Annihilation - Book Three

Chapter 24

Fergus. 

The man has a unicorn named Fergus.

 I'm glad I'm not the only one who is appalled; Adriam and I take turns gawking at the fact the creature lets the man ride him. I suppose I'm no different in a sense, there are those who are equally stunned that the wolf allows me on his back, but for a God to side with a mortal? The unicorn was supposed to be a creature of indifference, not one who travels with a man for entertainment. 

 We depart the gates, towing a horse behind us to carry our luggage. The walk will be long, so I take the time to question Tomas about how he came about such a creature, considering my warlord is too tense to consider talking to me with his dulled senses. 

Once we are out of the gates, all joking ceases, and it becomes increasingly apparent that the former Lycan's looming darkness has returned. He couldn't protect me out here, not in this form, and the tension was palpable. On edge and keeping Reid close, he grilled him on their surroundings.

 Suddenly, being a human is not fun, and I leave him to stew about it. It was about time he realized that mortality was a plague, not a reward. 

Tomas tells me, and Adriam, who I know is eavesdropping, that he found Fergus when he was a colt. He didn't start as a unicorn; he was a simple donkey—a rather unfortunate-looking creature abandoned by its mother in the mars of Ireland. Tomas had raised him on the bottle like one would a calf. Knock-kneed, feeble, and scruffy, many proclaimed the small creature was a lost cause. 

But, surprisingly, the bounty hunter felt that life was worth saving. 

 When he was a few years old, Tomas used him as a beast of burden, and he helped plow their family fields. It wasn't until the king's men came to claim taxes, stating that they would take his father's land and evict the resident family, that Fergus revealed his true self and chased them off. He returns to his donkey appearance when they are around strangers and prefers being that way, Tomas proclaims the creature has a sizeable ego and that the horn and hair get in the way.

 I blink in surprise while I attempt to absorb this. 

"Your donkey turned into a unicorn?" I challenge. 

"Aye. I don think I'd have named a unicorn Fergus. But, here he is." He pats the beast on the neck, and Adriam comes beside us, joined by Haryek. "I don think he minds though, do ya, Fergus?"

The stallion grunts in response, flicking his head as his ears rotate on a constant swivel. 

"So this is the horrid donkey who keeps freeing our livestock?" Haryek asks in frustration. "I knew you had something to do with this."

Tomas chuckles. "Aye. As I say, he is an arse. He does no much care for keeping creatures contained, and ya won't be containin' him. He rides for as long as he likes and stays for as long as he pleases, once or twice he has run off with a mare or two but for the most part, he's a sarry sod and he can't be made to do much of anything."

 I suppose that makes sense. We might be gazing at one of the last unicorns, and he chooses to pair up with this idiot? 

Haryek makes an amused sound. "So he will breed? What are the colts like?"

"Donkeys, an no they don grow a horn. Not that I've seen, anyway. Yer best mare'll bare a mule if ya try yer luck. Ugly as sin." He brushes the creature's mane with his fingers, detangling the mass of hair. "God only sent for one, I suppose. Ol' Fergus would be the last, I'd reckon." 

I examine Fergus, looking him over. His hooves are cloven, much like a deer. His long tail sweeps the ground, erasing his hoof prints, guarding from any trace he'd ever been among us.