by Jay Barnson
The unicorn stared balefully at them, keeping its distance while ready to charge. Jessabelle shook her head. “When I was in the third grade, I had a blue shirt with a unicorn on it. It was my favorite shi… Aah!” The unicorn charged at her, arcing around the tree. She ran and dodged, running for the two boys.
Sean held the baseball bat like a sword in front of him. The unicorn galloped on a tangent course, keeping its eye on the group. It turned and began pacing again, watching them, considering its next attack. They backed away from it, which only seemed to encourage it as it charged them again, taking aim at Jack.
Jack scrambled onto a low tree branch. The unicorn turned toward him, drew closer, and reared up, striking at him with its hooves. Fear propelled him higher as the hooves tore the tree bark.
While it was distracted, Jessabelle transformed. As a panther, she shrieked and charged the unicorn. Again, it reared up, and struck down at her with deadly hooves and horn. Jessabelle leaped away, circling the unicorn several times, but the beast kept her at bay with repeated feints. She missed a step in the lethal dance, and a hoof hit her. She rolled, and the unicorn pursued. She twisted, leaped to her feet, and fled, the unicorn only a hair behind her.
Sean approached the damaged tree. “You okay, Jack?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” From his vantage point fifteen feet up, Jack could only catch glimpses of Jessabelle and the unicorn as they chased around the nearby trees. Jessabelle, in her panther form, had the advantage of agility, but she’d taken a bad hit to her shoulder. Sean grabbed the lowest branch with his free hand, trying to climb with the baseball bat. After two failed attempts he hooked the bat over the branch, holding both ends. He managed to pull himself high enough to loop one leg over the branch, but as he tried to pull himself up, the bat slid, and he fell to the ground. Jack climbed back down to a lower branch to give Sean a hand.
At that moment, Jessabelle raced toward them, unicorn close behind. She weaved between two trees, pulling a tighter turn than the beast, but her injury showed in her movements. She twisted and launched herself up a tree several yards away, claws digging in. The unicorn swiped at her with its horn, cutting through the air inches below. It reared up, making a terrible sound between a horse’s whinny and a spectral roar. Jessabelle scrambled higher.
Sean looked left and right, seeming to realize how exposed he was on the ground. He dropped the bat and leaped for the branch. As he hung, trying to get one leg over the branch, the unicorn set its head so that the horn pointed at his hanging body, and charged. Jack grabbed one branch to anchor himself, grabbed Sean by his shirt collar and pulled. The spearhead horn sliced through the air just below Sean’s leg as he hooked it over the branch. With Jack’s help, he pulled himself up and over the tree branch.
With Sean out of immediate danger, Jack climbed up a little further to get a better vantage point. The forest was still too thick to get much of a view. The unicorn circled the two trees at a short distance, glaring as it paced. After several minutes, Jessabelle transformed back into human form.
“I’m starving,” she called to the boys. “Changing always makes me hungry, but I’m really hungry.”
Sean looked down at the baseball bat, barely visible in the weeds. “I’d make you some unicorn steaks if I thought I had a chance.”
“I’m so hungry, I’d eat them.”
Minutes crawled by. The sun arced overhead as it would their world. A refreshingly ordinary fly buzzed past Jack’s head. Sean periodically succumbed to the temptation to scratch at the galaxy of bug bites on his arms and face. The unicorn maintained its deadly march, stopping only to stare and listen with every stray movement they made from inside the trees.
Sean snorted. “You know, Jack, if it wasn’t so scary, this would be funny. Treed by a unicorn.”
“I ain’t sure what’s funny about it.”
“A unicorn!”
“So?”
Sean sighed. “Maybe it will leave when it gets dark?”
Jack shrugged. “I don’t know. It ain’t acting much like a horse, I don’t think. But we won’t be able to see it in the dark, either.” Jack licked his dry lips. How long could they hold out? Would they fall out of the tree if they fell asleep? How long before they were desperate from lack of food and water?
The unicorn charged at the end of their conversation, a feint against the tree, turning at the last moment. It was either practicing, or trying to get them to panic. It paced back again, resuming its grim sentry.
