I held Ikko's hand and followed the others so he wouldn't fall when he stumbled. After I looked ahead of the trail and saw that we were coming up a hill, I sighed and looked around the trees to entertain myself with the scenery. I didn't know why, but this forest seemed familiar to me. I found that strange since I had never been here before.
Just after I finished my thought, I caught a glimpse of something white in the corner of my eye. I turned my head but didn't see anything white at all in the peaceful forest beside me. I stopped walking as if my heart was pulling me into the woods. I felt very strange at my sudden desire to run off the path, and it wasn't long before Arine and Cienar realized I had stopped and done the same. Ikko squeezed my hand as he looked up at me. "What is it?"
I broke out of the spell that had seemed to come over me and led Ikko to Cienar's side. "I'll be right back. Can you watch him for me?" I asked. Cienar nodded and Arine raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going?" He questioned me as if he was suspicious that I was going to go bury a body. I hesitated. 'Where AM I going?' I asked myself. I honestly didn't know. I decided that my best bet was to come up with something believable. "I um, have to pee. I won't be long." I then turned away and jogged into the forest without another word.
I slowed my jog to a walk as soon as I was out of sight. I didn't know why I was here or what I saw, but I had to find out. I looked around the forest and began to feel the pull on my heart again. I hoped with everything I had that this wasn't another trick like a celestial orb because I was too far hooked to turn back now. I approached a stream and stopped. 'I should go back,' I thought as I watched the sunbeams through the trees sparkle on the water. I was about to turn away when my ears caught a faint, yet beautiful sound.
I looked up and I couldn't believe what I saw. A white mare that seemingly appeared out of nowhere glided out of the shade and into the sunlight toward me. Her coat sparkled as she moved through the sunbeams and I was speechless at the sight of her. She was a beautiful horse, but what was most surprising was the long spiraled horn sprouting from her forehead. It sparkled just as her fur did, and my mouth fell open.
One of the last unicorns in the world was standing before me. I was mesmerized by her beauty and how close she was to me. In all my life, I never thought I would get the chance to see a unicorn, let alone get within touching distance of one. One soul of a unicorn is more valuable than every other soul in the world combined. Because of this, they've been hunted to extinction. So, why was such a rare and powerful creature luring me to her? She looked at me with her sparkly brown eyes and I slowly reached my hand out to pet her. She flinched, but let me. I pet her face and reached to touch my fingers to her horn.
I could feel the power coursing through it as though it was connected to her heartbeat. She then moved her head down a little so her horn brushed my cheek. I smiled. I didn't know why I felt so at home here, but I wanted to enjoy this moment with her. Then I heard Arine calling for me. I stepped back and looked behind me but no one was there. His voice was distant and came from the trail I was led astray from. 'I should go back,' I thought. I turned to say goodbye to the mare but gasped to see nothing standing before me. I looked around the peaceful forest that showed no evidence of the unicorn standing there. That was weird.
I ran back to the trail where everyone was waiting for me. Arine had his arms crossed when I got there. "There you are! Come on! We're almost to the town." I'd noticed that Arine had become fairly impatient since we returned from the island. I assumed he was in a rush to get his sister back so I followed without fuss. I took Ikko's hand from Cienar's and the four of us treaded up a hill.
As we walked, I tried to figure out what happened to me back there. 'It must've been a hallucination or something. It couldn't have been real. Why would I just happen to see a unicorn in a forest as small as this one? And why on earth did it let me touch her?' I pushed the questions to the back of my mind so my head would stop hurting.
We reached the top of the hill and saw the town in the distance below us. It was alongside the beach which had docks, ships, and traders busying about there. Arine pointed to the docks. "We'll need a ship if we're going to make it to Devil's Island. That's where the sorcerer's castle is."
We began to make our way toward the town when Cienar turned to Arine. "Why not fly and swim to it as we did the island we just came back from?" Arine kept his eyes on the docks as he answered him. "It's too far. Ikko and I wouldn't have enough stamina to fly that long." Ikko mumbled to himself but did it loud enough for everyone to hear. "I would have if someone didn't take all my powers away," he huffed. Cienar had a guilty look on his face but didn't say anything. Soon enough, we were passing through the town toward the docks. Since this was another human village, we got looks from anyone who saw us, but that I expected.
There were a lot of fishermen, merchants, and traders walking about the town, and a wooden market stood above the beach which led to the boats. The whole place reeked of fish, seawater, and men. I was holding my breath when an old man approached us with a calm smile. "Hello, there. I am Josiah of the ship trading company. Can I help you, travelers?" Cienar took the lead in the conversation. "Yes. We need a boat," he said, as stoic as ever. The old man pushed his glasses to his face. "Of course. We have many options to choose from. However, they don't come cheap." Cienar then tossed a coin to the old man which made a rusty cackle escape the elder's lips.
"One gold coin isn't nearly enough, lad." Cienar was unmoved by the man's statement. "Look at it again," he directed. The old man raised an eyebrow and held the coin up to his face. He suddenly gasped. "Why, this is a coin from the treasure of the lost city of Atlantis! How, how did you get this?!" Cienar smiled. "While the city was lost to you land-dwellers, it was found to my people." The man looked at him in surprise as he made the realization that Cienar had gills. "We'll have a boat ready for you right away!" The man then left in a hurry and I couldn't help but be impressed. "Is that common money where you come from?" I asked.
Cienar turned back to me. "No. I'm actually the only one who knows where Atlantis is. I just said that so the human wouldn't get nosey." Arine's mouth dropped. "What?! Why didn't you tell anyone?! People have been looking for that treasure for centuries!" Cienar sighed before glaring at Arine. "When you've seen what I've seen, you would know that most things are better off left a secret." Those words went deeper into me than I thought they would. If everyone knew where the last of the unicorns were, hunters would come for them, and the balance of the world would shift and die.
While Cienar and Arine got everything ready with the boat, I went to get some food from the market so that we wouldn't go hungry before we reached the island. I headed back to the docks with a sack of groceries in my arm while holding Ikko's hand in the other. I hadn't let him leave my sight and he didn't seem to care or talk the whole time we were shopping. He was usually quiet, but it felt strange now that he was a child.
"Is something bothering you?" I asked. He was quiet for a moment longer. "Yes, but you don't want to hear about it." I looked down at him with surprise. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I want to hear about it?" He sighed. "It's about the blood you gave me."
I blinked. "Oh. Was it bad?" He looked up at me finally. "No. It was the opposite. I can't stop thinking about it. It pisses me off that the first time I tasted it was when I was in this stupid body." I didn't know what to make of that statement. "What do you mean?"