The Darkest Unicorn Read online

  He took an object from his belt and lifted it to his mouth. At first Thandie thought he was taking a swig of something from a flask but then she realized it was an instrument – a pipe. He began to play. She had thought of a pipe as a child’s instrument and, to begin with, it sounded as though this boy was practising his scales, just as she had done as a young girl. Then the notes changed and turned into a repetitive but sweet tune which gradually grew more complicated. After a while, Thandie wasn’t listening to the notes at all; she was transported somewhere else entirely. She had the strange and sudden urge to feel her mother’s arms around her, and tears sprang unexpectedly to her eyes. After a while she realized she had been standing there stock-still, in a kind of trance. She shook herself out of it. Still, he played on.

  He was a better player than many of the pipe players that entertained the crowds in the streets of Essendor. But he had no audience. Why would someone come all the way out here in the dark to practise his pipe playing? It didn’t make sense. Even if he had no home, it would seem an odd thing to do at this hour, and she was surprised it hadn’t caught the attention of the guards. But maybe that was how he got so good: practising at all hours of the night and day.

  Thandie knew that she should probably turn around and go straight back to the others. She had gone far enough to prove that she had no fear of the abandoned streets, and they would love to hear her story of the pipe player in the darkness. But Thandie didn’t want to go back. She wanted to find out who this person was and what was he doing there.

  Whether it was excitement or nerves, some silliness bubbled up inside her and, on an impulse, she grabbed a handful of earth and small pebbles from the ground and threw it towards the boy. He glanced up briefly but didn’t stop his pipe playing. If Thandie wanted to attract his attention then she was just going to have to walk right up to him.

  She left her hiding place in the safety of the shadows and began walking across the flat grass towards him. She took long strides and held her chin up in the air as she had done in the woods. Essendor was her town and he was the visitor – she had everything to be confident about.

  When she was just a dozen or so long strides from him, he glanced up again but carried on playing his tune. She could see him much more clearly now. A stranger, yes, and strangely dressed, but was he the kidnapping monster that had prompted panic throughout the kingdom and a curfew in the capital city? Surely not. They had imagined a monstrous creature or burly kidnappers, not a slim young boy. She watched him for a little longer. He looked only slightly older than her. A few locks or hair curled out under his hat as though he had arranged them there purposefully. His features were sharp and even – quite handsome – but there was something unsettling about him. Thandie couldn’t identify what it was but, although he was certainly no monster, she did wonder if he was someone she could trust.

  As she drew nearer, their eyes met. He continued to play and did not at any point look shocked to see her, which left her wondering, at what point had he realized that she was watching him? Perhaps he was playing to an audience all along.

  She spoke first – showing him again that she was confident.

  “Who are you, and why are you sitting out here playing your pipe in the dark?”

  QUESTIONS

  Sander

  Sander had found that in the smaller villages, where word was beginning to get around about the missing children, people were suspicious and, as a stranger, he stood out. In the bigger towns and cities it was easier to go unnoticed. And so he had come to Essendor, the biggest city of them all. But within minutes of arriving, he had been confronted by shut doors, closed taverns and guards at the gates. He was locked out of the city for the night and was unlikely to meet anyone by chance in these dark hours. He would need to make a new plan.

  Yet just as he sat, planning and piping, an athletic-looking girl with black hair in short plaits walked out of the shadows and right up to him. Surely not many people would approach a stranger after dark in that way. His first thought was she was with a bigger group, who were lurking around the corner waiting to pounce. But he looked over her shoulder and couldn’t see anyone at all. His next thought was that she suspected him of something and had come to accuse him. She certainly looked accusatory, standing there with her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed.

  And then she spoke. “Who are you, and why are you sitting out here playing your pipe in the dark?”

  Something about her small round nose and self-assured nature instantly appealed to him.

  “I’m Sander. And I’m playing my pipe in the dark because it’s what I felt like doing. Who are you and why are you accosting innocent pipe players in the dark?”

  There was a pause and then she smiled widely. “I’m Thandie and what I am doing here is not your concern.”

  She turned and for a second, he thought she was going to walk away in the direction from which she had come, but she didn’t. She plonked herself down on to a rock a few yards away and swivelled around to face him as if she were expecting him to read her a story.

  He tried not to think ahead, how her smile would later fade. He had a job to do. “Why are you sitting there? Do you want me to play you another melody?”

  “I’m sitting here because it is exactly what I feel like doing,” said the girl, Thandie. “But you may play if you like. Is that what you do?”

  Sander threw back his head and laughed. “I don’t really do anything. I am a traveller – a wanderer – an adventurer.”

  “Really? And how exactly does an adventurer spend his days and weeks?”

  Sander took a deep breath.

  “I could never lead an ordinary life so when I was still quite young, I decided to set out to see the world. For a time, I slept on a home-made raft, floating on the river. When it drifted ashore, I got out to explore. If it did not, then I just stayed afloat for days.”

  Thandie screwed up her nose. “I think I would feel quite queasy if I were to stay on a raft for days. You are rather exposed to the elements are you not? And biting insects have a tendency to cluster near open water. I think I would be afraid to sleep for fear that I might roll off right into the water. No, I would not like that at all.”

