Pegasus In Flight: A Musimagium Story (The Pegasus Enchantment Book 2) Read online

  Pegasus In Flight

  A Musimagium Story

  Mary Kit Caelsto

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Newsletter CTA

  Also by

  Pegasus In Flight

  Hidden

  Tonic Chords

  Songs and Horns

  About The Author

  The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Permission is granted to make ONE backup copy for archival purposes.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  PEGASUS IN FLIGHT

  Copyright © Mary Kit Caelsto, 2019

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Cover Art © 2020

  Cover art by My Author Home

  Book formatting by My Author Home (http://www.myauthorhome.com)

  Electronic Publication Date: July 2020

  Print Publication Date: July 2020

  This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

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  Also by the Author

  Women’s Fiction

  Noble Dreams Series

  Steady on Course

  Standing on Course

  Correction on Course

  Walking on Course

  Course Perfect

  Shadbelly Faults

  Husband On Board

  Double Clear

  Riding Double

  Rosettes & Rompers

  Crossed Rails

  International Obstacles (coming soon)

  Western Star Series

  Spins Are Wild

  Turn & Burn

  In the Chute

  Fantasy/Magic Realism

  World of the Musimagium and Radio Arcana

  Hidden

  Tonic Chords

  Of Songs & Horns

  Songs & Paperwork

  Chasing Neptune’s Cat

  Tempus Magic

  The Pegasus Project

  Draco Magus

  Chapter One

  Wind tugged at the strands of my hair as we soared over the New Mexico countryside. The sunlight cast a pink hue over the fog hovering just above the ground as the last reminder of last night’s thunderstorms. The strong flaps of the filly’s wings carried us higher, finding a thermal and soaring toward the mountains. Not far away, her parents also flew, rising and falling as they performed aerial acrobatics.

  From this height, the construction at the academy proceeded well. I recognized the dormitory building, now fully roofed and windows going in place. The main administrative offices, topped with a tall spire, sat front and center, the buildings separated by a bridge and a skywalk between them. I wasn’t sure which building I would be in, but I hoped for either an elevator or a ground floor office. The ADA applied to the magical and the mundane alike.

  A large stable sat off to one side, along with graded and marked fields, presumably for exercise. I sensed the filly’s joy at the sight of those. The idea that she might be able to fly with others besides her parents making her excited. Word will spread, the unicorn mare had told me. They will come. It reminded me of a silly line in an old movie about building it and they would come. Well this wasn’t the Midwest, but from up here, it certainly seemed like heaven.

  The filly—she still hadn’t told me her name—swooped close enough to startle a couple of workmen who were on the roof of the administration building. They waved to me as I passed, used to our near daily surveys of the scene. Paul relied on my surveys to keep him appraised of the progress. She swooped back toward my home and within a few moments we were landing in my backyard. The unicorns stood at the water trough, swishing their tails.

  There is another coming. The unicorn mare told me. The stallion still hadn’t spoken with me, and I suspected that he channeled anything I needed to know through his partner, who seemed much more confident at interacting with humans.

  Another?

  You’ll see. With that cryptic message, she yawned, then turned and ambled into the back yard, picking up a trot and heading out to some far reaches of the property, her mate following her.

  Do you know anything about this? I asked the filly.

  No. But I am eager to find out. It would be nice to have company. My mother is in foal and my father is very protective of her. Pride filled her voice. The filly lowered herself to the ground, and I slid off of her, our daily rides helping me to maintain my strength. I patted her neck and kissed the top of her nose, which I knew she found quizzical and one of those odd, human quirks. As soon as I was on the patio and well away from the occasional flapping of wings, she rose to her feet, shook herself off, then went to drink.

  I stepped inside to get started on the daily barrage of emails that seemed to have arrived since I had accepted the future position of Dean of the academy they were building next door. But first, coffee, and I set a pot to brew, looking out the kitchen window to see Etta returning from town with my truck. The academy had set up a mailbox in town, which Paul used to send me packages and weekly shipments of books from Melody. Apparently I’d missed quite a few things, and he’d set me up with some more obscure volumes beyond the one on caring for magical creatures. He’d emailed me last week and said he found a good one that he thought I’d like.

  I stood by the coffee pot and smelled the delicious brew, my mug at the ready with a bit of creamer. As soon as the pot filled sufficiently, I poured my first mug of the day, then went to my computer. Etta would let me know if she needed me to hold the door for her. Though often, she took care of things on her own.

  Outside, I heard the truck park. The filly had followed the unicorns into the far part of the property, as they usually did when they heard someone come up the long driveway. I waited for my email to load as Etta came through the door.

  “Got a box for you.” She nudged the front door closed with her hip. “Looks like it’s more books.” She set it down on the coffee table.

