by Zoe Chant
Mama stumbled. There was something in her neck, something like a giant bee stinger. She staggered sideways, still fighting, still trying to come to her.
Flash shrieked again as Mama crashed to her knees and lay still. She started to run over to her, but Bright Heart’s arms wrapped around her neck, holding her back.
“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay.” Bright Heart held her tight, refusing to let go no matter how Flash struggled. “It’s over.”
Chapter 26
Joe prodded cautiously at the Nightmare with a fallen branch. “How long do you think the sedative will last?”
Blaise slapped at his hand. “Longer if you stop poking it with a stick, idiot.”
“It’s okay.” Candice was crouched by the Nightmare’s head. It gave Wystan the crawling horrors to see her putting her hands so close to those fang-filled jaws, but Candice had insisted on making sure that the creature’s windpipe was clear. “If she so much as twitches, I’ll stick her again. I have enough drugs packed to keep her sedated for a week, if we have to. Not that it would be a good idea, medically speaking.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” Wystan finished lashing branches together into a makeshift stretcher. “This should help us move her. Rory, give me a hand.”
“Hurry,” Callum said, staring upward with unfocussed eyes. “We’ve got company.”
Thunder rumbled, underscoring his words. The afternoon light abruptly darkened, clouds gathering out of nowhere.
“Don’t you dare!” Blaise yelled up at the unseen Thunderbird. “If you so much as think about setting fire to us, I swear I will come up there and smack you one!”
Thunder growled in response, as though the distant creature had somehow heard her words. A light scatter of raindrops pattered down around them, but no lightning followed.
“Quickly.” Wystan rolled the Nightmare onto the stretcher, unable to restrain a shudder at the feel of its greasy, scaled hide. “Before our unpredictable friend up there changes its mind.”
He took one end of the stretcher, while Rory took the other. Candice scooped up Flash. The little unicorn had gone so berserk when she’d seen her mother fall, they’d had no choice but to sedate her too. As fast as they could, they hastened through the woods.
“Petrichor!” Wystan called out as they once again approached the edge of the unicorns’ territory. He sent out his mind as well, trying to reach the stallion. “We have Sunrise! Quickly, she needs you!”
A pale shape stepped out of the shadows—not Petrichor, but Moth. The lead mare halted right at the edge of the invisible boundary. She stared at the Nightmare’s limp form, going utterly motionless herself.
“It’s all right, Moth.” Wystan stopped before he crossed the ward, not wanting to disappear from the others’ sight. The rest of the squad was already looking a little befuddled, their minds struggling against Moth’s obfuscating magic. “We caught the Nightmare. She can’t harm your herd. Please, send Petrichor out. I know it’s against your rules, but we need to him to drive the demon out of his mate.”
Moth’s back hooves shifted uneasily. *You said that would make it manifest?*
“Yes. I will not lie to you, there is some risk. The last time we did this, the demon’s true form was very large, and very dangerous.” Wystan gestured at the rest of the squad. “But my colleagues and I were able to defeat it. That’s why we need to do this outside your territory. Unless you will allow them in?”
Moth flattened her ears in instant refusal. *No.* She looked again at the unconscious Nightmare, her grey eyes troubled. *I don’t…I cannot simply allow Petrichor to cross the border. Not yet. I must think on this.*
“You don’t have time to think on it.” Wystan jerked his head at the darkened sky. “If we don’t do something about the demon quickly, I’m certain that the Thunderbird will. It led us here to you, but we cannot truly communicate with it. This uneasy truce we seem to have forged could break at any time.”
“Hang on,” Joe said. “I can only follow half of what’s going on here, but that did not sound good.”
“She’s hesitating,” Candice relayed to the group. “She doesn’t want to let us in, and she doesn’t seem to want to let Petrichor out, either. It’s against their rules.”
“What?” Edith looked shocked. “This is one of her own kind! She can’t be that inflexible, surely?”
