"Christianne Huard - The Unicorn's Duel" - читать интересную книгу автора (Huard Christianne)

The Unicorn's Duel
by Christianne Huard
For four hundred seasons have I ruled this clan with Snowfire," said Glacien as he calmly sharpened his black horn on a flinty stone. "Tonight, in keeping with tradition, we will hear and accept the challenge of any pair who think they can do better." There was silence for a few moments. The wind wailed over the frozen plain, but the gathering of two hundred unicorns made no noise. Then came the challenge - the sound of two hooves, knocking in unison on the icy rocks.
"Silverswift and Obsidian challenge you for the leadership of the North Moon clan, and for the privilege of giving offspring to this clan." The voice came from a young stallion, black as jet. His eyes, which matched his horn and mane, were an eerie amber. A steel-eyed, platinum-colored mare stood beside him. Glacien, ice-green of coat, looked down on the pair for a moment as Snowfire, white with garnet horn, stepped forward to take a look at the challengers. She snorted. "If you wanted children, not suicide, you would be wiser to leave and start your own clan."
"No clan of under twenty can survive against the Lycanis tribe," Silverswift spoke for the first time. There was a murmur of acknowledge. Humans were wily and dangerous foes. The Lycanis, who could transform themselves into wolves, were the worst of all. "Neither will we, if incompetents like you two continue to lead us."
"Enough," Glacien snapped. "As alpha male, I will choose the time: tomorrow at moonrise for the first duel. The second will commence when it ends. Does the challenging male concur?"
"I concur," said Obsidian. "As challenging male, I choose this place as the site of the duel. How long must we fight with horns retracted?" He addressed himself to Snowfire, for this decision was her prerogative.
"For a quarter of an hour, if the challenging female concurs."
"I do concur," Silverswift. "The first of the two matches will be fought between Snowfire and myself - the second, between the two males."
A foreign neigh crescendoed in the distance and cut off abruptly. "A female solitaire, under attack by the Lycanis, five miles south," said Windwatch, the lookout. "By the sound and smell, she's heading northeast." "Silverswift and Obsidian, recover the mare," Snowfire ordered. "That's a suicide mission!" Obsidian almost snarled. "Return with the mare, or do not return at all," said Glacien. To disobey an order from the alphas would have brought instant death at the horns of the clan. This way of life did not permit that kind of rebellion. The challengers bowed their heads in acknowledge and trotted out of the gathering.
"At least we know that the alphas fear us," said Silverswift as she cantered along. "Since they'd rather send us to certain doom than fight us in a duel."
"How could such cowards rule for so long?" Obsidian snorted. "Not cowardice but guile," his mate replied. "Though it is not as useful a trait as it once was: when they took over the North Moon clan, our chief enemies were the white bears and the ordinary humans."
"I haven't been with the clan that long," said Obsidian. Though popular and respected, he had joined the clan a scant forty seasons ago, along with thirty other brawling stallions who had come up from the south. He was the last survivor of that group of immigrants, the only one to adapt to a land which could only be grazed in the daytime, where two of the other three animal species were carnivorous.
"I must admit, the alphas' cunning served them well in those days," Silverswift said. "Both the bears and the humans have a flair for ambushes. Glacien is good at smelling out that sort of thing, and Snowfire has a genius for devising countermeasures." Obsidian had heard this lecture before, and knew when to say what. Now he said, "But the Lycanis are different?"
"Absolutely. Our enemies of yore hunted for food, or for the thrill of the chase. The Lycanis have those motives as well - but they love to surround and torture their prey once they run it to ground." The scent of blood was in the air, growing stronger by the minute. "They think and behave differently from our ordinary enemies, whom they hate more than we do. The alphas have never accepted that."
"Which is why we're challenging the alphas," Obsidian said on cue. He heard Silverswift chuckle beside him. "That's why I'm challenging the alphas," she said. "All you want is more fighting and a chance to raise some colts. It's sweet of you to let me pontificate like that."
