The Seer (52 page)

‘That’s the
stallion getting all protective.’  Mistral muttered quickly.  ‘He’s
challenging us … he probably thinks Cirrus is a threat to his mares.’

‘We don’t want
to panic him into charging.  Those horns aren’t ornaments!’  Fabian
immediately kicked Spirit on.  ‘You take front, I’ll take back! 
Don’t get too close, just draw his attention and I’ll separate him from the
mares!’

Mistral nodded
and walked Cirrus slowly towards the herd, drawing their focus while Fabian
circled around behind them.  The mares backed away from Cirrus’ steady
approach but the stallion stood firm with his head held high, raking the ground
with one hard black hoof.  Mistral rode closer then reined to a halt,
watching the stallion carefully.  She didn’t want to antagonise him, just
divert his attention away from Fabian, now edging Spirit along the valley wall
behind the herd.  She nudged Cirrus with her heels, asking him to walk on
again.  Excited by the closeness of so many unfamiliar mares, Cirrus
suddenly tossed his head and neighed.  The stallion immediately gave an
infuriated squeal and charged straight at him with his head lowered.

Swearing
loudly Mistral hauled hard on the reins, pulling Cirrus round just in time to
avoid being gored by the unicorn’s long horn.  He thundered past with
inches to spare, showering Cirrus with sparks from his brimstone hooves. 
Unnerved, Cirrus reared up, forcing Mistral to cling to his mane to stop
herself from falling off.  He dropped back down and immediately tried to
bolt.  Scrabbling for her reins, Mistral hauled back and tried to get him
under control before the stallion charged again.  Cirrus fought to have
his head and spun around in a tight circle, affording her a dizzying glimpse of
Fabian lassoing one of the mares.  Shortening her reins and pulling down
hard on the bit, Mistral finally forced Cirrus to submit to her will
again.  He fidgeted beneath her tight hold, rolling his eyes at the
unicorn stallion cantering around him with his tail held tauntingly high.
 Glancing over her shoulder at Fabian, Mistral was impressed to see that
he’d managed to secure five of the mares.  He still had three to catch;
she needed to keep the stallion occupied and buy him time to complete the
task.  Relaxing her reins slightly, Mistral let Cirrus pace in restless
circles, keeping the stallion’s attention fixed on him and away from the fact
that Fabian was in the process of stealing his mares. 

Fabian worked
swiftly, neatly lassoing another mare and using Spirit’s weight to control her
while he roped her to the others.  Without the reassuring presence of
their stallion the older mares had given in without much of a fight, but the
last two were yearlings who skittered away nervously each time he tried to loop
a rope around their necks.  Changing tactics, Fabian used Spirit to drive
them towards the valley wall, leaving them with nowhere to run, he successfully
lassoed one but she immediately began to panic and gave a high-pitched neigh of
fear.  Hearing the sudden distress of one of his herd the stallion
instantly whipped around, his nostrils flaring in anger at the sight of his
mares roped together.  The panicking yearling kicked out at Spirit and she
shied away, her bright coat shining like polished gold amongst the drab brown
of the unicorn mares.  The stallion lifted his head and sniffed the air,
drawing in the tantalising scent of a new mare.  He snorted eagerly and
trotted towards her with exaggerated, prancing steps.  Terrified he would
charge at Fabian, Mistral reached for her lasso and tensed ready to
throw.  The stallion halted a short distance from the herd.  He did
not lower his head to charge, but stared intently at Spirit then called out to
her with an imperious neigh.  The unicorn mares threw up their heads in
response and some even neighed back, but he only had eyes for Spirit. 
Mistral could have laughed, her fears of the stallion charging at Fabian
forgotten.  He was obviously too taken with the idea of adding Fabian’s
bright mare to his herd to care about the rider on her back. 

Spirit didn’t
acknowledge the stallion’s arrogant calls, or even look at him.  Undaunted
by her complete lack of interest the stallion began to try and woo her with a
flamboyant display of his abilities; galloping around in tight circles and
occasionally stopping to rear and paw the air impressively.  Despite his
almost laughable antics, Mistral couldn’t help but admire the stallion’s fluid
gait and precise movements.  She watched him galloping across the valley,
his dirty mane and tail streaming out behind him.  He turned on a pinhead
without dropping a stride to gallop back, all for the benefit of Spirit, who
hadn’t once glanced in his direction.  When he skidded to a halt and
called out to Spirit again Mistral realised that this might just be the ideal
opportunity to catch him.  Coiling a length of rope in one hand, she quickly
urged Cirrus towards the distracted unicorn.  Drawing back her arm,
Mistral flung her lasso towards the stallion’s uplifted head.

