The High-Wizard's Hunt: Osric's Wand: Book Two (6 page)

“Well, that bedwetting fool that was always at his heels kept looking behind them saying, ‘He could be here any moment. They looked to be eager, Sir.’ I jus’ figured they were leaving because they owed gold to half the vendors in Stanton. James himself was taken for a good deal, especially when you consider what he charges for a meal.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this when I spoke with you earlier?” Osric was frustrated, and Gordyn fidgeted at the sight of the dead man and the anger in Osric’s voice.

“I thought he was escaping the gold he owed, not this.” Gordyn nodded at the frozen face of the dead man. “Ain’t nothing you could have done about a Konsult stealing from the food vendors.”

“The murder of a Wizardly Union official,” Toby huffed, “for that, you could even put a Konsult in prison. You can bet that they will be here to find out what happened to him, too.” Toby nervously met Osric’s gaze. “The last thing we need right now is a bunch of Union officials poking their noses around here while we try to rebuild.”

Osric was having difficulty breathing, and he walked out the door. The cold air of the darkening night met him as he stepped out. The frustration he felt was beginning to weigh down his mind. He didn’t know what to make of the new situation. He couldn’t think straight when something horrible seemed to greet him at every turn.
Starving people sleeping in the streets, a murder by the Konsult, the Palace isn’t rebuilt yet, and now the Wizardly Union is a threat too.

“Sir.” Toby was running toward him from the direction of the tent, followed more slowly by Kenneth. Osric hadn’t realized he had wandered toward the treeline.

“What is it, Toby?”

“Not that I blame you for wanting the time and quiet to think, but you shouldn’t be going hunting without telling someone.” Toby indicated Osric’s tight grip on his sword hilt with a nod.

“I wasn’t going hunting. I just needed fresh air.” Osric released his grasp on the sword, unaware he had even been holding onto it, and kicked a rock in frustration. “I wish I was though. It’s been one problem after another since the explosion at the palace. I can’t remember the last time my mind felt rested and clear, never mind the last time I had the pleasure of a good hunt.”

“Go in the morning,” Toby shrugged his shoulders, “nobody will miss you.”

“Have you taken a blow to the head? How can I do that with all of this going on?” Osric motioned toward the rubble pile and back at the tent where a murder had just occurred. He immediately wished he could take the comment back. An image of Gus saying nearly the same thing to him in a cave flashed in his mind. With the image of Gus came a memory of Bridgett, and he yearned to hear her voice again.
Focus. It’s only been a few days.
He looked back up to see Toby watching him with a curious expression.

“You already have the Vigiles looking after the people at the Palace grounds, nobody from the Union could have heard about this yet, Ryhain Domnall will be resting for the next few days, and the construction of the palace is underway. I hate to retain the responsibilities of your position, but I think we can spare you for a day or two. I wish I could go too, but Archana knows you need the time away more than I do, with all you’ve been through.”

“I have responsibilities here, Toby. I can’t just abandon them to go hunting when I am needed here.”

“He’s right, Os,” Kenneth spoke softly.

“Are you saying I have done a poor job of running things here while you were gone?”

“No, that isn’t what I meant. Look, you have done a fine job. You should have been the one to take this position in the first place. But I have an obligation to these people now that I am back.” Toby smiled at Osric’s stuttered recovery, but the joy failed to reach beyond his mouth.

“Osric, I admit that you could spend the next several months here swamped in paperwork and easily find more than enough to do to fill every hour of the day. Stanton will take a very long time to recover from the devastation at the palace. But the union officials will come to investigate this murder. If you are tired and rundown from the duties of your office, you will be one step behind them every step of the way. We need you at your best.” Toby ran his hands over his smoothly shaven head. “Archana knows the next few weeks are going to be rough.”

Osric looked over at Toby’s weary eyes and admitted defeat. They all needed some time to think, and there was no need for them to be hovering around Stanton, watching the Vigiles work. His men were well trained, and Osric knew they would do their jobs, but he wasn’t going on a hunt alone.

“Go home, Toby, and get some sleep. You, me and Kenneth all need some time off.”

