Chapter Six #3
They were fortunate that the shire horse was even-tempered.
Even so, Delia would not like to be the person responsible for persuading the pegasus’s mother up the ramp into a wagon.
Just as well the colt was so young. One of the nuns had mentioned that he flapped his wings when he was feeding or playing, but they were still tiny and downy.
Once he had his flight feathers, keeping him in a wagon would be impossible.
She had a sudden mental image of the colt flying on the end of a lead, trailing behind the wagon like a kite.
When Delia had heard that they were going to the end of the canal, she had imagined a peaceful lake. As she emerged onto the plank that led to the shore, what she saw was very different.
The canal had split into several arms, all of them bustling with workers, except for the little side shoot into which their boat had been pulled.
Delia had time to note that something heavy was being transferred from carts to canal boats, but hadn’t focused on the detail before Sapphire needed her attention.
He was trying to look in several directions at once, twisting his neck in one direction and then another, pulling on the halter rope, his ears flicking back and forth, his eyes rolling and changing colors.
“All is well, little one,” she assured him, putting one arm around his neck and using the other to pat his flanks.
“We shall be leaving most of these noisy folk behind very soon. There is a wagon for you. See it? Just a few feet of plank, Sapphire dearest, and then another dozen paces and we shall be alone again. Just you, me, Polly, and Mary. And the egg.”
She kept talking, most of it nonsense, while coaxing Sapphire toward their wagon, the smaller of the two that were waiting.
Sister Louise’s nuns guarded the path where she and the unicorn had to walk, and beyond them, Mr. Thornton and his soldiers kept any curious workers from approaching.
There were men guarding the wagons, too.
Delia didn’t recognize any of them, and couldn’t pay them much attention, for Sapphire was objecting to the ramp that led up into the cart, and in the weeks since his birth, he had grown too much for her to be able to lift him.
However, he changed his mind about refusing the ramp when Polly and Mary disappeared into the wagon, followed by Sister Louise with the egg. Delia went up the ramp next, keeping a firm hold on Sapphire’s halter rope.
After a moment’s hesitation, he decided he could not be separated from her. He took the ramp at a rush and nearly knocked her through the canvas doorway into the wagon’s interior.
“They tell me we shall be at the castle in thirty minutes, or thereabouts,” said Sister Louise, as she placed the egg’s box into the corner that had been prepared for it and settled herself on one of the bench seats that stretched along the sides of the wagon.
Each bench was separated into five individual seats by curved metal bars, topped by a wooden armrest, so the wagon was obviously intended to carry at least ten people.
Delia and Polly both sat down. Mary was asleep on Polly’s shoulder, oblivious to their change of environment.
Sapphire, though he flared his nostrils suspiciously and his ears continued to telegraph his unease, made no attempt to explore the space.
Instead, he stood next to Delia, leaning against her legs, and she kept a hand on his back to comfort him.
And then, without further warning, they were off, the wagon jolting as it hit uneven spots in the road. No wonder the seat had been provided with handholds!
*
The castle had once been a medieval stronghold. Changes over the centuries had added conveniences such as dining halls with chimneyed fireplaces, glassed windows in the upper walls, and private apartments for the custodian of the castle and his guests.
The current custodian, a half-brother of the Duke of Findlater, met them at the castle gates. “Jasper! Well met. So, I am to host you and your catalyst am I, and an assortment of magical beasts? Any further trouble since the ambush you messaged about?”
“None at all, Uncle Percy,” Jasper was pleased to be able to say. “Thank you for adding extra guards to the escort you sent. If they planned anything for this last stage of the trip, they changed their minds.”
“Well, Jasper,” said Uncle Percy, “Let us get your Miss Nettleford settled, and then you and I shall have a drink and you can tell me why my brother has you hiding out up here in the Peak District.”
Jasper had been wondering the same thing.
It made sense to deliver Miss Nettleford somewhere she could be kept safe but would not disrupt the balance of the country’s largest city.
However, Jasper’s latest letter from Findlater, translocated into his hands last night, told him to remain with the catalyst until further orders.
But why? He still hadn’t discovered how to control his gift. He needed the wisdom of the London College of Mages to figure it out. Not that their advice had been helpful so far.
Even so, he had to find an answer soon, lest the force within him burst free and break him and everyone around him.