Unicorns' Opal (40 page)

“That was hard,” admitted Tanya. “I did not know how to counter the effects of what Niki did. It was the trip to Mustar that gave me the answer. While you were talking to Mustar, I found the answer in his library.”

“In his library?” echoed Jenneva. “He would have killed you if he had discovered you. You must know that mages are extremely sensitive about others viewing their books.”

“And Tedi would have gone insane if I did not,” countered Tanya. “If Mustar would have allowed you to seek the answer in his library then I would not have had to do it secretly. I am not ashamed of my actions and I would do it again.”

“You still have not told us who you are or who trained you,” persisted Alex.

“No I haven’t,” frowned Tanya. “My uncle provided training in many skills. Magic was one of them. As to who I am, I have told you the truth. There is nothing else I can tell you. I am still feeling weak, so if you don’t mind, I will go back to sleep now.”

Alex seemed poised to continue pursuing the issue, but Jenneva laid a soothing hand on his arm and shook her head. “We all need our sleep,” she said. “Tomorrow we should reach Monoceros.”

“If you are well enough to travel,” Alex added gruffly. “We shall see how everyone is feeling in the morning.”

Arik sat at the mouth of the cave listening to the sounds of the night and longing to see the clear night sky again. Or perhaps a beautiful sunrise again, he thought as he heard someone moving behind him. Tedi moved quietly and sat next to him.

“I will take over the watch if you want to grab some extra sleep,” offered Tedi. “I can’t get back to sleep anyway.”

“It is almost morning,” sighed Arik. “There is not much sense in me trying to go to sleep. Besides I don’t really feel tired.”

“I can’t believe that she is a witch,” frowned Tedi.

“Tanya?” quizzed Arik. “I’ll admit I am quite surprised myself. She hid it well, but you shouldn’t use that term.”

“Why not?” complained Tedi. “She is what she is no matter what words I use. I knew she was hiding something. She is too sneaky for my taste. I don’t see why we need her with us anyway. She will probably report everything we do to someone else. I think we should leave her behind.”

“How can you say that?” scowled Arik. “She has done nothing but good for us and not all of it has been magic. She is a fantastic warrior and I always feel a little safer knowing that she is watching my back.”

“So she is a good warrior,” persisted Tedi. “There are lots of good warriors and we don’t have to worry about who they are working for. Now when we are attacked, I will have to keep one eye on her and one on whoever we are fighting.”

“I cannot believe you,” Arik said shaking his head. “Yesterday you trusted her to fight the goblins, but now that you have learned that she knows magic you feel that she is somehow less dependable? You don’t make any sense at all.”

“Every time I think of her now I think of the witch in Lorgo who wanted to kill us,” retorted Tedi. “I just don’t like magic. I don’t trust it.”

“Magic is not evil,” declared Arik. “It is neither good nor bad. Magic is just a talent like throwing a knife. It can be used to protect you from harm or used with evil intent to harm others. Tanya’s knowledge of magic is just another tool to her credit. It saved Jenneva’s life yesterday. Do you not see that as a good thing? Or are we better off without Jenneva too?”

“Jenneva scares me at times,” admitted Tedi, “but she knows how to handle the magic. Tanya is too sneaky to trust. You make her out to be a gift from the gods, but what good has she ever done besides pinching those jewels in Trekum?”

“Actually,” Arik said in a soft voice, “I heard the three of them talking last night when Alex was supposed to be on watch. Tanya has done a lot of good things with her magic and we just never knew about them.”

“Sure,” ridiculed Tedi. “I can imagine that she bragged about a lot of things to make herself appear more important.”

“You are wrong about her, Tedi,” declared Arik. “She was not the one spouting off what she had done. It was Jenneva verifying the mysteries that had occurred that I heard. Remember all of the times that Niki’s shields failed?”

“I remember people talking about it,” responded Tedi.

“Well it was Tanya who kept the shields up,” stated Arik. “Just like she did yesterday after Jenneva was attacked. She also saved Alex from a fall into the pass when we fought the Dark Riders after leaving the fairies. And one you should really appreciate is the mysterious gagging of Niki.”

“Well I will give her praise for that last one,” chuckled Tedi. “But why couldn’t she just be open about it then?”

