Sorceress (Book 2)

by Jim Bernheimer

  “I need to learn how to control this attraction,” Majherri concluded. In the past, he’d joked among his few friends that he was irresistible to the females and could have any female for a mate. Now, that he actually might be, the reality fell short of his imagination.

  Spending hours standing there, aimlessly chewing on some hay and trying not to be annoyed by the chafing of the reins that had concealed his appearance for weeks, was tedious at best. Most nights, Danella would mercifully take them off of him, but that was impossible tonight.

  Still, I can observe these three and see if I can learn something useful…assuming they actually know anything worthwhile.

  A loud thunderclap struck near the village and several of the horses in the stalls neighed loudly. Majherri knew he should pretend to be scared, but kept himself motionless and unbothered by the downpour outside.

  “After all, I’m not disobeying Danella’s orders by doing absolutely nothing,” he mused, while feeling the gaze of the female linger on him.

  “I wonder if they ever found those missing trainees everyone was frantic about?” Urkai asked. “The magic of the Portals has never been something I questioned until now.”

  “One of my colts is in that class, but I heard he wasn’t one of the ones that disappeared,” the other male added. “Though I did hear that the one unicorn who survived losing a rider is among those who are lost. Iarisha, is it true that the females were threatened if they were approached by that one during the last mating?”

  The female snorted, nodded, and trotted purposefully to the other end of the barn – away from Majherri. “I already had reached an agreement to mate with another and had no real interest, but I heard all the same things that you did and perhaps a little more.”

  “There’s more to the tale, Iarisha? Tell us. You’re not one to gossip idly.”

  “I cannot vouch for the truth in this matter, but there supposedly was a younger unicorn who almost risked banishment to mate with him, backing down only under the threat of violence. Again, I don’t know if this is truth or just something Savara dreamt up to alleviate her perpetual boredom.”

  Majherri almost betrayed his presence at that statement. The only one who they could have been speaking of was named Pasha. She had actively pursued him only to frustrate him, and finally abandon the idea of mating with him out of fear. After the season had passed, he and Kayleigh had been moved out of the first year. He had no reason to seek her out and she avoided him out of what he suspected was shame. Searching his feelings, he was conflicted when it came to Pasha. When no other would bother, she attempted to befriend him and he had seen no other motive or agenda in her actions. Ultimately, he could not live up to the standard she held for him and his best wasn’t worth Pasha defying the will of the Greater Herd.

  If this rumor was to be believed, Pasha considered mating with him despite the consequences and that impressed him. She and her rider were safe on the Sacred Isle. He could not foresee a scenario where they would meet again, but Majherri hoped that if they did, he would be able to control this magic surrounding him. Truly, he did not mind the idea of mating with the comely, younger unicorn. Instead, he would rather it be by her choice and not with some dark aura clouding her senses like the one affecting Iarisha, who stared at the wooden walls as the sky outside scolded the land surrounding them.

  There was a moments warning, a feeling of energy surging through the air and crackling before the world around him exploded.

  The primal screams of the animals filled the burning air as Majherri came to his senses and rose from where he’d collapsed in his stall. The barn was on fire and the bolt from the heavens had been strong enough to damage the structure. The hay stored in the loft above was already ablaze and the fire was spreading along the wall. The acrid smell of smoke irritated his nostrils, but the unicorn was the mount of a fire maiden. As dangerous as the flame was, Majherri knew its capabilities like second nature.

  It was his element.

  All around him chaos reigned supreme. Some of the horses had managed to get out of their stalls. Others were trapped and driven into a frenzy. The two male unicorns were attempting to guide the animals roaming free inside out into the storm and meeting resistance from the horses, who feared the flashing lights as much as the flames. In the rear of the barn, Iarisha used her horn to pry open a stall door and was rewarded by the freed stallion crashing into her, knocking both to the ground. The horse was first to stand and leapt toward freedom, kicking his rescuer in the head and sending the female unicorn back to the dirt.

  Rearing, Majherri brought his front hooves into the door and smashed it off its hinges. Calmly, he forced his way out of the stall and into the throng of animals and the growing cloud of smoke. He worked his way through the terrified beasts. He could just leave the female there, but he was free to act so long as he didn’t communicate with her.

  The female’s sides shuddered and he knew that the she was still breathing. He tried tapping her with his front hooves, but she barely stirred. Burning pieces of the upper level dropped from above, igniting the loose straw on the ground and other flammable material. Channeling his magic, he smacked his hooves on the ground and tried to push the flames away from them with some success, but it nearly exhausted the tiny bit of power he had available. There was one other hapless animal and Majherri freed it, wary of the creature bolting from its prison before turning back to the injured female.

  Using his teeth, he grasped the edge of a bucket, filled perhaps a third of the way with water and dragged it next to the unicorn. Dropping the container next to her head, he knocked it onto her with his hoof and splashed the contents onto Iarisha’s head.

  The unicorn moved sluggishly this time, snorting and making all manner of noise as she made a supreme effort to rise.

  “Thank you,” she said reflexively, before looking at him again and shaking her head in disbelief.

