Unicorn Bait (20 page)

She sat down at the table to think. Other than something very drastic, she didn’t know what to do. Where was Mr. Squibbles? He could surely come to her. She climbed underneath the bed, ignoring how ridiculous her actions were and put her face to the mouse hole.

“Mr. Squibbles, where are you? What’s going on? Mr. Squibbles,” she called. She heard the door unlock, and she scrambled out from under the bed eager to see Yula.

“Lady Naomi?” Naomi winced. It wasn’t Yula. She straightened and began brushing dust bunnies off of her dress.

“A candle rolled under the bed. I can’t get it,” she lied. Mrs. Boon pursed her lips. She set the tray she carried onto the table.

“Where’s Yula?” she asked.

“Yula is tending to other matters this morning.” Naomi frowned. She’d wanted to see her friend.

“What about Tavik?”

“Lord Tavik is tending to other matters,” Mrs. Boon answered.

Feeling a trend, she asked, “What about Geoff?”

“Tending to other matters.”

“It's a shame everyone is so busy. Thank you for bringing me my breakfast. I’m sure you have other matters to tend to.” Mrs. Boon didn't reply. She cautiously sat down in front of the tray. She didn’t feel comfortable eating with Mrs. Boon. She wasn’t comfortable with Mrs. Boon period. The housekeeper hadn’t been a fan of hers when she’d first stayed in the castle.

“When will Lord Tavik be able to see me?” She took a sip of her milk. Mrs. Boon shrugged.

“Our lord is very busy. I don’t know when he’ll have time to see you.”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the housekeeper. “He does know I’m back, doesn’t he?” she asked.

Mrs. Boon shrugged again, but she thought she detected a malevolent glint in her eyes. “I’m sure someone will tell him.”

“He’ll want to know I’m here.”

She nodded, but it was insincere. “I’m sorry, my lady, but like you observed before, I am very busy. Please excuse me.”

“Wait!” She got up to follow the housekeeper to the door. Mrs. Boon opened the door and moved to close it. She grabbed the door and pulled it open. Two guards turned toward her.

“You can’t keep me prisoner!”

“Of course not, milady. These guards are merely here for your safety,” she assured her. She tugged hard on the door. Not seeing any point in struggling, she let it go, and it slammed shut. She thought she heard Mrs. Boon stumble back and curse. The lock clicked again. She could not believe how lousy her situation was. She was being kept prisoner in a castle she was supposed to practically rule. She sat down and stared at her breakfast. Tavik didn’t know she was back. She was sure of that. How could they keep her a secret from him? The thought that Geoff was in on the subterfuge upset her. She didn’t think Yula was, but maybe they’d gotten her out of the way somehow or maybe she was gone to live with her sons. She hoped she wasn't locked up like her. Where were Mr. Squibbles and Agatha? Did they know this would happen when they brought her back? If not, what were they doing to remedy the situation? If they knew, how could they have led her into it? She pushed her eggs around on her plate. She felt betrayed, but she didn’t know by whom. What if Tavik knew and had ordered this? The thought made her cold.

The rest of the morning passed slowly and unremarkably. No one came to see her, and it looked like no one would bring her lunch. She was going stir crazy. All she could do was pace, and her feet were beginning to hurt due to all the pacing. She flung herself into a chair and put her head in her hands. Where was Tavik? Where were Agatha, Yula, and Mr. Squibbles for that matter? It was like she’d been forgotten. This was a fine homecoming. She’d given up her nice normal job, nice comfy apartment, and nice loving family for imprisonment, abandonment, and boredom induced insanity. Nothing about her new situation was nice. It was as far from nice as she could think without physical pain coming into the picture. See, a silver lining, she told herself.

“You don’t look very happy.” Seeing the mouse emerge from under the bed, she dropped from the chair and scrambled on hands and knees to him. Mr. Squibbles backed up as if to run back under the bed. She stopped herself from lunging at him but just barely.

“Where have you been? Where is everyone? What’s going on?”

“It seems things have grown worse since Agatha and I were last in the castle. Tavik has fallen severely ill. He’s confined to his bed. Agatha can’t get to him.”

Her stomach dropped at the news. “How sick is he? What’s happened?”

Mr. Squibbles shook his head. “Errilol most likely has upped the ante, but we can’t be sure. The lummoxes have gotten it into their heads that maybe Agatha caused the illness. They found her examining Tavik last night and restrained her. She’s being held in the dungeon.” So the castle did have a dungeon. She hoped it wasn’t as awful as she’d imagined.

“They still don’t know she’s his mother?”

