The Tears of Unicorns

by Victoria Mercier

  ​It was the common room with twisted half-columns and imitation of the windows on the walls. I honestly couldn’t tell why they hadn’t built one or two massive common rooms where students could socialize. Having so many different small places pushed people away from each other. Didn’t they know this? Unlikely, and yet they kept the magic going. During one of Lotian’s private teachings he briefly explained that most of the rooms in the Academy needed a massive amount of magical energy. Some rooms were magically extended, while others modified. If the Academy’s magical supply stopped, then there was an emergency reserve hidden somewhere beneath. But in the long run, without a steady supply, the Academy would revert to its true shape which could be extremely dangerous. This brought back pieces of the conversation between Dramer and Nix about the natural fuels which had been exchanged for magical energy. Lotian couldn’t tell me what was the source of magic the Academy or the city have been using.

  ​Simona and I settled in the middle which normally was a huge blunder. Too much of the field of view to cover. The best spot was with backs to the wall and all the entrances and exits in the view. It gave a few seconds of a head start. We didn’t need it today. We were bait.

  ​“Where is Rust?” I asked, trying to keep the lie out of my face. I’d contacted Rust two days ago and asked him to bring his new friends with him here. The plan was to show them that he was on their side. I wasn’t stupid to face Fargo on our own. Lotian was nearby waiting for the right moment. Simona didn’t know a thing.

  ​I knew her well and she obviously decided to keep the truth for herself. I prodded her a little more. Just to show that I worried about his absence. She didn’t bend.

  ​“I heard about the canteen incident.”

  ​No matter how I tried to think about it. Her words weighed on me. I sensed blame and hurt, though nothing overt. The black-haired beauty didn’t belong to people who complain and cry. If she faced a problem, she’d keep it for herself. That was why we needed to do what we needed to do. Simona wouldn’t allow us to solve the issue for her. Going official was out of the question.

  ​“Some asshole had a problem with me. Not a big deal.” An understatement. Pupils of her eyes contracted leaving only two black dots. Her light blue eyes were gone. Sort of half-shapeshift. When she has gone full shapeshift, her eyes turned pure white. Either way, creepy. Her slender body looked amazingly well in the academic uniform, but if she pushed her transformation a bit more, she’d end up wearing black fur and torn pieces of material.

  ​“Why do you lie?”

  ​That question knocked the air out of me. If I denied her word, she would know. Something gave me up. Maybe my body language or the tone of my voice. I’d said before, I was a poor liar. And of course, her powers and abilities stretched beyond shapeshifting. She could sense other people’s power levels… and maybe she even knew if someone was lying or telling a truth?

  ​“Simona…” I began when her hand slammed the table. Students, and there were at least twenty in the room, looked at us.

  ​“What kind of game are you playing, Flare?” She hissed. “Why did you meet with Vesalius Black?” Suddenly, I understood. She was jealous! A heavy weight fell off my chest, in time to see Rust in the company of the group of nasty-looking supernaturals. Rust stopped, he gave the barest of nods and turned away.

  ​Simona shot to her feet. “What is the meaning of this?” Her question was aimed at our friend who had to ignore her.

  ​Fargo came in through the opposite entrance. With his arrival, many of the sitting students stood up and left. His reputation must have been more robust than I’d expected.

  ​His brown hair was a mess but brown eyes promised suffering.

  ​On my right, Simona growled. She was seconds from full shapeshifting.

  ​Okay, it’s time. Come in.

  ​Silence.

  ​Lotian?

  ​Nothing.

  ​Fuck. Do you hear me?

  ​“Fuck,” I said quietly.

  ​Fargo’s bland face twisted, as he revealed rows of yellowish teeth. Disgusting.

  ​“Who would think? Your own friend will betray you. Ah, don’t worry. This place is full of that. For example, the same friend tried to betray me.”

  ​What? How the fuck they knew about the plan? Lotian made sure to keep runes and soundproofing spells. What the…

  ​We heard it then. A sound of breaking bones and a grunt full of pain. Rust’s unconscious body hit the floor. All the students were gone from the common by then. No one to witness. No Dragon Soldier to guard me, and perhaps the runes in the common room were also deactivated.

