The Unicorn he was riding began to slow to a walk, then stopped. Jim looked into the towards the slightly larger unicorn he'd seen which was now approaching them. The unicorn he was on called to the other Unicorn . He was most definitely a stallion from his appearance, he tossed his head and cantered towards them.
He felt that the Unicorns wanted him to dismount. He slid off her quietly and found a large grassy sand dune to sit on. The unicorn stallion was obviously known to the mare that had brought him there. Jim supposed that this must be her mate. They both walked together into the sea, and played childlike in the waves for a while. They stopped and stood facing each other, placed their heads over each others neck, nuzzling a greeting too each other, They stood motionless in the setting sun for a while, grooming each other as the waves lapped gently round their legs. Jim watched this picture of beauty and serenity and unashamedly cried.
Both Unicorns began to play again as the evening drew in. After a long while they came over to where Jim was sitting. His unicorn put her head down towards him and gently nuzzled his face, as if to wipe the tears that were flowing down his cheeks.
"I felt the pain in your heart when you were on my back" she said. She pressed her head still closer and Jim knew she was sharing his thoughts and feelings. He could see clearly that horrid afternoon where he lay helplessly, supporting the head of his own horse that was dying of a heart attack, in a field miles from home and help. He felt a release, a freedom he'd never felt for a very long time. The Unicorn took the pain with it's magic and dissipated it into the summer air forever.
Jim was thinking about asking why he had been brought by the Unicorn to where he now was, indeed even where he actually was when the Unicorn began to tell him anyway......................
"Some time ago, this place was in total anarchy until it was calmed by a great King, with help from some wizards and just a little help from us. The King of this place has a magic staff, a symbol of his power and authority called the Helinth. This staff shines a great light at the King's command. Some time ago the Helinth lost its magic and now the people doubt and plot against the king. The King, Renlah, believes that the wizards of some neighbouring land have caused this calamity and is planning to go to war with them. This will place both lands into chaos once more, and we cannot allow this. So we had need of a wizard who could restore the power of the Helinth. However we searched all through this land and no-one was up to the task. So, we searched all the other lands to find one suitable, and found you !".
Jim was confused (again), "But which land was he going to attack ?" he asked.
"Yours !" replied the Unicorn, "and in doing so your people would have found this place and us too, throwing everything, even time itself into chaos."
"But why do you think I can fix this Helinth then ?" Jim questioned the Unicorn "I know nothing of it at all"
"Because we know you can do it" she replied. "But we must get there right NOW! I know you are tired though. So climb onto my back again. Sleep if you like. You won't fall, especially you as I think you've ridden us before !" she said in a soft almost laughing voice. Jim climbed gently up onto her again. He did indeed sleep as both of the Unicorns journeyed on, sleeping on her back, leaning forward onto her neck, his arms locked tightly around it.
Jim woke up to hear a commotion, people milling round him and the two Unicorns as they entered the courtyard of a large red stone castle. Someone important, well so it seemed to Jim's bleary eyes because of his attire and bearing, motioned them all into a large long entrance. At the end of the entrance were some stone steps which the unicorns climbed with amazing agility and lightness for four legged creatures. They entered a large candle lit room that resembled a large castle hallway. A great wooden door crashed shut behind them, and what Jim took to be the King, wearing a small gold crown, entered from an archway behind a Unicorn tapestry curtain. He was carrying a long golden staff with an odd but familiar looking yellow object on top of it. Jim stared at this object, in amazement and then amusement. He was going to laugh then snapped his mouth shut as he realized that this was a serious situation, this was the Helinth , the Kings symbol of power. Even though this was a golden staff with a yellow plastic torch from his own world attached to it !
The King stood before them, then someone, some official of some sort signalled to Jim. He felt the unicorn talk to him, as she nuzzled his shoulder, telling him what he should do.
He knelt before the King.
"Unicorns" he boomed in a low voice, used to giving commands. "Is this the new wizard you've brought me ? What makes you think he will succeed when my wizards who've served me for many years have failed ?"
The Unicorn mare walked up to the King, he couldn't hear her words, but he guessed he wouldn't as they weren't meant for his ears anyway. He watched the King placed the staff onto a long oak table that ran the length of the hall, and then signal Jim to go over to it
"Work your magic wizard, or leave before you start to anger me".
The Unicorn came over to Jim, who looked worried.
"Unicorn" he said, "I need my er, box of spells, where is it ?".
At that moment the tapestry rustled as three elves heads appeared, crawling beneath it, pushing his heavy red toolbox which he'd left on the snow the day before. They pushed it across the floor up to Jim's feet, and then scuttled away through another archway. Jim looked closely at the object on the head of the staff. It was indeed a torch. More accurately it was one of those cheap dynamo powered ones with a trigger shaped button that when squeezed ran a little dynamo to power the lamp. He looked very closely at it, noting the 'inscription' he found etched into it ;
'Made in China'.
