Unicorn Keep (12 page)

She followed him up a steep path.
Thankfully it was no longer pitch black, but she watched the ground carefully as they climbed. It really wasn’t a path, but a spot the unicorn had picked to scale the hill. He stopped suddenly.

The barrier is there. It is we
ak. We’ve kept it so, but can not break it.

She had no idea what she was supposed to do.

A mage touched you tonight.

She remembered what Mage
Brennah had said about being of pure body. Had she ruined everything from not stopping Herrick from kissing her? She nodded.

His magic clings to you. It is not tainted with unicorn magic.

She blinked in surprise at the idea that unicorn magic could be called tainted by a unicorn.

You can use it along with your own.

She shook her head, still not understanding.

We don’t have a lot of time. The keepers are becoming anxious at not spotting any of us.
The unicorn colt turned his head.
Well, most of the keepers. Clear your thoughts.

She closed her eyes and did her best.

Hold your hands up toward the weak part of the wall. Can you feel it?

She faced the barrier and held her hands up
, and tried to feel whatever it was she was supposed to feel. Her fingers tingled. She pulled back, surprised.

Good, hands up, feel the vibrations of the barrier. They are not resonat
ing in harmony. You feel the discord.

She bit her lip and slowly raised her hands again bracing herself for the sharp tingle. It took a moment, but she thought she
felt a slight ripple in the pattern.

You must thrust your magic into the discord and hold it. Build a hole. We will slip through the hole.

She nodded and tried to thrust her magic, but nothing happened.

The colt snorted.
Can you feel the mage’s magic on you?

She hesitated and wrinkled her nose, before shaking her head.

The colt bumped her in agitation.
Try harder.

Taking a deep breath, she thought of
Herrick’s kiss, her lips tingled. The tingle spread across her body.

Good. Now your magic. It should feel different.

A warmth became present in her body.

Merge them together.

Another deep breath and she soothed the tingling into the warmth.

Thrust.

She followed the unicorn colt’s words and this time actually felt a slice go through the barrier.

Hold it.

The unicorn colt turned his head and cloven hooves raced up the short trail. White flashed past her as they leapt through the hole she had created. The unicorn colt bumped her with his nose as she stared dumbfounded.

Us next.

He pushed her through the hole. Walking through her own magic was a weird experience and she almost stopped
, but his steady pressure on her back forced her through the icky feeling.

You’ll need to close it now.

She turned back to look at the hole. Eli stood at the foot of the trail on the other side of the hole. His expression was surprised.

“Colt!”

He will not trouble you. Close the hole.

Eli didn’t move from his position as she tried to yank her magic out as she had thrust it in. It didn’t budge.

Ease it out. You want it to return to you.

She didn’t want to close her eyes and not know what Eli was doing, but she did and her magic flowed back into her.

Come!

She opened her eyes and turned away from the trail
and Eli. A steeper trail greeted her, which the unicorn colt climbed slowly. The other unicorns were long out of sight. The snow fell heavily. She scrambled after him, pulling her cloak tight.

The forest quickly wrapped around them and she worried over what she had done. Where were the other unicorns?

Do not worry. They are just ahead of us. We must move swiftly to beat the snow.

The snow
poured down on them.

Yes, but it has not blocked the trails yet.

12. ESCAPE

The alarm went up in the Keep, Herrick jumped out of bed and raced on autopilot to pull his robes on and shove his feet into boots. The bells had never wrung in the Keep as long as he had lived there. His first thought went to Madelen. The draw was tight. His chest constricted. She wasn’t within the Keep.

He raced out of his room and down to the main level where all the trainees and most of the keepers were gathering.

His mother stood with Mage Taika and Mistress Marta. He wasn’t surprised the trainees didn’t seem to notice him. The bells were blooming loud. He used their blaring to control the draw. Shove it down as he did every day. Madelen missing wasn’t enough for his mother to set the bells. Something else must have happened.

Her gaze was sharp as he joined them.

“What’s happened?” he asked.

“The unicorns are gone,” his mother whispered. Her sharp gaze moved from him to the crowd gathered.

He blinked. “They hide sometimes.”

“The barrier has been breeched by the unicorns.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Yes
, it is.” Brennah shook her head. “Marta, we need a full head count of everyone. We need to know who assisted the unicorns.”

Where was Madelen?
“Something could have broken them out.”

His mother didn’t answer them as Marta stepped away and began to gather the trainees and the house keepers. There wasn’t a single unicorn keeper present.

Mage Taika covered her ears with her hands. “Could someone turn off that infernal racket?”