“And they won’t believe it if they’re told now.”

“What about Yula?”

He shook his head again. “I can’t find her. I don’t think she’s in the castle.”

She went to the window to stare blindly out. “What can we do?”

“Don’t worry, Naomi. Agatha and I will think of something.”

A thought struck her. “What about the unicorn horn? I could teleport out of here. Maybe to Tavik!” She went to get the horn out of her cloak.

“No, it’s too dangerous.” She held the horn in her hands, not ready to be dissuaded.

“We don’t have any other options. I’m locked in my room with guards at the door, Agatha’s in the dungeon, and Yula’s MIA. What else can we do?”  

“Just hold off on the alicorn for a little bit. Let me look for Yula again. You were the one who warned that the horn might drop you into a place that would kill you just by appearing there.”

“Yeah, but I know where Tavik’s room is. I know what it looks like. I should be able to teleport directly there.”

“Yes, but Tavik is never alone. Mrs. Boon has healers from the temple of Calax with him all day, and guards are stationed at his door day and night. You wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“There has to be something.”

“Give Agatha and me more time. We’re sure to come up with something.” Naomi tucked the unicorn horn away reluctantly. She hated sitting on her hands, but Mr. Squibbles was right. Accidentally teleporting into a volcano wouldn't help anyone. “I’m going back to Agatha. I’ll come back when we have a plan. Don’t worry yourself too much. We’ll get through this.” She nodded, and the mouse disappeared back underneath the bed. She turned back to the window and watched the people bustle about below.

It was well past lunchtime when Naomi finally got a human visitor, though she would’ve preferred Umbreks to Mrs. Boon. The housekeeper marched in with a tray of food. She didn’t nod her head or give any greeting when she entered, which irritated her. She was not going to be ignored. When Mrs. Boon set down the tray and turned to leave, she was standing at the door, ready to fight her for some answers.

“How long do you think you’re going to keep me here?”

Mrs. Boon folded her hands across her stomach and answered in a placid voice, “When Lord Tavik is well again, we’ll let him decide what to do with you.” 

“Who’s making the decisions while he’s ill?”

“No one is making any decisions right now. Lord Tavik will recover soon.”

“You think Agatha put a spell on him.”

Her eyes slanted to her. “And what do you know about the witch? Are you in league with her?”

Naomi knew she should keep her mouth shut, but being locked in her room all day was making her desperate. “Agatha wants to help Tavik. She wouldn’t dream of hurting him.” Though drugging and kidnapping him were another matter, she reminded herself.

“Did you know we thought you were the witch when she appeared at the castle after your disappearance? It just seemed a little too pat. You disappear and a few days later the witch shows up.”

“Well, since Agatha is in the dungeon, and I’m locked in here, that little theory doesn’t hold water anymore, does it?”

“Maybe you’re the witch’s daughter. I can see a slight resemblance.”

Naomi smirked at how wrong and close she had it. “She’s not my mother.”

“Maybe you’re just another witch, and you two are working together to bring down Lord Tavik. I know you’re not Lady Naomi. You know nothing about proper nobility.”  

“You’re right. I’m not the real Lady Naomi, but I’m not a witch either. I am Tavik's wife, and he will tell you the same thing.”

“Unfortunately, our lord isn’t able to vouch for you.”

“Why? How bad is he? I want to see him.”

“Out of the question. You won’t be allowed near Lord Tavik until he is well, and even after that, I doubt he’ll want to see you.”

“This is all one big mistake. Tavik will be happy to see me, I assure you. Maybe if he sees me now, it’ll help him get better.”

Mrs. Boon shook his head. “No, you used magic to weaken Tavik and flee him. You only came back now to seize control of his land. It won’t work.”

“No, that isn’t true. I care for Tavik. I’m sorry that I went away for so long, but we both thought it was for the best that I went home. I thought that was where I should be, but I realized that Tavik’s my home now. I came back for him.”

“But you abandoned him.”

She didn’t know what to say. She was right. “He thought it was for the best too.”

Mrs. Boon strode to the door and rapped on it. It was opened from the other side. She turned to Naomi before stepping out. “Whatever our lord decides to do with you, I hope it is fitting for the pain and anguish you caused him. Because gods help us, he cared for you.” With that last statement, she swept out of the room. Naomi stared at the closed door and felt hollow. 

She sat down at the meal begrudgingly left by Mrs. Boon. She didn’t feel hungry. She felt anxious and useless. The four walls felt like they were closing in on her. She picked at the food and wondered what would happen now.

“Leave any for me?”

She whirled around to look at the mouse. “What’s the plan?”