"You tolerate my battles, I tolerate your politics. It's called love." Their objective loomed into sight. A golden unicorn stood at bay, surrounded by huge shark-toothed wolves. Many of them were dead, many wounded. Thirteen still fought. That was too many. As the rescuers approached, she kicked a wolf behind her, lost her balance, and went down. The pack covered her. Her head and neck emerged. She speared one and bit open the throat of another. A big white wolf latched onto her throat. Silverswift leapt into the fight. Her right front hoof smashed the ugly white head. Obsidian attacked near the tail of the golden unicorn, breaking the backs of two Lycanis with as many blows. The rest fled.
"Welcome to the land of the North Moon, stranger," said Silverswift. "What is your name?"
"Callichrys of the Singing Wood. I seek to join the North Moon clan."
"Consider yourself initiated," said Obsidian, as he eyed the Lycanis corpses. "Why perchance did you come to this wintry inferno?"
"There are too many humans in my old country - and too many unicorns. This land is less crowded, offers more opportunity."
"True - it affords unparalleled opportunities for dying young," Silverswift remarked. "Those Lycanis only left for reinforcements. We must rejoin the clan." Obsidian lifted his head and sniffed the wind. "The clan is heading northwest, away from our position. We'll have to follow them."
"Wait," said Silverswift. She gestured with her horn towards Callichrys's shoulder. An ugly gash slanted downward across it. "Be quick then," said Obsidian. The light from Silverswift's horn brightened infinitesimally, and the gash vanished. The newcomer was lucky - no unicorn can heal its own wounds. The three set off towards the clan at a steady canter.
"No chance for food, I suppose," said Callichrys. "Not until daybreak," Silverswift replied. "It'd be difficult to explain, so just take my word for it, and with any luck we'll break fast at sunrise." A howl drowned out the wind. It sounded like a wolf's, but more articulate, with a cadence more human than lupine. Other howls joined it. "They're still far away," said Obsidian.
His hooves plunged deep into the snow, and struck something. It was soft with fur, but still harder than the snow. The white bear came out of its hiding-place with a roar. On all fours, it would have been taller at the shoulder than the unicorns. Now it reared up on its hind feet. As it lashed out at them with huge paws, its breast was exposed.
A clean stab through the heart would serve the brute nicely, thought Obsidian. Silverswift restrained him, grabbing his mane with her teeth. "Both of you follow me, and don't lose the bear - I want him on our trail," she said. She turned and galloped back towards the howling. "Has she gone crazy?" Callichrys demanded. Obsidian tossed his head. "She's always crazy. And usually right. Let's play 'follow the leader'."
The bear was much quicker than he looked, but he was not as swift as the unicorns - not quite. He could not catch them at a dead run, if they kept their footing. If one of them slipped, that one would be his dinner. All the time, the howling grew louder, hence closer. Soon they could see the Lycanis, forty strong and surging towards them at a steady lope.
"Turn to the south of them, and follow my path," said Silverswift. "That should put the bear directly upwind of them." It did. When the wolves scented the bear, the whole pack swerved away with a collective snarl of anger and spite. It took no more notice of the unicorns, now traveling northeast again. Neither did the bear. It was fighting for its life against creatures which saw it as a menace to their supremacy. Its chances were not good. Such was life under the North Moon.
"How did you know they'd react that way?" asked Callichrys. "Every foal in this country knows that our predators - the bears, the common humans, the Lycanis - are deadly rivals," Obsidian explained. "Bring them within a hundred paces of each other, and you'll have a battle royale on your hands." Silverswift's thoughts were far away. "If we could master the human and bear tongues," she mused aloud, "we might be able to make common cause with them against the Lycanis."
"Do the humans even have a language, as we understand the concept?" Callichrys asked. "I think so," Silverswift replied, "Though not everybody does. Still, they must communicate with each other somehow." Obsidian slid to a stop next to a mass of undistinguished grey stumps. "It's almost sunrise," he said. "Let's wait for it here."