*I am the lead mare! My first duty is to the whole herd!* Moth said hotly, even though her concealing magic meant the squad couldn’t hear her. *Sometimes leadership requires difficult decisions.*
“You’re planning to keep this a secret from Petrichor, aren’t you?” Candice pushed her way to the front, glaring at Moth. “Because he isn’t going to think that keeping some stupid rule is more important than saving his mate.”
*Our sacred traditions keep us safe!* Moth’s horn lit with her anger. *Our young colts and fillies are already beginning to harbor dangerous thoughts, thanks to Flash’s transgressions. I cannot let Petrichor set them another bad example! Worse yet, endorse it! No. I will not be rushed into an action that could doom us all.*
A crack of thunder sounded, right over their heads.
“Then,” Wystan said, as the echoes died away, “I believe you have about thirty seconds to come up with an alternative, before things start getting uncomfortable down here.”
Moth eyed the gathering storm, and tossed her mane scornfully. *We do not fear that one. It has tested our borders before. Let it send its lightning again. Our ancestors set their wards well. No wildfire can touch our lands.*
“That’s all very nice for them,” Candice muttered to Wystan. “But we’re out here.”
Wystan clenched his jaw. He briefly contemplated asking Rory to try using his commanding power on the lead mare, but even if the griffin could use it against someone he couldn’t see, Moth was probably too alpha herself to be affected.
“Rory,” he said, coming to a decision. “Let go.”
Rory’s eyebrows rose, but he dropped his end of the stretcher. Wystan adjusted his own grip, taking up the extra weight. Then he strode forward.
Moth danced back, shying. *What are you—no! It cannot come back here! I forbid it!*
“Too late,” Wystan grunted, hauling the unwieldy load across the border. As he’d thought, the mystic barrier did nothing to stop the Nightmare from entering. He let go of the stretcher handles, letting it fall to the ground with a defiant thud. “If this is the one place where the Thunderbird can’t reach her, then this is where she’s going to stay.”
Candice joined him, Flash in her arms. It seemed that she too could freely cross the wards now, having been helped through once. “I told the others what’s going on,” she said to him. “Rory and Callum are ready to drive the Thunderbird off if it throws a fit at losing its prey.”
“I don’t believe that will be necessary,” Wystan replied, hoping that his intuition was correct. “It’s an intelligent creature. And I don’t think it’s vicious. If it already knows its wildfires can’t get through the barrier, it has no reason to start one.”
Sure enough, a rather sullen roll of thunder shook the air. The light began to brighten, storm clouds thinning once more.
Moth had moved to stare down at the unconscious Nightmare. She bowed her head, her horn not quite touching the black, twisted form. It was difficult to read her equine face, but the lead mare looked weary, burdened by sorrow.
*She was supposed to take my place one day.* Moth’s mental voice was quieter than before, heavy with regret. *That thought gave me comfort, once. To know that someone would be able to protect the herd after I was gone. Ah, Sunrise. If only you’d listened.* Moth raised her head once more, shaking off her momentary melancholy and returning to her usual brisk, certain self. *Very well. I will allow the creature to remain, for now. But I will not tell Petrichor his mate has been captured. Not yet. I must consider what is the best course of action for the herd.*
Candice looked like she was about to argue
, but Wystan put a hand on her shoulder, forestalling her. “It’s the best we can do for now, Candice. We hardly want Petrichor charging in here and releasing the demon when the rest of the squad is stuck on the other side of the barrier. The last demon was as big as Joe, once it took its native form.”
Candice blew out her breath. “Yeah, I don’t think my tranquillizer gun would work on that.” She looked across at Moth, her expression distinctly unfriendly. “I’ll have to keep sedating her, you realize.”
*You will not,* Moth replied, in equally chilly tones. *My power will keep her locked in dreams far more effectively than your human toys. You will not be required further.*
Wystan’s unicorn bristled at the lead mare’s rudeness to their mate. With effort, he held himself in check. “Candice brought down the Nightmare with her ‘toy’, Moth. Gratitude would be appropriate. If you cannot manage that, you will at least show her respect.”
