Then we convince her we are somewhere else. Gwyn said. She will no doubt search for you again. She came in the night. Any reason?
Herrick shrugged. “I don’t know. She didn’t use the same spell I did. The connection was wobbly.”
Were you asleep when she came?
“Yes, her presence woke me.”
The unicorns were silent for a moment. Gwyn spoke again. Wait here.
The unicorns danced away. Jiline chewed her lip. Herrick’s body was warm against hers. She wasn’t sure if she had been the one to move closer or if it was he. She stepped forward into the chilly morning air and turned to him.
“What are they planning?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She paced around the grove.
20. ORFEO WOODS
The unicorns returned. Gwyn, Bai, and Bylun and two others. They had come up with a plan. Bai knelt down for Jiline to mount and she did easily. Herrick hesitated when Bylun knelt as well. A private conversation was obviously going on and then quickly Herrick was astride, uncertain of what to hold onto.
Jiline wiggled her hands buried deep in Bai’s mane and Herrick did the same. As soon as the humans were secure, five unicorns streaked out of the forest. The rain fell steadily, but the magical weather box stayed over them and kept them dry as they reached the orfeo’s forest. The speed in which they reached it showed her just how much her’s and Ginger’s presence had slowed their travels. The dark woods loomed over them.
Jiline shivered.
We will protect you. Bai reassured her.
She wished she had known where they were going. The unicorns hadn’t shared their plan or destination with her. She had left all her gear tied to her saddle on the forest floor. Ginger and Eachann had remained back in the unicorns’ enchanted forest. They were too slow for the unicorns’ plan.
Herrick didn’t look any more thrilled than she was. In fact, he looked angry. She could hear his harsh whisper, but couldn’t make out his words. He glanced at her before focusing back on the trees as the unicorns stepped lightly into the evil woods.
It wasn’t the same place they had been before. In fact, they entered a clearing with large rocks in the center. She hadn’t seen this clearing the first time they had gone through the woods.
You’ll need to go to sleep. Bai said softly.
“What?” she whispered, but slid off him as he bid.
Don’t worry. I won’t allow anything to touch you.
Jiline couldn’t help but worry and think of Genna who had been severely injured when they had gone through the orfeo’s woods before. Herrick pulled her close to him. She hadn’t seen him dismount Bylun. The five unicorns began some sort of dance throughout the clearing and along the edge. She didn’t step away from Herrick this time. She welcomed his strong presence to help keep her fear in check.
Their task complete the unicorns moved back within the clearing and Gwyn approached them.
Lie down.
Jiline shared a scared look with Herrick, but did as Gwyn asked.
Sleep.
****
The presence was stronger this time. Herrick woke immediately. Gwyn stood by him. Her gentle command stopping the magic from flaring from his finger tips. He lay still and attempted to keep his breathing under control as the presence drifted away. He slid his hand along the ground until his fingers touched Jiline.
His breathing immediately stabilized assured she was all right and safe. Her hand turned and squeezed his. She also was awake. They lay still together as the presence drifted forward and then back. If only he could open his eyes to see what his mother saw.
His mother’s confusion was palatable, but not knowing what she was seeing, he wasn’t sure exactly what had her more befuddled. Gwyn suddenly moved beside them, her hooves coming down close to Herrick’s legs. The presence fled and disappeared.
He sat up and looked around. The clearing was dark from the cloud cover. “Now what?”
We wait. Gwyn said patiently.
Two agonizing, boring days passed. They could hear the orfeos occasionally on the other side of the magical barrier the unicorns had erected around the clearing. The unicorns kept hunger and thirst at bay with magic for themselves and their human charges. His mother returned each night to verify they were still in the same location.
The bright side was that Jiline had grown used to his presence and seemed to want his closeness as much as he did hers. He didn’t broach the topic of the draw or attempt any physical contact except for what was necessary. He spent his days helping the unicorns shore up the barrier against the orfeos. Why they were more active in the day was mystifying. But they seemed to wait through the night.
Dawn on the third morning bloomed bright. Herrick’s stomach rumbled in protestation. Gwyn touched her horn to his head to fool his body into thinking it wasn’t hungry and then touched Jiline’s as well.
“How long can they do that?” Herrick asked.
Her hand brushed his arm. “Not much longer. I can still feel a hint of the hunger after she erases it.”
A human scream echoed through the woods. He spun, one hand going to his sword, the other shoving Jiline behind him. The unicorns were immobile as statues as they also looked in that direction. Crashing followed. Jiline jumped to the side and picked up a thick stick she had found the day before. She’d complained when they’d first arrived in the meadow about leaving her weapons in the enchanted forest and how stupid she felt.
He had a feeling the unicorns had intended it that way as they didn’t want her fighting any more than he did.
Orfeo battle trumpets! His skin itched. Magic was being cast in the woods. He was unsure if it was the orfeos he felt or if his mother had finally arrived.
Bring the barrier down right there! Bylun commanded, his horn pointing at a spot in the magical barrier.
“What!” Herrick shouted over the din.
They approach.