The eastern horizon flushed purple, then gold. The first rays of sunlight struck the stumps. Each telescoped upward about four feet, putting out willowy branches in the process. Silver-green leaves and white berries fanned gracefully out from each bough. "Callichrys, meet breakfast, also called snowferns," said Obsidian. "Also called lunch and dinner. It only blooms in the daylight. Eat up, and eat fast - every carnivore for miles around can see us." They grazed quickly, and continued on their way. The North Moon clan was still headed northeast. So were the Lycanis behind them. "That bear put up a better fight than I would have expected," said Obsidian after listening to their pursuers. "Now there's twenty-five wolves behind us, at most."
"Still too many," snorted Silverswift. "The clan is probably on the far side of the river Lythe by now. If we can reach the Lythe before it freezes again this evening, we may stand a chance." This puzzled Callichrys. "What does the river freezing have to do with anything?" Obsidian chuckled. "Your old home must be pastoral indeed," he said, "If you do not know that dark wights such as the Lycanis cannot cross running water. When they live in villages in their human shapes, they can only draw water from wells, never from rivers or streams. They can cross on the ice, however, and will do so even over thin, weak ice."
"We're making good time," said Silverswift, "At this rate, we should reach the Lythe before sunset." Just then, she stretched one hind leg too hard, and tore a ligament. It took Obsidian and Callichrys the better part of an hour to find and heal the damage. When they were done, the sun was high in the heavens and the wolves were much closer. They stopped to gnaw on some snowferns - pursuit or no, they had to keep their strength up.
This cost them some more time, but they compensated with a furious gallop. "I can't hear them anymore." Callichrys was panting after several hours of this race. "I think we've lost them. Could we stop and eat again?"
"The pack could be running silent," said Silverswift. "We'll stop here and eat in any case - we won't get another chance until tomorrow." Callichrys was dubious. "If they're still after us, we should keep moving. Better hungry than dead." Obsidian shook his head. "Half the solitaire unicorns who die up here take exactly that approach. If they're being chased, they keep running and never stop to eat. They're too afraid of being caught. Then they collapse from exhaustion, and are caught anyway."
"This place certainly gives new meaning to 'Eat or be eaten,'" said Callichrys. They stopped to eat, then moved on. They could smell and hear the river not far in front of them. There were other sounds too: pawing hooves and whinnies. "Well, Callichrys," asked Obsidian. "Which side of the river is the clan on?" He himself knew, but he wanted to see if the newcomer could figure it out. "They're on the far bank," said Callichrys, after listening for a moment. "Correct. Now let's join them."
The sounds changed as they came in sight of the Lythe. The river fell silent - they could see its hard surface glistening in the starlight. Then the howling started again. "They're only a few hundred paces behind us!" Silverswift almost shrieked. "Hurry!" They were at the edge of the Lythe by this time. Silverswift and Obsidian crossed it without further ado. Callichrys galloped upstream for a distance before moving onto the ice. She skidded downstream in a zig-zag pattern, stamping and stabbing at the ice as she went. Having done this to a hundred feet of the surface, she went ashore and joined the other unicorns. "Come with me," she said, leading them to a place on the bank opposite the midpoint of the damaged ice. "When the Lycanis reach the middle of the river, follow my lead."
The grey, shaggy shapes which gathered at the river's edge were hardly visible in the twilight. The Lycanis paused there warily for a moment. Then bloodlust overcame suspicion, and they bounded out onto the ice. When they were halfway across, Callicrys started to pound on the ice with her hooves. Obsidian and Silverswift did the same. Cracks opened in the ice, and began to spread towards the wolves. The ice collapsed beneath them. In the running water, they reverted to human form, and died almost instantly. "So running water strips them of their magic," Callichrys commented. "Why is that?"
"Who knows? Who cares?" said Obsidian. "The important thing is that it does."
They soon reached the clan. If the alphas were not happy at the return of their challengers, they concealed it well. Their delight at the induction of a newcomer was genuine. There was strength in numbers. There was also a debate concerning the approaching duel. Glacien was perfectly prepared to lead the entire clan to the agreed-upon dueling site.
