Unicorns' Opal (8 page)

The explosion brought numerous screams and she tossed another and another. Suddenly, the goblin arrows stopped coming in from that side and the goblins started to rush the clearing. The other goblin archers continued to fire and arrows started to bounce off Niki’s shield as the goblins got close enough to see into the clearing, instead of just firing blindly.

Tanya and Tedi start shooting arrows at the goblin archers on one side of the clearing while Fredrik grabbed their staff and Arik grabbed his sword. Fredrik and Arik rushed to meet the goblins charging from the other side of the campsite. The goblin archers finally spotted Tedi and Tanya and turned their attention towards the Ranger archers. Jenneva prepared to toss another Tree Mine when the shield started to break up and diminish. She watched in horror as it shrunk to cover only Niki. Jenneva abandoned her plan to toss Tree Mines at the approaching goblins and prepared to erect her own shield when Niki suddenly popped another separate shield around Jenneva. Shaking her head in confusion, Jenneva returned her attention to the rushing goblins.

Arik and Fredrik fought the goblins pouring into the camp. Fredrik’s staff twirled rapidly as he jabbed and swung more quickly than Jenneva could follow. Arik’s mastery with his sword would have been something to watch and enjoy if this had been a tournament, but it was not, and Jenneva’s eyes did not linger on the young Ranger as he sliced into the goblins. Turning around, she saw Tanya and Tedi still shooting quickly and surely. Each arrow produced a cry from the forest and goblin arrows coming into the clearing had practically halted.

Tanya suddenly dropped her bow and pulled her sword as she crossed the clearing to stand alongside Arik and help him cut down the steady stream of goblins pouring out of the woods. Alex strode into the clearing on Tedi’s side. He was covered in blood, but moved quickly across the clearing to help out with the last of the goblins. He signaled Tedi as he passed and Tedi turned his attention and arrows towards the group rushing into the clearing. Shooting over the heads of the Rangers, Tedi skewered the goblins pushing forward to reach the clearing.

In a few moments, there were no more goblins standing and Alex moved quickly into the woods while the rest of the Rangers regrouped in the center of the clearing.

“Do you think we should check for survivors, also?” asked Tanya.

Jenneva watched as her shield winked out, but Niki’s remained steady. “No,” Jenneva answered. “You know the procedures. We don’t want Alex to kill one of you, thinking you are the enemy.”

Tanya nodded and laughed. “If he mistook me for a goblin, I would be highly offended,” she chuckled. “You are right, though, but we should discuss the procedures when he returns. He takes too much upon himself. We need to be part of the team, as well.”

“There is really no point to it,” smiled Alex as he returned to the clearing. “One person in the woods is enough to track down any survivors. A running goblin makes a fair amount of noise.”

Alex strode over to his pack and pulled out a fresh shirt. “I need to clean up,” he announced. “We can discuss this when I get back. See if you can round up some arrows to replace those we have shot.”

Tedi touched Tanya lightly on the arm and nodded towards the woods. “This sounds like a job we can handle,” he smiled.

Tanya and Tedi left the clearing while Arik and Fredrik sat down and cleaned their weapons. Jenneva turned to Niki who still had her shield up. “You can drop your shield now, Niki,” said Jenneva. “What happened before?”

“What do you mean?” asked Niki as she dropped her shield. “What happened when?”

“Your shield weakened during the battle,” informed Jenneva. “I was ready to erect my own when you put a second shield up around me.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” snipped Niki. “My shield didn’t weaken. Why do you always have to chastise me? I get to hold the shield up while the mighty Jenneva throws the Tree Mines. You treat me like I’m a baby or a slave. Next time create your own shields. I can take care of myself.”

Niki stormed out of the clearing as Alex was returning. He looked at her stormy expression as she passed him. Alex turned towards Jenneva with a puzzling expression. “What’s wrong with our little queen?” Alex asked.

Jenneva tugged on Alex’s sleeve and pulled him aside. “Something is not right,” Jenneva whispered. “During the battle Niki’s shield around us shrunk to include only her. I was ready to erect my own shield when a separate shield suddenly surrounded me. I assumed it was Niki’s, but she denied it.”

“Could one of you be mistaken?” posed Alex. “I know you have told me that only a mage can see the physical shields. Perhaps she didn’t know what she was doing.”