“That I do not know,” conceded Arik. “Alex was very bothered by that too, but oddly Jenneva was not too concerned. Maybe it is a magic user’s thing. I just don’t know.”

“You must admit that there is plenty strange about Tanya,” Tedi pointed out. “Like her story about her uncle dying and his wagon burning. She has too many secrets for me to ever trust her. I could certainly live without her.”

“Could you?” questioned Arik. “How is your hearing problem these days?”

“My hearing is fine,” declared Tedi. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“No more headaches?” Arik questioned slyly. “You no longer have a desire to end your life by jumping out a window?”

“What are you getting at?” demanded Tedi. “I suppose you are going to claim that Tanya healed me?”

“She risked her life at Mustar’s to learn how to cure you,” revealed Arik. “Jenneva scolded her for being so foolish because Mustar would have killed Tanya if he found her reading his books.”

Tedi sat silently thinking of the night in the desert town when he awoke to find Tanya sitting on him with her hands on his head.

“Why?” queried Tedi. “Why would she risk her life for me? By the time we got to Dubar, we already knew that you were the one to become king. It doesn’t make sense that she would risk herself for me.”

“I think you feel that way only because she is secretive,” replied Arik. “If it had been Alex or me who had risked our lives to save you, I doubt that you would question it as much. I can understand your feelings a little. She is hiding something and that tends to make everyone suspicious, but aren’t we all hiding something?”

“What do you mean we are all hiding something?” asked Tedi.

“Our fathers are hiding the fact that they are our fathers,” began Arik with a sly grin on his face. “Alex and Jenneva are hiding who they are. I am hiding the fact that I am heir to the throne and you are hiding the fact that you love Tanya.”

“Those are fighting words,” threatened Tedi as he jumped to his feet. “You know that is a lie. Take it back.”

Arik heard noises from inside the cave and motioned to Tedi to be quiet.

“All right,” chuckled Arik. “I was just having fun with you. Be quiet or you will wake everyone up. The sky is lightening and they will be up soon enough.”

“I can’t believe you said that,” frowned Tedi. “I could never love a witch.”

“Tanya may know magic,” corrected Arik, “but she is not a witch. She is hiding something serious though. I wonder what can be so bad that she refuses to talk about it?”

“Maybe she did something really terrible,” suggested Tedi. “Like killed some poor fellow who meant no harm or something like that. That would be something I would never want to share.”

Arik tapped Tedi and motioned to him as Tanya appeared at the mouth of the cave.

“I sure hope the goblins didn’t hear you two out here having fun,” greeted Tanya. “Is there a stream nearby?”

“There is at the bottom of the hill,” answered Arik. “How are you feeling?”

“I am okay,” smiled Tanya. “I just want to wash up a bit.”

“I want to see your hand before you go,” said Alex as he appeared behind Tanya.

“I am just on my way to wash it,” replied Tanya. “I will try to clean your cloth and return it to you.”

“Show it to me,” ordered Alex.

Tanya reluctantly unwound the bandage from her hand. Arik inhaled deeply when he saw the wounds. A dozen slashes crossed her palm and fingers diagonally. The cuts were thin, but deep to the bone and two fingers appeared to be hanging. Alex went to touch her hand to examine it and Tanya twirled her back to him.

“I will handle myself,” Tanya said determinedly. “I will be back in a little bit.”

“That was caused by the Yorra’s horn?” Arik asked as Tanya disappeared down the trail.

“Their horns are sharper than the sharpest sword,” nodded Alex. “I doubt she will ever wield a weapon again.”

“Who is she?” questioned Tedi. “And what is she hiding?”

“That is a question that has plagued me all night,” Alex admitted. “I woke this morning determined to get an answer out of her, but after seeing what she has suffered to save Jenneva, I am not sure that it matters to me anymore. She knew how to use the unicorn’s horn and that means she knew what would happen to her hand. Her unselfish act tells me that she means us no harm. Perhaps we should let her keep her secret.”

“I doubt we have a choice in the matter,” added Arik. “She came into the group alone and I think she would not hesitate to leave us on her own. I will accept her as she is.”

“That is a wise attitude, Arik,” smiled Jenneva as she joined the group at the mouth of the cave. “Who she was before we met or what she has endured in her past are not as important as how she acts today. We all make mistakes that we would rather not speak about.”

