Hello everyone! I am back to continue my action/mystery tale of wonder. I still do not own anything of genius by Tamora Pierce. I'm sure some of you are wondering how this tale will continue onward. I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I've been suffering under the strain of midterms (not fun). This chapter is a little bit dark, but it had to be to fit in with the storyline.

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The unicorn raised his muzzle, which was covered in the fawn's blood. He had been feeding on the fawn, causing the rocking motion. The whole other side of the fawn was torn to pieces, and some of the flesh was held captive by the unicorn's teeth. He wiped his horn on the damp grass, and Daine was horrified to see the only reason it was dark was from goring the fawn. He stared at Numair and Daine, and let out an ear piercing whinny, showing silver, sharp teeth. Mist formed around the others and they became stockier, heavier horses. They reared up and down, neighing with their herd leader. Now they too, had sharp teeth, and Daine noticed their hooves were cloven, like a cows, and they were made of sharp, hard silver.

The herd leader reared upward, then stomped his feet. The other unicorns stood still, and gazed at the pair of humans in their midst. The dark one walked a few steps forward and stopped, the point of his horn pointing right at Daine and Numair. His dark eyes glittered in the dappled sunshine, and his mane swayed gently in the breeze.

Hello, hoofsister, he spat in her mind. He slowly walked forward towards the pair, swaying his head back and forth. His nostrils flared wide as he scented them and their surroundings. His powerful haunches rippled with muscle as he walked; he was an impressive stallion. Daine looked at him with apprehension. She knew he was going to cause trouble, and soon. A droplet of blood rolled down his muzzle to drop on the forest floor.

"Hello hoofbrother," she said gravely, making a curtsy as best she could. "Sorry we intruded on your gathering. We meant no harm, only to learn of you and your kin."

Numair stepped forward, putting himself between Daine and the herd leader. He also bowed deeply, trying to show respect. "Daine is my student and friend, and I have urged her to deepen her studies in the respect of immortals. I give my sincerest apologies for interrupting you and your—".

You mortals, he said, cutting Numair off, always meddling in business that is none of your concern. The dark one shook his head impatiently and tore at the earth with a silver hoof. Mortals aggravate me more than any other creature. They think themselves a god, in spite of the fact their kind get sick, or old, or die. Sealing us in the Divine Realms was idiocy. A few mages cannot stand against us, and neither shall you! This has been my first feeding in over a century. I will shed your blood to nourish my herd!

The dark one charged at Numair, his nearest target. Numair quickly gathered his power about him and threw a black lightning bolt at the stallion while rolling out of the way. Daine jumped sideways, hitting the dirt hard. It knocked the wind out of her, causing her to cough and sputter. Her eyes watered and she quickly grabbed her small knife. She held it aloft, ready for the next attack.

The stallion that Numair hit was injured, but not defeated. The other unicorns became active now, watching their new opponents warily. Daine and Numair stood side by side at the end of the clearing, near the ridge.

"Use fire Numair," Daine said quickly. "It will hurt and mayhap spook them to run."

Numair lifted his hands and whispered a few strange words. Black fire shot at two of the unicorns, engulfing them in flame. They whinnied in terror, running to try and put the flames out. Burnt hair and hide met Daine's nose, and she sneezed. Eyes watery again, she cursed and realized a unicorn was moving in for the attack. He came from the side, charging her with his head down and sharp point forward.

She backed up to the ridge and waited. Watching him come, she quickly dodged to the side, causing the unicorn to fall on the ridge. The footing was bad enough for the humans, let alone a horse. Sinking knee deep into the mud while flying forward from momentum worked like a charm; it broke his leg like a twig. Daine quickly got up and saw Numair take out another unicorn with the black, glittering fire. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead, and his mouth was creased in a frown.

"Where did the dark one go?" Numair asked, still frowning. He lowered his hands and looked around. The other unicorns had fled the chaos, while the injured ones remained lying where they were injured. The dark one was nowhere in sight.

Daine looked cautiously from side to side, and then peered down over the ridge. Seeing nothing, she walked forward toward the fawn. Tears trickled down her cheeks at seeing his limp form. She slid to her knees and cradles his head, closing his staring eyes.

"Immortals like these shouldn't exist," she said softly. "They are like the Stormwings, only bringing pain and destruction. If it weren't for them, this poor little man would still be ok," she said as she stroked his nose.

Beyond the ridge the pair of mortals heard crashing through the woods. Daine sensed a familiar presence in her mind, and she ran to the edge. She saw Cloud coming towards them, paired with an unfamiliar doe. They slowly made their way up the ridge, carefully going around the fallen unicorn.

Daine are you alright? Cloud asked worriedly. She sniffed Daine up and down checking for injury.

