Unicorn Keep

by Angelia Almos

  He should have tried to locate her last night, but he’d been too tired and anxious to get as far from the Keep as possible. He would head northwest until he found a chance to work on locating her. He was pretty sure his mother would either head north to the other side of the unicorn valley which meant she would not come down on this side of the mountain or she would go south to the village Madelen was from.

  He frowned as Eachann walked forward. He had to consider the possibility that she might split the keepers up and go both ways. But it was out of his hands. He flinched as Eachann stepped into the curtain of rain. The trail was muddy so he directed the gelding onto the firmer grass and trotted forward. He was going to be soaked through before the day was over.

  ****

  The unicorns moved leisurely, she was pretty sure, for Ginger’s benefit. Even with the magical bolstering she was receiving it was clear to Jiline that Ginger needed real rest and sleep. The rain drizzled here and there and streaks of sun cut through holes in the clouds. She had more time to think once the shock of actually riding a unicorn had worn off. With Ginger she had been partially occupied with the act of riding and hadn’t had much time to worry over her friends and family. But now she watched the scenery go by, taking her farther and farther away from her home, from her friends and family. The unicorns took her safety seriously and wouldn’t allow her to leave. She almost smiled as she realized her circumstances had flipped to that of the unicorns’ previous predicament.

  She was now effectively their prisoner for her own safety as the Keep had claimed to protect the unicorns.

  We are protecting you. Bai said.

  She jerked guiltily, it was easy to forget they could read her mind at will. “I know you are. I’m just wondering, when we get to your woods, what will I do?”

  It was Gwyn who answered her question. Whatever you choose. You can stay with us if you like or leave. We only wish to take you away from the reach of the mages. They will not only punish you for your part in our escape, but it is very likely they will try to use you to find us if they can.

  “Wouldn’t it be better for me not to know where your woods are?”

  Gwyn was silent a moment. Bai danced beneath her and she slid her fingers along his silky neck.

  I will consider your reasoning.

  Jiline blinked in surprise. Gwyn had actually agreed she had a point. “Thank you.”

  Gwyn went back to pacing alongside Ginger. She brushed her horn against the pony again, but Jiline couldn’t see any improvement. She frowned, but didn’t get a chance to protest when the herd suddenly stopped.

  We will rest here for a little while. Bai knelt down.

  She slid carefully off his back, her natural inclination to pat his neck in thanks suppressed.

  I don’t mind.

  She bit her lip. “Mind what?”

  You may pet me if you like.

  Her cheeks heated and she smoothed her hand down his shoulder. His softness was unlike anything she had ever felt. Ginger groaned as she lowered herself to the ground. Jiline ran over but didn’t get the saddle removed in time. She unbuckled the girth so it wasn’t binding, but Ginger had already laid down on the saddle making it impossible to get it off unless she raised up.

  She crouched down and rubbed Ginger’s neck instead as the pony closed her eyes to sleep. A unicorn approached. She glanced up. It was Bylun. He slid the tip of his horn along Ginger’s neck.

  It will help her body recuperate faster. Speed up the healing process of sleep.

  “Thank you,” she said, but he was already moving back to the herd.

  Jiline sat down next to Ginger, sliding her fingers through her mane as she listened to her pony’s steady breathing. The clouds slowly cleared and she could see the sun as it moved to the evening spot in the sky.

  She double worried. One that the hunters had friends who would reach them because they rested. And two that Ginger wouldn’t survive this journey.

  She is strong.

  Bai stood over them as the other unicorns spread out to graze. The magical barrier seemed to stretch out forever and she recalled how the valley floor never saw any snow with the unicorns within.

  She nodded slowly in response to Bai’s comment. “She’s always been plucky. That’s what my father said when he bought her. We even thought about calling her Plucky, but she already responded to the name the spice traders had given her.”

  She held back the question of when they would move off, but was pretty sure Bai knew what she was thinking. He didn’t say anything so she laid down in the grass next to Ginger to watch the clouds drift by.

