“Are you mad? He will never help you!” Agatha declared.
She stared into his eyes a few moments longer and then calmly turned away. She didn’t know what had possessed her to say he could decide whether to help her go home, but she would stand by her decision. She would not force him to do this for her. Yula cleared the breakfast dishes. Mr. Squibbles jumped into the old woman’s apron pocket to stay out of everybody’s way.
Naomi rose from the table and began putting on her winter gear. “Where are you going?” Tavik asked standing up also.
She shrugged. “Out for a walk.”
“I’ll go with you.” He swung Yula’s cloak onto his shoulders. Agatha turned her back on them. It hurt Naomi to see her do that. She admired the witch. She hoped they’d be able to mend their differences before she left.
“Wait for me,” Mr. Squibbles said as he struggled out of Yula’s apron pocket, but Yula knocked him back in and sealed it with her hand.
“Be back by lunch,” she said by way of farewell.
They picked their way across the plateau silently. It was an even bleaker place in the sunshine. Small twisted shrubs and prickly scrub grass were all that grew there. It was hard to understand why unicorns might want to roam there except for the isolation. They made their way to the edge and looked over the rocky drop. The wind whipped and tugged at them. Tavik put his arm around her waist to ground her. They stood like that for a while, huddled against each other.
“You won’t be able to come back if you leave will you?”
She shook her head and burrowed deeper into her cloak. He pulled her into his arms and held her close, letting her put her face against him to escape the wind.
“I don’t want to let you go,” he told her.
She nodded silently and pressed herself closer. She hadn’t had a conscious thought since leaving the cottage. She was just going on autopilot now as she waited for what happened next to occur.
“Naomi, look at me.”
She lifted her head and looked at him. He smoothed away the few loose strands of hair that whipped across her face. “What do you want?” he asked.
She scrunched her eyes closed and leaned her forehead against him to avoid answering. He lifted her chin back up to look at him. She tried to duck her head again, but he laid it the length of her jaw and held her steady.
“I don’t want to say,” she murmured.
“You have to.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry Tavik, but I want to go home,” she choked out. He held her tighter and nodded.
“I know,” he whispered. He turned his head and kissed her softly on the cheek. Tears slid sluggishly down her face, leaving frost tracks behind them. His warm lips kissed them away.
She sniffled and looked miserably down the plateau’s side. She wanted to know when the idea of leaving began to hurt. The pain had begun gradually but when? Her mind flickered back through past events, but she couldn’t find the defining moment. She liked these people. She wasn’t ready to let them go, but she wasn’t the one letting go. She was the one leaving. It was her choice. She’d been so gung-ho to go home once upon a time. Now, she stood on the brink of departure and was looking back with regret. She wiped angrily at her face. She was almost at her goal. She hadn’t asked to come here. She hadn’t wanted to. She had every right to go home. Home was sane, safe, and had all sorts of comforts that didn’t exist here. She shouldn’t feel bad about leaving, but she did. She felt awful.
“Let’s go back,” he said. He turned them toward the cottage, but she balked. She didn’t want to go back to the cottage. It wasn’t time. She wasn’t ready. Tavik scooped her up into his arms in a bridal carry and began striding back. She reflexively tried to wiggle out of his grasp. His hold tightened. It dimly reminded her of the last time he’d carried her. Their wedding day. She looked up at him and saw a muscle in his jaw twitching. She ran her free hand along the muscle to soothe it. He had frost tracks on his face too.
She emitted a small teary hiccup and wrapped her arms around his neck and drifted into a no man zone in her head. She was going home. This was supposed to be a happy day. She couldn’t stop crying. She came back to herself when he stopped outside the cottage. She was in no state to appreciate the fact that he'd carried her a couple of miles without slackening his hold or slowing his pace. He set her on her feet and gently pushed her forward.
Agatha sat at the table, pouring over her map again. She looked up at their entrance and gave them a sullen glare. “Well?”
“Naomi’s going home,” he announced. Agatha blinked a moment in surprise at the news. She looked back and forth between the pair, then back down at her map.
