Floriano’s horn suddenly blazed so bright that the girls had to squint. With a great whinny, the unicorn reared up on his hind legs, his horn flashing and throwing off sparks. He pawed the air with his hooves, and as he dropped down to all fours again, he allowed the tip of his horn to graze the edge of the huge door.
It sprang open as though blown by a mighty wind.
Silence hung in the air. The girls stared through the opening, their mouths wide open. Floriano’s sides heaved with the effort to catch his breath.
“So that’s how you got out of your stall!” Marabel exclaimed.
Floriano tossed his head. His horn, while still a lovely gold, no longer glowed. “It’s a skill we’ve developed, we unicorns. People are always trying to trap us, you know. They lure us into gardens, where we lay our heads on girls’ laps. We love to do that. The girls always pet us and feed us delicious snacks. But then it turns out that the gardens have fences around them, and someone closes the gate, and then… there we are. Prisoners.”
Marabel realized she’d never known where Floriano had come from—whether he’d been born in captivity, or if he’d been taken from one of the few herds of wild unicorns that people still occasionally glimpsed in Magikos. “Did someone capture you like that?”
Floriano snorted. “If it was that easy to capture unicorns, there’d be hundreds of us in zoos and in people’s stables, sharing stalls with stupid donkeys. Capture happens only once every hundred years or so. No, my ancestors were trapped many years ago. My family has lived with humans for generations.”
“Why didn’t you say something about this earlier?” Ellie asked. “Was it fun for you to watch us trying, knowing you could just touch the door with your horn and it would open?”
“A little,” Floriano admitted. “But mostly, I… Well, I wasn’t sure it would work on this particular door. I mean, if there are unicorns on the other side of the Wall, over there”—he nodded at the forest they could see through the open door—“why didn’t your aunt use them to open it a long time ago? Why did she wait until now to steal your brother?”
“I don’t know,” Marabel said. “But we’re wasting time. Let’s go on, and we can try to figure it out later. We only have twelve days left.”
“You first,” Floriano said, and Marabel, feigning courage, stepped through the open door, followed by Ellie and then the unicorn.
They turned and watched the Wall fade away.
Her entire life, Marabel had heard how frightening and dangerous the Barrens were. The land was lawless, everyone said, and full of Evils waiting to pounce on Magikians who somehow found their way in.
Instead, this place looked and sounded a lot like home. Leaves rustled in the wind the same way they did on the Magikian side, the trees looked the same, and the rays of sun that made it through the dense leaves had the same colorless light as at home.
Marabel couldn’t help feeling disappointed. This was what she had been afraid of all her life? This ordinary forest?
“We must still be in Magikos,” Ellie said.
But then a bear came trundling past them, wearing a flowered hat. She nodded politely at the group and said, “Nice day, isn’t it?” in a snuffly kind of voice, and was gone before they could answer. They watched her disappear in stunned silence.
Marabel said, “Ellie, I don’t think we’re in Magikos anymore.”
hich way now?” Floriano asked.
Marabel gathered her wits and conjured up in her imagination the big map that hung on the wall of the palace classroom. “There should be a path that runs near the Wall,” she said. “Let’s find it and see if we come across someone who can give us directions to Mab’s castle.”
They walked and walked, but the path, if it was still there—for the map in the classroom was at least as old as King Matthew, and paths quickly become overgrown if nobody walks on them—proved impossible to find. To Marabel’s disappointment, they didn’t pass any more magical beings.
The wind picked up and it started to rain. They walked hunched over in a vain attempt to keep at least a little dry.
And then came a sound that they didn’t expect. It was a cough. Ellie, who was in the lead, nearly bumped into a man dressed like a farmer or a woodcutter, who was leaning against a tree. She jumped back, but he smiled at them in a friendly manner, his shining teeth visible through his beard.
Marabel said, “Good evening,” as civilly as she could manage.
“Nasty weather,” he said. Marabel and Ellie murmured in agreement. Floriano hung back. He pawed the ground nervously and sniffed the air.
“Where are you going in the rain?” the man asked.