The rope fell
short and the stallion promptly shied then galloped off, leaving Mistral
coiling in the rope and cursing under her breath, knowing that he wouldn’t fall
for the same trick twice.  Coming to an abrupt halt a safe distance away,
the stallion eyed her with a look Mistral recognised well.  It was the
same one Cirrus had given her from across the paddock many times, signifying
the start of a long battle of wills that usually resulted in her temper being
lost.  Mistral tied the rope back onto her saddle with a resigned
sigh.  Glancing over at Fabian she saw that he had managed to lasso the
last yearling but was struggling to force her into a rope halter.  Giving
up on the stallion, Mistral rode over to lend a hand. 

By noon all of
the mares had been persuaded into wearing rope halters and were ready to be
herded out of the valley.  Mistral rubbed a hand across her sweating brow,
she’d already taken off her jerkin and rolled up her shirt sleeves, but the
warm spring sunshine was making her feel uncomfortably hot.  She reached
for her waterskin and took a long drink, looking thoughtfully at the unicorn
stallion.

‘Do you think
he’ll just follow if we ride off with his mares?’ 

Fabian looked
up from his task of knotting two ropes together, ‘Possibly,’ he mused. 
‘But it would be more prudent to capture him in case he decides to bolt. 
A herd of unicorn mares is not much good without their stallion.’

Mistral pulled
a face as she took another drink, ‘Huh!  They’d be better off without
him!  Just look at him trying to impress Spirit!  He doesn’t care
about them!’

Fabian gazed
over at the amorous stallion, galloping flat out across the valley floor,
stopping at the very last second to rear, pirouette, and gallop back again.

‘Show-off!’ 
Mistral muttered while Fabian laughed.

They watched
the stallion charge around the valley for a few more minutes until Fabian
turned to her with a smile on his face, ‘I think that unrequited love may be
the answer here.’ 

Untethering
Spirit, Fabian patted her on the shoulder and let her loose.  The mare
looked at him uncertainly then tossed her head and trotting happily away. 
She soon slowed to a walk then halted and began to graze, oblivious to the
stallion now walking eagerly towards her.  Mistral quickly grabbed her
lasso and dropped down close to the ground.  She watched Fabian slip
quietly away to circle around behind the advancing stallion before she began to
move in the opposite direction.  The stallion reached Spirit and neighed
softly.  Spirit ignored him and continued to tear at the lush grass. 
The stallion moved closer and stretched out to nibble her neck affectionately;
Spirit kicked out irritably and moved away, pursued by the love-struck unicorn.

‘Now!’

Mistral flung
her rope on Fabian’s hissed command.  It whistled through the air to loop
loosely over the stallion’s neck, instantly followed by Fabian’s rope. 
Rising swiftly to her feet Mistral threw her weight back, hauling against the
rope while the stallion reared and plunged, squealing furiously at the
unfamiliar restraints around his neck.  Mistral clung on to her rope,
digging her heels into the soft earth and leaning back.

‘Can you hold
on?’  Fabian shouted anxiously.

‘Just!’ She
yelled back, gritting her teeth and pulling with all her might.  ‘He’s
strong for his size!’

Fabian gave
her a worried look and began to haul on his rope, using the stallion’s
resistance to pull himself closer until he was within striking distance of the
hard black hooves flailing through the air.

‘Fabian!’ 
Mistral cried out fearfully as Fabian grabbed at the stallion’s mane and
vaulted up onto his back.

‘Let go
Mistral!’

‘No!’

Without
Fabian’s strength Mistral was struggling to keep her grip on the rope, but if
she dropped it Fabian would be at the stallion’s mercy.  The stallion
rebelled against the strange weight on his back and twisted away, yanking the
rope from her hands with a burning wrench.  Freed from the rope’s
constraints the stallion immediately bolted and tore across the valley with
Fabian on his back.  Mistral watched with her heart in her mouth, pressing
her hands to her face whenever he threw out wild bucks to try and dislodge his
unwanted rider.  If he succeeded, Fabian would either be trampled to death
or gored by the unicorn’s long horn.  Fabian showed no sign of fear but
wrapped his legs tighter around the unicorn’s matted flanks, his face glowing
with a wild look that Mistral instantly recognised as the one inspired by
danger.  The unicorn plunged through the stream and pounded back towards
the herd, turning sharply to try and throw Fabian before jerking to an abrupt
halt and rearing up until he was almost vertical.  Mistral cried out a
useless warning, certain the animal would overbalance and crush Fabian beneath
him.  He teetered in the air; his back hooves moving back half a step to
counter the extra weight on his back, then abruptly lunged forwards,
immediately accelerating into a flat-out gallop again.  Around and around
they flew and still Fabian stayed on, bending low over the unicorn’s neck and
making no attempt to check his reckless speed. 