“The best chance of attracting a unicorn is at night. You should rest up now. It may be a long vigil,” she said to the map.
He wordlessly moved to the bed in the far corner. Naomi hung back. Yula sidled up beside her. “You should spend what time you have left with him.” She blinked and looked at her.
“Did you find out anything about your sons?”
A spark of pleasure appeared in her eye. “I know where both of them are. Ryan, my oldest, has become a blacksmith for one of the armies, and Warrick is an infantryman in the same army and one of them is married. Agatha couldn’t tell which one, but I now have a daughter.” Naomi smiled, happy that Yula had learned good news. She patted Naomi’s back. “Now go rest,” she said.
She looked at the bed where Tavik lay. Yula and Agatha had used it the previous nights. He'd lain down fully clothed. His eyes were closed. She moved over and got into the bed as gently as possible to not disturb him if he’d already fallen asleep. He opened his eyes though, and opened his arms. She slipped into them, and the two fell asleep holding each other.
Her phantom unicorn came back to taunt her. He stood perfectly still for her now as she approached. She reached out her hand, and he didn't move. As her hand grazed his cheek, he lowered his head and rammed his horn through her heart.
She shot up in bed with a gasp. Her hands instantly checked her chest for a stab wound. Tavik sat up too and blinked sleepily at her.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded but pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, not wanting to lie back down. He ran a hand down her back. “It was just a bad dream,” she told him.
He leaned back against the wall and pulled her back to lie against him. She allowed herself to be uncurled and laid her head on his chest. “How long before dark?” she asked.
He looked toward the windows. “A few more hours.”
“Oh.” He kissed the top her head, and they watched the day slip slowly away from the comfort of the bed. Yula and Agatha were in and out. They conferred in hushed tones, not wanting to disturb the two younger people.
Naomi watched Yula tidying the cottage. “You won’t hold any of this against Yula once this is over, will you?” She felt Tavik shake his head above her.
“No, I won’t. I will have to re-assume the helm when I go back. Errilol is too distrusted to allow the people to see his mark, but I know I can trust her not to breathe a word of this to anyone, even to her sons.”
“So you’ll let her go see them?”
“She may go and stay with them if she wishes. I can’t defend why I didn’t ever help her find her sons or show any interest in doing so.” Naomi didn’t reproach him for his willing oversight. They had all been through so much the past couple of days. It would be cruel to start slinging guilt around; especially since she felt she could be slapped with a hefty dollop herself.
The sun set as the four humans and one mouse took their last meal together. The mood was somber. Once everyone took their final bite, Agatha had produced the clothes she’d been wearing when she’d arrived at Harold’s Pass and said she should probably put them back on. It felt strange to be back in her sweatshirt and jeans. Tavik fingered the ribbed hem of her sweatshirt for a long time. He wouldn’t tell her what he was thinking.
Agatha had been looking over the map and finally rolled it back up. “It’s time. We should move a good ways from the cottage. Naomi, show me where you last saw the unicorn. Everyone dress warmly. I don’t know how long we’ll have to stay out there. Hopefully a unicorn will appear promptly and let us get this over with.”
Naomi grimaced as put on a cloak. She wanted to drag her feet but wouldn’t let herself. If she wouldn’t say stop, then she shouldn’t delay. Everyone trudged out of the cottage and headed away to look for a unicorn.
To attract the unicorn, Tavik had to distance himself from the women. In theory, the unicorn would allow him to approach and communicate with the beast, but the only records they had of unicorn encounters were of kills. None of them knew how the unicorn would react when asked to perform a favor.
The night was very cold, and they couldn’t start a fire because it would keep all the unicorns away and attract less pleasant creatures. The three women huddled together to stay warm, but they had quickly given up the hope of maintaining any feeling in their toes, noses, or finger tips. Naomi couldn’t imagine how cold Tavik was off by himself. He didn’t huddle and shiver like them. He stood tall and stared ahead. She peered hard around the plateau for a glimpse of shimmering white, but the plateau was empty and silent. She prayed they would not have to wait out there long. She didn’t want anyone to catch frostbite for her. After several hours, Tavik began walking toward them. She noticed his break in position with relief.
