by Lola StVil
If it weren’t for the evil in its eyes and the fire coming from each of its nostrils, it would be a creature of such immense beauty. Instead, it is a contradiction of nature, and it’s frankly terrifying, yet so mystifying.
It makes a snorting noise, and the little trickle of flame coming from its nostrils becomes two thick plumes. It keeps its eyes locked on mine, and I can sense the flames getting closer to me, but still, I can’t look away from its eyes. It takes a step closer, studying me, making no move to attack.
“Kane!”
Langston is shouting my name. I hear her, but it’s like she’s a million miles away. I don’t even try to respond. I feel a touch on my face, and I try to ignore it, but it’s insistent. I reach up a hand to swat it away as my head snaps to the side.
As soon as my head moves, and the eye contact between the Black Unicorn and me is broken, the spell lifts off me, and I jump to the side just in time to avoid being incinerated.
“So Pest meant it literally when he said its eyes could paralyze a person,” I say. “I wanted to move, but I couldn’t. Don’t anyone look the thing in the eye.”
Perry fires towards the Black Unicorn as it takes a step closer to us. His shot wraps itself around the unicorn’s upper right leg, but if it has any effect on the creature, it doesn’t show it.
“Remember what Pest said,” Regal says. “It’s almost impossible to kill this thing. So let’s try to distract it and get the hair.”
I pull my sword out.
“Langston, cover me. Regal, you run around the back and get the hair,” I say.
I don’t wait around for them to argue. I run at the unicorn as Langston’s shield appears around me. I resist the urge to look into the unicorn’s eyes again, and I focus all of my attention on the spot in its chest where I think its heart will be. I aim the tip of my sword there.
The fire from the unicorn’s nostrils is raining down on the shield, and already it’s starting to break down, but I’m almost there. Regal is beside me as I get close enough to the creature to take a shot at it.
I pull my arm back and stab forward with all of my might as Regal continues on, running down the creature’s flank. The unicorn ignores me and focuses on Regal. My sword slams into it but it doesn’t penetrate the skin of the creature at all. It doesn’t even leave a tiny wound, let alone the gaping hole I anticipated.
“Regal, look out,” I shout as I see the unicorn send out a plume of flames towards him.
Regal throws himself to one side as the plume of fire hits the ground where he stood only half a second ago. It leaves a big charred patch on the rocky ground.
The others have run in behind me and are also trying to distract the unicorn so Regal can get behind it. It turns its attention back to the front. Perry is repeatedly firing at it, but it still isn’t having any effect on the creature. I don’t think it even notices the red webbing that clings to its chest and legs.
Saudia is attempting to rupture its front left leg with her plasma hug, but again, it has no effect on the creature. Langston has joined Perry, firing and firing to no avail.
“Aim for its eyes and throat,” I say.
I also begin firing into its facial area, but it’s like firing into a stone wall. It’s raining fire down all around us, and it’s a challenge in itself just to avoid the fiery blasts.
Langston freezes suddenly. She stops moving with her hand raised, her face slack and emotionless.
“Langston? Langston?” I shout.
Perry looks at her as I shout and he gasps.
“It’s sucking her soul out,” he shouts.
I squint slightly as I jump to avoid another flame and I see a thin, almost transparent silvery mist floating out of Langston’s chest.
Saudia pushes Langston to the side, and she stumbles and goes down, but it doesn’t stop her soul from leaving her. The silvery mist is forming a ball above her chest, and something tells me if that ball gets to the unicorn, we’ve lost her.
Suddenly, the unicorn bellows and turns away from us. The silvery mist falls in a rush back into Langston. She gasps and sits up, clutching her chest. Saudia reaches down a hand and helps her to her feet.
“What happened?” she asks.
“I don’t know. I was just…one minute I was fine...and the next…I wasn’t.”
She’s clearly shaken up but Saudia is with her, and I’m more interested in what caused the unicorn to snort out in panic and pain like that. Whatever it is, I want in. I run to the side and see a small chunk of flesh missing from the side of the unicorn. As I watch, a small rock bounces off it, and another little chunk of flesh is gone.
Regal is using his telekinesis and throwing rocks at the unicorn. It doesn’t take well to this, and it turns to Regal and begins raining flames down on him. He expects this, and he dances this way and that, avoiding the flames while continuing to throw the rocks down on the creature.
“Everyone, grab any rocks you can see and keep throwing them. Regal has actually managed to take a chunk out of it. Perry, get around and stay with Regal. Langston and I will take this side. Keep it distracted and keep it in pain. Saudia, go for the hair!” I say quickly.
Perry immediately rushes to join Regal, while Langston and I move slightly so that we are on each side of it. Regal is making the most difference because he doesn’t have to look around for small, loose rocks. The others are scrambling around grabbing what they can.
Saudia stealthily skirts the creature and gets around behind it. She waits a couple of seconds until she’s certain it’s distracted, and then runs towards it and grabs a handful of its tail hairs. They don’t come loose. All it does is anger the unicorn. It bellows again, this time in rage, and it kicks out with its legs. I’m not expecting it, and one of the hooves catches me in the chest. I hear a rib crack, and I fly backward through the air, slamming down onto the rocky surface.
