Unicorn Sacrifices

by Setlu Vairst

  ***

  Realising just how fast her heart was beating, Kolay’sha had already began to agitate her throat and was preparing the fireball mix that she was sure would be called upon. Moving her eyes only, she could see that Shavat, the unicorns, and the squirrels, were all maintaining a silence through stillness as well as not speaking; each of them were peering in the direction of the running blue humans. ‘The fleeing humans are so intent on the direction that they are running towards that they have not seen us here. It is good that this part of the forest is thick with trees and plants.’

  Kolay’sha considered that there was a chance that they would not be seen, especially if they were not the ones who were being hunted. She could only hope that the tree trunks of the forest hid the shapes of herself and Shavat. She felt that both her body, and Shavat’s, would be providing adequate cover for the unicorns as long as the humans remained moving in their chosen direction and that they continued focusing only on what was ahead of them and what was behind.

  Flinching a little, Kolay’sha was shocked when there was a sudden deafening outburst of new screams and shouts erupting in the air and, moving her eyes to look in that direction, from where Kolay’sha had originally seen the blue shapes running she now saw fast moving human shapes with materials doused in vibrant shades of red. Sighing a little, she thought, ‘they are running directly towards where I had last seen the blue humans, they are following in that direction.’

  She would not move her head to look toward the unicorns or see what the squirrels were doing for fear of the slightest movement drawing the evilest attraction. She knew Shavat would also be remaining completely still and could only assume the same was true of the unicorns and the squirrels.

  Suddenly, there were more shouts and then the distinct reverberation of metal crashing upon metal could be heard winding its way between the tree trunks. There came harsh screams from an area out of sight and close to the river.

  Seeming to last for an eternity, the clanking of metal invaded the forest, seeming to be ripping into the very wood of the trees and making them scream and then, suddenly, a haunted silence fell about their surroundings and the only sound that Kolay’sha could now hear was the rain hitting the leaves high over head.

  Almost like a gentle ripple moving slowly across pond, there came a new noise weaving through the forest and it was a sound that only the human’s made after a kill; it was laughter and it was the most frightening sound that Kolay’sha had ever heard. She could not begin to perceive the mind of a creature that could laugh at the taking of another creature’s life. ‘There is indeed an evil to the humans that cannot be equalled by any other life form of this world.’

  With the laughter continuing to invade the beauty of the forest as if it were a poison passing between the tree trunks searching for new prey, Kolay’sha began to see human figures in red, raggedy clothing beginning to appear amidst the tree trunks as malformed shapes. She watched them move slowly back in the direction that they had came from originally and, for a moment, she felt as though they would be safe. ‘It is good that the humans return from where they came but it is now becoming too dangerous to remain here. I have a duty to the unicorns for which I will receive information and that information may be what is needed for the dragons to survive in the dark time ahead.’

  Watching the moving figures, seeing them slowing being eaten up by the multitude of tree trunks that obscured their view, she began looking for any sign of the humans dressed in blue; but she saw none, ‘Then I should be grateful that there are now less humans alive in this place than there were a little time ago. I wonder what the crime was of the blue humans, or is it natural human behaviour that red and blue humans must always oppose each other and so destroy each other? What is it that the humans expect to achieve by eradicating so many of their own species?’

  Estimating that perhaps thirty humans were moving through the trees and then panicking just as she was watching the few who were at the rear of the group as the humans suddenly crouched down, Kolay’sha watched the red covered human shapes running swiftly to ground and being suddenly lost from sight. Silence descended once more upon the forest and, because this was not a natural sound when humans were in the area, Kolay’sha felt very scared. ‘What are the humans doing now?’

  There was a sudden clap of wings as a bird was disturbed by something close to it, flying away from its resting place it went racing swiftly and scared beneath the main branches of the trees, heading off toward the river. Kolay’sha did not see the bird and then, suddenly, the sound of the bird ceased, leaving behind the sound of the rain hitting the canopy overhead.

  An almost complete silence descended upon the area as Kolay’sha, Shavat, the unicorns, and the squirrels all remained absolutely still and hardy daring to breathe.

