Rider (Spirals of Destiny) (17 page)

“That’s it. Hold the flame steady and don’t make it bigger if you can help it. Focus. Make it burn brighter. Picture it burning hotter. Slowly change the color. That’s it! That’s it! Oh, you lost it. Okay, take a deep breath and clear your mind. We’ll try it again.”

Kayleigh wanted to scream and ask how she was supposed to focus over Annabeth’s running commentary, but that would be ungrateful.

The older woman patted her on her shoulder and said, “You’ve got some of the oddest control problems I’ve ever seen! Maybe I’m asking too much of you at one time. Let’s just stick to a brightly burning yellow flame, but you’ll want to put an effort into mastering color change.”

Kayleigh was perplexed. “Why?”

“Making fire isn’t all about combat. During large scale battles, regular armies use either flags or drums to issue orders to the troops. We generally use fire in different colors to do the same thing. Now, let’s get back to work. Conjure the flame and we’ll go back to the motion exercises we worked on last week. Let’s see how well you do this week.”

With her bare hand firmly on Majherri’s back, she held out her other, gloved hand and focused on the air surrounding it. There was a sensation of warmth as a streamer of fire emerged, like an animal coming out of its hole. It swirled once over the surface of her palm and then rose into a vertical column, extending a few feet into the air.

“Now reduce the thickness. Imagine it rolled like dough and spread into a flat sheet.”

The food imagery was what worked for Rider Welsh. Kayleigh instead drew from art and pictured her mother’s pottery wheel. She imagined the flame like a mass of wet clay that needed to be smoothed and flattened. The column shrunk and expanded into a disk shape hovering in the air.

“Better, but keep it vertical and spread it this way,” Annabeth said, doing the same, but keeping the disk in front of her like a shield.

In Kayleigh’s mind, she lifted her disk of flame up like placing linens on a clothesline. “How does that look?”

“That’s it. Now keep it floating right there and reach down with you conjuring hand and pick up the shield.”

“Won’t the flame go away?”

“Not as long as you fix it there in your mind. The hand is just there to help it come into existence. Watch me take my hand away. See. There’s nothing to it. The only thing that will make the magic go away is if you take your hand off your unicorn.”

Kayleigh’s fire disk flickered, but remained as she slid her right arms through the straps of the round shield and lifted it.

“Alright, here’s the fun part. Take the sheet of flame and flatten it against the outside of the metal and spread it out nice and evenly. Then you’ll want to stick the flame right there so that it moves wherever the shield moves. Just like this.”

Annabeth raised her arm over her head, as if to protect from an arrow attack. The flames moved in concert with the shield. There was a slight disconnect when Kayleigh attempted to duplicate what she just saw. There was a delay before the flame would catch up to what she was doing.

“Don’t worry about that too much. You’ll get better with practice, but this same basic concept applies to applying fire to your weapons as well. Eventually, you’ll be able to skip the initial steps and just conjure the flat sheet of fire directly around your sword or shield. You’re looking a bit tired. Let’s take a break.”

Letting her flame extinguish, Kayleigh removed her hand from Majherri, who snorted in encouragement and resumed whatever conversation he was having with Rheysurrah. Though Kayleigh had no idea what they were saying, it wasn’t laced with the usual antagonism. It was refreshing to see him not making another unicorn angry.

“After mating season is over, I might not have as much time for our lessons, Kayleigh.”

“You’re not getting into trouble for all this?”

“Nothing like that, but we’re going to be short two squads. They’re being temporarily assigned to the western battalion and the rest of us are left to pick up the slack.”

Majherri’s head whipped around so fast that it bumped into Kayleigh. “Hey, watch it!” She exclaimed. Placing her hand on Majherri’s mane, she tried to listen to her unicorn.

“He’s angry … no … he’s worried … about the west.”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much. We’re the first place everyone borrows troops from. It’s how I ended up on the recruiting trip to begin with. We just got back four riders who were sent up north for the rainy season – they were a team of water and earth maidens trying to help contain the flooding. It happens every year.”

