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Spellbound
Alarmed by Zanara-Ki's screams, the women in the encampment had come streaming over the hill, their weapons drawn for battle. They reached the grove just in time to see the unicorn colt vanish.
Gasps of horror swept through the group as Zanara-Ki covered her face with her hands and sobbed. After a few minutes she gained control of herself and looked up at the others.
"I have seen this horror before," she spoke in a choked voice, "when I lived in Queelotoo. All the livestock in the area grew weak and disappeared—first the sheep, pigs, and goats, then the horses, then the chickens, everything. Next it affected the plants, and soon there was nothing to harvest. The people were starving. That is how Ankzar was able to enslave the surrounding areas so easily."
Pelu put her arm around Zanara-Ki, who had once again covered her face with her hands as if trying to block out the memories. "Is this some mighty plague?" Pelu asked.
"Or is it some foul magic?" asked Illyria as she stood surveying the rest of the herd.
"Some thought it a disease," Zanara-Ki told her. "But from the things I heard in Ankzarts palace, I know it was a spell. Local sorcerers tried to help the people by telling them the words I just spoke. Sometimes it worked. Mostly it didn't. Their magic was weak compared to the power of the spell."
"And what did Ankzar have to do with it?" Dian asked.
"That I do not know. I only know this curse did not touch his supplies. He seemed to have endless bounty. In fact, the more ravaged the countryside, the fuller the emperor's own stables and storage bins. Ankzar was served by a very powerful wizard, whom I am sure was responsible for this curse upon the people."
"Does this plague afflict the people still?" asked Myno.
Zanara-Ki shook her head. “The wizard was caught in a plot to overthrow Ankzar and put to death. The curse ended with his murder, but by then the people were too weak to fight. And those who had not been enslaved by Ankzar had grown too used to looking to him for their survival."
"I remember hearing rumors of this," said Nanine, who had once been a princess in a kingdom not far south of Queelotoo. "But Ankzar is many miles away—and, as you said, that wizard is now dead."
"Ankzar must have a new wizard," Zanara-Ki surmised, one who has traveled to this land."
Illyria and Sheila looked at each other. "Mardock!" they both said at once.
"Is there anyone in Queelotoo who knows how to break this spell?" Illyria asked urgently.
"The old wizard had a daughter named Simi. She used to assist him in all his spells, but she disappeared just before his murder. Some say she is dead; others say Ankzar keeps her a prisoner. No one really knows."
Suddenly all eyes turned back to the herd as a spotted mare with an ivory horn neighed pitifully and crashed to her knees. Pelu was instantly at her side. "We must somehow stop this," she said, running her hand through the animal's wheat-colored mane.
"Look!” cried Dian, pointing to a kneeling black filly. The unicorn had already begun to shimmer, and the women watched in horror as it, too, slowly disappeared.
"Shadow!" gasped Pelu, who knew each unicorn by name.
"Myno, stay with the unicorns," commanded Illyria. "Pelu needs to rest.''
Sheila recognized the look on Illyria's face. She had seen it before. Illyria was concentrating on devising the best course of action. In a few hours she would have a plan. Until then she would seem distant and distracted.
“I want to stay," Pelu objected.
"No, I need rested warriors. Come and eat now. Everyone, back to the campsite."
Sheila looked for Morning Star and found her standing beside the spotted mare who had just fallen. Somehow Sheila knew there was a strong connection between the two unicorns.
The spotted animal looked up at Morning Star wearily. Morning Star sputtered and beat the ground restlessly with her hoofs. "That's Eventide, Morning Star's sister," Pelu explained as she headed up the hill with the others. "She's one of the unicorns we freed in Campora."
Morning Star looked at Sheila, her eyes filled with sadness. "You stay here, girl,” Sheila said soothingly. "I'll be close by." She patted Morning Star's neck and then knelt to look at Eventide. "Your sister's here with you," she said, rubbing the unicorn between the ears. "And we'll figure some way to get you well again, don't you worry.”
Sheila turned and walked with the others back to the campsite. She saw that Zanara-Ki had regained her composure and resumed her normal expressionless demeanor.
Dian and Darian walked side by side back up the slope. Sheila realized that Dian wasn't going to make it easy for her to have any time alone with Darian. She wondered if something had happened between those two in the time she had been gone—perhaps a romance had blossomed. She would just have to wait and see.
"A sad time to return to us, I'm afraid," said Nanine, coming up behind Sheila.
"I know," Sheila said. "I knew before I came.”
"I always said you held great magic within yourself, even when you doubted," Nanine declared. "I hope that now you believe it, too."
"I don't know what to think," Sheila admitted. It was true, Nanine had always maintained that the things in Sheila's pack were just tools to harness and direct the power within her. Sheila had thought Nanine was just superstitious. But maybe there was some truth to what she said.