  She felt his presence before Bai went immobile as a statue. Gwyn was instantly beside her as well. Bai snorted a warning and the other unicorns raised their heads.

  Jiline looked around, but saw nothing. “Gwyn?”

  Yes, it is your Herrick. He searches for you.

  “I don’t see him.” The presence she had felt in the woods hadn’t been clear then, but it felt solid now.

  It is his spirit.

  Bylun separated from the herd. It is time to move. His horn flashed as his head moved around in a quick dance.

  Gwyn watched him unimpressed. He does not search for us. You cannot block him.

  Bylun glared at her. She must learn to block him.

  The herd slowly gathered and started their journey again. Ginger raised her head and shook it groggily. The unicorns had probably roused her. Jiline stood up as action set about her, but she could still feel him. She looked at Gwyn in confusion.

  Gwyn brushed her muzzle against Jiline’s shoulder. Yes, he is still here. Do not worry, Jiline of Ainsley, he does not search for us.

  “But in finding me, he will find you,” she mumbled.

  He does not search for you to punish you or locate us.

  She glared at the meadow. “Go away!”

  Gwyn huffed in laughter. Prepare Ginger, the herd is moving.

  Turning away from where she felt the presence, she started to tighten the girth.

  You should still ride me. Bai said.

  She bit back the protest and nodded before securing the saddle just tight enough so it wouldn’t slip off. “Good girl.” She rubbed Ginger’s neck and was glad to see her walk forward without the drag of exhaustion.

  Bai was kneeling down and Jiline jumped on as she had before. The presence hovered near her. Bai thrust his horn at it and the presence faded away.

  17. ORFEOS

  Herrick expelled a breath and opened his eyes as his being floated back into his body. He had located her. He stared at Eachann. She was riding a unicorn. The preposterousness of it hit him deep in his stomach. Madelen was riding a unicorn. Not only was she riding one, but from what he had been able to gather the unicorn had commanded it. She’d gone from preparing her pony to ride to mounting the unicorn.

  He stretched out his stiff limbs and got up to mount Eachann. The rain had slackened which was why he had decided to try to locate her, but it was picking up again even under the shelter of the heavy tree he had found. The meadows around her had stretched endlessly, but it had given him a general area to search. The trees which had shed their winter leaves combined with those that had kept them were his best clue.

  Eachann galloped out of the grove. The weather had not been affected by magic here and the ground was not overly saturated as it had been at the base of the mountain. Still the roads were muddy so he stuck to the grass as he headed west.

  ****

  “Why does he search for me?” Jiline finally uttered the words that had plagued her since night fall. The unicorns had only been concerned about getting away from the presence and once he had vanished they had been satisfied with a small wood an hour past the meadow to rest for the night.

  She watched Ginger graze on the edge of the wood. Rested from the afternoon, she was rapidly attempting to fill her stomach. Jiline’s own stomach rumbled, distracting her from her question. She had rationed out her food and the unicorns’ bolsteri
ng had allowed her to go without as much, but she was down to her last few pieces of dried fruit.

  She weighed them in her hand. They weren’t enough to stave off her hunger, but perhaps she should save them.

  Eat. Gwyn scolded. We shall find some food for you tomorrow.

  Jiline obediently ate the last of the fruit, but didn’t lay back down. Her question was still unanswered.

  Bai lay beside where she sat, watching over her as he had from the beginning. She drew her gaze away from Ginger to Bai’s shining coat.

  She guessed the unicorns didn’t have any better idea as to why he searched for her than she did. But it continued to bug her when she should have been asleep. Even Ginger had come to lay beside her.

  Sleep. Bai’s voice was soft.

  She rolled over to look at him. He had not laid out flat, but was curled up with his knees bent under his body and his chin resting on the ground. She closed her eyes. Her body was exhausted, but her mind continued to spin and jump over the question of Herrick.

  ****

  Thick magnificent trees rose over them as the unicorns approached a forest. Jiline wondered if these were the woods when the unicorns halted, but Gwyn shook her head.