“Tavik, stop!” Agatha shouted. Naomi jerked to face the witch. She couldn’t be serious. They were slowly freezing to death. Enough was enough. “Look.” Agatha pointed. She looked where she directed and felt her heart both fall and flutter. Standing twenty yards away was a unicorn. Tavik noticed the beast too and faced it. The unicorn pranced around. Steam rose in thin wisps from his gleaming white coat and huge clouds drifted from his mouth. “Approach the unicorn slowly,” Agatha instructed.
He looked over his shoulder at his mother. Naomi couldn’t be sure in the wan light of the moon, but she thought he rolled his eyes. She hid a smile. Her eyes darted back to the unicorn. It was cautiously edging toward him.
Tavik stood his ground and let the unicorn come to him. The unicorn reached out its neck. Naomi’s heart skipped as her nightmare came back to her. Her eyes were glued to the horn tip. Her breath caught every time it dipped down toward Tavik’s chest.
“Why the little squirt brought carrots,” Agatha breathed.
She turned to the witch incredulously, not believing that she had just called him a little squirt. Yula chuckled. She turned back and watched the unicorn nudge Tavik’s shoulder obviously wanting more carrots. He swatted the unicorn’s head away good naturally. The moonlight gleamed off Tavik’s teeth as he smiled.
“Don’t take all night, Tavik!” Agatha called.
The unicorn’s head shot up to look at the three women. She feared Agatha would scare the beast away with her shout, but Tavik quickly recaptured his attention with another piece of carrot. She thought she heard him say something to the beast but couldn’t make out any of the words. The unicorn stepped back as if to consider a request. She held her breath. This was it. Either the beast agreed or-- they would just try again with a different unicorn. She didn’t know if she could do this over and over every night if they had to go through a number of unicorns to find one to take her back to her home.
Her eyes stayed with Tavik and the unicorn, and although she didn’t blink, it took her a second to process the fact that he'd turned and was motioning her to come to him. Yula gave her a helpful push, and she suddenly found herself in motion towards them. As she got closer, she discerned the unhappy smile on Tavik’s face. She stopped a yard away and stared dumbly at them. He motioned for her to come closer. She crept closer slowly. He lunged forward and grabbed her arm and jerked her to them. She stumbled into him and scrambled to turn around to face the unicorn. The unicorn tossed his mane about in displeasure. She pressed back against Tavik afraid that the horn would come at her.
He rubbed her arms to soothe her. “Calm down. He won’t hurt you.”
She tried to calm down, but she wasn't as sure as Tavik, after all the unicorn’s horn was pointed at her. “He says he'll send you home. All you must do is picture it, and when he pricks you, you will be sent there.”
“He said all that?” She felt him smile against her ear.
“More or less.”
“More or less!” she squawked.
“Essentially.”
She directed a glare at him and heard him chuckle. “I am going to miss you, Naomi,” he said and softly kissed her ear. She sucked in a breath and felt it freeze her lungs. Her heart was pounding.
“Close your eyes and picture your home,” he repeated. She did as instructed and imagined her kitchen. “Now hold out your hand.” She lifted her arm blindly. She steeled herself but began to panic. She hadn’t said good bye properly to anyone. They hadn’t wanted to do it in case it didn’t happen that night. She reached with her free hand for one of Tavik’s larger ones and threaded his fingers with hers.
“I’ll miss you too,” she said. He squeezed her hand and let it go. He must have stepped away. She couldn’t feel him near her.
She felt the point land on her middle finger and steady. She bit her lip and willed herself not to open her eyes. She desperately kept the image of her kitchen in her mind. This was it. She was about to leave. The horn point lifted from her finger, and she squeezed her eyes tight.
The strange howl felt like a physical blow. Her eyes flew open. The unicorn’s head jerked toward the sound. Tavik was suddenly at her back again and took her by the arm. The unicorn wheeled around toward the source of the awful sound. “Tavik, what is it?”
