Silverfall

by Raven de Hart

  “It was only a matter of time before they found me.”

  I shouldn’t have looked behind me. Every action movie ever told me not to do it, but I did it anyway. There was Carl followed by the two figures in black. They were gaining. Something whistled past me. Then I heard the bang. A bullet bit into the brick not even a foot in front of me.

  “Fuck.” Leon ran even faster, skidding around a corner. I lost my footing and hissed in pain as my knees scraped across the pavement. Leon twisted around and swept me up onto his back. “Hold on tight, and don’t let go.”

  Paolo’s face fell and paled. “No.”

  Footsteps pounded behind us, growing louder with each sharp breath. “Leon?”

  We whipped around another corner. “There’s no way around this. They’re already gaining, the bastards.”

  The footsteps came closer. How much longer? Whatever Leon thought would help, I was all for. Paolo still wasn’t.

  “Leon, no. You can’t.”

  “It’s either this or all three of us are dead.”

  The gunmen had to be right behind us. The steps were so loud. I could hear their breathing, now, heavy and deep. A gun cocked. The alley was tight. If we didn’t move, they wouldn’t miss again.

  “Leon!” I shouted.

  With a growl, Paolo skidded to a stop. “I’ll buy time.”

  Leon didn’t even slow, just kept on down the alley. “Don’t hate me. And whatever you do: Don’t. Let. Go.”

  His back rippled. His neck bulged against my forearms. We sped up, rounding another corner into a park. People darted out of the way. Would any of them call the cops? I couldn’t. I could barely hold on against the speed, but we just accelerated faster and faster. This wasn’t right. How could he go this fast? No one could go this fast.

  The bullets drew my attention away from the speed. The first few hit the ground, spraying up dirt and grass. A woman screamed, but we rushed past her. But then I felt them, tiny hot things whizzing by too close. We’d get hit. I knew it, but I couldn’t do a thing. I tried to let go and give Leon a better chance to pull away—Carl wouldn’t shoot me—but my arms were stuck there.

  Leon’s T-shirt ripped open underneath me. His muscles bulged. Too much going on. Too many reasons to worry. My head hurt. This speed was wrong. The fact that we were being chased by gunmen was wrong. Leon’s body writhed beneath me. Hair tickled my arms and neck as the tear in his shirt grew.

  Leon didn’t have back hair. It felt stupid to notice it then, with bullets flying ever closer. But I did. Leon didn’t have back hair. I looked down and screamed.

  Silver fur. We’d moved down onto all fours, but…was I higher? How? I scanned around me and tried to keep from vomiting. There was a horse’s head. The clopping of hooves joined the cacophony around me. Sleek fur. A long mane grew from the back of the head and neck, whipping and stinging my face.

  There. Two feet long, shining in the morning sun and deathly sharp. The horn.

  This was Silver.

  Leon was Silver.

  My arms finally listened. Or one did. I slid off to the side, my other arm hooked around his neck. Shit. A slice of cold across my chest bit deep down into my ribs. A wet spot formed on my shirt. I heard the bang of the gun a split second later, and it took another few seconds to put it all together. I’d been shot.

  Silver—Leon—Silver—whoever. He twisted to the left. The trees and grass thinned out into more pavement and bricks, which turned to more hard shrapnel as the bullets chipped away at our surroundings. Bits dug into my skin but no more bullets. Silver didn’t turn away from them…he turned toward them, exposing his flank. Like he wanted to get hit.

  Or didn’t want me to.

  Another unicorn came in from the side. This one wasn’t as huge as Silver, and it was pure black except for the gleaming hooves and horn. They weren’t killing me. If I was right, I was safe. Or I would be, once I got back on. I struggled, my arm burning from the effort and pain shooting across the wound on my chest, but I managed to haul myself up. Still bleeding. Red leaked out in rivers across the glimmering fur.

  Red on silver, just like that first night I saw him.

  The bullets stopped once we left the park. I really didn’t know where we were this time. I’d never seen this part of town. Wide-spaced buildings, cracked pavement, and no cars anywhere. Mix in animal shit and I could have been back in Montana.

