The Inept Adept & The Almost Last Unicorn Page 6

  On the near side next to the house was a closed lean-to with a small fenced yard in front of it. They were nearly a mile from the lean-to.

  ‘She’s there.’ Lac did not bother to ask if he was certain. He knew Chauncey would not make a mistake. ‘She senses me. Her magic is getting stronger.’

  Lac looked to the cleared area behind and above the ranch house. “If there were boulders up there maybe we could cause an avalanche.’

  ‘That is not a bad idea Lac.’

  “But there aren’t any boulders.”

  Chauncey was quite for a spell then, ‘still, your idea has merit.’

  Lac sighed. Merit? Not without a whole pile of boulders.

  “Where do you think they’re keeping the girl?”

  ‘I would have to say she is prisoner in the ranch house.’

  Actually Lac had already surmised that. The problem was how to get her out of the ranch house and away from the bandits.

  “How many bandits do you think there are?”

  ‘Five bandits arrived on horseback and one on that horse pulled thing…’

  “A wagon.”

  ‘Yes. I perceive another two horses in the barn so that would be eight.’

  “We can’t fight all eight of them.” Chauncey had long ago come to that realization.

  “Chauncey could you…the problem is when we rescue Shastra the bandits will come out of the house.”

  ‘You could rescue Esme while I rescue my mate.’

  “If they’re chasing you how would I and Esme escape?”

  ‘Hmm. I see the problem.’

  “Chauncey I think we’re gonna have to split up. Maybe I could rescue Shastra if she would consent for me to ride her and you could rescue Esme?”

  ‘Lac that is not bad. Shall we ponder together and refine your idea?’

  They did so ponder as the afternoon grew late.

  ‘We should attempt it just before it gets dark.’

  “But Chauncey are you sure? What if…?”

  ‘I have faith in you Lac.’

  “That’s all well and good but it’s you who’ll be injured if you’re wrong.”

  ‘At least Shastra will be rescued.’

  There was no more time to argue. They must be in position before it got too dark.

  Entertaining some misgivings Lac rode atop Chauncey just below the ridge. The plan they decided on was that Lac would take Shastra out of the lean-to and up into a swale between the end of the ridge which met the long slope above the ranch house.

  Chauncey would position himself right behind the room where Esme was being held.

  As Lac waited he was filled with anxiety: what if I cannot…but there are no boulders there…what if Chauncey gets the wrong room?...what if Chauncey is injured…or worse?

  And there it was. That voice again; attitude, attitude. The refrain would not go away. Lac was never as scared at this moment than at any time in his life.

  ***

  The dragon awoke. He awoke hungry and he awoke with a big smile. He could sense much magic. Much closer now. It was time.

  The magic meals were not far he knew if he could sense them so strongly. A dragon’s mind is not one given to introspection yet he wondered why there would be two such strong magicks near all of a sudden.

  Since he had no answer he promptly forgot the question. He rose in the dwarven made cavern. He was impressive he knew and wished other dragons were around to be envious of him. Dragons are very vain and narcissistic. He looked about him and was very pleased with his lair. He did a mental inventory. Everything was fine. He was one of the largest of his kind.

  His kind of dragon was the kind which could breathe fire. And his first stomach was ready for some serious combustion. If dragons could laugh he would have. Instead he worked his muscles to get ready for flight.

  He expanded his chest and the fire grew within. He let out a small stream out his nostrils for a test. It’d been years after all. But the dragon was satisfied.

  He let out a large blast and the area which had once been the gate to the outside world melted. He moved his bulk to the opening and looked out. It wasn’t dark yet. His little brain considered that.

  Being black and going up against two magicks, one a unicorn, made him think he should wait for nightfall. He had no problem with that. The dragon laid down on the edge of the portal. He knew the reward for waiting would be well worth it.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Lac slipped off Chauncey’s back carefully so not to spill the unicorn’s tears. Finding his way down the swale to the lean-to was not arduous given that only scraggly bushes unfit for even kindling dotted the hillside. Of course, tree stumps littered the whole valley, the sides of the hills and the slope to the rear of the ranch house.

