Chapter 53

It was Errilol. The god had come to stop her. Naomi freed herself from the guards. They didn’t pay her any attention. They were staring at the fireplace in terror. An angry, insane god was in the room with them. They should be afraid. She was afraid too, but she was also furious. Errilol was hurting Tavik, making him ill. She wasn’t going to let the god continue.

“He doesn’t serve you anymore!” she screamed at the green fire.

“That is why he will die.”

“No, I won’t let you!” She lurched forward to touch Tavik again with the horn, but the green fire belched a ball of flame that swept over Tavik and his bed. It knocked straight into her and threw her and the two dumbfounded guards back into the wall. The force of the god’s assault left her breathless, but it hadn’t hurt her much. She was still standing, still conscious, and she still had the horn. The green fire faded back to orange. Errilol had withdrawn. Naomi sagged against the wall in relief.

More guards had come to the doorway. They were staring at her. Their faces covered with horror. She pushed herself off the wall to face them. A strange thump sounded on either side of her. She thought the two guards had merely passed out. She looked down at them. Black spots erupting in her vision to block out what she saw. They were burned beyond recognition. Their flesh was red and pulpy as well as black and charred. She stumbled away and fell against the side of the bed.

“Get away from Lord Tavik, witch!” one of the guard’s in the doorway shouted.
She turned wide eyes at them. They thought she’d murdered their comrades. Their swords were drawn and leveled at her. They were going to kill her if she didn’t escape somehow. She fumbled with the horn. Her burnt hands were not working. Instead of moving the horn to prick herself she had to stab her wrist on it. It slashed across her arm.

She staggered up the step to Agatha’s cottage. All the windows were dark. She moved to pull open the door but cried out when she tried to open her empty hand. Her other hand clutched the horn. She couldn’t open that hand either. She banged the side of her fist against the door and cried out through clenched teeth at the shot of pain it caused. She turned around and slid down the door. What good was the cottage, anyway? No one was here. There was no help. Her eyes slipped shut.

Awaken. Naomi lifted her head to find the woods shrouded in mist. It made goose bumps ripple across her arms. She raised herself to her feet. She didn’t know what had woken her. She searched for the cause. A glimmer of white caught her attention. A unicorn stepped out from among the trees. Another glimmer of white appeared to her right. She turned her head to find another unicorn. Her mouth fell open as unicorn after unicorn appeared out of the woods.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

We need your help. She was startled by the appeal. She didn’t know what to ask first. How could she help them? Why did they need her? What could she do? The unicorns heard her silent questions, and the answers slid into her mind like the mist around her, shrouding her with information. She stood still as she absorbed all they wanted her to do. When they were done, she nodded to indicate she understood and accepted. The unicorns slipped back into the woods leaving her alone again.

Mumbling an apology to Agatha, she forced her way into the witch’s cottage. Her hands were healed. Not a twinge of pain remained in them. She began grabbing what she needed. She took a cloak down from a peg and picked up a water jug with a carrying strap. She spotted the magic shield that she’d used against the Golgoffs. It would repel and throw back anything that attacked it. Her arm gave a phantom throb as she hefted it. It was as cumbersome as before, but its benefits canceled out the ache the weight would give her. She pictured the destination the unicorns had given her and pricked herself.

The wind made her stagger. She planted the tip of the shield in the ground and huddled behind it. To her amazement, the shield more than sheltered her; it also threw the wind back so that the force didn’t affect her. Keeping herself behind the shield, she began making her way up the trail. The shield was heavy, and she paused a few times to rest her arm, but as the wind howled around her, she knew she would have been blown off the mountain without it. If Agatha was the one who bespelled the shield, she could make a tidy living making and selling them. Naomi would buy one.

She finally could make out the cave entrance in front of her. She redoubled her efforts with the goal in sight. Once she was inside the cave and out of the biting winds, she put the horn’s tip to her lips and blew a warm breath across it. It began to glow and became bright enough to light her way. She walked further into the cave. The light wasn’t strictly necessary. She knew the way. It was so clear in her mind that she felt like she was some sort of well constructed automaton, a machine of fate. What she had to do was already memories in her mind.

She went around a bend in the cave and came to a sparkling spring. She dipped her water jug into it. When the container was full, she put the stopper back in and slung it back onto her arm. A crisp breeze that felt like a sigh passed over her. She paused a moment and bowed low to back of the cave. A blue light flared in acknowledgement and blessing. When she made her way back out of the cave and back down the trail, the unicorns were waiting. They watched her silently. Their manes and tails whipped about them. She brushed her hand over the jug and nodded. They winked away. She pricked her finger.

The room was empty. Naomi couldn’t believe that they hadn’t posted a guard within the room, but their stupidity helped her. It was one less obstacle she would have to deal with. She took a chair and jammed it against the door to keep the guards out this time. The sound alerted those posted at his door, and they began banging on it from the other side. She turned a deaf ear to them.