It seemed crazy to him to bring the barrier down when the orfeos were on a rampage, but he handed his sword to Jiline and raised his hands to concentrate on the pulse of the barrier in that section. Bringing a section of the barrier down was a lot more difficult than bringing the entire thing down. Getting a lock on it, he froze the energy surge and a hole shattered in the barrier.
The unicorns moved then. He grabbed his sword back from Jiline and pulled her behind one of the large stone tables. He’d tried to stay away from them before and had pretended not to know they were used for dark magic purposes when Jiline had asked what the stone tables were. They reeked of sacrifices.
Jiline wrinkled her nose when they got close, but didn’t protest their hiding spot.
Horses galloped into the clearing. He was taken aback to see several unicorn keepers astride. They would be no match for the orfeos. His mother was inside the group, the orfeos in pursuit.
Bring it back up!
Surprised by the command, he dropped his sword to the ground. Finding the slivers of the barrier he rebonded them and surged magic back through the pulse. An orfeo made it in. The others were blocked out.
Orfeos were pack hunters. The lone orfeo realized his predicament at once and tried to avoid two charging unicorns. Bylun impaled him easily and flung him outside the barrier.
Jiline pressed Herrick’s sword back into his grasping hand. He didn’t take his eyes off the group of riders, but he could feel Jiline slink off behind him. Alarm filled him. What was she doing?
The orfeos’ battle cries continued to ring out, but the group of riders were silent. His mother was obviously taxed from using her magic to get them through the woods. He wondered how many others she had brought with her.
“Herrick,” she called out, but her gaze didn’t match her commanding voice.
Her eyes darted from unicorn to unicorn. The unicorns didn’t stand together, but had fanned out to surround the riders. Their horns were lowered and they fidgeted and moved as he had never seen before.
Knowing Jiline was behind another r
ock, he stood up slowly from his hiding spot. “Mother!”
Her questing eyes met his, but didn’t hold them for long. “You betrayed me!”
“Yes,” he answered simply.
Tell her she invades the unicorn forest. Bylun commanded.
“You have invaded unicorn territory, Mother. They don’t look kindly on mages who enter their woods. You know that.”
Sweat glistened on her brow. “I only want to protect you. This place is dangerous. You have held off the orfeos for now, but for how long? Do you want to always be fighting?”
We will fight for our freedom. Bylun said.
“They will fight for their freedom, they don’t like being in a cage,” Herrick relayed. “I’ve seen them in action, Mother, I don’t believe they need our protection from anything but us.”
“How can you say that when only five remain?”
Herrick shook his head. “These are the five who chose to face you. The others,” he gestured at the woods around them, “remain in their woods.”
“I didn’t see any in the woods,” she said.
“They hide well, don’t they?”
“Where is the girl?”
“I’m here.” Jiline rose from her own hiding place.
He gritted his teeth at her exposing herself. What the heck was the unicorns’ plan?
For her to believe we live amongst the orfeos in these woods. The mages will think twice before trying to capture us here.
His mother was revving up her magic and he flung up a magical barrier between them before she could strike out.
She held it in and glared. “She is the cause of all this! How could you choose her over your own mother?”
“You were the one sending me all over the country hoping I would feel a draw with another mage,” he shot back.
The unicorn keepers hadn’t moved. Their horses stood with their heads down trying to catch their breath. It occurred to him that bringing keepers through might have seemed the right decision at first, but could be his mother’s undoing. The unicorns had always chosen who would be a keeper. Would they choose someone who would go against them in the end?
He raised an eyebrow. “You came alone Mother. Not a wise decision.”
“I am not alone.” She lifted her chin.
“They belong to the unicorns.” He gestured to the seven keepers.
As one, the unicorn keepers looked toward Bylun. Herrick’s mother gathered her reins in concern. Her fingers twitched with her other hand, prepared to defend herself.
The keepers will assist her on getting out of the forest and then are released from their duties to return to their lives.
“They aren’t going to attack you, Mother,” he said, before she could make a preemptive strike. “The unicorns want you alive to tell the other mages that they will no longer be used. Anyone attempting to capture a unicorn will have to deal with the orfeos before they even face the judgment of the unicorns. The keepers will see you safely from these woods and then you will release them from their duties to return home.”
She shook her head. Her gaze darted from one unicorn to the next.
“Take their offer,” he implored and meant it. She was his mother. For all their conflicts, he loved her and was thankful the unicorns would release her. He didn’t want her to die any more than he wanted Jiline to die. “They only want to be left alone.”
“Will you return home with me?” she asked softly.
He shook his head. “No.”
Her shoulders straightened. “You are turning your back on your heritage.”
“I don’t see it that way. You don’t need the unicorns’ magic. I function just fine without it.” Which was a bit of a lie considering how often they had been touching their horns to him since they had reached this clearing.
Her fingers twitched and he couldn’t guess who would be her intended target. Throwing shock balls had always been a particular talent of hers, probably originally developed as a defense mechanism. He had only seen and felt them when she was very angry.
