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 needto 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.
