by Anh Do
12
The Greenhouse
The night was hard for Kelly. Cold and hungry, she slunk through backstreets as Citizens’ negative thoughts came at her from every direction, constantly driving her away. She gravitated towards a clear emptiness ahead, where she could sense a reprieve from the discontent.
The Footsteps of Peace Memorial Garden covered several hectares, and was dedicated to displays of plants from all over the world. As an area of light, colour and most importantly space, it was a rarity in the city.
In the darkness, Kelly scaled a wall and dropped down onto soft grass.
She made her way into a grove of trees, found a comfortable patch of earth hidden under some feathery bushes, and was finally able to lie down and sleep.
When Kelly woke the next morning to sunlight and nature, for a moment she felt happy. There was warmth on her cheek and birdsong in her ears. Then she remembered everything that had happened and her eyes moistened. Where’s my mum? she wondered, with an aching heart.
She got up and brushed herself off. It annoyed her to pull up her hood when the light was so comforting, but it covered her horn. She was sure there wouldn’t be many cameras in the garden, but she still had to be careful.
She left the bushes and joined the path, where a group of people looking at a display of exotic trees paid her no attention. Ahead she noticed a building like a giant glass pyramid glinting in the sunshine, with greenery pressed up against the inside of its walls.
It was the Greenhouse – Kelly had been there before with her mother when she was little. The smell of bread wafted through the air, and her stomach rumbled.
She headed to the glass pyramid and found a small snack cart parked outside. Thankfully, there was enough on her cashcard for a couple of bread rolls with butter and jam.
The entrance to the Greenhouse called to her somehow – maybe because memories were as close as Kelly could get to her mother right now. She went through a revolving door designed to keep the birdlife in, and moved onto a wooden walkway above banks of rainforest ferns and trees covered with twisting vines. Orchids and other amazing flowers poked out from everywhere, dappled with moisture sprayed into the air by hidden misters.
An artificial stream burbled its way alongside the path and led to a clearing in the centre of the building, where it fed a large pond populated by waterbirds. Everything smelled green and fresh.
Kelly found a bench in the shade and sat down to eat.
She could almost see herself as a small child running to the water’s edge, and her mother calling to her to be careful. Was Hannah okay? How was Kelly going to save her?
She didn’t know how long she sat, her thoughts swirling around in her head. As other visitors came and went, some smiled at her, and she smiled back at them. There was something about this place. So little of nature remained in the city, yet here it was abundant.
Kelly suddenly felt an approaching presence, crackling with nervousness. It was a man in his sixties, sandy blond hair in curls where his cap pushed it forward over his sweaty brow. Why was he so fraught?
He was coming right towards her.
She tensed, ready to spring, to run, but he just sat down next to her.
‘Hello, Kelly,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe I actually found you.’
I guess I really am mixed up with this prophecy too? he thought. Phew, my poor old knees are tired.
‘What prophecy?’ demanded Kelly, and he glanced at her with mild amusement.
‘Ah,’ he said. ‘So you can hear my thoughts. I wasn’t sure. That’s good. It might help you believe what I’m about to tell you.’
The man spoke for quite a while, telling Kelly things that made her afraid. His name was Stanley Solomon, and he had returned to the Capital with the Collector, who was now looking for her. Then he told her things that sounded ridiculous. The spirits of unicorns, minotaurs and griffins reborn into the world? And she was one of them? Not that she could deny her horn, but did he really believe she was destined to fight the Soul Collector? That she was the Kingdom’s only hope?
Part of her wanted to believe him. She had been sitting here unsure of what to do next. She could tell that he believed what he was saying, and she could not sense any madness about him.
When he finished, he looked into her eyes imploringly. She was dimly aware of a whirring noise in the background, but didn’t pay much attention to it.
‘Suppose I actually believe you,’ she said. ‘I mean … what are we even supposed to do?’
Stanley glanced around. ‘In the short term, get you as far away from the city as possible.’
The whirring grew louder.
‘What about my mother?’ said Kelly.
Stanley frowned. ‘Well …’
A shadow fell over the clearing, and they both looked up. Above the glass roof was the outline of a helicopter.
‘Oh no,’ said Stanley.
Several shapes smashed through the glass, snapping vines and showering greenery around the pond. They descended rapidly, shards of glass tinkling off them. Kelly realised they were KG.
They landed around the clearing, unhooked their ropes, and fanned out.
Kelly leapt to her feet as the waterbirds took off, squawking.
‘Did you betray me?’ she growled at Stanley. ‘Did you lead them here?’
Before he could answer, someone else appeared through the hole in the roof. His leather cloak flapped around him as he floated steadily downwards without a rope, long-fingered hands held out as if to steady him, a grin widening on his face. Even though Kelly had only seen him in pictures and posters, there was no mistaking who he was.
‘Well, well,’ said the Collector, touching down gently in the midst of his guards. ‘Isn’t this a lovely setting for a chat?’
13
The Golden Unicorn
‘I didn’t lead him here,’ Stanley whispered to Kelly. ‘I swear it.’
