Sorceress (Book 2) (35 page)

“She’s going to kill her! Let me by!”

“I cannot,”
Majherri stated.
“I’m doing all I can right now not to kill you, Sister.”

From behind, he heard Danella shout, “And now, look how easily I will change your mind!”

“It won’t work, Danella! Our magic never does!” Meghan answered.

“Here’s a secret, sister dear,” Danella said as Majherri strained to listen to the words and keep T’rsa back. “It’s not my magic.”

“No, Majherri! You can’t let her enslave Meghan. Stop her! Let me stop her!”

She possessed a strength born out of terror and fear for her rider. Even so, he turned her aside again and again while hearing the gagging coughs of the water maiden pinned down by her sister.

It went on for another thirty seconds until T’rsa went suddenly rigid and stopped her desperate attempts to get by him. She no longer said anything. Turning, he saw a tired Danella standing above her sister and offering her hand down to Meghan. As much as he hated the other Lynch sister, never did he wish to see her looking around with eyes darkened with blackness.

“That’s better, Sister. We don’t have to fight anymore.”

“Yes it is, Danella.”

“You finally see, don’t you?”

“I do!”

“Good,” Danella said. “Then we shall fight together, my sister. I see you’re a major now. Congratulations are in order! How about we go find that little wretch, Kayleigh? I’m supposed to capture her, but battles are chaotic and confusing. It would be a shame if she died, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes,” the woman wearing a major’s crest replied. “Yes it would. She’s protected by the duke’s daughter, a capable sorceress.”

“Well, that sounds like a challenge. I think we can take them and since you think what I want you to, I guess we’re in agreement.”

A cruel and uncaring smile spread across Meghan’s face that chilled Majherri’s heart. T’rsa moved, compelled to obey, and went to her rider.

The fight had passed them by. Only a few from each side remained amongst the bodies of the dead and dying. Orgo left a path of devastation going deeper into the city. Four Yar worked as a team to try and down a riderless unicorn. Three of them perished before the last was able to bring the unfortunate female down. Meghan yanked a quiver of arrows from the back of a dead Battle Maiden and slung it over her shoulder before climbing into T’rsa’s saddle.

“We are ready, Mistress.”

“Good, my dutiful sister. Let’s go hunting for little sorceresses. I hear they’re in season.”

Looking at her tresses, Kayleigh said, “Dare I ask? Why green hair?”

Ashlynn laughed at Kayleigh’s dilemma. “I just want to be able to find you during the battle. Honestly, I still haven’t figured out how all you girls can tell which unicorn is which. I can do your unicorn’s too if you want? Besides, I’ll have green hair as well in a sign of solidarity, sister sorceress. Want a roll?”

Having already eaten a light breakfast with Laurel, Tamera, and a few others, Kayleigh shook her colorful head and watched as Ashlynn’s hair took on the same emerald hue as her own.

Munching on one of the rolls, the smaller woman used her other hand and lifted a garment out of a trunk as she continued, “Besides, it goes great with these.”

“And what are those?” Kayleigh asked, looking at the robes her new friend held. They were red, but had a shiny almost metallic quality to them.

“Proper mage attire, novice. You’ll eventually want a set. Father made these for me. It allows for freedom of movement, but is as hard to cut as your chainmail. The spells on them only last for two weeks outside of the box, so you have to use them sparingly.”

A set of green gloves, the same color as their hair, completed the ensemble. “These hold three triggers each for shields.”

“Your father’s work again?”

“Yes, but I do the rest.”

“Why, if he’s better?”

“Would you really want your father enchanting your undergarments?”

“I see your point,” Kayleigh conceded.
Doubly so considering who my father is!

“Are you almost ready, Ashe?” Brian asked from outside the tent. “Too much longer and I fear the battle will be over.”

The sorceress in question rolled her eyes and said, “I want to look my best for the heathens, brother dear. Just give us a few more minutes.”

“We should hurry,” Kayleigh said.

The young woman shrugged and dug out a small jar of what appeared to be white salve and began applying the ivory paste to her cheeks. Kayleigh felt a shiver travel up her spine.

“What in the Goddess’s golden hair is that?”

“Mom’s great with creams. She calls this stuff her death mask. It makes anyone looking at me and wishing to do me harm feel afraid.”

“Why’s it bugging me then?”

“Well, I could say that you’re mad about the hair, but it has a side effect of making your allies nervous. I don’t wear it all that often and I’ll be paying for it all week trying not to break out. Still, a minor case of acne is better than being dead. If I had more, I’d do your face too. Can you bring me my wand box?”