The Grove of the Unicorns

Gus was beginning to like the traveling spell, or at least he thought he did. It had certainly made things easier when they made their move to attack the guards at Braya. In one place, speak a few words, then appear in whatever location you wanted to be in. He was still pondering the mysterious circumstances of Osric’s power growth that allowed him to
travel
great distances, for long periods of time, without the sheer exhaustion that the rest of them experienced. He had lectured Osric on practicing magic that was unknown, but over the past few weeks of traveling with him, no noticeable dangers had presented. Yes, he was beginning to like
traveling
- that is, until they appeared in the grove.

At first, the grove was nice, or so he thought, as he looked down at the low branching Oak trees covered with snow. It was mysteriously warm, and Gus let out a sigh of pleasure; then the warmth quickly disappeared. The air seemed to draw the warmth from his body while he sat clinging to the shoulder of Bridgett’s dress. Gus glanced over to see if she felt it as well, and a shiver overtook him. He coiled tighter to preserve the warmth in his body. Bridgett seemed unaffected by the cold as she smiled and stepped forward. Pebble fell from his perch on Bridgett’s opposite shoulder onto the snow covered landscape, and Bridgett stopped suddenly in alarm.

“Oh, no!” Bridgett raced off in a hurry as Gus fell to the ground as well, the cold overtaking him.

All perception of time was lost as Gus’ breathing slowed. His vision blurred when he saw his son, Pebble, lying close to him on the snow covered ground. With the intensity of the cold, he knew that he should be panicking, but he couldn’t make himself care. He felt tired, and the only thing that mattered to him was taking a nap. A few voices echoed in his head, and he looked up lazily to see who it was. He thought he recognized one of the faces; it was a beautiful woman in a modest gown, and an amulet hung from her neck. She looked down at him and to his right with concern. The woman’s bright blue eyes were watering, and Gus wondered why he couldn’t think of her name, but the two women moved too slowly for his mind to make sense of what he was seeing. At least he thought they were moving slowly, but they were speaking quickly, or were they?

Suddenly, a flash of green hit Gus’ eyes, and clarity began to return to his mind. The return of understanding was slow, yet he knew there was danger. He felt his heart begin to beat faster, and warmth quickly returned to his frail, old body. He suddenly found himself able to focus his eyes again, and the numbness that had shocked him moments earlier ceased. It was an odd sensation to be brought back from death’s door, but he welcomed the release from pain and fear. His lack of concern rapidly turned into panic, and then anger, but at what, or who, he didn’t know. The flash of green that had started his transition back to reality grew in intensity as he looked around at the growth and beauty that surrounded him.

Gus sat back and examined the scenery as he shook his head. The fog lifted, and where he had seen a snow covered landscape there was sunshine and blooms. The grass he sat upon was soft and only slightly damp, not as wet as you would expect if snow had just melted upon it. The trees stood with majestic grace and stretched their branches in an evenly spaced formation, creating a canopy of shade on the path through the trees.
Oak?
Gus questioned as he took in a deep breath and looked into the concerned face that he could finally recognize.

“Well, Bridgett,” he met her troubled stare with a weak smile and cleared his throat, “a magical trap, was it?” Gus heard the distant sound of a dog barking.

“I am so sorry,” Bridgett fumbled with her necklace, “I did not think it would affect you since I brought you here, but Fallon has given you the formal invitation to the grove so you won’t have any issues with it again.”

“I’s don’t want’s ta do’s that again.” Pebble shook his head slowly, his lower lip quivering, looking for sympathy from Bridgett with big, wet eyes.

“Aww,” Bridgett moved close to pick him up, “it won’t happen again, honey. There are some unicorns close by. We are going to take you to see them in a few minutes. Do you want to see them?”

Pebble sat up in her arms after positioning himself and rubbed his eyes.

“Oh, yes, I’s do.”

Bridgett smiled and pulled him close to kiss his forehead, then rubbed his stomach as he giggled. She sat him back on the ground and he picked up his wand that had been dropped in the throes of the trap.

“Are you up for a short walk, Gus?”

“I think I can manage it in this place,” he said, looking around in amazement, “but where did all of the snow go?”

