Shadows on the Stars by T. A. Barron Read Free Book Online

Lake!”
    “But why?” demanded Elli. “Coerria is the one in danger, not the Lady. And I must—”
    At that instant, a strange green shoot, capped with a dark red bud, popped right out of the snow beside the unicorn. It shivered a bit, swelled in size, and lifted to its full height. Meanwhile, the bud swiftly opened into a magnificent flower.
    Everyone, including the unicorn, stared at it. A flower in winter? thought Tamwyn, astonished.
    Even if it hadn’t appeared in the midst of a snow field, atop a remote mountain peak, this flower would have seemed miraculous. Though only seconds old, it stood nearly as high as Elli’s knee, with a single bell-shaped blossom and no leaves. A deep red color glowed on its largest petals, while the rest were darker, the color of dried blood. It gave off a scent like lilac blossoms, which seemed impossibly sweet on this frozen mountainside.
    The unicorn’s ears lay back, and she swished her flowing tail. Gracefully she bent her head to look more closely at the flower. Her great blue eyes sparkled with curiosity.
    Tamwyn, though, felt a sudden sense of foreboding. He raised his hand, and was about to shout, when someone else called out first.
    “Wait,” yelled Scree. He sprinted through the snow toward the unicorn, his muscular legs pumping. “This feels wrong. I’ve lived on mountains all my life, and never seen a flower like that!”
    The unicorn simply ignored him. Bending her head to the flower, she sniffed at it with wide nostrils, drinking in the sweet smell.
    “Wait!” shouted Scree and Tamwyn in unison.
    Gently, she touched one of the bloodred petals with the tip of her spiraling horn. All at once, the flower exploded with a thunderous roar that echoed across the summit and the surrounding ridges. As if it had been made of glass, the flower shot out dozens of jagged shards—which struck the unicorn with devastating force.
    She shrieked in agony, a heartrending whinny. Staggering, she fell on her side, kicking wildly in the snow. Her horn, which had been hit directly by several shards, lost its lustrous glow, sizzled, and then broke apart, crumbling into flecks of ash that blew across the slope. A shard had also lodged in her eye, tearing a wide gash in the crystalline blue. Meanwhile, all over her magnificent body—her long neck, her sturdy haunches, her elegant nose—gaping wounds appeared. Fountains of silver-blue blood spurted from them, staining the snow all around, as the creature writhed in pain, whinnying helplessly.
    It was over in seconds. Elli, who had been standing behind the unicorn and so hadn’t been hit, screamed in horror. Before she could even think to pull out her gourd that was filled with healing waters from the Secret Spring of Halaad, the great being shivered and fell still.
    The Sapphire Unicorn, whom bards had long celebrated as the most elusive beauty in all the lands , was no more.
    Elli fell to her knees in the snow beside the gruesome corpse. “Why?” she cried, hurling her question across the mountainside.
    Tamwyn charged forward, his mind reeling. Who had done this? Why would anyone destroy such a wondrous creature, the only one of her kind? To keep her from completing her mission for the Lady? Or some other reason?
    Suddenly, he knew. Rhita Gawr did this. I’m certain. And then he realized something else: This terrible trap might not have been meant for the unicorn! That deadly flower could have been set to explode when the first person with any magical power touched it.
    He caught his breath. That flower could have been meant for him.
    “Aaaagh,” came a moan from near the corpse. It was Scree!
    Tamwyn, Elli, and Brionna ran over. Scree was crouching in the snow, squeezing his thigh, his rugged face contorted in pain. Blood dribbled from a tiny gash above his knee, soaking his leggings. “One of those shards . . . hit me. And it’s working its way in deeper, I can feel it.”
    Bending his other leg with the dexterity of an