The Other Castellan

The Slaying of an Innocent Creature

Chapter 12: The Slaying of an Innocent Creature

"Come on," Layla told Lucas. She produced a silvery camouflage tarp out of nowhere and she covered the crate with it. She unsheathed a silver hunting knife. "Take out your wand," she ordered. "Celestial Bronze weapons will draw attention."

  Lucas nodded and drew his wand. Quirrell's class had been absolute rubbish so far, but the tip of his wand was sharp. He could easily take out someone's eye with it if he wanted to.

  They headed into the forest to where the crash had occurred, trying to stay silent and get there quickly at the same time. Layla was much more successful- leaping gracefully over tree roots and dodging tree branches. It suddenly occurred to Lucas that Layla could see in the dark.

  After a while, Lucas's breath started coming in short pants. He had a feeling that something terrible had happened.

  He nearly crashed into Layla when she stopped, and he could immediately see why she had stopped. There, laying on the ground in front of them, was a unicorn corpse: it glowed bright white, with its legs stuck out at odd angles and its pearly white mane was spread on the dark leaves.

  But that wasn't the worst part. A dark, hooded figure was hunched over the body, drinking blood from a wound on the unicorn's side. It was disgusting, yet fascinating at the same time. Lucas stared at the figure in horror while Layla made a sobbing sound.

  The hooded figure heard her. It raised its head and looked straight at them, unicorn blood dripping from its mouth. And... it bolted.

  For a second there, Lucas just stared in shock. He could barely believe his eyes. 

  He turned to Layla. "Is it just me, or did that thing just run away?"

  "You saw correctly," she replied. "But... who would do such a thing? To slay a unicorn? It's just-" she choked on her words. "-cruel. But the motive?"

  Lucas quickly glanced around and headed towards the body, inspecting the body. "Maybe the blood?" he suggested. "The hooded figure was drinking its blood. What properties does unicorn blood have?"

  "I honestly don't know," Layla admitted. "I've never read of unicorn blood being anything special. I mean, I know Re'em blood gives the drinker superhuman strength for a while, but I don't know anything about unicorn blood. I always assumed that it was just blood, nothing special."

  There was the sound of something galloping towards them.

  "I don't suppose they teach that to you at Hogwarts, do they?" someone asked softly.

  Lucas turned around. "Firenze," he greeted him.

  Layla looked at them questioningly.

  "I met him at around Christmas," he explained. "He's nice, though I can't compare him to Chiron."

  Firenze nodded. "Certainly not," he agreed. "Chiron is... extraordinary. And he's much older."

  "From around the time, the Titans ruled," Layla informed them. "That's a long time. At least two millennia. So, unicorn blood?"

  "Right," Firenze said. "You've never heard of unicorn blood having magical properties, or used it in potions because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn. Only someone with nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would do such a horrid thing. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you're an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to keep you alive and you will have a half-life, a cursed life from the moment the blood touches your lips."