"I'm fine Cloud," she said. Daine turned to the doe and went forward to her. "I'm sorry about your fawn. We got here as soon as we could, but it was too late."

The doe looked at her sadly, her head drooping. What are these hoofkin then? Cloud said they are horselike, but not horses. I want to take revenge on these hooved hunters for my little buck.

"I'm not sure what these immortals are. I thought unicorns were supposed to be shy, peaceful creatures," she said, looking toward Numair for an answer.

"Actually, I do not think that these were real unicorns. I have heard reports of these 'unicorns' before. They call them flesh eating unicorns, or killer unicorns, for lack of a better term. They take on the appearance of unicorns, but have some physiological differences," he said, crouching down to look at one of the fallen unicorns. He examined the body over, looking closely at it.

"They appear to be stockier, both in mass and bone structure. They have shorter legs and torsos, as well as a thicker neck. True unicorns are said to be spindly by nature, with longer legs and slender features," he said looking up at Daine. "This explains why you were feeling strange about how they 'heard' in your mind. That undercurrent was their true nature, mostly masked by the more innocent sound of a true unicorn," he said standing up.

Numair walked over to Daine, a smile on his lips for the first time that day. "I'm glad you're alright magelet. I don't know why I was cross before," he said, brushing a curl from her face.

Her eyes opened wide, but not from his touch. "Watch out Numair," she yelled, pushing him forward. The dark unicorn had appeared out of thin air, and she barely shoved them both out of the dangerous point's way.

I about made you into a pincushion, mortal. He sneered. Hello little doe. You look like a fine, tasty morsel. I know your little buck was. The dark killer unicorn turned to look at Daine again. So you feel my kind shouldn't exist and you compared me to one of those stinking cursehag Stormwings? He snorted, and disappeared.

Numair quickly put up a shield around them both to protect them from the killer unicorn. Cloud neighed in panic and the doe was searching the clearing for her quarry.

Come here you deformed piece of dung! Sorry excuse for a horse! She shouted.

"Don't taunt him!" Daine yelled. "Leave be."

A flicker came from the clearing and Numair quickly dropped the shield and created a black ball of fire. The killer unicorn charged forward towards them both, and the flaming orb flew from Numair's hand. It engulfed it in flame, the dark killer neighing in pain. Daine shifted to the side so the killer unicorn wouldn't hit her, but its horn grazed the side of her arm. She cried out in pain, for the cut, although very shallow, burned. The dark one finally crumpled and fell to the ground. The doe walked forward and stared the dying killer unicorn in the eye.

This is for my Cloverbuck, she said, turning and kicking the fallen unicorn hard. She then walked forward from the clearing, not looking behind her. She slowly melted into the foliage, disappearing.

Numair stepped forward and looked at Daine's arm. The cut was small, and it bled very little. He sighed in relief and hugged her to him. Daine leaned into his embrace, tired and bone weary from the day. She felt his heartbeat against hers and smiled to herself.

"I'm so glad you are alright magelet," Numair said, releasing her from the hug and looking at her intently, his hands still at her waist.

Daine smiled warmly to him. "It's just a scratch Numair. I've had worse in my day," she said. She looked into his eyes and they looked overly bright, as though he was excited. She didn't have time to ponder this however. Her senses swamped her and her stomach fell like a pit. She felt very sick all of a sudden, as though a wave slammed into her. Beginning to fall, Numair caught her.

"Daine, what's wrong?" he asked quickly.

She tried to reply, but her mouth wouldn't form the words for her. She looked up into Numair's face but it blurred and shifted. Daine closed her eyes, trying to breathe deeply. Instead, she turned and vomited onto the forest floor. She heaved and began to shake with convulsions.

Numair stood over her in horror, quickly yelling for Cloud. She came hurriedly to her side, and Numair lifted her gently onto her back. He cursed himself that he didn't know healing magic and quickly bound Daine to the saddle.

"Go back to the palace Cloud!" he said, finishing a quick knot. "Take her to the healer's wing, and Mithros be with you."

Cloud carefully went around the ridge and began to run back toward the palace. Numair shed his cloak and shaped into a large black hawk. He clumsily took off, flying as fast as he could to get to his Daine.

Please Great Mother Goddess, watch over my darling.

Sorry again that this is a dark, bleak chapter. I know most readers are fans of the fluff stories, and I will try to introduce more fluff later into the plot. I hope so far my plot is decent, and now the fever is beginning to set in (for those of you who were wondering when the sickness would come into play). Please read and review! If its bad and you hate it, tell me! If you love it, or want to know what happens next, tell me! Just any feed back would be great.

Yours truly, Krystalglow.