By the fourth day, Rick still had no word from General Alborn about the rescue operation. Daily, Barabook merchant ships arrived, unloaded granite and crates of foreign goods, then loaded up with Barabook-made goods and departed as if there was nothing different from their ordinary day. No fellow citizens in a dungeon, no king to be rescued. Summer was fast approaching and all Rick was doing was building a wall. A half-moon hung in the west. Rick had foolishly thought that by now he could have freed his family from prison and taken them someplace safe. He’d wasted so much time in Barabook, waiting for General Alborn to give the rescue orders.
“If I could have my half-moon wish,” he said, wrapping his hand around the base of Neighbor’s horn, “I’d wish for wisdom. To choose well, and use our resources well.”
“Wise choice,” Neighbor said.
Rick closed his eyes and made his wish.
And then there was Eri. Every day his magical mistake stood near the wall watching Rick work. Often his giant friend, Bob, would be with him. All day Rick felt Eri’s eyes penetrating his back. Every midday, when food was distributed, Eri would get close to Rick and say, “Change me.”
They needed to leave. They needed to rescue King Segan and the others. Out of frustration, Rick finally shouted at Eri, “Fine!”
Bob the Giant waddled up to Rick. “If you hurt him, I’ll crush you,” he said.
Rick licked his lips, and immediately regretted agreeing. He reached into his trousers pocket to where he’d kept the partial spell. He stared at the torn parchment for a moment. He’d saved it all this time as a reminder to be careful with magic, to be diligent, wise, to use it only when necessary. He looked back at Eri, who nodded his head giddily.
“I don’t—”
“Do it,” Eri said.
“He’s going to scream and pass out,” Rick told Bob.
Bob looked at Eri and shifted his feet, frowning a little. If Rick went through with this, maybe Neighbor’s healing touch would make for a quick recovery.
“Do it,” Eri repeated.
The two words on the parchment looked blurry, either from being carried so long rubbing inside his pocket or from Rick’s stinging eyes. He recognized the word for “right” and assumed that simply by substituting that word with “left”, it ought to do the trick. Ought to. He looked back at Eri, who nodded vigorously.
Rick took a deep breath, laid his hand on Eri’s left shoulder and muttered, “Pinna sinistra.”
Nothing happened at first, but then Rick felt movement under his hand. Eri’s left arm was expanding. “Catch him,” Rick said.
“Why?” Bob asked, just as Eri screamed and fell backwards, twitching all over.
“Ricky! No!” screamed Lydia, running towards him.
Bob caught Eri and laid him gently down, studying his friend’s face. “He’s hurting. He has a pretty wing, but stop him from hurting.”
“It’s part of the process,” Rick said, hoping he was correct, suddenly recalling the horror of it happening the last time. “He’ll be all right soon,” he lied. He didn’t actually know how long the recovery period was. He’d gone north after the first wing, while Eri and the Nimrock survivors went south. Lydia would know. Her fists were closed and her whole body, shaking.
“What have you done, Aldric? What have you done!” At eleven winters old, she scolded like an old woman.
Anna knelt by Eri’s side, muttering words over him. Eri kept twitching.
“He wanted it,” Rick said, feeling the physical weakness from using magic.
“So if I wanted my parents back alive from Nimrock, could you say your magic over their corpses, too? If I wanted Alyse dead for all the trouble she’s caused us, could you just slay her from here? Some magic shouldn’t be used, Ricky.” She started to cry. “Some magic shouldn’t be used.”
Rick reached into his coin purse and handed Lydia some Barabook coins. “Go bring Neighbor. Camouflage her horn so no one knows the unicorn is getting moved. If you’re stopped, say your master is in need of his horse.”
“My master?” she asked with widening eyes, then sniffled.
“Do it for Eri. Hurry.”
She did, and once Neighbor arrived and touched him, Eri stopped struggling and slept quietly. Rick’s magical mistake lay before him now as a boy with two wings. Bob carried him away from the wall to the house he shared with Eri, followed by Anna, who was as mad at Rick as Lydia had been. Neighbor wasn’t very happy with him, either, but she showed no sign of leaving him like she had the last time. She stood near the wall, waiting until she could be escorted back to the stables. Rick opened his mouth to say something to her in his defence, but instead went back to work on his section of wall.
