Free 02 Unicorn Rider by Kevin Outlaw Page A

screamed, as Glass fell unconscious into his arms. ‘Dad, come quick!’
    For what seemed like an eternity, Nimbus held the motionless body of his little sister. His heart thumped painfully, and the night pressed close. Not for the first time, he was almost completely overwhelmed by how little he really knew about this strange new world, and he knew how empty and worthless his promises to Glass had been.
    He couldn’t protect her. Perhaps nobody could.
    ‘Here, let me take her,’ his father said, coming into the room.
    He put her on the bed as Nimbus’s mother watched from the open doorway. Her expression was dark and brooding.
    ‘What happened?’ she asked.
    ‘There was something. In the mirror,’ Nimbus explained. ‘Glass said it was a message.’
    ‘What kind of message?’ his father asked, frowning as he felt Glass’s forehead.
    ‘There was something in the moonlight. It reflected in the glass in the shape of a horse.’
    ‘What kind of horse?’
    ‘It was strange. Very white. And it had a single horn coming out of its head.’
    ‘That was no horse. That was a unicorn.’
    Glass groaned weakly. Sweat sprang up on her pale cheeks and crackles of energy played around her delicate fingers as she gripped at the sheets.
    ‘What’s happening?’ Nimbus said.
    ‘It’s too much for her. She can’t control it,’ his father said. ‘Strata, fetch cold water and a cloth. We have to keep her temperature down as much as possible.’
    Nimbus’s mother left the room without uttering a word. Already she had seen her son struck down by a dragon, only to be brought back to life by powers beyond her understanding. Now her daughter was suffering too. Was her whole family destined to fall apart around her, like beings of smoke breaking against the relentless movements of the fickle wind? And was she destined to watch it happen, a little piece of her dying silently with each new heartache?
    ‘It’s trying to get out, isn’t it?’ Nimbus asked his father.
    ‘She doesn’t have the skill to channel the flow of energy through her body. She can’t keep everything balanced. As the power continues to grow, it takes more effort to control.’
    ‘How do we stop it?’
    ‘We can’t.’
    ‘Why not?’
    ‘I think there’s more to this than we thought. Something to do with what you saw in the mirror.’
    ‘I don’t know what I saw.’
    ‘But I think I do. Have you ever heard of familiars? Magic wells?’
    ‘You mean like black cats and frogs?’
    ‘Something like that. Every magic user has one, even if they don’t know it.’
    Glass’s eyes flicked open, and in the gloom they had the unsettling appearance of two suns in pools of darkness. Her mouth worked open and closed and there was a terrible, shrill scream, like the scream of all the hurting people from every corner of the land combined in one terrifying voice. But it wasn’t Glass who was screaming. Although her mouth flapped frantically, she made no sound. The scream was coming from outside.
    Nimbus ran to the window. A young girl, wearing only a thin nightgown, was staggering around outside. Her long, straggly hair was hanging down over her face, but it was obvious she was the one making all the noise.
    As Nimbus watched, she fell on the damp grass, and her head sank until it was almost touching the ground.
    ‘What is it?’ Cloud asked. ‘What’s wrong?’
    ‘Could be trouble,’ Nimbus said, snatching up his sword as he headed for the door.
    His father put a warning hand on his arm. ‘I wouldn’t go out there if I were you.’
    ‘But you’re not me,’ Nimbus said, and he shrugged himself out of his father’s grip.
    ‘At least put your armour back on,’ Cloud shouted, but Nimbus was already at the front door and either didn’t hear what his father had said, or chose to ignore it.
    ‘Nimbus, don’t,’ his mother said.
    He smiled at her. ‘It’s okay, Mum. This is what I do now.’
    He snuck outside and then pressed himself against the