  Sander stared at Thandie. This story had never failed to entrance, but he could see that she was different. He would have to try harder. “Do you not seek adventure? Do you not wonder what is out in the wide world or are you happy to stay here for the rest of your days?”

  Thandie lifted her chin. “Yes, I seek adventure! And yes I want to get away from this place!”

  Sander could see that his words were working their magic. She was getting angry with him. He knew the type. She would want to prove her courage to him. In less than an hour they would be walking away from here together.

  Thandie pulled out two battered books from the front pocket of her dress. One was a reading book, the other a worn leather diary. “I want to get away, but I have a plan. My plan involves these, and a lot of hard work. Bobbing about on a raft is not the way I would choose to learn about the world.”

  Sander did not reply. He played another tune on his pipe to give him thinking time. But Thandie continued to talk loudly over his music.

  “My way is to read. And to write. It will take time but eventually I will have my own adventures. And in the meantime, there are lots of adventures in here to keep my brain happy.” She tapped her reading book.

  Sander stopped playing again. He was starting to realize that this girl was not quite like anyone he had ever met, but that wasn’t going to stop him. He had faith in his powers of persuasion.

  “Ah, but you can’t learn everything from within the pages of a book. There are some things that you can only learn by experiencing, and others that you have to see to believe.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like many things. Too many even to think of. Enchanted waterfalls, laughing lakes, even a unicorn in the clouds…”

  Sander paused for a moment and looked si
deways at Thandie. She might be trying to hide it but he could tell she was interested.

  “A unicorn in the clouds?” she asked.

  Sander nodded. “I have seen so many strange sights that they become almost commonplace after a time.”

  “But why would there be a unicorn in the clouds? Unicorns don’t fly, do they? We have a unicorn here at Essendor – not that the Midnight Unicorn has been seen for some time – but nobody has ever mentioned it flying.”

  “This unicorn is far greater that the Midnight Unicorn. He is the Greatest Unicorn. Greater in strength and power. And no, he does not fly. He lives up there. In a spectacular castle in the clouds.”

  “If he doesn’t fly, then how did he get up there? Are there steps? I can’t imagine a unicorn would be very good at climbing steps. Or was he born up there? If he was born up there then there must have been a mother and father unicorn at some point—”

  “—some things defy explanation,” interrupted Sander, who was growing weary from the questioning. “All I know is that the Greatest Unicorn commands such magic that he has the ability to grant anyone’s wishes.

  Thandie wrinkled her brow. “You are telling me that an all-powerful unicorn trots around in a castle up in the clouds granting people’s wishes all day long? If he did that, wouldn’t he have queues of people at his doors? And wouldn’t he want something in return?”

  Sander sighed. “Oh dear. Are you one of those people?”

  Thandie looked confused. “One of which people?”

  “One of those sorts of people who like to ask questions. ‘Why?’ ‘How?’ And ‘Why?’ again. If you ask too many questions then you end up talking yourself out of what you really want. If you want something then you must grasp it and not let go. Forget the questions.”

  Thandie stared at him. Then she laughed loudly. “That is the most foolish thing I have ever heard in my life! Forget the questions? If I stopped asking questions then how would I know anything? I would still think the same way as Tib: that I could hibernate through the winter like a woodland animal, or that when the moon disappears, it’s because it is sleeping. Questions and answers are essential for life: they are how we learn.”

  Sander felt less confident now. He took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. Then he picked up his pipe and began playing once again – a jaunty little tune – as if she wasn’t even there.

  CONFRONTATION

  Thandie

  The tune irritated Thandie, as did this boy’s strange manner. There was something about him that didn’t seem quite right. He was clearly used to his daring and witty personality having an engaging effect, but she was not drawn in.

  “Will you please stop playing your pipe for a second? It is so rude to play while someone is speaking to you,” she said, but he continued playing, looking into the middle distance as if his thoughts were somewhere else entirely. She raised her voice over the sound of the pipe. “I have some more questions for you… Who are you? Why are you creeping about in the dark? Does it have something to do with the people going missing?”

  Sander stopped and shushed her but that just made her angry. Who was he to tell her what to do?

  “No, I won’t shush! What have you been doing? Who are you working for? Is it the unicorn? What is he doing to people?” Thandie raised her voice louder, knowing she might draw attention from the guards. She didn’t care. She may have been breaking curfew but he, as a stranger to Essendor, would definitely arouse more suspicion.

  “Be quiet! Someone will come!” Sander threw down his pipe and stood up, fists clenched.

  “No, I will not be quiet,” said Thandie, shouting now. Without warning, he grabbed her shoulder with one hand and put his other hand over her mouth.

  Her first reaction was fear. She was all alone out here and no one was coming to her rescue. But very quickly, anger took over. “Get off me!” she tried to shout but her voice was muffled by his hand. How dare he! Thandie twisted in his grasp and jabbed her elbows back repeatedly into his ribs. Although Sander had used the element of surprise, Thandie was stronger and much angrier than he was. She ran the heel of her heavy boot down his shin and stamped hard – very hard – on his foot. As he reached for his foot, she got away and turned to face him, clutching her side as she got her breath back.