Mr. Squibbles didn’t reply.

Her jaw dropped. “There’s no plan?”

“Being shackled and kept in a very dark cell is hindering Agatha’s witchy genius. Don’t worry, she’ll think of something.” Naomi felt her stomach twist uncomfortably at the image of Agatha’s situation.

“Have you learned anything new?” she asked.

“Nothing encouraging. What about you?”

She shook her head. “They think Agatha and I worked together to make Tavik sick, and that we’re trying to seize control, but they’re going to wait until Tavik's better to decide what to do with me.”

“Or until he dies. I went to his bedchamber. He’s very sick, Naomi. He’s feverish and delusional. The priests don’t know what to do to help him.”

The news was bleak. A plan was coalescing in her brain. “Have you or Agatha come up with any ideas to get her free?”

“I’m going to get her a few things tonight that she can use for a spell. She should be able to free herself, but we don’t know if we’ll be able to do much more than that.”

“Do it. Don’t worry about me. My situation isn’t that bad.”

“But what if--” he began.

She cut him off. “I can’t stand the idea of Agatha sitting in a dungeon. Go get her what she needs. I’ll be fine.” He nodded and left.

She waited to make sure Mr. Squibbles was good and gone. She didn’t want anyone to talk sense to her. She got the unicorn horn out of its hiding place. She stared at the tip and fixed the image of Tavik’s bedroom in her mind. She knew exactly where it was and what it looked like. Once she was sure of her concentration, she stabbed the horn to her finger. She was killing her fingertips with all the teleporting, but she didn’t worry about it. She felt the pull that wasn’t a pull. She'd closed her eyes again without realizing it. Maybe it was like sneezing, she couldn't do it unless her eyes were shut.

Feeling scared that she may have made one massive mistake, she sent up a silent prayer that she'd teleported to Tavik's room and not to some strange new world where dogs played poker and fish rode bicycles. Actually, that would be a neat world to check out, but she really needed to take care of Tavik first. She opened her eyes cautiously.

Chapter 18

Unicorns are peaceful creatures…until crossed. Then they fight dirty.

She looked around, and felt relief cascade over her. It’d worked. She’d teleported into Tavik’s room, not into some fiery hell, not halfway into a wall, or worse into Mrs. Boon’s chamber, and best luck of all, there weren't any healers or guards there to raise an alarm. Her head swiveled to the bed. There was someone in it. She didn’t recognize him at first. The helm threw her off. In her mind, she’d come to picture Tavik without it. He’d told her that he’d put it back on when he returned to the castle. It made sense, and it didn’t, like so much in this world. He worshiped an insane god and hid it from the world by wearing a terrifying mask because his religious beliefs would frighten the townsfolk more. But he didn’t worship Errilol anymore. He’d broken from him, and she was here to help him.

She went to the side of the bed. One of his arms lay above the covers with his hand loosely curled. She picked up his hand. It was heavy and warm in her grasp. She gave it a tender squeeze. He didn’t stir. She couldn’t tell anything with the helm covering his face. She wondered vaguely how the priests examined him wearing it. It wasn’t a problem for her. She let go his hand and reached up remove it. She had it halfway off when he stirred. His hand clamped onto her arm. His grip was like a vice.  

“Let me take this off,” she said in a hushed voice. She didn’t want to alert anyone that she was there. His head rolled toward her on the bed. The eye holes were just black holes to her. She tried to shake his hand off. His grip tightened. “I want to see your face,” she told him.

He didn’t release her arm. She felt coldness creeping up her fingers into her hand due to his bruising hold. She put the horn down to reach with her other hand. He saw the other hand approaching and jerked the arm he held so that she fell across him.

“Who are you?” His voice was ragged. It held mistrust and rage.

“It’s me, Tavik. I came back.”

He twisted the flesh under his grasp. She gritted her teeth at the burning flare. “No,” he whispered.

She nodded her head. “It’s me. Let me see your face. Is it Errilol that’s making you sick?”

At the mention of the god, he dropped her arm. “Fever dream,” he murmured. He turned his head away from her. She grabbed his now lax hand.

“No, I’m real. I’m really here. I’m touching you. Can a hallucination do that?” He sighed and turned himself onto his side away from her. She wondered savagely what the priests had been doing for him. They couldn’t have done freaking much if they’d left the helm on him. They couldn’t have examined him, given him medicine, or anything. Had they shut him away in his room hoping he’d get better on his own? She pulled on his shoulder to make him roll onto his back, but even sick, he was still very strong and big, and she couldn’t manage it.

