The Unicorn Thief

by R. R. Russell

  “Ben!” Griffin grabbed his arm and hissed. “You cannot do this. It will never work. Just take the boardwalk, please.”

  “I have a better chance this way.”

  “You have no chance! Do you understand? No chance at all!”

  From the other side of the swamp, the horn sounded again. Ben said, “Ready.”

  It was Griffin’s job to blow the ram’s horn. Flames of anger shot from his eyes like the blue fire in the stories of the Death Swamp, but he raised it to his mouth and blew.

  Twig shot Griffin a reproachful look, slipped Wonder’s lead around her wrist, and grabbed her end of the pirogue.

  Twig and Ben lifted the boat together and headed for the entrance to the Death Swamp. Emmie circled over the crowd, then landed on top of the pirogue. Indy and Wonder neighed their distaste and confusion as Twig and Ben tethered them to a tree at the edge of the swamp. Twig’s arms shook as she balanced the edge of the pirogue on her shoulder. She felt the load lighten a little as Ben put some more muscle—more than his share—into lifting the other side of the boat.

  Emmie launched into the air, high above the treetops. Twig hoped she wouldn’t go far. She liked to think they’d keep some connection with the world outside the swamp, even if it was just one small emerald pigeon.

  Twig took the first step off the sticky but still mostly solid ground and onto the boardwalk. The boards were gray, the gray of death. Bright green foam seeped up between them—not the brightness of life—the brightness of toxic stuff that could end it.

  They carried the pirogue a few yards in, then carefully stepped to one side and lowered it to the boardwalk. Twig’s hands were still shaking. She felt something wet. A blob of green foam. She shook her hand, flinging it into the swamp.

  “It’s just algae,” Ben reminded her. “Touching the water won’t hurt you.”

  Twig nodded, glad she’d held back that yelp. If things were anything like Earth here, then she only had to worry about the water getting into any cuts and scrapes and causing infection.

  They turned the pirogue over and slowly lowered it into the water. Ben held it still against the boardwalk while Twig fetched Wonder.

  “You get in first, Twig.”

  She stepped in, Wonder’s lead in hand. She smiled steadily and looked into Wonder’s eyes. “Wonder-girl, we’re going for a little ride. Look what I have for you.” Twig showed Wonder the lump of sugar, a rare treat. “Come on.”

  Wonder stepped into the boat, then lost her nerve and tried to bounce back out. The boat lurched with her sudden movement, and Wonder splashed into the water.

  The boat drifted a few inches, then stopped, stuck in the mud. Thank God the water was only a few inches deep. But Wonder snorted and shook her head. Twig groped in the ooze for her lead. If Wonder bolted into the swamp—

  Ben stretched across the boardwalk on his belly, trying to grab the boat. “Use the paddle, Twig. I cannot reach it.”

  Twig held the lead tight with one hand and took the paddle in the other. She pushed off the mud with it, and Ben grasped the side of the pirogue and drew it back. Wonder wanted to follow. She scrambled back into the boat. Twig talked her into sitting down so she could pet her and still reach the ground with the paddle.

  It wasn’t so hard to get Indy into the pirogue once Wonder was there, though he made it clear how unhappy he was about it. He glared at Ben, then at Wonder for getting in first. The unicorns had a little discussion. Both of them were on their feet and looking ready to jump. They had to do something or they were never going to get on their way. Already the Boy King had a head start.

  “Push!” Twig cried. “Quick!”

  They both pushed the pirogue off and into deeper water before their unicorns could make their escape. The pirogue cut through the water, smooth and quiet and quick. Twig allowed herself a smile. They were on their way. They were going to do this.

  Overhead, a bright green blur wove in and out of view. As though to offer them extra reassurance, Emmie cooed. Her call bounced off the swamp life, sounding like more than just one bird. Not alone.

  Mrs. Murley often told Twig she was never alone. But she and Ben would be, until they made it to the other side of the swamp. Even then, would there be a friendly face to welcome them? Would Merrill make it? The group from Westland would be hurrying around the swamp right now to meet them. Only a small delegation from each side would remain by its entrance to be witnesses.

