The Balinor Chronicles: The Celestial Herd
Chapter Forty-Six: River
Much Thanks yet again to Raedyn, whose grammar checks have saved my skin. That's what you get for posting while half-asleep. Heh. Not that I would do that, or anything.
The two unicorns clashes horns time and time again. The Elemental skittered slightly, hooves sliding on the rocky terrain of the mountain. His adversary, Proteus, slid after him, sending up a spray of fine gravel. His rainbow mane stuck to his lathered dark coat. But his desire to slay Mulciber gave him a fiery passion as hot as the Fire Lord's.
Mulciber jumped a narrow crevice, maneuvering himself into a better position. There was no need for words between the two as the Twilight general followed. Both knew that only one would walk away from this battle; taunting and negotiations would merely be a waste of breath.
Mulciber's flaming eyes burned as the Unicorns fought their way in and out of shadow and sunlight. His Herd may not have lived in the mountains, but he knew his Valley batter than any others left alive. He knew exactly where he was letting Proteus push him back to.
Whether Proteus knew or not was a different matter.
But Proteus gave no inclination of knowing the terrain, often stumbling slightly or skidding on unnoticed gravel piles. All the while, the two stallions battles ferociously, jousting with their horns, performing feats that would make the Lipizzaners hang their heads in shame.
Mulciber waited. Spar. Stab. Parry. Spar. Stab. Parry. He felt a breeze at his back. Proteus lunged…for the last time. As he teetered on the edge of the sheer drop, one nudge was all Mulciber needed to push him over the edge.
Thud.
Proteus landed hard on the sharp pinnacles of rack that littered the floor below. Mulciber looked at his dying body and turned away. He failed to notice Arioch.
The Heir of Diablo cautiously walked over to the dying Proteus, the still-healing Moloth at his side. Proteus is not dead, but it is inescapable. Three long tines have plunged through his body. A rear leg is broken. But Proteus cannot feel any of that – his back is broken, leaving him mostly numb and completely lost. But he still begs Arioch for a miracle.
"Please, please do something."
But resurrection for one so doomed is beyond even the power of the Mare, and Arioch has no hope of saving Proteus from the Fates. Unless…
If they sent Death after a Unicorn…
It is a gambling chance, one that would have left Eternitus gasping for breath. But sometimes, long shots pay off. And this one does. For when Death comes knocking for a Unicorn, no Unicorn is dead.
Mortals refer to Proteus as God of the Sea, able to transform his shape at will. They are incorrect. Orcinus, even in his death, is Lord of the Sea. And Proteus only felt his body change once. That once was when Arioch, with what little compassion was in his heart, transformed the Unicorn into a serpent of the deep.
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