Rider (Spirals of Destiny) (9 page)

“Does that mean Kayleigh can stop worrying?”

A slight smile spread across the stocky woman’s face, “I think recruit Reese has several other things to worry about, but this isn’t one of them. Now for a change of subject, Miros will be substantially different from our other stops. There isn’t going to be a celebration. These people just lost friends and family to raiders. We’ll try to do some good work while we’re there. All of you are expected to do your part. Most likely, we’ll leave most of our supplies behind and take enough food to get us to our next destination.”

As the lieutenant made her way back to the next wagon, the whispering began. Kayleigh tried not to pay much attention to it, but one thing stood out.

“I guess it’s why we have to take a seven year vow of chastity,” one of the others said.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Alicia asked turning around.

“Well, if what she said about the bond is true, that might be why they have us take a vow of chastity. Having a male suitor might interfere with the bond.”

“I wonder why it’s seven and not five? Why doesn’t it just go to graduation? What do you think, Kayleigh?”

“Um … this is all still new to me,” she said while scrunching her nose in thought, “I didn’t even know about a chastity vow up until you just mentioned it. If I have to guess it is probably that the first two years after you graduate, they keep you too busy for romance.”

Alicia nodded and said, “That sounds correct. Rider Welsh told me that even after you leave The Academy, you still have plenty to learn.”

Kayleigh stayed a part of the conversation just for the sake of being involved. As the wagon moved on, she could only wonder what other little surprises about this new life were waiting for her. Being nervous seemed like a perpetual state for her.

Miros looked much different from Kayleigh’s previous visits. Even the bright late summer day could not mask the dreadful appearance of the small town. It had only half the population of Helden … less now. Her eyes were drawn to the parts of the wall that had been breached and partially collapsed. From what she heard, the attack came just before sunrise, probably after the sentries had spent the entire night awake and were looking forward to the end of their shift. This season, she had taken her turns on Helden’s walls and knew, all too well, how fatigue could set in after eight hours of looking out into the darkness from the elevated towers.

One of those towers was blackened and had seen better days. It was occupied by a stern looking man with a crossbow as they passed. The only one who seemed to look more frustrated than him was poor Francine, who had been taken off of Abasa within the last mile. She sulked in the corner of the wagon and rejected any attempts at conversation. They would try again once they left this place.

Inside the walls, things weren’t much better. Some buildings were burnt down to their frames. The stench of death and decay was in the air. In the square were the remains of individual funeral pyres and one large pile where the townsfolk had flung the bodies of the ten raiders who were killed.

Still, the people of Miros mustered up their hospitality and welcomed them officially to the town. The elders thanked Captain Lynch for their timely arrival. The four magic wielding battle maidens immediately turned the tide on the Yar and sent the looters scattering, while most of the women and children were offshore on the boats of the fisherman waiting for the nightmare to end. Kayleigh tried hard not to imagine what it must have felt like.

She saw Sir Aeric, who had stayed overnight in the town along with his guards. The man appeared tired, but carried himself with both dignity and determination.

The group that stumbled onto the camp must have been looking to scout out Helden for a possible raid. It made Kayleigh feel better knowing that the threat to her former town was eliminated. When the wagons stopped, they climbed out. Captain Lynch and the other maidens, except for Lieutenant Sheppard brought the remaining unicorn forward for the choosing ceremony.

“Alright,” Sheppard addressed the girls, “work with the drivers and consolidate the supplies into that wagon over there. The rest, we are going to give to the town.”

Aside from the small chest of gold, the gesture of two wagonloads of dry goods was mostly symbolic, but the crowd appreciated it nonetheless. When the gift of two hundred gold coins was announced, Kayleigh looked at Lieutenant Sheppard and the earth maiden shrugged her shoulders. It was the chest that should have been hers. Knowing that it was going to help people took some of the sting out of it, but, even so, Kayleigh returned to her work with an angry expression on her face.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Majherri standing very close to Abasa. Her unicorn was obviously giving Francine’s a stern talking to. It included butting and tapping horns against each other. Kayleigh had no real idea how to interpret unicorn conversations, but she got the impression that Majherri was throwing his weight around.

“They’re gonna send me home, I just know it!” Francine muttered passing her a sack of flour.

“You shouldn’t worry about that now,” Kayleigh replied.

“…says a girl who can already do magic with her unicorn. Thanks for the advice, Kayleigh. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“I’m just trying to help!” Kayleigh said.

The harsh reply came back, “This isn’t like teaching me to read. This is losing my unicorn!”

Maybe it was the pain from the burn in her hand, or the queasiness from not eating, the fact that this could have been Helden, or even seeing Majherri doing what he could to help, but Kayleigh eyed the smaller brunette and hissed, “Look around! These people have real problems. This isn’t the time or place for whining. You’ve still got a chance to reconnect with Abasa. The villagers here have to rebuild there homes and say farewell to their dead.”

Several of the surrounding girls stopped what they were doing, this being the first time they’d heard her utter an unkind word at anyone other than Morganstern. Kayleigh had gone out of her way to be pleasant, but this problem wouldn’t be solved with sugar. Instead, it needed some salt.

“What did you say?”

“Put things in perspective. Even if you can’t reconnect, you still get to go home and live your life.”

“But how am I supposed to reconnect with him?” Francine pleaded, drawing some looks from the nearby villagers.

Kayleigh paused and tried to think it through and not sound callous. “Look at what changed. You’re scared from the battle last night. We all were. But you’ve got to put it behind you.”

“She’s right, you know.” The pair turned to see Lieutenant Sheppard behind them. The earth maiden continued, “Recruit Resse, let her hold your knife.”

