Ellie and the Prince (Faraway Castle #1)(38)
Omar stood very still, as if afraid to move. “He disappeared as soon as we got here.”
The unicorn suddenly lifted her head, her rounded ears flicking forward. She was silvery in the starlight, clearly visible against the forest trees. Omar released Ellie’s hand and moved toward the trail. “Can you convince her to lie down?” he asked, his voice low and tense.
“I’ll try.” Quickly, quietly, she approached the mother. “You need to lie down and . . . and try not to glow. Some bad men are hunting you. We came to warn you. If you lie down, they might pass by without seeing you.”
After a moment’s consideration, the unicorn stepped away from her nursing baby, folded her legs, and lowered her body onto the dead leaves beneath a thick patch of ferns. Her baby staggered over to bunt his nose against her, tried to frisk, and fell over. He lay there, his belly full, his eyes drifting shut, while his mother gently licked him. Even as the moon slid above the mountaintop, sending silvery light into the clearing, Ellie was pleasantly surprised to observe that the unicorns were difficult to see. The sleeping baby glowed softly, but his mother surrounded him with her body so that little light escaped.
After arranging a few fronds to conceal them even more, Ellie returned to where she’d last seen Omar. At first she thought he had left them, but then he beckoned and she saw him crouched at the foot of a large tree on a rise overlooking the trail. Ellie crouched beside him, clutching her pack.
They heard a horse whinny and a man shout. Close. Too close. Ellie grasped Omar’s arm. His muscles were tight; he was ready to spring. The pistol was in his hand. She let go, realizing he didn’t need distraction. A gun fired nearby, and someone shouted. Omar pushed Ellie to the ground and shielded her body with his. Lights flickered through the brush, more guns fired, and several voices began to shout. Ellie and Omar lay flat in the wet leaf litter.
Then a terrible noise seemed to stop her heart, an unearthly roar that shook the earth beneath her. Men and horses screamed in terror, guns fired, and hoofbeats pounded the ground. Ellie breathed in the peaty smell of moss and earth, and she felt Omar’s heartbeat against her shoulder. Not until the gunfire began had she realized how close the hunters were to their hiding place. Was the riding trail that near?
She knew the source of that roar: The Gamekeeper had responded to her message more quickly than she’d imagined possible. Perhaps he had still lingered near the resort when she sent it. Who could know? But he had come through for them tonight.
One glance over her shoulder toward the unicorns, and Ellie scrambled into motion. The mother still crouched over her baby, but her ears were flat back, and her horn and eyes glowed red. Ellie pulled out her spray and again filled the glade with the aroma of flowering clover and grasses.
“You needn’t fear,” she said softly. “The Gamekeeper is an enchanted beast who protects all magical creatures. He will chase away the men who wished to harm you. And if you are willing, he will take you to a place where many of your kind live in peace and safety. I understand your fear—he frightened me too when I first met him. But now I know he is good and kind. If you doubt me, ask the brownies who live and work at Faraway Castle. Or the lake monster.”
The unicorn’s horn and eyes darkened and disappeared in the night. Ellie again felt trust flow toward her. The sensation was strange and gratifying. All was quiet behind her, so she dared to ask, “Once we know the bad men are gone, will you come with us to the resort? We will shelter you there in secret until the Gamekeeper can transport you to the refuge.”
Sensing the creature’s uncertainty, she added, “The Gamekeeper will not take you to the refuge against your will. But I am certain you and your little one will be safe with him. Far safer than you can be anywhere else in these mountains.”
Again Ellie sensed the unicorn’s thoughts. “You wish to wait until morning? Um, let me speak to my companion.”
She shuffled back to where she had left Omar, but he was not there. “Omar?” she inquired softly, trying not to panic.
“Here.” He spoke aloud from a short distance away. He sounded calm, so she pushed through the underbrush and walked down the slope to the bridle path. The Gamekeeper was nowhere in sight, but another man stood with Omar. “Briar’s horse bolted along with the others,” Omar explained.
“My mistake,” Briar said. “I dismounted to try to distract Prince Maximilian just before the Gamekeeper spoke his piece.”
“Did you see him?” Omar asked.
“The Gamekeeper? No. It’s a good thing he came when he did. I delayed and muddled things up for as long as I could, the dwarfs dawdled, and the brownies at the stable were as inefficient as a brownie can bear to be, but ol’ Prince Max headed for this place like a compass arrow finds the North Pole. First one, then all four mighty hunters started shooting at patches of moonlight. I’m just glad you’re safe. Omar says you found the unicorn and she’s a new mother.”
“Yes, and they are both doing well,” Ellie answered. “Thank you for delaying the hunting party for us.”
“Still, if not for the Gamekeeper, we would be in a bad way right now,” Omar admitted. “Where is he? Might he be wounded?”
“I never saw him at all, but then I ducked for cover after that first shot. I’ll scout around if you like. I don’t like the idea of leaving a wounded compatriot behind.” Briar sounded as calm and cheerful as ever.