Page 23 of Stubborn as a Shadow

When Eric-not-Eric didn’t answer, I glanced over my shoulder at him. He stared at me as if I was an extraterrestrial explaining how the pyramids were constructed.

Man, how cool would that be?

I loved those pseudo-documentary shows about aliens on TV. Because if unicorns existed, who was to say aliens didn’t too?

But when Eric-not-Ericstilldidn’t answer, I grabbed a cola, cracked the top, and shoved it at him before selecting an orange juice for myself. I couldn’t do bubbles, but sugar? Sugarwas brilliant. I also needed sugar to balance out my magic. I hadn’t used much magic today, but it was always prudent to be prepared, right?

Huh. I wondered what Eric-not-Eric needed to eat to replenish his magic…

“You’re Morgan,” he whispered. “The unicorn.”

Shoot. How did he know? No one was supposed to know anything about unicorns.

Until that moment, I’d never understood why squirrels froze in place when a predator was skulking around. It was a completely silly fear response, particularly in this situation, but alas, my body was doing its own thing.

On TV sitcoms, people would laugh at accusations they wanted to dismiss, but laughter was what’d gotten me into this predicament in the first place. So that wasn’t an option.

I wished I had my earbud. Violet would know what to do. Of course, she would be spinning in circles because I’d told this man my real name. But to be fair, I never said I was a unicorn. I hadn’t expected him to guess so easily.

“I’ve been looking for you.” He was still speaking softly, as if he feared scaring me.

Which was kind of silly. My scare-o-meter was all the way up already. One hundred percent. I’d jumped right over freaked-out land and had planted a flag in this-is-so-fucking-bad territory.

Except Ethan Hunt wouldn’t be frightened, would he? I tried to rally my courage by humming the theme song toMission: Impossibleagain. Quietly. So quietly only I could hear it. Was it still humming if it was only in my head?

“I’m sorry. I’m fucking this up,” my mystery rescuer said. He leaned forward so abruptly the cola sloshed out of the top of his can and splashed over his fingers. He didn’t notice. “Do you remember Ogden? A dragon? Likes to sing? Can electrocute people with his dragon fire?”

I blinked. Of course I remembered the dragon who’d been caged beside me all those months ago, in that awful facility run by that awful troll.

Holy glittering rainbows. Was this guy one of those kidnappers?

I glanced at the door. I doubted I’d make it before he caught me. On the one hand, it took shadows whole afternoons to travel across the floor in the living room at my uncle’s house. But at the same time, they flashed into existence with the flick of a light switch. They could pop upanywhere.

“He’s my friend,” the guy continued. “He asked me to find you. I’ve been looking for you since the summer. I found the grain bin and the cage…” He shook his head. “Fuck. I can’t believe I found you. I need to get you away from here. Somewhere safe.”

7

A UNICORN IN DISGUISE IS STILL A UNICORN

NELSON

What was Morgan doing here?

This was absolutely the worst place in the world for him to be. At this very minute, the worst beings in the supernatural world were gathering here. Most would jump at the chance to have a unicorn under their control, because his kind was so damn rare. Their tears and horns were rumored to have magical properties, and the assholes like the ones at this market would probably sacrifice a foot to get their hands on them.

The mere idea of someone carving Morgan into pieces for a profit nauseated me. My mouth watered as I tried to get control of myself. I never lost control of my emotions like this. Never.

The unicorn in question slouched in his chair as if trying to become one with it. His disguise, as shitty as it was, made more sense now. The dark wig, the contact lenses, the heavy makeup, the ridiculous costume…

But a unicorn was always going to be a unicorn.

Those opalescent bubbles that had burst out of him when he laughed? Those gave him away. That little curl of hair poking outfrom under his wig with the iridescent sheen to it? That gave him away. And now that I was actually studying him, a rainbow ring was showing around the edges of his contact lenses too.

Signs of his true nature were everywhere.

Fuck. It was a miracle that he hadn’t been scooped up as soon as he walked into the hotel.

“Unicorn?” His voice cracked. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I’ve never met a unicorn.”