Silverfall

by Raven de Hart

  “We rely on the unicorns. Killing anyone else would be pointless.” She leaned back and turned toward Carl. Her smile broadened, pushing her cheeks even higher. “But I’ll be getting out of the killing business soon anyway. We should be streamlining our business model sooner rather than later, and then nobody else will need to die, unless they get out of hand. We just need a bit of help to finish things up.” She bowed her head in my direction. “That’s why we need you.”

  “I don’t know what you think, but I don’t know anything about this bullshit. So I guess this is all over.”

  She stood up and looked me in the eye, still smiling. “You’re right, Mr. Gates. You don’t know anything about this, and I’m sure there are a great many other things you don’t know anything about. But that’s perfectly fine. You don’t need to know a single thing to be of use to us.” She reached across the table and prodded me in the chest, her nail digging into my stitches. I cringed but didn’t let myself pull away. “All that’s important is that you’re here.”

  Of course. Deep Voice’s words played through in my head. How fast would he come get us if he knew we’d shot you through the skull?

  Different threat, same result. They wanted unicorns to come to them, and I was supposed to be their bait. The problem was, I knew it would work. Leon wouldn’t leave me alone here.

  He’d left me there at the apartment, though. Maybe he would stay safe. I didn’t know what that meant for me. Honestly? It wasn’t a big concern. I was facing death, here, and I wasn’t alone.

  “You don’t need Terry. Leon barely knows him.”

  “Yes, but I think you know him quite well, and I don’t think you want anything bad to happen to him. So he’ll keep you in line.” She sat back down. Her smile disappeared. “Please pick up that chair and take a seat. We could be here for some time.”

  I hesitated for a moment and then bent down and righted the chair, banging the feet as hard against the concrete as I could manage. “How long is some time?”

  “As long as it takes.” She reached over and patted Carl on the shoulder. “Mr. Richmond is very near a breakthrough. He just needs a few more test subjects.”

  He flinched. His eyes darted up toward me but not in gloating. Something else. He looked away just as quickly and forced a smile at her. It wasn’t his real smile. That, I knew well enough to recognize. Whatever he thought about her, I doubted she’d like to hear about it.

  I had to break open the crack while it was still there.

  “Carl.” I spoke with as much confidence as I could fake. He snapped his gaze up to me again, and again he looked away. “Carl, what are you working on?”

  The woman sat taller. “It’s not a concern what he’s working on. You don’t need to know that to be useful.”

  “Talk to me.”

  “I didn’t tell them. I swore I wouldn’t. They were watching.” He sounded crazed, uneasy. “They found your apartment themselves. You have to believe me.”

  “All right. I do. What are you working on?”

  “It’ll save them.” He almost whispered it. “It’ll save thousands of people if it works.”

  “It will work.” The woman patted him on the shoulder again. “Now why don’t you run along and get ready? I’m sure the last bit you need will be here any time now.”

  Without a word, he got to his feet and headed out the door. But, as he passed me, he gave another look. This time, I recognized it. It’s the way he’d looked when I’d caught him in bed with that other guy. The same look he gave me when he broke my grandfather’s coffee cup. It was remorse.

  When he left, the room was quiet. I turned away from the woman and looked at Terry. “Just keep calm. I promise, you’re going to get through this.”

  “This is crazy.” He talked like the woman wasn’t even there, like it was just us sitting in this cold, concrete room. “Unicorns aren’t real. They can’t be real.”

  “They’re real. You can accept it or deny it, but it won’t change the facts.” I knew what I had to say. I didn’t want to. Through this whole ordeal, I’d managed to avoid it and forced my way around it. But that wouldn’t work anymore. I looked Terry straight in the eye, held him by the shoulders. The words had to come slow; otherwise they wouldn’t come out right. “Unicorns are real.”

  “Very real, Mr. Gates,” said the woman. “Very real and very valuable.”