Brennah
raised her own hand and the bells stopped. Herrick blinked at the sudden silence and his magic welled within him. He smashed it down. A few unicorn keepers suddenly appeared, sweaty and muddy.

Eli stepped up to
Brennah and bowed his head. “We’ve swept the valley. Not a single unicorn remains.”

“Did you find the breach?”

He shook his head, his eyes trained on the floor.

She stepped
menacingly forward. “You are a protector. How could you have allowed this to happen?”

His head lowered farther. “I didn
’t see. I take full responsibility.”

His mother’s eyes were narrowed and little sparks shot from her fingers. “I should kill you for your incompetence, but then where would the unicorns be? I’ll need every
unicorn keeper to search for them. Gather horses. Their trail will be covered quickly by the snow.”

Eli bobbed his head before turning on his heel and striding away.
Herrick narrowed his eyes. He could have sworn the keeper’s lips were curved into a small smile.

Mistress Marta appeared just as Eli vanished down the hallway
with several keepers by his side.

“Trainee
Madelen is missing.”

Brennah
frowned and shook her head in irritation. “I knew there was something about that girl.” Her glare turned to her son. “Where is she?”

He feigned
innocence and shook his head. “How would I know?”

“Search the Keep,”
Brennah boomed out. “All trainees go to the dining room at once. Keepers, search the Keep, find Trainee Madelen.”

Herrick
needed to get away from his mother. Her magic bombarded him with her temper. She was quickly losing control and her lack of control was wreaking havoc with his own. He stepped away, relieved when she didn’t immediately demand his attention. He ran back up to the magic room and shut himself in.

What had
Madelen done? Was her disappearance connected to the unicorns? It was too much of a coincidence to assume otherwise.

He shouldn’t have left her out on the patio. Why hadn’t he suspected what she was about to do? Of course, what the heck had she done? She had no magic. He stopped in the middle of the floor and closed his eyes. Of course
, she had magic.

They were so stupid. He should have trusted the draw more than a crystal. He glared at a bowl of them
, so relied on by the mages to know who in their presence might challenge them. Madelen had found a way to trick the crystal. If the mage’s had found a way to reverse the crystal’s glowing long ago to glow when someone didn’t have magic, she must have had a spell to swap it back to its original purpose of glowing when in the presence of magic.

He went to
the bookshelf and pulled out the old volume he had studied to understand the draw and why he felt it toward her. He scanned the text in a new way knowing she did have magic. He should be able to use the draw to find her.

He would have to find her before his mother did.

****

Jiline
stumbled, but righted herself quickly. The unicorn colt remained by her side, supporting her as they moved through the ever deepening snow. Her feet were frozen, but she tried to ignore the numb feeling. The unicorns had stopped ahead and she gave a sigh of relief as the colt stopped next to the group.

Her sigh turned to a
squeak of surprise when she saw why they had stopped. Her pony stood under a tree, protected from the snow, saddled and ready to go. She glanced around the clearing. No one but the unicorns.

“Ginger
.” She ran the few steps to reach her and wrap her arms around her. “How?”

She turned to the colt
who stood next to her. Ginger was sweaty and shivering. He touched his horn to her and Ginger seemed to magically recover from the long run she had obviously endured.

Eli set her free before coming into the valley.

“Eli?” He’d watched her set the unicorns free.

We knew you would need a horse to ride. Eli has been the most
connected with us of all protectors. My mother...

The colt’s mother walked forward.
I only suggested, not compelled. Eli has always belonged to us more than the mages. He would have set us free himself if he had been able. But he could assist you. We must go now. Reach the snow line before it is too late.

Jiline
gave Ginger another hug and mounted her beneath the tree. Her hands hurt from the cold and she fumbled with the reins. The colt touched his horn to her arm flooding her entire body with warmth.

Enough
,
the colt’s mom said.
If they need assistance ask another, you must not deplete your magic
.

The unicorn colt bobbed his head, but waited for Ginger to break free from the tree at a smart trot before moving off to follow the herd. He stayed next to them which
Jiline was thankful for. She could just barely make out the mass of unicorns in front of her through the falling snow. Ginger wasn’t used to it either. She snorted and tossed her head occasionally to shake off the layer of snow which gathered on them as they went.

****

The keepers had gone on the hunt. Herrick watched them leave in the heavy falling snow. He held his hand out to catch a giant flake to analyze it. The hint of magic evaporated. The unicorns had brought in a snow storm to cover their escape.

He dropped his hand as his mother stepped out to stand next to him. She had gotten her magic under control, but he could feel it rippling inside her.

“Mistress Marta will remain here with the trainees and house keepers.”

