Black Unicorn, Tanith Lee [famous ebook reader txt] 📗

trick on her tonight, stirring upfrom the peaceful dark danger and uncertainty.

Tanaquil sheltered that night in a cave of the hills, with asmuch space as she could manage put between her and the cara van. Bushes shielded the cave mouth, and the fire she lit. Some times she would stab the fire with a branch and describe aloud the leader, Pudit, Foot and certain others, in vivid terms. To her muttering and firelight the peeve was guided in the early hours ofthe morning. It had killed a small rodent, and this she apologeti cally roasted for them. The peeve seemed indifferent to its ownloyalty.

They fell asleep, and were woken by sunrise.

When she walked out of the cave, Tanaquil saw that the hillsslipped gently down westward to a great plain. Lit by the risingsun, a golden crescent glittered on the plain’s farthest edge, and inthe curve of it the sky had swum in on the land.

“It’s the city,” Tanaquil told the peeve. The peeve groomeditself, not sparing a glance. “And beyond, there’s the sea.” She was very impressed. She had a second of wanting to jump up and down and shout, but she controlled it.

Very likely it would take some days to cross the plain, butTanaquil was reassured by the landscape as she descended into it.The sand had given way to thin grass, in places to tracts of wildred and purple flowers. Palms and acacias grew, and later there were orchards of palm and fig, olive trees and lemon trees,behind low walls. Villages lay along the plain like stepping stonesto the city. Tanaquil entered one boldly, and asked for fruit.They took her for a boy with very long hair, gave her the fruit,and were astonished at the “tame” peeve.

Tanaquil and the peeve walked all day, and Tanaquil had words with her ill-fitting cast-off boots. At sunset the wind roseeagerly. Men appeared in the orchards to cover the younger treesagainst the cold. Since there was another village in front of her,Tanaquil went into it and inquired of a woman on the street if shemight have shelter for the night. “I can mend things,” Tanaquiladded, enticingly.

The woman gave her use of the barn, and presently thevillage music box was brought her in pieces. Tanaquil sat on thestraw, bootless, working on the box, while the peeve chased realand imaginary mice, and the thinnest snow painted in the rims ofthe village. When she was finished, they gave her a supper of

peppery porridge and olives, and took the music box away. Sheheard it playing from house to house until midnight.

In the night, night passed down the street.

Waking, Tanaquil saw under the barn door four black stemswith flags of lighted ocean. She heard the shell of the horn scrapealong the door. She felt the terror of it, the magic, and theimpossibility that it should be there or that she should go to it.

“What do you want?” But the unicorn only moved through the village like thewind, silent, without music. Just before dawn, four or five women were staring at pinkglass hoof-pocks in the rime by the well.

“What’s this?” they said.

“Oh, whatever can it be?” agreed Tanaquil.

The peeve laid seven slain mice, subject to the laws of thecruel, badly made world, at the feet of their hostess.

So Tanaquil, daughter of Jaive the sorceress, finally reachedthe city she had been vaguely hearing of for nearly sixteen years. She felt so elated that day at having got there, it was almostas if she had invented and built the city herself.

First of all, coming out of some trees, Tanaquil found one ofthe stone obelisks. This marked the start of a paved road. It wasquite a narrow road, however, and empty; looking to either sideover the plain, Tanaquil could see in the distance evidence of much dust and traffic obviously going along wider roadways tothe city.

The narrow road, which would have taken a light cart andmule, ambled through groves of lemon trees and lilacs, and in oneplace there was a stone basin with water and an iron cup con nected to it by a chain. The chain settled for Tanaquil an idea that had been bothering her.

“Peeve, do you mind if I put you on a leash?”

The peeve had found a lemon and was trying to eat it. Shepeeled the lemon for it and, while it investigated the pith,Tanaquil tied ’round its neck the long sash that had secured herheadcloth. The leash was rather clumsy, but it would serve for now, and might prevent comment from the city people.

The peeve spat out the lemon and clawed at its neck.

“No, no. I’m sorry, but you must put up with it.”

“Off,” said the peeve, “off! Off!”

“No. Please. Just till we get—wherever we’re going.”

“Wurr,” said the peeve.It rolled about and became entangled with the leash. Tanaquil patiently disentangled it before it strangled. “Half an hour?”

The peeve sulked as they walked along the road. Every sooften it would sit down, and Tanaquil would find herself haulingit over the paving on its bottom. The peeve swore. It had learntsome of the soldiers’ oaths.

“Or you can stay outside.”

The city was surrounded by houses that had grown up underthe wall. There were gardens with cypresses and banks of flow ers, blue and white, yellow and mauve and red. The houses hadroofs of dragon-colored tiles. The wall stood over them, and ithad, as reported, tiled pictures on it of chariots drawn by racing horses, of lions, trees of fruit, and so on. The narrow road ended at a narrow gate, where two soldiers stood to perfect attention,like dolls.

Out of the city came an enormous noise. There seemed to beevery sound on earth taking place at once. Tanaquil heard wheelsrumbling, engines that toiled, buckets that rattled, and water that swilled; she detected cattle lowing and dogs barking, while trum pets crowed, doors slammed, birds flew, men and women quar relled and laughed and sang. She was taken aback. Well, what did you expect?

The peeve was gazing at the city’s noises in disbelief, at tempting to snuff out all its smells, including