  The only difficulty would be if one or more of the bandits left the ranch house and walked to the lean-to or even looked up the swale as Lac descended.

  Or, happen to notice a large white unicorn carefully picking his way across the slope above the bandits’ dwelling.

  Yet, as Lac neared the lean-to he could smell the cook fires. Or more precisely smell what was being cooked. He realized it must be near the bandits’ dinner time and breathed more easily.

  Lac at first thought he’d go behind the lean-to and make his presence known. But when he was still some twenty yards from the structure he heard in his head, ‘who are you?’

  Lac quickly looked to where Chauncey was working his way through the tree stumps on the slope. He was not paying any attention to Lac. Must be Shastra.

  “You can hear me and are you Shastra?”

  ‘Yes to both. You are not that stealthy…for a human sneaking up to me.’

  “I’ve come to rescue you. I’m Lac a friend of Chauncey.”

  ‘He is here…oh, I thought so but I was afraid to believe it. It has been so long. So very long.’

  “I’ll be there in just a minute…hold on.”

  Lac moved with more confidence. He understood that unicorns had greater hearing than humans and he assumed that the bandits were too interested in their coming supper for the little noise he made. He reached the back of the lean-to and was shielded from any cursory look from the ranch house.

  The lean-to was built poorly and he looked between boards nominally called a wall to locate Shastra. He almost dropped Chauncey’s tears. He was silent and hoped he wouldn’t cry.

  He whispered, “what have they done to you?” He really was only talking to himself.

  ‘They have not treated me well though I suppose they have not really harmed me either.’

  Lac saw the bandits had placed a large cone, what appeared to be made of iron, attached to the head of Shastra. Her legs were hobbled. The whiteness he had come to associate with unicorns was not present. She was mottled and mangy. And she was hardly more than skin and bones.

  “Shastra, our plan…can you actually carry me on your back?”

  ‘Yes. Once free of these encumbrances your magic will aid me. Do you desire to have a ride?’

  “Ah, well…it’s part of our plan.” He didn’t really want to ride her as he didn’t know if she could carry him. Plus without a saddle he might himself be injured.

  ‘Is it a good plan?’

  “Well, um, sure.” He didn’t want her to lose confidence and for some reason his confidence had gained a degree or two.

  “I’ll just put his tears down and slip in. The boards are not well fastened.”

  He placed the cup of tears down in a slight depression so it would not spill. He forced his way into the lean-to without much noise.

  ‘Yes. I can hear you Chauncey. It is so good to…yes. I will do what Lac wants. We will talk soon.’

  ‘Lac, Chauncey told me to tell you he is in position.’

  Lac nodded as he looked at the hobbles. They were iron as well.

  ‘Lac, take the cone off my horn first. The key is by the walkway leading out.’

  It took Lac only a few seconds to spot the key. Big
and heavy. However, it worked easily enough and the lock holding the cone in place came off. He tenderly took the cone off her horn.

  ‘Ahhhh. Thank you, thank you so much.’ Shastra breathed deeply. ‘Now the other locks.’ This Lac did. He also found a sharp blade from a broken hoe and cut the restraining leash from around her neck.

  ‘Lac, I am ready. It will soon be dark so you need to start the avalanche. Do not fret. When you are astride Shastra your magic will work well. Have confidence.’

  Lac hoped Chauncey was right. He peeked out of the entry of the lean-to. No one was about. He nodded and walked out looking toward the ranch house. Shastra followed. Once clear of the lean-to he retrieved the cup of Chauncey’s unicorn tears.

  He stood atop a tree stump and gently, very gently mounted Shastra. She immediately walked up the swale in the reverse from where Lac had walked down.

  “Okay. Well…heeere…”

  ‘Hold one moment Lac,’ Shastra asked. ‘Dip your fingertips into the tears first. That will give your magic an increase of power.’