“Kane, are you okay?” Saudia shouts.
I fight in a breath.
“Yeah,” I manage to wheeze back out.
I take a second to drag in a long breath, and I lie panting for a moment, trying to ignore the pain I feel with each breath. I force myself back to my feet. I can feel blood running down my back, but I don’t think it’s anything serious—it’s just from landing on the rocks.
I gingerly take a step forward, and I’m fine except for the rib. I advance on the unicorn again, more cautious this time. I don’t want to take another hoof to my body. The team is still raining rocks down on the creature but there are none big enough to do any real damage, and the creature seems to sense that they are more of an annoyance to it than a real threat.
It is still firing out its flames, and I hear a screech from Perry as he is a little too slow moving aside.
“Just my ankle,” he shouts out.
I know from my last unsuccessful attempt at getting a hair that plucking one out won’t work, and I reach for my sword again. I’ll have to cut one out. I’m close enough to touch the unicorn, and I reach out and grab a few hairs. I try to do it gently enough that the creature won’t feel my touch and retaliate.
I bring the sword up slowly and begin to slice through the hairs. As I’m moving the sword back and forth in a sawing motion, the unicorn bellows again. It kicks out and once more I’m flying through the air, although this time I’d backed off enough that its hooves only get me in the arm. It hurts, but nothing breaks. I keep my fist clenched tightly closed as I’m thrown a few feet away, not wanting to lose the hairs I clutch after we’ve done all of this.
I can’t believe we’ve done it. We’ve got the hair of the Black Unicorn. We just have to get around it now, and we’re okay.
The unicorn bellows again, and this time, it rears up, lifting its head and the front of its body into the air and standing on its back feet.
My elation at having the hair turns to utter desolation as I see the unicorn impale its black horn in Saudia’s limp body.
The team is all screaming Saudia’s name. The rocks are st
ill flying but what use are they now? I get to my feet with no idea what I’m going to do to help. A blur of color rushes past me, and I see a figure running towards the unicorn. It’s moving so fast I can’t make anything out except the movement.
The figure comes to a stop in front of the unicorn and throws a handful of gold powder towards it. The unicorn snorts once and then stumbles and crashes to the ground.
My jaw clenches when I see that the figure is Tracey.
I run towards the team as they step forward to pull Saudia free. She’s on her feet and being healed by the time I get to the team. The horn went through her thigh muscle. It must be painful as hell, but she’s lucky in a way. If it had been an inch or two higher, it would have gone clean through her stomach, and she’d be dead.
“What happened?” I ask.
“It kicked out at you again, and I thought just distracting it wasn’t enough. I thought if we could do some real damage to its face, then we had a chance. It saw me coming, and I made the mistake of looking at its eyes. And the next thing I knew, I was in the air, and my leg was on fire.”
Regal finishes healing Saudia, and without asking, he starts in on my rib. It is barely a minute before the rib is healed and I’m as good as new.
Tracey finally speaks up. “Guys, we need to move. That dust won’t kill it, it’ll just knock it out, and if it wakes up and we’re still here, then we’re done.”
Saudia and I exchange a glance.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Tracey?” Saudia asks quietly.
“Saving your life. You’re welcome,” Tracey responds. “Let’s go.”
She starts walking towards the cliff walls. Saudia and I exchange another look. Saudia shrugs, and we move back the way we came.
“Really?” Tracey says, stopping and looking back at us. “You’d rather risk your lives than come with me?”
“Yes,” Regal says. “Because let’s face it, being around you is a good way to end up dead.”
“Look, I said I’m sorry about the past, I can’t change it. But I can change what happens next. So you can all go back the way you came if you’re too stubborn to come with me. And if the Arna Strip doesn’t finish you off, then the Banacores sure as hell will. Or you can come with me and leave the isle safely.”
As much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. None of us had given much thought to getting back off the isle, but we’re all out of the smoky substance that holds off the effects of the Banacore acid, and we have no more of the antidote if anyone gets badly hit.
“You really know a way off the island that skips the Banacores?” I ask suspiciously.
Tracey lifts her sleeves up and then shows her midriff.
“No burns. Yes. I do,” she says.
“She’s right. If we go back the way we came, it was all for nothing,” Perry says.
“I agree. And if she tries anything, we’ll just kill her,” Langston says casually.
“Fine,” Saudia says.
She stomps towards Tracey, and the rest of us follow.
“Why are you even here?” Saudia asks her again.
“I just wanted to help. I know it’s a small step, but I had to start somewhere. I did some research, and I found out Talon used a Damler mask enchantment. I’m guessing you all know that though because you’re here. Anyway, I came to get a hair from the Black Unicorn. I found a troll who gave me the powder. He said it would make any hell creature sleep, but he had no idea how long for.
“When I saw you guys, I hid. I figured there was enough to deal with on the isle without fighting with you. But then when I saw what it was doing to you, Saudia, I couldn’t stay back any longer. I had to save you.”
Her voice breaks on the last words. Saudia rolls her eyes and turns to me.
“Stupid question, but you did get a hair, didn’t you?”