Jack glanced down at the glint of the aluminum bat lying in the tall grass. Comparing the speed of the unicorn’s charge against the time it would take to drop to the ground and grab the bat, he couldn’t envision that ending well. Eventually, they might have no choice.
Jack didn’t see the over-sized arrow until the point and half the shaft burst through the unicorn’s chest, penetrating from the other side. The unicorn leaped to one side, slicing with its horn at its unseen assailant, heedless of the blood flowing from its wounds. It took several steps forward, and blood dribbled from its mouth. It stopped only a dozen yards from the tree, the grass and weeds below it stained bright red.
It collapsed.
Another figure approached, human in form if not stature. Its heavy, booted footfalls vibrated the tree limbs in which they hid. It stood over thirteen feet tall, dressed in skins, carrying a bow that seemed short, but easily stood over the height of a man. Even though it wasn’t identical to the creature that haunted Jack’s memories, it was clearly the same species—a giant.
While much more human-like, the giant could have beaten up an ogre every school day and taken its lunch money. Short of military weaponry or big-game rifles, there was no weapon Jack could conceive of that would be much use against this thing.
Its toothy mouth opened wide in a grin as it picked up the unicorn in one hand. It began singing softly with no discernible tune. “Unicorn meat, unicorn meat, unicorn meat is good to eat.” It stopped, lowered the carcass, and sniffed at the air. It wrinkled its nose, and peered at the tree where Sean and Jack were hiding.
The giant grinned wide, showing a jumble of yellowed teeth. “Mmm.” It began singing again. “Human meat, human meat, human meat is good to eat.”
It crossed the distance in four steps, grabbing Jack in a swift, branch-snapping move.
Jenny opened her eyes, feeling the late afternoon sun beating on her face through the trees. She sat with her back against a tree, and discovered an assortment of aches and pains as her consciousness returned. She shifted to relieve some pressure on her backs and arms, only to find that her hands were bound. Her struggles caused the loops to tighten around her wrists.
“Good, you’re awake,” Evelyn said from somewhere behind Jenny. The woman stepped around and leaned over her, temporarily shading Jenny from the harsh sunlight. “You’ve been out for a couple of hours now. I was afraid you’d be out all day. It’s difficult to wake a witch who has over-exerted herself. By the way, I would be careful about fighting that knot. You don’t want to lose circulation in your hands for too long or you’ll risk permanent damage.”
“What have you done? Where are my friends?”
“Oh, you don’t know? That’s interesting. That’s very, very interesting. I guess we get to go on that voyage of discovery together.”
“I’m not doing anything with you.”
Evelyn stood. “Then your friends may be lost forever. So sad.” Her lips faintly curled as if she was hiding a smile. Jenny was sure it was a calculated expression, but calculated for what? Was Evelyn trying to make her angry so she’d volunteer information? Or trying to find out how much control Jenny had over her emotions?
When in doubt, change the subject or play stupid. Jenny could almost hear her mother’s voice repeating the advice. Jenny glanced around, trying to fix her current position with where she remembered falling. “Where are we?”
Evelyn pointed to a tree twenty feet away. “That’s the tree with your grandmother’s
old witch-bottle.”
“How did you find us?”
Evelyn chuckled, clasping her hands beneath her chin. “A magician never reveals his tricks. Lucky for you, I’m a witch. I’m really good at not being seen. I’m also really good at finding people. Things, too. Once I found Blood Creek, I just followed it and your trail.”
She stepped aside, allowing the sun to beat down on Jenny’s face again. “Now it’s my turn. How long have you been a practicing witch?”
Jenny squinted. “What do you mean?”
“Come on, Jennifer! I answered several of your questions, now you answer mine. That was a serious counter-spell you pulled at the barn. Protection spells strong enough to hold up against an ogre are major-league quality. Besides myself, I know of only about a dozen other true witches who could do something like that. Did your mother teach you?”
Jenny didn’t know how much she was revealing, but answered, “About a week.” Perhaps not technically correct, with the protection song her mother had taught her, but close enough.
