Born in Fire (Page 21)

“Let me guess, you’ve been graced.”

“No. Only Vlad that I know of.”

“Ah. Fine. So why isn’t it common knowledge that they’re real?”

“This is the secret Vlad spoke of. This is the knowledge you must protect with your life, and we will need to change the contract to reflect that. You are now tied to them, and through them, to us. Should you ever attempt to reveal this knowledge—”

“Yes, yes, death by pleasure. I know.” I shook my head, because who could think of contracts at a time like this? “But…how have you possibly kept this secret? Unicorns, man! Unicorns.” I shook my head again. “I’m blown away. I am simply blown away.”

“Given that there are thousands of myths about them, Brink-wide, the secret isn’t wholly kept.”

“But everyone thinks they aren’t real.”

“They also think vampires aren’t real.”

“The Brink does, but the Realm knows better.”

“Yes, true.” Darius gave me a slight bow. “When a vampire vows to protect something, he does it with everything he has. We have made such a vow to these animals. As of right now, our oath is being called into question. Someone has not only broken into this land on multiple occasions, but has imprisoned one of these creatures and bled her dry. That is unacceptable. Vlad has assigned me to find this person, and great honor will come to me if I succeed. Given that the mistress herself just saved your life, hopefully our objective is as important to you as it is to me.”

“Even if it isn’t, very few people could’ve gotten through that spell like I did. Our mark will be coming for me.” I dropped my head to my hands. “Quite the pickle you’ve gotten yourself into, Reagan. Forming a line of people who want to bring you down.”

“Who else wishes you harm?” A strange ruthlessness filled his voice. It almost sounded possessive.

I shrugged it off. “Doesn’t matter. Okay, time for a quick question-and-answer segment. First, why are you still alive in the sunlight? I thought that was a no-no.”

“I am in no danger. It is not real sunlight, merely magic. Unicorns are our exact opposites; they thrive in the glow of sunshine, and their spirit and power diminishes in the dark. We have altered our territory in the Realm to continually stay in darkness, so that they may stay in constant magical light. For that, they have deigned us worthy. Our loyalty to them, and our vigilance to make sure they are kept secret and protected, has created a partnership. They allow us a certain amount of blood to make a special brew. This brew is integral to our future.”

“You’re talking about the turning potion used to create new vampires.” His look turned flat. “Come on. Everyone knows you guys use one. That’s not secret.”

“The ingredients are.”

“Clearly. Fine. But why are they excited about being trapped on this island? Why don’t they want other magical creatures to know they exist?”

“Do you recall how it felt to ingest their blood?”

A surge of joy filled my body. The craving to run after the beast and latch on to the wound in its neck took hold of me. I turned away and shut my eyes, fighting the desire that had come out of nowhere.

“The closest thing to that feeling is the Brink drug heroin,” Darius said in a cool tone, striding toward me. “But that craving doesn’t come close to the residual desire for unicorn blood. Magic has great perks, but with it comes great pitfalls.” His hand landed on my upper back and slowly ran down my spine. Tingles erupted, but I didn’t shrug him off. The craving for unicorn blood slowly subsided. “Our blood counteracts the desire. I thought our blood and theirs would be sold as a pair, but when I apprehended that mage the other night, only unicorn blood was in his possession.”

“You’re saying that vampires have loose lips somewhere, but they might not be in on it.”

“It is too early to tell.”

“But you could be, essentially, hunting one of your own.”

“Yes.”

“Well, if we are, let’s hope they aren’t as old and fast as you, huh?” I stepped away from him. “I don’t want any of your blood.”

Hunger flashed in his eyes. “Let’s wait and see.” The next moment, confusion bled through his expression. He minutely shook his head. “I apologize for how that sounded. I meant, if you need more of their blood, you might need something to reduce the craving.”

“Nice save. How’s the leg?”

“The bullet has worked its way out.”

“Happy, happy.” I redid my ponytail. “So if knowledge of unicorns was widespread, they’d probably be hunted and destroyed in a mad panic to consume them. Do the elves know about them?”

“The royal cabinet do. They are happy with this arrangement.”

