Chapter Four

 

 

Ystella curled her hands into fists. No matter where she touched, it was dangerous. “I think you can let me go now.”

The tortoise smiled down at her. “I think I need you to protect my modesty.”

She barked a laugh. “You don’t have any modesty, and I am not clothing.”

She pushed back on him, but he didn’t move, so she took the steps back that were necessary.

He was still standing there with his skin marked from a thousand healed wounds and tough as smooth leather. She shook her head slightly and stepped even further back.

“Magnus, who have you brought in?”

Her naked captor turned and nodded to the man who was approaching them with a bundle of fabric over his arm. He handed the fabric to her companion, and he smiled brightly at her.

“Well, miss, who are you?”

She bit her lip and looked over the man in dark leather. He didn’t look like a shifter. “I don’t think you are the person I am here to talk to, so I am declining to answer.”

Her dance partner muttered as he pulled on the loose drawstring trousers and yanked on the tunic. “She is a shaman assignment. I have to take her up there as soon as I am decent.”

“That could take decades, Magnus. Seriously, what do I put on the register?”

“Guest of Kenzi. That should do.”

The man nodded. “That should do.”

“Ah, this is Transporter Becker. Transporter, the guest I mentioned.”

He bowed to her. “Pleased to meet you, mystery miss.”

She nodded. “Nice to meet you.”

Magnus finished straightening his clothing, and then, he smiled. “Shall we?”

He offered her his arm, and she cautiously put her fingers on the back of his wrist.

“You are in rough shape.” She murmured it softly as they left the arrival area.

“I have taken a few knocks. Nothing that I couldn’t recover from.”

She nodded. “Right. Obviously. So, who am I meeting?”

“One of the shifter shamans. Kenzi is very powerful and very pregnant. She is married to a merman, I believe.”

“A balanced relationship?” She had heard of it at some of the multi-herd meetings, but the idea had never entered her mind until now.

“That is the only way that a fey and a shifter can have a child.”

She nodded. “Of course. So, where is this shaman?”

“On one of the upper floors. We will take a lift.”

Ystella nodded. “Right. Of course.”

She didn’t say anything else until they were standing in the most amazing greenspace that she could have imagined. Trees were growing next to the support pillars, and she could hear a brook babbling somewhere in a corner. “Wow.”

Magnus nodded. “The shamans are shifter mages. Natural magic is in their blood.”

A low grunt came from the shadows, and a very pregnant woman stepped into the light. “My mystery mythical. I am so glad that Magnus was able to find you. My name is Kenzi.”

The woman was extending both hands, so Ystella met her halfway with her own hands outstretched. “My name is Ystella. I am pleased to meet you.”

The grip that the shaman had was warm, firm, and the crackle of magic that tried to run up Ystella’s arms was impressive. She kept the magic at bay and raised her brows. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”

Kenzi blinked, and her eyes opened wide. “Um, I was trying to find out what you are.”

“You could have asked. I know what I am.”

The shaman nodded toward the seating area nearby. “Can you help me down? And then help me up later?”

Ystella smiled. “Of course.”

She helped the woman settle on the cushions and got her into a comfortable position before she settled across from her and poured the tea.

Magnus was nowhere to be seen.

Kenzi smiled and took the teacup from her. “I am normally supposed to do this.”

“No problem. You must be very near your term.”

“Oh, I am, but I wanted to see this settled.” She set her cup and saucer on her belly, and she smiled. “So, what are you?”

“I am a unicorn.”

Kenzi frowned. “You can’t be. There are a finite number of those creatures, and we have a full roster.”

“Seriously. I am a plain brown horse with a large golden horn under normal circumstances.”

Kenzi paused. “That isn’t what unicorns look like.”

“I know. I don’t know why I am like this, but I am.”

The shaman took another sip of tea. “What are the effects of your condition?”

“Well, when I let the horn grow out, flowers bloom where I walk in either form. It is impressive. I can also heal, cause fertility, any number of weirdly benevolent effects.”

Kenzi blinked slowly. “Huh. Are you willing to have those skills tested?”

“Sure, but my horn won’t regrow for a few weeks. The true effects of my magic will be strongest then.”

Kenzi nodded and closed her eyes, muttering to herself for a few seconds. “Right. I have it. You can stay with us, and I will run some passive tests on you.”

“That sounds restful.”

“I am sure we can find something to keep you busy.”

Ystella smiled wryly. “Do you have a farm?”

Kenzi chuckled. “We have a garden.”

“That will have to do.” She inclined her head. “Thank you.”

She sipped at her tea and then asked what she had been dying to know. “How far along are you?”

“I am just at thirty-eight weeks. Don’t worry. I won’t blow.” Kenzi chuckled. “My husband is going to ask a few questions. Roman has never met an undeclared mythical before.”

“I look forward to meeting him. I have never met a mer-person before.” Ystella wrinkled her nose. “I am not much of a mythical, just a mishmash of horse and unicorn.”

Kenzi cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“I am not pretty or white or shining or graceful. I am a horse with a pointy horn that I can sand down to keep from being noticed.”

Kenzi nodded. “I see. Pain is something that we make ourselves used to. In your case, I am guessing that there was a side effect to the sanding?”

“The dust. It had side effects.”

“Like what?”

Ystella reloaded the teacups and nibbled at a cookie. “It granted wishes.”

