Taking Flight

Irith thought for a minute. “About two leagues, I guess,” she said.

“Are there bandits all over Sinodita, too?”

“What do you mean?” Irith asked, eying him warily.

“I mean, is the king of Sinodita as crazy as King Caren of Angarossa, and letting bandits run wild there?”

“Queen,” Irith told him. “Sinodita has a queen. And no, she’s perfectly sensible and there aren’t a lot of bandits.”

“Well, we can reach the border well before sunset, and we should be safe enough on the highway in Sinodita; I know it will be dark by the time we reach the town, but the greater moon should be up tonight, I think, and if it’s not we could stop somewhere until the lesser moon rises, or carry torches, or something. We don’t have anything bandits would want, anyway. I say we go on.”

“Maybe you don’t have anything bandits would want, Kelder of Shulara,” Irith said, putting her fists on her hips and glaring at him, “but I don’t care to risk getting raped!”

Kelder glared back, rather wearily. She did have a point, he supposed, and he didn’t want anyone bothering his destined bride-even if she didn’t yet know anything about her destiny. “Then you, Irith the Flyer,” he said, “can fly on ahead and meet us at the gate when we get to Sinodita.”

“There isn’t any gate,” Irith said. “It’s not walled.”

“Fine. Then you pick a place that a couple of fools like us can find, and we’ll meet you there.”

Irith continued glaring, and chewed her lower lip. Then she turned and called to Asha, who was waiting for them several paces up the road to the east, “Do you want to walk another four or five leagues today?”

“No,” Asha called back, “but I will if I have to, to catch the caravan.”

Irith frowned, looked back at Kelder, then threw up her hands in disgust.

“Oh, I give up,” she said. “I just give up. You two are hopeless. I can’t let that little girl walk that far, after she’s spent the whole morning hauling those rocks around! She’s about ready to fall over right now!” She pointed.

Kelder looked, and realized that Irith was right.

He had not considered that, but it was true. Asha was just a child, after all; she was not strong enough, really, for a journey like this. Kelder was about to surrender, to agree to stay another night in Angarossa, when Irith turned into a horse.

Kelder blinked; Asha stared, then grinned, then burst out laughing.

Irith had transformed herself instantaneously into a horse, a fine white mare, and she was just as remarkably beautiful as a horse as she had been in human form. Her mane was long and flowing, her tail came within an inch or two of the ground; she was long-legged and graceful, slim and splendid. Her white tunic had become a saddle blanket, recognizable by its blue and green embroidery; her other garments had vanished.

“I didn’t know you could do that!” Kelder exclaimed. He wondered where the other garments had gone, and whether they would reappeared when she changed back.

The horse snorted, and gave him a withering glare. He had had no idea a horse was capable of such an expression.

“Can you talk?” he inquired.

The horse shook her head.

“This is so Asha can ride?” Kelder asked.

The equine Irith nodded.

“Should we both ride?”

Irith tried to kick him, but he dodged in time. He noticed that her hooves were not shod. That made sense; after all, she went barefoot in human form.

“I guess not, huh?”

She glared at him again.

“Asha,” he called, “come here!”

The girl approached, very hesitantly. Irith lowered her head for the girl to pet, but Asha shied away.

“Come on,” Kelder said. “It’s just Irith.”

“But she’s … is she a horse?” Asha asked, almost whispering.

“She certainly looks like one,” Kelder said.

“I never rode a horse,” Asha said, still standing back. “I’ve never even touched one.”

“Well, this isn’t a real horse,” Kelder said, reassuringly. “It’s just Irith enchanted to look like one.”

That did not seem to reassure Asha very much, but she took another step toward the magical beast.

Kelder picked her up and lifted her carefully onto Irith’s back. “Lift your leg over … higher, don’t kick her … There!”

Asha settled uneasily into place.

“Hold onto her mane,” Kelder advised.

Asha did, but she was still not particularly steady.

“I’m sure Irith will walk slowly at first,” Kelder said, patting Asha’s hand. “And you’ll get used to it. You’ll see.”

Irith took a step; Asha, frightened, grabbed the mane more tightly. Kelder kept a steadying hand on Asha as the threesome started walking.

“Maybe we should get a saddle,” Kelder suggested, seeing how Asha swayed.

Irith turned her head and glared at him.

“No?”

She shook her head no.

“I’m all right, Kelder,” Asha said. “Really!”

“All right,” Kelder said, and walked on. “There’s at least one good thing, Irith,” he said, when they had gone a few steps farther. “At least this way you don’t need to worry about being raped.”

She tried to kick him again, and Kelder had to dodge, then duck quickly back to catch Asha as she lost her balance.

Chapter Ten