“It’s possible,” Jenneva barely conceded. “It is not the first such occurrence, though. There have been quite a few. Do you remember the occasions when Niki was mouthing off and someone magically gagged her?”

“How could I forget?” chuckled Alex. “One should always remember acts of mercy. I assumed that it was you.”

“It wasn’t,” informed Jenneva. “I thought it was Fredrik, but he adamantly denies it. This isn’t the first time that Niki’s shields have failed and suddenly fixed themselves, either.”

“Are you saying that one of the other Children is a mage?” questioned Alex. “Wouldn’t they know it if they were?”

“Of course, they would know it,” sighed Jenneva. “I have been thinking that one of them must be responsible, but it just doesn’t fit. Even your soft landing in the pass. That certainly sounds magical to me.”

“Then why doesn’t it fit?” queried Alex. “If it is not you nor Fredrik, and we know it is not Niki, it must be one of the others.”

“This is where your logic fails,” insisted Jenneva. “A magical shield, that is a shield against magical forces, is very simple and does not require much thought or effort. A shield against physical damage is not the same. It is a very difficult spell to erect and sustain and it requires a mage’s constant concentration. I watched the other four Children during the battle and none of them appeared to look at me. Even if they did notice, they couldn’t maintain my shield and fight at the same time. That would take an enormous amount of skill and control. I would be willing to bet that there are not more than two or three mages in the world who could accomplish such a feat. Only Niki and myself could have done it because we were not fighting, but Niki denies it and I know that I didn’t do it.”

“What about Midge?” asked Alex. “Can he perform such deeds?”

“From my talks with him,” stated Jenneva, “I don’t think so. The fairies don’t deal much with shields. They use their ability for flight instead. Prince Midge says that he did not gag Niki, but he applauds whoever did.”

“So,” theorized Alex, “you think we have someone watching over us? Is it possible for a mage to be traveling with us and not make himself known to us?”

“I have never heard of such a thing,” answered Jenneva. “It really has me concerned. I like answers to my questions and not unanswerable riddles. Niki even claims that her shield never failed, but I saw it go down.”

“Well,” frowned Alex, “whoever it is does not appear to mean us harm. In fact, he seems to be helping us. Let me know if you discover any more of these occurrences. In the meantime we must break camp and get out of here.”

Tanya and Tedi entered the clearing carrying dozens of quivers loaded with arrows and laughing as if sharing some private joke. “I can’t believe the number of bodies out there,” Tedi called. “How many do you think there were, Alex?”

“Around forty,” Alex answered, “but they weren’t looking for us. They were surprised to find anyone here. If Niki hadn’t shouted they would have passed us by. If they had been looking for us, they would have been organized and the outcome of this little battle might have gone the other way.”

“Do we go back to bed or are we moving out?” questioned Fredrik.

“We are moving out,” replied Alex. “As soon as we can get our act together. Why don’t you find Niki? I think she is brooding in the woods somewhere.”

Fredrik marched off into the forest while the other Rangers gathered their gear and prepared to leave. Fredrik returned with a pouting Niki and the Rangers started heading eastward through the dense forest. The Rangers moved slowly through the dark woods for two hours before the sky started to lighten and the birds began to sing. While their spirits brightened, they never did get to see the sunrise. Tall, towering clouds, almost as dark as the forest they just rode through, obscured the horizon and threatened a wet day of riding. Alex ordered a halt so everyone could get their canvas covers out of their packs to help repel the rain, which was sure to come. The one positive note to the weather was that goblins hated the rain and would likely find someplace to hold up until the storm blew over. Alex hoped that they would be out of goblin territory before the rain let up.

The rain lasted all day and into the night. Weary from a long day on the trail, Alex finally agreed to seek shelter and everyone’s spirits received a boost when Tedi sighted a cave a short way off the trail. The Rangers stopped at the mouth of the cave while Alex and Tedi went in to investigate. The cave was huge and had a natural air flow to a vent somewhere unseen up above. Alex motioned for everyone to enter and bring the horses in with them.

While everyone shook the water off themselves, Fredrik and Tanya stole outside to try to find something to burn for a fire. After a short period they returned with logs and pinecones.

“Niki,” called Fredrik, “see if you can heat these enough to drive the moisture out of them. Tanya and I will get some more wood.”

