In The Beginning by Gail Daley (top 100 books of all time checklist .TXT) 📕

west, finally coming to rest on the symbol for the village of Buttersea.

All three experienced the soft caress as Anghard left them for the final time.

"What have you done?" Lewys demanded.

Catrin looked up at him with tears running down her face. "It was grandmamma. She touched me before she left," she sobbed.

"We all did," Rebecca said coolly. "Look, we have a destination."

Lewys stared down at the map with the stone resting on it. "Yes," he sighed. "We will be going west in the morning. I heard from Cousin Lerrys. He needs to leave Ironlyn. The local Proctor is getting suspicious because so many Magi have disappeared in the area surrounding Ironlyn. We will go home. That village is on the way. If your sister is there, we will find her."

Rebecca nodded. "We will be ready."

"I need to go into Joppa tomorrow and pick up the supplies I ordered. You three will stay here and pack up so we can leave when I return," Lewys instructed.

At dawn, Lewys came to wake them. They stood quietly, while he lit the pyre, watching in silence as Anghard's earthly remains were consumed.

Breakfast was a subdued meal. Afterwards, Lewys put a pack saddle on one of the mares, saddled his stallion, Sunrise and left for Joppa, the village outside the Trade Station. His grandchildren packed the two wagons for the journey. It was a complicated process. The limited space meant everything had to be stowed in exactly the right place or it wouldn't all fit.

Packing took longer than it should have because Owen kept stuffing things in higgledy-piggledy. It was obvious he was in a hurry. After she had unloaded and re-packed the things he had already packed several times, Rebecca turned to him in exasperation. "What is wrong with you? This will take forever if you aren't more careful. Why are you in such a hurry?"

Catrin laughed. "He wants to get done so he can hurry over and say goodbye to Fiona," she said with a knowing look.

"The Station Master's daughter?" Rebecca inquired.

Owen nodded.

"Okay, take off," his sister said. "The way you're working, we'll get on better without you. Scram!"

Her little brother kissed her cheek and loped off toward the Trade Station.

"Grandpa told us all to stay here," Catrin remarked.

"I know," Rebecca replied, "but he's only young once."

Catrin laughed repacking the pots and pans Owen had made a mess of.

"Leave a space for what Grandpa is bringing back," Rebecca reminded her.

"What is it, do you know?" Catrin asked.

"Not a clue," her sister replied. "He was quite mysterious about it."

"Well, we've finished," Catrin said, a few minutes later. "I suppose we can harness the unicorns. Whose turn is it today?"

Lewys' prize unicorn herd were mostly draft animals and to keep from overusing any of them, the family rotated the ones used to pull the wagons.

"Let's rotate the teams," Rebecca suggested. She went to the rope corral and called four mares to her. She was about to lead them over to the front of the first wagon when they again had an unwelcome visitor; Lazarus was back.

"Not leaving already are you?" he asked Catrin, looking the girl up and down in a way that made her flush with embarrassment.

"Yes, we are," Rebecca answered him. She deliberately led the four large unicorns between him and Catrin, forcing him to move back out of the way.

"Really?" he sneered. "Leaving without allowing me to sample your wares? I don't think so."

Rebecca's eyes narrowed. She understood exactly what type of 'wares' he referred to, but pretended she didn't.

"I'm afraid we've already packed away our herbs and medicines, Mr. Lazarus," she said.

"I'm not talking about any piddly spices girl and you know it," he said.

"Catrin, get in the wagon and lock the door," Rebecca told her sister.

Catrin hesitated, but obeyed her.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lazarus," Rebecca continued, "but we aren't receiving visitors, and my grandfather and brother will be back soon. I need to get our unicorns harnessed. Please excuse me."

She lined up the unicorns and was preparing to throw the first harness over one's back when Lazarus grabbed her.

Rebecca fought him, but he was stronger than she. When she landed a lucky kick on his knee, he slapped her hard across the face. The dizzying blow stunned her long enough for Lazarus to rip her blouse open. He yanked her to him and mashed his mouth down on hers.

When she tried to turn her head away, he grabbed a handful of her hair and forced her face back to his. With her arms pinned against his body, she was unable to move. Finally, she managed to free one of her arms and stabbed at his eyes with her fingers.

Lazarus hit her again, this time with his fist. She stumbled and fell to her knees, dizzy. He knocked her the rest of the way to the ground, following it up by falling on her body. He tore her blouse the rest of the way off, biting at her bared breast. The pain brought her awake, and she clawed at his face and head.

When she felt him fumbling at the buttons on her pants, she knew she wasn't going to be able to stop him unless she used her Magi talents. Rebecca was a fire Magi; fear and anger ignited her Magic. A fireball burst in his face, causing his greasy hair to catch fire. Lazarus screamed and drew back, slapping at his burning hair.

He was knocked off Rebecca by the solid twack! of a camp shovel wielded by Catrin, who had disobeyed her sister and come to help. He fell to the side, unconscious, with his hair still smoldering.

When Lewys and Owen arrived a few minutes later, they found Rebecca leaning on her sister's shoulder while Catrin applied one poultice to her swollen face and another to the vicious bite mark on her breast.

Lewys looked down at Lazarus in silence. He had checked the man for life signs and was disappointed to find him still alive. "You should have made sure he