  The moments passed by agonizingly slowly, accompanied only by the sound of rain hitting leaves high overhead. Kolay’sha felt an urgent need to scratch an itch that had appeared on the lower part of her neck but she had no choice but to refuse to succumb to its insistent desire to be removed.

  The time continued to creep around her as the itch continued to annoy and distract her, but she kept her eyes fixed upon where she had last seen the humans, searching for any sign of them and, as time went by, she began to feel more and secure, believing that the humans had gone to carry out their wicked deeds in some other place.

  With her mind slowly going over questions that she wanted to ask the unicorns and the squirrels, she believed that there were things that she felt she should ask. There was a desire to find out more about her connection with the unicorns and why it had been her destiny to be the one who would provide assistance to them.

  “Yaaaarrrrhhh,” a human voice screamed through the forest, quickly followed by other savage roars and, as Kolay’sha turned in the direction of the first roar that she had heard, she saw a number of humans racing through the trees with the gleam of metal catching the faint rays of daylight that managed to pierce the canopy above.

  Quickly rising to her feet, Kolay’sha could see Shavat was doing the same. ‘We are seen and must fight,’ she thought grimly as something sharp buried itself in the ground close by.

 

 

  02 - Judges II – The Warring Nations

  Objects came hurtling through the air and where they struck her they caused her immense pain. Kolay’sha could not see the objects, merely feel their arrival. Issuing a loud and deafening roar, she was warning the humans of her hurting and her anger. Shavat roared his anger beside her but the humans paid no attention, they continued to race through the trees, throwing their weapons and screaming their cries.

  As Kolay’sha swung around, she became painfully aware that the humans were not just coming from the general direction of where she had first seen them and that they were coming toward her in a line, spread out amongst the trees, ‘The humans must have spent a time trying to surround us as much as possible and they have carried out this preparation without any of us hearing them as they moved into their positions of attack.’

  Wild sounds were erupting in the air, seemingly coming from everywhere around them. Humans shouting, metal clanging, stones thrown and crashing upon the ground, trees, and upon her body, the buzzing noise of the slingshots that hurled the stones, and the sound of her own roars. The stillness and quiet of the forest had been replaced with the sounds of impending death and of battles to a gruesome finish.

  Brightness flashed beside her as she saw Shavat’s flaming fireball hurtling through the air, flying swiftly amongst the tree trunks before colliding with a tree trunk, where the human it was aimed at just succeeded in leaping to the side, splattering and sending flaming shards through the air as the fireball ripped bark from the tree itself. All of the humans close to its impact point dived to the ground, rolling away from it to safety, except for one human’s clothing which immediately burst into flames as the human rolled and writhed in agony upon the ground. The human’s companions were
ignoring his cries and continuing to scream in their own savage way, screaming out for blood and death to be delivered by their own evil means.

  Kolay’sha had been agitating her throat for a while now and it was a great release when she hurled the first fireball from her throat, watching it blast its way through the air and finally smashing upon a tree trunk, sending flaming debris spinning and shooting through the air. Humans were diving for cover, throwing their bodies to the ground or running to stand behind the wider trees but, no matter how many humans hid from sight, Kolay’sha was painfully aware of the stones that continued flying through the air.

  Turning her head, she was quickly spewing forth another fireball, firing it in a direction where she had detected movement closest to her. She adjusted her body, turning herself away from Shavat, leaving him to protect his side, whilst she set about protecting hers. Arrows began to stab into the ground near her, some whistling through the air close to her head, as she kept her head moving from side to side, trying to make as difficult a target as she could for the humans.

  Amongst the distant trees, she could see more and more humans racing up behind the ones that fired their weapons at her now. There were many, many humans; racing forward while shouting, screaming, and hurling their weapons, though the ones that were closest had took to using trees for cover in an effort to sneak up closer before they launched their weapons.

  Kolay’sha readied another fireball, wishing she could rise upon her hind legs so that she could get a better shot at the humans but she would not, recalling her mother telling her many times that that in that position a dragon made a larger and easier target.