The keepers around her still hadn’t made a move to leave or turn on her. Herrick hoped she wouldn’t lash out at them. He had a feeling the unicorns would consider an attack on their keepers an attack on themselves judging by how they cared for Jiline.
“Brennah.” He walked away from the rocks and to the open meadow to try to draw her fire. The unicorns didn’t seem to like him particularly well and he was used to what the shock balls felt like. “You’re my mother. I know you aren’t a villain. You were doing your duty in caring for the unicorns and in tracking them down. But they don’t need to be cared for. The unicorns are quite capable of caring for themselves outside of the valley. You’ve verified they’re fine and can report back to all the other mages that the unicorns are living and thriving on their own.”
His mother laughed harshly. “You really believe the other mages will let it go. That I will escape their judgment. That they won’t come looking for the unicorns as soon as they learn of their disappearance.”
“You can’t control what the other mages will do or make of the situation, but you can control what you do.”
Her eyes strayed away from him to Jiline and then around the clearing. “You do know this is a place of dark magic! Why would you choose this place over the valley?”
Jiline spoke up behind him. “Because they’re free here. All they want is to be free.”
“No one is free.” His mother’s voice held icy disdain. “You are not free, I am not free.”
21. FREEDOM
Jiline was beginning to doubt whether Herrick would be able to talk his mother into leaving the unicorns alone.
Bai paced behind her. This is a waste of time.
It has been only a few minutes. You must give her time to adjust, Bylun said patiently.
How much longer can we last in this meadow with very little food and no water? Jiline certainly can’t. We kill the mage and be done with them.
Bylun’s head did not turn to acknowledge Bai, but his disapproval radiated across the meadow.
Jiline spoke quickly. “The unicorns’ mercy is running out, Mage Brennah.” She stepped a little farther away from the stone she had been hiding behind. Herrick’s back was pole-straight in front of her. She couldn’t imagine going against her own mother in this way and wondered how he was able to do it. “Will you really force your son to watch when they...” She trailed off.
Brennah’s glare could have lit her on fire if there had been any magic behind it. Though perhaps there had been. Herrick had erected some sort of magical wall in front of them. She could feel the energy vibrating off it.
“You are nothing but a silly little girl,” Brennah seethed. “I don’t know what you did to my son to make him turn against me, but trust me when I say that one day the spell you have cast will wear off and he will grow tired of you.”
“I’ve cast no spell,” she said softly.
Brennah’s gaze moved around the clearing, stopping when it came back to Herrick. “Make no mistake. They will regret leaving the safety of the Keep. I only hope many of them aren’t killed before they realize they need us.”
Bylun’s head lowered just a little. Gwyn.
Yes. Gwyn was positioned on the other side of the keepers. Jiline could feel the power they released even from her distance. It washed over the tired horses giving them the energy they would need to escape the forest.
Brennah didn’t so much as flinch and Jiline wondered how she couldn’t have felt the energy transfer. Her horse perked up right beneath her. She backed him up a step. The keepers appeared to hesitate, but after a moment several turned their horses to ride to the barrier. The orfeos had stopped their battle cries, Jiline realized. She had been so focused on what was going on within the clearing she had completely blocked out what was going on outside the barrier.
Brennah’s horse spun and the barrier dropped allowing her and the keepers to escape the way they had come. Bai was instantly by her side encourag
ing her to mount. She swung up and glanced back to see Herrick astride Bylun. The unicorns raced from the opposite side of the clearing and back into the dark forest.
She wondered at their quick escape. She had almost been able to hear Mage Brennah’s parting thought that this is not the end of it. It had been clear in her eyes. She leaned over to make it easier for Bai to navigate as he flitted through the forest. It wasn’t long until they came through on the other side.
The breeze blew the smell of rain. She looked up to see the rain dissolving when it hit the magical barrier. She had forgotten it was storming. The unicorns had controlled the environment of the clearing completely.
Exhaustion was quickly over taking her and the rest of the ride was a blur. She slid off Bai when he stopped in their ring in the enchanted unicorn forest. Her knees barely held her up and she lay down.
Drink, eat! Bai commanded.
He’d conveniently dropped her next to her saddle bags and she obeyed the first command, but since she had run out of food before reaching the forest she couldn’t accomplish the second.
Herrick’s hand came into her line of vision with a piece of salted meat. Her stomach rumbled and she snatched it from him. Tiredness wiped out manners and she didn’t thank him before she ate the entire hunk. The world swirled before her.
****
Something soft touched her cheek. She brought her hand up to push it away and touched a horse’s muzzle. She jerked up into a sitting position, fear that Brennah and the keepers had found them flooding through her. But it was Ginger. Her pony nickered at her.
Her heart still beating fast she glanced around the ring. Herrick sat on the other side watching her. She stared back for a moment before dropping her eyes. It was still daylight or was it the next day? She wasn’t sure how long she had slept. She wasn’t tired any longer, but she was hungry. Apparently satisfied with waking her owner, Ginger ambled to the edge of the grove to snack on a bush.
Herrick rose up slowly and walked over to her. He sat down again cross legged and produced a bundle of food. “Eat.”
Unicorn Keep Page 18
