Unicorns' Opal (3 page)

“Are you sure that we are heading in the proper direction?” quizzed Niki. “Shouldn’t we find out where the Sword of Heavens wants us to go next?”

“I’m not sure where the sword will send us next,” admitted Alex, “though there is not much north of here. Arik, why don’t you toss our little glass bead into the fire and we’ll see what lies before us?”

Arik reached into his pouch and produced the bead from the Sword of Heavens. Everyone stood and formed a large circle well enough away from the flames. Arik tossed the bead into the fire and a dense cloud of white smoke immediately arose. The fog of white smoke started twirling around and around and began thinning towards the top. For several seconds they watched the dense, white cloud spin itself into a sharply pointed cone with a spiral edge running the entire length glistening in the sunlight. The spiraled white cone tilted away from the observer and rose slightly, leaving a distance between the fire and the vision. Afterwards, everyone reported that the vision was the same for each of them, no matter where in the circle they stood.

The glistening on the white spiral cone spread and the color of the object turned to gold. In the clear area below the golden spiral, another vision appeared. At first glance the vision was the sight of a green field filled with playful horses, but the scene changed as if each member of the group was looking through someone’s eyes, someone who was actually there in the field. The eyes started moving closer to the playful horses with an up and down motion similar to riding a horse. When the playful horses got closer, several gasps rang out from the group watching the fire vision. The horses all sported horns upon their heads like the one hanging over the fire, but none of them were gold like the cloud.

The young Rangers stared in fascination at the field of playful unicorns that were dancing and prancing, with several of them involved in crossing horns in mock battle. The unicorn that hosted the Rangers, for surely everyone now realized it was a unicorn, raised his head and called out to the others, only it wasn’t a call. It was a sensation that sounded within the minds of the Rangers, not their ears.

“Listen, my people, for there is news to hear,” came the speech from within each Ranger’s mind. “One of our scouts reported a hole in the Darkness west of here. He also reports large bands of Dark Riders and goblins and Yaki on the prowl. I fear that the Dark Riders will come to steal our Holy Opal. We must prepare to defend it. We have all sworn to defend it.”

The prancing and playing unicorns gathered together and formed lines facing the speaker. Hundreds of unicorns in every color imaginable assembled and lost their mirthful attitudes. In long lines of color, the combined ranks of the unicorns resembled a flowing rainbow that waved and shimmered in a light breeze. When they had completely assembled, they recited lines in unison. These are the words that echoed in each Ranger’s mind:

  The Opal fair and pure of white

  Small comfort it can bring to them

  To help fend off the darkest night

  The Unicorns shall keep the gem.

The vision over the fire abruptly winked out and the golden cone of a unicorn’s horn slowly dissolved into a white cloud, which dispersed with the wind.

The Rangers stood and stared at the fire for a while, each lost in his own thoughts. Niki turned away from the campfire and hastily scribbled something, which she shoved into a pouch. Arik and Alex walked away from the campfire and Arik drew the Sword of Heavens. He rotated while holding the sword and stopped with it facing northeast.

“It is pretty faint,” Arik stated as he sheathed the Sword of Heavens. “Probably as faint as the fairies were back near Lorgo. The glass bead has been replaced with a milky white one, as well. I didn’t even see that happen.”

“That would indicate a fair distance to travel,” mused Alex. “It also puts us on a track which might bring us closer to the Dark Riders. I think we should continue to send Midge out ahead of us. His observations won’t guarantee that we meet no resistance, but we may be able to get some advance warning of danger.”

As they turned to regroup with the other Rangers, Niki took care of putting the fire out while everyone else helped to reload the horses. Alex was puzzled at Niki’s change in attitude since Kantor. She stopped whining about being a Queen and was actively helping in the campsite duties. Even Fredrik remarked that her knife throwing was getting better and Jenneva said she was starting to take a real interest in learning magic. Alex thought he had, perhaps, misjudged her.

Alex led the Rangers due east for a while before turning northeast so they would not run into the village of Dani. Midge continued to make runs in advance of the Rangers and Tedi rode at the rear to cover tracks as best he could. After he directed the turn to the northeast, Alex joined Tedi at the rear and they both worked at confusing any trackers who might be following.