  ​“So, you hoped to send your big scary boyfriend after me, bitch? You’re too stupid for that. There are too many layers in this place to know who is who.”

  ​The table and the armchair next to me fell over, an enormous black panther stood in Simona’s stead. A low rumble came from her throat.

  ​“You don’t scare me, you shapeshifting bitch!” Fargo grinned. “Take her out, Rick.”

  ​At his words, a massive brown bear appeared in the midst of the supernatural bunch. He was twice as large as Simona’s panther form. Fuck. Simona surged toward Fargo, ignoring the charging bear. A quick calculation told me that our chances without Lotian didn’t look promising.

  ​“Simona! Get Rust and run away.”

  ​She gave no sign that she heard me.

  ​Fargo made a sequence of gestures and the panther stumbled upon an invisible obstacle. Fargo wasn’t finished, he was muttering something. Rage awoke inside me. I grabbed the armchair and sent it spinning at his face. His muttering stopped and he extended one hand in a panicked fashion. The armchair stopped mid-air. He could use telekinesis. Such opponents weren’t trivial. Fortunately, it gave Simona time to regain her composure.

  ​“Get her!” Fargo shouted seconds before Simona reached him with claws three inches long.

  ​The bear shapeshifter joined them a moment later. I turned in time to find three supernaturals and that sickly pale unicorn who had followed Fargo the other day, coming at me from behind. One of the supernaturals, a vampire with nasty fangs, was fast. His compulsion hit me with full force … and bounced off. He overestimated his power and as he came within reach of my arm, I punched him square in the face. The unicorn’s metal attack came next. Two witches assisted him with spells that meant to make me sick. Their spells were working. Slow, but steady. My stomach rumbled and I heaved. Fuck. This is bad. Rebecca, I fucking need you! Get me someone!

  ​Rage exploded burning the witchery inside me. The witches squeaked in pain as it must have burned them as well. I shoved a fireball with a twist of new magic learned from Lotian. It was going to seek their vulnerable spots. The pale unicorn’s eyes widened as my fireball neared him. It would get him in the face.

  ​I was already turning to check on Simona when an-umbrella-like shield made of complex symbols appeared in front of the unicorn. My fireball exploded shaking the room. Furniture was thrown all over the place. The mental attack on me ended and so I assumed the unicorn was knocked out cold. I rushed toward Simona and the bear shapeshifter. Fargo wasn’t there, though the area was covered in blood. Some of it must belong to him.

  ​Another three supernaturals came at me. The first one had inhumane speed and strength, but that was it. His fists were a blur. I ducked but didn’t evade every single blow. It stung a bit. Fire and rage consumed me for a second and the next thing I knew, the supernatural dropped on the floor singed and unconscious.

  ​Spells zapped. Witches and sorcerors used wands this time, which increased the strength of their magic. My fire countered what it could, but I was outnumbered. And the worst of all was, Rust lay there. If they decided to do something to him… I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by the possibility. A spell hit me then. Searing pain in my right shoulder felt as if someone impaled my arm on a sharp metal spike. My body flushed with more adrenaline. Heat whipped everything around me. In distance, roars and gro
wls told me that Simona was still up.

  ​I sent a score of fireballs at them, but my fire was too slow, and they either raised their shields or ducked out of the way. On my right, Simona and bear shapeshifter were looking increasingly wounded up. Blood sprinkled on the dark tiles.

  ​Where was Fargo?

  ​The answer came in the form of a flying table. It smashed my side, knocking breath out of me.

  ​Fargo’s side bled, but I sensed a spell already working at fixing his wounds. I dropped to one knee faking an injury. The vamp with a purple eye thought it a good idea and attacked. His fangs stopped a foot from my neck. My fist buried in his gut. An explosion followed, giving the fucker a taste of my rage. I didn’t know I could augment my punch with fire. He screamed out of pain, which stopped the witch bitches. I saw how they exchanged the looks and stepped back.

  ​Why aren’t the alarms go on? What about the Dragon Soldiers and their fucking runes? Shouldn’t they secure this place? It stinks, it fucking stinks. No one can be trusted.