  “Bitch.” I turned on her, not even letting myself blink. I wanted to see her face. “You’re murdering people so you can sell them to the highest bidder. How do you even look yourself in the mirror?”

  “These creatures you’re trying to protect are abominations. They have no place in this world.”

  “They evolved that way for a reason.”

  She scoffed. “They evolved to protect themselves. That doesn’t make them good for me or for you or for any other human being. That doesn’t make them good for society. They’re a danger, Mr. Gates, no matter what you choose to believe.” She closed her eyes. “Humanity needs to be protected from them, and I’m willing to bear the weight of that responsibility.”

  “Then why sell them? Is that part of your responsibility too? Selling bullets and armor to help people kill other people better?”

  “Selling is not my decision. It’s the decision of the organization, and it’s a price I pay for my chance to make the world safer.”

  I couldn’t even respond. How did you deal with that kind of crazy?

  I didn’t have long to think about it. Another woman, also dressed in black, marched in. One of those eye crystals hung around her neck as well.

  “The advance guards just called in. We have a herd incoming.”

  “No!” The word flew free, no chance of stopping it.

  The woman in charge rose, smiling. “A herd. Perfect.” She clasped her hands together in front of her chest. I had to fight back the vomit again. How could she be excited about this? “How long until they arrive?”

  “If they keep speed, less than five minutes.”

  “Good. Prepare for them, Ms. Brown. And please find some better clothing for Mr. Gates, if you would be so kind.” She grinned at me. “He has an important role, so I need him looking his best.”

  Bitch. I wanted to stab her, but I doubted I could take her. Not if she could kill a unicorn.

  Chapter Ten

  Our hands bound behind our backs, Terry and I stood flanked by guards. Crazy Lady had ordered them not to harm us, but I’d seen how well that worked with Deep Voice. Hell, I had the cut on my face to prove that it didn’t work at all.

  I tried to get out of the bonds again. It made as much damned difference as it had the last ten times. All it really did was rub my skin against the loose, rough fabric of the uniform they’d tracked down for me. It probably fit better with the armor under it, but I hadn’t been given the luxury of that addition. I must have been expendable enough.

  Maybe Leon wouldn’t be with them when they showed up. Maybe it wasn’t even related. It could just be time for them to attack Lionshead straight on. The suggestions bounced off like pebbles on sheet metal. They made plenty of noise, but it didn’t do a thing to the metal. Just like I knew better than to think any of this could really be unrelated. Or that Leon wouldn’t be right in with the rest of the herd.

  “Incoming!” a guard, standing on a scissor lift and looking out the window, shouted down.

  “Good.” Crazy Lady pulled a unicorn horn from a sheath on her belt and held it aloft. When she spoke, her voice boomed through the space, echoing her words back. “Get ready.”

  The room fell silent. All I could hear was my own breathing, the shifting of fabric on my neck and shoulders, and the gentle tap of my own heartbeat coming up into my ears.

  Bang! The door I’d spotted before hit the floor and snapped in half, right down the middle. Splinters skittered across the floor and got trampled under hooves as a dozen unicorns galloped through. Their shoulders and horns broke apart the drywall and plaster around the frame, obsc
uring them in a shroud of pale powder.

  The woman snapped her sword forward. “Now!”

  A black fog of Lionshead members rolled in, guns swinging and horn swords glinting. In seconds, they mixed into the herd, even as more unicorns funneled through the doorway. Next came the red. Streams of it, flowing down metallic flanks, dripping from swords and horns alike, and dripping off black fabric. I lost track of who was winning almost as soon as the battle started.

  There was no clanging. It threw me off. I saw sword hitting horn and expected the shout of metal on metal. But this was bone. Hollow and dead. Over and over, every strike filling the space with unearthly music. Ice water raced up my spine every time I heard it.