  Lac shrugged. He hadn’t heard of that but then again much of what he had experienced in the last week he had not studied. He dipped the fingertips of his right hand into Chauncey’s tears.

  The sensation was nothing like tears or what he had presupposed these tears might feel like. For one thing the unicorn tears were more viscous, almost like an oil though more so. Two, they weren’t white but opaque and kind of grayish.

  “Ready everyone?”

  ‘Yes Lac,’ said the unicorns.

  “Heeere goes.” Lac hurled the cup rather than threw it. He didn’t want to spill any of the tears. He had a good arm and could bring down a pheasant at forty yards so he assumed the cup which weighed nearly the same as a throwing stone might go more than thirty. He was wrong.

  It went well over a hundred yards. Well up the denuded slope.

  The cup hit the ground and exploded. The whitish gray fluid went in all directions as one might expect except that for the most part the tears went sideways. Lac was focusing on the tears. It was what Chauncey had told him to do.

  The unicorn tears fell on the slope parallel to the ranch house and wider than the ranch house. Still Lac couldn’t conceive of how this would cause an avalanche when no boulders were evident.

  ***

  The dragon looked out the portal. He was impatient; he was hungry. It wasn’t quite fully dark but…

  Dark enough, he thought. He gathered himself and sprung out the portal. His wings unfolded and he hit a thermal and soared.

  It felt soooo good. He loved the wind against his face. He was as happy as a dragon could be.

  ***

  Lac focused on the slope. He knew Shastra and Chauncey were doing the same. He felt better than good. He felt this is truly magic. He could feel it deep within him. Not too dissimilar to the feeling he got when he ran fast. He was the fastest in the village from an early age.

  During races he alleged only the tips of his toes touched the ground. And the feeling within hm as he ran was incredibly unique and different from any other feeling he had had. He could never explain it well but it was like being shifted to a dimension next to but still aware of the reality everyone else was experiencing.

  As he sprinted he could see the ground as he passed over it. He could feel the breeze as he passed through it. He could see out of the corners of his eyes his competitors. He could see the spectators though he didn’t hear them. But everything seemed to occur as if in a dream; almost in slow motion.

  And even more amazing, he could tell his reality in those moments was different from what he and everyone else experienced day to day. The feeling wasn’t one of euphoria nor did he feel ‘high.’ He did feel altered with a sort of contentment and a joy. It really was impossible to explain it if you haven’t experienced it.

  The feeling he now was experiencing was reminiscent of some of these same qualities. It wasn’t relief and he didn’t feel altered from strong drink or from what some of the healing drugs might generate. Yet the feeling was sublimely beautiful.

  He lowered his head to concentrate. He was aware that Chauncey had his rear end next to the wall at the back of the ranch house. He knew that Chauncey had lowered his head and pointed his horn at the supposed avalanche. He concentrated.

  There was a noise like a rumbling. It came from beneath the ground on the slope. It was a little ominous but Lac continued to concentrate. Then the sound of a dam breaking was heard. Lac couldn’t help himself. He looked up.

  Surging down the slope was a flood. It was a flood of mud. It was surprisingly high and unbelievably fast. It hit the ranch house in seconds with devastating force.

  The flood of mud not only went over the ranch house in places but through it as well. The ranch house was completely inundated except for the spot where Chauncey stood with head orn touching the ground. The mud flowed around him and passed him by.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The walls blocked some of the force of the mudslide. Yet, the descending mud pushed most everything before it. The poorly constructed house could not completely block the onrushing mud nor did it want to. In parts, the walls flattened with the mud streaming through the rooms. In other parts the mudslide pushed the house off its nonexistent foundation.

  The roof either collapsed when the mud moved through a room or rested on the mud filling up a room. The mud reached the front of the house and even pushed past where the front door had been. The mud flowed past on either side of the ranch house.

  The bandits were yelling or cursing or both.