  She spat another fireball, watching it fly through the air, watching it smash into a tree and shower a number of nearby humans with DragonFlame. She felt satisfied that the DragonFlame kept burning upon the humans and she ignored their cries of pain as she knew they would ignore hers should they be able to overcome her. Her eyes searching, looking for the humans who posed the most imminent danger, she was already preparing a fireball and then, seeing movement, she fired that fireball. Snaking through the air with a dark shadow of smoke racing behind it, the fireball impacted full on upon a human who tried, too late, to leap to the side. The fireball all but cut the human in two as he was thrown to the ground upon his back while the fireball continued to burn into his clothes and flesh with flames erupting from the ground around him. The human did not even have time to scream for so massive and immediate was the damage done to his body.

  Aware of more fireballs being hurled by Shavat, Kolay’sha knew that many of his shots were hitting their intended targets as she heard the screaming of the humans that the fireballs, or DragonFlame, touched. Spitting forth once again, Kolay’sha was no longer spending the time watching her own fireballs fly but, instead, turning her head whilst preparing another and then firing that off towards another intended target. The air became full of the smells of sulphur, burning flesh and blood; smoke from burning fireballs and DragonFlame billowed through the air, dancing serenely in the midst of the shouting and chaos.

  Recalling another tactic that her mother had told her about and considering the possibility of adopting the tactic, she felt her mind beginning to be invaded by the images of dragons being tortured, of dragons screaming, of flames… The same images that had brought her to her knees in agony so many times before were trying to destroy her once again. ‘How long must I suffer this affliction?’ her mind screamed.

  “Not now!” she roared at the top of her voice and, feeling that she may soon be taken over by her nightmares, she decided that there was no need to ponder her mother's tactic, she would put them into action whilst she still could.

  Inside, she was crying at the voices and images, begging them to go away and leave her alone and then, in a mighty bound that was more of a distraction from the pains in her head, she leapt through the trees ahead of her, crashing to the ground amidst a group of approximately seven humans. Seeing surprise and shock in their faces, she began turning her body rapidly, smashing her tail through the air behind her, aiming the tail at the group of astonished humans. Without looking backwards she leapt once again, off at an angle, bounding between the trees and very conscious of the fact that fewer stones were landing upon her as she now presented a moving target that was constantly changing position amongst the trees, whilst being offered protection by the trees.

  Where she landed, she saw the smouldering remains of a human who had fallen to either one of her own fireballs or one of Shavat’s. Swinging her head to the right, her eyes fell upon a lone human standing beside a tree; obviously his vantage point for aiming his weapons at Kolay’sha and Shavat. Opening her mouth, she spewed a roared mass of DragonFlame from her throat. There was no fireball this time, only the DragonFlame that flew through the air like a fountain of boiling water! The DragonFlame splashed across the human and, screaming, he turned and began running, crashing into another human in his flight, causing the second human’s garments to burst into flame. The two humans fell to the ground with their bodies burning intensely as they writhed in pain trying to futilely put out the flames upon their bodies.

  Something solid and sharp, possibly a large stone, struck Kolay’sha against the head and for a moment she was stunned as she saw humans begin to pour through the trees toward her, ready to make their kill. Surprising them, instead of running for cover she leapt toward them, landing in the midst of a group, completely smashing them into the ground. The surviving companions of these humans either tried to back off or simply turned and fled, seeking cover elsewhere. Kolay’sha spewed DragonFlame again, turning her head as she did so, showering a number of retreating humans with her deadly cargo and, for good measure, she swung her tail violently from side to side behind her, ensuring any humans in that direction did not remain there in one complete piece.

  Noticing that the shouting of the humans was not as loud now and that they were a little more wary, a little less confident but still, in the trees around her, Kolay’sha could see more and more humans pouring through the forest, heading in both hers and Shavat’s direction.

  Turning a little, she ran a short way, building up speed and then leapt, this time spewing a Fireball as she did. The fireball flew ahead of her, plunging through the trees and into the ground. Kolay’sha landed heavily; her bulk sliding a short way across the wet vegetation before coming to a complete halt, staring in the direction of the fireball and stood wondering what had happened to the flames for the fireball just sat smouldering upon the ground.

