Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember

Author:Julia Ember [Ember, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ya
ISBN: 978-1-63476-879-5
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-04-21T04:00:00+00:00

ELIKIA’S HEART beat so fast her ribs shook against my legs. Sweat from her back soaked through my trousers and foam dripped down her dark chest. My own legs felt like mortar, heavy and impossible to move, molded to the mare’s shape. Beside me, Brekna and Kara gasped for breath. Steam rose from the stallion’s wet back. The unicorn foal struggled in the shawl, whinnying to be fed.

As soon as we’d burst from the tent, Arusei’s men had tried to chase after us. But our horses were too fast and well fed, and even the smallest of the poachers outweighed us by stones. I’d lost track of how many miles we’d galloped across the savanna, weeds tangling around the horses’ legs as they ran. I’d made sure to lead us across rivers and dry soil, to make us harder to track. Now that we had reached the road, our tracks would blend with the well-trampled path, and we could finally afford to slow down.

“How far is it? To your father’s village?” Kara asked, her voice coming out as a dry rasp. We needed to find water, for ourselves and the horses.

“A few hours from here, still,” I wheezed. “We’ll need to stop and find water. To drink, give the horses a break, and clean ourselves up if we can. If someone sees us on the road, they’ll have us arrested with all this blood all over us.”

Kara glared at me and then looked away, mouth set in a tight line. “We should never have left them like that, and we deserve whatever happens now. We should never have asked them to go. What were we thinking? Thinking we could just go into a poacher’s camp and get information like a couple of amateur detectives.”

She looked out over the savanna behind us, grinding her teeth.

“Hey,” I said, halting Elikia so I could look her in the eye. “Don’t talk like that. We’re going to get them out of there.”

“They’re probably dead already, like you said they would be. What use does Arusei have for them? And it’s our fault.”

“What chance did we have to free them on our own? We didn’t have the key to that cage, and you saw how fast those men came after us. Besides, if Arusei was going to just kill them, he would have done it. Not strip them and lock them in a cage. He’s using them to make sure we come back.”

Kara shook her head, shutting her eyes. Tears leaked under her lids. “Me and my stupid adventure.”

That stung. I bit my lip and tried not to show how hurt I felt. “It’s not your fault…. He wanted to do it. He knew what he was getting himself into.”

“He never would have even known about if I hadn’t insisted on going on that stupid stakeout. I’ve been so self-centered. All I wanted was to have a bit of fun before he forced me into marrying Timothy, and now that might have killed him.”

I looked away from her, unable to listen to anything else she might say.

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