  Flames and dying horses barred their path. He cast his gaze around, looking for signs of weakness in the structure and spotted a stall with a window. The wood looked somewhat dry rotted. Oblivious to the eyes of the female, he entered the stall and kicked at the wood surrounding the window with all his might. The wooden sill snapped away yanking some of the board with it. His hooves smashed the shutters aside causing the nearby flames to grow brighter with a new source of air to feed them. Steadily, the hole grew as his powerful hooves pushed against the planks of wood. The heat was approaching a level where even Majherri began feeling uncomfortable and the air he breathed became more of an irritant than a source of life. When the frame was sufficiently weakened, Majherri backed up and threw his weight against it. On the third time, he smashed out into the open air and the pouring rain.

  The unicorn followed him out into the deluge and stared at him in disbelief.

  “What are you?” she demanded, lowering her horn defensively.

  Majherri started to ignore her, but realized he was no longer inside of the barn and the compulsion Danella had given him applied only while he was in the structure. A desperate plan formed in his mind at the opportunity he’d been given.

  “I am touched by the Nether, Iarisha of the Sacred Isle. My name is Majherri, the very same unicorn you and the other two spoke of a short time ago and I bear a grave warning. That war in the West is very real and it is spreading. At its head is the human called Count Darius, thought both defeated and dead by the High-King and his followers. He wields terrifying power, the ability to corrupt our riders and bend them to his will and courts the powers in the adjacent realms!”

  “Impossible! I don’t know what you are, but you’re no unicorn!”

  “Touch where my horn would be,” he commanded and lowered his head. “It is hidden by magic, but there just the same.”

  Iarisha leaned forward and moved her own horn to and fro. It clattered off his invisible one and she neighed in disbelief. To further illustrate his point, he forced some of the magic into his horn, briefly lighting it as the rain hissed agai
nst the flames.

  “I cannot accept this!”

  “Listen well to my words, Iarisha. My rider is a thrall and she controls me with a grip mightier than even the metal of a forged lance. If she learns that I have said anything to you, she will compel me to kill you and your companions and I will do it gladly.”

  “You wouldn’t,” she said, but fear and uncertainty subverted her protest, making it sound weak and anemic.

  “Oh yes! I would. The dark magic staining me has made me strong enough to smash through that barn with ease. I can even command fire magic without my rider. The three of you wouldn’t stand a chance! That same magic was calling to your mating instincts. Don’t bother denying it!”

  The female looked frustrated and unable to refute him. “Fine, Majherri, if that is who you truly are, what would you have me do with this knowledge?”

  “Flee,” he replied. “Carry this warning to our kin. Count Darius still has allies in the South, biding their time. The West is already lost to his armies and soon the Yar will be running wild through these kingdoms. But the greatest danger is something this wizard said in passing. He has bound a netherbeast in servitude and plans to bring it back to our realm along with the forces it commands. That must not be allowed to happen!”

  “But my rider!”

  “You must leave her! You’re both Scouts! This information is too important. Do your duty! The fate of all rests on you delivering this warning. Danella’s connection to me is like no bond you can imagine. If luck favors me, she won’t probe deeply about tonight’s events and we’ll head into the mountains before she realizes anything. But if she does, your rider, the others, and perhaps everyone in this village will die. Flee now and head to the nearest garrison. Put as much distance between me and you as possible. I can outrun an air maiden and her unicorn riding full out and she might make me hunt you down. I’m going around to the other side of the barn. I don’t even want to see what direction you head off in. This storm will hide your tracks.”

  The female stood there looking at him and he feared that he would have to physically attack her and drive her off, but she nodded and said, “I believe you and will take this warning, Majherri. You are right. The life of my rider and even my life are nothing compared to the risk of a netherbeast and its foot soldiers walking on the Blessed Continent. I entrust the life of my rider and myself to you.”

  “Safe journey to you, Iarisha. May the spirits of our kin residing in the sky watch over you. Danella may well kill me when she learns of my treachery, but if one of us must pay, then I hope that it is me.”

  He didn’t wait for her reply and trotted back around the other side. He stood there, staring at the flames and trying to lose himself in them. Occasionally, he looked up at the angry flashes in the sky. A few minutes passed before Gristul and Urkai began a frantic search for the missing female.

  In the morning, the majority of the village turned out to inspect the damage to the destroyed barn. Majherri stood in the distance, focusing on the uncomfortable wet feeling that chilled his bones. It had been a long and harrowing night with very little cover to be found. Fire was his element and the flames in the barn hadn’t worried him at all. By the same token, water was his opposite and the driving rain bothered him more than it should have. The unicorn felt as if he would never be dry again.

  Danella will sense this immediately, if she doesn’t already know. My annoyance will be a shield.

  At least that was what he hoped.

  The disaster in the barn had claimed the lives of four of the horses belonging to Kuresh’s nomads and much of their riding gear. Two others had run off into the night. He watched one Battle Maiden desperately searching for her unicorn, knowing Iarisha was hopefully hours away by now. The woman’s two compatriots and their unicorns helped her search the rubble and offered what comfort they could. Majherri had changed positions several times with the shifting of the cool wind. The smell of burnt flesh only compounded his current mood.

