Sorceress (Book 2) (23 page)

Opening her eyes and refusing to let the portion of the frayed bond retreat into the pool of Ayalla’s magic, Kayleigh called out, “Tamera, get over here!”

“Are you sure?” came the hesitant reply. Another column of rock banged against Kayleigh. This time, she lashed out with her magic and blew the stone into dust. The air seemed heavier with the warring powers of unicorn and sorceress locked in a struggle.

“Now!” Kayleigh left no room for argument.

Tamera arrived next to Kayleigh, with a concerned expression on her face. “What do you want me to do?”

“Jump on, bareback and hold tightly,” Kayleigh ordered.

Ayalla neighed loudly in protest and tried to back away, dragging the duo with her. The moment Tamera made contact Kayleigh started looking for the other young woman’s frayed bond. Finding it, she snatched at it with her magic and pulled it toward the unicorn’s.

“Gah! What are you doing?” Tamera yowled. “It hurts!”

“That’s a sample of what our day has been like,” Kayleigh tersely reminded her. “Alright, everyone, I’m going to try and align your bonds. Before you ask, no I don’t know what’s going to happen and yes, it will probably hurt even more.”

“Fine!” Tamera grunted. “Less talking and more doing.”

Ayalla gave her own form of ascent in another pulsing burst of power as Kayleigh rammed the two broken bonds together. She immediately twisted at the magical fragments and began trying to bind them together.

When she’d bonded with Rheysurrah, the bond took on a life of its own after she’d worked at it. This one showed very different signs of life. Both sides were on fire, burning her as she worked. Tears flowed down her face and she couldn’t hear her own screams over the rush of wind surrounding her. Three strands tied, became five, and then ten before the whole construct wavered and fell apart.

“No!” she screamed and slammed them back together, sensing the burning starting all over again.

I can’t do this like with Rhey! I’m not part of the bond...but maybe I can be the spark instead. When ropes are broken, the two ends are put back together and burned to mend it.

Kayleigh turned that heat back against the spot she’d jammed against one another and added her own power for good measure.

In her mind’s eye and maybe even in the air surrounding them, a flash of light blinded her. The two young women and the unicorn screamed in unison. Kayleigh’s heartbeat pounded wildly in her ears as all three collapsed to the ground. The first thing she could see from her position on the ground was the white foam dripping from Ayalla’s mouth onto the ground about an arm length away.

Extending her hand, she touched the closest part of the unicorn and tried to sense the bond.

There it is!
she thought and sighed in relief. Amazingly enough, the bond between Tamera and Ayalla was the only thing still “standing.”

“Mara?” Kayleigh, said fumbling through her words. “You okay?”

Anything more complex than a simple question wouldn’t be coming from her anytime soon. Tamera mumbled something that Kayleigh couldn’t quite hear, or maybe she could, but understanding what the earth maiden said was beyond the best she was capable of at that moment.

The padded suit protected her leg from being broken by the unicorn’s weight. The pressure eased. Ayalla was helped to her feet with Tamera draped across her back. It was a hard fought victory for all three participants and, more importantly, this now meant she could spare other unicorns from that awful fate.

Knowing that she was going to be nothing more than a hobbling mass of bruises, Kayleigh awkwardly pushed herself up onto her elbows and waited for someone to help her back to her feet. Laurel and General Hawthorne were her benefactors.

Looking down, it appeared that a wild pack of dogs had attacked the suit and left the wearer gnawed upon like a rawhide bone.

“Well done, Rider Reese. We’ll get you some healing tears.” The general didn’t address her as cousin for the obvious reasons. “Our healer is checking out Akers and will be with you in a moment.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Laurel, can you help me out of this?”

“I’ll do it,” General Hawthorne volunteered, much to Kayleigh’s surprise. “I’d like a private word with her Whitaker, you’re dismissed.”

“Of course, ma’am.” Laurel snapped to attention and walked back to where she’d been.

The general led Kayleigh slowly back to her office and secured the door behind them. Stepping behind Kayleigh, she began working on the buckles of the suit.

“Kayleigh,” she began, “I’m going to ask a favor of you and please hear me out. General Jyslin will volunteer to be joined to a riderless unicorn and you must not honor her request.”

Turning her head as much as the padding allowed, she asked, “Why?”

“Look at the garment you wear, look at Tamera Akers, look at the damage to the stable and the courtyard and ask yourself if a woman in her late sixties could endure. She means too much to us all to be exposed to this. I can and will prevent this while you and she are in my area of command, but when you leave my control, she may even go so far as giving you a direct order.”

“How can I refuse a direct order?”

“Tell her you need to perfect the process, for her safety. It would be the truth. Explain how much of toll it took on you. She’ll dismiss your concerns, but do not falter and give in.”

“You’re very protective of her, ma’am,” Kayleigh said.

“She’s my personal hero, cousin. She’s the greatest of us all and losing her at the onset of another war would be a tremendous blow to our entire order. Doubly so since we may be forced to take up arms against our own sisters.”

“I’ll do my best, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Since we’re alone, I wanted to apologize for my treatment of you.”

“I understand,” Kayleigh replied. “You were looking out for Andrea.”

“That’s what kin does,” the woman said. “And that extends to you now, too.”

Kayleigh was able to get back to the warm embrace of the bathtub and survey the damage to her body. Even after a vial of healing tears, splotches of ugly bruises dotted her arms and legs. The worst came at the end, but she now had a means of forcing a bond. A protective suit would work for most unicorns, except for ones with fire magic. Her suit would only be another thing to set on fire.

Maybe I can have fire maidens and unicorns wade into a pond? That might work.

Summoning some of her power, she heated the water again - a benefit of her proficiency with fire magic. Out in the courtyard, Tamera was most assuredly still out there on Ayalla’s back. Someone brought her a saddle and everyone agreed that the two should spend the night together.