From behind him came mutterings. Rick turned. People from the Bottoms who had come up for their noontime meal had witnessed not only a hand being transformed into a wing, but the healing.
“Me,” said a girl, leaning on a stick while limping over to Neighbor. “Heal me.”
Neighbor tilted her head, as if considering the child, and then touched her horn to the girl’s knee. The girl let out a shout, and threw away her stick. She stomped on her previously injured leg, running off along the wall towards the city gate into Barabook and throwing off her red cap. “I’m healed,” she yelled. “The white unicorn healed me.”
“Please,” said an old bent woman approaching Neighbor with crooked hands. “If you would, my lovely, would you heal my hands? It’s hurts so for me to hold anything.”
Neighbor hesitated, but then bent, and with the touch of her horn not only healed the old woman’s hands, but straightened her back as well. “Oh. Oh. Oh,” the woman repeated. She stared at her hands and wiggled her shoulders. She reached out and tenderly stroked the unicorn’s neck before giving Neighbor a kiss. She then turned and showed the other people clustered around.
Neighbor healed many people that afternoon. Some of them ran back to the Bottoms to tell of the magical healing, while others threw off their red clothes and bolted towards the city gate like the first little girl. Rogerin stood nearby to maintain some control of the crowd, but also keeping an eye out for anyone from the city who might be curious about the magical healing animal. Rick knew he was prepared to camouflage her if needed.
Because all magic drains the giver, even apparently a unicorn, Rick finally asked Geoffrey if he could lead her away from the disappointed crowd.
“You did good today, my friend,” he told her as they neared the gate. She was too tired to even respond. She needed time to recover. Rick spent the night in the stable with his friend, her, resting against her side. It was good to be together like this, but he wasn’t exactly looking forward to what she had to say about him changing Eri’s other arm into a wing.
When Rick reported for duty the next day, Eri came trotting up to him. He was well, except for the fact he had two wings now and some scratches and scrapes on his face along with torn knees on his trousers. Bob stood over him. Rick didn’t know what to say, so he waved a questioning finger at Eri’s face.
Eri rolled his eyes. “Bob can’t toss me high enough,” he said. “It’s also really hard to eat. My face gets all sloppy when I put my face onto the plate.”
“I’m sorry. I can…I mean, if I can figure out…maybe I could…” Rick stuttered.
Eri spread his large wings out to the side. Bob jumped back with a yelp and laugh.
“Don’t even think about it,” Eri said. “I just need to get a higher start.” He looked up at the scaffolding along the wall.
“No,” Rick said, guessing what he was planning.
“It’s all right,” Bob said. “I might not be able to throw him high enough to fly, but I know how to catch my little bird buddy if he falls.”
Rick was tempted to comment on the falls Eri had since yesterday, but instead went to Captain Geoffrey, who stared wide-eyed at Eri. “Can you imagine what Alyse would do against an army of bird-men?” the captain asked.
“No, and no,” Rick said.
With Geoffrey’s permission, Eri set about climbing the scaffolding. He required help. Geoffrey wouldn’t let him go to the top, knowing people in the city would see him and report it. Eri climbed as high as he could, awkward with no hands. Bob caught him three times before Eri was able to glide quite a distance away.
“Move your wingsies,” Bob said. “Up and down like a birdie.” The giant flapped his arms, slapping them against his sides. Everyone around, including Rick, laughed at the sight. Bob laughed along with them, moving his arms faster, and pretending to fly after some of the people, who scattered when the giant neared.
Work on the wall stopped, as everyone watched Eri’s attempts and success at flying. It also made for great amusement for people from the Bottoms, many who came asking after the unicorn and magician. After the first successful lap, Rick told Eri to practice away from the prying eyes of Barabook, behind the wall. “Perhaps, go up the river, or over land towards Nimrock to see if the Spikonians have started marching. But stay away from towns.” Rick knew that Eri in the wrong hands could be used to spy, if he weren’t imprisoned in a circus. This spying was for the good, though.
“Yes, General,” Eri replied.
Rick’s mouth dropped open at the title. Eri climbed the scaffold, and swept off.
“Go, birdie buddy. Go,” Bob shouted, stomping after him.