Majherri snorted dismissively. It was a sound Kayleigh was intimately familiar with. Rheysurrah responded with several angry noises and aggressive movements.

“Looks like the truce has been broken,” Rider Welsh said shaking her head. “Why don’t you two unicorns go get a drink from the stream and cool your tempers? I think we’re done doing magic for today.”

Annabeth waited until both were out of earshot before saying, “That’s one obstinate unicorn you’ve got there. He’s got a real gift for stubbornness. It’s obvious he doesn’t like me.”

“I haven’t met too many humans or, for that matter, unicorns that he does,” Kayleigh said sadly.

“How are you getting along with the other girls in your year?”

“Okay, I guess. Morganstern is one of my section leaders, so there’s always some bitterness there. The Captain bumped Hawthorne down to squad leader and since she got a letter from her mother, she has been ice cold to both me and Rebekah.”

“General Hawthorne’s daughter?”

“The same.”

“That’s not good. The general has a reputation for being a perfectionist.” Welsh stopped and smiled broadly. “I think your captain wants to be her when she grows up. I know, I know. I shouldn’t speak about officers that way, but it needed to be said.”

Kayleigh couldn’t resist returning the smile, but not before glancing for any people eavesdropping. “Still, Hawthorne’s squad is improving by leaps and bounds.”

“Whether they want to or not, eh?”

“Andrea has a scary side, but she reserves most of her ire for Morganstern, which has actually made my life a little easier. I’m still racking up extra duty, but the two worst squads are coming up to speed and getting a lot less demerits than they used to. If you remember Alicia Santiago, she’s the other section leader and she’s as orderly as ever.”

“I do. She’s the type that will make officer in her first five years out in the field. I’ll probably still be a rider.”

“I think you’re great!” Kayleigh offered.

“Yeah, but that’s because I’m a rabble-rouser and a troublemaker. I have the distinct impression that we’re kindred spirits.”

“Not really,” Kaleigh said with a sigh. “Trouble goes out of its way to find me.”

Rider Welsh chuckled and replied, “Well, if that’s the case, embrace it with open arms and use it to your advantage. Of course, there might be a certain stable master you’re more interested in embracing.”

“It’s nothing of the sort!” She protested, but it sounded very weak.

“Oh c’mon Kayleigh, do you think there’s a reason they switched him to the first years, where the five year age gap would make him consider one of you? Problem is, you’re not exactly thirteen, are you?”

“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation!”

Annabeth chortled and said, “I remember when I was here and several of my classmates said that they might look him up after their chastity vow was over.”

Kayleigh was preparing a suitable reply, but noticed an object in the distance. “There’s a barge coming. It’s too early for the evening barge isn’t it?”

“You’re right. Especially on a ‘free’ day. I wonder what is going on.”

The pair watched the barge get closer. One thing Kayleigh had learned is that this island operated on a predictable pattern. Things happened on a schedule and there was precious little deviation. Before they knew it, they were walking down to the docks as the magically powered barge drew closer.

“Let’s hope it’s a visitor,” Annabeth said just slightly louder than a whisper.

A few of the male dockworkers were scurrying on the short pier. Kayleigh noticed Annabeth with her hands framing her eyes trying to see something. Her neck inched forward and then recoiled as she turned away, muttering something under her breath.

“What is it?”

“The black pennant is flying. It means their bringing back a riderless unicorn.”

“Oh no!”

“I’m afraid she’s right.” Brian Tomas stepped up next to them. “It’s a male. With it being so close to mating season, we’re going to try and encourage him to mate.”

“Any word who his rider was,” Annabeth asked with grave concern.