Kayleigh grabbed the small wooden case holding roughly a dozen foot-long sticks. Stripped of bark, they were covered in three bands of runes. Each band was a trigger for a spell. As soon as Ashlynn finished with her facial makeup, she selected six and placed three each in the two pouches dangling from her belt.

More time passed before Ashlynn declared herself ready. Outside the tent, Brian waited for them.

He opened his mouth to speak, but his sister cut him off. “I tried to hurry Kayleigh along, but the girl is a hopeless sloth.”

“What?” Kayleigh said, feeling indignant.

“Oh never mind,” the sorceress said. “Are we going to stand here all morning and point fingers, or shouldn’t we be getting to the battle?”

Ashlynn rushed off, leaving the two together looking at each other more than a little confused.

“In fairness, I did try to warn you,” he offered.

Kayleigh smiled and said, “She’s not so bad.”

“You’re still dealing with a first impression, Kayleigh. Give the irritation and annoyance time to fester a little and get back to me.”

Quietly, they walked to the staging area and he broke the silence and said, “I’m with the main group, so I guess this is where we part ways. Fight well, milady. You still owe me a chat.”

“Fight well and stay safe, Brian,” she replied with a twinge of awkwardness in the moment.

I suppose the imaginary version of me is caught up in his fierce embrace this very second!

Even the thought was enough to give her a bit of heat in her cheeks as she walked toward the smaller group of thirty riders.

“Aw,” Ashlynn said, standing next to several Battle Maidens. “No kiss? First you keep me waiting for all that time in the tent, and then I run ahead to give you two some privacy.”

Fuming, Kayleigh walked toward her tormentor while the others enjoyed a laugh at her expense.

“You know something, Ashlynn? Your face paint is starting to bother me more. I think I might be getting closer to wishing you bodily injury.”

The young woman opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by her father. “You’ve had your fun, daughter. It’s time to get serious.”

He opened a long, thin wooden box and the makeup cracked from Ashlynn’s wide grin.

“A siege staff. For me?”

“Yes, daughter. Your group will appear to be attacking as a normal formation of Battle Maidens. However, you won’t have many earth maidens with you. The staff should have enough energy to breach the wall in their stead.”

General Jyslin took over the briefing. “Major Lynch will evaluate the situation and make the decision to penetrate the city. Remember, you are a feint. Withdraw when you’ve lured their warriors to the area.”

The major spoke up. “If you become separated and find yourself in the city, move inward and either seek out our forces near the main gate or find a defensible area with your unicorn and hold it. Do not overlook possible aid from the citizens of Pinella. They have suffered under the yoke of the Yar for more than two weeks. I expect they will rise against their oppressors, if given the opportunity.”

“Trust your training and trust your unicorns,” General Jyslin said as her eyes moved slowly across the collected warriors and their mounts. “Look at the riders next to you, they are your sisters. Fight for them as they would in turn for you. I task each of you with the responsibility to bring yourself, your unicorn, and as many of your sisters through this day as possible. Know that I am proud to have served with each and every one of you. Often, I refer to you as my daughters, but not after today. Today as I look around, I see only my equals - sisters one and all!”

The noise from the cheering was remarkable for the size of the group. Unicorns neighed loudly and beat their hooves on the ground.

The general held her sword high in the air as the noise dropped down. “Safe journey to each of you. Remember all the reasons you go to battle and fight with honor, duty, and determination. Show all the kingdoms of this land that freedom is always worth fighting for!”

Jyslin’s gaze settled on Kayleigh with that last sentence and the young sorceress understood the deeper meaning behind her words. She nodded to the woman riding Rheysurrah. The group cheered once more as General Jyslin turned to join the main force.

“Ladies, unicorns,” Major Lynch ordered. “Mount up.”

Iarisha gave Kayleigh a friendly nudge. The female unicorn didn’t possess Majherri’s arrogance or Rheysurrah’s haughtiness. She was pleasant and rather unassuming, which Kayleigh found to be a nice change. There was no bias, no blame, and no comparisons between her and Iarisha’s previous rider. Even with Majherri, Danella had always been lurking in the background. That turned out to be more true than Kayleigh had thought.

“Thank you for being a friend to me,” she said while placing her hand on the side of the unicorn’s head.

“I’m touched Kayleigh,” a voice from behind said. “I know we’ve just barely met and all, but I like you too.”

“I was talking to my unicorn, Ashlynn. Still, I guess it goes for you as well.”

The younger Lady Tomas chuckled and climbed into the saddle of a white horse. Leaning forward, she mumbled a spell and the horse sprouted an impressive illusionary horn. “Look, I’m a Battle Maiden now too!”