  Focus. I could feel myself slipping away. Blood loss would do that, right? I looked around, searching for something to hold my attention. Fuck me sideways, I found it. A giant clown’s head, hovering a good ten feet up in the air.

  We slowed, and I felt Silver’s uneven gait. I’d ridden enough horses to know this wasn’t normal.

  The black unicorn shivered. The horn receded back into the skull. Muscles shrank, hooves retracted and separated into toes. The silver turned pale: nails. The fur pulled back, revealing olive skin. I watched the muzzle flatten and the eyes shrink back to human. A hooked nose and graying black curls. Paolo.

  He stepped over and untwisted me from Silver’s neck. “Come on, Anthony.”

  “What?”

  “Come on, you have to get down.”

  Get down. Silver—no, Leon. Leon was hurt. Good. But…not if it was Leon, right? I slipped off, but I had to lean on Paolo, my knees knocked so hard. The world still faded in and out, sometimes as small as a single pinprick of light and color.

  I turned around, catching Leon halfway through the shift. As his body changed back to human, I saw the wound more clearly. His left leg straight across the thigh. I wasn’t close enough to see how deep it went, but he collapsed, shaking. I tried to run to him, but Paolo grabbed me by the elbow. Just that almost toppled me.

  “Give him some space. We have to get inside.”

  Inside where? All I knew was the clown head. And Leon injured. Silver injured. I couldn’t even figure out how I felt about the whole damned thing.

  Leon got to his feet and limped over. He pressed a hand to my cheek and smiled. Not big and not warm, hardly any teeth. “You okay?”

  Tears prickled behind my eyes. Was I okay? “Fine.” How could he be concerned about me?

  He nodded and weakly patted my cheek. “We’ll get you fixed up inside. Just stay with Paolo.”

  We turned again and headed through an arch under the clown’s head. I caught a peeling sign to the right of the entrance: PUTT-N-PLAY. Below that, fading black paint scrawled out CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS.

  Two unicorns walk into a mini-golf course. Why not?

  We hobbled along for a good five or ten minutes, not a word spoken. I stumbled more and more often the longer we walked. I didn’t see any signs of renovation around here. With a good pressure wash, this place could probably open back up to the public.

  We came to a stout, stuccoed building marked OFFICE. Paolo opened the door and let Leon and I stumble inside. Between the two of us, we managed to stay standing until the lights flashed to life.

  “Sit.” Paolo pointed to a pair of dusty office chairs stuck off in the far corner. “I’ll go down and get bandages.”

  “No.” Leon let go of me and shuffled to a door to the right. “We need to go down too. It’s going to take real attention, and you’re no doctor.”

  “Leon—”

  ‘We’re going down.” He flung open the door, revealing a set of metal steps leading down. Steep stairs. “Stay with Tony. Take him straight to my place, and don’t talk to anyone.”

  “I shouldn’t. You know the rules—”

  “Yes, I know the rules!” He cringed and fell back, catching himself on the doorknob. “I know, and I’ll deal with it. Just do this for me.” He sucked in air through a grimace. “Please.”

  After a few seconds, Paolo nodded. “All right. Go.” Leon headed down the stairs, and Paolo and I followed a few steps behind. The whole time, he whispered little commands to me. “Don’t look anyone in the eye. Don’t talk unless you have to. Try to look like a unicorn.”

 
At that one, I couldn’t help but snort. I paid for it with a lash of hot pain across my chest. “How am I supposed to look like a unicorn?”

  “I don’t know. But try. Right now, you’re a total human. Anyone who looks at you longer than a couple seconds is going to know.”

  “Sorry. I’ll try to fix that, I guess.” Along with everything else that was wrong with me. How much blood had I lost already?

  Another sigh. “It’s not too far to Leon’s.”

  We hit the landing. Paolo opened another door. It was a little village tucked away under water pipes. Huge floodlights filled the space with brightness, illuminating ramshackle buildings cramped together along narrow footpaths.

  And people everywhere. It didn’t click until I saw that. This was where the unicorns lived. They were all unicorns. The line of people across the street. The little old blue hair limping past with her cane. The kids laughing and running and screaming. Unicorns. How many? Hundreds? Thousands? Couldn’t be more than thousands, could it? I leaned against the door frame, clutching my chest. My fingers squelched in my blood, and I didn’t give a shit.

