I twisted on my heel and found nothing there. It had felt like breath…like someone or something was right here. I swung my hand through the air, feeling for some invisible force. There was nothing.
Reality flickered once more.
A blood-red beast towered before us, a giant of a horse with a twisted horn sticking out of the center of its head. Its dark eyes stared, as Imogen had described, seemingly right into my soul. A whole-body shiver washed over me, leaving cold terror in its wake. This animal was not as it was meant to be. A wrongness emanated from it—hatred, regret, agony.
The horse creature smashed its hoof into the ground and huffed out another hot breath. It was a warning, the only one we would get.
Imogen yelled,“Run!”
CHAPTER 9
“Bodysnatch,” I commanded Imogen as I ran and she more-or-less jogged in place. Why was she moving so slowly? Wasn’t she worried about being impaled? If not for the look of sheer terror on her face, I’d think she was content to remain beside the creature indefinitely. “Bodysnatch the…whatchamacallit, Imogen. The…unicorn?”
“I can’t,” she huffed.
The creature let out a loud, dark sound, as terrifying and unnatural as any demon I’d ever encountered.
“Try,” I told her.
“It doesn’t work like that.”
She was going to get herself killedby a unicornbecause she moved like a turtle. She’d do nothing to save herself, and when she died, she wouldn’t revive. It was up to me to save her. I reached in my bag, retrieved the proper scroll, then ran back for her. I grabbed hold of Imogen’s hand, and cast invisibility upon us.
The scroll fizzled in blue flames, and Imogen faded away.
“Ahh!” Imogen screamed.“What is happening?”
“Shh.”
I could still feel her hand crushing mine, but when I looked at her, or down at myself for that matter, it was as if we didn't exist. Fortunately, she was quiet.
The blackness in the sky faded, leaving a cloudy cover over a naturally setting sun. Evening was upon us, leaving me to wonder if we had lost time in the alternate version of the castle yard. The visually pleasant mirage returned to the castle, hiding the decay beneath. The unicorn disappeared as well, suggesting it was tied to the darker version of reality here. Whether it existed still, as invisible as Imogen and me, was unclear.
Imogen sidled up against me. As I gently led her toward the front of the building, I listened and watched for any sign of the unicorn.
“It’s all right,” I whispered. “You’re unharmed, only invisible. The effects will wear off in approximately seven minutes.”
“Where’s the evil unicorn? Is he here with us? Can he see us if he’s invisible, too?”
“If those who were invisible could see others who were invisible, we would see each other right now. So, no, the unicorn cannot see you.”
Of course that was only a guess. Knowing nothing of unicorns, it was possible seeing through magical spells was a part of their biology. Telling Imogen this would only cause her more distress, so I kept it to myself.
“What’s the deal with that thing?” Imogen asked, squeezing my hand tighter. She was speaking louder, potentially giving our location away if I was wrong about the unicorn.
“Keep moving,” I told her, giving her a gentle tug. The last thing we needed to do was allow my second-to-last invisibility scroll to wear off. I preferred not to use my last invisibility scroll, or to harm the creature. “It appears to be a unicorn, linked to the darker version of the castle.”
“Do you think it’s following our voices?” she asked, then quieter, “Do I need to stop talking?”
“No,” I said, as we reached the front of the building. “We’re fine.”
We were probably fine. There were no sounds of stamping hooves or whinnies. After the landscape had flipped, there was no longer any sign that the demon horse had existed at all. There were no sheep out front, and no car either.
“What are the chances you can use your telephone application to summon our driver right now?” I asked.
“You mean like pull myinvisiblephone out of myinvisiblepocket and somehow figure out what series of pokes to do with myinvisiblefinger?”
“Does that mean the chances are slim?”