“A week! Are you pulling my leg? No, I see you aren’t.” Evelyn shook her head. “That explains your lack of control and stamina, I guess. You clearly have a lot of potential. I could mentor you, you know.”
Jenny felt the cords tightening around her wrists as she subconsciously strained. “No, thanks,” she growled through clenched teeth.
“Careful, or you’ll hurt my feelings! I’m not so bad once you get to know me. In fact, it’s your turn again. Want to ask me another question?”
“Did you kill my parents?” The question—more of an accusation—blurted out of Jenny’s mouth.
Evelyn’s playful demeanor fell away. Her eyebrows knitted together, and she said quietly, “So you know.”
“Yes.”
“You’re full of surprises. No, I did not. I simply located them.”
“But your boss killed them.”
Evelyn nodded. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t know he was going to kill them. Amy… Patricia, your mom… was his favorite a long time ago. She was one of the most powerful witches in his little army. I assumed he was just going to make her an offer she couldn’t refuse, using you and your father as leverage. I didn’t know he would kill them.”
The revelation that they had been murdered crashed down on Jenny. The hot rage she’d felt against Evelyn coalesced into a tiny lump in her heart, dark and icy cold. “If you’d known, would you have still told him?”
Evelyn was quiet for a long time. Finally, she answered, “We all do our job. Thadeus is not the kind of man you want to disappoint.”
Jenny stared at the ground. She felt numb. The pain and horror all returned, flooding her, making her feel even more helpless as she sat bound beneath the burning sun.
Evelyn sighed. “Do you know that he introduced your parents?”
Jenny glared at her.
“It’s true. It’s how Thadeus works. He uses the things you love against you. He threatens them. He threatens all of them. He likes having more than one hook into you like that, so he can crush them one by one in front of you to keep you in line.”
“Is that how he keeps you in line?”
Evelyn ignored the question. “The story whispered around the coven is that he introduced your parents and gave your mother an unprecedented sabbatical as a gesture of goodwill once she started gnawing at her leash. But his real plan was to give her more to lose.” Evelyn stared darkly at Jenny. “That’s how your story begins, Jennifer. You were conceived to be leverage against your mother.”
Jenny shook her head, wishing she could wipe away the furious tears that blurred her vision. “Liar!”
“Am I? I spent the last three years hunting your family down, Jennifer. I made it a point to know as much about your family as I could. That’s why I’m here now—I’m the resident expert on Rose family history.”
“Why are you telling me this? Why don’t you just kill me?”
Evelyn stared at Jenny, the malevolent spark in her eyes almost as hot as the sunlight behind her. “I want you to know what’s at stake when I tell you that instead of killing you, I’ll turn you over to Thadeus and let him know just how powerful you are. Think about what he’ll do to your cousin, and your aunt, and those two cute boys you like to hang out with. Maybe you thought you had nothing to lose but now you do. He’ll crush them to crush your soul. You’ll be a slave to the man who murdered your parents. How would you like that?”
Jenny stared at the woman in fury. She pulled on the ropes, and they tightened painfully. She didn’t care. It just added fuel to her rage.
Evelyn continued. “Or you can tell me how you sent your friends through the barrier, and I tell Thadeus nothing.”
“I don’t know.”
Evelyn clenched one hand into a fist. She leaned with her hand against the tree at Jenny’s back. Her fury matched Jenny’s as she snarled, “That is not the answer you want to give me, Jennifer. Either way, I’m going through. If you tell me, I get a few hours’ head start. Maybe I’ll even take the time to save your friends, if they aren’t already digesting in an ogre’s belly. I’d give it a fifty-fifty chance, growing worse by the hour.”
Jenny said nothing. Evelyn continued. “Or I’ll let you come with me, and you can save them yourself. You can even hide from Thadeus over there, if you want. I don’t care. You’ll have your freedom. Or you can enjoy being Thadeus’ little bitch if you are still alive when I get back. Your choice.”
Jenny shook. Evelyn was a liar, but her words now rang with truth. These were no idle threats. “I honestly don’t know!” Jenny exclaimed, her voice cracking.
