Sorceress (Book 2) (4 page)

Cyemma slowed, clearly wanting the conversation to end, but Majherri stayed beside her.

“Majherri! Don’t be a stubborn mule!”

He did not appreciate her insult and pressed onward.
“Do you fear your rider will use her foul magic to control you? I don’t! Danella wanted me back so badly. We made such a good team because we both rebelled against authority. Unfortunately for her, she has become that which I detest.”

“I sense that your mount seems to be fostering a rebellion,” Danella said in an accusing tone, getting the gist of the conversation between the two unicorns.

“Cyemma remains docile and in control, Master Scout Lynch. I believe she is attempting to calm your unicorn,” the dark haired air maiden responded, addressing Danella by her rank.

“That’s odd,” Danella answered with the slightest hint of a growl in her voice. “I don’t see it that way, Lancer Garrett. If you cannot bring yourself to discipline your unicorn, perhaps I will. One of the things Majherri found so attractive about your Cyemma is her flawless, unmarked hide. It would be an absolute shame to use my whip as a punishment for her insubordination.”

Majherri recognized Danella’s ploy immediately. His rider would punish Cyemma instead of him. It was distasteful.

“I will ensure Cyemma remains committed to me, Danella Lynch. If you’ll excuse me.”

Urged by her rider, Cyemma darted forward and left him alone with Danella.

“You are correct, Majherri,” she said to him, while they watched the air maiden ride to the front of the caravan. “They do fear me. I have been granted considerable latitude by our Master. I thought you would like this. We no longer have to justify our decisions to officers anymore. You see servitude, but I see freedom! What’s this? You send me an image of that desert rat. He was given great reason to fear me, and if I were him, I’d be careful not to cross my path again.”

Majherri didn’t view her actions through the same distorted eyes Danella did. He took considerable pleasure in sending her an image of a former lover who’d earned her ire.

“Again with the disapproval? You’ll understand eventually.”

I doubt that!
the unicorn responded and sent her an image he knew she associated with being humbled. It was from her days at The Academy and the only time she’d run afoul of General Jyslin. The older, bent woman had found Majherri keeping his rider company as Danella cleaned the fifth year stalls after a particularly poor performance by her squad in formations.

Danella had been in something of a mood after being given a punishment suited to lower years and was muttering an endless stream of curses when the general’s cough startled them both.

“Recruit Lynch,” the general began, ignoring the language Danella wielded as effectively as her pitchfork. “I fear I bear a portion of the responsibility for your punishment. Had I not been on the parade grounds, I doubt your lead instructor would have issued so many demerits.”

His rider said nothing for a moment, and General Jyslin took that as a sign to continue. “Congratulations on your posting as a scout, Recruit Lynch. I suppose you won’t have to lose much sleep over poorly executed formations.”

“If you say so, ma’am,” Danella answered, choosing her words carefully.

To the shock of both unicorn and rider, the much older woman picked up a pitchfork and stuck it into the hay inside the stall and removed some of it. “Oh, you wouldn’t believe how many hours I spent in the stables during my time here. Let’s see, what were we talking about again, young lady?”

“Formation drills?” Danella answered, clearly unsure of what they were really discussing. Even Majherri was curious now.

“Oh yes! Scouts don’t really need to pay much attention to how well a unit prepares itself for a charge. It’s just a maiden and her mount. Did you know I was a scout when I first left this island?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Danella said.

“Of course you do,” the woman continued and smiled at both Danella and Majherri. “Every year several recruits do a long and detailed account of my service. If my memory serves me correctly, it was your twin sister for your year.”

Majherri watched as his rider nodded.

“She’ll make an excellent lancer, I believe.”

“Ma’am? Meghan’s been posted to the couriers,” Danella said.

“That she has, but I stand by my statement. Still, I’m not here to discuss her this evening.”

“Permission to ask the general a question?”

“By all means, speak freely, Danella Lynch.”

The unicorn watched his rider draw upon her courage and ask, “What are you here to discuss?”

The woman leaned her pitchfork against the side of the stall and laughed. “That’s a new record, young lady! It usually takes ten or fifteen minutes of my prattling on about things before a recruit finally works up the nerve to ask the old lady to get to the point. You did it in around three, which is why I believe you have the makings of an excellent scout.”