The Collector raised an eyebrow. ‘Didn’t lead me here deliberately. Did you really think an EMP over a couple of blocks would cover your tracks? When I have the entire KG at my disposal?’
Stanley felt embarrassment at this fumble. He was an archaeologist, after all, not some sort of hero.
‘Seeker drones found the black spot within minutes,’ the Collector chuckled. ‘Seriously, Stanley, you are not cut out for this cloak-and-dagger nonsense. You could have at least worn a fake beard!’
Stanley straightened his back. ‘You’re a tyrant, William,’ he said plainly. ‘Your reign must end.’
‘“End”? What nonsense are you spouting?!’ spat the Collector. ‘The Northern Kingdom is safe and orderly. There is peace. Everything in place, everyone in place.’ He smiled a self-congratulatory smile. ‘So I take a little something – a trinket here, a treasure there – for my efforts? Isn’t that only fair?’
‘Want me to put him down, sire?’ asked one of the Elites, a brown-haired woman, as she glared at Stanley and Kelly.
‘Now, now, let’s not rush into anything, Captain Aiken,’ said the Soul Collector. ‘I think he’ll want to see what happens next.’
As Kelly listened to them, her eyes darted around for the best escape route. The Elites had spread out to cover the two paths out of the clearing, and she wasn’t sure she would be able to dodge their shots.
‘And you, my dear!’ said the Collector, snapping Kelly’s attention back to him. As she looked into his cold eyes, she could not sense anything of what he thought or felt. Her telepathic powers seemed to be blocked. Try as she might, all she could detect was the location of the source of this block – something pulsing on a finger on the Collector’s right hand.
‘Tell me. Would you like to come with me? You’ll live in one of my castles like a princess! Everything you could ever want will be provided, I promise.’
Kelly’s first instinct was to shudder – the very idea! Still, it was better to play along, at least for now. She cocked her head thoughtfully. ‘And what would you get in return
?’
The Collector stopped. He was unused to people talking back to him. Stanley tensed visibly.
‘Why,’ William replied, ‘I would get to visit you whenever I liked. You and that wonderful horn of yours, and your beautiful golden hair. That’s not such a bad deal, is it?’
‘I’m not some animal to be stared at in a cage,’ Kelly said, more forcefully than she’d intended. She tried to keep her cool, but could feel her eyes blazing. How could she do any different? All her life she’d been angry at this man.
The Collector’s lip curled. ‘I’ll even let you live with your mother’s portrait,’ he added.
At this, Kelly could no longer control herself. The energy that she’d felt only in her legs now pulsed through her entire body. She screamed, lunging for the Collector, who zoomed up into the air.
‘Well, then. If that’s how you feel,’ he said, and snapped his fingers at his guards. ‘Take her alive!’
Without a moment’s hesitation the Elites drew their weapons. Stanley dived under the bench and Kelly dashed towards the closest guard. Her only hope was to surprise him with her speed.
Bolts started whizzing by, zzz! zzz! She looked up and saw the Elite ahead aiming right at her, but somehow she was able to remain calm.
As she watched the man fire at her, time seemed to slow – ever so slightly – and, without thinking, Kelly felt herself flick her horn, which connected with the bolt, and sent it sizzling right back at the soldier! The man’s eyes widened as it hit him in the chest and electric bands rippled out, shocking him into collapse.
With her heart pounding out of her chest, Kelly knew she didn’t have time to hesitate. She raced up the path, ducking under branches, towards the revolving door.
‘Don’t let her escape!’ bellowed the Collector.
A burst of three bolts whizzed past her and hit the revolving door’s control box, shorting it out and halting the door’s rotation. Kelly spun about and saw Aiken bearing down on her, brandishing a stinger rifle with a sighted scope.
‘Door’s out of order,’ she said, before vaulting the walkway rail into the rainforest. Branches exploded to the left and right of her, plumes of leaves crackling with energy.
Some distance from the path, Kelly darted around a tree and dug her heels into the soft earth to bring herself to a stop. Taking a moment to get her bearings, she tried to sense the presences around her. There was one closing in from another direction.
A hand came around the tree and seized her neck, hefted her up and flung her to the ground. Kelly crashed and rolled into a patch of dewy ferns.
As Kelly looked up, dazed, Aiken strode towards her, crushing orchids under her boots.
‘Don’t fight, girl,’ she said. ‘There’s no point. The Collector always gets what he wants.’
Kelly rolled sideways, over and over, deeper into the ferns, so fast they whipped around her confusingly. She heard bolts sizzle past, but the ferns quickly bounced back into place to cover her passage. She stopped flat on her stomach, watching Aiken through the quivering fronds.
Aiken just sighed. ‘Listen, girl, this will go a lot easier if you just show yourself.’
Kelly inched back as Aiken stalked through rays of sunshine bursting down through the canopy. Kelly heard a twig crack behind her and looked around to see a soldier coming from the other direction. She was about to be trapped!
Kelly surged up from the ferns and cracked her shoulder against the Elite’s legs, knocking him off his feet, as she tore off in a new direction.
The third Elite stepped into view from around a bush and fired. Kelly launched at him, planting a fly kick into his chest that sent him crashing backwards.