He turned her toward Agatha and Yula. “Run! Go back to the cottage!” The unicorn neighed harshly and stamped the ground. She started to sprint toward the two women who were madly motioning for her to hurry. The howl sounded again this time in multiples and closer. When she was a few feet away, the two other women picked up their skirts and started running in the same direction.
“Is it Umbreks?” Naomi shouted.
“No, that sounds like Golgoffs,” Agatha panted.
“Golgoffs?”
“Worse than Umbreks.”
Naomi looked over her shoulder for Tavik but didn’t find him running behind them. He'd stayed with the unicorn. She skidded to a halt and scrambled to go back to him.
“Tavik!” she screamed.
“Naomi, go!” he shouted. He stood with empty hands as large murky objects raced toward him. The unicorn stood by his side with head lowered ready to fight.
Yula grabbed her arm and began pulling her back. “We must get back to the cottage!”
“I’m not leaving Tavik!”
“You have no hope of fighting them without weapons, and even with weapons, the odds are against us,” Mr. Squibbles said from Yula’s apron pocket.
“He’ll be killed!”
“Errilol will protect him,” Yula argued.
She struggled to get free of her. “Errilol protects no one. He enjoys the death, even his follower’s.”
“Agatha has weapons that can kill the beasts, but she’ll need our help,” Mr. Squibbles said. Naomi looked toward the cottage and saw the witch madly scrambling around inside and tossing things about. Yula let her go. Together they raced to the cottage. They stopped at the doorway though and hovered there. They didn’t want to get hit by any of the flying objects the witch was tossing around.
“What can we do?” Yula asked.
Agatha pointed at a sword, said a word of magic, and it whizzed out of the house. “Tavik, sword!” Naomi screamed. He turned just in time to catch it. He threw the sheath aside and turned back to the Golgoffs just as they closed in on the unicorn and him.
Agatha threw more things around the room.
“What are you looking for?” Yula asked.
Agatha lifted up a scarf to reveal a crystal ball. “This!” she exclaimed and held it up. The witch ran back outside with the crystal ball.
“What are we supposed to do?” Yula demanded.
“Pull down the cottage’s wheel,” Mr. Squibbles commanded. Yula jerked the wheel down. The cottage began to lift off the ground.
“I’m not leaving Tavik!” Naomi shouted and jumped out of the house before it floated any higher.
“Naomi!” Yula screamed.
She scrambled to her feet.
“Here take this,” Mr. Squibbles called. A tower shield fell flat beside her. She picked it up and staggered a moment under its weight. It had to weigh at least fifty pounds. How the mouse had gotten it through the doorway was a mystery that would have to be figured out later. She heaved the shield and put her arm through the brace. It came up to her chin. She began jogging as best as she could back toward the others.
When she finally got a clear view of the Golgoffs, she had to wonder if evolution worked a little differently on this planet. Umbreks were bad enough, but Golgoffs looked like Rob Zombie had designed a Muppet. They were seven feet tall with shaggy hair like a buffalo but stood upright with massive arms. They had thick tusks that curved down from their mouths, sharp slicing claws tipped each hand, but for some reason, their fur was neon orange.
Agatha stood at the edge of the fray with her smoky crystal ball. She held it high overhead and began chanting indecipherable words. Fog spilled out of the sphere to blanket the field. Naomi went to her side to guard her. She seemed very vulnerable with only the crystal ball. The witch looked at her but didn’t stop her chanting. Naomi thought maybe she couldn’t, not if she wanted to continue producing the fog.
There was a roar that made Naomi jump, and it hadn’t come from a Golgoff. She watched Tavik charge one of the orange monsters. He leapt on it and sent it to the ground. He rose up with his sword and plunged it into the beast’s chest. He threw his head back and roared again. The sound wasn’t human. She gasped when she saw his eyes. They were consumed with a burning green light.
“Is that Errilol? Has he summoned him?” Agatha nodded and continued her chanting.
The unicorn was holding its own. He blinked in and out of the field striking the Golgoffs with his horn wherever he appeared. Hard to believe some guys with dogs were ever able to kill one.
