The Unicorn Quest

by J. A. Armitage

  The sun hung at its apex by the time Herou met me at the fork to lead me into the mountain city. My aching legs and burning lungs, which gasped at the higher altitude's thinner air, made me irritated we hadn't been able to take the main road. I shook my head to clear the thought. Getting captured before arriving wouldn't have helped my mission any.

  “Where to now?” I wheezed at Herou as I took in the strange city, which was comprised of nothing more than ornately framed holes in the mountainside. “The seneschal's house?”

  Herou shrugged. “No, we have to go see someone first. My sister. It's with her help that we'll get the pendant. Come, my sister lives only a short distance from here.” I began to follow, but she stopped me. “My sister is very old school. She does not like grounders. You can’t let on that you don’t have wings.”

  “But...” Herou had already turned and began to walk away.

  I followed her along a narrow pathway along the side of the sheer cliff face. She walked it with ease, but I had to stifle the urge to close my eyes. Hundreds of feet below us, the river shone red in the soft evening light. From the height we were, the boats looked like nothing more than specks. My heart raced as I followed Herou, gripping the wall tightly.

  Perhaps two-hundred feet later, Herou approached a sturdy, wooden door. Herou knocked three times, then twice, then four times.

  When the door opened, the woman who answered it looked a lot like Herou, with one big difference: her wide-open eyes were milky-white, utterly blank with no pupil.

  I gasped before I could catch myself.

  “Who do you bring with you?” the sister asked, her tone edged with suspicion. She turned her head my way, but it was clear that she could not see me. Herou’s earlier statement about not letting on I had no wings suddenly made sense.

  “A friend of mine. She works for the postal service, carrying letters between the elders and the palace.”

  “Hi,” I said, moving forward. “I’m Freya.”

  "That's an odd name," the sister said. "Sounds like one of the North face Clans, perhaps?”

  I looked at Herou, who nodded. “Yes, you have a good ear for names. It's not a family name, though. They were creative when they named me.”

  I held my breath, hoping I’d said the right thing. The sister, who looked quite a bit older than Herou with gray peppering her hair, broke into a smile.

  “Come in, come in. It’s not often Herou brings friends up here.”

  I followed Herou into her sister’s house. It was nothing like I’d imagined. In my head, I’d thought I’d be entering a cave, but it was much closer to a normal home. It could almost have passed for my cottage back in Anchor. The stone floor was covered by a brightly striped rug and the sofa and chair, while clashing horribly with each other, were close to normal. I wondered if the bright clashing colors were a cultural thing or if it had more to do with the woman being blind.

  “Sit, please,” The sister said, motioning toward the sofa. She left the room through a door, coming back a minute later with a pitcher of what looked like juice.

  “My own special recipe,” she said, pouring out the juice into glasses then holding one out in my direction. I took the juice from her and took a sip. It was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before. Sweet with a spicy aftertaste.

  “This is lovely,” I said. “What’s in it?”

  “Ah, that would be telling. It’s my own recipe. Please call me, Midel.”

  “Thank you, Midel.”

  “You are most welcome. So tell me, what are you both doing up here?”

  I glanced at Herou, who nodded.

  “I came up here in search of a pendant, and Herou thought you might be able to help. It's part of a key that is vitally important, but the seneschal has it decorating his scepter, given to him by the last queen many years ago.”

  The sister laughed, and I heard an oddly bird-like double voice effect.

  She rubbed her hands together. “Oh, is that all? I can steal that and have it in your hands in a couple of hours.”

  “Steal?” I said, my stomach lurching. “That wasn't what I had in mind. Can't we just go ask him for it?”

  My voice was drowned out by the tweeting laugher of both Herou and Midel. Gasping, Midel turned to Herou, "Did you not tell her who I am?"

  “I thought it would be more fun this way. My sister steals for a living. She's a brilliant thief, too, because everyone underestimates her.”

  “Being blind has its uses,” Midel grinned. “I know every path and passageway in this city.”

  I’d thought we were coming up here to talk to the Seneschal. To make him see reason. “Is there no other way?”

  Herou shook her head. “No,” she said simply. “This is your only hope to get that pendant. The seneschal will not listen to reason. He will never give up that scepter.”

  “Ok, then,” I said. Midel knocked back her juice and headed to the door.

  “You’re going now?”

  “No time like the present. I know everyone in this town. The seneschal will be out drinking. His scepter will be unguarded. I’ll be back soon.”

  And with that, she fluttered her wings and jumped out through the front door.

  “This is insane,” I said to Herou. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how someone who was blind would be able to steal the pendant from the most important member of the Order of the Sky. “Doesn’t he have guards?”

  “He doesn’t need guards. Humans don’t dare come up the mountain. They know what will happen to them if they do.”

  “What’s that?” I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

  “Let’s just say that humans that come up the mountain don’t go back down it in one piece.”

  She must have seen the color drain from my face because she added, “You’ll be the exception.”

  It didn’t inspire me with confidence. I sat on tenterhooks the whole time Midel was gone, waiting for the inevitability of being found out.