Kenzi blinked. “You are joking.”

“I am not. I gathered it up and dumped it in the wood shavings that we kept for the stalls, and anyone who walked through the shavings was granted one of their minor wishes. A bit of money, a good first date, and the best omelette they had ever made. It was a weird few weeks until all of the dust was composted with the dung and shavings, and even then, the flowers that bloomed in the compost pile were amazing.”

“What happened when the compost was used?”

Ystella laughed. “We set county records that year for the largest watermelons.”

“Did anyone guess why?”

Ystella sipped at the tea. “Nope. They all blamed it on the new stallion that we bought for the farm. They were a little disappointed when it didn’t happen again the next year. I started to burn the horn shavings after that.”

“What was your reaction to that?”

“I would run a fever while it burned, but when it was ash, I was fine.”

Kenzi sighed. “I get the feeling that I should be making notes.”

Ystella laughed. “I can repeat it as necessary.”

“How would you classify your type of unicorn?”

“I have never thought about it. I am thinking that it would be a native expression of wild magic.”

Kenzi looked pleased. “That I will definitely write down.”

Ystella smiled and finished her tea. Even though her grandmother had driven her out of the herd, she didn’t feel weird or alone. She was where she was meant to be, and this was the start of something new.

 

Ystella looked around the woods and smiled. Roman and Kenzi were indoors, and she was free to wander the gardens.

She undressed slowly and folded her clothing neatly on a tree stump. It was the first time that she had changed out in the open in years. She wasn’t sure that she had enough magic to make the change, but she was going to try.

She focused on her forehead, wrapped the sense of magic around her, and eased onto her changing hands and feet. She called bullshit on anyone who said that it was seamless and painless. Ystella felt every break and tear as well as the icy shiver of her body taking extra mass and energy from the world around her. The mass exchange was hugely in favour of the unicorn, so the weight had to come from somewhere.

Once the transformation was complete, she walked toward the house on the edge of the water. Her horn wasn’t full, but it would be after two or three more shifts. It was pulling magic from the air around her.

Kenzi and her mate were sitting on the deck, and they both stood up when she wandered into their field of vision. She didn’t need to look behind her to know that there were flowers and herbs blooming with every step.

Kenzi got up, and Roman helped her down the steps. “Ystella, you are amazing.”

Ystella bowed, careful to keep her stumpy horn from striking her admirers.

Roman reached out to touch her side, and she stood still.

“You are very warm.”

Ystella nodded as she let them pet her. She lowered her head toward Kenzi’s very swollen belly, and the information she got from the contact made her wish she could smile.

Kenzi stepped forward and carefully ran her hands over Ystella’s neck and sides. Ystella could feel the magic prickle along her skin.

“You are amazing, Ystella. There is not a flaw on your hide or in your mane.”

Kenzi tugged slightly on Ystella’s mane, and Ystella sidled away.

She backed out of their grasp, bowed her head, and extended her foreleg before she straightened and headed back to the woods. Time to get her clothing back on.

 

Ystella smoothed her clothing and wiggled her toes. She could feel the increased pressure of magic behind her eyes. Her skin was recovering, and the plate of bone in her forehead was beginning its magical broadcast once again. This was the part that made her nervous. Her own folk couldn’t really understand what they were feeling, but someone like Kenzi was going to have no difficulty figuring out what was going on.

She walked back through the small windbreak of trees and returned to the deck where Kenzi had now taken a seat. Roman was bringing out a tray of food, and Ystella could smell the heat of the barbeque.

“What are we having?”

Kenzi smiled. “Hamburgers, steak, grilled asparagus, salad, baked potatoes, and grilled peaches. I am not sure what you are having.”

Roman sighed. “She is joking. There is plenty for everyone.”

Ystella nodded and walked toward the grill. “Can I help?”

Roman raised his brows. “Do you eat meat?”

“I grew up on a farm. I eat meat. Vegetarianism is a luxury of the modern era. If the global market collapsed, folk would be starving all over the world, and the luxury of selecting what you want to eat, as opposed to what you needed to survive, would fade quickly.”

He blinked. “That sounds like it has come up before.”

She wrinkled her nose. “My grandmother is a vegetarian. My father’s father is not. The arguments are heated, and I have to agree that while meat is murder, it is also an efficient exchange of protein for labour.”

“In that case, you can grill the meat. When I swim, I eat everything raw and that isn’t great for Kenzi right now.”

Ystella held her hand over the grill and counted. It was hot. She curled her fingers into her palm as she pulled her hand back, and then, she went to work on the steaks. Once they were on the way, she set the hamburgers on the edges of the grill and checked her watch.

She walked to the table where Kenzi was scribbling notes and poured herself a glass of lemonade. There were three glasses, so she guessed it was for her as well.

Kenzi didn’t look up, but she asked, “Did you know you were leaking magic?”

“Yep.” She sipped her drink and then got up to do a quarter turn on the burgers.

Ystella returned to her seat.

“No one has noticed?” Roman asked over his shoulder as he finished drizzling olive oil on the asparagus.

“Nope. If they have, they didn’t realize what I was.”

Roman nodded. “Right.”

She grinned, got up, and flipped the burgers. The steaks were browning nicely, but burgers were her favourite. They got all the attention she could manage and maybe a little bit of magic.