  Twig took her sketchbook from her mini-backpack and wrote a quick note. “Ben, see if you can call Emmie back. I want to try to send a message one more time.”

  The cooed answer to Ben’s whistle was barely audible. But in a moment, the letter pigeon arrived. Twig rolled her note up tight. It was addressed to everyone. Merrill, the Murleys, Casey, her parents, explaining what she’d done, apologizing. Telling them she loved them. Just in case.

  The swamp was almost peaceful, and the smell wasn’t so bad now that Twig had gotten used to it. Lulled by the gliding of the boat, Wonder and Indy rested. Maybe all the stories were exaggerations, tales grown taller over time.

  “Pull to the left,” Ben said. Even he sounded at ease as they navigated around a cluster of tree roots that jutted into their path, arching high above the water. Twig followed the roots with her eyes, up to the trunk, into the dangling branches. They were strangely dark, the lichen blackish. Mist hovered over the water—not the mist of Lonehorn Island, but a brownish gloom.

  Ben took in a sharp breath. “This is it, Twig,” he whispered. “The heart of the Death Swamp.”

  Chapter 30

  Wonder whined, and Indy huffed at Ben. “It’s all right, Indy-boy.” Ben gave each of the unicorns another lump of sugar.

  “You steer,” Twig said. “I’ll get out the map.”

  Twig scratched Wonder with one hand and traced their route from the boardwalk to the true heart of the Death Swamp with the other.

  The dangers leaped off the page, tongues of fire and gnashing teeth. We’re here. We’re everywhere. And now we’ve got you, Twig. We’re going to take you from that island for good.

  One wrong turn, and they could go up in smoke or be sucked—or dragged—into the mud, becoming a part of it forever. No one she loved would ever see her again. She thought of Mom, alone in jail. Twig knew her mother missed her, that she longed to see her. And Daddy would be home in a few days. He was looking forward to coming to see her at the ranch, watching her ride before he took her home with him.

  The swamp haze grew thicker, the shadows darker. Twig got out the big flashlight she’d packed and flipped it on. Ben gripped her arm and pointed. She stifled a scream. Scattered above the water, small, round lights glowed red.

  “Swamp lizards,” Ben whispered.

  “Those are their eyes? There are so many of them.”

  “We’ll stay still and calm. We’ll be okay, I think.” Ben pushed his paddle gently away from the glowing eyes. Twig did the same, trying not to make a splash.

  Wonder shrieked. Twig jumped up to steady her, and that’s when she saw the snake creeping along Wonder’s back, wriggling through her mane. She recognized the pattern of stripes instantly from the illustrations on the map. It lifted its pointed head, poised to pierce Wonder’s neck.

  Before Twig could draw her sword, Indy slashed at the snake with his horn and sliced it in two. But as he did so, he lost his balance and plunged into the water. Wonder leaped after him. Ben tossed the writhing remains of the snake over the other side of the boat and whistled for Indy to come back, but Wonder was spooked. She leaped farther away from the snake—and the pirogue.

  Indy called to Wonder and turned back toward the boat and his rider. Twig held the flashlight up just in time to see a pair of those red eyes darting through the water, right toward Indy. Ben yelled a warning, and Indy leaped and swam away, after Wonder.

  “Paddle!” Ben cried. “H
urry!”

  They paddled furiously after the unicorns and away from the dozen or so red eyes—eyes that gleamed with new interest. One by one, the swamp lizards began to weave through the swamp plants toward the little boat.

  Twig called to Wonder, and Ben whistled to Indy, and their unicorns struggled against the swamp, back to the pirogue. Ben grabbed Indy by the halter. He pulled while Indy lunged. Indy made it in, but the pirogue tipped with the impact. Twig shoved her paddle into the muck, and Ben shifted his weight, steadying it just before it tipped over. Ben scooped swamp water out of the pirogue with cupped hands while Twig tried to calm Wonder and get her to come to the boat.

  “Nice and steady. Come on.” Wonder slowed down all right. Now she was barely moving at all, and the near capsizing of the pirogue had reignited the swamp lizards’ interest. Wonder snorted and tossed her head. She kicked, and Twig saw it—a tangle of swamp weeds wrapped around her foreleg.