Ellie leaned in close to Marabel and murmured, “Something’s not right. Look at Floriano. Let’s not let this guy know where we’re heading.”
Marabel swallowed. Floriano did look agitated. What was bothering him? So she followed Ellie’s suggestion. “We’re going to my grandmother’s house,” was all she could think of. “We didn’t know it was going to rain.”
“A little late in the day to be visiting, surely.”
“She’s sick,” Ellie put in. “We’re taking food and blankets to her.” She shifted her pack on her shoulders.
“How nice.” He still didn’t let them pass. “I wonder if you three could help me with something I found?”
Marabel was caught off-guard by the question. She asked eagerly, “Is it a boy? We’re looking for a boy, one about our age.” She ignored the sharp nudge of Ellie’s elbow.
The man nodded. “Yes, it’s a boy. He’s terribly wounded.”
“Marco!” Marabel cried. Could he have escaped their aunt? Was that how he got hurt?
He nodded again. “Yes, that was the name. And he said two girls and a unicorn were wandering around in the forest, and they would help him.”
For a moment Marabel’s heart thudded eagerly, but something was not right. How would Marco know that she and Ellie were looking for him, much less Floriano?
Actually, the man hadn’t said he’d found a boy. She was the one who had said it. The man had just agreed.
Marabel muttered to Ellie, “Let me try something. Play along.” Turning to the man, she tried to smile. “Thank you, sir. I hope he’s not too badly hurt. Our—our bull gored him yesterday.”
“Yes, that’s what he said. He ran away from the bull and got lost in the woods.”
“I’m surprised you could see him in the rain, what with his black hair,” Ellie said.
The man asked impatiently, “Do you want to stand here chatting, or do you want to help your friend?”
The clouds thinned a little, finally allowing some sunshine through, and Marabel could make out the man’s face more clearly. She realized that he didn’t only have a beard.
His whole face was covered in bristly fur.
And he had a pointy muzzle-like nose, and his eyes were red.
At Marabel’s horrified gasp, the stranger bared his teeth in a snarl. Two long, sharp fangs gleamed from the corners of his mouth. An Evil!
Ellie screamed and Floriano whinnied. Without thinking, Marabel yanked the wooden sword from her belt and whacked the man-wolf over the head. He howled an inhuman sound.
“Run!” Marabel shouted, and the two girls took off through the trees. The Evil snarled and sprang after them. Marabel felt herself being yanked backward—he had grabbed her pack! She desperately shrugged it off, stumbling over rocks and branches.
Marabel glanced back to see Floriano whirl around and kick the man-wolf so hard that he flew through the air and slammed into a tree. He howled again, but then scrambled to his feet and lunged at the unicorn. Marabel tore her eyes away from them and sped through the trees, catching up with Ellie. Floriano galloped past them, shouting, “Run! Run! Run!” Marabel didn’t have the breath to say, “What does it look like we’re doing?”
She just ran.
Marabel thought her legs and lungs would give out, when Ellie slipped and crashed down, her arms flailing. Marabe
l leaped over her, turned back, and hauled Ellie to her feet. But Ellie let out a cry and crumpled to the ground.
“My ankle,” she said. “I think I’ve twisted it.”
Floriano cantered back and looked down at Ellie, water dripping off his horn. He raised his head, and his large nostrils sniffed the air. “We can stop now. The beast is gone,” he said. “I knew there was something wrong about him. He didn’t smell right.”
“Are you sure he’s gone?” Marabel asked.
The unicorn nodded. “He can’t catch up. Those beasts are fast, but they don’t have much stamina. Not like unicorns.”
Marabel allowed herself to relax a little and caught her breath.
Ellie flexed her ankle and winced. “Can you walk?” Marabel asked her.
Ellie shook her head. Marabel glanced at Floriano.
“What?” he asked. She nodded at Ellie. “Oh,” he said. “I suppose you want me to carry her. I’m a unicorn, you know, not just a horse with a horn. I’m a magical being.”
Ellie rubbed her ankle and gave a little moan.