“Thank you!” Even Majherri was impressed by General Jyslin’s proclamation.

“You’re welcome, but I just said ‘the makings.’ You haven’t been anointed just yet. Let me tell you about one of the stories that never ends up in those presentations…my very first mission. I’d been ordered to check the forests near Colfax for enemy troops. I did my job and spotted an understrength battalion of enemy cavalry there. I was quite proud when I returned to my captain and reported in.”

General Jyslin paused for a moment and Majherri waited for the other set of hooves to fall. “That’s when she started asking me questions. Were they regulars or irregulars? Did they have archers or infantry with them? Did I see support wagons carrying their provisions? When I couldn’t answer her, she called out for a scout who was capable of doing the damn job to go back to the area and show me how it was supposed to be done! Attention to detail, Miss Lynch! To a scout, it’s everything. If I’d paid more attention, I might have noted the quality of the armor they wore, or if any were drilling and whether the drills were as sloppy as what you and your classmates displayed today. I also could have seen the campfires of the wagons and the mixed company of foot soldiers and archers. If my captain had sent us in based on my words alone, we might have lost or suffered many more casualties than we did. My so-called legend may very well have ended on my first mission.

“I guess that brings me back to an earlier comment when I said that formation drills don’t matter when you’re a scout. Now that we’ve had our little talk, do you agree with that statement or not?”

“I disagree,” Danella said.

“Why is that?”

“It’s important information.”

“Precisely. Everything, and I do mean everything, is important information. Details matter, young scout. It’s your lifeblood. It’s what your officers use to decide whether to commit troops, and might end up being the difference between life and death for the members of your company. Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“Good. The lesson you’re here to learn tonight doesn’t have a single thing to do with this stall, but I’d appreciate it if you’d do a good job just the same. Tonight, it’s about an old scout who sees potential in a recruit, who will be leaving this island soon. I want to make certain you know what the stakes are while the worst that can happen is a few hours of extra duty in the stalls.”

Danella snapped to attention and saluted, bringing her arm level across her chest, palm down.

“At ease, Lynch. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to return to my office and enjoy a fine glass of wine. I like to reward myself on those rare occasions when I feel like I’ve done something that could make a difference. Finish your task to the best of your abilities and return to your barracks. Have a pleasant evening, Danella.”

“You too, ma’am.”

As General Jyslin reached the exit to the fifth year stables, she stopped and stood with her back facing Danella. “Before I leave, how about a test to see how quickly you can apply tonight’s lesson? Can you tell me the color of the stone on the necklace I’m wearing?”

Majherri looked at Danella and saw her face twist in an effort to recall the answer. Her mouth opened on twice, but no words came out. Finally, he saw her admit defeat. “No, ma’am. I don’t recall your necklace.”

“Good answer. My question is a ruse. I’m not wearing a necklace this evening,” General Jyslin answered. “Always report the truth as you saw it. If you have to guess, make certain your commander knows it is a guess. What you don’t see may also be just as important as what you did. Safe journeys to you and all who ride with you, fire maiden.”

“And the point of bringing that woman up is?” Danella said in the same haughty tone she’d been using with Rider Garrett. “Her legend is built on a lie. Soon everyone will know that she never killed the Master. All she accomplished is the death of her unicorn. She’s just a bitter old woman, clinging to falsehoods and trophies in her office. The Master will have his revenge!”

Majherri snorted and sent an image of the maidens dressed in their ceremonial white robes, lining the grassland by the dock to welcome the new recruits. He was asking what she would do with all those who would stand with the general and High-King Barris.

“Most will abandon her when the truth comes out. Those who do not will regret their choice.”

He sincerely doubted that, and sent her an image of a time when she’d attempted a foolish stunt and had been injured instead. Before they’d been separated, he’d use this image to tell her she was being stupid, but in a humorous manner. No good-natured feelings flowed across the bond at this time.

This angered his rider greatly, and she hissed, “We’ll see if you feel that way soon, Majherri.”