Niki turned to argue with Fredrik, but he was already gone. Arik and Tedi pulled the wood further into the cave and started building an arrangement for a fire. Alex came over and started peeling the bark off with a long knife and Arik soon joined in. Tanya and Fredrik returned with four more loads of wood while Niki stared at the pinecones.

“How do you expect me to dry these out?” she snarled at Fredrik. “Why don’t you ask the great mage, Jenneva?”

“She’s right, Fredrik,” Tanya quipped. “She obviously hasn’t learned enough about magic yet to perform such a task.”

“And who are you to talk?” spat Niki. “You think this magic stuff is easy? If it is so easy, why don’t you do it, Your Highness?”

Tanya just smiled, but Fredrik stepped in front of her, anyway. “Look, Niki,” Fredrik said sternly, “I don’t know what your problem is, but we need to act as a team. I know you can dry out the pinecones, but if you would rather not, just say so. Jenneva or I can handle it. You have no need to pick on Tanya like that.”

Tanya looked over at Jenneva who just stood watching the whole performance and never offered to interfere. Promptly, Tanya turned around and left the cave to get more wood. Tedi quickly pulled his canvas back on and followed her.

“There goes another puppy dog following her Highness,” quipped Niki. “Why doesn’t she start the fire? She does everything else like the boys.”

“Enough!” ordered Jenneva. “If you are incapable of helping out, at least shut up and let us have some peace. Nobody is your enemy except yourself.”

Jenneva bent down and placed the pinecones under the logs. Without any visible sign that she was doing anything, steam began to rise off the pinecones and then the logs. Suddenly, the pinecones burst into flames with an intense heat. Jenneva continued to stare at the logs and the steam continued to rise until the logs started popping and everyone took a few steps back. Within moments, the fire was started and Jenneva returned to wiping down Yorra.

Tedi and Tanya returned with another load of wood and saw the fire going and Niki still standing and staring at it.

“I knew you could do it,” smiled Tanya. “You just needed a push.”

Niki’s eyes rose and a hatred filled stare fixed on Tanya. She turned and stormed off to a dark corner of the cave.

“Wrong thing to say,” chirped Arik. “Jenneva started the fire.”

“What is wrong with Niki?” Tanya inquired. “She acts like we are all her enemies.”

“She is probably just not feeling well,” offered Fredrik. “She does get moody at times. Leave her alone and I’m sure everything will be forgotten.”

Tanya and Tedi slipped off their canvas covers and sat by the fire trying to remove the chill of the day's ride. Soon everyone except Niki gathered around as Jenneva broke out food for the group. Jenneva put together a serving for Niki and Arik took it and disappeared towards the back of the cave. Dinner was quiet as everybody tried to warm up and eat. After a few moments Arik returned and silently sat down to eat his own food.

Outside the rain continued to fall and soon torrents of water were cascading down past the mouth of the cave. It gave the appearance of being behind a waterfall.

“I’ve never seen rain like this,” Tedi remarked. “Do you think the cave could flood?”

“This is the way it used to rain,” Alex remarked as he stretched his legs out in front of him. “I think we are safe in the cave. The land around us is much lower. It is amazing how the weather patterns are reemerging after such a short time. I remember storms like this that lasted several days. I hope this is not one of them.”

“Do you have any idea where we are?” asked Tanya.

“I have an idea of our location,” answered Alex, “but I have never been this far north. We are in the area, which used to be called the Disputed Area. Both Targa and Cordonia claimed it as their own before the Collapse, but neither made any serious attempts to colonize it. The weather up here is brutal in the winter and I have heard stories of people freezing to death. If the fairies’ reports are correct, we will run out of clear skies soon, if we have not already. It’s hard to tell with this storm.”

“The reports are accurate,” assured Prince Midge. “I will take a look as soon as the storm lifts.”

As soon as everyone was fed and warmed up, the Rangers began to drift off to wherever they had chosen to bed down. Within an hour after dinner, everyone was fast asleep and the rain continued to fall.

Tanya woke first and began to rekindle the fire. Tedi soon stirred and offered to help her. Within a few moments everyone was awake and breakfast was under way. Arik once again offered to take a serving to Niki who hadn’t bothered to rejoin the group. Swiftly, he returned.