Floriano looked down at her again, and his expression softened. He gave an exaggerated sigh. “All right, if I have to. But I won’t be able to go fast with her on me—or very far, either. We’ll have to find shelter soon.” Marabel helped Ellie onto the unicorn’s back and they set off again, Floriano’s hooves slipping in the mud.
The rain went on for hours, and they had to stop to rest more and more often. Marabel realized that Ellie’s pack must have slipped off, too. It was too late to go back for either of them. For all she knew, the man-wolf was waiting for them.
They walked and walked, with Marabel in front. She was hungry, and from the squeaks and grumbles that came from her friend’s stomach, Ellie was, too.
Even the few birds still singing in the trees sounded glum.
More clouds rolled in, until darkness enveloped them and thunder rumbled ever closer. It was raining so hard that the drops came through the thick leaves and soaked them. They couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead, and Floriano’s hooves and Marabel’s feet kept slipping. Marabel despaired of finding even a dry spot under a tree, much less a cottage.
Then the sound of Floriano’s hooves changed, making an echo, and the rain ceased abruptly.
“Ellie!” Marabel cried. “Floriano! We’re in a cave!”
Of course, Ellie panicked at the word cave. She slid off Floriano’s back. Marabel grabbed Ellie’s sleeve as she tried to hobble back outside.
“We have to stay here for now,” Marabel said firmly. “It’s dry, and we’re out of the wind. You can sit right by the entrance so you won’t feel closed in.” It took a little coaxing, but Ellie eventually agreed.
Marabel made a cautious circuit of the cave. It was enormous—she couldn’t see the ceiling in the dim light—but it had only one opening. The cave was dry and the floor wasn’t too rough. It could have been much, much worse.
She knew it was probably a lot worse wherever Marco was. From the little Marabel had heard about her aunt, Mab wasn’t exactly kind. She wouldn’t treat a hostage well, especially if she was planning to turn him into a frog or a snake. What if Marabel rescued her brother too late, condemning him to live in a terrarium and eat flies for the rest of his life?
Marabel couldn’t stop the tears from running down her cheeks, and was grateful that the light was too weak to show them. She didn’t want to worry Ellie. But when a sob burst from her throat, Ellie came over and wrapped her arms around her. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to.
They sat in miserable silence for a long time before Ellie said, “We have to go back.”
Marabel sat up. “We can’t abandon Marco!”
“We have no food,” Ellie pointed out. “No food and no candles, and no money to buy them with even if we find a village. We nearly got eaten by a man-wolf. My ankle’s getting better”—she stuck out her leg and twirled her foot, wincing only a little—“but what if I’d broken it? Floriano couldn’t carry me the whole way to your aunt’s castle.”
Floriano raised his elegant head. “Go back? Why didn’t you think of that earlier, before we got soaked and starved and—”
“But think how much worse it must be for Marco!” Marabel said.
“We don’t know what we’re doing!” Ellie shot back. “I shouldn’t have let you convince me. I should have gone right to your father and told him what you were planning!”
“Ellie’s right,” Floriano said. “I wanted an adventure. This isn’t an adventure. It’s a mistake. Let’s go home.”
“You can do what you want,” Marabel said. “Go home. Fine with me. I’ll go on by myself. I can’t leave my brother.”
“But if Floriano and I go back without you,” Ellie said, “we’ll get in terrible trouble. They’ll be angry at us for abandoning you. If you go, I have to go with you. I have to stay by your side, remember?”
“I don’t think your mother would have said that if she knew someday we’d be running away,” Marabel said. “She was only telling you to stay near me so you could be helpful.”
Ellie didn’t answer as she lay down on the ground and crossed her arms. “If you don’t want me here, Marabel, you can just say so.” Without waiting for an answer, she turned on her side, her back toward Marabel, and went to sleep.
Marabel lay awake for a long time and listened to the others breathing. She felt bad that she’d hurt Ellie’s feelings, but this journey to save Marco was the most important thing she’d ever done. Why couldn’t her best friend understand that?
