The Order of the Unicorn Read online

  The firefly flew away. Pearl looked around. Another fly circled above a fern. She walked over and grabbed it out of the air. “See,” she said. “It’s easy.”

  “It’s not easy,” Dr. Woo told her. “Fireflies can detect the slightest noise—that’s what makes them nearly impossible to catch.” Then she said something that made Pearl smile.

  “It would appear that Cobblestone the leprechaun gave you a pair of silent slippers.”

  15

  Pearl had imagined all sorts of powers for her leprechaun shoes, but never this.

  “Silent slippers?” She was so surprised she forgot all about having caught the second firefly. As her arms dropped to her sides, the little creature flew away. “You mean, they don’t make any noise when I walk?”

  Dr. Woo nodded. “If you can manage to make the rest of you quiet, then you can go anywhere in complete silence.”

  “The rest of me?” Pearl clamped a hand over her mouth. Oh, right, the talking thing.

  “Do you realize what this means?” Ben asked. “You can sneak into places without getting caught. You’re so lucky.”

  “This is a fortunate turn of events,” Dr. Woo said. “Since you are the only one who can coax the unicorn foal out of hiding, I was going to ask you to enter the Dark Forest—alone. Of course, you could have refused.” She crouched next to Pearl and touched one of the pink slippers. “But there’s no need to worry. These will keep you safe from predators. What they cannot hear, they cannot catch.”

  “But they can still see me,” Pearl said.

  “Plants do not have eyes.”

  “Plants?” Ben spat out the word with surprise. “The predators are plants? That’s good news. I was worried we’d run into another kelpie. Plants aren’t a big deal, right? I mean, they can’t chase after you.”

  Dr. Woo stood, then brushed dried leaves from her legs. “Plants are more dangerous because they have no brains and, thus, no intelligence. You cannot rationalize with them. You cannot bribe them or make a deal with them. They react by instinct alone. And when these particular plants hear someone coming, they attack.”

  “But they won’t attack me, because they won’t be able to hear me,” Pearl said.

  “Exactly. Cobblestone the leprechaun chose wisely when he gave you these slippers. Mine are quite different.”

  “You have leprechaun shoes?” Pearl asked.

  “Yes. They allow me to walk on water, which comes in handy when I’m not wearing a bathing suit.” Dr. Woo stepped aside. “Show us your slippers in action.”

  Pearl took some steps, then jumped up and down. She crushed sticks and leaves underfoot, but not a sound emerged.

  “Can I borrow those for Halloween?” Ben asked. “I could sneak up on people and totally scare them.”

  “Sure,” Pearl said.

  Something vibrated. Dr. Woo pulled out her creature calculator and read its screen. “I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I’m now able to pick up the foal’s vital signs, which means she’s not far from here. The bad news is that her heart rate is elevated—an indication that she’s under stress.”

  “Do you think the plants are trying to hurt her?” Ben asked.

  “Doubtful. Unicorns are also able to walk in silence, so the plants won’t even know she’s there. But something is scaring her.”

  “Or someone,” Pearl grumbled.

  They continued the journey with renewed urgency. The foliage moved aside, just like before, but after a few minutes the path ended at a wall of black. “We have reached the dark wall,” Dr. Woo said. “It surrounds the Dark Forest.”

  Pearl tried to touch the wall, but it wasn’t solid. Her hand disappeared from view. She pulled it back into the dappled light. “You want me to go in there?”

  “Yes,” Dr. Woo said. “If Ben and I accompany you, the foal will not show herself. She will trust you and only you.”

  “Should I take the medical bag, too?”

  “No. You will need both of your hands to be free. Unicorns do not like the dark, and you might need to carry her out.”

  “That’s no problem,” Pearl said. “I carry boxes at the Dollar Store all the time.” She looked into the darkness. “How will I find my way back to you?”

  “That is an example of a quality question,” Dr. Woo said, but she offered no answer, which Pearl found very frustrating.

  “You could use something to mark your path,” Ben suggested. He took the yellow hat from his pocket. Thanks to Violet’s nibbling, it had already begun to unwind. “You could tie pieces of yarn on the trees as you go.”

