12. Emma

TWELVE

Emma

The woods swallowed up the last slivers of daylight long ago, wrapping us in a shroud of gloom and sending a chill through the air that slid beneath our coats. Daniel's broad furry back was a shadow ahead of me, his gait rolling and heavy, yet still silent. Way quieter than me. We treaded softly, my eyes fixed on the spatters of silver blood that glinted against the dead leaves.

"Over here," I whispered as I spotted another drop, slightly bigger, a sign we were closing in.

Daniel grunted in response, his bear form unable to articulate human speech. Still, his low growl vibrated with understanding.

"This is so much better than what I was doing,” Wade said softly, excitement in his voice.

"I told you he was impressive,” Beth told him, and they exchanged grins.

Daniel switched paths again, and I stumbled a little over a root but managed to stay upright. We weren’t using the flashlights, both because we wanted to keep an eye out for the glowing blood, and because we hadn’t packed any. Just following the unicorn blood seemed like a good plan until the moonlight disappeared. Now, I wasn’t sure all of us would manage to follow the blood without tripping and breaking something. Still, I was willing to try.

Once again, Daniel switched his direction, breathing in deeply every few feet as we moved. For a while, there was no more blood. No glow. Nothing. I began to wonder if we’d lost the unicorn’s track, but Daniel kept on moving forward.

"Can you smell it?" My voice barely broke the silence, fear of startling our quarry keeping me quiet. Daniel’s hearing was way better in his bear form, so it didn’t matter how quietly I spoke.

He paused, sniffing the air with powerful flares of his nostrils, then nodded a heavy, bearish nod.

"Good." I kept trailing behind him, my heart pounding not just from the exertion but also from what we might find.

I wasn’t necessarily worried about getting hurt. Daniel’s protective instincts were always on high alert, but especially now that he was in his element, literally a bear in the woods. He would keep all of us safe no matter what. I was more worried about finding the unicorn dead. Just the idea made my stomach churn. Unicorns were pure, beautiful, and magical, according to everything Beth had told me. It’d weigh heavily on my heart if I had to see something like that.

"I should've brought a flashlight," I muttered to myself, regretting the oversight as the darkness seemed to thicken with each step.

"Rrgh," came Daniel's guttural agreement, or at least I took it as such. Or maybe he was saying a flashlight would’ve been a dead giveaway. It was hard to say.

"This is further than we’ve explored into the woods so far,” Wade told me quietly. "And in a completely different direction. I wouldn’t have thought to go this way, assuming that the unicorns would stay close to the river. It’s fascinating. All very fascinating. I wonder what would draw the creatures to this area.”

"Keep in mind,” Beth told him softly. "The unicorn is hurt. It might be going a different direction in fear or in a panic. The others might not be this way.”

Wade’s brows drew together. "Hmm. Good point.”

We pushed deeper into the forest, the underbrush whispering secrets I wasn't sure I wanted to hear. This forest felt different than any I’d been in before. Maybe because the trees were so old, many the size of a car around, or maybe because there were magical things in this forest, like the unicorns, and that had a way of changing a place. I wasn’t sure which, and I didn’t have time to think about it too much. The trail of unicorn blood led us on, a macabre breadcrumb path that promised only grim tidings at its end.

"Almost there," I breathed, more to steady my nerves than anything else. Daniel rumbled again, the quiet sound barely audible.

I reached out, my fingers sinking into the thick fur along Daniel's massive back. Each stroke was a silent thank you for his strength and presence. His ear flicked at my touch, but he didn't slow down. We had to keep moving.

"Any luck?" I whispered, trying not to disturb the dense silence of the woods too much.

"Rrrhmm," he grunted in response, the bear equivalent of 'still on it.'

We edged forward, our shoes muffled on the leaf-strewn ground. The moon played hide and seek behind the clouds, giving us fleeting glimpses of the blood trail. But even those started to give way as the droplets became scarcer.

"Damn," I hissed under my breath. "We’re losing it."

Daniel let out a low growl, head swinging from side to side. He was searching for something I couldn't see, hear, or smell. But he could. His bear senses were far superior to my human ones in this shadow-soaked forest.