A couple of hours later, Prince Midge came whizzing into the Ranger procession and landed on Arik’s shoulder. Alex moved to the front to get his report.

“I saw several dozen Dark Riders following the Black River out of the mountains,” reported Midge. “They were led by a man in a black robe, probably a Black Devil. He will more than likely roast in that heavy robe. None of the riders appeared to be comfortable riding under the glare of the sun.”

“Well done, Midge,” praised Arik. “Do you think they will pass by before we reach the river?”

“They should,” confirmed the fairy, “unless they stop for some reason. I will rest a while and go out again before we get close to the river.”

Alex nodded and dropped back to rejoin Tedi. The leader of the Rangers wondered if he should have allowed Midge to bring along some of his friends. Several fairies could cover much more territory than just one. Putting the late thought out of his mind, Alex helped Tedi cover the group's tracks.

***

The three Black Devils stopped by the creek and dismounted. One of them grabbed a stick and moved it through the burned ashes of the campfire. Spotting the note, he bent down and picked it up.

“Here it is,” he called to the others. “Turning SE from here. Will hide in Mts. if detected. Must get unicorns’ opal.”

“The mountains are a long ways from here, Zorn,” one of the others suggested. “What do you think the bit about the unicorns’ opal means?”

“What do you expect from a child who was so easily wrapped around Dalgar’s finger?” Zorn laughed. “You don’t really expect these messages to do any more than let us know we’re on the right track, do you, Arpal?”

“Well, we need to get a copy of the note off to Sarac, anyway,” declared Arpal. “Get a bird from each cage, Quilo, and let’s be done with this. I could use a break from riding that infernal beast, Zorn.”

“Sending city boys out in the country,” Zorn laughed. “You two will not be able to sit right for weeks. Incidentally, they went due east not southeast. The girl has probably never seen the sun before and doesn’t know east from south.”

The city-born Black Devils looked at each other, not knowing whether or not Zorn was mocking them, as well. They were not much older than the Collapse Children and if they had seen the sun, they didn’t remember when.

***

Calastano called a halt to his procession of Dark Riders on a hill beside the Black River. The Black Devil dismounted and removed his black robe replacing it with one of a lighter material.

The head Dark Rider approached Calastano and asked, “Why are we stopping? Our orders are to proceed with haste.”

“And where are we proceeding to, Xerog?” Calastano quipped. “This small hill affords a view for miles around. If the Children are planning to get over the West Mountains, they will have to pass by us.”

“You confuse me, Calastano,” admitted Xerog. “It was I who suggested hiding in the pass and waiting for them, but you insisted we push on. Now you change your mind and stop here in the open. We can see for miles around, but with forty men up here, they will be able to see us, as well.”

“They are just a bunch of children,” Calastano complained. “They wouldn’t know what they were looking at if we invited them for coffee. I was hoping we would have run across them by now, but if they are further west than here, the men from Kantor will catch up to them before we do. Now, I think it is better to stop and wait for them and I needn’t remind you who is in charge of this force.”

“Certainly not,” spat Xerog. “You have been doing that every day since leaving the Boulders. As for being a bunch of children, you forget that Garth Shado, who is a dangerous bandit, is leading them. The message from Toresh indicates that these children wiped out twenty Dark Riders and a Black Devil down there.”

“It was probably an exaggeration,” chuckled the Black Devil.

“I have met Klarg before,” insisted Xerog. “He was not the most civilized of men, but his word was always good and the Command Post in Toresh would never have sent the message to Mount Kalas without verification.”

“All right,” nodded Calastano, “what is it you suggest we do?”

“I agree with you about not going further west,” conceded Xerog. “They will not stay put at the center of the clear sky. If they go west, we will never catch them and it will fall to the boys from Kantor. I have been informed that Kalamaar is coming up from the south and there is nowhere to go to the north. Let the men rest here for half an hour and then we return to the pass. We will set up an ambush and spring it on them when they try to cross over the mountains.”

“Very well,” capitulated the Black Devil. “It’s likely to be a bit cooler up there, anyway.”