Tavik was climbing off the Golgoff he’d killed when another blindsided him with a massive claw and threw him into the air. He flew several yards away. With the shield, Naomi ran to help him. He landed face down.
“Tavik, are you all right?”
He didn’t stir.
The Golgoff that had thrown him was snorting and scratching the ground. He was getting ready to charge. She held the shield tighter, but the Golgoff had to be three times her weight. It’d make road kill of her.
“Tavik!”
A low chuckling came from him. It made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. “Tavik, get up!”
The Golgoff charged. She crouched behind the shield and braced herself. It was all she could think to do. The Golgoff’s paws slammed the earth as he ran at her. She could feel the impact of his steps through the ground. “Oh God, this is going to be bad,” she said to herself as she screwed her eyes shut and waited for the slam. The ground shook and suddenly stopped. She felt a little bump on the shield and then there was a distant thump. She peeked over the shield and found the Golgoff yards away, sprawled on his back.
She turned back to Tavik and found him standing behind her. “Thank God, are you all right?” He didn’t reply.
“Tavik?”
Before she could protest or even offer it as she would have done, he grabbed the shield and wrenched it off her arm. She screamed as her shoulder was dislocated. He put his arm through the brace and hefted the shield. He looked down at her, and the burning green eyes stared through her. That wasn’t Tavik in there anymore.
“I’ll be back for you,” he said and went after the remaining Golgoffs. She didn’t romanticize his statement for a second. He wasn’t coming back to help her. He was going to finish her off once he was done. What were they going to do?
Her ears perked up as she heard a change in Agatha’s chanting. The fog took on a strange odor that made her face feel numb. “Stop that, witch!” Errilol shouted from within the fog. She struggled to stand and began stumbling toward Agatha, but it was difficult. The fog was no longer a simple fog. It had sleeping gas in it. She covered her mouth to try and lessen the effect. She heard pounding footsteps and turned to see Tavik running toward Agatha. He was going to attack her. She ran to intercept him, gasping as her steps jarred her arm. Her legs burned as she sprinted. He didn’t see her coming at him. He was only a couple paces away from Agatha when she tackled him from the side. They went down, and she pinned the shield to his chest with the weight of her body.
“Tavik, wake up! You gotta get rid of Errilol!”
His eyes when he looked at her still burned green. “I’ll leave when everything’s dead.”
He raised the sword to slash at her. She grappled for it, but she could never hope to win an arm wrestling match against him.
“Tavik!” she screamed.
He coughed, and a speck of impossible hope entered her. He was growing weaker. The fog was having a quicker effect on him. When he dropped the sword, she thought it was over, but he’d only dropped it to grab her throat. She clawed at his hand, but his hold tightened. Dark blotchy spots began to take up her vision. Everything was beginning to fade. She wasn’t going to make it. Her face calmed, and she mouthed the only thing she could think. She let her eyes slip shut and went completely lax.
There was a harsh neighing off to their right, and cloven hooves galloped toward them. Suddenly a blinding horn slashed Tavik’s chest. He screamed and snatched his hand away from her throat. She fell off of him and took a deep breath, which set off a coughing fit that threatened to make her head explode or wish it would.
“Naomi?” She turned to him with her fist to her mouth as her lungs continued to turn inside out. His eyes were beautifully blue again. She gave him a pained smile.
They stared at each other until a harsh snarl drew their attentions. A pair of Golgoffs were approaching them. Tavik was in no shape to fight, and the unicorn had received wounds in its battle. It was slashed across one flank, and it moved jerkily with exhaustion. Standing a few yards away, Agatha still chanted her incantation, but she had grown hoarse. Fog barely spilled from the globe now. Tavik pulled her close and held up the shield, but his arm shook under the weight. He didn’t have any strength left. The Golgoffs lowered their heads in preparation to attack. Before they could, the cottage dropped out of the sky onto them.
“Did we squash’em?” Yula called.
Naomi giggled and began to cough again. “Deus ex suburbia,” she wheezed.
Continue to Chapter 15.
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