  “Great. Paul said he found some that he thought I’d like. Need me to hold the door?” I took a sip of coffee.

  “Nah. I got it. Just a few bags of groceries and then I’ll drive around and unload the hay. Oh and I got another bag of those horse treats they like so much.” Etta giggled. “I also found some called Stud Muffins. They look pretty similar.”

  I grinned. “I’m sure they’ll like them. They sound interesting. I got a tracking number on the big bucket of treats. It should be here this week. I’d hate for them to run out. You’d think they were pampered show horses or something instead of magical creatures.”

  “Well, from what I understand socius require much the same care as their mundane counterparts, so it makes sense. I’ll go unload. It won’t take long.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” I didn’t add to let me know if she needed help. She was careful not to ask, and only then if it was necessary.

  I sent my report to Paul
, then began opening up the emails. The first few were resumes that I was to look over for staff members. I moved them to a folder to review later. Paul also sent an updated timeline, as well as a proposed schedule of introductory classes. Even if there weren’t any pegasus or unicorns there, and honestly I wasn’t sure how he would just make them magically appear, there still were plenty of courses, including basic equine care that could be taught.

  I sent back a query, wondering if anyone had thought of a way to determine which animals had the abilities to become socius. I vowed to look up some spells. With the horse auctions around here, surely there were animals going to slaughter that were magical companions. The thought pained me. Until my exposure to the unicorns and pegasus, I really hadn’t thought much about horses, but now, I followed several rescues on social media and subscribed to a magazine that talked about more veterinary aspects of them, thinking I might need the information just in case. A blue tote sat just inside my patio doors, filled with everything I might need for an equine first aid kit, gathered after the filly and I had been shot.

  Etta brought three loads of groceries in, more than “a few” bags, but said nothing when I stood and began to put them away. Looking at the three big bags of carrots, something told me she was going to spoil the equines. I didn’t mind, not at all. She set the bag from the feed store on the counter, and I grinned at the packages of treats. I glanced out the patio doors. The equines were still out of sight. Good, that gave me a chance to fill the cookie jar I’d repurposed and tuck the rest of the package in the cupboard before they could see it. They seemed to sniff out their favorites from a mile away.

  “You good here?” Etta asked, setting down the mail on top of the box she’d brought in. It must have come early this morning.

  “I can finish.” Indeed, my daily riding of the filly plus the other chores seemed to strengthen me, and while I needed Etta for some things around the house, she wasn’t my legs and arms like she had been when she’d first arrived. I went to the mail and flipped through it. Nothing interesting. Just a few advertisements.

  I tossed it on the desk to run through the shredder, then went back to the kitchen to finish putting groceries away. My world hung in suspended animation at the moment. With the academy being built, my days lacked the structure they would once I started my work as Dean. We seemed to have taken care of the initial issue of the teenagers shooting at the equines and they were serving their sentences. From what I heard, they would be heading to a boy’s ranch once they were done with their probation for a bit of extra care, something I’d suggested since it seemed as if their parents needed help with them.

  I listened as the truck pulled around the house, then the steady thud as Etta unloaded the bales of hay. She must have gotten eight or ten this time. A moment later the siding door opened.

  “Sonia! Come quick!” Etta called.

  I started at the tone of her voice. “Coming.” I turned from the counter where I’d been putting away the last of the groceries, wincing as my joints reminded me I’d probably been on my feet long enough. And yet, something about the eagerness and excitement in her voice, something beyond the usual adorable things the equines often did, made it seem as if this were special. I hobbled across the floor, pausing to grab the cane leaning against the desk. I probably should have been using it earlier. Then went to the sliding glass door.

  I saw nothing when I looked out, except the three equines looking off into the distance, standing at attention as if they were waiting for something extraordinary to happen. I opened the door.

  “Look!” Etta pointed to the sky.

  From beneath the porch canopy I couldn’t see where she was pointing, so I stepped forward until I reached the edge of the patio. There, against the blue sky I thought I saw a large cloud. And then, as I focused, I realized that it was a pegasus flying toward us. I reached for the family, sensing the mare and stallion near the shelter, but aware of what was happening. The filly stayed near the unicorns, her uncertainty coming through the link. I sent her reassurance. It’s okay. At least I think it is.

  Etta had moved into the center of the yard as if in a trance. As the pegasus descended, she stood there, transfixed by the sight. The animal touched down ever so lightly, then trotted over to Etta as if she had called it to her. And maybe she had. I still didn’t quite understand how such things worked. The creature slowed to a walk, stopping just a few paces before her. It snorted, as if breathing a sigh of relief. Sweat and dirt streaked its sides, and I noticed a few singed hairs on its tail when it swished it, as if it had flown through a thunderstorm.