Gradually the
unicorn’s furious pace began to slow, subsiding first to a stiff-legged canter,
then a trot and finally a walk, his breath coming in deep sobbing
breaths.  Reaching forward with one hand Fabian deftly looped a section of
rope around the unicorn’s muzzle then sat up and leaned back, pulling him to a
halt.  The stallion struggled weakly against the pressure but was too
exhausted to put up much of a fight and staggered to a standstill, dropping his
head and blowing hard while Fabian slid from his back and quickly slipped a
halter over his unresisting head.  Leading the spent unicorn back towards
Mistral, Fabian met her eyes and smiled at the conflicting emotions he saw
there; predominately relief but also an undeniable tinge of envy.

‘I admit it,
I’m jealous,’ she confessed, catching his look.  ‘I told Phantasm that I
wanted to ride one but he forbade me, spouting some drivel about it being
dangerous in my condition, whatever that’s supposed to mean –’

The
exhilarated light in Fabian’s eyes instantly died to be replaced by one of
anxiety, ‘And he was right.  You shouldn’t have been pulling on the ropes
either, how do you feel?’

‘Fine,’ she
shrugged then looked thoughtful.  ‘Hungry –’

Fabian gave a
short laugh then turned to pat the sweating neck of the stallion, leaving an
odd pale imprint against the dun-coloured coat.  Sharing a curious look,
Mistral stepped forward and brushed a hand gently against the stallion’s
neck.  Parting the sweat-matted coat she gasped quietly to see a bright
flash appear beneath her fingers.  The unicorn stallion was in fact white,
as legend promised; only a heavy accumulation of dirt and mud had disguised his
true colour.

‘They’re
filthy!’  she exclaimed angrily. 

Examining the
stallion more closely Mistral could see there were twigs and burrs caught in
his tangled mane.  His hooves, although probably always unshod, were rough
and had obviously not been trimmed or cared for in any way for some time.

‘Is this how
Pierre looks after his beloved herd?  By letting them get into this
state?’ 

Fabian
frowned, ‘Perhaps their upkeep has become too much for him.’

‘You’re too
generous Fabian!’  Mistral muttered angrily while she crouched to run a
hand down the stallion’s legs.  ‘There’s no excuse for neglect!’

‘The neglect
has ended Mistral.  They are being rehomed on the Isle.  Try not to
be so angry with Pierre, he is old and proud.  It cannot have been easy
for him to accept that he was no longer able to care for his herd.’

‘I wish I
could speak French.’  Mistral stood up, angrily wiping her dirty hands
against her trousers.  ‘I’d give him such a piece of my mind!’

‘Then perhaps
it is fortunate then that your education has not gone beyond learning the word
for victory.’  Fabian began to lead the weary unicorn stallion towards the
rest of the herd.

‘Oh!’ 
Mistral exclaimed suddenly, making Fabian pause and turn to meet her guilty
look.  ‘I forgot!  I read Pierre on the ride out and caught a few
words … temps?  Does that mean something to you?’

‘Time,’ said
Fabian.

‘Oh,
right.  And then there was something he kept thinking.  A really
weird word ...  it sounded like chattymont –’

‘Châtiment.’
 Fabian corrected quietly.

‘Yes! 
That’s it!’  Mistral cried, her pleasure at remembering the word instantly
fading at the black look on Fabian’s face.  ‘What does it mean?’ 

‘Vengeance.’

‘Vengeance? 
He definitely wasn’t thinking about dinner then.’

‘I doubt it,
unless he’s going to poison us.  Damn it!  What have I missed?’ 

The stallion
started at Fabian’s outburst and tried to pull away.  Fabian controlled
him, calming him with soothing words until the unicorn was settled once more.
 He turned to speak to Mistral, keeping his voice low to avoid upsetting
the stallion again.  ‘Can you hear my thoughts and read Pierre’s aura at
the same time?’