Eventually, Kayleigh decided she couldn’t stay in the bath forever. It also became obvious that she was hungry, so she reluctantly drained the tub and dried herself.

The evening meal was nearly over by the time Kayleigh made it to the mess hall. There were several members of the garrison there and one familiar face. Grabbing a bowl of chicken and vegetable stew she joined Rahzir, noting his two nearby escorts.

“Hello,” she said.

“I heard you were successful and Tamera has bonded with a new unicorn. It is good to see her smiling again.”

“Many more successes like today and I might not be able to walk. Are you being treated well?”

“I am not trusted, but they have acted with honor. It is more than I expected. Your general politely refused to grant the commander of Salif’s forces request that he be allowed to question me in private. I suspect we both know how that would have gone.”

Sadly, she had a good idea. For a moment, she thought back to her life before. The conversations with her mother just over a year ago revolved around the chores needing done, what would be for dinner, and the latest commission her mother worked on. Now, she was speaking as an equal to a warrior about the realities of torture after a day of pushing the limits of her magic.

“An artist,” her mother used to say, “must always be aware of perspective. Never lose focus on that.”

The statement still applied to her vastly different life.

“You have also acted with honor and earned my trust, Rahzir. You’ve proven yourself to me.”

The nomad warrior nodded solemnly.

Honor, Kayleigh concluded, was the thing that mattered the most to him.

“When do we leave this place?”

“Soon,” she answered. “I take it you don’t wish to start a new life here?”

“I have not seen you to safety and, even if I had, this city has nothing I want. My people call this place ‘Salif the Silent.’ The rulers are only interested in the size of their coffers and coin purses. As soon as an army gets within two days of here, the king will announce neutrality and the Battle Maidens will be asked to leave.”

Kayleigh glanced at his two escorts and saw one frowning and the other shaking her head. They didn’t quite believe his words, but it was plausible enough.

“Jaruciax fell and Shiftla barely put up any resistance,” Kayleigh said.

“I believe I’m looking at the majority of Shiftla’s resistance,” Rahzir said and cracked a rare smile.

“I guess I can’t really deny that,” she said.

“Nor should you,” he stated. “But I will see you to safety.”

The two managed a few minutes of small talk until a rider Kayleigh recognized from General Hawthorne’s personal squad approached. “Rider Reese, your presence is required. Please follow me.”

Kayleigh didn’t know what General Hawthorne wanted and hardly expected to ride Rheysurrah across the city in the late evening, side by side with Meghan Lynch, but that was precisely what happened. A unicorn rider with blackened eyes waited outside the city gate, and she wanted to speak with Kayleigh. The rider hadn’t made any hostile moves yet, but the guards manning the walls were taking no chances.

General Hawthorne would have ignored the request except for the fact that the rider was Amanda Edwards.

Being in Rhey’s saddle once more felt awkward. Their partnership was virtually non-existent at this stage and if Kayleigh was being honest, he’d grown more distant since being reunited with T’rsa. Captain Lynch’s unicorn, or perhaps both of unicorn and rider, still seemed to hold a grudge against Kayleigh and Rheysurrah appeared to side with them over her.

Captain Lynch addressed her. “The Seeress is creating a scry block for you. It should be ready in three days. Our departure will be delayed until you have it.”

“Why?”

“He probably knows who you are and will be using magic to follow your movements. He sent a messenger all this way just for you. Just because the girl was a friend, do not let your guard down.”

Kayleigh glanced at the woman. “I’m fully aware of what a possessed person is capable of. That warning also applies to your sister.”

“Leave Danella to me, Reese. I’ll handle her.”

“She’s more powerful. She’s done something that turned Majherri’s coat dark. Garrett’s unicorn, Cyemma, showed me a vision of Danella briefly possessing Garrett and forcing her to whip Cyemma. Whatever immunity you have might not cover that.”

“Suddenly, you’re the expert on my sister, Reese?”

Kayleigh shrugged, knowing full well that the woman had little interest in what she was saying. “I don’t claim to be an expert on anything, Captain. For your sake, I hope you are able to handle Danella.”

The rest of their ride was in silence and they were waved through the open gates. She made a quick count of the number of guards manning the walls. The low number backed Rahzir’s theory that Salif was not going to participate in the war.

Four unicorn riders surrounded a fifth. Considering the fifth was a shorter, slightly chubby third year, with fighting skills ranked near the bottom of her class, it almost seemed laughable...almost.

General Hawthorne motioned Kayleigh over to the side.

“The girl is holding a vial of poison and says that she has been ordered to drink it if we do not allow her to speak with you.”

“So it’s some kind of trap or a trick?” Kayleigh asked.

“Probably,” Althea Hawthorne answered. “You don’t have to go through with it.”

“But Amanda would die then,” she said, already knowing what her decision would be. “I’ll talk to her.”

Nodding, General Hawthorne motioned for her to follow and they approached Amanda, who simply stared at them, vial held next to her lips.

“I’m here, Amanda,” Kayleigh said, trying not to betray any emotions.

“Greetings, milady,” Amanda said, sweeping her free hand to the side while lowering her head and the poison.

“I’m just Kayleigh, Amanda. There’s no call for that.”

“Oh, but there is,” Amanda answered. “You are the Master’s blood and kin. He wishes to speak with you, using my body as his vessel.”

Kayleigh looked at General Hawthorne for reassurance before nodding to her possessed classmate.

Amanda reached with the free hand and gripped the pendant on her neck. The centerpiece cracked and blood leaked from the stone. The girl’s darkened eyes rolled into the back of her head. Seconds passed and the eyes snapped open. Amanda sat taller in her saddle and her body language was entirely different.