"Still got it?" Hope tugged at the edges of my tone.

A deep rumble vibrated through him, up through my hand still resting on his back. It was all the confirmation I needed.

"Lead the way." I pulled my hand back to let him move unencumbered.

He snorted and pushed forward, his large form surprisingly graceful as he wove through the trees. I followed, trusting Daniel to guide us where we needed to go. Trusting that we'd find the unicorn before it was too late.

Daniel stopped short, then turned to look back at me. He swung his big head back around, indicating he wanted me to look through the brush. Our breaths came out in quick puffs visible in the cool night air as we peered around a bush. There, illuminated by a sliver of moonlight, was the unicorn, majestic even in distress. A man crouched beside it, in a dark robe, his hands covered in silver blood, working a saw back and forth on the unicorn's spiraled horn.

"Hey!" I shouted, as anger and shock flowed through me. "Stop!"

Daniel charged forward on all fours, his growl reverberating through the trees. The man's head snapped up, his eyes meeting mine for a fraction of a second beneath the shadows of his hood before he refocused on his gruesome task, sawing faster now.

My loyal powers blasted out, aimed straight at the man. At the same time, Beth stepped into the clearing, her fingers twitching in the beginnings of an incantation.

She spat out a word I didn’t quite catch. Magic crackled from her fingertips, weaving toward the man in a tangle of light and force.

"Get away from it!" I yelled again, already moving to intercept him if he tried to run. My adrenaline spiked, fueled by anger and the need to protect this poor innocent creature.

We closed the distance quickly, ready to do whatever it took to stop the man from harming the unicorn any further.

The man twisted, a sudden blur of motion that shouldn't have been possible. Beth's incantation, bright and snaking through the air, swerved at the last moment, missing him by inches as he contorted his body in ways that defied normal human anatomy.

"Damn it," Beth cursed under her breath, her spell fizzling out into the night.

Karma, swift and silent, should have hit its mark. But the man ducked, rolled, and sprang up like a coiled spring, evading the attack with an eerie grace. I had never known karma to miss a target before, but something about this man made me one hundred percent sure he wasn’t human. And whatever he was, karma appeared to have a harder time pinning him down. Which didn’t make me happy. Not at all.

I stretched out my hand again, letting my powers flow. "You’re going to get what’s coming to you!”

Again, he moved faster than my eyes could follow, and I felt karma miss him. Felt it deep inside. The sensation was uncomfortable and wrong, like I wouldn’t feel okay again until he was properly punished.

"Son of a—" I clenched my fists, against the bite of the cold air on my skin. "How did he do that? He dodged it. He actually dodged it."

"No one can dodge karma. Emma, be careful, " Beth warned, her tone laced with disbelief and fear. "He's not normal."

No, he wasn’t. He was something far more dangerous than anything we’d faced before.

Daniel came roaring up to the man, but the man moved again, that fast as lightning movement, and… vanished into the trees. My bear shifter roared again, looking between the place he disappeared and me.

I watched the shadows where the man had disappeared. "You guys stay with the unicorn, we’ll catch him."

I bolted through the underbrush, Daniel's massive bear form crashing beside me. Our breaths came out in ragged puffs as we chased the elusive figure weaving through the trees. The man was a shadow, slipping through moonlit clearings and into the dark embrace of the woods with unnatural agility.

"Over there, " I pointed to a rustle in the bushes ahead. But when we got there, nothing. No man, no trace, just the shiver of leaves in the cold night breeze.

Daniel growled, frustrated. He sniffed the air, his head jerking one way and another. He’d go in one direction, then another, before letting out another frustrated growl. The scent trail had gone cold. How? I had no idea.

"Back to the clearing.” We retraced our steps, the eerie silence of the forest closing in around us.

That man… beast, creature, whatever, could be watching us even now. Somehow masking his scent from us. The realization was unsettling on just about every level.

When we returned to the clearing, the sight that greeted us made my chest tighten. Wade and Beth were on the ground next to the unicorn, their hands covered in silver blood, faces pinched with concentration. Within them I sensed fear and uncertainty. Were the unicorn’s wounds life-threatening?