  ​Suddenly my arms gained weight. Webs of magic dragged them down. I pulled myself up, but the spell holding me wasn’t ordinary. It had a fairy’s flavor. Fargo showed no haste as he approached me. The rest of his band made a half-circle behind my back.

  ​My right shoulder pulsed with dull pain left by a spell. The fight between Simona and the bear shapeshifter was approaching the end, too. She was faster and more agile, but it only took one or two mistakes to pin her down.

  ​“You’re a stubborn bitch,” Fargo admitted with a scowl. “You scared Tina and Rosella. You hurt Igor and Mosak.” He pointed at the vampire who struggled to get up and the supernatural, with enhanced strength and speed, who lay lightly-burned on the floor. “And Lunares is still unconscious.”

  ​“How about your side, asshole?”

  ​Fargo twitched at the name. His scowl deepened.

  ​“Dragon bitch,” he spat at my feet. “This world doesn’t need dragon pest anymore.”

  ​Lotian, where the fuck are you?

  ​The magical web started to expand over my arms. It didn’t hurt or anything, except it felt so solid.

  ​“We have only a minute before the alarms reactivate,” said one of the supernaturals behind me.

  ​“And those shitheads who were here earlier, they may snitch,” said a woman I couldn’t see.

  ​“Do whatever you want to me, but leave Rust and Simona out of this. You have a problem with me, not them.”

  ​Silence met my words, then Fargo began chuckling which caused others to do the same. I twisted memorizing each face. They all look rather bland, ugly and sad. A bunch of losers who sought the protection of a bully. I almost felt sorry for them.

  ​Fargo hissed something unintelligible.

  ​He slapped my left cheek, then punched my stomach. I steeled myself for more but it didn’t come.

  ​“Ten seconds, boss.”

  ​“Set the charges. We’re leaving.”

  ​I saw Simona take a hit from the bear shapeshifter. It sent her against the wall. She lost her pather form. Her clothes were gone. Her naked body was a mass of bruises and wounds. As she dropped on the floor, her body stilled. The bear shapeshifter approached Simona on his four.

  ​Fargo stopped him. “Leave her to the explosion.”

  ​I swallowed, sensing eruption coming out of me. My body flared awash with brimming power. Webs of magic brightened. I heard shuffling of feet behind me.

  ​Alarms rang then.

  ​“What now?” I asked.

  ​“You’ll go with us. These two, and whoever comes to help them, will die. There is a good sum of money for your head.”

  ​The bear shapeshifter turned back into a human form. He didn’t seem to mind his nakedness or the fucking erection.

  ​“Take her, Rick,” Fargo said.

  ​ Bloodied and wounded Rick lifted me. The web encompassed my entire body by then. My fire couldn’t get through. What was this web? It was the fairy’s magic. That was clear. How did Fargo get it? There were no fairies among his followers.

  ​“Don’t stare at my cock,” Rick grumbled. “I’d never shag a dragon whore.”

  ​“No worries. I’ve never seen such a small dick.”

  ​It was a lie and judging by the size of his penis, he should have no complexes.

  ​“Tristran, what’s wrong with her? Why is she offending me?” Rick asked in the deepest bass voice I’ve ever heard.

  ​Fargo squinted at me. A mischievous, in a bad way, smile appeared on his face.

  ​“If she does it again, you can break her nose. She won’t need it where she is going.”

  ​Rick nodded.

  ​My mouth clamped shut. In my state, I couldn’t do anything, despite the rage which roared inside me. It was getting serious when the naked bear shapeshifter carried me out of the common room. At first, they didn’t hurry up, then somewhere to our right, an explosion shook the corridor.

  ​“It’s started,” Fargo admitted. “Go! Move fast now.”

  ​Rick wasn’t gentle. He was a huge man. Almost as large as Dramer, but there the similarity ended. Rick could very well be a fly, in terms of strength, for Dramer. If not the magical web… It didn’t only stop my powers from going off, but something deeper within it muddled my mind. Did I sense there the unicorn’s magic, too? What kind of spell was this? Was Fargo capable of conjuring it? No. Not that. Didn’t Lotian tell me about one-time spells? He did, but details escaped my slow mind.

