The Sorcerer's Return (The Sorcerer's Path) (33 page)

Peck stood and glared for a moment before spinning on his heel and fetching
Newmoon. He hated to give anyone, especially Daebian, his horse but, with Azerick gone, it was not a battle he was going to win. He strapped on the saddle and fitted the bridle onto Newmoon’s head before reluctantly handing the reins over to Daebian.

Daebian grabbed the cinch strap and pulled sharply upward. “Looks like the saddle was a little loose. You wouldn’t be trying to kill me, would you
, Peck? There does seem to be a bit of that going around.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Peck replied tersely.

“It is one of life’s many mysteries.”

Daebian spurred his mount and raced across the grounds, kicking up clods of dirt as he sped through the gates and raced across the open field.
He chose a wide path and used the leather reins to mercilessly drive Newmoon at a reckless pace. Newmoon’s nostrils flared as the big stallion fought to feed his lungs with air while Gloom did his best to keep pace overhead.

Daebian was not in the mood for
a confrontation with Wolf, so he did his hunting far away, which necessitated the use of a horse. Peck appeared to be genuinely fond of this one in particular and had been petulant. Such familiarity from the help could not go unpunished. He had learned early on that it was often easier to punish people who possessed a conscience by hurting those they cared about instead of the offender. Once again, he was grateful not to be burdened with such a thing.

When Daebian finally returned to the stables,
Newmoon was worked into a froth and favoring his right foreleg. Peck ran across the stable and knelt down to inspect the hoof.

“You’re right, Peck, he does have a poor attitude, but I was able to work it out of him.”

“What have you done? You’ve lamed my horse!” Peck shouted, barely able to keep himself from grabbing a pitchfork and attacking Daebian.

Daebian looked down at Peck as the young man examined
Newmoon. “Your horse? Did you pay for him? No, you did not. My father owns all of these horses, and in his absence as his eldest son, they fall to me to do with as I choose. That is what this little lesson was all about. Father’s problem is his kindness breeds too much familiarity with the help.”

“You won’t get away with this!”

“Do you think not? I suppose you could go tattle on me to my father whenever he comes home, but it is my experience he has far more important issues to worry about than his son, much less a horse.”

“It must be so hard to be you,” Peck
said sarcastically.

“On the contrary, it is supremely simple. Life is amazingly easy when you are not poor, stupid, and constrained by the hypocrisy of morality.”
Daebian began to leave but turned back as he neared the stable entrance. “I see why you like that horse. I hope you get him well soon. I look forward to riding him again.”

Daebian was still a hundred feet from the tower when Miranda came rushing out the doors and practically leapt the steps as she ran to him.

“Daebian, where have you been?” she demanded fretfully.

Daebian wriggled from her embrace. “I just went for a ride, Mother.”

“What are you thinking? A man tried to kill you last night!”

“And now he is dead. Dead men rarely pose
much danger to others. Father is obviously an exception.”

“Do not be glib with me! Jansen is dead
, and we do not know if there are more assassins around. Go get washed up for supper, and you will stay close to the tower.”

Daebian reluctantly obeyed, not wanting to increase his mother’s agitation since it would only make her more impossible to deal with.

Peck liberally applied a liniment to
Newmoon’s leg and wrapped it tight. The tendons in his knee were stressed but thankfully not torn. Newmoon would need rest and some light exercise, but he would recover quickly with proper attention…this time. Peck knew he had somehow offended Daebian. There were rumors floating around about bad things happening to people who did.

Peck did not consider himself a coward, but he knew facing Daebian directly would get him nothing except possibly an inexplicable accident. He needed to show Daebian he was not easy prey, but he would need help. Tangling with Daebian was a dangerous endeavor, but he would not let anyone abuse his horses.

He saddled a mare and headed for the forest. He did not usually ride through the woods, preferring the open fields and pastures closer to the school. Peck chose a path at random, calling out into the trees and counting on Wolf to find him since he would never find the half-elf. Just as he thought they would, Wolf and Ghost emerged seemingly from the ground as if the forest suddenly gave birth to them.

“Hi, Peck,
I don’t see you out here much. Must be about your stallion,” Wolf said as he stroked the mare’s neck and fed her a handful of pine nuts.

“You saw what he did to Newmoon?”

“Of course.”

“I can’t let him kill
my horse.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I have a plan for when Azerick returns, but Daebian has to be taught a lesson. He won’t do something just because Azerick tells him to. In fact, he would probably do the opposite just to be spiteful. I won’t pretend to know how Daebian thinks, but I do know animals. If I show weakness, he’ll just keep coming at me.”

“You can’t fight him,” Wolf said def
initively. “I’ve seen him fight and he’s really good.”

“I know. I’ll have to outsmart him.”

“No offense, but you’re probably better off fighting him.”

Peck grinned. “It seems some guys get all the breaks doesn’t it? If he has one weakness, it’s his ego. I can use that against him, but he could get hurt, really hurt, but I don’t care. I know he’s Azerick’s son, but he is a horrible person
, and I cannot let him keep hurting my horses.”

Wolf nodded. “I understand how you feel. What he did to Newmoon today was nothing compared to what I have seen him do to other animals. I’m in. What do you need me to do?”

“How are your birdcalls?”

Peck spent three days icing, steaming, and massaging Newmoon’s injury before Daebian reappeared. He was almost relieved when Daebian came strolling into the stables. The anxiety of waiting for him was unbearable.

“Peck, is my horse ready?”

Peck finished applying a new wrap soaked in liniment. “No, it will be at least a week before
anyone can ride him.”

“What if I insisted on riding him now?”

“I would do everything in my power to stop you. If you ride him too soon, you will create an injury that will never heal.”