Moth sniffed. *Stallions. It’s almost endearing, the way you all believe you can handle mares. Almost.*
“It’s okay, Wystan.” Candice touched his arm, making him realize that his hands had balled into fists. “Fine by me if she doesn’t want any more help from us. It’s going to be freaking hilarious to watch her try to move that stretcher without opposable thumbs.”
Moth huffed again. *We have our own means, human. Watch.*
Turning away, the lead mare let out a long, clear call. Distant whinnies rose in answer. Within moments, a pair of unicorns glimmered through the trees to join them. They were both mature mares, so identical in every detail that Wystan couldn’t tell them apart. Their mauve eyes went very wide when they saw the Nightmare, but they went over to Moth without hesitation, ducking their heads in respect.
A brief flurry of silent communication passed between the three unicorns, too fast and foreign for Wystan to even begin to follow. The two mares bowed again, as if something had been decided. One went to stand next to the stretcher, while the other approached Candice.
Candice yelped a swearword, leaping back as the unicorns’ horns lit up. “What the hell?”
*Peace, human. They will not harm you.* Moth tilted her head, indicating Flash, still sleeping in Candice’s arms. *They are here to take the little one back to her father, and her mother to a place where she may be kept safe and secure until I decide what is to be done about her.*
The unicorn standing next to the stretcher bowed her head, touching her horn to one end of it. Pink-purple light—the exact same shade as the mare’s eyes—ran over the Nightmare’s black hide.
Candice swore again as both the stretcher and the Nightmare rose silently into the air. “Wystan, are you seeing this?”
“Telekinesis,” Wystan breathed, equally stunned as the unicorn disappeared back into the woods, the stretcher levitating behind her. “I’ve heard of shifters who have similar abilities, but I’ve never seen it before. Let Flash go, Candice. She should be with her father when she wakes up.”
The other mare was waiting patiently, horn glowing. Candice hesitated, then reluctantly held Flash out to her. At a touch of the mare’s horn, the baby unicorn floated into the air, cradled by light. Flash didn’t so much as twitch an ear as the mare carefully carried her away.
Wystan turned back to Moth, shaking his head in amazement. “You seem to have many extraordinary talents amongst your herd.”
*Generations of lead mares have striven to keep our bloodlines flowing,* Moth said, sounding rather proud. *There are only a handful of families that have withered without issue, taking their unique abilities with them.*
“Talents are genetic?” Candice asked, looking interested.
Moth hesitated, as though she was having to sift the meaning of the word out of their minds. *Yes. They are passed down by blood, parent to offspring. We strive to mate like to like, to ensure the lines breed true.*
“That explains why I’ve never heard of any of these other unicorn abilities before,” Wystan said. “My family are the only unicorn shifters, as far as I know, and we’re all descended from a common ancestor. We’re all from the same bloodline, so we’re all healers.”
*Healers?* Moth sounded startled. She took a few steps toward him, peering up at his face. *You and your bloodline are healers?*
“All of us, as far back as our family records go. Which is quite some time,” he said, startled by her sudden interest. “Why? Do you not have healers here?”
*A few. Sunrise was one.* She was staring into his eyes as intently as if she’d just discovered he was her true mate. *I wished her to mate another healer, to ensure the bloodline continued, but she chose Petrichor instead. That is why Flash is a sport, a wild talent. Such things occur when the bloodlines are not carefully managed. I thought…you are certain your own bloodline is pure?*
“Okay lady, stop eying him up like he’s a prize bull.” Candice looped an arm possessively through his, to Wystan’s secret delight. “I don’t care how much you want more healers, some things are not gonna happen. Let’s go, Wystan. The others will be tearing their hair out wondering what’s taking us so long.”
Moth shook herself, seeming to snap out of her peculiar fascination. *Yes. Go back to your own herd for now. I must retreat to our sacred heartland, and…seek guidance. Return tomorrow, at dawn, and we shall speak further.*
“We will.” Wystan bowed to her as she turned away. “I know this is a difficult situation for you, Moth. I hope you will come to accept what must be done.”
Moth paused at the edge of the glade. Her head lowered a little. She didn’t look back.