“It was never here. We don’t understand much about it, really. All we know for sure is that, without an invitation, you could walk through this entire area and never see any of its beauty.” Fallon answered his inquiry in a voice that suggested youthful innocence and acceptance; her lighthearted reply fit the scenery well.

Gus looked at her in surprise, as he had been expecting Bridgett to answer. Fallon looked younger than Bridgett by several years. Gus tilted his head at the thought of someone younger than Bridgett leading the Maiden of the Unicorn. He stepped closer and extended his paw. It was a human custom, but they seemed to like it.

“I don’t believe we have been properly introduced.” He bowed slightly at the woman as she crouched down to greet him. “I am Gus, the Wand-Maker.”

“I’m Fallon.” She gripped his paw slightly between her fingers and gave an awkward bow from her crouched position. Her long, bronze hair fell from her shoulder and she smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“So, you’re the leader of the Maiden, are you?”

“It seems that way, but don’t ask me why. We don’t choose our leader; the unicorns do.” She shrugged her shoulders and stood up, gazing out at the greenery. “Sorry about the protection spell. We don’t control that either. If you hadn’t arrived on her shoulders by magic, it wouldn’t have done that.”

“Really? Why should it make a difference how we arrive?” Gus was intrigued by the workings of the spell. He couldn’t make out anything but a slight fog with his Wand-Maker ability as he looked up at the sky.

“Once again, we aren’t entirely sure. We know that anybody that isn’t invited into the grove by me won’t see anything but snow. My only guess is that it keeps anyone from forcing their way in by magical means.”

“Don’t you at least have stories told by the former Head Maiden? Or anything passed down through the generations? There has to be someone who knows more about this.”

“I wish.” She looked at Bridgett and they both laughed. “That would make this a whole lot more fun!”

“She had to have told you something?” Gus was beginning to grow frustrated at the lack of wisdom he found in their leader.

“I am sure she would’ve loved to have told me everything, but the unicorns are the only ones who understand the barrier, and they aren’t telling anyone. We’re happy to stay here and fulfill our role.”

Gus could hear the sound of a barking dog approaching, and it was beginning to wear at his nerves. There was magic in use that he desperately desired to learn. It was as though Archana was pushing him to the limits of his patience, and his mind was racing to find the answers to questions he hadn’t imagined a few short months before.

“So, what is it, exactly, that you Maidens do here?” Gus certainly wanted to know more about the Maidens, and Bridgett had been notably vague in her explanations since he had met her.

Just as Fallon was about to respond, a burst of white fur came from somewhere behind her. The dog stopped a short distance away, but Gus was rapidly attempting to retreat in alarm. The dog saw the movement, crouched, and began to spin in a circle, barking. It raised its head after every few turns and Gus found himself a few feet closer to the dog.

A course of laughter broke out as Gus repeatedly scurried backward, yet found himself inevitably moving closer to the swirling, stub-tailed hound.

“Help!” Gus began to panic. Knowing he was caught in the dog’s Beckoning gift, he feared he would soon become a fine meal.

Laughter grew from the bystanders, and Gus looked back pleadingly. He couldn’t understand why they thought it was so funny. The two women were laughing hysterically and holding their stomachs, and Pebble was jumping up and down with excitement. Gus was losing ground, and he could feel the air coming off of the dog as it spun. He was forced to the ground and could feel paws holding him down as a tongue covered his face.

“Happy,” Bridgett spoke through her laughter, a tear running down her face, “Happy, leave him alone. He is too old and grumpy to play.”

“Play?” Gus felt the pressure let up, and looked back at the women in confusion.

“I’s wantsta play!” Pebble ran on all fours at the dog and dived to one side. Happy saw a chance to play and followed him, barking, as they crested the slope of a nearby hill. “Come get’s me, Happy!”

Gus wiped the drool from his face as he watched Pebble giggling in the distance. He lost sight of them playing when they disappeared over the slope. He turned an angry eye up at Bridgett and Fallon as they laughed.

“If that thing kills my only Wand-Maker son, I’ll hex you both!”

“Oh, relax. Happy is the nicest dog you will ever meet,” Bridgett spoke, her lower lip sticking out, mocking Gus for his attitude.