The Deception
Page 17
Ulysees stared into Alannah’s pretty blue eyes. He took in a deep breath and began babbling. “Oh, Alannah, I saw the most beautiful world.”
“What do you mean?” She gave a wary smile.
“It was so green, and there were so many flowers. It was as though the rains never came. I saw Darius, and Mother, and even Danae … and Azaria and Polaris. They said I was in the afterlife.”
Heat coursed through his body as Ali stroked him with the spiral horn
“But not Icarus and Ramah. They never made it,” he said.
Ali rose from his side and strode over to his manger, filling it with dried grass.
The lion roared again.
Ulysees searched with his eyes.
“Don’t worry about the lion,” said Alannah. “He’s just one of many beasts here. He won’t harm us.”
Ulysees frowned and continued babbling. “But I didn’t see Téo and Lilia. Why would they not be there?”
A loud neigh sounded in the pen next to theirs. “Because we’re here – with our new filly, Samara.” called Téo. “And Xavier’s here, too.”
Ulysees rose to his feet. “But you weren’t there when I got back to the valley. Where were you, Téo?”
His friend whinnied. “I figured that we’d better play it safe, so I moved Lilia up the mountain when you left to find Darius. When the waters rose, we had to find a safer place. That’s when we discovered Alannah in the cave. Together, we stood watch until the humans found us.”
Ulysees let out the biggest sigh of relief he had ever exhaled, then asked. “You say you named your filly Samara?”
Téo nodded.
“That’s a nice name.” He glanced over to Alannah and smiled. “What shall we name our colt?”
The mare’s eyes grew serious. “Danae once told me what his name meant.”
“Oh?” said Ulysees.
She nodded. “It means born of the waters. I think he should be named after Danae.”
“Then Danae it shall be.”
Ulysees lowered his head to eat the dried grass Ali had left for him. As he did, an old man, bent with age, entered the holding pen followed by an elderly lady. Together they picked up the sacred horn and placed it ceremoniously in an ornately carved box.
“I always said the horn would be put to good use someday,” said the woman.
“You were right, Mother,” said Ali.
The old man drew up alongside the two women. “Let us hide it again so no one can misuse it.”
The old woman smiled and turned to her husband. “Yes, Noah. I think that is a very fine idea.”
The End
Suzanne deMontigny books also published by Books We Love
The Legacy, Shadow of the Unicorn Book 1
A Note to Teachers
Shadow of the Unicorn: The Deception comes with a reproducible study guide (complete with answer key) free for download from Ms. de Montigny’s website at: http://www.suzannedemontigny.com/books.php
Please enjoy a preview of
Shadow of the Unicorn: The Revenge
Shadow of the Unicorn, Book 3
Born deep in the forest, far from the herd, Damien is kept a dark secret by his parents until his father, Samuel, decides the colt must join the other foals to be initiated. But the unicorns are horrified by Damien’s birth defect. They see him as a freak despite his astonishing abilities. Then, when Samuel is pushed to his death by a rival, Damien’s talents turn deadly. Can anyone stop him before he destroys their world?
* * *
Chapter 1
The Decision
If they had only been kinder – even even just a little.
The young unicorn clenched his teeth, the crease in his forehead deepening. A tear trickled down his cheek, burning like the sting of a bee. He shook it away.
No. Welcoming a colt born a little different was unthinkable to them. Impossible! And what’s worse, when they discovered my gift, they hated me all the more. No compassion – none! And look what they did to Chrissandra. A lump in his throat threatened to escape, rolling into a hard sob at the name. He bit his lip and forced it back, glaring down below to where the herd of perfect, white unicorns grazed, manes and tales as pure as snow.
No. They chose their fate – every last one of them. It’s their fault. They turned me into what I’ve become … and now they’ll pay.
Damien remembered the day his world changed, the day he overheard his dam and sire exchanging heated words outside the cave by the bubbling creek that wandered through the meadow – the place they called home. They had been so happy there, Damien spending his days following his dam, Amarah, searching for tasty flowers and grazing on the juicy grasses. Then, at night, listening with ears pricked forward, while his father, Samuel, recounted the unicorn folklore about the great leaders, Azaria and Ulysees.
Damien had marveled at the tales, his eyes wide at how courageous the stallions and mares of so long ago had been. That was until the day Father announced to Mother the time had come to join the herd.
“No, I won’t have it!” Amarah cried. “Have you forgotten Isabelle?”
Curious, Damien melted into his surroundings so as not to be seen.
“Isabelle. Who cares about her?” Samuel shook his mane. “She’s got a tongue as sharp as a reed, that’s all. Don’t pay any attention her.”
“Yes, but everyone listens to that sharp tongue,” Mother replied, resentment heavy in her voice. “Remember what happened to Lisa’s foal? The mark?”
“Oh sure, she made a fuss,” argued Samuel, “but eventually they accepted Chrissandra despite it.”
Amarah huffed. “That’s what you think. She’s always been an outcast. The other foals have never accepted her.”
Samuel sighed. “Now, Mother, you know that may have changed by now.”
