A Hero is Never Too Old
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 5,171 words
Publisher & ISBN
JMS Books LLC / 9781935753643
When Jessa was a young princess, the evil magician Farryl kidnapped her. Young knight Garrian, on a quest for the legendary Ky-Lin unicorn, crossed paths with the magician and rescued the fair maiden. After banishing Farryl to the Mystic Wood and retrieving the unicorn's horn, Garrian was granted Jessa's hand in marriage. And, as the story goes, they lived happily ever after.
Only perhaps they live a little too happily. Married life has fallen into a routine. With a lordship in the country, Lord Garrian no longer has the time to seek adventure in dangerous lands. Lady Jessa knows her husband longs for the old days, so takes matters into her own hands to give Garrian a chance to relive his youth.
But her plans go awry when a novice magician steals the Ky-Lin horn ... and takes her prisoner! Now Garrian has more than enough adventure on his hands as he enlists Farryl's help to rescue his wife once again.
This story appears in the print collection, Bones of the Sea and Other Stories.
Excerpt
Her eyes flew open at the slight sound, loud in the darkness. She listened carefully until she heard it again -- the turning of a latch. Beside her, her husband snored softly, still asleep.
A high squeal eased into the night -- the balcony door in the study. Should have oiled that, Lady Jessa thought as she quietly got out of bed. She tiptoed to the door, slightly ajar, between their bedroom and her husband’s study. Pulling it open a little wider, she peeked into the other room, lit only by moonlight through the balcony door.
A dark shadow crept along the far wall.
With her heart beating rapidly, Lady Jessa slipped into the room. Her gaze never left the shade in front of her. It crossed the room at a stealthy pace, heading for the tall pedestal that held her husband’s most prized possession. As shadowy hands removed the glass case from the pedestal’s top, Lady Jessa lit the large candle beside her.
Suddenly the shadow took on the form of a young man dressed in black. Confidently, he set the glass aside, ignoring her. Lady Jessa waited until he had the legendary Ky-Lin horn in his hands before she said, “Well, it’s about time you got here.”
Startled, the man looked at her and fumbled the horn. It was a large, curved hunting horn, spiraled like the horn of the Ky-Lin unicorn itself. Lady Jessa hurried to his side, hissing, “Careful!” She lifted the horn from his grasp and slung the thick leather strap over one shoulder. From the other room, she thought she heard her husband stir. The stranger stared at her openly. “Good idea, taking this,” she said with a glance over her shoulder at the bedroom door, “but it’ll mean nothing if you break it.”
Numbly, the man nodded. “Who are you?”
She sighed. “Gods, didn’t they tell you anything?” With the horn easily resting on her shoulder, she knocked over the pedestal, shattering the glass case as it fell. She winced at the sound. “Never mind -- just make a mess here and let’s get going.”
“Where to?” The man stood there, confused.
“Hurry!” Lady Jessa pushed him into action and within a few minutes the study was destroyed. Furniture broken, books strewn about the room. As a final touch, Lady Jessa used the Ky-Lin horn to break the glass in the balcony doors. Her husband was a sound sleeper -- he slept right through the noise, as she knew he would, and she herself had dispatched the manor’s guards earlier that evening. Stepping out onto the balcony, she looked down. Two stories below, a single horse nickered softly in the dark.
“You didn’t bring me a horse?” she asked.
The young man shifted anxiously. “Didn’t know you were coming along.” He reached for the horn, but she pulled it back.
“I’ve got it.” She sighed. “Guess we’ll take my horse, though for the price I paid, I’ve thought a horse would be included.”
Before the man could say anything, Lady Jessa hauled her robes up around her knees, climbed over the railing, and shimmied the slim rope hanging down to the ground. She looked up at the young man peering over the side of the balcony at her and called out quietly, “Wait here. I’ll get my horse.”
By the time he reached the ground, her mare pranced nervously beside his gelding. As he vaulted into the saddle, he turned to her. The legendary Ky-Lin horn of Lord Garrian was tied onto her pommel and hung against the shoulders of her horse. Lady Jessa sat side-saddle, dressed in full riding gear.
“Ready?” she asked him. Quickly he nodded, and she spurred her horse on.
He hurried his gelding after her.