  This is an evil forest. Dark creatures abound.

  She considered the trees in horror. They didn’t look quite as magnificent, but more threatening. “What way are we going around?”

  Gwyn shook her head. We must go through the woods.

  Jiline bit her lip to keep from protesting. Her fingers tightened in Bai’s mane. He had insisted again that she ride him to let Ginger fully recuperate. Ginger looked as good as she had on their first day, but she didn’t argue with him. She had a feeling Bai felt more at ease in his self-appointed job as her protector if she was riding him.

  She glanced at her bag on Ginger’s saddle and Bai sidestepped so she could reach down and untie it to strap it to her chest. The darts were secure in their case as she tried to figure out how to keep them handy without accidentally pricking herself or the unicorns. Ginger nickered nervously. Bai touched his muzzle to her forehead as the pony sidled closer.

  No one could say horses were stupid when it came to danger.

  The herd appeared to have coordinated though Jiline had no idea what was going on as they spread farther apart and stepped into the woods. She gripped Bai’s mane with one hand and kept her other on the short sword strapped to her waist.

  Bai stepped lightly into the woods, his body moved fluidly as he broke into a canter and darted around trees. Ginger followed close behind him with Gwyn bringing up her rear. The woods seemed to stretch out forever. The unicorns didn’t make a sound except for an occasional branch cracking beneath their hooves as they traveled.

  She had almost relaxed as they moved through and nothing challenged them. But all of a sudden the air was filled with screaming as creatures dropped from the trees above.

  Bai trumpeted and increased his pace. His command to duck down clear in her head, she laid as flat as she could, her worry about Ginger increasing as a creature dropped at Bai’s side. He flashed past it. But what about Ginger? She turned and sat up. Something hit her back and Jiline fell to the forest floor.

  The stink made her wretch as she scrambled away and tried to draw her sword from its sheath.

  Something stepped on her back, effectively pinning her. The weight abruptly lifted and unicorn hooves danced past her face. Fear gripped her. Ginger neighed in panic. She forced herself to turn and look as a creature sat on Ginger’s back, a wicked spear in its hand. She recognized the drawing of the orfeo.

  Eli had said a single orfeo had broken into the Keep many years ago and had killed several keepers before a poisoned dart had taken it out. The unicorns couldn’t use their magic against it so had to rely purely on physical fighting skills.

  She pulled the dart case out as she lunged to her feet. Her fingers trembled over the latch and a dart dropped into her hand. A few feet from Ginger, she stopped and tried to block out her pony’s panicked neigh. Drawing her hand back as Eli had taught, she breathed out and flung the dart forward. It struck the creature in its leg barely missing Ginger’s stomach.

  The orfeo pulled the dart out, his black eyes finding hers as he leapt off Ginger to charge. The dart hadn’t worked. Spinning, she stumbled over a log and ran as fast as she could right into another orfeo. Dropping down, she avoided his ax and rolled to the left. Keep moving. Eli had drilled it into her. Keep moving until you are ready to strike.

  And she certainly wasn’t ready to strike. The creatures kept dropping from the trees. The unicorns’ neighs rang out with the orfeos’ battle cries. Bai was suddenly beside her. He kicked out striking one of the orfeos in pursuit.

  Get on!

  She reached up for his mane as she ran. His head turned and he thrust her onto his back with his nose before spinning to confront the single attacking orfeo. He didn’t rear, but lowered his head and charged. Jiline flattened herself and prepared for the impact.

  No impact came. Bai danced to the side in an intricate move to impale his enemy and toss him aside with the same movement. She stared at the downed orfeo. Pulling herself together, she glanced around for Ginger as Bai streaked past other fighting unicorns and orfeos. At last she saw Ginger, flattened out, racing through the woods with a unicorn beside her. It had to be Gwyn.