Jim pressed the trigger in, the action felt OK but there was no resistance to the movement, and the lamp never lit. He unscrewed the ring holding the lens and reflector in place to get to the bulb, He heard from around the room a muttering of voices in both wonder and amazement. Looking up he now saw there was a crowd around him. Jim removed the bulb from the reflector and peered through the glass at the filament in the bulb using the light from a narrow slit high in the wall of the great hall. As he expected he'd find, the filament was broken. He looked again at the people around him, he had never seen such looks of awe and wonder on the faces of people before. His impish sense of humour got the better of him and he decided to have some fun. He looked closely at the side of the bulb.
"2.5 Volt 0.5 amp" he read aloud in a long, wizard like voice. An old bearded man in a cloak walked up to him, obviously the Kings own wizard.
"You can read it ? Non of us could ever decipher that inscription" he said.
Jim just smiled at him. He knew he had such a bulb in his tool box, he opened the top tray and removed it from a plastic bag he kept several assorted bulbs in. He decided to make a show of this for his assembled audience.
"By the God's of Watt and Ohm, the guardians of Sili-con", he shouted, passing his hands reverently over the bulb. "By the Lords that rode the Megacycle over the Whetstone bridge long ago, to the land of Hivolts, to battle the great Neon Dragon and take his flame, make this Helinth light".
For some reason he looked across at the Unicorns and he felt they saw through him and didn't approve of his antics. He pushed the new bulb into the reflector, reassembled it, then bowing to the torch he then rose to his feet and placed the staff upright. He placed his finger on the trigger button to try it.
"This had better work or I'm dogmeat !" he thought.
Jim pushed the trigger in sharply and as he expected would happen, a bright beam of light shone from the torch towards the King. The crowd in the hall gasped in amazement. He handed the Helinth back to the King, who smiled brightly at him.
"You are indeed a great wizard, and I invite you to join me here in my court".
Jim noticed both the Unicorns had come over to the King and talk to him once more. They stepped back from the King, who then walked over to Jim.
"The Unicorns have told me you are needed in your land more than I need you here. What gift do you require from me in return, you can name anything, it's yours".
Jim started to think, of daft fairy story things, not really knowing what to say, when he noticed the Unicorns talk to the King again.
"The Unicorns have told me what you desire, and it will be done, that I promise. Now you can leave if you wish with all our gratitude".
Jim was again confused (he was getting used to that though), what had the Unicorns said ? He walked over to the unicorn mare, as he knew she now wanted him to mount up onto her back again. He did so, and they quickly and uneventfully returned to the sea shore where her mate left her once more and galloped along the beach into the distance.
"We need to return you right now" she said, "I warn you though, it will be as big a shock as last time"
They crashed through the splintering daylight into darkness then into moonlight once more. Jim recognized the layout of Dent's mill buildings in the distance as the Unicorn cantered on towards them. She stopped near the hedge where Jim had first seen her. He got slowly off her back and stood in front of her beautiful small white form.
"What did you say to the King ?" he asked.
"You'll find out in time" she replied.
Jim looked sadly at the Unicorn, he knew she was going leave him now.
"Will I see you again ?" he asked, feeling rather stupid for asking that question.
"Me, I don't know, My kind, of course, your a wizard after all and we know you'll bring us no harm or even tell of any of this. You'll see some of us again, but when I can't tell you"
Jim was shocked to hear this, as it was something he'd decided to do on the journey home. He thought for a while, and realised he should not surprised as he had been on the Unicorns back at the time.
Oddly he looked at his watch (a bad habit he had when he was nervous) and could just make out the time in the moonlight. It read 23:44. He looked up again. The Unicorn had gone. He stood for ages, hoping to see her again, but she was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and walked slowly back to his van, cleared the ice from it and drove wearily home. He arrived there an hour later and found as expected his wife had gone to bed an hour or two earlier.
"What a day!" he thought to himself, still in disbelief at what had happened that night or was it even longer? He assumed he had fallen asleep at some point in the van, and dreamed it all. He felt different though, much happier and more relaxed within himself, which was odd as he never normally did especially after a late service call like that. He fixed himself a cup of coffee, placed it on the table and noticed a scribble on the note pad by the phone. He read his wife's handwriting on it ;
"Mr Henderson, the Arab horse on loan you wanted, says you can have her, call round tomorrow"
Jim beamed and cheered to himself. Hearing a ringing noise, he looked across the room in surprise as he heard his Unicorn wind chime, moving and ringing softly in the draught coming through the window. No, not a draught, the window was closed ! Odd ? He watched the gently swinging crystal unicorns, each set in a large gold ring, sparking in the room lighting. Then he understood what they had asked of the King.
"Thank you Unicorn" he whispered quietly.
(c) Geoff A. Rigby 04/01/1997 revised 11/02/2002