I nod. I have the urge to laugh then. Imagine going through all of this and us all leaving without the hair. I bite the urge back. I don’t want to look crazy.
“So you kept quiet about where Remy was and got her killed. You did your best to get Regal killed. And then you let Talon take Atlas. Oh, and you betrayed Saudia. And you think this makes everything okay?” Langston says.
“No,” Tracey says. “But I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.”
“You should have,” Perry mutters.
“Really?” Tracey snaps. “Because if I had, then Saudia would be dead. Is that what you want?”
Perry snorts at her in derision.
“The last time I looked, I wasn’t the one feeding the Keysu information.”
“Enough,” Saudia says. “Let’s just get away from this place without killing each other.”
Tracey is leading us along a tight path that runs through the cliff face. Up ahead of us I can see the rocky ground that I already know is infested with Banacores.
“Stop,” I say.
The team stops, and Tracey turns to me.
“What?” she says.
“You’re leading us into a trap, aren’t you? Where is he hiding?”
“I swear I’m not,” Tracey says.
I raise an eyebrow and point to the rocks.
“The Banacores live in the rocks,” I say.
“Yes, but we’re not going through the rocks. We’re going under them,” Tracey says.
“A likely story,” I mutter.
“Tracey? Is it true?” Saudia asks.
“No,” Tracey says.
None of us make any move to follow her as she starts walking again. She turns back.
“You know what? I’ve tried. You can either follow me or get killed. To be honest, I’m almost past caring.”
She continues walking, and I turn to the others.
“Look, maybe she is leading us off the isle, or maybe she’s leading us right into Talon’s lair. Right now, either option suits me. If we encounter Talon, I can take him. The Banacores, on the other hand? Well, we’ve seen what they can do.”
“Kane’s right,” Perry says.
I raise an eyebrow.
“Bet that hurt,” I say.
“Oh, it did,” he assures me.
We hurry to catch up with Tracey, who does not comment on our reappearance. We walk in silence for a few more minutes and then Tracey stops so abruptly I almost walk into her. She turns back to us.
“The entrance to the tunnel is here. It goes pretty deep down beneath the isle. The last part of the last tunnel is completely submerged. Just keep swimming and when you see the light above you, kick towards it, and you’ll be at the surface,” she says.
Tracey slips through a small crawl space in the rocks. I wouldn’t have even noticed it, and I admit it’s small enough to make me feel nervous about getting stuck fast somewhere along the tunnel.
“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Langston asks.
She looks nervous, her face pale.
“No, but what choice do we have?” Regal asks.
He slips into the hole, and Saudia and Perry follow him. Langston is still holding back.
“Are you okay?” I say.
She nods, but it isn’t very convincing. I smile at her.
“Hey, I don’t like tight spaces either, but if I don’t get stuck, you definitely won’t.”
She nods again and gives me a tight smile. She clambers into the hole, and I follow. I crawl through the tight, dark space and I can feel myself struggling to breathe. I remind myself that we’ll be in the open sea soon enough. The rocky part of the isle isn’t very wide, and it shouldn’t take us too long to get through the tunnel.
I can feel the ground beneath me sloping down sharply as I crawl. Langston’s labored breathing echoes off the walls and comes back to me. I focus on that, and I feel my own panic start to recede as I whisper to her.
“It’s okay. Not much further,” I say.
“It opens out here,” Tracey’s voice booms back to us. It bounces off the tunnel walls and comes back to me over and over again.
Langston
disappears in front of me, and I reach forward, my hand groping out blindly. It’s like the ground before me has disappeared. Just before I lose it completely, a hand grasps mine and pulls me forward, and I’m in a cavern that’s big enough for us all to stand up straight and move around.
Tracey points to a hole in the ground.
“We need to go down there. It’s really steep, so it’ll work almost like a slide. The water is about halfway down. Just keep dragging yourself down until you’re clear of the tunnel and then remember to kick for the light.”
I really don’t like the idea of following Tracey into a hole in the ground that could lead anywhere, but there’s no going back now. Tracey doesn’t hang around to wait for the argument. She sits at the side of the hole and pushes herself into it. Within a second or two, I hear a splash. She was telling the truth about the water then.
Perry goes next, then Saudia, and then Regal. I motion for Langston to go next but she takes a step back and shakes her head.
“I can’t, Kane. I’m sorry, I just can’t.”
I can hear the panic in her voice.
“It’s okay, Langston. If Talon is down there, I can take him. Want me to go first?”
“It’s not Talon I’m worried about. It’s the water. I…I can’t swim underwater.”
I didn’t see that one coming. How did none of the team know that? As though she knows what I am thinking, Langston explains.
“I’ve never told anyone because it’s embarrassing. I mean, imagine Perry knowing something like that about you,” she says.
She makes a good point.
“Listen,” I say. “I’ll go down first, and I’ll wait for you at the bottom. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. That’s all you have to do. I’ll bring you to the surface and then you’ll be okay. Alright?”
She shakes her head again.
“I can’t.”
“You don’t trust me to wait for you?”
“No, I do. I just can’t be under the water that way. I’ll panic, and I’ll drown. I know I will.”