Chapter 35 #2
“Climb on then, spirit singer,” the Dragon spoke in my mind, staying low on its haunches so that I could climb up onto its back.
I had wondered whether the Raven might also be able to carry me while flying.
It was far smaller than the Dragon but still much larger than I was, so I imagined it could.
And of course it would be far more subtle too, but I got the feeling the Dragon would not take it well were I to ask for the other spirit to take on the task.
I climbed up the Dragon’s smooth body, marvelling at the shining scales and little sparks of teal electricity which zipped across them. They didn’t hurt when they made contact with my skin but buzzed vibrantly, awakening something deep inside of my soul which resonated with them on a base level.
“Ready?” the Dragon purred in my mind, amusement clear in its tone.
I moved to wrap my arms around its neck, the soft feathers of its ruff tickling the side of my face as a little burst of adrenaline surged through my limbs. “Ready.”
The Dragon leapt into the air in a rush of motion, racing for the sky above the tower and shooting across the treetops so fast that tears were torn from my eyes at the motion.
The Raven cawed as it took chase, a swathe of night scoring across the sky behind us.
Thunder rumbled overhead as the Dragon’s passage stirred the clouds and my hair streamed out around me in a wild tangle.
A grin found its way onto my lips, the rush of our passage through the sky leaving me utterly elated as it stripped away my fears, my regrets and my doubts.
Nothing which had led me to this moment could have been wrong.
Nothing about the decisions I’d made could have been different.
I had to believe that. Even though there was an ache in my heart which asked if I’d been right to run from Hendrix.
He had betrayed me, but he’d protected me too after all.
He was bad, just as he’d always told me, but he hadn’t tried to conceal the fact from me.
I’d just been too stubborn to see the whole truth of it.
And despite it all, he’d never done anything to hurt me.
Regardless of those nagging thoughts, Hendrix was long behind me now. Perhaps our paths would cross when we made for the Great Elm. Perhaps by then I’d have three spirits of my own and he would be forced to truly treat me as an equal.
That thought stirred me, banishing my doubts once more as the Dragon dove from the sky and plummeted into the grasp of the trees once more.
We stopped so suddenly, I was almost hurled from the back of the spirit and only managed to stay in place by gripping the feathers around its ruff so tightly that they were in danger of tugging loose.
We’d landed in a dale where shards of sunlight punctured the canopy of the trees overhead and illuminated patches of wildflowers in their own personal spotlights.
The scent of the blooms was enchanting, something about this place so serene that I found myself relaxing just a little despite our intent.
“Go that way,” I said, pointing to a space between the trees where daisies, buttercups and forget-me-nots carpeted the forest floor like a beautiful tapestry.
“I thought you’d learned not to bark commands at me like I’m some common mule,” the Dragon griped, its anger lashing against the inside of my skull and making me cringe.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I’m only keen to-”
“Perhaps you will learn from this folly if you are forced to recall what traversing the forest is like without my help.”
The Dragon shook like a dog leaping out of a river, and I yelled in alarm as I was tossed from its back less than gracefully, falling on my ass in a mound of white and blue flowers.
The spirit’s clawed feet hit the ground either side of me as it growled in my face, and I cringed away from it as sparks of electricity slashed against my skin.
“Heed my warning, spirit singer, for I won’t do you the courtesy of offering up many more.”
In a flash of silver and teal light, the Dragon’s body broke apart, swirling into the amulet at my throat with such speed that the force of it flattened me on my back in the flowers.
I blinked at the Raven as it hopped closer, offering me a soft caw which sounded a little pitying and a little judgy, like it thought I should have really seen that coming, and before I could even think to ask it for its help in place of the Dragon’s, it slipped back into its amulet too.
Clearly I had a lot to learn about conversing with spirits. I had to say, the spirits were certainly far touchier than I’d have expected. Grumpier too.
I huffed in irritation, brushing some flowers out of my windswept hair as I stood.
This was fine. I could find the Unicorn on my own and capture it alone too.
I ignored the lingering doubts and got to my feet, looking around at the stunning flowers, certain from them alone that I was in the right place.
I moved quietly, creeping along the path carpeted in daisies and other small blooms, the scent of the flowers settling some old ache within me as I moved deeper into their embrace.
This place was like something from a painting. Great swathes of wisteria in shades from deep to pale purple, pink and even white all hung over my head. Insects buzzed drunkenly between the blossoms, so overwhelmed with choice that it was a veritable feast for them.
