Even and Odd by Sarah Beth Durst

Author:Sarah Beth Durst
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780358469483
Publisher: HMH Books
Published: 2021-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

It was, Even thought, much better riding a unicorn as a human than as a skunk. For one thing, she had a nicer view. She could actually see the road in front of them, instead of just Jeremy’s mane.

As Even, Odd, and Jeremy left Unicorn Hill (with instructions to return by nightfall for “a comfortable night’s sleep with delightful dreams”) and rejoined the yellow brick road, Even noticed that they were not alone. At first she spotted only a few other travelers, beginning with a woman with a snake’s tail instead of legs who carried a patchwork pack over her human shoulder. Slithering over the bricks, she outdistanced them quickly. Even never saw her face. They also passed a tortoise who was twice the size of a car. On his back he was carrying a small island with trees. She thought she saw tiny monkeys swinging from the trees.

Later they saw a herd of horses that looked as if they were made of liquid. As the horses galloped by, they sprayed water into the air and left hoof-size puddles on the bricks.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be by the sea!” Jeremy called to them. “Where are you going?”

“Away!” one of them neighed.

Another agreed. “It’s not safe anymore!”

They galloped on without answering any more questions.

Continuing, Even, Odd, and Jeremy passed a family of dogs, each with three heads. One puppy barked at them with two of its heads, and its mother shushed it and apologized. “He’s anxious,” the right head of the mother dog explained. “We’ve never left home before.”

“I know how he feels,” Odd said. She held out her hand so the puppy could sniff it. All three heads laid their noses on her palm. One head licked her fingers, and Odd cooed at it as if it were one of her shelter pups. Guess her knack for animals translates into a knack for magical beings, Even thought.

The puppy wagged his tail.

“Why are you leaving home?” Even asked the parent dogs.

“We’re going to stay with our cousin in New City, at least until things calm down along the border,” the mother dog said with her center head. “A pack of werewolves was seen outside our den, and I don’t want my pups to have that kind of influence in their life.” She lowered her voice so the pups couldn’t overhear. “I also don’t want them harmed.”

The left head of the father dog growled. “Rotten werewolves aren’t supposed to be hunting in civilized places—that’s why there are agreements. Give predators their own areas. But with the border magic still on the fritz, there’s no telling where they’ll pop up next.”

“Yes, I know, but we have to let the Academy of Magic handle it,” the mother dog said. “They’ll send wizards.”

“They’re overrun with complaints, too tied up in their own bureaucracy,” another of the father’s heads said. “We should have handled it ourselves, with or without their approval.” He snapped the air with his jaws, as if to demonstrate how he’d have handled it.

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