"Well, in any case, I'm here," she said with a sigh, "for all the good it does anybody."
Nanine smiled. "It always does us good to have you with us, my friend. Never doubt that."
"Thanks. It's good to be here, no matter what," Sheila answered sincerely.
As the afternoon shadows lengthened, Sheila helped with some of the chores. She gathered wood for the night fire, carried up fresh water from a stream down below in the forest, and helped Nanine look for tailfeathers to replace those that had come loose from her arrows.
From time to time she stood at the top of the hill and looked down at the herd of unicorns. By sunset she saw that at least fifteen more unicorns were kneeling. She squinted and recognized Morning Star, still standing beside her sister. Intuitively sensing Sheila's gaze, Morning Star raised her head and whinnied unhappily.
Sheila took the last of the carrots from her bag, broke them into pieces, and carried them down to feed the fallen unicorns. "We lost three more since this morning," Myno told her. "I don't know what we can do about it, either."
"Illyrla's been in her tent all day. She'll think of something," Sheila said hopefully. "We saw Mardock today in the forest. Illyria didn't seem to think we'd seen the last of him. Maybe if he comes back we can get him to take this spell off the unicorns."
"Have you the magic to summon him?" Myno asked.
Sheila shook her head. "No, and in fact he has something of mine. He got away with the Tracker I need to call for Dr. Reit when I want to go home."
"Ah, Dr. Reit," said Myno, brightening. “Perhaps his science magic has the answer.”
"Maybe so, but there's no way I can contact him without the Tracker." Sheila sat beside Myno, who had settled on a rock in the middle of the herd. The sunset cast a golden light on all the unicorns as they grazed or knelt in silence.
"You know, Mardock told me he sensed my return," Sheila said after a few minutes. "But I don't believe it. I think he was nearby because he was up to something with these unicorns. I'm sure of it."
"I'm sure of it too," Myno agreed. "Now the question is, do we lay in wait for him or go out searching?"
"He might come back looking for me," Sheila said with a shudder. "He swore he'd get me.”
"Or he might be content for now with what he has and not want to take us all on at once," Myno said.
"That's true, too." Sheila said. For a while she and Myno sat quietly and watched the unicorns. Then the aroma of supper cooking wafted down the hill. It smelled delicious. "Why don't you go eat," Sheila offered. "I'll relieve you for a while."
"Thanks, but I'd rather stay," said Myno, shifting on her broad hips. "Have somebody send me down some food and I'll be fine. You go eat. Your weary face tells me you've had a long day."
Sheila realized she was very tired. A month of the easy life at home had softened her. Gratefully, she said good night to Myno.
When Sheila reached the top of the hill, she saw that the others were already gathered around the fire. Dian was dishing the food out from a tin bowl that had just been taken from the fire. Without a smile she handed a plateful to Sheila.
Sheila sat and looked at the charbroiled meat. The others held it in their hands and seemed to be enjoying it. She picked off a piece, and the tender meat fell apart easily in her hand. She tasted it. "This is good," she commented.
"Dian fixes snake very well," Nanine agreed.
"She would," Sheila replied dryly. Despite an initial surge of revulsion at the news that she was eating snake, it tasted as good as it smelled, and Sheila ate it.
After supper everyone sat around the glowing fire, as was their habit. They usually sang or told stories, but tonight there was silence as each one thought about the fate of the unicorns in the grove below. Illyria had come out of her tent only long enough to get some food and return inside.
"I brought some presents for you," Sheila told the others.
"Let's see," Nanine said eagerly. "All this glumness is doing the unicorns no good. This will cheer us up.”
Sheila dragged her bags near the fire and began going through them."I brought this gold eyeshadow and lip gloss for you, Nanine," she said holding out the makeup. It was nearly new. Cookie had convinced her to buy it, but Sheila had decided the glitter was too far-out for her sporty style.
Nanine took the two compacts into her strong, slender hands as if they were jewels. She snapped open the black plastic case of shadow and studied it. One half was a yellow gold, while the other was a shiny green-gold. "You know I love my gold powder," she said, referring to the loose gilt face powder she always wore at her temples and cheeks. "But I have never seen anything like this. It's so smooth. And what is this case made of? Is it a shell of some kind?"
"It's plastic," Sheila answered. "I can't really explain where it comes from, but it's made by people."
"Made by good wizards, no doubt," said Nanine. "Thank you."
Next Sheila gave Pelu the first-aid kit, Pelu sorted through the bandages, burn cream, and antiseptic spray. "It all looks quite wonderful1" she said happily, "and light enough to carry tied to my saddle. You must explain it all to me, especially these marvelous little knives." She held up a small pair of scissors.
Sheila placed the sneakers she was saving for Myno to one side. Then she pulled out a red case she'd brought for Dian. In it was a pocket mirror that lit up on either side when it was opened. "This is for you," she said.