He
raised an eyebrow waiting for her to continue.

Her eyes were steady on him. “
Madelen?”

Prepared for her question, he didn’t outwardly react to Madelen’s name.
“You haven’t found her?”

“You know we haven’t.”

He shrugged despite her being correct. “How would I know that?”

“The draw would tell you.”

“We both agreed what I felt for Madelen was an infatuation not a mage draw,” he reminded her, aiming his expression and tone for nonchalance.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

Of course she had. He forced a laugh. “I haven’t. It was an infatuation.”

“Do not lie to me.”
Her magic surged within her and he stepped back in alarm.

“I’m not.” He
forced his own magic not to respond to the possible threat.

Her eyes narrowed.
“You’re upset.”

“So are you, blaming me for a trainee’s
absence isn’t going to help matters.” He stepped away from her and sliced his hand to block her magic prickling against him. “I don’t know what you expect me to do.”

“You could track her with the draw.”

He sighed. “I don’t feel a draw toward her.” The out and out lie came easier and easier. He had never concealed anything from his mother before. Not only was she his mother, but the Keep Mage. Both demanded honesty from their subordinates. Yet, he lied without a single hesitation. “You know, you could lose every single keeper in that snow storm.”

His mother looked at the rising snow in alarm. She did as he
had. Held her hand out to catch a flake. Except, she cursed and dropped it like it burned. “What would you have me do? Let them escape?”

He considered her word
choice. “Why would they want to escape if we’re their protectors?”

She glared at him. “Unicorns are very much like children. You know we protect them from the dark creatures and humans who would kill them for their magic.”

“Yes, I know, but you keep saying they escaped, not that they were stolen.” He caught another snow flake. “This is unicorn magic. I’ve been around enough mages bolstered by unicorn magic to recognize the feel. But this is pure magic not unicorn mage magic.”

She took a deep breath. “Whether they were stolen or escaped isn’t the point. The point is they
’re vulnerable outside of the valley. They will be hunted down and killed. We have no way of protecting them and preserving their magic.”

****

Jiline looked down at the path Ginger followed and the rising snow beside them. The snow didn’t seem to be falling as hard as it had before. She slipped the hood off her head and looked at the sky. Snowflakes filled the air above her, but they drifted to the side as if sliding down a steep roof point to the ground.
              There were only a couple of inches of snow on the trail, while a few feet away it was already over a foot. She glanced behind her at the unicorn colt. He was bringing up the rear and she was pretty sure he was annoyed at being slowed by the pony.

“We aren’t being snowed on,”
she said.

His head didn’t change position.
No. We are far enough from the valley to make the trail easier without risk of discovery.

She looked back up at the
gray sky. Amazed to see the snowflakes fall and then turn away from them. After awhile, her neck began to ache and she stopped looking up, but focused on what was in front of them. Ginger had to trot here and there to keep up with the unicorns’ ground-covering walk. But she’d always had to trot when taken out with horses. This time Jiline didn’t have to urge her forward so they didn’t get left behind.

What did Ginger think of the unicorns? She hadn’t shied away when the unicorn colt had touched her with his horn. She treated them the same as she would have treated other horses. Except
. She realized Ginger hadn’t been doing any neighing or nickering like she normally did. She was unusually silent. Ginger always enjoyed talking with any horses she passed by. Her family joked that Ginger had to get the first and last word in.

Could the unicorns speak to her as well? She turned back to the colt.

Yes
. He answered her before she could ask the question.
She understands the necessity to be quiet.

Was he
rebuking her for speaking earlier?

No. You may vocalize your questions if that is easier for you. We are far enough away that if we keep moving they won’t be able to catch us.

“How did she make it to that tree to meet us?” She smoothed a hand over Ginger’s rump in her contorted position.

She was easy to speak with. There aren’t as many mage protections on the stable as there
are on the Keep.

She turned forward again and considered how they had gotten Eli to saddle her up. The unicorn mare had forbidden the colt from compelling her into helping them. She was pretty sure she had helped them of her own free will, but if they could compel someone why hadn’t they done it before
she came to the Keep.

We needed your magic. We couldn’t have asked just anyone. The mages are very careful about not leaving t
he safety of the Keep so we cannot manipulate them into assisting us.

“But I thought,” she turned back to face them, “that you didn’t tolerate magic in another being and the mages couldn’t go down for fear of being killed.”

We haven’t killed you.

She didn’t consider herself to have magic and had already forgotten that small fact.

A story the mages made up to protect themselves. We might kill them for coming near us, but it has nothing to do with the magic within them and everything to do with our imprisonment.