Evelyn stared down at her. After a few seconds, she glanced at the watch on her wrist, and then turned her back on Jenny. Her voice was even and menacingly quiet. “How unfortunate for us both, then. I’ve wasted too much time on you.”
The giant’s grasp pinned Jack’s left arm to his side. Jack pulled and twisted, holding to the branch with his free hand and one foot. He couldn’t resist the overwhelming strength of the giant’s grip, but he was going to make the giant have to pick half the tree out of its mouth if he could. He kicked at the giant’s muscle-bound arm, but it felt like kicking solid, packed earth. The giant grinned in anticipation.
A female voice sang from somewhere below the tree.
Grandma, oh grandma, where have you gone
And why have you taken your chair
I’m sitting a spell in the ear of Bal-Sal
Gonna work on my loom while I’m there
Bal-Sal ain’t falling from poison nor shot
Nor blade nor by spear nor by snare!
Why he done dashed his brains ‘gainst a rock
Getting me out of his hair.
The hand gripping him relaxed. It wasn’t enough for Jack to escape, but he caught his breath, and shifted his pinned arm. He twisted, getting a better grip on the tree while the giant was distracted.
Down below, the voice called. “Why don’t you just let the human go? He ain’t worth your time.” The giant nodded, still grinning, and released Jack. The voice continued. “Here’s what you’re going to do. You are going to forget all about seeing any humans. You had a good hunt and caught a unicorn, and that’s all. Go get your unicorn, go home, and don’t look back. You’ve had a good day.”
The giant nodded again, and turned its back on the trees. Padding over to the unicorn, it plucked the arrow out from the wound. It inspected the arrow, wiped some of the blood off the tip against the hide of the unicorn, and then returned it to the quiver at its side. Without looking back at Jack or the others, it slung the still-dripping corpse over its shoulder, and walked down the hill, humming the “unicorn meat” song as it left.
Once the giant disappeared, the woman below them said, “Okay, I reckon the coast is clear. Y’all can come down now.”
Sean helped Jack out of the tree. Jack’s whole body was sore and bruised, both from the giant’s grip and from his own lock on the tree. Sean di
dn’t look so much better with all the mosquito bites. Jack retrieved the baseball bat and faced their rescuer.
The woman appeared to be in her early fifties, with well-tanned skin and red-streaked silver hair pulled into a bun. Her patchwork, hand-sewn clothing was made mostly of hides and rough wool. She seemed healthier and stronger than most women of her age. Her bright, clear blue eyes reminded Jack of Jessabelle.
Several yards away, Jessabelle dropped to the ground and exclaimed, “Grandma Annabelle!”
Annabelle Rose turned to her granddaughter. “Jessabelle! Oh, you’ve grown to be a young woman! I missed you so much!”
Jack did the mental math, but it didn’t add up. While a little more rough and ragged, this woman didn’t seem that much older than Hattie Rose. She looked different than the vague memories Jack had of her, but not necessarily older. This world, Round the Bend, must have agreed with her.
Jessabelle rushed forward, and the two embraced. Her eyes glistened with dew in the sunlight. “Grandma, everyone said you went crazy and died.”
Annabelle released Jessabelle and took a step back, smiling. Her eyes bore the shine of extra liquid. “They might have gotten the crazy part right, but I ain’t dead yet. Lucky for all y’all.” She turned and peered at Jack. “You look familiar, too. Are you Jack Parsons?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered.
“Strangely enough, you are the reason I’m here.”
“The giant?”
“Yes. I had to stop them from coming through. This was my choice.” She turned to Sean. “And you… do I know you?”
“No, ma’am. I’m Sean Williams. I’m here because I know Debra Arnot.”
Annabelle jerked backward as if she’d received an electric shock. She raised one hand to her throat. “What do you mean you know her?”
Sean nodded. “I guess I can see ghosts. I met her, and didn’t realize she was dead. She told me to find her. That’s why I came to Maple Bend.”
She eyed him seriously. “Then you and I should have a talk.” She looked at all three of them. “My cabin’s not far from here. It’s safe. I’ll fix up some dinner, and you’ll tell me how you got here.”