  My heart did a race around my ribcage when the door opened an hour later, but it was only Midel. She folded her wings, tucking them behind her, then walked in. She held a small leather pouch out to me. “Come and get it. Easy as pie.”

  I looked at Midel in awe, then turned to Herou, who didn’t look at all surprised at her sister’s achievement. I eagerly took the pouch and looked inside. There, a pendant with a familiar shape lay, this one with a ruby center stone rather than diamond. “I can't thank you enough," I said, and my voice cracked.

  The sister chuckled. "Don't go getting all emotional now. If my sister brought you to me, it's important. I was happy to do some good for once. Besides, I hate that pompous idiot. So full of himself, as though being born into one family makes him somehow better than someone born into another. I only wish I could see his face when he finds out it’s missing. I'll have to satisfy myself with imagining it.”

  “Thank you so much. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

  “Repay me? That’s the most fun I’ve had in months...besides...” She pulled out her pockets. Out fell a heavy gold chain. “You don’t think I only took something for you, do you?”

  “I have to hand it to you. I really wasn’t sure you’d pull it off. You’re pretty amazing.”

  “Stop it,” she said, waving away my words. “Now, you two have to go. On the off chance anyone comes to question me, it'd be better you aren't here. Safer, at least.”

  We made our way to the door, Midel preceding us and holding it open. “Have a safe flight downhill, sister. Mind the thermals at the saddle hump.”

  “We will,” Herou replied and stepped outside. I followed—

  And then, Midel clapped me on my back as I passed. Herou's eyes went wide. I froze.

  Midel, however, did not freeze. "Lies," she whispered. Then, louder, she shouted, “Lies! You brought a grounder into my home?”

  Herou held up one hand as though her sister could see it, by reflex. “Wait, we can explain—”

  �
��Traitor,” the sister spat at Herou. Her hand on my shoulder tightened into a vice-like grip as she moved her hand to my upper arm.

  I tried to jerk away but was held fast.

  A jolt of pain shot up my arm at the force of her grip. I tried to pull away again, but Midel moved with me—and then kept going, never relaxing her grip.

  The cliff… I glanced over my shoulder and, with dawning horror, saw that I was being moved inexorably toward the tiny ledge. In a cliff-dwelling city, the only way onward was down.

  “Help! Herou, stop her,” I cried.

  Herou moved forward, but Midel’s fist left my arm and, in an impossibly quick flash of movement, smashed into Herou's cheek. The blow's force knocked Herou aside like a ragdoll.

  As Herou tried to scramble to her feet, my left foot reached the stone edge. “What are you doing?” I cried.

  Midel bared her teeth in a savage grin. “No grounder sneaks into my home and lives,” she said.

  Two stone-hard hands gripped me and lifted me into the air. I looked over my shoulder and sucked in a breath. Below me, hundreds of feet below, was the river

  “No, please,” I screamed, but she didn’t listen. Her iron grip loosened, leaving me trying to grab hold of her. The last thing I saw was Herou struggling to rise to her feet. Her mouth shaped into a large “O,” and my eyes locked onto hers for a moment.

  The moment vanished as gravity took over. My screams echoed off the cliff face. Then, the wind whipping past my ears drowned out even the sound of my own terrified screams.

  Chapter 19

  Bitterly, I cursed my own carelessness. I knew how the mountain residents felt, how they thought themselves as much above me as the skies in which they flew. I knew the trip was dangerous. Herou had told me clearly that I couldn't let her sister know I was human. But I hadn't taken it seriously enough, hadn't understood how serious it really was. My own excuses sounded weak. I’d let my guard down for a split-second, and now, I was going to die because of it.

  As the ground below grew noticeably closer, the wind whipped my tears away as fast as they came.

  Rather suddenly, it struck me: my biggest regret, as bits of my life flashed before my eyes, was treating River badly and never giving him the trust he deserved. And now, he'd never know how I felt, because of it. I should have told him where I was going. He'd forever wonder if I’d simply walked out on them all.

  A strange calm overtook me, and I observed that calmness almost like I were someone else merely watching a person falling to their death like I was outside myself. At the edge of my thoughts, I decided it was my mind's way of saving itself from going insane at the terror of dying. Funny, going insane seemed a perfectly appropriate response to my all-too-brief situation.

  I spread my arms and legs. The sensation of my clothes flapping against my skin was interesting. For a moment, I felt like a bird, too. I banked left—and found I moved left. I tried turning right and got the same result. I heard myself cackling. Maybe this mental separation from my body wasn't keeping my sane, after all. Not that it mattered; I would be dead all too soon. Turning left and right, gliding like a bird, was amazing—but it hadn't slowed my fall one bit.

  I thought I heard a voice as the river below came up to greet me. It appeared to have grown, and I guessed that my journey downward was nearly at an end.

  Then, I heard it again, this time clearly despite the wind roaring in my ears. “Turn over, damnit!”

  I jerked to twist around and instantly, found myself looking up at Herou, her wings tucked back, streaking downward at me. She was gaining, but too slowly to matter.

  I extended both arms and legs to slow my fall, and the onrushing form of Herou instantly drew closer. And then, with a force that knocked the wind from my lungs, Herou plummeted into me, sending us both spiraling downward. I wrapped my arms and legs around her body, scrambling to cling desperately to my only chance at survival.

