Winged Magic

4

Across the clan camp, Eurus lifted his great head. He stood in a huddle with Afer, Tibor, and the smaller Harachan horses of the other chiefs, trying to keep warm while the men conferred one last time in Sha Tajan’s tent before the darkness became complete. The stallion stirred irritably and blew a gout of steam, like smoke from a dragon’s mouth.

Something was wrong. Eurus could feel it like an ache in his belly. He slammed a hoof into the slush and snow. The Harachan, though handsome, graceful animals, had little of the Hunnuli’s intelligence, endurance, or power. They rolled their eyes at the restless giant in their midst and shifted nervously away from him.

Afer nickered to reassure them, and they settled warily back into their group. Only the Hunnuli could not calm down again. Afer and Tibor both grew restive, and after only a few minutes, the three Hunnuli sidled away and trotted back to the Khulinin tents.

At first glance, everything looked normal to the Hunnuli. The tents were holding their own against the gathering ice, a few sheltered campfires were burning, the guards were at their distant posts, and the camp was quiet.

When the stallions came to the chieftain’s tent, though, their anxiety blew up into alarm. The two mares and the women were gone, and their tracks, already filling with snow, pointed down toward the dark river.

Afer neighed a long, demanding clarion call that rattled the camp and brought men alert, but there was no response from either Nara or Demira. Like black thunder the three stallions galloped along the mares’ trail to the grove of trees. There they slowed to a walk and let their keen eyes and sharp sense of smell lead them through the dense undergrowth to the river’s edge.

They caught the scent of Nara and Demira in the crushed grass and of Hunnuli blood mingled in the slush and mire of the shore. There, too, they detected traces of many men: churned footprints, a pool of human blood, and the scent of sweat and fear.

Another smell teased Eurus’s nose, a scent that was pungent, powdery, and metallic. It made him dizzy, and he quickly snorted it out. He scented Gabria’s faint scent in the brush by the trees and Kelene’s on the rocks by the Altai. And that was all.

The riverbank was empty. The women and the mares had vanished.

Tibor and Afer wheeled and charged back the way they had come, while Eurus searched up and down the bank for some sign of his mate and her rider. At his side, the Altai tumbled and rolled in a muddy, heaving current that reached higher and higher up the shore, washing away the scent and sign of the attackers and their victims.

Troubled shouts and running feet crashed through the quiet of the grove, and hooded lamps bobbed their light in the deep twilight. The old stallion returned to meet Athlone, Sayyed, and Rafnir, who were out of breath and wild-eyed. Afer and Tibor came with them.

“Tell me,” gasped Athlone. Other men, Gaalney and Morad among them, joined their chief on the bank, and Eurus told the five sorcerers what had been discovered.

Lord Athlone breathed long and deeply before he roared, “Sayyed, I want the entire camp checked tent by tent to be certain they are not there. Rafnir, take squads of men up and down the river to search the banks. The rest of you come with me!”

Without hesitation everyone leaped to obey. They searched for hours, as the darkness closed in and the sleet completed its change to driving snow, and yet they found nothing more of Gabria, Kelene, or the two Hunnuli mares.

In all the furor of the search, no one on the northern bank of the Altai saw the Shar-Ja’s great wagon leave the camp, nor the long line of supply wagons and baggage vans that followed in its wake.

At last the men gathered in the center of the camp by a huge fire built as a signal on the slim possibility the two women were lost in the storm.

Rafnir’s face was blanched when he reported to Athlone the dismal results of the searches. “Only one guard noticed them leave the tents, but they seemed fine to him and he thought nothing more about it. No one knows why they rode down to the river. We have found no more traces of them anywhere close by.” He bit off his words fiercely as if to contain the worry and fear that ate at him. “Downstream, they found the body of one of our outriders washed up on a snag. His throat had been cut, and his cloak was gone.”

Athlone, Sayyed, and Rafnir looked at one another, their minds coursing along the same track. Other chiefs and clansmen clustered around the roaring fire, but to the three men they seemed only a distant, murmuring part of the background. For the sorcerers there was only their common anger and burning anxiety for their wives and kinswomen.

Sayyed spoke first, his dark eyes glittering in the shifting light of the fire. “The Turics had some hand in this.”

There was no firm evidence to back him up, and yet Athlone nodded in agreement. “None of the clans could profit by their capture.”

“What about exiles or even strangers on our land?” Rafnir ventured.

Athlone pondered those possibilities, then shook his head. “It would have taken a fair number of men to capture and hide two Hunnuli, Gabria, and Kelene. They must have been taken by surprise. I don’t think a large group could have slipped past all our outriders without leaving some trail. Whoever it was struck fast from close by and fled where we can’t follow.”

“What if they weren’t captured? What if they’re dead?” Rafnir said miserably.

The stallion Tibor laid his muzzle gently against the young man’s chest. I do not believe they are dead. I would surely know if Demira had left this world.