Kayleigh did as instructed and handed the bone knife to the nervous teenager. The girl held it like it was going to bite her at any second.

“What is it?”

“Huh?”

“That is not the correct answer, Recruit Andover. I’ll ask again. What do you have in your hand?”

“A knife.”

“Is it a knife for cutting food, recruit?”

“No.”

“That’s right,” Sheppard said. “It’s a weapon. It’s meant to kill something. Accept it. It’s what you’re going to be trained for. Your fear is intruding on your bond. It threatens to undo it, permanently.”

“It is not!” Francine replied a little too loudly.

“Oh really? Which one of you was more affected by the battle and the deaths? Abasa, or you? Were I to guess, Abasa is eager to prove himself and was impressed by what Majherri did.”

Francine stood there refusing to meet the lieutenant’s eyes. To Kayleigh, it appeared that the younger girl was withering under the stern gaze of the officer.

“We are warriors. You might have accepted that in your head, but you must accept it in your heart. Hasn’t Captain Lynch already told you something similar?”

Francine lowered her head further, “Yes, ma’am.”

“That’s why we don’t let you away from school until the end of your third year at the Academy. You need to have those fantasies you’ve built up erased and the reality put in its place. If you can’t truly accept it, your bond with Abasa won’t come back no matter how long we tie the two of you together. Now, give Reese back her knife and both of you get back to work.”

Defeated, Francine offered the knife back to Kayleigh and stared in helplessness. The younger girl wanted to rage that it wasn’t true, but everyone knew it was.

After the wagon was unloaded, they watched the end of the ceremony. The final rider was selected, she was a small and skinny redhead named Helena. Understandably, there was little excitement in her expression. Kayleigh was close enough to hear the girl’s mother say that her father and brother would have been proud.

Kayleigh choked back a few tears, knowing all too well what that meant. When Captain Lynch called for the other unicorns to come forward, Kayleigh looked at Majherri. As expected, he refused to move. She marched over to him.

“Majherri, go be nice for awhile,” she scolded him. They’ve suffered a great deal and anything we can do to help, we should.”

She stared into his eyes and there was a struggle of will and pride. Deciding to try and exert some authority, she said, “I followed you into battle without question. The least you can do is something simple in return.”

Moments passed while the unicorn weighed her request. Eventually, Majherri agreed, giving the impression that it was against his wishes, but he would do it for her ... this time.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the stubborn creature trotted over to where the villagers of Miros stood in awe of being close to living, breathing sources of powerful magic. Even without their bond, she could see his discomfort, but she knew it was his way of offering to work with her as a team.

The lightened wagons and favorable weather made for a quick trip to the next town. It took a trio of apples and two brushings, but Majherri forgave Kayleigh’s demands that he prostrate himself and allow those unclean, unwashed, and unworthy hands to paw him like a piece of meat. His rider was happy to be able to purchase some of the necessities that she’d been denied.

Danella certainly would have never asked that from him!

In some ways, his new rider was like the young male, Abasa, skittish, easily upset, and uncertain of her place. Just as he had scolded the unicorn with the broken bond, Pasha scolded him for being needlessly rough when breaking in his new rider.

As if Captain Lynch, or all the doubters will be easy on my rider! Kayleigh needs to be prepared for the seasons ahead.

His flawless argument was rebutted by the female in a series of body movements and tail swishing. Be mindful that you’re not trying to remake your old rider. Hooves down that path will leave you both wallowing in misery. If you really want to help your rider, I suggest you start by making peace with your sister.

He lowered his cracked horn in defiance.
“She should be the one making peace with me!”

The tip of her horn traced the circles up to the break. Tiny flickers of magic appeared where the two met. Why he allowed this when he was angry, he wasn’t certain. Pasha had an infuriating effect on him, and she knew it!

“
Both you and T’rsa are cut from the same cloth, stubborn and prideful. If you are so eager to quarrel with the human Lynch, make allies with your sister and the earth is soft on your journey, or in your case, the heat warms and strengthens you. T’rsa’s ties to her rider mean that she won’t make the first move. You must be the one to raise your horn in compromise.”

Majherri move away from her horn, but only a tiny bit, to not insult her. He blinked and blew a long, resigned breath across his lips. I will consider your advice.

“
That is the most intelligent thing you’ve said in some time. There’s hope for you yet.” The younger female seemed pleased and turned away from him swishing her tail attractively.

He snorted, mostly to himself, and wondered if he’d be able to attract the attention of a different female before mating season began.

“Majherri, would you come here, please?” His rider’s voice interrupted his thoughts concerning the mysteries of the female unicorn.

Kayleigh was standing by the fire maiden and her obnoxious mount, Rheysurrah in a fairly open area away from the others and with at least a short trot to the nearest tree. Obviously Kayleigh was about to get a lesson in channeling magic and they were establishing a safety zone. Majherri thought back to the night of the battle. He managed to set his hooves alight, which said something for the potential of his rider.

Moving alongside her, he nuzzled her hand in greeting as she listened to Rider Welsh speak. “First, we’ll just focus on a slight touch with the finger tips. You’re going to concentrate and feel the heat in your connection. Even in combat, you’ll want to draw on the magic through one hand and release it with the other.”

“Why?”

Welsh laughed, “Well, it’s the biggest drawback to being a fire maiden. The energy flows from your unicorn through a connection. If you’re not using a hand to connect, it comes from you legs when you’re riding. The heat can burn a big hole in your pants and the rashes are no fun either, trust me on that one! So, you can spend a lot of time sewing and a lot of money on salves, or you can learn to keep a hand on your ‘corn when drawing fire magic out of it. If it’s any consolation, water maidens get a similar speech, because most of them get off their ‘corns and look like they’ve wet themselves.”