  Crazy Lady walked into the fray, calm and steady. Her sword flew like a river of silver. I wanted to turn away, but I couldn’t stop watching her. She sliced with precision, cutting tendons just behind the knees. All around her, anywhere within range of her sword, unicorns crumpled to their knees. But she never struck a killing blow. I wanted that to make me feel better…but I just wanted to know why. Why not cut them down? I knew the answer couldn’t be good.

  A whinny slammed through the din. My eyes went straight to him. Huge and powerful, muscles undulating underneath shining fur. Silver rushed toward us. Toward me. He pushed through the masses, unicorn and Lionshead alike. His eyes bored into me the whole while.

  When he got close enough to grab, he stopped and lowered his neck so we could climb on. Two other unicorns, one black and one roan, circled around us, flinging droplets of blood with every flick of their heads. But they kept the blades at bay.

  I turned my back to Silver. “Hands!”

  It wasn’t two seconds before I felt the cold horn on my arms. The ropes broke free. I yanked Terry’s loose and then hauled him up with me. As soon as we got settled, Silver burst back out of the building so fast I almost couldn’t stay on. Terry crushed my middle, he squeezed me so tight.

  We hit the night air and turned right, heading away from the city and the cars. Soon, other hoofbeats joined Silver’s. We were okay. We were alive. It was done.

  Within ten minutes, we were at the miniature golf course, cantering instead of galloping. Once we got well inside, Leon stopped and tossed his head to the right, splaying his gleaming mane in a wave across my face. I got off and then helped Terry down. He was shaking but didn’t look hurt aside from the purple knot on his temple.

  Silver melted away back into Leon. As soon as he’d turned back into a human, he launched at me, knocked me to the turf. Thank God I had on the Lionshead clothes. The rough landscape would have worked hell on my bare back.

  Leon wrapped his arms around me. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You’re sorry for rescuing me? Why?”

  “No. I’m sorry for leaving you. I should have stayed and done something and—”

  I kissed him, nibbled on his lower lip, and licked along his teeth. When I pulled away, his mouth just hung open. I smiled. “I had to shut you up.”

  “It worked.” He brushed his fingers across his lips, chuckling. “Damn it, I missed you.”

  “Well, you won’t have to miss me now.” I ran my hands down his sides, felt the warmth, the corrugated ribs. “I’m never letting you go again. Suzette can suck a dick if she’s got any other ideas.”

  “I do have some other ideas.” She stormed out of the office building we’d used to go underground the first time I showed up. I expected another shouting match or more slapping or even a fistfight. I’d have taken any and all of it too. But she marched right past us and headed toward the entrance. And toward another ten or twelve unicorns, all in various states of transformation. After a few seconds, she whipped back around. Looked like she’d done what she went to do. We were her focus again.

  She thrust her finger into Leon’s face. “You did this.”

  “What?”

  “Fucking count, Leon.” She swept her hand behind her. “How many went with you? And how many came back?”

  He scanned over the others, and then his face blanched. “They could just be lagging behind.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it, Leon.” She was in tears, her whole body vibrating. “You did this, and you’re going to face it.”

  She turned back to the rest of the unicorns. Leon collapsed. I started stroking his back, but he batted my hand away. “Just don’t.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  He shuddered and then looked up at me, his eyes red and puffy and his face drawn into a deep-carved frown. “Six. Six of us didn’t come back.” He pressed a hand over his eyes. “Paolo didn’t come back.”

  Paolo…the black unicorn that had guarded us, probably. “I’m sorry.”

  He tossed his arms around me. I didn’t know what to say. How could I comfort him? As far as he was concerned, he’d gotten me kidnapped and his best friend killed. There, there wasn’t going to cut it for this one.

  “Come on.” I got up and then helped him to his feet. He leaned hard on me, but I managed. “I’ve got a good surprise for you.”

  “I don’t deserve it.”

  “You just saved my life.”