He responded with a vivid image of him riding across the island…with Kayleigh on his back. Danella’s hiss turned into a full scream, and that same numbness he’d felt before, when she was controlling him, descended, slamming into him like a boulder hurled from a catapult.

Still, he found a tiny corner of his mind where he could think for himself. He’d fought his first of many engagements across their bond. If wielding power over him tired her, Majherri would see to it that Danella was exhausted. He was a scout also, and his mission was clear. He would gather information about the curse inhabiting their bond. Using that knowledge, he planned to test Danella’s resolve on all fronts.

Once they’d arrived at the camp, Kayleigh said her farewell to Brownie and watched as one of the soldiers led the horse away. The recovered possessions belonging to the other trainees was cause for some celebration, but Kayleigh’s return created mixed reactions amongst the unicorns and riders. No one was certain what to make of her bonding with Rheysurrah. Marcia was still fuming. Laurel and Amanda were happy. The trio of earth maidens were somewhere in the middle. After she finished recounting her time apart from them, Kayleigh asked where they were planning to go after Shiftla and what they knew about Jaruciax.

Laurel replied, “The refugees were the last group that managed to get out of Jaruciax by land before the enemy troops cutoff the roads leading out. Supposedly, the barges are still in service, but the footbridge was destroyed by some kind of magic. From speaking with them, I got the impression that they didn’t think the city would hold out for more than two weeks.”

“I still can’t believe an army came riding out of the desert, and no one even realized it was there!” Tamera Akers exclaimed. “One of the soldiers with this group told me that they tried to send messenger birds, but the skies are filled with swarms of vultures and hawks that were spelled to kill any birds the city tried to send. They showed up the day before the lead units did.”

“Does anyone have any idea where the Western Battalion is?” one of the other earth maidens asked.

Kayleigh took a deep breath and looked around at the group. She didn’t want to be the one to say what they were all thinking, but there was no use ignoring it. “I don’t think there is a Western Battalion anymore. Majherri was really concerned about what was happening out here. From what he communicated to me through the bond...” Kayleigh paused and recalled the anger and pain of her bond being broken. “The others told him there were caravans being attacked and that the maidens were going to start escorting them. They probably lost several riders to ambushes and the rest are scattered across the region or they were overrun in Mon Alder.”

Laurel broke in before anyone else could say anything. “Maybe we should try to make for Salif in the southern kingdoms. That’s the nearest portal city.”

Internally, Kayleigh wanted to groan. She knew someone in Salif. It was a person she didn’t want to see again.

“General Hawthorne’s headquarters is in Salif, or at least it was a month or two ago,” she said, with a hint of resignation.

“How do you know that, Reese?” Akers asked.

Marcia Temple answered, “Don’t you remember? She almost killed Hawthorne’s daughter before she was put in our year. There was a rumor going around that Hawthorne was going to take Reese away from The Academy and into the field. Kind of wish she had.”

“You know something, Marcia?” Kayleigh said. “I wish she had too! I’d still have Majherri. Annabeth would still be alive. The lieutenant wouldn’t be a prisoner. But it didn’t happen that way, and there’s nothing we can do to change it! This isn’t The Academy. We can’t fight some kind of challenge, shake hands afterwards, and make it go away. So if you have something to say, just go ahead and spit it out.”

Kayleigh watched while the stares turned to someone else for a change. Marcia didn’t wither under the intensity the way Kayleigh hoped.

Instead, Marcia frowned and said, “It’s not that I don’t like you, Reese. You’re friendly enough, but when you’re around, people get hurt. Bad luck just follows you like a tainted silver coin.”

“A tainted coin?” Kayleigh was angry enough to spit and did. “I was ambushed by a Battle Maiden with years of training and dark sorcery helping her! Is that your definition of bad luck? Bad luck is when your favorite dress keeps ripping, or you keep getting called upon when you don’t have the answer. That’s bad luck! Someone was trying to kill me. Still, there’s nothing stopping you, Marcia. If you don’t want to ride with me, your unicorn is over there. Saddle up and ride on.”

Marcia scoffed and said, “Maybe you should be the one doing the riding, Reese? Maybe we’d all be safer?”

