Silver and Green with Envy: A Sebastian Sallow Story

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Elena, we can't let them take that, we-"

"I know, Natty. Give me a second to think."

The unicorn wasn't kept in a cage, bound by chains around its legs and a lead around its neck. I thought briefly about just blasting the chains off, but ultimately decided against it because I'd most likely spook the poor thing into hurting itself trying to escape. 

There was also the issue of knowing I'd need to get into some sort of altercation with the poachers themselves, and with all of the spells that would be flinging around, there was the real possibility of it getting hit in crossfire. 

I felt bad for the thought that technically, all of the beasts I'd saved were in danger while the fighting was happening but...Unicorns were mostly defenseless and a golden one was especially rare. I had a unicorn tail in my wand, and during my fifth year, I stumbled across one that chose to trust me enough that it helped me get out of the forest I was lost in after evading a bunch of Ranrock's loyalists.

I had a terrible soft spot for them, and couldn't fathom anyone else not having one. 

I was shaking with quiet rage as I watched one of the poachers fling an apple at it. 

He was going to go first.

"Elena, what-"

"Natty you need to create a distraction, get some of them away. The less I have to deal with at once the better."

"I can do that." I heard the swish of snow as she left to do whatever she decided on. I trusted her in that regard. 

I waited anxiously until I heard a loud explosion and the sounds of trees crashing. All of the poachers immediately went on high alert. 

One of them had his wand at the ready almost immediately. "You think it's that little bitch Harlow told us to watch out for?"

Another one laughed and merely sat further back into the tent he was occupying. "Nah, can't be her, she's not that loud. You three go check it out though, see what it actually was. "

I watched as Natty was able to draw away about half of the poachers. She'd be able to take care of them no problem. She wasn't the strongest duelist, but her strength with casting more than made up for that.

I moved a little further into the camp before I started casting, almost wantonly. It didn't take them long to get their wits together enough to start casting back at me. And these men seemed far more prepared than the last handful of times I'd done this. Their protection was stronger, their casts hit harder. Quite a bit harder, I realized, feeling something crack in my ribs after taking a hit I hadn't noticed coming. 

I heard Harlow's voice in my head, his comment about me getting sloppy, and it just pushed me harder.

The Unicorn immediately began panicking, rearing up as much as it could and let out ear piercing whinny after ear piercing whinny. It was distracting to both sides, me wanting to make sure it wasn't hurt and the poachers because they probably knew they couldn't risk letting another animal get away again. 

It took a few well placed spells on my part, but I did eventually get them down. The unicorn was still panicking and I walked toward it, putting my wand away and holding my hands up, slowing my steps considerably. I spoke softly, trying to shush it.

It finally stopped rearing, and I got close enough to see its eyes turn on me with what almost seemed like hope. 

"It's alright, girl. I'm going to-"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

The hope...became nothing.