  “That’s an excellent idea,” Dr. Woo said.

  Ben’s plan reminded Pearl of a story her mother had read to her about a couple of kids who left a trail of bread crumbs when they walked into the woods. But the crumbs got eaten by birds, so the kids couldn’t find their way back. “Wait,” Pearl said. “Are there birds in the Dark Forest? Because some birds will steal yarn for their nests. I know because I have a nest collection.”

  Dr. Woo shook her head. “There are no birds in the Dark Forest.”

  “Okay.” Pearl took the hat and tucked it into her lab coat pocket. “What plants am I watching out for?”

  “They are called flesh-eaters. You can’t miss them, because they grow in clumps, with enormous white flowers. They create a scent that each of us can’t resist, but don’t let it distract you. It’s a trick.”

  Flesh-eaters? That sounded pretty bad.

  Pearl fidgeted. She ran through the task at hand—go into the darkness, mark the trail with bits of yarn, find the foal, carry it back to Dr. Woo—all while staying clear of flesh-eating plants. This was nothing like working at the Dollar Store, where the most dangerous items were the scissors.

  But it was just another ordinary day in the Imaginary World.

  “I have one last question,” Pearl said. “How am I supposed to see where I’m going?”

  Dr. Woo pointed overhead. Pearl reached up and grabbed a firefly. Then she grabbed two more. As she held them in her palm, light streamed between the cracks in her fingers.

  “That should do it. Good luck.” Dr. Woo patted Pearl’s back. Then she added, “Try not to walk in circles. The Dark Forest can be very disorienting.”

  “Yeah, don’t walk in circles,” Ben said. “The shortest distance to something is a straight line. We learned that at math camp.”

  No one had said a word about Maximus Steele. Maybe Dr. Woo was right, Pearl thought. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions. He could be a million miles away, in some other land, bothering some other horned creature. There was no reason to assume he’d trapped the unicorn foal. Why worry if there was nothing to worry about? The truth would be revealed soon enough.

  So, after taking a deep breath, Pearl stepped into the darkness.

  16

  Pearl stood inside the Dark Forest. She wished Ben had come with her. They’d proved to be a good team. They’d caught a sasquatch together, they’d thwarted the Mulberrys together, they’d even gotten into trouble together.

  But now she was alone.

  She’d only known Ben for a week, but she was getting used to having him around. Too bad Cobblestone the leprechaun hadn’t made another pair of silent slippers. If she ran into the little guy again, she’d ask him to make some. She’d wrap them in nice paper and give them to Ben for Christmas. Or for Hanukkah. Then she’d never again have to go into a creepy forest alone.

  Pearl carefully opened her hand. The three fireflies were curled together, fast asleep, their little bellies flickering with flames. If she hadn’t been on a lifesaving mission, she would have spent more time admiring their unusual design. But the foal needed her.

  She closed her palm around the snoozing insects, turning her hand into a flashlight. She swept it to and fro so she could get a look at the terrain.

  The Dark Forest wasn’t tangled. Nothing grew on the ground—not a bit of moss, not a blade of grass. No gigantic white flowers, either, which was a hug
e relief. The trees were so tall that they reached up and out of the darkness, piercing the thick cloud ceiling like spears.

  Pearl considered her options. Turning back would take her to Dr. Woo and Ben. Right or left would take her along the Dark Forest’s perimeter. Ben had said that the shortest distance to something was a straight line. So straight ahead she went.

  The forest floor was mostly dirt, twigs, and dried leaves—crunchy stuff. But Pearl didn’t have to worry about them. She could have been walking on air, for not a sound emerged from beneath her leprechaun shoes. Using her teeth, she tore a piece of yellow yarn from Ben’s hat, then tied it around a branch. She repeated this process every twenty paces, counting exactly. Ben’s idea was brilliant. Because yellow showed up well in the firefly light, it would be easy to retrace her steps.