“Lucky for you I plan on riding him a great deal, so I will heed your
professional recommendation and not force you to tax your limited abilities. I will return in four days to ride him whether he is ready or not. My tolerance for weakness is one of the few limits I possess.”

Peck did not bother to respond
, and Daebian did not wait around to hear it. Peck went back to working with Newmoon in the corral. He needed to slowly work more strength back into the limb as well as teach him a new command. It was a short amount of time to teach such a thing, but no one was better at getting a horse to listen than he was. He hoped Azerick returned soon.

As always, Daebian was good to his word and returned on the day promised. Peck tried to convince him Newmoon was not ready, but Daebian insisted and would brook no argument. Peck wrapped the horse’s knee with a fresh bandage to stabilize it as best he could.

“That should hold as long as you take it easy.”

“If I wanted to take it easy, I would have grabbed one of these other nags,” Daebian retorted.

“If you push him too hard you could permanently lame him!”

“If that is the case then the horse is weak and deserves to be put down. This is a school of militancy, not some school of etiquette with a stable full of leisure horses.
He will either come back whole or be fed to the dogs.”

Peck bored holes through Daebian’s back with his eyes as he galloped away. “With any luck,
Newmoon will be the only one who comes back.”

Daebian put his heels into Newmoon’s flanks, urging him to greater speeds. The open fields vanished in an instant as he plunged into the forest and raced down the narrow trail. Most any rider would have slowed down significantly, but Daebian was confident in his balance and reflexes. Even without touching the soul
stone, he could feel Klaraxis’ influence on his body.

Trees flew by in a blur of green and brown. Only the wind whistling past his head could compete with the sound of Newmoon’s labored breathing and thundering hoof beats.
The next stretch was tricky. A fallen tree created a nice jump, but the trail curved sharply left just beyond the obstacle. He had to brace for the jump and immediately shift his weight into the curve.

Newmoon flew over the log like a dolphin breaching next to the prow of a ship. So smooth was the horse’s gait th
at Daebian could not discern the exact moment his hooves left the ground. Daebian began to lean in preparation of making the turn, but Newmoon kicked up the instant he touched down and twisted.

Daebian experienced the joy of flight for seconds that dragged on for an eternity. He looked back and saw Newmoon kicking and bucking wildly before galloping away. He turned in the direction of his trajectory and watched the ground rising to meet him with agonizing slowness. He never felt the impact, only the sensation of floating in a pitch black sea as waves roared in his ears. And then he knew nothing.

“Has anyone seen Daebian?” Miranda asked as they sat around the dining table.

“Riding again, I think,” Alex answered.

“I swear that boy tries to worry me to death.”

“I’m sure he’s out doing whatever it is he does when not doing drills,” Allister said.

Gloom flew through the door to the kitchen, nearly causing the serving woman to drop her tray of food as she entered the dining room. He landed in the middle of the table and began cawing noisily and fluttering his feathers in agitation.

“Ugh, it’s that bird of his,” Miranda said disgustedly. “Daebian must be nearby. Shoo, go away, you vile thing!”

Gloom only began squawking louder and started flinging food from plates with his big, onyx beak.

Allister watched the bird’s antics a moment. “Has anyone checked with Peck so see if Daebian returned from his ride?”

“Do you think something has happened to him? Did he take a fall?” Miranda asked worriedly and stood.

“I don’t know
if anything has happened to him, but perhaps we should make some inquiries.”

Rusty, Allister, Miranda, and Alex hurried from the
dining room and crossed the grounds. Only a few lanterns remained lit as Peck and his team of groomsmen finished feeding and putting the horses up for the night.

“Peck, did Daebian take a horse out today?” Allister asked as they entered the stable.

Peck started at the sudden question and his eyes shifted nervously. “Um, yes, late this morning.”

“Are all the horses accounted for, particularly the one Daebian took?”

Peck looked at the stalls behind him. “Yes, they are all here.”

“So you saw Daebian come back?” Miranda asked.

“No, not exactly.”

“What do you mean, not exactly?”

“I found Newmoon in his stall.”

“A horse came back without a rider and you did not bother to tell anyone?” Allister barked.

“I—I thought Daebian just put him in there and did not bother with his equipment. He does that, saying it is our job.”

Allister gave Peck a stern look that promised more question
s later. “We need to find him. Does anyone know what direction he went?”

“I think I saw him ride out of the east gate and enter the woods
near the southeast area of the training grounds,” Alex supplied.

“There are thousands of square miles of woods out there
, and it’s dark. How are we going to find him?” Miranda begged.

Gloom flew into the stable, roosted on a rafter, and squawked. He flew back out of the stable and landed on the roof of the smithing shop, cawing loudly.

“I guess we follow the bird,” Allister grumbled.

“Gods, if that bird takes us to Daebian, I’m going to have to start liking it,” Miranda said under her breath.

“Peck, saddle us some horses,” Rusty ordered. “Time may be of the essence.”

It took less than five minutes to have the horses saddled and the search party underway.
It was impossible to pick Gloom out from the darkness, but his constant squawking kept them all on track. They began calling out Daebian’s name but there was never an answer.

“Wolf!” Allister shouted into the trees. “Where is that blasted boy? Any other time you couldn’t stop to relieve yourself without him throwing pinecones at you. The one time we need him, he’s decided to keep to himself!”

The party continued to follow Gloom’s insistent calls as the two wizards illuminated the surrounding forest with bright orbs of light. Fortunately, they did not need Wolf’s excellent tracking skills or Ghost’s powerful nose to follow the trail churned up by Newmoon’s hooves. They continued to follow the path until Gloom landed on a downed log lying across the trail and began hopping up and down, cawing madly.