  Moving her head to the left, she saw Shavat in the distance and it was evident that he had engaged upon the same tactics as herself and she could see the dramatic confusion that this was causing to the humans. ‘It does not sit well with their slaying tactics to have two large and angry dragons leaping around within their midst!’ she thought to herself.

  Locating a small group of humans that had taken refuge behind a small rise in the ground, a place from where they could stand and fire their weapons before ducking under cover, she spewed a fireball in their direction. The fireball flew across the rise just as a human tried to stand. He froze as he saw the fireball coming toward him, too scared to move and he never had a chance to scream as the fireball completely removed his head, continuing on its journey through the trees. The headless body of the human slumped to the ground, burning and causing his remaining companions to flee their shelter. Shooting DragonFlame toward them, the tip of the flame only reached two of the humans but their detested red garments immediately burst into flame as they ran away, trailing smoke and screams behind them.

  Kolay’sha turned her body again, her mind returning to the unicorns and squirrels and, once she had her bearings, she made a leap in that direction, heading directly for the large clump of bushes that the unicorns had originally emerged from.

  As she landed, aware of thickening smoke in the area, she was deafened by a mighty bang that flashed bright, showering sparks all around as a huge tree groaned, creaking,
before it began to topple to the ground. Kolay’sha leapt quickly, moving clear of the falling tree and, landing a little ungracefully, she turned around, shooting a fireball back in the direction that she leapt from ensuring any humans kept their heads down.

  The tree groaned as it went crashing down toward the forest floor, its descent slowed by its many branches trying to break its fall as they tangled and wrestled with the branches of the trees nearest to it. Beyond the tree, Kolay’sha could see humans running up behind it, trying to use the bulk of its leaves and branches as cover. She immediately shot DragonFlame in the direction of the tree and was happy to see the branches ignite, sending out flames and smoke, as she thought, ‘It will not be so easy for the humans to hide behind now!’

  Sensing a small reprieve, Kolay’sha tried to glance around the trees, trying to determine what manner of weapon the humans had that could explode and bring a large tree toppling to the ground but she could see no indication of such a weapon however, thanks to the red colours that the humans wore, she was able to see the majority of the humans as they tried to hide or sneak between trees.

  Selecting a place where there appeared to be a concentrated group of humans, Kolay’sha hurled another fireball, watching the burning, smoking comet shoot between the trees, landing in their midst and, as it did, a bright shower of flames shot out, landing upon the humans and the nearby trees.

  Smoke was beginning to thicken in the damp air and, as Kolay’sha looked around, she could see that the humans were not racing forward as quickly. They had to manoeuvre around burning obstacles; be they trees, bushes, or the burning body of their fallen companions.

  “There are too many!” Shavat shouted through the trees and then, turning to her right, Kolay’sha saw him land upon the ground, spit fire, and then turn and leap in another direction.

  Suddenly, there was another explosion, close to Shavat and only his dragon skin protected him as flames shot out through the trees. Small pieces of twigs and branches hurled through the air, accompanied by a flurry of dirt and, Kolay’sha noted, a number of the branches struck nearby humans as effectively as the deadly spears which the humans used themselves. Watching the humans clutching at the deadly wooden shards that had violently entered their bodies she felt no sorrow or remorse for these creatures because she knew that, ‘If they are able to overcome me and Shavat then they will spare us no mercy, nor the unicorns!’

  Kolay’sha watched Shavat shake his head, turn and spying her, he leapt toward her. Landing, he turned his head, shot a fireball and then leapt in Kolay’sha’s direction once again. Sensing something near, Kolay’sha turned her head and, seeing a group of about eight human running silently in her direction, she cursed herself for losing her concentration in the midst of battle. She released DragonFlame and the humans, realising that she had seen them, tried to scatter themselves amongst the trees. Some succeeded and some did not.

  There was a bring flash, followed by a huge bang from the trees ahead of her, too far away to cause her any damage but the shockwave shook her as her eyes tried to see from where the humans fired such a weapon. She could see nothing, though the smoke that poured through the trees made visibility very limited, but she knew that the smoke would cause the humans problems themselves. Around the trees she could hear humans coughing, trying to get the smoke from their lungs and, wherever she heard the sounds emanating from, she fired a fireball in that direction; ensuring that the aggravating smoke continued causing problems for the vile humans as they struggled for fresh air to breathe. To her relief, she saw that the winds blew in from the tree line behind her and carried much of the smoke toward the humans.