She ran around the bed to the other side to make him look at her. “Mr. Squibbles fetched me. We repaired the horn that was broken. We used it to come back. Tavik, it’s really me.” She tried to keep her voice down, but her desperation was increasing the volume little by little.

If his eyes were open, they stared right through her. He didn’t think she was real. He was too sick to tell fantasy from reality. She’d fix that soon enough. She moved back to the other side of the bed and picked up the horn. She stared at his curled back. There was a bit of skin showing at the neck of his shirt. She touched the horn to the patch of exposed skin. The horn glowed in her grasp. It felt warm, and the light was gentle, but there was like a sensor in her head that showed how healed he was, and the dial hadn’t moved any yet. The horn continued to grow brighter. The unicorn had fixed her broken arm with only a brief touch, but it wasn’t doing anything for Tavik.  

The horn began to feel very hot. Tavik didn’t appear to feel a thing. She felt a sob rise in her throat. Why wasn’t this working? She had to switch hands because the horn was beginning to burn. The light kept growing brighter. The guards were going to notice. She smelled the sickening familiar scent of burning flesh, and again it was her own.

“Why aren’t you getting better? You have to get better.” Tears rolled down her face. He didn’t stir.

The door crashed open. The bright light had finally roused the guards. They had swords drawn. “Stop witch!”

She stayed rooted in her spot holding the burning horn. The guards took action and rushed her. They grabbed her and hauled her away. The horn’s light flared and went out. She tried to struggle out of their grip to get back to Tavik, but she was weak with pain. She tried to plead with them.

“Let me go. I have to help him.”

“And how are you helping him? To an early grave?”

“No, you don’t understand. It’s not me who’s hurting him.”

“Who is it then?”

As if in answer, deep laughter echoed around the room. Everyone froze. The dimly burning fire whooshed to monstrous life. Its color changed from orange to green, and a face appeared within the flames. “He will always be mine, unicorn mistress.”

It was Errilol. The god had come to stop her. She was able to free herself from the guards. They weren’t paying any attention to her anymore. They were staring at the fireplace in terror. An angry, insane god was in the room with them. They should be afraid. She was afraid too, but she was also furious.

“He doesn’t serve you anymore!” she screamed at the green fire.

“That is why he will die.”

“No, I won’t let you!” She lurched forward to touch Tavik again with the horn, but the green fire belched a ball of flame that swept over him and his bed. It knocked straight into her and threw her and the two dumbfounded guards back into the wall. The force of the god’s assault left her breathless, but it hadn’t hurt her much. She was still standing, still conscious, and she still had the horn. The green fire faded back to orange. Errilol had withdrawn. She sagged against the wall in relief. 

More guards had come to the doorway. They were staring at her. They appeared horrified. She pushed herself off the wall to face them. Two strange thumps sounded on either side of her. She thought the two guards had merely passed out. She looked down at them. Black spots erupting in her vision to block out what she saw. They were burned beyond recognition. Their flesh was black and charred on top and red in pulpy in the cracks visible underneath. She stumbled away and fell against the side of the bed.

“Get away from Lord Tavik, witch!” one of the guard’s in the doorway shouted.

She turned wide eyes at them. They thought she’d murdered their comrades. Their swords were drawn and leveled at her. They were going to kill her if she didn’t escape somehow. She fumbled with the horn. Her burnt hands were not working. Instead of moving the horn to prick herself she had to stab her wrist on it. It slashed across her arm.

She staggered up the step to Agatha’s cottage. All the windows were dark. She moved to pull open the door but cried out when she tried to open her empty hand. Her other hand clutched the horn. She couldn’t open that hand either. She banged the side of her fist against the door and cried out through clenched teeth at the shock of pain it caused. She turned around and slid down the door. What good was the cottage, anyway? No one was inside. There was no help. Her eyes slipped shut.

Awaken. Naomi lifted her head to find the woods shrouded in mist. It made goose bumps ripple up across her arms. She looked at her hands and saw they were healed. Not a twinge of pain remained in them. They’d healed while she slept. Tears of relief stung her eyes. She wouldn’t have been able to do anything with her hands crippled. She didn’t understand how they’d healed since the burns were made by the horn so it couldn’t have healed them, but it was a blessing that they were. She rose to her feet to look around. She didn’t know what had woken her, but she didn’t feel alone. A glimmer of white caught her attention. A unicorn stepped out from among the trees. Another glimmer of white appeared to her right. She turned her head to find another unicorn. Her mouth fell open as unicorn after unicorn appeared out of the woods.

“What’s going on?”