  Murderous unicorns. My boyfriend had killed a guy. Maybe they all had. Would I leave? I looked at Paolo and wanted to ask, but what would that get me? Just another mouthful of lies. They’d never let me get away. My last trip would be to the morgue.

  “Maybe I should leave.”

  I tried to back away, but Paolo wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders. “You’ll be fine. It’s just down the road.”

  The road to hell. But I didn’t have the strength to fight against him. He led me past the herd, and I knew every single one of them wanted me dead. Probably part of the rules. No humans. Why had Leon wanted me down here? Most likely trying to clean up his mess the easiest way he could. My chest throbbed. The world narrowed again. I tripped and fell into Paolo’s side.

  “Come on, Tony.” He hoisted me back up, his fingers digging into my arm. “A little farther and you’ll be safe. I’m sure Leon already found someone to fix you up.”

  “Right. Fix me up before you kill me.” It slipped out before I could stop it. But Paolo didn’t stop. Maybe he didn’t hear it? Maybe I whispered it. I couldn’t trust my senses. Another wobble in my vision. The ground swelled up beneath my feet, threatening to knock me on my ass.

  “We’re here.” Paolo slid a door to the side and led me in. Beige walls, floor, and ceiling. A low bed with white sheets and blankets. A rough wooden desk. It all looked dirty and worn, like none of it even belonged together. Paolo lowered me into an avocado-green office chair. Almost as soon as I hit the cushion, my vision totally closed down. My mind followed fast behind.

  * * * *

  “Tony.” I tried not to wake up to Leon’s voice. I didn’t want to be there with him, facing all this shit. He’d killed. I’d seen him kill. That’s what started all this crap to begin with.

  “Tony, come on. I have someone here who can get you fixed up, but you’ve got to work with me.”

  “No.” I touched my chest. Was I still bleeding? I couldn’t tell. The fabric was totally saturated. How long had I been there? I heard my voice. It was so weak. Each sound struggled off my tongue. “I don’t want to die.”

  A sigh. I cracked my eyes open enough to see Leon lean in and pick me up under the armpits. He’d put sweats on while I was out. We walked somewhere. A bed. He laid me on it.

  “Just relax. Max is here to help you.”

  “Under protest.” A new voice, low and gruff. “If Suz finds out, she won’t be happy.”

  “I’ll handle all that,” said Leon. “Just fix him up.”

  I felt hands on my chest. But not touching the wound. It had grown its own heartbeat somewhere between the chair and here, pumping pain through my skin. Nobody had killed me, yet. But then, they might not all have gotten the memo about the human.

  “I have to get this shirt off of you.” The gruff voice. “I’m going to cut it, so hold very still.”

  “With your horn?” As soon as it came out, I wanted to apologize. But I also wanted to know. Just in case.

  “With a scalpel.” A second or two later, I heard the faint popping and ripping of slicing fabric. My wound chilled and stung when the air hit it. But I didn’t want to get cut, horn or not, so I stayed as still as I could.

  “It’s not deep. If you give me a bit, I could see what kind of bullet—”

  “You’re stalling,” said Leon. “Just get him better.”

  “Fine, fine.” Gentle pokes and prods around the wound burned like salt. My eyes shot open. I tried to sit up, but a strong, square hand pressed my shoulders back down. “You’ll be all right. Just don’t do too much. We have to get this cleaned out and stitched up.”

  “Right.” Then I could leave. The longer I lay there with my eyes open, the worse it seemed. Killers. Even if not all the unicorns were, I knew Leon was. Silver was. The one unicorn I spent the most time with was most definitely a killer.

  My boyfriend.

  But we’d just been shot at. What if that was it? Just self-defense. I could handle that…I thought. Maybe.

  The pain of the water cut off my deliberation. I tried not to cringe—it was water and a towel—but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t like getting shot. I could properly make that statement. Anything that makes water hurt is a bad idea.

  Max set the towel down—red splotches covered it—on the bed. He held my face in one of those square, stubby hands.