***

Tedi noticed that Alex was no longer helping to hide the tracks and looked to see the warrior dismounting. Tedi stopped and dismounted as well. As he approached Alex, he noticed the tall, blond Ranger nocking an arrow to his longbow and sighting on a bird in the sky. The arrow flew and Alex started running to where the bird would fall without waiting to see if his arrow would strike the feathered creature.

The whole procession had stopped and Jenneva was riding to meet Alex as Tedi watched the bird fall from the sky with Alex’s arrow through it. Tedi ran after them while the rest of the Rangers just sat and waited to see what would happen. He raced over a small mound and found Alex and Jenneva standing over a man with an arrow in his stomach. Even from a distance, his sensitive ears picked up the conversation.

“Alex, you really must be more careful,” scolded Jenneva. “He was not dead yet. Any magician with enough skill to transform into a bird is powerful enough to cause you great harm even if he is wounded."

“There aren’t many Black Devils that can survive a fall that far even if the arrow didn’t kill him,” Alex replied. “Still, I will remember your words. I was hoping to get some tactical information from him. I am not thrilled with the path we are taking and without Midge’s scouting ability, we would be fairly easy to trap.”

“How did you know it was a Black Devil?” Jenneva asked.

“The way he looked at us,” Alex answered. “A normal crow would have given us one glance and went on searching for food. This one was studying us, trying to determine where we were heading and how we were deployed. Basically, he was scouting on us the same way I would scout on an enemy from a position of height, like a mountain cliff.”

Tedi arrived at the scene with the body and halted. “Nice shot, Alex,” he congratulated. “That’s one spy who won’t report where we are.”

Alex turned and gazed at Tedi. “Your ears are sensitizing more rapidly than I would have thought,” he commented. “Are they causing you any pain or problems?”

“You know about my hearing?” blushed Tedi.

“Jenneva has known about it since it happened,” Alex smiled. “She is trying to find a way to help you. None of the others know and they will not learn it from me. You gave yourself away though by not being surprised at what was lying here. You obviously heard our conversation on the way here.”

“I really don’t want the others to know,” nodded Tedi. “They’re a good bunch, but I know they would treat me differently if they knew.”

“Then it shall be our secret,” agreed Alex. “As for your comments about his brethren not knowing where we are, they will be able to narrow it down quite a bit when he doesn’t return. If I had men of his capability, I would send one out in each direction.”

“Can’t you do that, Jenneva?” inquired Tedi. “I mean we have all heard Tanya’s stories about how powerful you are with magic.”

“I can,” smiled Jenneva, “but you can see one of the dangers of doing it at your feet. Alex is not the only good shot around here. Besides, if I was not as observant as the Black Devils, I could end up leading them back here, and that would not be fun for any of us. Let’s get back to the group and get moving before his replacement arrives.”

“A good idea,” Alex said. “I am going to want to keep moving after dark, at least until we can cross the Black River and get on the northern side again.”

Jenneva nodded and returned to the column. Alex and Tedi ran back to their horses and the procession was already moving by the time they mounted.

It was dark when they reached the Black River and Midge’s ability to scout had set with the sun. It was hard to find a spot to ford the river in the dark, so Alex took the lead and chanced a crossing. It was deeper than he would have liked, but it was better than remaining on the south side of the river. Niki started screaming when her horse lost its footing, but everyone made it across without an accident.

“We will have to move farther on,” announced Alex. “If there is anyone around, they will have heard Niki’s scream. Arik lead the group up to that knoll. Be careful. If there is anyone up there, they will have the advantage. Take the group in single file.”

“Where are you going to be?” Arik questioned.

“I am going to be going up the other side, just in case,” smiled Alex. “If I were a Dark Rider, I would have somebody stationed up there. I’ll take Tedi with me. Leaving a track from the river to there will not hurt.”

The group split up with Arik leading his contingent slowly and Alex and Tedi moving swiftly to cover the extra ground to put them on the other side of the hill. Alex used the hand signals which he taught to the Rangers to let Tedi know what to do and they both dismounted just shy of the top of the hill. Alex moved to the left with his longbow ready and an arrow nocked, while Tedi moved similarly to the right. They managed to get into position just as Arik cautiously gained the summit of the hill. Arik slowly came into the clearing and made a complete circuit before motioning for the others to follow. Alex smiled when he saw that Fredrik and Tanya had also been on foot with their bows drawn.