  They briefly ceased all verbal exclamations when they heard wood being kicked. They heard Esme scream. Chauncey had been correct in his estimation where the bandits were keeping her. Within a very short time Chauncey kicked a large hole in what was left of the back wall of the ranch house. The back wall of the room Esme was held in.

  Esme saw Chauncey peer in the hole and screamed again. Some intuition made the bandits connect the mudslide, the kicking of the back wall and their hostage screaming.

  The bandits reacted in the only way they could. They tried to wade through the mud to the room which contained Esme. They grabbed whatever weapons they could find and their saddle bags.

  Esme for some reason would not move. Then all of a sudden she ran to the door of her erstwhile prison. She flung open the door. Mud was everywhere. Immediately the mud, since the opportunity presented itself, happily began to leek into the room. She watched the bandits gather their important possessions and head for her.

  She screamed again and backed into the room. The doorway had already filled with too much mud to close the door and quickly oozed further into the room. She backed away from the oncoming sludge. The bandits were determined to reach her though they were having a hard time slogging through thigh or knee high mud.

  She looked at the hole in the back wall of the room. Chauncey stood outside it. He hadn’t moved. She made her decision. She went through the hole. She stood and looked at the hillside. She was unsure what to do. The mud was everywhere except around her and Chauncey. He snorted. She looked all around and her wild eyes eventually settled on Lac astride Shastra.

  Lac made a gesture. She looked at Chauncey who moved to allow Esme access to mount him. Once the decision was made she easily scrambled up and straddled Chauncey’s broad back. After all, she had been born and raised on a working farm. She held his mane expertly and her seat was superb.

  Once Esme was sitting astride Chauncey he bent his head and touched the mud with his horn. It instantly became a solid mass of dirt and debris. He trotted up and over the newly shaped slope. He reached Lac and Shastra.

  Esme was still a little shaken but you don’t live in the wilderness and not develop an ability to adjust and adapt. She looked at Lac, “who are you?”

  ‘We should leave Lac.’

  “Right you are Chauncey. Esme, I’m Lac and this is Shastra and you are riding Chauncey. I’m a mage and we’re here to rescue you
.” He saw a bandit and another climb out of the hole. “Let’s go.”

  They headed down the swale and through the valley. They could hear the shouts of the bandits though the yelling and cursing wasn’t particularly distinct. They didn’t really need to know what was specifically being said by the bandits. They assumed the bandits would extricate themselves from the mud, saddle their horses and come after them. Their assumption was correct.

  Because Shastra was somewhat infirm they did not ride at full speed. She was given frequent rests. It gave time for Lac and Esme to chat.

  “You came to rescue me?”

  Lac nodded.

  “Thank you so much. These bandits are not very nice people. What did my father have to pay to make you take up this quest?”

  “Ah, well, actually nothing.” Lac could see Esme was about his age but was very different than Nadilia. Esme was taller, very slender with black curly hair and green eyes. She had a beautiful olive complexion. Lac thought her gorgeous. He had a hard time not staring.

  The women of his village tended to blond or light brown hair and were very fair. Esme was completely the opposite. Another differing aspect which he was learning which separated Esme from the women of his acquaintance was she was much more blunt than the girls he grew up with and around. She looked back at Lac unabashedly.

  “What did my father promise you?”

  The question caught Lac unprepared. He looked back down the road to see if the bandits had as yet left their valley.

  Had he seen the look on her skeptical face he probably wouldn’t have understood the underlying reason behind the question other than to think the question was not an innocent query.

  Lac flung over his shoulder, “he didn’t promise me anything. We’d better hurry Shastra.”

  ‘That is not entirely true Lac.’

  “What Chauncey…oh, I guess you’re right. Sorry Esme but your father did promise us information in regards to Shastra.”

  “You can talk to the unicorns?”

  “Huh? Sure.” Lac had become so used to talking with Chauncey that he forgot only those with innate magic might have the ability to do so.

  The head start they had on the bandits was sufficient to reach the lane leading to the –Teners farmstead by late morning. Seemed a little different from the perspective of being seated on the back of a unicorn.