Kayleigh wanted to groan as Brian’s sister lined up next to her. Instead, her reply was, “Stick close to me and I’ll do my best to protect you.”

“Funny,” the young woman said. “I was about to say the same thing.”

Bows weren’t really the weapon of choice for the Yar, who favored javelins and spears, but there were still plenty of arrows to shield against as they drew closer to the city walls.

“What in blazes is that?” one of the riders near her shouted.

Kayleigh’s eyes were drawn toward a shimmering column on the wall. It hurt to look at with the sun’s rays reflecting off of it. For a second, she couldn’t be certain what it was until she realized that the column was a living thing and it was moving. It was some kind of giant snake.

“That thing needs to die!” Ashlynn shouted.

“I thought you liked shiny things,” Kayleigh retorted while an arrow or crossbow bolt bounced off the magical shield she had conjured around her and Iarisha. Not holding an actual shield made her an inviting target and, for a change, she didn’t mind the attention because it meant someone else wasn’t being fired on.

“I hate snakes more! Let me take care of the wall and then I’ve got something special in mind for it!”

With a trilling war cry that sounded terribly out of place, Ashlynn hurled the staff at the walls of Pinella from an impossibly long distance. The weapon sprouted wings and glided like a bird into the side of the stone wall. When it struck, Kayleigh felt a shockwave pass through the ground beneath them. Cupping her hand, she lobbed a fireball in the direction of the giant snake. It snapped to the side and avoided her attack, baring fangs at the riders below and promising certain death.

“Circle around!” Lynch bellowed. “We’re not going in with that thing there!”

“Then watch this!” Ashlynn yelled and threw her arms to the sky. A pillar of blue energy descended from the air above and bathed the monster in eldritch energy, killing several warriors near it. Kayleigh realized this must be the celestial bolt her father had previously mentioned, energy drawn directly from the realm of the Goddess. It was awe inspiring and looked every bit as powerful as the fireshade.

The serpent faltered and fell off the wall to the cheers of the riders and Major Lynch seized on the momentum. “Into the city! Through the breach! Reese! On point and give me a fireshade to clear the way!”

Kayleigh turned hard and sent Iarisha toward the largest gap in the wall as the unicorn accelerated, all four legs clawing at the ground beneath as the girl began summoning the most powerful weapon in her arsenal. Dropping her active magic shield, she activated one of the shield triggers Ashlynn had made for protection. Sparing a glance backward at Ashlynn, she started to shout that it was her turn when the serpent suddenly lashed out at the fake unicorn the sorceress rode.

Kayleigh’s concentration faltered as she saw the creature close and she almost lost her fireshade. The heat distortions obscured her view for a moment, but then she felt a sudden weight behind her and a pair of arms grab onto her with a deathgrip.

“That things still alive!” Ashlynn said, appearing on the back of Kayleigh’s saddle, saved by one of her evasions. “How?”

Kayleigh, grateful that the other girl was still alive said, “I don’t know! Hang on!”

Throwing her energy into the fire magic, Kayleigh, her passenger, and Iarisha went through the broken wall. Something sizable slammed against her protective shield just before Kayleigh released it and the terrifying power at her disposal.

Kayleigh knew from experience that the center of a fireshade detonation was a strange and wondrous place. For a brief moment, the world ceased to exist and it was like all those tales of how the Goddess called forth her fire and created this realm. Perhaps it was the closest thing a mortal being could come to that kind of majestic power.

That feeling was tempered with the knowledge that the other side of the fireshade was not a wondrous place at all. The world returned with a rush and Kayleigh saw the effects of her power. Her flawed attempt at creating a new realm only served to bring death and devastation to this one.

“That was astounding!” Ashlynn shouted with enthusiasm. “Let’s do that again!”

A wave of shock and confusion passed through both unicorn and rider as each collectively wondered about the young woman’s sanity.

“Not right now,” Kayleigh said, panting. She realized it had taken too much out of Iarisha. “She needs a minute to recover. Can you protect us?”

“Of course! See, I told you I’d be the one protecting you! When are you going to realize that I’m always right?”

The sorceress expended some of her power and Kayleigh saw a nearby warrior tossed aside like a child’s rag doll.

“You thought that snake was dead!” Kayleigh said.

“A fair point,” Ashlynn conceded as the other maidens rode by them into combat.

“Move it, Reese! We need you in the fight!”

Kayleigh heard Meghan Lynch’s orders and smiled slightly, knowing that some things would never change.

“Come on, Risha!”

Tossing the first of several fireballs, Kayleigh was just getting her figurative legs under her when she saw a massive form charging toward them and felt the ground quiver in fear at what was coming.