He landed with a splash and Kelly realised she had come full circle, reaching the forested side of the pond.
The Elite rose dripping from the water. He had lost his gun, but he pulled a long knife from a sheath at his waist and sprang at her. The blade flashed as it descended towards her.
A vine curled around the man’s arm and flicked the knife away. The Elite grunted, confused, and then more vines wound around his neck. They lifted him, choking, up into the trees.
The Collector walked casually into view along the other side of the pond.
‘I told you,’ he said to the struggling man, ‘to take her alive.’
He waved a hand at the vines. The Elite’s face turned purple as he clutched at his throat, kicking his legs. A moment later he fell still.
‘See how important you are to me?’ said the Collector. He walked towards Kelly across the top of the water, as if it were solid ground. ‘I won’t let any harm come to you, my dear. I’d even sacrifice my own loyal soldiers to protect you.’
Captain Aiken stepped into view behind him, her rifle trained on Kelly. Kelly was crouched at the pond’s edge without any cover, bruised and out of breath.
‘Send her to dreamland, sire?’ Aiken asked.
‘Don’t miss this time, Captain,’ said the Collector.
Zzz! A bolt whizzed from under the bench and hit Aiken in the back. Her eyes widened as white bands arced across her chest armour. She convulsed, then pitched face-first onto the ground. Under the bench, Stanley lay holding his discharged stinger.
The Collector turned with a howl of rage. ‘That’s the last time you defy me, Stanley Solomon!’ He reached up a hand, and fire began to collect at his fingertips.
Before she knew it, Kelly was on her feet tearing through the shallow pond. The Soul Collector tried to dodge, but she grabbed him by the arm. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, but she knew she had enough strength – and anger. She bore downwards with all her weight, flipping the Collector over to crash on his back in the pond. There was an audible crack and he screamed.
Kelly ran to Stanley as he emerged from under the bench.
The Collector rose, covered in mud and duckweed. Whatever concentration had kept him above the surface was now gone. He clutched his right arm, which hung limp, his face a mask of fury.
‘You … dare?’ he thundered.
He flung out his good hand and a ball of fire hurtled towards the bench. Kelly gritted her teeth and felt something instinctual take over.
Her horn pulsed as a shockwave erupted out of her – and then froze in the air like a giant bubble around her and Stanley. The fireball burst against it and fizzled out of existence.
Kelly blinked, and the bubble faded away to nothing.
The Collector was wearing an expression of disbelief. ‘My, my,’ he said. ‘Seems you have some tricks of your own. That horn of yours …’ He squinted at it. ‘Maybe you really are a unicorn, eh?’
Kelly glared at him.
‘Still,’ William said, ‘are you any match for Lucifer’s Ring?’
He winced as he moved his broken right arm, waggling his fingers. A moment later an easel and canvas rippled out of the air.
‘No,’ whispered Stanley.
William reached towards Kelly with his left hand.
Colour began to drain from the world around her. Amorphous streaks whizzed past, flew through the Collector and slammed onto the canvas. The grey of the stones at her feet oozed from under her. Pink and red and violet and blue streamed overhead as hanging flowers were robbed of their lustre. She was the eye in a storm of whirling colour being drawn towards the Collector.
Kelly felt a strange pull, as if something was reaching for her very soul. Something grimy, something grasping. She gasped as the pink colour of her own arms bled from the surface of her skin.
‘No!’ she shouted. The mysterious energy inside her surged through every vein and artery, and she gathered it to push the foreign influence out with a jolt, and harden herself against its return.
The Collector stared at her with undisguised amazement. On the canvas beside him was a beautiful picture of the Greenhouse, with a blank spot in the middle. Around Kelly, all was desolation – except for Stanley, who was still crouched behind her.
‘You can resist my power?’ the Collector
muttered.
‘That’s right,’ said Kelly, as if she’d known all along. ‘Haven’t you seen my horn? I’m the Golden Unicorn!’
With that, she charged. The Collector yelped, waved a hand and shot upwards. The tip of her horn just missed his ascending boot.
‘We have to leave,’ Stanley shouted to her.
‘Where? We’re surrounded!’ Kelly said.
‘I studied this place before I came,’ Stanley said. ‘There is another way out.’
Kelly nodded to Stanley, hearing his instructions in her mind.
She threw herself into a huge somersault before landing heavily with a splash, feeling something break underfoot. Just as Stanley had promised, she’d broken through the bottom of the pond. Water gurgled as it drained away.
‘Unicorn!’ the Soul Collector shouted from high above, a twisted smile on his face. ‘You truly are a magnificent find! And you … will … be mine.’
He slowed to a hover, clutching his broken arm.
Kelly looked around for anything to bring him down. She spotted the easel and ripped it apart with her hands.
She flung a length of wood at the Collector, but he simply flew sideways and smirked.
‘You have to stop stealing for your stupid paintings! Just stop it!’ Kelly screamed at him, but he laughed in her face.
But his expression changed from amusement to confusion as he stared past her.
‘What?’ she demanded, and followed his gaze.
All colour and life had returned to the Greenhouse. The flowers and trees and shrubs were all back – damaged, but back nonetheless.