  “Wonder’s in trouble!”

  The unicorn lunged forward, toward the boat—into a dip in the swamp floor, into deeper water. She sank up to her neck, her eyes wild with fear, pleading with Twig, Save me. Save me. Don’t let me die here. Ben struggled to keep Indy under control and in the boat. Twig threw everything off her back, even her shell and her mini-backpack. Holding only her sword, she jumped into the water and swam to Wonder.

  Ben was shouting at her. An arrow whizzed by, and something splashed. Something big. A swamp lizard’s bumpy tail disappeared into the water.

  Twig groped for Wonder’s reins and tried to hold her head still so she could talk to her. Wonder was growing more and more exhausted. Sinking deeper and deeper. And it was impossible to hold on to Wonder with one hand and her sword with the other while treading water. Twig took a deep breath, let go of Wonder, and dove into the murky water. She felt for Wonder, praying she wouldn’t take a hoof in the head or accidentally slash Wonder with her sword.

  She found Wonder’s leg and worked her fingers under the weeds that threatened to tether her to the Death Swamp forever. There was no way she could cut them off Wonder’s leg with her sword without cutting Wonder too. Not the way the unicorn was kicking and fighting to escape, to stay alive.

  Desperately, Twig slashed through the water underneath Wonder’s feet. The water surged around her, and Twig bobbed up, gasping and spitting swampy grit. Wonder swam toward the pirogue. She was free. Twig had cut the weeds away from the swamp floor.

  “Twig!” Ben held his hand out for her, and she climbed into the pirogue.

  Twig held on to Wonder’s bridle while Ben pushed the pirogue into shallower water, and Wonder clambered in. Ragged weeds hung from her forelegs.

  Ben glanced behind them at the swamp lizards. He shoved a paddle at Twig. “Let’s go!”

  Still out of breath, Twig paddled for her life—for all of their lives. They navigated around a cluster of floating plants that resembled blackened lily pads and into a patch of open water.

  “Strange.” Ben took Twig’s flashlight and shined it. “They’re not following.”

  The pairs of red eyes clustered together, watching but not following—almost as though they were waiting. For what?

  A burst of blue flame lit up the swamp. The unicorns cried out, and this time, Twig couldn’t stop her scream.

  “Swamp fire! Twig, the map!” Ben pushed them away from the flames. “We’ve gotten off course. We have to get out of here and headed the right direction without—” He nodded at the swamp lizards.

  Without running right back into their hungry, razor-toothed mouths.

  Chapter 31

  Twig hastily unrolled the map. She scanned it, then found the spot they’d entered—Fire Lagoon. “I think I know where—”

  “Ahh!”

  Flames shot up, bright blue, just off the starboard side of the pirogue. Fire crawled along Ben’s cloak. Twig helped him tear it off and smother the flames. The side of the pirogue was singed. Wonder and Indy neighed wildly and moved to the opposite side of the boat. It tipped dangerously low in the water.

  Twig and Ben struggled to keep the unicorns calm and the pirogue balanced as they paddled through the minefield of bursting flame. Finally they reached the end of the lagoon and a narrow passage of water that led them in the right direction. Ben put down his paddle with a sigh of relief. He grimaced at his blackened cloak, then put it back on.

  Twig hugged Wonder and said a prayer of thanks. She’d almost lost her. They’d almost lost everything.

  Twig consulted the map again. “The good news, aside from the fact that we made it through there alive, is that little detour through Fire Lagoon was actually a shortcut. We never would’ve gone through there on purpose, but I think it saved us some of that time we lost with Wonder being stuck. Look.”

  She pointed out the swamp life, beginning to look more like life instead of death again—green instead of black and rotting, the mud brown instead of tarlike. As long as they stayed on course, the worst was over. They headed toward the boardwalk. Soon they’d be on solid ground, they’d have that flag, and everyone could go home in peace.

  “There’s the boardwalk,” Ben said.

  “I think we’re close to the Eastland entrance. Pull up to the boardwalk, and I’ll check.”

