Chapter 5

Cat

“Do you sense her?”

Jale crouched down in the mud and put his hand on the ground. It had been two weeks with no sign of the traitor, but he’d finally caught her scent again.

“She’s around”, Jale said and stood up.

"Are you sure?”

“Would I have told you if I wasn’t?”

Stingy bastard. He brushed the dirt off his clothes and went to sit down by the soldiers who’d made camp by the trees. So this is where the traitor had escaped, to a forest on the outskirts of the Queen’s rule. We’d been chasing her North, to the warrior tribes that would lay down their lives for her, and almost caught her. But she’d escaped, and we’d lost her track. Once Jale found her scent again, she’d changed her strategy and gone East. I almost wondered if the stupid bastard was pulling my leg, but despite being an insufferable jerk, he wasn’t in the service of the Queen for nought. I turned to him. He was resting his back against the tree, peeling an apple.

“Will you know if she comes through this part of the forest?”

"No.”

I waited for him to continue, but the arrogant schmuck had gone back to his apple.

“So we could be waiting at the wrong exit?”

“Yeah.”

If he hadn’t been a paid hand and for the fact that I still needed his sorry ass, he would have known my lightning bolt by now. But that would cost me dearly, so I turned and watched the path we’d come from instead. I’d thought we’d lost the traitor horse, and the thought of explaining my failure to the Queen had made the last two nights sleepless. But Jale’s tracking magic had succeeded, and we were on her heels again. Stupid horse.

I sat down against another tree, choosing one as far away from him as I could while still maintaining the makeshift camp we’d set up. We had a chance here, at least, and Jale would know if the Unicorn left by another route and was on the move. If that happened, we just had to leave and keep tracking her. Weeks of his insufferable presence would soon end, and I would return to the Queen and her grace.

I looked out over the sparsely forested area. We’d made camp at the edge of the woods, the trees from which Jale suspected she would come out. A dry riverbed separated it from the overgrown meadow we sat on, and the grass grew tall here, stretching all the way up to the edge of the dry riverbed. On the other side, the dense forest began. It was a perfect hiding spot. I put the backpack by my side. Jale would get a warning if she approached, so I eased myself into as comfortable a position as I could, considering the thin tree trunk cut into my shoulder blades.

Despite what I’d told Jale in the castle, I had spent the last three weeks planning how to kill the traitor. Jale was skilled with the bow, and the soldiers knew how to fight, but they would stand no chance against the Unicorn’s full power. I didn’t know if I would, but the Queen had given me her orders, and I wouldn’t let her down. I glanced at the soldiers. They stood huddled together as if fighting off an invisible enemy. Cowards. I cleared my throat.

“You know what to do once Jale senses the horse.”

The captain saluted.

“We’ll hide and attack her from the flank.”

“Yes.”

I didn’t tell them they wouldn’t survive it; they would notice soon enough. Jale glanced at me oddly.

“What?”, I muttered.

“Don’t you think it’s strange that she’s chosen this path?”

“Why would it be?”

“Isn’t it just perfect for an ambush?”, he smirked.

Stupid bastard. He just wanted to get rid of me; it was only the retribution of the Queen that kept him from it.

“Are you scared?”

“No, simply observant.”

“Observe all you want; she will die.”

He shrugged and went back to his apple. Idiot.

“Is she…?”

A farmer’s boy turned soldier stammered, and I turned to him.

“Is she what?”, I glared.

His comrades cast a warning glance at him, but he must have been a rookie because he continued.

"Is she dangerous?”, he piped.

“If she’s dangerous? What do you think?”

He glanced at me hesitantly.

“She is, right?”

“She is”, I confirmed.

I turned my back to them. Why did I have to spend my time with these fools who couldn’t even tell right from left? I would have gone alone, but I knew I needed them. I stared out over the field, waiting, and my thoughts strayed to what the turncoat horse had done to deserve this fate.

I hadn’t heard it from the Queen; I knew all too well that those questions would be answered with a lash of her whip. But the rumours spread in the castle, and the morning after she’d given the orders, on the day we left, I’d overheard the grooms talking about it. The traitor horse had ambushed the Queen on a trip to one of the newly allied tribes and tried to assassinate her. She’d managed to escape in the resulting tumult, but that had been one step too far. She’d crossed the line, and the Queen had given me the orders not long after.

Not that I cared. The ungrateful savage knew no shame, and she deserved every single bit that was coming, but I would have executed the Queen’s orders regardless of what she’d done. The Queen hadn’t taken me in, housed me and fed me for me to question her. Her grace had kept me alive, and I would do whatever she told me to.

A sudden rustle from the trees made me sit upright, but it was only a bird fleeing from the trees. I leaned back against the tree trunk. Stupid horse. She didn’t deserve to walk the land of the Queen with her ill-fated thoughts and traitor actions. The Unicorns had been deeply disturbed by her actions, too. I’d overheard them talking about her to the Queen once. They’d been sad, they said, about the ignorant disciple who caused trouble in this world. They’d tried to bring her back, making her see the Truth, but I guess the horse was too stupid to see it. I remember them saying she’d always be welcome back once she found the path again. I guess that wouldn’t happen now.