And Eurus, who had run with Nara for twenty-six years, nickered his agreement. Hunnuli had the capacity to make powerful mental and emotional connections with their riders, so powerful that many Hunnuli sought death on their own if their rider died before them. This deep mental attachment was often extended to each other as well. Hunnuli such as Eurus and Nara, Tibor and Demira, whose riders were passionately in love, mated for life.

If Tibor said Demira was still alive, then Kelene must be, too, and Rafnir accepted his word wholeheartedly. He rested his brow on the stallion’s wide forehead. “We will go after them,” he declared.

“The council is over,” Athlone said, sweeping his hand in a sharp gesture. “Pack your gear. We’ll leave—”

Lord Fiergan bullied his way into their midst, and his commanding voice rang over the snap and crackle of the fire. “Don’t be a fool, Athlone. You can’t just ride into Turic territory and demand your women back. They’d either laugh at you or kill you. You don’t even know who took them. Could have been the Shar-Ja, those crazy fanatics, or even that cold fish, Zukhara. Maybe the women were taken to lure you over the Altai and into a trap.”

“Lord, he’s right,” Gaalney put in fervently. “And if you crossed the river and tried to pass yourself off as a Turic, you wouldn’t get far! You don’t look enough like one. Please listen! You’re too important to us to lose. You can’t leave the clan for a venture this dangerous.”

“Venture!” exploded Athlone. For once his temper got the best of him, and he turned on both men with fury raw on his face. But before he could vent his anger, another sound reached the ears of the clansmen, a sound that froze them where they stood and turned every eye to the east. Beyond the edge of the fire, in the swirling darkness, the dull drumming of hoofbeats pounded closer and closer.

“Lord Wendern!” wailed a frantic voice.

The Shadedron chief lunged forward several paces. “Here! I’m here. Is that you, Hazeth?”

“Lord Wendern!” the voice cried again, and out of the night, guided by the bright beacon of the fire, came a dark horse carrying an apparition of ice and snow and blood. The exhausted horse staggered into the firelight, its sides heaving and its nostrils red as flame. Steam poured from its drenched hide, and its legs shook from its effort.

The figure on its back, swathed in a snow-blanketed black cloak, slid sideways and fell into the arms of his chief. Blood from a head wound had frozen in rivulets down the young rider’s face, and another wound on his shoulder had left a hard, icy crust on his cloak. Even so, in spite of his injuries and exhaustion, the boy struggled to remain on his feet.

“The treld has been attacked, my lord,” he panted. “By Turic raiders!”

This time, the bad news had come in a set of four.

“Lord Athlone, please!” Wendern pleaded. “Please see reason. Hazeth says the raiders attacked yesterday before the weather turned foul. They could not have made it to the river yet. In this snow they’ll be holed up somewhere, ready to bolt as soon as the sky clears. If we leave now, we can cut them off. We have a chance to put an end to this raiding for good!”

“Your logic is persuasive, Wendern, but you don’t need me. I have to go seek my wife!” responded Athlone adamantly, and he squared his shoulders as if to fend off further argument. He turned his back on the Shadedron chief and continued to pack his gear with an urgency bordering on frenzy. The other chiefs had returned to their own parts of the camp to organize their men and prepare to leave at first light, but Wendern had followed Athlone to his own tent and stood shifting from foot to foot, the blood of his youngest warrior still staining his hands.

Wendern was one of the new chiefs, a robust, middle-aged man who had won his torque three years ago when the previous chief died in the plague. He was a strong, capable leader, but he had no experience in warfare and little idea how his clan had fared in the attack. He truly did need help, Athlone acknowledged, help that would have to come from someone else. Gabria and Kelene were more important.

Athlone slammed a waterskin onto his pile of gear and had just reached for the bag containing his flint and firestone when a sound at his tent flap interrupted him.

“What is it?” he growled, barely pausing in his activity.

A choked gasp from Wendern brought Athlone around, hand on dagger hilt, to see two Turics standing in the entrance. Their long-sleeved brown robes were starred with snow, and their burnooses gleamed white as the moon. They appeared to be unarmed. The first man stepped quietly into the tent, the second close on his heels. Because the ends of their burnooses were wrapped across the lower halves of their faces to protect them from the stinging wind, only the Turics’ dark eyes could be seen. The first Turic’s eyes seemed to crinkle in some sort of amusement.

He touched his fingers to his forehead and his chest in the Turic form of salute and greeted Athlone in the tribal language.

Athlone’s hand dropped. If the garb wasn’t familiar, the voice was. “Sayyed,” he said, exasperated, “don’t you think that’s rather dangerous at the moment? Someone could take offense and put an arrow through you.”

Sayyed chuckled as he pulled the cloth away from his face. “It proves my point though.”

“Which is?”

“That I should seek Gabria and Kelene beyond the Altai, while you go after the marauders with Lord Wendern.”

“No. I am going to find Gabria.”

“Athlone, listen!”

