Piers Anthony - Unicorn Point

He scooted under an overhanging bush and picked up speed in the straightaway between several large trees. But there was a sinister trace of mist descending, forming a low cloud. He had seen what unnatural clouds could do! He slid to a halt, trying to avoid it, but it expanded to embrace him. Suddenly he was lost in choking fog. He could not see his way clear, and indeed, had to put his nose down to the ground to breathe. This was certainly magical, and surely not the work of his friend Barel!

“Wolf pup,” a human voice came. “Are you Flach’s friend?”

Flach: the human name of Barelmosi! Had he escaped after all? Were they casting another net for him? “Aye, spook,” he growled. “And may thou catch him not!”

A manshape came out of the obscurity. “I helped catch him before, but now I am changing sides. Will you help me free my son—and my wife?”

Forel stared up at the figure. It was the Rovot Adept! “There is little time, wolf,” the rovot continued. “Flach and Fleta are captive on an isle under the sea, and I can not go there now without arousing suspicion. But I can conjure you there, where you can verify that I am speaking the truth. Will you cooperate to that extent?”

It was obvious that the dread rovot had him captive, so could either kill him or compel him to do his bidding. It was better to go along, at least until his chances improved. “Aye,” he growled. “But I trust thee not, rovot!”

“Nor should you, wolf. Hold on; I am conjuring us to a safer place. This concealing cloud is too obvious, here.” A concealing cloud: of course! Barel had used clouds as a device to hide things they had to hide, but only when no others except the oath-friends were present. They alone had known his nature, that he was the man-‘corn, no wolf at all, but a creature of far greater potential. But he had rewarded their support with the benefits of his growing power, and their friendship with his own. He was, at the root, a youngster like themselves, who had left his origin to come to this Pack as they had. He was one of them in the ways that counted, and it had been entirely fitting that he and Sirel had Promised when they made their first Kills together. Forel hoped to do the same with Terel, when the time came, and he would be come Forelte, and she Terelfo, until they were granted their kill syllables.

So it was not surprising that Barel’s rovot father knew the uses of clouds. As Forel felt himself wrenched to somewhere distant, he was already gaining confidence. Maybe the rovot spoke truly, and was now on the right side. It would be won derful if Barel no longer had to hide from his family! Barel had not spoken much of this, but they knew, as oathrfriends did, what he was feeling. He loved his sire and his dam, and hated being apart from them, but knew he could not serve the side they served. His grandsire Stile, patron of all the better animals, had made that clear to him. And he would return when he could; they all knew that. By ancestry Barel was man and unicorn, but by association he was wolf, and that would never change. The realm steadied. Forel gazed out into a white chamber, irregularly globular, resembling the shell of a hollowed-out gourd. The floor was spongy but firm enough for good pur chase.

“Turn manform,” the rovot said. “We must talk quickly.” Obligingly, Forel assumed his human form, complete with his fur jacket and breeches, and the fur slippers needed to protect his frail human feet. In so doing he sacrificed advantages of nose and tooth, but gained that of human speech, which was more versatile than growl-talk.

“Thou claimest to be on our side now, rovot?” he demanded as challengingly as he could manage. It was obvious that he was in the power of the Adept, but appearances were important.

“So I claim,” the rovot agreed, taking no offense. “This is the situation: Bane and I served the Adverse Adepts not because we had any liking for their policies or ambitions, but because they supported my liaison with Fleta. Once that commitment was made, it continued and increased, as a matter of honor rather than preference. But after we recovered Flach, the Adepts violated the covenant between us by threatening to kill his mother if Flach communicated again with Nepe in Proton. This was false in two ways. It prevented the Adept Stile from using Flach’s power to his advantage while the Adverse Adepts were using mine to their advantage. And it undercut my union with Fleta, upon which the covenant is based; I could not remain married to her if they killed her.” He looked directly at Forel. “Suppose, wolf, that you achieved your first Kill, and Promised to the bitch who—“ He paused.

“Terel,” Forel supplied grudgingly.

“To Terel. But instead of granting you adult status, Kur relgyre killed her. Where would you stand?”

“The Pack Leader would ne’er do that!”

“Agreed. But what of an Adverse Adept?”

Forel nodded. “Methinks I take thy point.”

“I mean to conjure you to my son, where you can quickly verify what I have told you. I want you to enable Flach and Fleta to escape the power of the Adepts. If you discover that what I have told you is not true, no one will be able to make you do anything more, for I dare not go into the Adept strong hold now. Of course you will be trapped there yourself. You will be taking a serious risk no matter how it turns out.” The rovot seemed sincere. But how could he be sure? The Adepts were notorious for the manner they dealt with ani mals, as more than one grown bitch had discovered to her cost. He had to ponder.

“Where be we?” he asked, hoping to elicit further proof of the rovot’s intentions.

Mach smiled. “In a cloud, floating above the forest of the Animal Heads. It changes its location with the wind, but will not move far in the next hour. You must tell Fleta that, or Tania, so they can find it. You can guide Flach here your self.”

“A cloud,” Forel repeated, unbelieving. True, it did look like the interior of a cloud, but he knew that clouds were not always the way they looked.

Mach made a gesture. Suddenly the walls became transparent. There was blue sky beyond, interspersed by the white masses of other clouds at this level.

Forel looked down. There below was spread the panorama of the land, its forests and rivers and fields. He had ranged across it enough to recognize its nature, though he had never viewed it from such a height before. This really was a cloud! With that simple confirmation came his acceptance of the rest. “Tell me how,” he said.

The rovot seemed unsurprised at his process of decision. “Here are two amulets. Each will enable its invoker to as sume the likeness of his companion. One is for Tania, one is for you. When I conjure you to the prison isle, give one to Tania and keep the other, and then the four of you must change forms and flee the isle and make your way here as swiftly and quietly as you can.”

“But the Adepts!” Forel protested. “They will let us go not! And Tania—she be worst o’ the Adepts; canst trust her?”

“Tania too has changed sides; she can be trusted now,” the rovot said. “Here is one more amulet. Invoke this after Flach and Fleta change forms, and before you do. Do you understand?”

“Aye. I invoke my amulet last, and the other next to last. But what does it do?”

“It generates decoys.”

Forel did not see how that related, but did not care to show his ignorance, so did not question it. The rovot gave him the three amulets and made sure he knew them apart. “Remember,” the rovot concluded, “act immediately. The Adepts will realize that something is happening the moment you appear; you must act before they do, or all is lost.”

“Aye.” He certainly knew the importance of fleeing enemy territory quickly!