Kayleigh thought back to her promise in the desert over Annabeth’s funeral pyre. “I’ve got a better grasp on my powers now, Marcia. I’m not some scared girl riding around in the desert anymore. I didn’t know people were out to kill me.”

She paused and rolled up her pant leg and showed the tender wound left by Danella’s fiery whip on her calf. It didn’t look as bad as it had when she had changed out of her tattered clothing, but she’d heard that sorcerers healed quickly. She wasn’t certain whether or not this was true. “Here’s proof! There’s even a matching one on my neck if you look closely. Either way, I do know that she’s out there with plenty of others, and you can bet I won’t hesitate to use my powers on them. We’re not ready to fight a war, not by a long shot, but we may have to fight just to get out of the warzone. I’m fine with that and if getting to safety means going to see General Hawthorne, then I’m fine with that as well.”

Laurel spoke up. “Look, no one is leaving. We are a patrol and we will stick together. Welsh left me in charge and no one leaves unless I say they leave. We’re all unicorn riders. Let’s try to remember that.”

I have to hand it to Laurel. She’s got a knack for diplomacy. I’m guessing she’ll make officer...assuming we get out of here. At least Marcia said I was friendly. That’s more than Rebekah Morganstern would be willing to admit. Hopefully that’s a step in the right direction.

Whitaker’s words seemed to calm the situation somewhat. Kayleigh thought it had something to do with the fact that Laurel had fended off all challenges to her being Lead Rider for the third year class. It was a feat rarely achieved, given the competitive nature that was fostered at The Academy. They were used to taking direction from her, and it showed.

Laurel stood. “I’m going over to talk with the guardsmen in charge of the caravan. Everyone try and get some rest instead of arguing. Amanda, you and Kayleigh use your powers and refill our canteens. Water isn’t going to be as much of a problem as we get farther away from the desert, but that’s no excuse to not be prepared.”

Everyone left to gather their canteens. Amanda whistled for her unicorn. Kayleigh looked around for Rheysurrah, but he wasn’t in sight and probably avoiding her. She sighed loudly and shook her head.

Amanda Edwards was a somewhat chubby, red haired teenager, who was covered in freckles and spoke with a slight lisp. When Kayleigh had been reassigned to the third year, Amanda had been her squad leader for the first few weeks before being demoted. Kayleigh’s initial struggles with being thrust into the middle of the third year caused her squad’s performance rankings to plummet. They’d been cordial, but not close.

“So you think you might really be a water maiden?” Amanda asked.

Kayleigh shrugged and opened her canteen. Wrapping her hand around the opening, she concentrated on her magic and began siphoning water from the air. Amanda watched, almost as if the girl had expected her to fail.

“If I hadn’t been watching you make water so intently out in the desert, I wouldn’t have known how to do this. I guess I should thank you for helping to save my life.”

Amanda flushed and looked uncomfortable at the praise before inquiring, “Aren’t you going to call for your unicorn?”

“No, Rheysurrah probably wants some time away from me right now and to be honest, I could use a break from him. I’ll just use the magic stored in my weapon for now.”

It was a lie, but Amanda didn’t know that. The magic was really inside of her all along.

The water maiden winced and said, “That bad, huh?”

“Yes. My new unicorn and I are not getting along. I’m hoping we can sort this all out, but right now things don’t look promising.”

“Still, you can do fire and water magic. I’m surprised you weren’t discovered sooner.”

“I’m not sure either,” Kayleigh admitted. “I was tested and found to be completely devoid of any talent when I was…let me see…eleven or twelve? I guess it’s not really important. When I bonded with Majherri, I couldn’t believe it. Neither could my mother, except she tried to make me refuse.”

Amanda gaped at her as a female unicorn came alongside the water maiden trainee and began duplicating Kayleigh’s actions.

Cursing herself for even mentioning her mother, Kayleigh decided to avoid digging at that emotional scar too deeply.

It’s not like I don’t have enough to busy myself with at the moment!

Looking back at the other young woman, Kayleigh said, “It’s not worth going into right now.”