  “Kolay’sha, I note that your DragonFlame burns longer than all dragons I have seen and I want you to do something for me. The humans are many; their very numbers will eventually overwhelm us,” Shavat’s voice was urgent as both Shavat and herself looked around the trees for any sign of attacking humans. There was no detectable movement but the smoke could be hiding much of what the humans were doing

  Turning to face Shavat, Kolay’sha asked, “What is it?” her speech quick, showing how much she had exerted herself.

  “I want you to fire into the trees, aiming for everyplace where a fire does not yet burn. We will make a wall of flame that will hold the humans back. We must rely on the wind from the tree line carrying the flames deeper into the trees and, if need be, we can move out into the clearing by the river.” Shavat’s voice was laboured and Kolay’sha could feel the excitement and tension within him caused by their battle with these humans.

  “We will work together; I will fire at any humans who try to strike at you!” Shavat shouted.

  “What of the unicorns?” Kolay’sha replied, turning her head to look in the direction of the bushes.

  “Laranki? Soreecilor? Can you hear me?” Shavat shouted.

  “We hear you,” came the voice of the male unicorn, “Can I be of assistance?”

  “No,” Shavat shouted. “Stay hidden, it is best that the humans do not know that you are here, otherwise we would have too many to try to protect. It is better that their energies are concentrated upon us!”

  There was no reply from the unicorns.

  “We are going to try to make a wall of flame to stop the humans advancing, to give us time while we wait for the storm to cease,” Shavat shouted, informing the unicorns of their plan, “If the smoke or heat gets too much then you should move out into the clearing by the river.”

  BANG!

  An earth shattering noise erupted through the air, accompanied by a huge flash of light. The event was further into the forest, easily amongst the humans and this pleased Kolay’sha for, obviously, it meant that the humans could not easily aim toward their intended targets. Perhaps the smoke was causing them problems and, if it were, then Shavat’s plan was a good one!

  Shavat’s voice broke through the air as he continued calling toward the unicorns, after his interruption by the huge explosion. “…smoke or heat gets too much to bear, then you should move out into the clearing beside the river, but try to keep as close to the tree line as you can so that the humans cannot see you easily!”

  Shavat turned to Kolay’sha and, nodding, indicated that they should begin.

  Peering ahead of her, Kolay’sha was staring through the smoke and trees and, where the smoke was thinner and she could not see an ember burning amidst the smoke, she hurled a fireball. The fireball flew through the air and, for a moment, it was lost within the smoke before a brief burst of light indicated that it had struck something.

  Kolay’sha turned her head to the left, shocked to note that the area was clear of smoke and seeing red material darting between the trees, showing her the presence of humans trying to find their way around the existing fires. She spat a fireball, aiming it at a place that was thick with tree trunks. The fireball smashed into the trees, showering its deadly cargo around, striking trees and ground and, judging by the screams that she heard, a number of humans who were hiding in that area were also struck by the molten fire that she had spat. A fireball shot from beside her and she realised that Shavat had also seen the gap in their defences.

  The two of them shot fireballs until the air ahead of them was heavy with smoke and the gaps between trees were filled with flaming embers, as were the trees themselves. The area beneath the forest covering had began to take on a strange and eerie glow as the light beneath the canopy became a glowing orange, with areas of pulsating white where fireballs continued to burn, destroying all that they were attached to. From somewhere amongst the trees, Kolay’sha heard the sound of another tree as it began to topple over and fall creaking and resisting to the floor, but she could not see where it happened as the smoke was too thick and distorting.

  There came another explosion, further back amongst the humans, and she heard humans crying out in pain and agony. The bright light mushroomed in the air, bursting through the smoke before it shrank down in size, although Kolay’sha could tell that it did not disappe
ar altogether. Looking beyond Shavat, Kolay’sha could see that there was still space for humans to try to come around the other side of their firewall.

