The Unicorn Thief by R. R. Russell Page A

Janessa had confessed her thievery to him. She’d been proud to add that she hadn’t taken “a darn thing” in over a year.
    The girls kept bickering. “That’s enough!” Ben’s numbness blew off in a blast of anger. “Stop picking at each other. You’re family!”
    The girls exchanged skeptical glances.
    â€œYou’re all you have anyway. More than I have!”
    Twig’s flashlight glow glinted off her eyes, strikingly blue, shining with tears. “You have us, Ben,” she whispered. “You have us too.”
    â€œWe’re sorry,” Janessa said. They all nodded and murmured their agreement. Mist-damp heads bowed.
    Ben ducked his head and rubbed quickly at his eyes. Crying . For pity’s sake, standing here crying in front of all these silly girls.
    Twig reached for Ben’s arm. “Indy—he’s not all you have now, Ben. But he is a lot. We’re going to get him back.”
    Yes, he is all I have! Ben wanted to shout. He’s all I want. He’s never let me down .
    But what if Indy had let him down? He’d gone quietly back to Terracornus. He’d left Ben sleeping in the hollow. He’d gone with someone else, without a cry of protest, without a whinny of good-bye.

Chapter 11
    Wonder hesitated at the open door to the passage, then sniffed again and plunged through the tunnel of the hollowed-out tree so fast that Twig had to release the reins in order to get out of her way.
    Rain Cloud plodded after Wonder. He shook his head in disapproval at the dark, narrow space. It had taken Ben and Twig and all the other girls—and ultimately Wonder’s pleas for the old pony to follow her—to get Rain Cloud through the low-hanging hemlock boughs that encircled the passage tree. Ben wrapped Rain Cloud’s reins around his wrist. He returned the pony’s gaze of near terror with one as close to confidence as he could muster.
    The girls stood there five in a row, hand in hand, faces lit by the faint beam of Mandy’s flashlight. They’d made it back to the passage with Rain Cloud, without any run-ins with the herd. Ben gave them a wave good-bye and shut the passage door, then locked it.
    After about an hour, Emmie had found Merrill and returned with a hastily written reply; he was going to meet them at an old herders’ outpost not far from the passage. He urged them to stay off the road, to stay hidden as much as possible.
    Ben led Rain Cloud through the passage, into Terracornus. The misty air surrounding the Terracornus side of the passage filled Ben’s lungs—a different air than that of the island. Heavier, thick with the fragrance of new silverfire leaves. It would grow even more pungent with the warmth of day.
    He’d loved that smell when he was younger. The smell of being with Father, with his herdsmen in Silverforest. Working hard, yet free. He used to long for it every day on the island. Now the aroma of peace had become the scent of fear. The leaves whispered of freedom gone. When the wind blew, the forest groaned for what it wanted to be again. Morning dew dripped from the leaves—tears for the distant cries of unicorns, carried by the wind from the battlefields and training grounds beyond the forest where they toiled and bled. Would the trail of Indy’s scent lead them there?
    ***
    Wonder carried Twig through Silverforest, head bent in determination. Every now and then, she paused to sniff at the ground or the brush, and Rain Cloud stopped to pant and bellow his protest at being pushed so hard.
    Purple blossoms covered some of the smaller trees. Fallen flowers formed patches of mauve carpet, softening the forest floor. New leaves were unfolding overhead, bright, pale green in the glow of the sunshine. It was hard for Twig to imagine Terracornus being a place unicorns would want to escape. Hard to believe it was a dangerous, warlike place.
    Wonder circled back and nipped at Rain Cloud