"It would be pointless," said Obsidian. "I chose the site, but one is as good as another. If the alphas agree, my partner and I are perfectly willing to fight the duel here at moonrise." He thought, but did not add, that he and Silverswift were tired enough without the additional trek back to the original site. As it was, they only had an hour to rest before moonrise. The alphas agreed to accept this site as a substitute.
As originally agreed, the mares would go first. Callichrys came over to Silverswift. "I don't know much about this clan's politics," she said, "But I want you to know - I'm on your side." Obsidian also met with Silverswift before the battle, but no one ever knew what they spoke about.
The two mares faced each other, with horns retracted. Snowfire reared up and lashed out with one forehoof, aiming for Silverswift╣s head. The challenger stepped to one side, wheeled, and kicked. Snowfire leapt backwards to dodge the blow. The fifteen minutes went by without injury to either dueler.
When the time was up, the mares again positioned themselves face to face. Their horns extended slowly and silently. Silverswift struck first. She lunged at Snowfire's chest, aiming her horn at the heart. At the same time, the other took a step back. Arching her neck downward, she parried the thrust neatly. Simultaneously, she reached out with one hoof and struck at Silverswift's right shoulder. The blow carved out a long gash, tearing skin and muscle.
Obsidian shuddered in spite of himself. There was nothing he could do. It was forbidden to heal dueling wounds until the battle was over. Silverswift must have been in terrible pain but she hid it well. Snowfire reached out with the same hoof. Silverswift bit into that leg, just above the hoof, and twisted the leg sharply. Snowfire screamed in pain. She was effectively three-legged now.
She reared up again. Silverswift ducked and stabbed her in the belly. Snowfire fell over, pulling her foe down with her. Silverswift╣s horn broke off in the wound. A murmur went through the clan. No magic could replace a horn. The challenger would die as surely as if her heart had been removed. The question now was whether she could take her adversary with her. Silverswift staggered to her feet and lifted one hoof. She brought it down on the other's head, crushing her skull. The challenger - neither victorious nor defeated - fell down again, and lay very still.
"Your partner is dead," said Glacien. "You have the option of withdrawing your challenge."
"Your mate is dead," retorted Obsidian. "Surely you have the option of resigning?" Glacien shook his head. "If you still seek to rule the clan," he said, "We will begin the fight after an hour of mourning for the dead." Obsidian found himself wondering if Glacien had ever loved Snowfire the way he had loved Silverswift. The way he still loved her, though she lay dead at his feet.
An hour later, the two stallions faced each other with horns retracted. Obsidian spun around and kicked. Glacien dodged the blow. He lunged at Obsidian's flank and knocked him down. The alpha aimed a hoof at the black one╣s head, but Obsidian rolled away and got to his feet. The two reared up nose to nose, tearing each other with teeth and hooves. Their forelegs tangled together. They toppled over, still interlocked. The stallions lay there writhing, trying to separate themselves from one another. They were still entangled when the fifteen minutes were up. Obsidian lowered his forehead until it was almost touching Glacien╣s throat. Eighteen inches of sharp bone extended suddenly from his head. The horn went straight through Glacien╣s jugular vein. The alpha thrashed violently. Obsidian felt at least three ribs crack. He managed to pull himself free of the flaying Glacien, and got to his feet. Suddenly, the green, blood-splattered body was still.
A roar went up from the clan. "Obsidian has conquered! Obsidian leads the Clan of the North Moon!" It was a hollow victory for the new alpha. Leadership means politics, and politics were not Obsidian's forte. Silverswift had always been the devious one of the partnership. If she had lived. "The alpha must choose a partner!" The crowd insisted. Obsidian wondered what they would do if he resigned then and there. Yet - Silverswift had wanted the clan's strategies reformed. She had died trying to acquire the power to make those reforms. Like it or not, he had to try her agenda. He could not do so without an alpha mare. The golden newcomer hovered near the front of the crowd. "I choose Callichrys," he whinnied over the din. The clan needed a fresh, devious brain more than it did a familiar face. The alpha could give his new friend power, though not love. He felt a pang of guilt when Callichrys came and stood beside him, but only a pang. Silverswift would have wanted it this way.