  As Pearl made her way through the forest, she thought about Dr. Woo’s story. The doctor and Maximus Steele had been best friends and apprentices, just like Pearl and Ben. Weirder still, when Maximus was a boy, he’d looked like Ben. What strange coincidences. At some point, Maximus turned evil. There was no way Ben would turn evil. He’d taken care of a wyvern hatchling, and he’d helped make a new horn for the rain dragon. He would never hurt a creature for its ivory, or fur pelt, or any reason. She’d bet her nest collection on that fact.

  She bit off another piece of yarn. Pearl wasn’t normally afraid of the dark. She didn’t keep a nightlight in her bedroom, though that was mostly because the lamps on Main Street glowed outside her window all night long. But never in her life had she experienced such pitch-blackness. It began to feel smothering, like a heavy blanket pressed over her face. She walked faster. Unicorn foal, where are you?

  One hundred and twenty paces in, she spotted something—a wisp of white hair hanging from a low branch. It was silky. It must have come from the foal’s mane. Pearl was on the right track.

  Just as she was tying another piece of yarn, a scent drifted out of the darkness. How is that possible? she wondered. It smelled exactly like a pancake sandwich, with syrup and bacon. She loved those things! A feeling of longing washed over her, as if someone had dumped a bucket of homesickness on her head. She’d seen her parents just a few hours ago, but she missed them with all her heart. Whatever you do, stomach, don’t growl, she thought. As she walked toward the scent, it filled her nostrils. She could practically taste the warm fluffiness.

  That was when she saw the white flowers.

  Flesh-eaters!

  They grew in a clump, just as Dr. Woo had described. The huge white flowers reminded her of tulips with their petals closed tight. Pearl stood perfectly still, not even daring to blink. Luckily the little fireflies didn’t snore. Pearl’s mouth watered as the pancake scent grew stronger. Dr. Woo had said that flesh-eaters created different scents. How could they possibly know that Pearl liked pancakes? What would they smell like for Ben?

  Giving the flowers a wide berth, Pearl walked around the clump. Not a single flesh-eater noticed. There was no need to be afraid. Not getting eaten is going to be easy, she thought as she hurried away.

  Forty more paces and she found another piece of white hair—a very good sign. She wanted to call out to the foal and let her know that help was coming. There were no flesh-eaters in sight. Maybe it would be okay. But that’s when something flickered overhead, like a star in a black sky. She narrowed her eyes. The star grew larger. What was that? Was it floating downward? Toward her?

  Dr. Woo had said to watch out for flesh-eaters. She hadn’t mentioned anything else. Except for…

  Maximus Steele!

  17

  Pearl soon realized that she wasn’t watching a star falling from the sky. It was a light, and someone was holding it.

  She darted behind a tree trunk. Her heart pounded as she tried to figure out what to do. She knew, instinctively, that she had to hide from whatever was coming her way. She tucked her flashlight hand under her lab coat. Leaning against the tree, she peered around the trunk. The light moved steadily toward the ground. Tree bark pressed into Pearl’s cheek. She wished Ben were standing next to her. Two against one was always better odds.

  As it neared, the light grew too bright to look at. Pearl squinted, allowing her pupils to adjust. Then the light landed.

  A man stood a few yards away. He held a small lamp in his right hand, a leather bag in his left. And strapped to his back was a huge moth the size of a dog! Together, they had glided down into the Dark Forest, as silent as a leaf falling from a tree.

  Fear can make the entire body shake. It can turn the stomach to stone and cause thoughts to go all jumbled. So Pearl tried very hard not to be afraid. What she knew was this: Maximus Steele hunted creatures, not people. There was no reason why he’d hurt her. The flesh-eaters and the kelpie were much more dangerous.

  But even so, she thought it would be best to remain hidden.

  The man set the lamp and the bag on the ground. Then he unstrapped the moth but kept it tethered to a rope, which he tied around a tree. The moth panted with its furry mouth. Its wings went limp, falling on the ground like crumpled sheets. The lantern’s glow illuminated the man’s body, which was tall and thin. His pants were tucked into a pair of boots, and a knife hung from his belt. Because a pith helmet shaded his face, she couldn’t get a good look at his features. He crouched, then removed something from his backpack. Lantern light reflected off the object’s metallic surface. Pearl clenched her jaw. It was the same kind of trap Maximus Steele had used to catch the rain dragon, only much smaller. He set it on the ground.