  ​As the alarm rang, Rick traversed empty corridors. Explosions rocked the Academy from time to time.

  ​A nice place they have here.

  ​Rick suddenly halted. The next second, I dropped next to his unconscious body. I tasted blood in my mouth.

  ​“Fargo is stupider than I anticipated. Sending the prize with a total nitwit,” said Kirman.

  ​“What’s going on?” I asked slowly losing the plot.

  ​“It seems the thing on you… wait, what is it… what the fuck?” All of sudden, Kirman’s tone got serious. “Look here, Mira, this isn’t something Fargo and his fanatics could conjure.”

  ​“It’s a fairy’s spell mixed with some unicorn magic. A very potent one-time spell.” A woman’s voice said after someone’s fingers prodded my body for a moment.

  ​“It all makes sense now,” Kirman admitted. “Fargo doesn’t work alone. Someone cut off the supply of the runes. They’re too dumb to pull this off on their own.”

  ​Someone lifted me up and threw on the shoulder. My head lolled. I fought to stay aware. Please… I started to imagine things.

  ​“Gerrard, Sin, stay behind. Mira, get us to the portal.”

  ​Their pace was significantly faster than the bear shapeshifter could muster. The Academy still rocked with explosions, though they were softer and duller now. We were moving away from the epicenter of the fighting. Who was fighting with who? There must be the Dragon Soldiers…

  ​Shouts came from behind, then screams which were cut short.

  ​“Mira, prepare the traps.”

  ​“What about the portal?”

  ​“Fuck it.”

  ​

  Chapter 19

  Mira disappeared behind the corner. Corridors have changed as we progressed deeper. Bricks lost a gleam and color. With every step, this place resembled forgotten catacombs. The Wastelands had similar places. Old underground labyrinths holding ancient secrets. Whispers were coming off the walls. Something about the voice sounded familiar. I knew it.

  ​Kirman stopped. He was breathing hard.

  ​“What is this?” he muttered as he turned left, in the corner of my eye, I saw what he must have commented on. A corridor blanked by impenetrable darkness, and a wall of bright powerful runes blocking the passage. Are they keeping us from going inside or the opposite?

  ​I thought the Academy had only five underground levels. The number of doors, turns, and old bare passages Kirman brought me through was astou
nding. At last, he stopped. The bare chamber was smaller than a common room. It was circular and built of gray stone. Pipes crept over the ceiling and walls. The only light was dull and filtered down through the slit in the ceiling.

  ​Kirman dropped me on the floor.

  ​“I don’t know who are you, girl, but the amount of trouble some people have gone to get you is mind-numbing.”

  ​I had to agree with him. Some people didn’t know better what to do with their free time.

  ​“If it was up to me, I’d slit your throat and be done with it.” He sat down, his back against the wall. “But they want you alive for some twisted reason. A ritual of some sort. Rituals are the worst. I’d rather die than being dragged onto some altar and be sacrificed in the name of some shady god.”

  ​I twitched because, fuck me, but his words stirred some deeper fears inside me. Someone ordered them to deliver me for a ritual? This wasn’t funny anymore. The magical web held as I pushed. I withstood a demi-dragon mental assault and weathered his rage. Why couldn’t I get myself out of this?

  ​The floor was bare stone and sand. Cold and wet. I was starting to shiver when quiet steps sounded in the dark corridor.

  ​Kirman slowly rose. Judging by his body language he wasn’t so sure of himself anymore. One thing he noted, but didn’t comment on, was Mira. She hasn’t followed him here. He’d glanced from time to time hoping to see her, but she was not coming. I saw how it bothered him.

  ​From the opposite corridor walked out a man in long black ruffled hair, leather jeans, and jacket.

  ​“That’s the package?” asked the newcomer.

  ​“Yes,” Kirman admitted unsurely.

  ​“Take off that spell. I can’t teleport her out of the Academy with that shit on her.”

  ​My heart started to hammer in my chest. He wanted to get me out of here. Shit. This was bad. If they could kidnap me within the Academy, then beyond it, I was as good as gone.

  ​“It isn’t my spell,” Kirman admitted. “I thought your employer’s people did it.”