“Or are victims of other people’s mistakes,” added Arik. “How are you feeling Jenneva?”

“I have felt better,” smiled Jenneva, “but I feel well enough to continue our journey.”

“Then let us prepare to leave,” suggested Alex. “Midge, why don’t you scout out the trail ahead and let us know what trouble lurks there.”

“Right away,” chirped Prince Midge as he leaped into the air from the lip of the cave where he had been quietly listening.

Tanya returned from her trip to the stream and the Rangers departed the cave and set off down the trail. Tedi took the lead again and remained alert for the sounds of goblins. After several hours of riding, Jenneva dropped back as they rode along the trail until she was alongside Tanya.

“Thank you for what you did yesterday,” Jenneva said. “I am the only one here who can appreciate the risk that you took in saving me. Whatever lurks in your past matters not at all to me. I am glad that you have the power and the wisdom to use it wisely. The fact that you managed to conceal your powers from me for so long is a testament to your willpower. I applaud it.”

“Thank you,” smiled Tanya. “I will continue to exercise caution in our travels. I would be particularly pleased if you did not mention my abilities to those members of our group that are not with us at this time.”

“Do you mean Fredrik and Niki?” questioned Jenneva. “Or do you mean Alan and Konic?”

“Anyone at all,” replied Tanya, “but particularly the magic users of our group. I have a premonition of death at the hands of a mage. Secrecy is the only weapon that might allow me to prevail.”

“And yet you showed your hand to save me,” mused Jenneva. “Does this mean that you do not consider me a threat?”

“I have never considered you a threat,” smiled Tanya. “I have heard many stories of your life and I know that you would never harm me. You are there when it happens though.”

“Where?” questioned Jenneva. “I am where when what happens?”

“When I am struck down,” frowned Tanya. “I cannot see the location clearly. In fact, the location changes with each dream, but you are always there. That is how I knew that I would be successful in healing you yesterday. You must live to be by my side when I die.”

They rode on in silence for several minutes while Jenneva contemplated the disclosures from the strange and mysterious girl. Tedi held up his hand for quiet and Jenneva’s ears perked up. After a few moments she detected the rustlings of someone paralleling them. The noises were certainly faint and whoever was tracking them knew how to track quietly. Without Tedi’s hearing, Jenneva doubted that anyone would have detected the noises.

The Rangers rode on in silence until the forest gave way to a broad open plain. It was then that the Rangers found out that they were being tracked by unicorns. Two rows of unicorns, one on each side of the Rangers, emerged from the forest. Tedi halted the column and the unicorns approached. Jenneva knew that a conversation was taking place by the way Kaz was moving his head. After just a few minutes, two unicorns broke from the others and dashed off in different directions. Tedi started the Rangers moving again and the unicorns fell in alongside the Rangers.

Jenneva moved up alongside Alex and asked, “What did they say?”

“They wanted to know if we were successful in our hunt for the Golden Horn,” Alex replied. “The two that left have been sent to gather the herds. The others will guide us to the Rock of Ages. They are quite excited.”

“What is the Rock of Ages?” queried Jenneva.

“I am not sure,” admitted Alex. “It holds some religious meaning for the unicorns, but they did not explain. Kaz merely told me to wait until we were there.”

“Then we shall wait,” smiled Jenneva.

Instead of turning towards the glade where the Rangers had met the unicorns on the previous visit, Kaz led the way across the open prairie. They rode for hours and streams of unicorns continually appeared on the horizon and seemed to be heading towards the same spot that the Rangers were heading. With over a thousand unicorns marching across the plains, Alex spied a small rise ahead in the distance. At first he thought it might be a clump of trees, but as they journeyed closer, it began to take shape as a lone flat-topped hill.

That is the Rock of Ages, Alex.

I see it, Kaz. What is so special about it?

It is the birthplace of the unicorn. The Rock of Ages is where it all began. It is where the Golden Horn must be accepted.

Alex continued to gaze at the small hill as the column continued across the plains. As they neared the Rock of Ages, Alex saw a great host of unicorns already assembled there. Thousands of unicorns surrounded the short knoll, but the circle was open in Alex’s direction. Kaz sprouted his horn and proudly led the Rangers forward through the gap in the circle. When Kaz reached the inner ring of the circle, he stopped. Yorra stood beside him and her horn was visible too.