  She reached in the pocket of her dress for Tib’s catapult and quickly drew back the shot. He looked up briefly and she released the projectile straight into his eye.

  WALNUT

  Sander

  The shock of the sudden pain in his eye stopped him – brought him to his senses. What was he doing? He was not the sort of person to grab hold of someone like that – he was used to relying on his charms. He was ashamed of himself. He cried out and sank to the floor, hugging his knees to his chest, face buried in his knees. He rocked gently back and forth. “I’m sorry… I’m so, so, sorry,” he kept muttering.

  A TERRIBLE THING

  Thandie

  It was just a walnut – it couldn’t have hurt him that much, surely? Sander sobbed for a long time, his face in his hands. Thandie could run away, flee back to Madam Tilbury’s, but she didn’t. She watched his back heave up and down, until his sobbing subsided. She was slightly concerned that she had badly injured him. She couldn’t see his eye at all and hoped she’d only bruised him – given him a shock. But he didn’t seem to be particularly bothered by his eye any more. He wiped his face and kept muttering how sorry he was. She did feel a little bad for him, and nearly told him that it was all right and that he hadn’t hurt her. But she didn’t. It wasn’t all right and he shouldn’t have grabbed her. She sat, still holding the catapult, and waited until he’d finished crying. Then he looked up.

  “I’ve done a terrible thing,” he said.

  Something about his expression told Thandie that he wasn’t talking about what had just happened. This was a really terrible thing he was talking about. She could guess what. “The stolen ones?”

  Sander nodded. Thandie passed him a handkerchief from her pocket. She kept a good grip on the catapult, just in case.

  “What have you done?”

  Sander hung his head.

  “You can either tell me now, or I’m going straight to the watchmen to report you. I’ll tell them what you said and they’ll have you arrested.”

  “No – don’t do that!”

  “Then tell me.”

  Sander took a deep, juddering breath. “I know something. I … saw something.”

  Thandie nodded slightly, encouraging him to go on. She wanted badly to hear what he had to say. Her fingers and toes were fizzing with adrenaline. “What did you see?”

  “A girl. About your age. She was held captive. Her name was Linnell. Linnell Redfern.”

  Linnell. From near Arvale. Thandie had heard her name, passed around in the usual city gossip. She had been the very first of the stolen ones.

  “Where did you see her? It was with that unicorn, wasn’t it? The one you told me about?”

  “Yes. In the castle in the clouds…”

  And Sander told her. He told her of another great adventure, how he had climbed further than he’d ever been before, and he had found the unicorn. He had seen that Linnell was there but done nothing.

  “I should have rescued her. I should have done something, but I just left her there. I never told a soul. He threatened me with death if I breathed a word.” Sander looked away, as if telling the story was painful to him. “The unicorn had not harmed her physically, but he took something from her: her memories. Her face was blank, her smile empty. She didn’t know, doesn’t remember her own name. Just hums and sings melodies with no words. The others must be there with her now and it is all my fault – I could have stopped it.”

  Thandie shook her head slowly, taking it all in. “That is so sad. The poor girl. Her poor family. Why did the unicorn do it?”

  “I don’t know,” said Sander, “but I suspect he uses the memories for his own purposes.”

  “Wha
t about the other people? Did you see anyone else?”

  Sander shook his head. “The others only began to disappear afterwards.”

  “So there was no one else there? No one older?”

  “I do not think so. After I saw Linnell I was filled with guilt. I vowed that one day I would return to rescue her and all those other people who went missing afterwards. So I have been roaming the kingdom, sleeping in the daytime and coming out at night, but always looking over my shoulder in case the Greatest Unicorn is after me, wanting to keep me quiet.”

  “So who is leading the stolen ones away?”

  Sander shrugged. “Perhaps the unicorn himself. Or perhaps he has someone in his employment. I cannot tell you any more.”

  Thandie thought for a moment. She still wasn’t sure about this boy. But there was no doubt he had valuable information. She knew what she should do. She should report Sander to the guards and see what they made of his stories. But she had found this strange piper. She would be the one to use his information. “If you have done a terrible thing, then you must do everything in your power to put it right,” said Thandie.

  UNIQUE

  Sander

  Thandie stared at him intently. “You could find the castle again, couldn’t you? You might not know who’s taking the people but you would know where to find them?”

  Sander nodded.

  Thandie’s eyes were bright. “Would you take me there?”

  “Take you to the castle?” Sander had seen many things on his travels but Thandie was possibly the strangest person he had ever met. He had explained the unicorn’s dangerous power and yet rather than turning and running, she wanted to go and meet him. There was something … some reason that she was not telling him. When he had told her about Linnell, the first question Thandie had asked was if anyone else there in the castle: anyone older. She had lost someone – he was sure of it.

  Thandie drew back her shoulders and put the catapult into in her pocket. “Take me there and together we will free the stolen ones.”