  They cleared the heart of the battle, but didn’t slow as they dashed away. Other single unicorns pulled up alongside Bai and then spread out. Jiline lay flat against his neck. Her head turned so she could keep an eye on Ginger. She ran almost as agile as the unicorns around the trees to where the unicorns sensed the dark forest would finally end.

  She looked around when she felt Bai’s stride slow a fraction. They still cantered, but were no longer charging through the forest. Careful to stay low, she raised up a little and looked behind them. The battle was long gone. She tried to count the flashes of white, wondering if the orfeos had been able to kill any of the unicorns. She gave up counting unsure if she was counting the same unicorns over and over. They had spread out as they had when entering the woods making it difficult to keep track of them.

  Bai’s focus was on their surroundings and she didn’t want to distract him with her questions. She ducked back down and peered forward along his neck. The forest stretched out forever.

  ****

  His panic attack slowly eased. Herrick cursed under his breath as he straightened away from the tree he had braced himself against when it had hit full force. Worried he was going to pass out, he’d flung himself from Eachann’s saddle. He looked around and sighed in relief. Eachann was a few yards away grazing on the thick grass.

  He didn’t know what had happened to Madelen this time, but he was getting sick and tired of the draw incapacitating him. It was tempting to enter a trance again to make sure she was indeed all right, but the attack itself had delayed him too much. Making fists and then releasing them, he walked over to Eachann and mounted up.

  The rolling hills looked similar to where she had been when he had last checked on her, but he knew these types of hills stretched out for hundreds of miles north and south and not quite as far east and west but pretty far. The unicorns were heading west away from the mountains. If only he knew their destination.

  Eachann didn’t seem any the worse for wear considering his owner’s unusual behavior. Herrick considered why the horse hadn’t been concerned. Normally, the gelding was so attuned to his master that all he had to do was think a command for Eachann to respond. He urged Eachann into a canter. They rode hard until the sun had dipped past the horizon.

  He rubbed Eachann down before hobbling him and building a campfire. He was glad the rain seemed to have ended for now though all the wood he gathered was wet. Thankfully, fire starting was one of the first spells he had mastered. Holding his hand over the lump of logs, he mouthed the words for the fire spell. The wood cracked as it heated up and hissed. The fire leapt to life. He pulled his hand back and sat down.
The heat warmed him, but he kept his cloak on for now.

  Sitting cross legged, he opened his saddle bag and pulled out the small mixture of herbs which would help him induce the trance state to release his soul from his corporal body. Shaking out a palm full, he sprinkled the herbs over the flames.

  Inhaling the smoke, he closed his eyes and waited. He floated away. Focusing on Madelen, he zoomed away from the meadow and landed a few feet from her.

  She was slightly separate from the herd again except for two unicorns which appeared to be her sentries. She lay in the grass next to her sleeping pony. He dragged his gaze away from her to look at the surroundings. He needed to figure out where she was. At least that was the reason he had told himself when deciding to check on her.

  A stream bubbled behind them. He frowned at the double stream and looked past it. Taking off back into the air, he floated up until he could see the woods just out of sight. The strip of forest stretched north and south a considerable distance, but was only half a league east to west.

  He dropped back down knowing what had caused the panic attack and completely unable to do anything about it. The unicorns had taken her through Orfeo Woods. They were northwest of his location. But he guessed they were traveling exclusively west. Would they continue until they hit the ocean?

  He was much farther south of the Orfeo Woods. He would have to travel west until he crossed the area of the woods before heading northwest. He stepped closer to where she slept.

  One of the unicorns pivoted to stare at him. They had sensed him last time, but appeared to ignore him. This time they didn’t. The one closest to Madelen stepped forward and his horn waved menacingly in the air.

  Madelen sat up and also stared in his direction. He had been surprised the first time she had felt him, but now he was sure it was evidence of the draw between them.

  She rose to her knees, but wobbled slightly. He floated forward with concern, stopping when the unicorn stepped into his path. In corporal form, he should escape injury, but he wasn’t confident the unicorns being magical creatures might know a way around that.