  I held my breath.

  Etta held out her hand. “Hello?” I heard her ask. “Are you here for me?”

  The pegasus snorted again, and I couldn’t tell if it just relaxed and settled down now that its long flight—I sensed it had been flying for a long time—had finished, or if it were laughing at her. I hoped not the latter. Though she tried not to show it, Etta longed for a pegasus the way I had the filly.

  The pegasus stepped forward and touched its muzzle to the center of Etta’s chest.

  She reached up and stroked its neck.

  Something changed in both of them. Though I sensed magic, the nature of it eluded me, slipping from my grasp as if I weren’t the person meant to understand it. My legs shook, and I went back to my chair to watch the spectacle.

  What’s happening? The filly’s eager question filled my mind.

  I think Etta is getting her pegasus.

  Chapter Two

  I sat there for several moments watching the two of them, and then decided I felt as if I were being a voyeur, so I went back inside to give them privacy. Besides, the emails and the resumes needed my attention. I refilled my coffee mug before sitting back down at the computer. The rest of the emails, other than two personal notes from Rose and Olivia, were easy to dispatch, and I was catching up on what had been happening with the unicorns in Colorado and Ohio. I wondered if either of them would be interested in visiting the new academy once it opened. They had experience with the creatures, more so than anyone else I could hire.

  I didn’t ask them, not yet because Paul and I hadn’t sat down to discuss curriculum. We’d mentioned horseback riding, weapons and fighting, as well as magic classes.

  A message arrived from Paul, marked urgent. I saved the draft of my email back to Olivia, she’d been telling me about a horse of hers becoming a socius to her assistant’s daughter, and the story warmed my heart. I opened it.

  Sonia,

  Word has come down from Melody that we’re to double the size of the stables. I’m sending over new plans now and alerting the builders. They’ll build a second stable next to the one that’s almost finished now. Then they’re to work on several fields for practice and training. I’ll come survey the progress in the next few weeks. Wanted to give you a head’s up.

  Thanks, Paul.

  I frowned. Did he expect a war with someone? Were there more horses out there to be socius than someone had previously anticipated? Or did Melody have its own group of people who could tell the future? The last thought had me shivering. Yet in a way that wasn’t my job and Paul didn’t have to keep me informed. That he did so was a curtesy since I’d be taking over once the building was built.

  I glanced out the window. Etta still stood next to the pegasus, though they’d moved under the shelter and the animal was drinking. She must have gotten one of the brushes we’d purchased for the equines and was grooming the creature’s white fur. A plume of dust surrounded her as she worked with the curry comb to lift dust and dirt from the animal’s skin. Deciding to leave them alone for a while, I finished writing my reply to Olivia, omitting the part where I’d mention a new pegasus had shown up. I read and replied to Rose, and by the time I’d reviewed two of the resumes, Etta opened the door and stepped inside. The pegasus had gone over to the hay, presumably eaten a bit, and now lay down on our mats, its head tucked under one wing like a bird.

  “She came
for me. Her name is Kestara.” Etta said. Tears sparkled in her eyes. “I’d hoped that when the academy was built. Or maybe the filly’s sister that would be here sometime. But Kestara said she knew I was here and waiting for her. She says there are others. She is but the first. I’ve got to get something to drink and wash up a bit.” She went to the kitchen and filled a glass of water.

  “That’s wonderful,” I replied. “And Kestara is beautiful name. The filly still hasn’t told me her name yet.”

  “She hasn’t?” Etta turned.

  “No. She says that they earn their names and she feels she hasn’t done anything to deserve one yet. She’s okay being the filly.”

  “Oh.” Etta drained her glass of water. “I’m going to shower and change.”

  “Good. I got some news. They’re doubling the size of the stables, though I’m not sure why and I’ve got some resumes for various positions. I’d like to discuss them with you once I finish reading to see if you know anything.”

  Etta glanced out the patio door at the sleeping Kestara. Not that I blamed her. I looked outside several times a day to see if I could see the filly. Considering that I’d known her for as long as I had, if she’d just dropped out of the sky as Kestara had, I’d be acting the same way.

  “We can work in the living room so you can keep an eye on her.”

  “Okay. I’ll be back.” She hurried down the hall and a few moments later the bathroom door closed and I heard the water running.

  Smiling, I turned back to the computer eager to let Paul or someone know what had happened. Except that wasn’t my place and Etta’s words, that Kestara had said there would be others coming, made me think of the increased stable and why the sudden need for pegasus and unicorn riders. The sound of hooves made me look out the window where the filly and unicorns trotted up to the shelter. The filly’s tail flagged in the air, a gesture I knew meant delight. She arched her neck, craning to see the new arrival.