They needed her help. She was startled by the appeal. She didn’t know what to ask first. How could she help them? Why did they need her? What could she do? The unicorns heard her silent questions, and the answers slid into her mind like the mist around her, shrouding her with information. She stood still as she absorbed all they wanted her to do. When they were done, she nodded to indicate she understood and accepted. The unicorns slipped back into the woods leaving her alone again.

Mumbling an apology to Agatha, she forced her way into the witch’s cottage. She began grabbing what she needed. She took a cloak down from a peg and picked up an empty wineskin. She spotted the magic shield that she’d used against the Golgoffs. Her arm gave a phantom throb as she hefted it. It was as cumbersome as before, but its benefits canceled out all the drawbacks. She pictured the destination the unicorns had given her and pricked herself.

The wind made her stagger. She didn’t know the name of the place she was. The unicorns had only given her a picture. It was a narrow path on the side of mountain. It was dark so she couldn’t see much, but she knew the path. She planted the tip of the shield in the ground and huddled behind it. To her amazement, the shield more than sheltered her; it threw the wind back so that the force didn’t affect her. Keeping herself behind the shield, she began making her way up the trail. The shield was heavy, and she paused a few times to rest her arm, but as the wind howled around her, she knew she would have been blown off the mountain without it. If Agatha was the one who’d made the shield, she could make a tidy living selling them. Naomi would buy one.

She finally could make out the cave entrance in front of her. She redoubled her efforts with the goal in sight. Once she was inside and out of the hurtling winds, she put the horn’s tip to her lips and blew a warm breath across it. It began to glow and became bright enough to light her way. Another trick the unicorns had shown her, though they of course didn’t need to blow across the tip to make their horns glow. She walked further into the cave. There was some light beside the horn. There were markings painted with some sort of luminescent substance that glowed a dull red. She didn’t know what the markings meant but could feel some sort of purpose emanating from them. She raised the horn closer to one and both glowed brighter. She didn’t dare actually touching the horn to the symbol.

When she went around a bend in the cave, she came upon a sparkling spring. This was her goal. She submerged her wineskin and filled it with the mysterious water. When full, she put the stopper back in and slung it onto her arm. A crisp breeze that felt like a sigh passed over her. She paused a moment and bowed low to the back of the cave. A blue light flared in acknowledgment and blessing. The being at the back of the cave was Calax, the god she’d heard so many people refer to in exclamation. The unicorns had sent her here because he was one of the few who would offer help against Errilol.

When she made her way back out of the cave and back down the trail, the unicorns were waiting. They watched her silently. Their manes and tails whipped about them. She brushed her hand over the wineskin and nodded. They winked away. She pricked her finger.

She returned to Tavik’s room ready to fight her way to his bed, but the room was empty again except for him. She couldn’t believe that they hadn’t posted a guard within the room, but their stupidity helped her. It was one less obstacle she would have to deal with. She took a chair and jammed it against the door to keep the guards out this time. The sound alerted those posted at there, and they began banging on it from the other side. She turned a deaf ear to them.

She strode to the bed and flung away his mask. She hoped to never see him wearing it again. She raised his head to put the wineskin’s spout against his lips. She filled his mouth with the holy water. He sputtered and flailed weakly, but his eyes didn’t flutter. She tightened her hold to keep his head steady. When he swallowed, his lips turned blue. She watched the transformation in grim silence. Errilol leapt to life again in the fireplace. Her eyes slanted to the shield. She’d leaned it against the bed to free her hands but couldn’t stop now to retrieve it and use it to protect herself. Tavik hadn’t drunk enough. If she stopped now, Errilol would reclaim him. Tavik’s breath came out as cold mist. His body temperature dropped more with every sip he took.

“Stop, bitch!”

She ignored the god and continued to give Tavik the water. Fire swarmed out of the fireplace. It licked over the ceiling, the floor, and the walls. She didn’t budge. The heat scorched the soles of her shoes. Sweat broke out all over her body only to evaporate in the burning room.

Frost spread across Tavik’s cheeks. His eyes had opened. They stared at her, but there was no light in them. A pang of fear went through her. He looked dead. She bent her head to kiss his forehead. Her lips were seared by his chill. She poured the last of the water into his mouth. She watched his throat convulse one last time and then he went completely still. His skin turned white with a blue sheen. She laid him back onto the bed. She crossed his hands and closed his eyes. The bottoms of her shoes had melted away. Her feet cooked on the burning floor.

“What have you done?” roared the god. She picked up her shield. It was cool to the touch. It hadn’t absorbed any of the heat. Agatha really needed to patent this thing. “Answer me!” he roared.