  Dr. Woo’s story swept through Pearl’s mind—images of a boy playing the tuba, telling jokes, laughing. Now he was sneaking through a forest, laying a trap to catch a unicorn. Pearl wanted to tell him to stop. She wanted to free the poor, tired moth. Maximus Steele was pure evil!

  Turn around, she thought, hoping to see his face so she’d know him if she ever ran into him again. But he kept his back to her as he pulled open the sharp teeth of the trap. It clicked into place, like the jaws of a shark waiting to feed.

  The sound echoed through the forest.

  Uh-oh!

  A rumbling arose in the distance. With calm and steady hands, Maximus untied the moth and strapped it to his back. Then he picked up the lantern and bag. Without a word, he jabbed the moth with his elbow. It unfurled its wings and began to flap gracefully, silently carrying them upward until they vanished into the cloud ceiling.

  The rumbling grew louder. Holding out her flashlight hand, Pearl hurried to the trap. The man’s initials—MS—were etched into the metal. With her free hand, she picked up a fallen branch and shoved it into the open jaw. As the razor-sharp teeth snapped around the wood, a clang rang out. Would Maximus return, thinking he’d caught his prey?

  The forest floor trembled as the rumbling closed in. Pearl didn’t know in which direction to run. Was there time to climb one of the trees? She spun around. White shapes charged toward her, their petals snapping wildly. The flesh-eaters had pulled their roots from the ground! They were using them like legs! Just in time, Pearl leaped behind a tree. The carnivorous plants ran straight for the trap—the source of the noise.

  Then they attacked.

  They flung it around and stomped on it until there was nothing left but mangled bits of metal. Then, as the forest grew silent once again, they tucked their roots back into the ground, closed their petals, and waited for their next meal.

  This place was getting creepier by the minute! Pearl took off, running deeper and deeper into the forest, forgetting about leaving a trail of yarn. When her side began to ache, she stopped. There’d been no more white hair, no signs at all that the foal had come this way.

  Pearl sank onto a rock, trying to catch her breath. Had she failed? Would Maximus find the lost unicorn before she did? Tears stung the corners of her eyes. She wanted to go back, but she couldn’t leave the foal all alone in this evil place. Poor little thing.

  How could she call out to it without making any noise? She coul
dn’t whistle or snap her fingers. The slightest sound would alert those nasty plants. And possibly Maximus Steele, too. How could Pearl summon the unicorn?

  Then she had an interesting idea. The path had opened because she’d gotten rid of her negative thoughts. Maybe in this darkest of dark places, the unicorn’s path would also open with positive thoughts. It was worth a shot. Pearl closed her eyes and cleared all the scary pictures from her mind. She conjured the things that made her feel warm and safe—fluffy pancakes, bird nests, leprechaun slippers, hot cocoa, her parents tucking her in at night.

  A soft, warm puff of air blew across her hand.

  Slowly, she opened her eyes.

  18

  Before Dr. Woo moved to Buttonville, there were three moments in Pearl’s life that she loved better than any others—the first time she found a bird nest, the first time she pulled back her pillow to discover that the tooth fairy had visited, and the first time she rode a pony.

  This moment topped them all.

  The puff of air that touched Pearl’s hand came from the soft muzzle of the unicorn foal.

  She stood so close that Pearl could have petted her silky white mane and touched her spiral horn. But Pearl didn’t. She sat very still, afraid to scare the little creature, who was only a couple of feet tall.

  The unicorn’s hind legs trembled. That was when Pearl noticed that she held her right front hoof slightly above the ground. She’d been injured. Don’t be scared, Pearl wanted to say. Dr. Woo will help you. Pearl held out her hand, the way you do with a dog you don’t know. The foal smelled her, then bent her head as the unicorn king had bent his. Pearl bowed in return. She could have sat there all day, gazing upon this beautiful creature. But Maximus Steele wanted that horn, and there was no way Pearl was going to let him have it!