  “Protect the unicorns!” she shouted to Shavat, “I will spread my fireballs over there!” Then, before Shavat could reply, Kolay’sha moved around him and leapt through the trees were, upon landing, she immediately leapt again. It took her four leaps until she was in a position from which to hurl her fireballs. Glancing behind her, she judged her distance to be too close to where the unicorns were hiding and, facing forward again she leapt through the air, travelling through a thin wall of smoke as she did so.

  Kolay’sha was surprised when she landed for, almost immediately in front of her was a human; a human covered with more red material that any other that she had seen this day. He had been shaking something in his hand as she had come through the smoke and, as she landed, only a short distance from having crushed him, she saw him look up into her face. There was fear as well as anger written in his face, ‘or is it his emotions that I am sensing?’

  He returned his attention to the object in his hand and Kolay’sha caught a brief glimpse of something metallic and shiny as the human used his other hand to stab at it with his fingers. Strange voices came from that object, voices that were not human, voices that she could not understand. The human, frustrated with the metallic device, stopped and looking up at Kolay’sha he slowly began to back away from her. Kolay’sha watched the human moving away from her and, as he suddenly turned to run, she fired DragonFlame. Her flame struck the human full on and, as she watched, his whole body erupted in flames and then, suddenly, the body seemed to change shape, it grew taller, its neck extended in length, long thin arms waved frantically in the air and there was a piercing scream the likes of which Kolay’sha had never heard before.

  A sudden eruption from the figure, showering her with a brightness that almost burnt Kolay’sha’s eyes, almost caused her to look away and then, as she stared, the figure toppled forward, surrendering to the power of the flames, his body crumpling and twisting, writhing in an unnatural way. Kolay’sha shook her head, wondering what she had seen and then, through the trees more humans dressed in red began to advance, trying to run under the cover of smoke from tree to tree, concealing their advance as much as possible.

  Kolay’sha spat a fireball, and then another, and then another and then, feeling that she would have to wait a moment before the next fireball was ready, Kolay’sha spat DragonFlame, turning her head and letting the DragonFlame shower the trees and ground ahead of her. From somewhere amongst the distant trees another explosion rent the air and she heard humans screaming as she turned her head, catching a glimpse of the brightness of the explosion as it is slowly dwindled behind the smoky barrage ahead of her. An eerie silence spread out amongst the forest only broken by the wails and cries of distant, injured humans and, for a moment, Kolay’sha could once again hear the sound of the rain on the canopy above her.

  Turning, she began moving quickly through the trees, heading toward Shavat who had moved closer to her position during her foray into the trees. As they met, another huge explosion shook the forest and as they searched for its brightness they heard another huge explosion close to the source of the first.

  “With our wall, and the humans apparently trying to destroy themselves with some new weapon, we should be safe a while, although, said Shavat, “We must be vigilant and ensure that wherever the firewall loses strength, we should repair it quickly!”

  Her breathing rapid, Kolay’sha nodded as only now did she realise that, for this moment, they could relax for a little time.

  Remaining standing, the two stood side by side staring out through the smoky scene ahead of them and, from amidst the trees beyond the smoke, they could hear the sounds of many humans shouting and cursing, gathering and regrouping beyond the dangers of their firewall. Kolay’sha wondered what plans they were making, ‘What were they preparing to do next?’

  “Kolay’sha, Shavat,” came the voice of the male unicorn, Laranki, sounding urgent, “I think the weather is turning, for though the rain still falls the wind abates. I have seen streams of sunlight piercing the clouds!”

  “That is good news, Laranki,” Shavat shouted back and then, turning to Kolay’sha, he said, “Go over to the clearing and see if you feel as though you could fly safely across the river carrying one of the beasts.”

  Kolay’sha was startled by Shavat’s words, realising that he had detected her fear earlier, when the prospect of her having to carry a unicorn had first been put before her.

  “I will remain here watching for the humans!” Shavat continued, just as another explosion rocked the forest, shaking the very ground beneath their feet. Shavat glanced into Kolay’sha’s eyes as they both acknowledged the power from the recent explosion.

