Wonder Light by R. R. Russell

Author:R. R. Russell
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2013-03-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Twig pivoted around, her throat closing. Ben’s grip tightened on her hand, but he seemed unconcerned. He was Ghost Boy again, blending into the mysterious fog as if he were a part of it.

Twig almost pulled away. Almost ran.

“Where are we?” she managed to ask.

“Near the entrance to Silverforest in Westland—Terracornus.”

“Terracornus?”

“Sometimes one world bumps up against another, and people find a passage between them. This is one of those passages. I wish this one had been forgotten like the original passage from England to Terracornus. All I can do is keep the door locked.” Ben’s expression darkened. “Unfortunately, I’m not the only one with a key, and only the queen can change the locks.”

“Door? What queen? The Queen of England?”

“The Queen of Westland. People first came to Terracornus from England. That’s why we speak English. But they’re a different people now. And yes, there is a door in here. Unicorns go through it whenever someone lets them.”

“This isn’t funny, Ben. I don’t like these kinds of stories.”

“No, it isn’t funny. Dagger’s healed. He’s hunting again. The others were foraging, but now they’re back to following Dagger’s lead—back to being predators. You have to believe. You know there’s more to this island, Twig.”

Ben reached under his shirt and pulled something out—a key. He approached the huge red cedar trunk.

Did Ben expect her to believe the tree was a magic door? That they were going to walk right through it? Twig scrutinized the rough bark in the semidarkness. She couldn’t make out any seams.

She waited for Ben to mutter a spell, but he just slid the key right into the bark. Twig put her hand to the trunk where the key had gone in. The keyhole had been invisible in the shadows and the mist.

The key turned with a click, and Ben pulled the door open a crack. Thicker mist snaked through the crevice, finding Twig and wrapping her in its strange scent. Ben slid his fingers around the door and began to open it wider.

“No!” Twig choked. “That’s enough.”

Ben pushed the door shut. The lock clicked.

“Is that where Wild Light came from? Is that where you want to send her?” Twig shook at the thought. But if Wild Light wasn’t safe here on the island…

“She cannot go back. Terracornus isn’t safe anymore. Now all the unicorns of Westland belong to the queen. She wants them for the war with Eastland. She’ll take Wild Light or any unicorn she can get her hands on. There are only a few wild unicorns left in Terracornus, lonely, herdless, hiding. But the queen’s rangers are always hunting for them.”

“They kill them?” Twig’s hands clenched into fists.

“They round them up and train them for battle. Many of them die in training. More die in the war itself. The unicorns of Lonehorn Island are the last free herd.”

“In the real—in my world, a long time ago, armies used horses. A lot of them died.”

“They never used horses like the Terracornians use unicorns. In Terracornus, unicorns are the weapons.

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