*Yes.* Her voice was the barest whisper in his mind, old and weary. *I will.*
Chapter 27
“I come bearing wondrous news!” Joe announced as he returned to the clearing where the squad was setting up camp.
Wystan paused in setting up Candice’s tent long enough to raise an eyebrow at the sea dragon. “You appear to come bearing firewood.”
“That too.” Joe dumped his armload of dry branches next to the fire circle Edith was constructing out of rocks. “But also wondrous news. I have found…a stream.”
Blaise dropped the hammer she’d been using to pound down her own tent pegs. “Joe, you are a god among men.”
“A stream,” Edith breathed, clasping her hands together. “A clean stream?”
Joe kissed his fingertips like a French chef praising a culinary masterpiece. “As pure as a newborn baby. Of course, it’s probably been filtered through three dozen unicorns before it gets this far, but let’s not dwell on that.”
Candice stared around at them all, looking distinctly perplexed. “You all seem unreasonably excited about the existence of water.”
“If you routinely went weeks without showers, you would too,” Rory told her, grinning. “And sadly, wildfires are rarely considerate enough to occur near bodies of water. We’ve learned to seize on any opportunity for a wash.”
Candice plucked at the front of her sweaty shirt, making a wry face. “Gotta admit, this stream is starting to sound pretty wondrous.”
“I’ve got soap,” Blaise said, digging into her pack. She pulled out the wrapped bar, brandishing it aloft like a trophy. “You coming, Candice? Or, uh,” her eyes flicked to Wystan, “on second thought, maybe you’d prefer to be private.”
Candice shook her head, slinging her own pack onto her back. “Nah, I’ll come with you. I didn’t think to bring soap.”
Blaise tried again. “I’m sure Wystan has soap he could share. Better soap. Don’t you, Wystan?”
“It’s okay,” Candice said before he could even open his mouth. She didn’t even glance in his direction. “I’d rather borrow yours. Which way to this stream, Joe?”
*Sorry,* Blaise sent telepathically to Wystan, as Joe gave Candice directions. *I tried.*
*I appreciate the effort,* Wystan sent back. He pressed his lips closed, smothering a sigh. *Even though it was about as successful as my own attempts.*
Blaise gave him a sympathetic punch on the
shoulder as she went past. *Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty more embarrassing stories about you I can tell her while we’re drying our hair.*
He winced, but didn’t bother to ask her not to. It was futile to try to change Blaise’s mind about anything…and in any event, it wasn’t like she could say anything that would make his relationship with Candice worse.
He morosely watched Candice gather up her things and leave with Blaise. She didn’t look back once. Ever since they’d stepped out of the unicorn lands and rejoined the rest of the squad, she’d seemed determined to pretend he didn’t exist.
If only the Nightmare was still free, he thought with bleak humor. What I need now is another crisis.
When they’d realized Flash was in danger, it had been like they’d briefly become a single mind in two bodies. They hadn’t needed to exchange a single word. Candice had just leaped onto his back the instant he shifted, clinging tight to his mane as he’d raced through the forest. For a brief, shining moment, they’d been one.
But now, with the Nightmare contained and Flash safe with her father once more, he could feel Candice retreating from him. That had been the common purpose binding them together, after all—and now, it was nearly at an end.
And then she wouldn’t need him.
“Yo, bronicorn.” Joe’s shadow fell across him. “Looks like it’s just you and me. You coming?”
Wystan glanced around. Rory and Edith were slipping away from camp hand in hand, their own intentions clear. Fenrir lay sprawled in a patch of sunlight, paws in the air. The hellhound held very firm opinions on baths, namely that they should happen to other people. In some ways, he truly was more dog than man.
Wystan was pleased to see that Callum was also electing to nap rather than wash. The pegasus shifter had been driving himself to the edge of exhaustion over the past few days. He was already asleep, his curly auburn head propped up on Fenrir’s dark flank.
His own bedroll beckoned to him enticingly, but Wystan forced himself to his feet. His chances of persuading Candice to risk intimacy would not be improved by smelling of day-old horse. Grabbing his pack, he followed Joe.