  Ben pushed the pirogue to the boardwalk and used his paddle to hold it steady while Twig climbed out. She peered through the binoculars Taylor had loaned her, down the rickety path, into the fog of swamp fumes. At first she couldn’t make anything out, but then the haze shifted, and she glimpsed something bright green, trimmed in gold.

  “There! There it is! Eastland’s flag.”

  They got their unicorns out of the pirogue and onto the boardwalk, then lifted the boat out of the water and set it down.

  Twig mounted Wonder, then turned back to look at the flag. Though it hung limp in the gloom of the Death Swamp, it was the most beautiful thing she’d seen in a long time. But this time Twig spotted something under the flag. She lowered the binoculars with a shaky hand.

  “Oh no. Oh, Ben. He’s here.”

  “What?” Ben took the binoculars and looked for himself. His frown of worry turned to fury. “Reynald! He’s brought that soldier, Ackley, with him as his companion.”

  The figures walked slowly back and forth on a little section of boardwalk. Pacing. Waiting—for them.

  Reynald didn’t seem to notice them yet. He and Ackley had no binoculars, and the swamp smells must be keeping the unicorns from catching one another’s scents. They were hundreds of yards away, but Twig talked to Wonder, urging her to be still, not to cause any vibrations on the boardwalk.

  “How did he know?” Twig whispered just in case.

  “That bird! Just when we entered the swamp, I thought I heard Emmie cooing to another pigeon. The Eastlanders sent Reynald a message as soon as they saw our boats. He’s been here the whole time, waiting for us.”

  “But he’d never get our flag first by waiting here.”

  “He’d keep us from getting his. Reynald wasn’t willing to bet that the swamp would kill us. Besides, he wants a fight. He thinks he’ll take care of us, and then take his time riding through the swamp to get my flag.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Fight for that flag. Get ready, Twig.”

  The boardwalk groaned under the unicorns’ hooves as they advanced. Soon Reynald and his companion would know they were coming. Dear God, Twig prayed, don’t let us die. Don’t let me have to kill anyone. Not a unicorn or a person.

  The unicorns neighed. All heads turned toward the sound. Another rider was coming from the south side of the swamp. He glanced quickly at them, then plunged forward, toward Reynald. As he rode, he fired at Reynald. Though he was covered in swamp muck, Twig recognized those movements. They were so much like Ben’s. There was only one person it could be.

  Griffin.

  H
e was headed for the boardwalk. To cut off the Boy King’s charge. To stop the duel.

  Where did he come from? But as his mud-spattered mount plowed through the swamp, Twig knew the answer. He’d entered from the north side of the swamp. He hadn’t used the boardwalk at all; he’d just ridden right through.

  “Griffin! No!” Ben plunged off the boardwalk, headed for Griffin, shouting, “She sent you, didn’t she? To stop me. I should’ve known she’d never really agree!”

  “Get back on the boardwalk! I’m not doing this for her! I’m doing it because I cannot lose you, Ben.”

  The boardwalk shook. In the distance, Stone Heart and Ackley’s unicorn howled for battle. They charged toward Twig while Ben and Griffin splashed and argued in the murky water.

  Chapter 32

  A lump swelled in Ben’s throat even as his pulse pounded with urgency. His brother and his unicorn, Breaker, were in a terrible state. A trickle of blood streamed through the mud and algae caked on Griffin’s unicorn’s coat. A nasty scrape marred Griffin’s cheek, and his cloak was ripped almost in half. His quiver was dangerously close to empty. He drew his sword—or what was left of it. The end of it had broken—or been bitten—right off.

  “This is my decision.” Ben cut in front of Griffin. “It has nothing to do with you.”

  Griffin veered to the side. “No, it was my decision, and it has everything to do with me.”

  Ackley fired at Griffin, and all he could do was dodge. Ben fired back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Twig, all alone on the boardwalk, charging bravely toward the Boy King. Her courage would be no match for Reynald’s skill. Ben made his choice. He left Griffin and headed for the boardwalk to help Twig.

  Griffin had ruined everything Ben was trying to do. Now the unicorns would suffer the losses of another war. Griffin had made it this far, winning who knew how many battles against the swamp—and now he was going to die. But Twig shouldn’t have to pay the price.