I rounded a huge cherry tree, its branches thick with pink blossom, the petals slowly tumbling down around me and brushing against my cheeks on their way to the ground.
The Unicorn raised its head as I stepped into its clearing. The spirit was far larger than any horse I’d ever laid eyes on before, its limbs slender and ethereal, its mane of flowers draping down its side and parting for the glimmering golden horn on its brow.
The spirit regarded me warily, pawing at the earth and lowering its head in threat. This was not a creature that would run from a fight, and as I looked more closely at the trees which surrounded its dale, I found the faces of at least six Cursed Ones watching me with intrigue.
Had they met with their fates while trying to capture this beast? It seemed the most likely reason for so many of them to be in this place and my gut knotted with the urge to flee.
I bit my lip, my plans for luring this spirit to me falling apart.
I had thought to pick some of the flowers it so cherished and lay them out in a trail for it to follow.
That seemed like the thoughts of a fool now that I stood looking into the eyes of my quarry.
Enraging the Unicorn would not go well for me.
So instead, I gave into a thought which likely was nothing but lunacy.
The Unicorn snorted in warning, its horn pointed right at me as it pawed the ground again, the soil turning over beneath its hoof and flowers bursting to life there in the next breath.
I opened my arms wide to show it I held no weapon, then very slowly, sank down to sit among the wildflowers at the base of the cherry tree.
“I came here in hopes that you might agree to help me,” I said in a soft voice.
The Unicorn whinnied, the sound carrying that hint of magic to it which shook something in the heart of me, shattering my humanity and wrapping me in the wildness of its power.
I sucked in a breath and the spirit charged.
There was no way I could escape, no hope for me to get out of its path, so I threw up my arms and called my sister’s name. I wasn’t sure if it was meant as an apology or farewell, but before I could figure it out, the Unicorn leapt over my head and galloped a full circle of the cherry tree.
I shrieked in fright, recoiling against the bark, then lurching away as one of the Cursed Ones caught a knot of my silvery hair in its fist.
I stumbled out into the heart of the dale, my scalp tender from the hair which had been ripped free of it, and the Unicorn trotted closer, its golden horn glowing brighter the nearer it came.
“Please?” I begged, my throat thick with a mixture of fear and hope.
If the Unicorn denied my request, then I could already tell I wasn’t going to be capable of capturing it by force.
This spirit was both fierce and powerful.
A stone wouldn’t fell it and I had no other weapon, not that I wanted to cause it pain even if I had.
“You know, you really don’t need to be looking at me like I’m some kind of threat,” I said in a rush, unsure on exactly what my plan was at this point but hoping it might at least pause in its murderous intent to hear me out.
“I wouldn’t even hurt a fly. I mean that.
One time, there was this moth trapped in my room, and it kept flying around and around by the rafters while I was trying to sleep.
And I know what you’re thinking – a moth couldn’t possibly be that loud, but truly this thing was flipping and flapping and bumping off of everything, even after I doused my lantern.
And of course even back home we knew better than to ever open a window at night in case the spirits came to…
well not that I think all spirits like to lure unsuspecting humans to their deaths or anything like that because you don’t seem at all the type to do such a thing.
But there are the Hollows to consider too, and the lure of the night and well…
anyway my point is that I let the moth have my room for the night and had to curl up on the hearth downstairs because I couldn’t bring myself to hurt it. ”
I cringed back as the Unicorn lowered its head before me, the spirit’s wide eyes meeting with mine and capturing me in that place, a breath stalling in my lungs, fear coiling all around me.
With a snort that sounded almost bored, the Unicorn stepped forward and touched the tip of its horn to my brow.
Its power enveloped me, stealing the breath from my lungs as it surged through my limbs and almost knocked me from my feet.
I stumbled backwards, leaning against a tree as the rush of magic faded and a wild laugh tumbled from my lips. The Unicorn’s amulet sat on the ground before me and the weight of it settling around my neck was like a balm to my soul.
Three spirits. I’d captured three spirits!
The chances of anyone besides Hendrix having matched that number were seriously low.
Would Rissa be able to help me with the Serpent?
If so, then I was almost certain that I would be the one to seize the boon.
I’d be able to rescue my sister from this nightmare, break the curse and return us to the lives that had been stolen all those years ago.
A flash of warmth caught my attention, and I looked down at the intricate floral pattern which now coiled across the back of my right hand, like a knotted bouquet of every kind of flower the forest had to offer.
The Unicorn had marked me just as the others had done.
And I was finally living up to the promise I’d made eight years ago.