“I don’t know, but I heard the unicorn is from the eastern battalion and it happened a little over a week ago. Recruit Reese, I hate to impose on your free day, but we’ll be taking the male to my stables. I only just learned of this when the barge left the dock and haven’t had a chance to make a stall ready. Would you be so kind as to prepare the fifth stall for this new arrival? Put a fresh layer of hay down, fill the water trough, and get two blankets out of the storage closet.”

“Of course.” She would have gladly done anything he asked. Annabeth had the decency to only half-smirk at how quickly Kayleigh answered.

“Thank you. I’ll dock it from your extra duty total.” He said with half-hearted humor.

Kayleigh scampered off to do as she was told. She worked quickly to ready the stall. Finishing, she waited against the wooden double doors to the stable and watched a small but grim procession grow at the dock and head in her direction. The two mounted riders led the one with the empty saddle and a line of unicorns that had been grazing minutes ago followed behind with their heads hung low. Tears welled in her eyes as the group approached, but Kayleigh made no move to wipe them away. She couldn’t take her thoughts away from the fact that a beautiful and majestic creature was being led to his death.

If Majherri survived, maybe this one might as well!

Passing by her, she was able to get a good look at the male. Her fleeting hopes were dashed. His coat had lost its luminescence. The shiny, almost reflective, white was replaced the dingy white color normally seen in dried bone. The eyes held no spark or energy. They just stared ahead, listless and dull. The rest of the male was thinner than he should be and his stride was awkward and lacked the smooth grace she witnessed every day on the island.

Brian closed the gate behind it and began removing the saddle. The unicorn snorted and raised itself in anger, the first sign of life it had shown. He refused to allow Brian to remove his saddle. After a second time, the stable master relented and draped one of the blankets over the back of the angry unicorn. The saddle formed a strange hump that somehow made the scene even more painful.

It was too much for Kayleigh. She stepped outside the stable and ran around to the other side, fully intending to cry her eyes out. Instead, she stopped finding Majherri there staring into the window. He was so very still, barely breathing and immobile. Reaching out her hand, she touched him gently. Despite her best intention, he flinched. The negative feelings she was experiencing were nothing like the sadness emanating from her mount. She buried her head in his neck and tried to reassure him. Unicorns don’t cry unless in physical pain, so she cried for him.

They stood like that for a minute until Kayleigh heard a shout. She wasn’t certain what was wrong.

Huh, what are they saying? When did it get so loud?

She lifted her head and her eyes flew open. They were cocooned in a wall of blue flame. Panicked, she let go of Majherri and the flames faded away. The glass pane of the window was melted and the outer wall was blackened and smoldering. Had they been standing a few feet closer, the structure would likely be engulfed in flames. Curls of smoke rose from the ground where a barren patch was scalded into the dirt. A water maiden rode up. She conjured liquid directly onto the heated wood causing a hiss of steam to be released.

Kayleigh took a step, but was suddenly very lightheaded. Her world spun as she dropped to the ground.

When she came to, she was in the infirmary. Her arms and legs felt like they were made of lead. She reached over to the pitcher of water and poured some into a cup. Her throat was very dry and the water was soothing. Her cough alerted the others that she was awake.

The bed she was in was comfortable, much more comfortable than her bed in the barracks. Large gaps separated the beds and Kayleigh remembered from the welcoming tour they received that the rider’s unicorn was allowed to visit through the wide doors at the other end of the room.

“Quite a little scare you gave us there, lead rider,” Brian Tomas stood from his chair across the room where he was playing a game of chess with Rider Welsh, who also rose. “I know you spend far too much time in my humble stable to begin with, but that is no call to try and burn it to the ground.”

“I didn’t …”

He smiled brightly and said, “Of course not. If there is any blame to be had, it is mine. I should have had you take Majherri away from there. I was only thinking of the other unicorn. I had thought that the presence of one that had survived the wasting might somehow provide some encouragement. I gave no thought at all to how Majherri would react. I will go get him and bring him through the unicorn entrance. He made his intentions clear that I should come get him the moment you awoke.”