The chieftain hesitated, his attention caught by the intensity of his friend’s voice.

Sayyed crossed his arms and said, “Gaalney had a point. You do not look like a Turic, nor act like a Turic, nor have any hope of ever speaking like a Turic. If you go over the river, you will be an invader, and no one will help you. Fiergan was right, too. We have no proof who took Gabria and Kelene. We need someone on this side of the border to eliminate other possibilities.”

Athlone was still, his face unreadable, his big body held with such tight control that the knuckles of his hands were white. Wendern stayed wisely silent, leaving the arguments to a stronger voice than his. The second Turic, too, was quiet and watchful.

“I propose you go with Wendern and cut off the escape of the raiders. There are not enough warriors close enough to help. The Ferganan have their own troubles; the Wylflings and the Khulinin are too far away. There are only the chiefs and their men. They need a sorcerer to help.”

“Gaalney and Morad can go,” Athlone said forcefully.

“Gaalney and Morad are not leaders! They are not even wer-tains. They’ve never fought in battle. They are not Lord Athlone! If Lord Athlone, the renowned sorcerer lord of the Clans of Valorian, moves against the invaders of the Ramtharin Plains it will send a message to others who consider our people too weak to fight.” He raised a finger and shook it at the chief. “And don’t forget the Shar-Yon. Other Turics may want revenge against us for killing Bashan. If you are here defending the borders, the Turics may think twice about attacking us in force.”

Athlone gainted. “You give me too much credit.”

“That’s dung and you know it. Wendern needs you.

Not Morad or Gaalney. Of course, if you capture those raiders, you might have a bargaining chip to ransom in exchange for Gabria and Kelene. Whoever took them took pains to remove even the Hunnuli. They wanted the women alive.”

Athlone’s expression lost a little of its ferociousness as Sayyed’s words sank in. His friend’s arguments made sense to Athlone’s mind; it was just his heart that had to be convinced. “And what are you going to do if I go haring off after brigands and thieves?”

Sayyed bowed slightly. “My companion and I intend to infiltrate the Shar-Ja’s caravan, learn of the women’s whereabouts, and free them at our earliest opportunity.”

“Your companion?” Athlone asked dryly.

The second Turic tugged his burnoose free and smiled wanly at his father-in-law. “Father thought it was time I learned more about the other side of the family,” replied Rafnir.

Athlone’s knees seemed to collapse, for he sat down abruptly on the cushions in the center of the tent. Gabria’s teapot and the two cups were still on the low table where she had left them, and the coals in the brazier were still warm. The chief’s gaze went from one man to another in a long, pondering stare, while his mind struggled to choose the best path.

“Eurus!” he suddenly bellowed. When the Hunnuli poked his head in the flap, Athlone jabbed a finger at Sayyed. “Did you hear what he said?”

The stallion’s head bobbed yes.

“We must also consider Nara and Demira, so I ask you, what do you suggest?”

Eurus, one of the oldest Hunnuli in the clans and one of the few horses to have run wild with the King Hunnuli, had grown wise during his years with humans. He replied simply, Sayyed has a better chance to find Gabria and Kelene. You would have a stronger band against the Turics if the raiders are stopped.

“And you’re willing to let Afer and Tibor go without you?”

I would hardly tell you to go somewhere if I were not willing to follow.

“But,” Wendern offered almost apologetically, “they can’t take the Hunnuli into the Turic realm. The horses would be recognized immediately.”

Rafnir gestured outside. “Come see. We’ve already taken care of it.”

The men trooped out into the night. The wind had slowed a little, and the snowfall was lighter. With the help of the gods. Athlone thought, the storm would blow over by the next day. He patted Eurus and glanced around, expecting to see Afer and Tibor. All he saw were two large horses bridled, saddled with deep-seated Turic saddles, and tethered to the tent peg.

The horses seemed to be black, although in the darkness it was hard to tell. One had a small star on his forehead, and the other had two white socks on his forelegs. There was no sign of the Hunnuli’s usual white lightning mark on their shoulders or any of the breed’s power and grace. The two stood, noses down against the wind, looking anything but regal.

“Nice animals,” Wendern commented. “Where did you find mounts so big?” Then to his amazement, one of the horses lifted its head and nickered at him. His jaw dropped.

“You can’t be serious,” Athlone chuckled. “How did you get Hunnuli to wear tack?”

It was Afer’s idea, Tibor complained, shaking the saddle on his back. Only for Gabria and Kelene would I do this.

Sayyed laughed. “They even suggested the dye to hide their shoulder marks and the white paint to decorate their coats. If no one looks too carefully, and they keep their wits, they’ll pass.”

Athlone decided he could hardly fight such a united front. He embraced his friend and his son-in-law in gratitude. “You have my permission to go,” he said, too overcome with sudden emotion to say all that he felt he should tell them. But he did add one more admonition. “If I don’t receive a message from you in the next fifteen days, I will gather the clans and march south after you!”