She realized that the three earth maidens tended to stick together and, despite Marcia’s current surly disposition, she and Laurel were close friends. As a result, Amanda was probably somewhat alone out here as well.

“So, are you going to keep training in fire magic or water magic?”

Her question caught Kayleigh off guard. “Up until now, I hadn’t really put much thought into anything beyond getting out of this heat and the fighting. I’ll have to think about it.”

As Amanda continued to talk to her, the neophyte sorceress thought back on her life before Majherri. It seemed like so long ago, but in truth, it wasn’t. She’d never encountered anyone who could do
real
magic, other than a few times when a trickster came to the village where they were living at the time. Tricksters had varying levels of gifts. Some were more adept at sleight of hand than at producing real spells. She remembered one in Laurent that made a merchant wife’s broach flutter in the air like a real butterfly.

When Kayleigh related the story to her mother, she stopped working on her current project, a sculpture, as Kayleigh recalled, and scowled before dismissing tricksters as entertainment for those unable to appreciate her art.

I bet it wouldn’t take too long for me to master that kind of animation. What would Mother say to that? Curse it all! I swore I wasn’t going to think about her!

“...Kayleigh? Are you okay?”

Noticing that the canteen in her hand was overflowing, Kayleigh shrugged and tried to mask her embarrassment with a forced laugh. “My mind wandered off. Must be the heat. I’m fine.”

“Anyway,” Amanda continued. “You must have a lot of potential.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, you’re not really tapping yourself out right now, have bonded with two different unicorns, and can do two opposing elemental magics. You’re probably just a step or two shy of being a real sorceress.”

Kayleigh gulped and felt nervous, worrying about how close Amanda was coming to the truth. Recovering, she said, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“I know,” Amanda replied. “But look at the sorcerers who have bonded with a magical creature as a familiar. They are supposedly the most powerful. Remember the lectures about High-Queen Nolan?”

“No, should I?”

“You’re right, that was at the beginning of the year. You were still…I mean you weren’t with our class then. Anyway, Queen Nolan had that giant eagle, so large it could carry three people. High-King Barris has that massive talking boarhound, and the Speaker has that monkey that can see for her. I saw her once too, when she came to the island for the naming ceremony.”

Kayleigh had heard of the Speaker, or the Blind Seeress, as she was also known. The woman possessed the rare ability to understand the language of the unicorns and other magical creatures. She comes to the Sacred Isle so that all the newborn unicorns can be named by the herd, and that name told to the humans. Such power comes with an enormous price. It cost the woman one of her senses.

“You were allowed to witness a naming ceremony? That must’ve been something special.”

“No, only General Jyslin and the riders of the female unicorns that have given birth are allowed to attend. I saw her in the stables talking with her son.”

“Her son?” Kayleigh’s mind raced and she already knew the answer.

“Yeah, your old stablemaster, Brian Tomas. I wish he’d been assigned to take care of our year, except for the fact that girls would be trying to earn extra demerits! What’s he like anyway?”

“He’s nice,” Kayleigh said, wondering how much worse this conversation could get. Brian was very handsome. Even Annabeth had said so and gave Kayleigh a gentle ribbing about him. She and Brian had gotten along quite well, and Kayleigh found herself somewhat smitten with the slightly older nobleman. However, after she was moved to third year, she only saw him a couple of times, and in all those instances there’d been some kind of awkward gap between them.

He’d never mentioned that he was the Speaker’s son. Then again, Kayleigh never really talked to him about her mother, though he might know because Brian’s older brother had been in Helden when she was forced to claim her independence from her mother.

“That’s it? He’s nice. Would you be so kind as to elaborate?” Amanda’s last sentence was delivered to match the tone of their etiquette instructor, who despised short answers. Battle Maidens came from all walks of life—from the daughters of nobles and dignitaries down to girls raised on a farm. Part of their training focused on learning how to be an ambassador of the High-King’s authority. Even after her transition to third year, Kayleigh was able to maintain good marks in that class.

Smiling, Kayleigh answered, trying to sound both prim and proper. “In that case, young Master Tomas is a disciplined and charming man with a very detailed knowledge of animal husbandry. He is a credit to his family and his vocation. Does that get passing marks?”