  She knew that they would have to try and get the unicorns across the river as soon as possible; before the humans managed to fire their explosions close to where the dragons now stood.

  “Shoot a fireball to your right and try to get it to land before that large smouldering tree. I hear human voices in that direction and so it is better to strengthen our wall at that location,” said Shavat.

  Kolay’sha looked to where Shavat had indicated and fired a fireball, noting that Shavat also shot one, a little toward the right of her own intended target. Satisfied that the fireball had landed close to where Shavat had requested, she turned and made her way toward the bushes that concealed the unicorns and the two squirrels. Approaching the bushes she became aware of the sounds of the river, bubbling along as though none of the events on the embankment were taken place. Her mind was awash with questions that she wanted to ask the unicorns and the squirrels, but this did not seem to be the right time to do so. ‘Will there be a right time?’ she asked herself.

  Pushing slowly through the bushes, hearing small saplings creak and break by her passage through the high and densely packed vegetation, she continued carefully forward, calling out, “It is me, Kolay’sha,” and then, before any creature could reply, the bushes in front of her parted, revealing a flattened area less populated with bushes and within it were the unicorns and squirrels.

  The female unicorn was lying down and the male, Laranki, stood beside her, his gaze holding steady upon Kolay’sha as her eyes met his. At first, Kolay’sha could not see the squirrels but then noticed that they stood a little way from the unicorns, near to the bushes, standing in poses that showed that they were listening intently for any sounds nearby and watching for any sign of movement that would give them cause to alert the unicorns.

  “Will you be able to carry us across the river soon?” asked the male unicorn, Laranki.

  “Will you be the one who carries myself and Flack?” asked the female unicorn, recalling that God had told her to make this request of the female dragon.

  Kolay’sha was puzzled, her eyes looking around to see what manner of other creature there was that they would have to convey across the river.

  “Flack is the name of our unborn son,” stated the male unicorn, Laranki, “My wife is of the belief that we will have a son, though I know not how she knows this!”

  Relaxing for a moment, Kolay’sha was relieved that there was not another creature that would have to be taken across the river, and then she realised that the female unicorn, being pregnant, would not be able to stand any mishandling upon her as she was borne into the air. Kolay’sha determined that it would be Shavat who would carry the female unicorn as the added burden of carrying a beast, delicate with child, brought more fear into her belief of her own capabilities.

  “I want to ask you to be the one who carries me,” said the female unicorn, “As I believe that you will be careful with me and the son that I bear!”

  Kolay’sha wanted to argue with the unicorn but, instead, she resigned herself to being the one who would have to carry the female beast. She felt a knot tighten in her stomach, almost making her feel sick. ‘If I can do this, then I will carry Pe
arl across a hundred mountains!’ she thought to herself, her mind turning to the time when she had carried the deer, her closest friend, away from the humans who had attacked her and her male companion, killing him, and she recalled the way she had had to grab at the deer, hauling her into the air and how her mishandling of her friend had almost cost her friend her life. Feeling anxiety building within her, she thought, ‘I do not know if I can do this…’

  “Of course I will,” she replied, “It will be my honour.”

  Inside, she wondered where the words had come from because, given the circumstances, she did not believe that she would normally have volunteered for such a task as this. ‘This battle has me weary!’ she thought to herself and then, turning to her left and moving through the bushes, Kolay’sha began heading toward the sound of running water and the clearing beside the river. Carrying her head high, her neck reached the clearing before her, and the feeling of cold rain landing on her body felt wonderful. She closed her eyes, rolling her head from side to side, allowing the chill in the rain to cool her mind. She continued to walk forward until she was completely out in the clearing and the coolness of the rain and the lack of smoke made her feel as if she was in another world.

  ‘I want to be in another world,’ she thought, ‘away from this fighting and killing and…’ suddenly, Kolay’sha’s mind became filled with the images of the humans that she had killed. She tried to hide from the images, but she could not. She vomited, spitting sick out to land on the wet clearing floor, her stomach felt nauseous and her mind felt numb. Her stomach heaved and she was sick once again. She closed her eyes, trying to feel only the cool rain, trying not to feel the sensations in her stomach or the revulsion of what she had done in her mind.