“No. Not so long as Isabelle and Seamus are there. And Isaac, what kind of a Great Stallion is he? He’s scared of Isabelle. He lets her push him around.” Amarah’s voice quivered. “I tell you, there’s no going back, not now, not ever.” She dissolved into tears.
Shock rippled through Damien at his mother’s weeping. Who were these unicorns who threatened them? He hadn’t even known there were others.
He transformed back to his visible self and moved closer, using the silent steps he’d invented. “Who’s Isabelle?” he asked
His dam started when she saw him and attempted to straighten out her face. His sire stood, expressionless, a secret hidden in his eyes.
Samuel hesitated, then gave his throat a horsey rumble. “She’s just a mare. Nothing to worry about.” He faked a smile. “She belongs to the herd.”
“What herd?” Damien asked.
Amarah cast Samuel a disheartened look. “We belong to a larger group of unicorns, Damien,” she said, her voice still shaky, “and your father wants to rejoin them.”
“Yes, you need to be with other foals your own age,” Samuel said in earnest.
Damien’s face lit up at the news there were other young unicorns like himself. “More foals? Then let’s go!”
“It’s not that easy, Damien,” said Mother, her helpless expression returning. “There’s a mare named Isabelle … she’s cruel, and I’m worried about …”
“About what?” asked Damien.
Silence met his question.
After a moment, Samuel spoke. “Isabelle’s not the cheeriest person around, I agree, but it’s high time you learned the three skills of Azaria and prepared for your initiation. After all, you’re starting to get your horn.”
Amarah’s voice fell to a whisper. “But the birth defect.”
“Birth defect?” Damien cocked his head to one side.
Father glared at Mother, his lips forming a silent ‘shhh’. He pasted on a carefree smile. “Never mind, Damien. You don’t need to worry about it.”
Two sunrises passed before Amarah and Samuel stopped arguing. When Damien awoke on the third morning, he found them grazing at the head of the trail. The sun h
ad just begun its journey across the blue sky.
Samuel motioned him over with a tip of his head.
Damien reared. “Are we going?”
Amarah nodded, though her eyes remained sad.
“Woohoo!” The colt raced through the meadow, across the creek, and past their cave, and then hesitated, his hooves dancing. “Good-bye cave. Good-bye bubbling creek. See ya, meadow, purple flowers, pink flowers, oh, and the yellow ones too. And –”
“Come on,” cried Samuel, laughing. “We haven’t got all day.”
Damien galloped around one more time, and then stepped in behind his parents on the trail.
It was a marvelous day for the colt, seeing new sites, new sounds, and exploring as they traveled. They discovered meadows they’d never laid eyes on, trees with wide canopies, and fields of the sweetest red flowers he’d ever tasted. They even encountered animals Damien had never met before. But when they viewed a small lake whose turquoise waters invited them in to swim, his dam gave a vigorous shake of her head.
“He mustn’t know,” she whispered.
Know what? wondered Damien.
His sire nodded and made a wide arc around its waters so they could continue on their way.
The lake soon forgotten, Damien’s mind returned to thoughts of the other foals.
“Father, how many colts are in the herd?” he asked, his hooves skittering.
“Four,” replied Samuel. “… and four fillies. And there’s a Great Stallion too. His name’s Isaac.”
Damien let out a boisterous whinny as he imagined all the new unicorns he’d meet. “So is the Great Stallion mean or nice?” he babbled, remembering one of the stories his father had recounted of a cruel leader named Icarus.
Samuel let out a chuckle. “A little too nice sometimes.”
“But it’s impossible to be too nice,” said Damien, “isn’t it?” When his sire didn’t respond, Damien cast a glance over his shoulder to Amarah, but she lagged several lengths behind them, her face drawn, and her hooves dragging.
The journey lasted all day. By the time they arrived at the top of the hill overlooking the valley, Damien’s muscles trembled with fatigue, and his eyelids drooped.
“You two stay here,” said Samuel. “I’ll go tonight and prepare them. I don’t want there to be any surprises.”
Amarah gave a weary nod, her brown eyes large and desolate.
Damien peered through heavy lids at the valley below. Small flecks of white dotted the green grasses. Unicorns! And so many. For a moment, his tail flicked with excitement, until he surrendered to an exhausted slumber at his mother’s hooves.
Suzanne de Montigny wrote her first unicorn story at the age of twelve. Several years later, she discovered it in an old box in the basement, thus reigniting her love affair with these magical creatures. A teacher for over twenty years in Vancouver, B.C., she learned she could spin a good tale that kept kids and teachers asking for more.
Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy was the 2012 recipient of the Gold Global E-book Award for Best Fantasy/Alternate History. Her teen novel, A Town Bewitched was awarded first prize in the Dante Rossetti Award for Best Coming of Age Novel.
Suzanne lives in Burnaby, B.C. with the four loves of her life – her husband, two boys, and Buddy the dog.
Please visit Suzanne’s website at: http://www.suzannedemontigny.com
You can also find her on Facebook at: https://facebook.com/unicorngirl52
And can follow her on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/sfierymountain
And last but not least, here is her blog: http://suzannesthoughtsfortheday.blogspot.ca