“Of course they are. They don’t want a bunch of magical people running amok, trying to get high. That would be the easiest way for them to lose control.” I took a last look around the lovely meadow. “Let’s get to work.”

He nodded and led us to the right.

“Did you leave your trap or whatever you’d planned?” I asked as we stepped into the trees. Another of those majestic animals, though not as big, stood off to the side, watching us. All I could see was that horn, though. It looked gilded and lethal, over a foot long, and with a dullish point that you’d surely feel as it rammed through your middle.

Not like you’d miss many things, dull or otherwise, that rammed through your middle.

“I decided saving your life was top priority,” he said in a matter-of-fact sort of way.

“Thanks,” I muttered, a little embarrassed. This was unfamiliar territory.

A soft rustling caught my attention as we wandered through a patch of dense trees. A colt—or whatever unicorns called their young—peeked its head through a leafy bush, its horn nothing more than a tiny nub. As I walked, it wobbled out, its legs shaky.

“Holy smokes, stop the presses.” I halted and felt a silly smile crawl across my face. At half my height, it was not little by any means, but the critter still seemed brand new. “Look how cute!”

Before I knew what I was doing, I had walked toward it with my hand out. “Hello!”

It wobbled toward me, its legs bending awkwardly and threatening to give out.

“No! Don’t!” Darius shouted.

Before his blur of movement could intercept, the colt’s nose rubbed against my palm and then fell toward my body. I wrapped my arms around its neck and laughed with glee. The memory of the blood wasn’t controlling me, though—I was just enjoying some cuddle time with a seriously cute animal.

“How adorable is this?” I laughed again and backed off. “But where is your mama, little baby?”

“You should be dead. It is forbidden to touch their young.” Darius stalked toward the bush. He paused for a moment, and then said, “Come here, Reagan.”

The way he said it, deep and vicious, raised the small hairs on the back of my neck. I gently pushed the baby, who was trying to nuzzle my stomach, and joined him. As I peered over the hedge, a blast of anger rose up through me.

A unicorn stood in mid-stride, frozen in space. The residual items of birth trailed along the ground from the animal’s glistening backside. It looked as though it had birthed its baby, walked a few feet, and then gotten snared in a spell.

“And now we know how the unicorn was bled dry,” I said, reaching for my sword. My hand grasped emptiness. “Crap.”

“Can you break the magic without your sword?”

Not without revealing what I was. “Keep that little baby away.”

“We are forbidden to touch them.”

“I might not be able to get Mama free. How many do you want to lose to this magical trap, one or two?”

I barely heard his soft growl of annoyance before he took up space between the colt and me. “Get away, small creature. Do not touch me.”

“That’s…one way to do it.” I closed my eyes, once again feeling the vibrations of the magical currents. They didn’t reach out for my touch, and certainly didn’t swirl around my fingers. Instead, they kind of buzzed right where they were.

I stepped back and looked at the sky. “It seems like a simple enough freezing spell. I’ve seen these used on people, though with much less power. The thing is…” I cranked my neck, wishing I had my sword. “The way it was done, I am positive this is the same guy who cast the other spell. It has less power, though. Significantly.”

“Did he not mask the power of the other?”

“He wasn’t masking the power so much as the type of spell. It was harder to break through than I was expecting.” I analyzed it further, wanting to be as sure as I could. “He clearly laid this spell like a snare, waiting for something to walk into it. But I have no way of seeing if there’s a defensive situation disguised in it.”

“There isn’t. No, little creature, I am not to be touched! Begone, silly thing.” He flinched away from its seeking nose. It stomped the ground with its foot, then wobbled toward him. He contorted his body so its seeking nose couldn’t touch his hip, then his waist. He looked like he was playing Twister standing upright. Finally, he sighed in exasperation when it nuzzled his stomach, and then dropped his hands to his sides, relenting. “Any defense woven into a freezing spell would result in the trapped victim dying. If she died, her blood would quickly turn black and unusable, like ours does. Can you get her out? I have something that might help, but if he used even a fraction of the power he used in his other trap, my spell won’t be enough.”