Dian took the case and snapped it open. "Oh!" she gasped, despite herself. And she grinned at her reflection in the mirror with obvious delight before she remembered to be cool. Then "Thank you," she said stiffly.
"I thought you'd like this," Sheila said to Darian, pulling a T-shirt from her bag. She'd gotten it at a rock concert when she went to see the group Crazy Water. Silkscreened on the front was a cowboy on a brown unicorn. The unicorn was rearing up on its hind legs under a waterfall as the cowboy swung his hat exuberantly in the air.
Darian's eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. "Is this what warriors wear in your world?" he cried in wonder, his sulky frown replaced by a genuine smile of pleasure.
"Well, sort of. Some of them, anyway," Sheila answered.
"And you never told me they have unicorns where you live," he added, pulling the shirt over his head.
“We don't," she said. "We just dream about them."
"This is a wonderful, wonderful garment. It fits me and it's so soft and comfortable," he said proudly. He grew suddenly shy and lowered his gaze. "Thank you, Sheila," he finished simply.
''You're welcome,'' she replied. ''I bought it because it reminded me of you somehow."
To hide a sudden blush, Sheila turned back to her bag. "I brought these hard candies for Kara and Lianne," she said to Zanara-Ki. "But I'll find something for them later. Please accept the gift as my way of saying I'm happy to meet you.”
Zanara-Ki held up her hand and shook her head no,
"We're all just going to eat them up if you don't take them," teased Nanine. "We'll probably eat them up even if you do take them."
A quick smile flashed across Zanara-Ki's stern face and then disappeared. "In that case I will gladly accept them to share with one and all."
“Good," said Sheila, handing her the cellophane-wrapped packages. "One bag is butterscotch, and the other is pepper-mint. They're my favorites."
''I see you've saved the best gift for yourself," said Dian.
"What are you talking about?" Sheila asked.
"That beautiful shiny black sack," Dian said, pointing to the trash bag.
"The garbage bag?" cried Sheila, holding up the crumpled plastic. Actually, she admitted to herself, it would have a lot of uses in this world. It could be a waterproof poncho, ground-cloth, or tent covering. "Here, it's yours," she said, impulsively handing the bag to Dian.
Dian immediately tore the sack down the front and tied it around her shoulders as a cape. "It feels funny,” she laughed, pleased with her new outfit.
At that moment Illyria emerged from her tent and walked slowly over to the fire. Her face was serious, but it softened slightly when she saw her warriors' smiles.
"What have you brought for Illyria?" shouted Dian.
"Here's a figurine I bought to remind me of you," Sheila said, pulling a small ceramic statue from her backpack. It was a white unicorn with a silver horn, rearing up on its hind legs.
Illyria took the statue and studied it. ''It is lovely indeed. I thank you," she said. "Look at the fine details," she marveled “It is as if Quiet Storm posed for it himself,"
The mere mention of the unicorn broke the light mood. All eyes turned to their leader. "I have come up with a course of action," Illyria announced, the campfire reflecting dramatically off her high cheekbones. "Since there are many possibilities here, I want to cover each of them. Therefore, Nanine and Myno will ride back to Campora and consult with Laric. Let him know what is happening, and see if his powers as a mage can aid us in this."
"I'll go tell Myno," Nanine said, rising immediately.
"Pelu and Dian will stay with the sick unicorns," Illyria continued. "I think it best not to move them, weak as they are right now.”
"Let Sheila stay," Dian argued. "I don't want to sit around. I want to do something."
Illyria shot her a stern look. "There will be plenty for you to do if these animals have to be moved suddenly," she said. "We don't know what threats tomorrow holds."
Dian nodded sullenly, knowing it would do no good to argue further.
"Darian, Sheila, and Zanara-Ki will ride with me to Queelotoo. I need Zanara-Ki's knowledge of the area, and Sheila's magic, should we encounter Mardock.” Noticing Darian's expectant expression, Illyria added, "And I need my brother's support as always. I know he is a strong rider for such a long, hard trip."
Illyria abruptly kicked some dirt over the fire, "To sleep," she said. "We rise at dawn tomorrow, and the day promises to be a full one."
Back To Chapter Listings!
Chapter 1: Haunted Days, Sleepless Nights
Chapter 2: Transported
Chapter 3: Return to Campora
Chapter 4: Into the Wilderness
Chapter 5: Reunion
Chapter 6: The Unicorns' Lament
Chapter 8: Stops Along the Way
Chapter 9: The Hickorites
Chapter 10: Across the Unknown Sea
Chapter 11: Queelotoo
Chapter 12: In Ankzar’s Prison
Chapter 13: The Words of Reemergence
Chapter 14: Simi's Revenge
Chapter 15: Sheila’s Magic
Chapter 16: Homeward Bound
Email: Nikki