If they really want to go back, I’ll walk a little way toward home with them, she told herself, and then I’ll find some cottager or charcoal burner or someone who will help them the rest of the way, and I’ll come back and continue on to Aunt Mab’s. Without food? Without supplies? And could she arrive before her father’s messenger? Her mind whirled until she fell asleep.
She had nightmares of Marco imprisoned in a hideous cell, reaching through the bars and calling out to her to save him. Then she dreamed that the cave walls around her were shaking and twisting and turning, threatening to collapse and crush her with jagged boulders.
Her eyes popped open. A little light was coming into the cave. Ellie and Floriano were still asleep and breathing peacefully. The only other sounds were early-morning birdcalls and the wind in the leaves. In the dim light, the cave revealed itself to be even larger than she had thought. Its walls were ordinary stone and dirt, not the crushing boulders she had seen in her nightmare.
Floriano opened his eyes, his long lashes sweeping up to reveal his star-shaped pupils. He glanced at Marabel, yawned, and hoisted himself to his feet, remarking, “I don’t suppose there’s anything for breakfast.”
A strangled sound from Ellie saved her from having to answer. Ellie scrambled to her feet and ran out the narrow cleft to the open air, limping only a little. “I want to go,” she said over her shoulder, keeping her eyes averted from the cave.
Marabel and Floriano joined Ellie in the thick woods. The sun finally came out all the way, and the light filtering through the dense leaves cast a green glow on the ground.
Marabel looked around. “This is the way we came,” she said. “Come on. I’ll go partway back with you, and we’ll find someone to help you the rest of the way. You can tell my parents that I made you go back, and they won’t punish you for leaving me.”
Unexpectedly, Ellie said, “No.”
“No?” Marabel asked.
Ellie thrust her chin out. “I woke in the night and thought about it. Then a little voice in my head reminded me that I’m a Magikian. That a woman came and kidnapped our prince. As long as I don’t have to sleep in a cave again, I’m with you.”
Floriano heaved an exasperated sigh and said, “I’m not going to let anyone say that the unicorn was the one who gave up while two humans risked their lives on an adventure. Count me in, too.”
Marabel was so moved, she found it hard to speak. “I’m not
your princess out here. If we’re going to do this, we’ll do it together, all right?”
They nodded. “And, Mara,” Ellie said, “I’m sorry about what I said. You’re my friend, and I—”
“I know,” Marabel said. “Me too.”
They turned east. Ellie was walking much better now, so the three of them once again took turns being in the lead. Marabel was in front, thinking that they’d be wandering in this wet, chilly forest forever, when a squirrel chittered at them. She glanced in its direction and caught a glimpse of something white. It was small—about her height—and it didn’t move. It was unnaturally straight in this place of twisted branches and crooked tree trunks. Floriano caught sight of it, too, and called out, “Hey! What’s that?”
Marabel reached it first. She touched it tentatively. It was a board with black letters on it.
“What is it?” Floriano asked again.
“A signpost,” Marabel said. “See?” The arrow on her side of the post said GIANTS’ LAIR, TWO DAYS’ JOURNEY. No way they were going in that direction!
“Look,” Floriano said. On the other side were two signs pointing different ways. “What do they say?”
Ellie read aloud, “Castle by bridge, one thousand five hundred pebbles.” And the other, “Castle by boat, three thousand four hundred pebbles.”
“Pebbles?” Marabel asked.
“A payment?” Ellie guessed. “We don’t have any money, but we could easily pick up some pebbles.”
“More than three thousand of them?” Floriano asked.
“Whatever it means,” Marabel said, “the bridge looks like a better way to go.”
“I’m not getting in any boat anyway,” Floriano said. “I don’t think I could. We unicorns aren’t built for such things.”
They followed the sign pointing toward the bridge and emerged from the forest at the base of a tall hill. A low rushing sound grew louder as they walked, until it became a continuous roar. Surely they hadn’t mistaken what the sign said—surely they weren’t about to arrive at a lair full of roaring giants?
Marabel and the Book of Fate Page 6