  When Herou spread her wings, we slowed right down.

  “Stop squeezing…” she wheezed. “I can't breathe…”

  I took a deep breath and then forced myself to relax my grip as I clenched my eyes tight. The direction of the wind changed as Herou pulled up.

  I cracked one eye open and looked up into Herou's face. She was flushed red with effort, wings beating crazily, but we weren't falling anymore, we were flying.

  “Thank you,” I murmured.

  Herou's expression shifted from grit and grim determination to one of fury. “You absolute moron. You complete imbecile. Are you just stupid, or do you work hard at doing the dumbest thing possible?”

  “What?” I found myself asking, confused. Not at the question—letting myself be found out by a blind woman was indeed stupid, but at the sudden change in Herou's tone.

  “You heard me, damnit. I should have just let you fall and claimed you tried to climb up on your own. You risked my life, too, damn you. I almost hoped your fall would bury you so deep, when you landed, that I wouldn't have to dig a grave for you."

  “Why did you save me, then?” I blinked, confused.

  “Because you told me you were going to save the world. I had to tell my sister you would pay her for her services, after all. And you're going to hand over every coin you own for putting me in that situation.”

  “Putting you in that situation?" My fear grew a little hotter. “I'm the one who—”

  “Shut up, or I'll drop you here and now. Think of your next words very carefully, grounder, or they'll be your last. Answer me—how much coin do you have on you? And you'd better hope it's enough to convince my sister not to come looking for you.”

  “I don't have any coins!”

  Herou’s grip loosened, and I slipped a foot closer to falling to my death. It seemed she was deadly serious. “I didn't hear you right. Let's try again, grounder. How much do you have on you?”

  I froze. I had nothing. I was usually either at home where I needed no money or with Opal, who tended to just pay for whatever needs arose in spite of her love of grumbling and complaining about it.

  “My friend has money,” I said, thinking of Opal. She would kill me for this, but it looked like I was gonna die ether way.

  I locked eyes with Herou. I could see the wheels turning in her head, calculating. It was frightening to see someone so coldly evaluating the worth of my life, the risks of cashing out on that worth. And of course, I had trusted Herou with my life like an idiot.

  But I had the pendant. I had only to live long enough to get it to the others, where it'd be safe.

  After a chillingly long pause, we begin to descend--slowly. Herou blinked her vertically-slitted eyes and nodded. “Very well. I'll take you back to the palace. But if you think of trying anything, I promise you, you'll never leave the city alive.”

  I believed every word of it.

  “Are you out of your damn mind?” Opal shouted, pacing back and forth in the room I had asked her and River to meet me in.

  I forced myself not to look at the painting on the wall behind Opal. There, Herou lurked in a secret palace hallway she’d told me about, listening to every word. I believed her when I had said she'd storm the room with guards if she didn't like how the conversation was going.

  Instead of looking nervously at the painting and the looming threat behind it, I looked at River. I could see disappointment etched onto his features.

  River took a deep breath as his eyes met mine.

  “What were you thinking, Freya? What you did was reckless and impulsive. Even worse, you didn't trust us enough to tell us what you were doing or where you were going. I’ve been worried out of my mind. You told me you were going for a walk in the gardens to clear your head. That was over twelve hours ago.”

  Opal snarled at me. “You see? Even your beau thinks you're an idiot. Why should I pay anyone to save you after what you did?”

  I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. There was no good way to reply to that, I decided and closed my mouth. Opal's withering stare was like a physic
al blow, and I found myself staring at my hands, fidgeting in my lap.

  After the briefest pause, River answered for me. “To get the pendant safely out of here. The queen may rule the kingdom, but the guards clearly have divisions. I have no doubt that this 'Herou' has a cadre of fellow criminals, and they'll make sure neither we nor the amulet make it out of the castle if we refuse. It's not only Freya’s life in danger. The pendant is too.”

  He glared, and I felt myself shrinking into my chair as though it could hide me from his anger. No, not anger—he felt betrayed, I realized because I hadn't trusted him. Again. But how could I, with the secrets he kept?

  Opal paced back and forth, muttering about human stupidity and railing about how they constantly used her as a moneylender, but as time passed, her pace became less frenetic, her expression less severe. At last, she stopped and turned to me. I took a deep breath, as I considered her, and let it out slowly.

  I awaited my verdict, hardly aware I was holding my breath.

  Opal pursed her lips a moment, then said, “Okay, we have the pendant. It's what we all wanted, and you got it. While I'm upset you took such a ridiculous, idiotic, stupid risk, it boils down to a bad decision. But I've made those before, too. I'm just glad we can get the most at-risk fragment to safety, away from that jerk on the mountain.”

  I glanced at the painting, nervous, but decided Herou would never turn down money just to kill grounders for speaking poorly of their so-called betters. I looked away as a flood of relief washed through me.

  “Okay, so that's resolved. I only hope it's enough. How much did you bring? She'll want it all to go away quietly.”

  “Of course, she wants it all. And she'll have it.”