  “Look at me, son.”

  I traced the slight wrinkles on his forehead with my gaze. He had crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. He had a couple of days’ worth of scruff as gray as his hair.

  “I want you to look at me. This is going to sting, but I want to make sure everything’s good to go before I close you up.” He took his hand from my cheek and slipped it against my palm. With the other hand, he grabbed a bottle of clear liquid and another towel. “Go ahead and squeeze if it hurts.”

  If. Right. He dumped a little of the liquid onto the towel and then pressed that against the wound. Water was bad enough. This felt like embers burning down through my chest. I squeezed his hand, ground my teeth together, and clenched my eyes shut so hard that it hurt. It still didn’t lessen the pain.

  The towel stopped dabbing. “Just a few stitches. It’s not too bad. That was the worst of it.”

  I kept my eyes shut. I didn’t need to see the needle going through my skin. Didn’t they even have some ibuprofen or something like that I could take? Of course they probably didn’t care. Not if I was just going to die anyway.

  Maybe a minute passed, the needle pulling my skin taut and biting in and out of the tender flesh. “All done. Just take it easy. I need to go. Leon, you know where to find me.”

  I opened my eyes in time to see Max walk out of the doorway…and then back right in again. A woman came along with him. A sheet of dull red hair blazed down her back and past her waist. She looked maybe forty or forty-five. Her eyes were nearly black, but they had a light to them. Like fire. A forest fire. She stood about my height, but Paolo and Max both shrank against the wall when she marched in.

  Leon walked over to the bed and curled against me. I tried not to let him notice me flinch. “Can I help you?”

  She stopped at the foot of the bed. I couldn’t look her in the eye. Too much intensity in that stare, like steel bars shooting straight out from her eyes. “Lionshead?”

  “Who else?” said Leon, not moving.

  Huh? “What are you talking about?” And why did I say anything at all?

  The woman’s gaze didn’t even flicker over to me. “You do realize what you’ve done, don’t you? Our secrecy is the only thing giving us any sort of safety from them. And you lead them right to us? With a human on your back?”

  “If that’s how you choose to see it.” Leon finally rose from the bed. “Actually, I believe you two need to be properly introduced.” He gestured to me. “This is my boyfriend, Tony.”

  She stormed up and slapp
ed Leon right across the cheek. “How dare you? You would destroy everything we worked so hard for, just for him?”

  Leon sighed and looked at me. Dark eyes. They looked so much like hers. “Tony, this is my Aunt Suzette. She raised me.”

  Finally, she turned her attention to me. I wished she hadn’t, but the look forced me out of my stupor. Which made her words so much stronger. “I raised him better than to bring home the likes of you.”

  Chapter Seven

  Leon limped over to stand in front of Suzette. “You apologize to him.”

  She scoffed. “Apologize? What the hell kind of fool idea do you have in your head right now?”

  “He’s my boyfriend, and you’re going to apologize to him.” Leon stamped closer to her, standing so close they almost touched. He stared down into her eyes. “And I’m not a fool.”

  “Really?” She whipped away. Her hair was a wave of orange, a sweeping flame. She stopped next to me, and her hand snarled over the top of the headboard. “Only a fool would put three thousand of his own people in line for the executioner. Over what? A boy? How long have you even known him? Because I haven’t heard word one about him.”

  “He was in just as much danger from Lionshead as I was. And I’d like to point out that they were well lost before we came here.”

  “Close enough to shoot you. Close enough to see!”

  Leon clenched and unclenched his fists, shaking his head. “You’ll need to remind me what it is you want me to do as a guard, Aunt Suz, because apparently I’m not getting it.”

  “No, apparently you aren’t.” She left the headboard—thank God—and marched over to Max. He flinched when she clapped her hand down on his shoulder. “Max here. Paolo. Me. You. You’re supposed to protect all of us, Leon.” She closed her eyes. “Your mother and father didn’t die so that you could come along and fuck this up for everyone.”

  “Will you stop?” Leon stumbled forward and pried her hand from Max’s shoulder. “I know exactly what my parents did for us. For all of us. You don’t need to remind me of it every damn time I do something you don’t like.”