Page 122 of First Light

Okay, he had a point. That didn’t mean Carys had to like them.

As they walked, her ears grew familiar with the quiet, and she perceived more and more rustles in the bushes. There was life there, though it was the scurrying, stealthy kind. Something climbed in the trees overhead, jumping from branch to branch. Carys didn’t think it sounded like a bird.

She felt something over her shoulder, the sense of a predator watching them, but when she turned, she saw nothing.

“It’s not a wolf,” Darius murmured. “But you’re not wrong.”

The fog became thicker, blocking any view of the valley below and any glimpse of Cadell in the distance.

“This is what he meant, isn’t it?” She looked at Darius again. “That he wouldn’t be able to see me.”

Darius looked around the fog, his eyes intent on the grey mist. “We have crossed her wards now. Even my own senses are dulled.”

Duncan spoke from the front. “Good thing some of us haven’t ever relied on magic to stay alive.” He continued trudging up the hillside. He picked up a branch and gripped it, using it as a walking stick.

Darius called out. “Human, what are you doing?”

Duncan turned. “What?”

Carys looked back and saw that Darius’s eyes were wide.

“You’ve taken something from her forest,” he whispered. “I cannot protect you from that.”

Duncan looked at the stick in his hand. “It’s a stick.”

“It’s hers.” Darius shook his head. “An unwise acquisition.”

Duncan was still looking at the stick in his hand when Carys heard the rumbling in the distance. It took a moment to register, but then she looked at Duncan and felt her heart speed up. “Something is coming.”

He turned to the low crashing sound that echoed through the trees. He peered into the darkness and stepped off the path, bracing his massive body on a pine trunk rooted to the sloped hill. “Carys, run. Back to the horses now. I’ll distract it.”

She looked at Darius, but the unicorn didn’t move.

“What should we do?” She looked at Duncan. “We can’t leave him alone with whatever that is.”

“We can’t protect him,” Darius said.

Duncan’s eyes were locked on the darkness. “Carys, go back to the horses. Now.”

Whatever was coming through the forest was getting closer.

Darius said, “Run past Duncan. Up the hill.”

“What?”

“Carys!” Duncan shouted. “Why aren’t you gone?”

“She won’t let you in a second time,” Darius said. “If you want this visit to matter, keep walking and leave Duncan.”

“Darius, what are you telling her?” Duncan shifted, lifting the branch like a baseball bat. “Get her out of here.”

“Carys, run up the pathway.” Darius urged her on. “Run now.”

“What?” Duncan turned and glared at the unicorn. “Get her back to safety!”

“Do it.” Darius’s voice was steady. “Run past Duncan. Leave him here and go up the hill. Whatever is coming does not have a taste for you. Keep climbing.”

Her heart was racing, and she looked from Duncan to the unicorn, back to Duncan.