She strode to the bed and flung away Tavik’s mask. She hoped to never see him wearing it again. She raised his head to put the jug’s spout against his lips. She filled his mouth with the holy water. He sputtered and flailed weakly, but his eyes didn’t flutter. She tightened her hold to keep his head steady. When he swallowed, his lips turned blue. She watched the transformation in grim silence. Errilol leapt to life again in the fireplace. Her eyes slanted to the shield. She’d leaned it against the bed to free her hands but couldn’t stop now to retrieve it and use it to protect herself. Tavik hadn’t drunk enough. If she stopped now, Errilol would reclaim him. Tavik’s breath came out as cold mist. His body temperature dropped more with every sip he took.

“Stop, bitch!”

She ignored the god and continued to give Tavik the water. Fire swarmed out of the fireplace. It licked over the ceiling, the floor, and the walls. She didn’t budge. The heat scorched the soles of her shoes. Sweat broke out all over her body only to evaporate in the burning room.

Frost spread across Tavik’s cheeks. His eyes had opened. They stared at her, but there was no light in them. A pang of fear went through her. He looked dead. She bent her head to kiss his forehead. Her lips were seared by his chill. She poured the last of the water into his mouth. She watched his throat convulse one last time and then he went completely still. His skin turned white with a sheen of blue. She laid him back onto the bed. She crossed his hands and closed his eyes. The bottoms of her shoes had melted away. Her feet cooked on the burning floor.

“What have you done?” roared the god. She picked up her shield. It was cool to the touch. It hadn’t absorbed any of the heat. Agatha really needed to patent this thing. “Answer me!” he roared.

“I would prepare if I were you, Errilol. I’m coming for you.”

The fire crackled with laughter. “You think you can destroy me?”

“You shouldn’t have gone to war with the unicorns. They are not nice when they are angry.”

“I will wipe them from existence!”

She didn’t reply. She pricked her finger and was gone. She appeared again outside Agatha’s cottage. The door was jerked open by the owner. Mr. Squibbles sat on her shoulder. A relieved smile spread across Naomi’s face at the sight of the witch safe and sound.

“Where have you been? What’s happening?” the witch demanded.

“Naomi’s out there?” another voice cried, and Yula appeared behind Agatha. Naomi’s smile increased at the sight of her other friend. Agatha pulled Naomi into the cottage.

“You’ve seen Tavik?” the witch demanded.

She nodded and sank with relief into a chair. She almost missed the time she’d spent pent up in her room. Simple pacing hadn’t made her ache like this.

“Naomi, your feet!” Yula cried.

She looked down at her burnt feet. She hadn’t really let herself contemplate the pain. She wondered vaguely if the unicorns had given her some sort of mental blocks when they’d been in her brain telling her what to do. She touched the horn to her feet and felt instant relief as they were healed.

Agatha pressed a cup of wine into her hands. She cradled the cup and sipped from it. The wine felt wonderful going down her throat. “Naomi, what has happened?” the witch asked again.

“Tavik’s safe for now. Errilol can’t touch him,” she told them.

Agatha nodded. “We must do something about the god’s hold on him.”

“The only way is to kill him,” Naomi said.

“Kill Tavik?” Yula said horrified.

“No, Errilol.”

Both women looked shocked by the idea. “Kill a god!” Yula exclaimed. Agatha shook her head denying the possibility.

“The unicorns told me how.” Both women stared at her. “I have to go to his place of power and run him through with this horn. It’s the only way.”

“No, it’s impossible. You’ll surely be killed,” Yula argued. Her voice quavered in fear for her.

Naomi didn’t deny her assessment. “Why won’t the unicorns do it?” Agatha asked.

“Because they aren’t allowed into the homes of the gods. It’s like a magical law. They can’t break it.”

“But you can walk right in and slay him?” Mr. Squibbles said.

“I know it won’t be that simple, but I have to do this to save Tavik and the unicorns. Errilol has set out to exterminate them. His priests kill any they come upon.”

“And because the priests are virgins, the unicorns don’t know what danger they are in until it’s too late,” Agatha added as she pieced it together.
Naomi nodded. “We’re responsible. The unicorns and Errilol wouldn’t be fighting if it weren’t for us, and we gave Errilol the idea of how to destroy them.”

“Then it’s up to us,” Agatha said.

Naomi’s eyes flew up to stare at the witch. “No, it’s up to me,” she said. Agatha ignored her protest.

The witch began rummaging through her things. “The shield should be very useful against Errilol, but some sort of concealment will help greatly too.”

“Like camouflage?” Naomi asked weakly.

“No, like invisibility.”

Naomi and Yula shared a look. Naomi wondered where one signed up to become a witch because it sure came in handy. “Ah, here it is,” Agatha announced. She picked up a large corked jug. She brushed off the spider webs that clung to it.

“Agatha, I don’t know if that stuff is a good idea,” Mr. Squibbles said.

“You’re not sure it works?” Yula asked. Agatha uncorked the jug, stuck her finger in it, and pulled her hand away. When she held her hand up, she was missing a finger. Yula paled. “It looks like it works.”

“Wait till you have to really use it,” Mr. Squibbles grumbled.

“Are there side effects?” Naomi asked.

“It’s completely harmless,” Agatha assured her. The witched wiped her invisible finger on her apron.

Naomi glanced at the mouse for his opinion. “Completely harmless,” he agreed, “But you don’t know yet how you’ll have to use it.”

Continue to Chapter 54.