My gaze moved to the creature lying on the ground. I don’t know how to describe being in the presence of a unicorn, but it was overwhelming. Powerful. It was like standing at the edge of a place that took your breath away, that changed you as a person forever. The unicorn was a flawless white color like a pearl, but it shone as if there was a light illuminating it from within. Its mane was long, and its face was somehow both pained and beautiful. It was the picture of beauty… except the terrible wound slicing across its belly.

"You’re going to be okay,” Beth sang softly, stoking its mane. "We’re here to help.”

I knew unicorns communicated through song, but this one didn’t react. It was probably the pain, but I was glad Beth still tried. The unicorn must be so frightened.

"It's bad," Wade said without looking up, his fingers gently probing one of the wounds on the unicorn’s side.

Beth glanced at us, her expression grave. "The horn... he took it."

She was right. It was completely gone, and when the unicorn lifted its head slightly and looked in our direction, my stomach churned. Someone had stolen part of its body. Just cut it off. And for what? I had no idea.

"Can you save the poor thing?" I knelt beside them, helpless.

"We have to try," Wade replied. "It’ll die quickly if we leave it out here."

Okay. I wasn’t a doctor or a healer. I wasn’t the person for this job, but I would do whatever I could to help this unicorn, because it was the right thing to do. I just hoped it’d be enough.

"Let's do what we can." I rolled up my sleeves. We couldn't let the unicorn suffer because of one man's greed.

Beth looked at the unicorn and began to sing. "We’re here to help you. We’re going to try to heal you. You’re badly injured, we know. You’re in pain, we know, but we’ll do our best.”

Wade added on, the deep timbre of his voice so different from Beth’s. "We will have to take you out of the woods to help you properly. I know that can be frightening, but we won’t let any harm come to you, and we’ll bring you back.”

The unicorn lifted its head, dropped it, and its eyes closed. Either it was too exhausted to fight us, or it understood what they were saying and was okay with what we would do next.

"I have emergency supplies in my backpack,” Wade began slowly, "but I’m just going to patch her up for now. We need to get her back to town with me where I have the rest of my supplies.”

Beth nodded. "Back in town, I have a number of potions to help injured animals too.”

Wade took off his backpack and began opening his supplies, his expression serious.

Beth, on the hand, let her hands settle on the unicorn's side. "Where the moss grows, where the birds fly, where the trees reach up into the sky. Animals young and old, creatures forever bold, injury can come, but healing can be done.” Pale pink magic began to flow from her hands, and I could practically feel the unicorn calming beneath her touch.

The blood flow began to slow, and Wade, holding his bandages, smiled at Beth. "You’re very good at that. It’ll help a lot.”

Then, he began to carefully bandage the unicorn. It was a slow process, but none of us rushed him. None of us even spoke until he was done and began to put away his supplies.

"Daniel, can you carry her?" I eyed the unicorn's limp body.

He shifted his massive bear form to kneel beside the injured creature. Beth, Wade, and I lifted the unicorn gently onto his back. The creature stirred, a soft whinny escaping its lips as it was hoisted up onto Daniel's broad back.

Daniel’s back was wide enough that it rested comfortably. His muscles tensed as he prepared to lift.

"Be gentle." Beth stepped back to give him space.

"Okay, let's move."

"Slow and steady." I placed a hand on Daniel’s furry shoulder for reassurance.

He growled softly in acknowledgment, turning his massive head to look at me with those deep green eyes. For a moment, I saw the same protective intensity he had for me.

"Lead the way," I told him, and we started off, the forest shadows swallowing us whole.

The woods were even quieter now, the only sounds being our footsteps and the occasional rustle of leaves. We moved as a unit, bound by the unspoken promise to protect the innocent. Every so often, Daniel would adjust his pace or angle to make the journey smoother for the unicorn.

"Almost there," Wade said after what felt like hours.

We emerged from the woods, the faint lights of town offering a beacon of safety in the distance. Our steps quickened, energized by the sight of home and the hope that the unicorn could still be saved. With every step, Daniel bore not just the wounded creature, but our collective resolve.

"Home stretch, everyone," I announced, my heart lifting. We'd done what we could out here. Now it was up to Wade to heal the poor unicorn. And to us, to catch whoever did this.