Jale suddenly froze and raised a hand in the air. My hand instinctively took hold of the sword hanging by my side as he slowly rose to his knees and peered out the thicket in the direction of the riverbed. Shouldn’t he have got a warning earlier? The soldiers crouched, and I got up as quietly as I could and shuffled to kneel behind him. Nothing moved; the forest lay as still as ever. I stared in the direction he pointed until I had almost decided that the idiot had made a mistake when I heard the trees rustling, and my body instinctively made itself ready for battle. I stared at the trees, and one moment, the forest lay still, and the next, the traitor horse hobbled out from the trees. She was limping. Not as badly as I would have wished, but I would welcome anything that could give me the upper hand in this battle. She hesitated for a moment, glancing around, but after concluding that the coast was clear, she stepped out on the dry riverbed. I gripped my sword tighter, eyeing her movement. She was too close to the forest for us to attack; we had to follow her until she’d lost the protection of the trees and we had a clear view. I only had eyes for her, and so it wasn’t until Jale nudged me that I saw what happened behind her. A small elf girl stepped out of the forest and followed her onto the river bed.

Who was that? Had the Unicorn gathered a companion? Or… I froze. Had the elves revolted? They were disloyal to the Queen, but mostly out of their unwillingness to leave their forest rather than any real hate for the Queen’s rule. Or so I’d thought. Had the Unicorn run to them first to convince them to join her petty cause? I ran through the options in my head and what this could mean.

The elves knew of no other magic than manipulating their forest, and as long as you didn’t bring the fight to their grounds, they had no say in a battle of power. But then, why would the stupid horse have tried to convince them? They had nothing to contribute apart from food. I glanced at Jale. He watched them as they began to walk down the dry riverbed. Did this change anything? Not right now, I decided. The elf girl was no threat to me in this battle, and if they had joined the traitor’s cause, the Queen would have to deal with it later. I slowly crept along the path we’d come from, tracing their movement from a distance. The high grass kept us hidden, and not far from here, there would be an open ground, and the forest would have retreated enough. I would ambush them there and finish it off. I quickened my pace to stay ahead while still keeping them in my view. The soldiers had spread out; at least they knew how to take cover, and the horse and the elf girl continued along the bed, just as I had hoped they would.

I could hear the roar of the river coming closer. Many years ago, a storm had shifted the flow of the water, causing the old river to change course. The open space was next to the water, and they would have to cross the dry riverbed to come to our side. I crept to the edge of the high grass and crouched down, waiting.

They turned just before the bend in the river, stepped onto boulders once placed over the bed to act as a bridge, and came down on the other side. The elf girl huddled as she walked, looking like the world was crashing down on her. What a fine recruitment, I thought. I ignored her; she wouldn’t be of any concern. The Unicorn turned to follow the river's flow, and when both of their backs were towards me, I shot my first bolt.

The Unicorn swung around and dodged it before it had even reached her. Damn, she was fast. A glaring smile on her face, and she danced on the spot. Why didn’t she fire at me? I shot another bolt, but she sidestepped it as easily as the first and took cover behind the elf girl. What was she doing? I shot another bolt, but it passed over her head. She kept the girl between us, making her into a shield. What was she doing? Wasn’t she horse enough to fight? I shot another bolt, aiming for the traitor, but she blocked it.

Where the heck were the soldiers? At that moment, the first arrow flew from the trees, but limping or not, the Unicorn’s reflexes were sharp, and she fired a flame that must have taken out the first soldier. Damn, this wouldn’t be easy.

The elf girl huddled, trying to run away, but the Unicorn cut her path each time, and she was forced to stay between us. I had no business with the girl and only focused on the traitor. Another arrow came from the trees, but it missed, and the Unicorn turned and blasted the trees with fire. That should have taken them out, no more soldiers to fight. Damn. I shot another bolt, but the horse hid behind the girl.

“Coward!”

I took another shot and missed. She hadn’t fired a single flame against me yet. What was she doing? Did she think she was so much better than me, she didn’t even need to fight me?

“You bastard!”

I shot another bolt, and she sidestepped it. The elf girl was cowering on the ground now, her face hidden in her hands. Damn it, she’s just in the way. I aimed a bolt at her, but before I had fired, the first flame soared at me, zinging my tunic and leaving a slight burn on my arm. What the…? What was the traitor playing at? She stepped in front of the girl and, for the first time, took aim at me. I gleamed. Now, the battle began. I flinched as a flame stroked past me, and I shot another bolt, but the traitor swung around, and it went into the trees behind her.

She moved around me, cornering me against the roaring river, but she wouldn’t get me that easy. I took a sidestep and had almost moved around when my foot suddenly caught something. I stumbled, and the traitor’s flames crashed into me. It caught my trousers, and within seconds, they licked my tunic. I chomped at them, trying to smother the fire, but each swipe of my hand made them flare up until all I could see was the golden heat dancing before my eyes. I heard the traitor laugh, but the smoke rose all around me, blinding me, and I coughed. I wouldn’t fulfil the Queen’s order; I would die here.

“No!”

The scream came from nowhere, and suddenly, the elf girl crashed into me, and we tumbled down the side of the river and plunged into the water.