My Secret Unicorn by Linda Chapman

Author:Linda Chapman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141901503
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2013-03-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Twilight plunged forward, and Lauren buried her hands in his mane. He galloped into the starry sky faster than she’d ever known him go before, and the wind made her eyes water as they sped towards the Blue Ridge Mountains. They flew over the woods and then she started looking out for the big craggy mountain.

The full moon made the landscape below surprisingly bright, and Lauren peered down, trying to match the trees and winding rivers with the lines on the silvery map. There was the sweeping bend of a river, and a big, sprawling farm on its banks. Then, up ahead, she spotted the dark bulk of the mountain range and the craggy mountain that was marked on the map, and she realized in relief that they were going in the right direction.

Twilight flew confidently over the foothills and then through sweeping valleys with the mountains rising up on either side. Lauren gazed down at the hickory forests that covered them, and heard an owl hooting somewhere in their depths. Another owl replied, its call echoing eerily along the valley. Lauren kept her hands twisted in Twilight’s mane, trying not to feel afraid.

As they drew closer to the mountains, the wind grew stronger, and Twilight sometimes had to struggle against it as he climbed steadily upward. Lauren huddled on his back, feeling glad she’d worn her warmest jacket. Tugged by the wind, the map flapped wildly in Lauren’s fingers. Suddenly it was whipped free and snatched into the air.

‘Oh no!’ Lauren gasped. ‘Twilight! I’ve lost the map!’

She peered down in dismay as the piece of parchment fluttered towards the forest.

‘Fly after it!’ she cried desperately. ‘Otherwise we’ll never find our way to the mountain!’

Twilight swooped down after the fluttering paper, so steeply that Lauren was afraid she would slide over his head. She clung on to his neck as the map reached the forest and disappeared among the mass of branches and spring leaves.

‘We have to find it!’ Lauren exclaimed, and Twilight plunged in between the treetops, snapping twigs and sending branches springing back into Lauren’s face. She ducked and covered her face with one hand to avoid being scratched. At last there was a gentle thud, and Twilight landed on the forest floor at the foot of a towering oak tree. It was much darker down here because the branches kept out the moonlight.

Lauren looked around, trying to see what had happened to the precious parchment. ‘Can you see it, Twilight?’ she whispered.

‘Not yet,’ replied the unicorn. ‘But we’ll find it, I know we will.’ He wove in and out of the towering tree trunks while Lauren peered into the darkness. How could she have let the map go? She should have gripped it more tightly …

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