider. It was mixed with a foreign feeling he’d never felt from Danella before. It was cruel and malevolent.

  “You refused my generous offer and now I refuse yours.”

  The injured man and his comrades barely had time to scream before she cut them down.

  The conquerors of Jaruciax celebrated well into the night while the citizenry huddled in the Great Market or the wreckage of their dwellings and feared for their lives.

  This didn’t feel much like the promised liberation. Instead, Majherri saw the signs of those drunk on their own power.
Unfortunately, this included his rider.

  After disposing of the soldiers trying to hold the Great Market, she’d almost gone tearing into the crowd of the unarmed citizens, compelling him to kill. Only the arrival of Count Darius prevented a slaughter, for which Majherri found himself somewhat grateful.

  What remained of the ruling class of Jaruciax surrendered to Darius and many of those who did would become the next thralls of the heart of darkness.

  Danella didn’t hide her disappointment from their bond as she rode through the streets and even went so far as to start several fires in a fit of childish rage.

  Nearing the group of warriors manning the area where the main gate previously stood, he saw them turning back groups of denizens who sought to leave the city. The common folk would suffer greatly under the new rulers.

  A familiar unicorn was there with her rider, keeping the situation from getting worse. She didn’t look ready to talk with him and he tried to lead his rider away, but Danella’s control over him resurfaced and he found that she was now “leading” him directly to Cyemma.

  “How goes things, Penelope?” Danella asked in a relaxed voice. Cyemma was asking him questions at the same time, but Danella would not let him respond.

  “All is well and in control, Master Scout. Today was a great victory for our cause.”

  “Indeed,” Danella replied and dismounted. “I wanted to talk with you about what happened with our unicorns if you have the time to spare.”

  “Majherri? Why won’t you answer me?” Cyemma demanded.

  He wanted to tell her to beware and to warn Penelope, but he could not. All he was capable of was bearing silent witness to what was about to transpire.

  The air maiden also left the saddle and joined his rider on the ground. Majherri wanted to look away, but that also was denied to him.

  Danella patted Penelope on the shoulder in a gesture of camaraderie, but before the air maiden could finish smiling, Danella’s hand was at Lancer Garrett’s throat. With more strength than Majherri thought his rider capable of, she dragged the other woman so their faces were almost touching.