  The angry words of his own rider drifted through the air as she and Kuresh were arguing with a village elder and several others. Majherri wandered over to Danella, trying to look the part of a loyal beast and not that of an interested party.

  Danella took note of his presence and allowed him to nudge her in greetings.

  “It doesn’t matter how much you offer, we simply don’t have the replacement animals you want,” the elder said. “This is the peak of growing season and every beast we have is needed in the fields. Truly I am sorry for this setback in your quest, but you are bounty hunters and not representatives of the crown. I wish there was more I could do for you, but the needs of my village must come first.”

  Majherri wondered if Danella or Kuresh now regretted changing the story from that of a noble inspecting land she’d inherited.

  “Pardon me for interrupting the conversation,” one of the Battle Maidens said. “One of our unicorns is missing and we were hoping for assistance clearing the rubble to see if we can locate the body in the collapsed section.”

  The elder immediately deferred to the woman who was an actual representative of the crown. “Of course, milady. I will see to it immediately.”

  With a curt and dismissive nod to Kuresh, the man said, “If you’ll excuse me, I must attend to this matter. I will have a rider visit the nearby farms and spread the word about your missing animals. It is the very least that I can do for you.”

  A dark look of malevolence crossed Danella’s face as she watched the man scurry off to placate the Battle Maiden’s request. She was furious. Turning to Majherri, she placed her hand on his head and said, “What of the missing unicorn?”

  He concentrated on the image of the female being knocked to the ground when freeing the horse and let Danella draw her own conclusion from that. Her reaction was a sly smile and a whisper, “Oh, the poor dear will be in for such a disappointment.”

  Eventually, Danella and Kuresh decided that it would be best for some of the troops to double up. Sending men to another village for more horses would add further delay and having mounts in the mountains was a luxury, not a necessity.

  The guide joined them as they prepared to leave the village. Majherri noted that the man looked more like the barbarians he’d be leading them to than the simple folk in this tiny outpost of civilization that the unicorn hadn’t even bothered to learn the name of.

  “You certainly seem eager to leave,” Danella commented on his mood. He replied with the feeling of being wet and rained on through most of the night.

  “It makes no sense!” the maiden exclaimed and threw her hands up in frustration. “If Iarisha isn’t here, where is she?”

  Majherri sensed his rider twisting in the saddle. They hadn’t left soon enough.

  “I thought you said the unicorn perished in the flames,” Danella stated.

  He tilted his head from side to side, affecting an air of disinterest and pretending the fate of a wayward unicorn on a stormy night was not his concern.

  Danella didn’t fall for it as he felt himself go rigid under her power.

  “What are you not telling me?” she hissed and began actively rooting around in his memories.

  He was powerless as Danella’s unbridled fury grew. She couldn’t understand the conversation word for word, but she could comprehend enough to know what he’d done.

  “You’ve betrayed me, Majherri! You’ve betrayed our cause. Now reap what you have sown.”

  His frozen mind began to thaw, filled with rage she forced upon him. Waves of bloodlust consumed Majherri.

  Chapter 18- The Visitor at the Gate

  Kayleigh felt hands tugging at her as she tried to clear her head. Both the aching in her left shoulder and the throbbing in her head could be traced back to the moment she slammed into the inside wall of the barn.

  “Are you okay?” It was Brian’s voice.

  “Do you really want to know?” she answered, muttering. “At least I’m not waking up in an infirmary for a change.”

/>   A small crowd of people had surrounded her as Brian offered her his hand. As her vision cleared, she looked down and saw that she now knelt in a pile of manure and sighed.

  “You’d think after spending so much time in the stables, I’d learn how to avoid situations like this.”

  “Well,” he replied and smiled. “If you’re still able to make light of things, you must not be hurt too badly.”

  Taking his hand, Kayleigh stood and noted the concerned faces. “My shoulder’s a bit tender and I’ll probably have a knot on my head, but otherwise, I’m fine. How’s Ayalla?”

  The spot where she worked with the riderless unicorn was worse for wear. Some of the wooden floorboards were snapped in half while others bowed where earth and stone had thrust up under them. The female unicorn was standing with T’rsa and Rheysurrah by her sides.

  “She was knocked down and a little shaken,” Brian answered. “You, on the other hand, gave us a good scare.”

  “We should move this into the courtyard,” General Hawthorne said.

  General Jyslin added, “I agree. Perhaps we can send for a dog trainer’s uniform, as it is padded to protect the wearer.”

  Hawthorne nodded and tasked one of her soldiers to go into the city. “Reese, why don’t you go inside, clean up, and rest while we make arrangements so that your next attempt will be less painful.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Kayleigh said. It was a pleasant change of pace to see people worried about her wellbeing. It was a far cry from the piercing gaze the general had given her after she had injured Andrea, but discovering their familial connection might have softened the woman’s disposition toward her. Casting a sideways glance, she noticed Rheysurrah paid more attention to Ayalla’s condition than he did hers. Honestly, she didn’t expect much else out of him.

  Brian led her out into the courtyard where his mother waited, holding the hand of the monkey that allowed her to see. Tamera was only a couple paces behind them.