  “And it cost six other people theirs.” He stopped, almost knocking me over, and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t regret saving you. You know that. But…”

  “It’s fine. It’s not like I’m vain enough to think my life is more valuable than anyone else’s.” I looked over my shoulder. “Terry, I want you to head home. Get a cab or something. We’ll talk in the morning.” Leon needed me more than Terry at that moment, hard as that was to believe. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to manage anything. If I blamed myself for half a dozen people dying…

  I reached out to touch Leon’s arm again.

  He was shaking. “How could this happen? How could I not see this?”

  “Because you were being a fool.” Suz stormed back in. “I warned you not to get involved with a human. This is exactly why.” She was shaking just as much as Leon. “You fucked up.”

  I slipped away from Leon—he looked stable enough to stand on his own, now—and stepped up to her. “What is wrong with you? He’s hurting. Your nephew is hurting, and all I’m trying to do is make him feel a little bit better about all this.”

  “About killing six people. Six friends.”

  I closed the gap enough to be heard whispering. “He can deal with that. I want him to. But not now. There’s no point in making him feel worse.”

  “People have to pay for their actions.” She snorted. “Including you.”

  “What did I do?”

  “If you could keep yourself out of danger longer than six seconds, Leon wouldn’t constantly be rushing out to save you. So don’t think you’re in the clear.” She grabbed my collar and pulled the fabric up so I could see it. “I think this uniform suits you. Unicorn killer.”

  I fought back the surge of anger, the urge to grab her scrawny fucking throat. I managed to redirect enough of it not to attack her. “They don’t even want to kill unicorns anymore. They’re getting out of the business.”

  “The sure seemed eager enough back there. Or is this what your little boyfriend told you?”

  Another wave of rage. I squeezed my hands into fists and pushed that anger back. “She told me. The woman who was in charge back there. They’re doing research that’s going to put an end to it.”

  “What?” Leon came up. I must have stopped whispering and not realized it. He stuck himself to my side. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. They wanted to use me as bait to draw all of you there so they could finish up the research.” It sounded a lot less positive when I said it out loud.

  “It doesn’t matter. There are six of our people back there.” Suzette brushed the idea away with a flick of her wrist. “Besides, we can’t trust anything those bastards say.”

  “But what if it’s true?” said Leon. “If they’re really trying to find a way to stop this killing—”

  “You’re trying to distrac
t yourself. I’m not going to allow that.”

  “I-I know what I did, all right? I would undo it in a second if I could.” Leon sounded so broken, talking like that. It almost hurt to hear. “That doesn’t erase the good that could come if Lionshead really wants to stop.”

  “They could have stopped the killing a long time ago. They didn’t need some kind of research breakthrough to do it.” Suz shook her head. “Lionshead has had centuries to lay down their arms. Instead, they’ve kept hunting us. So forgive me if I doubt that they’ve suddenly seen the error of their ways.”

  Her words hung there. She was right. Of course she was right. I barely knew anything about this, but I could tell that much. There was no reason for anyone to believe a word that Lionshead said. Not one.

  “I’m so—” My apology got cut off by hooves on pavement. Suzette’s eyes widened. Leon and I both turned around in time to see half a dozen unicorns limping through the front gate. Bloodied and cut up, but clearly alive.

  They shifted down into humans. The others, the ones who had made it out before, rushed to help them. All except Leon and Suzette. They both stood there, their energy wild and weighing down the air with nervousness.

  Finally, Suz broke the quiet. “My God.”

  And they were both off, helping right alongside everyone else. I followed Leon into the crowd, but quickly fell behind. When I caught up, he held Paolo in a tight hug with their foreheads pressed together. Leon whispered under his breath. “I’m so sorry.”

  I turned to leave, but Paolo’s voice grabbed me. “Wait.” I looked over my shoulder and saw him nod. “I’m glad you’re well.” His voice was scratchy and weak. But he was alive to talk. “Leon would have been thoroughly unbearable if anything had happened to you.”

  “Well, I do what I can.” Right now, that meant getting out of there.

  * * * *

  I looked up into Leon’s dark eyes. “So everyone’s really okay?”