Excerpt: Witchery

Alia sighed as she bent her head over the paperwork on her desk. She'd just made her rounds with the children for the evening and had to ensure she was caught up on everything just in case something went wrong during her night -time vigil. A few of the children she looked after could have been doing much better and she was planning on taking care of that once the lights were down for the night.

Her golden head bent, she was applying her flowing script over several areas that required notation. So engrossed in the work, she took no notice of the small green figure that appeared outside her window until it started tapping at the glass. Blinking in surprise, Alia looked up and then over, the creature's appearance unexpected.

"Cricket?" she asked as she rose from her chair and wandered to the window so she could open it. The Leaffle fluttered around her head erratically before catching hold of her doctor's coat and tugging at it. "What is it?"

She pulled her glasses off her face and tucked them into her breast pocket before holding up her hand to let the golem perch. It did, though it stayed for less than three seconds before it was fluttering again. There was only one thing that could have the small creation so aggitated.

"Where's Ian?" Her question set Cricket off even worse, confirming the woman's instincts and she nodded. "You'll have to lead the way."

Exiting her office, she passed by the nurse station and looked at one of her subordinates. "I've got an emergency I need to see to," Alia told the man as she tugged off her coat. "Keep an eye on things here for me until I get back."

Once she was safely outside the building, the woman quickly ducked into an alley and found a secluded spot. "I'm not as fast as you are like this," she told Cricket to help forestall it from leaving her behind. "Give me a moment to fix that."

Sparkling tendrils began to form around the woman, starting from a glowing spot that appeared on her forehead. They snaked around her slim body, the light growing and becoming something more obscuring to any passing observers, though there was only the Leaffle as witness. The nexus of light grew in size, lasting for perhaps thirty seconds, before the filaments of magic began to recede.

Left in their wake was a majestic equine -like creature that stood at nearly seventeen hands high. A single golden horn spiraled up from the beast's forehead, into which the tendrils of light were vanishing as if being sucked up by a vacuum. Delicate, cloven hooves stamped the asphalt beneath them even as a lion-like tail swished back and forth. "I'll obscure us," the unicorn said, the voice similar to Alia's human tones, but somehow more serene.

Even as she finished the words, Cricket took off in the direction of its master and not even a heartbeat later, the majestic forest guardian was in pursuit. Sparks flew from beneath her as Alia followed the small golem, breaking free of the alley to make a soaring and graceful leap over the street to avoid passing cars. Her solid blue eyes remained fixed on Cricket, keeping him well within sight so that she didn't lose her way.

She knew the creature well enough. While it wasn't always the most calm of things, possessing an insect's randomness, there was only one thing that could put Cricket into this kind of behavior. Ian, it's master, was in grave danger. This was something that Alia had always feared would happen; that the man would find himself in too deep and be unable to reach her in time for help.

Quelling the worry that threatened to consume her, the Unicorn pushed for speed to keep up with the Leaffle. The clatter of her hooves against the concrete sidewalks and the black asphalt was fortunately muffled by her magic of obscurement. This magic had been a part of her kind since the dawn of time and had helped them escape extinction. Only the most powerful or most pure could see her thus, and in a city like this that meant her passing was unremarked by just about everyone as she followed.

Alia skidded to a halt when her blue gaze caught sight of a dark haired man slumped against the brick wall between a pair of buildings. Her hooves sent up even more tiny sparks until she was right in front of Ian and her head dipped low so she could carefully nuzzle at his shoulder. The pressure caused him to weakly lift his head, his pained eyes widening when he caught sight of the majestic creature come to visit him.

"I was right... You are beautiful enough to make me cry," he murmured at her and slowly lifted a trembling hand to brush it against her nose.

"What happened?"

Ian's head thudded back against the wall, but he didn't even wince. "Vampires... they took off with Rhiannon," he explained.

"You were bitten." His weakness made her assessment not a question, but a statement of fact.

"Yeah. Brandon put a Curse patch on it, but it's still bleeding pretty bad." With careful motions, he lifted his arm to show the self -adhesive patch that was often used by vampire hunters in the instances that they were bitten. "Hurts like a bitch... but better safe than sorry."

"I take it then that this Brandon is a hunter of Undead?" Alia asked, her horn expertly manipulating the patch so she could peel it back and look at the wound. The area of the bite was an ugly sight, even moreso than most fatal wounds she'd seen. The blood that flowed from it was tainted black due to the corruptive influence of vampire saliva.

Ian nodded. "He's Pacis. Paladin named him DeathStalker." His blue gaze locked on hers. "Trying to heal me won't work," he told her bluntly, "I've contracted the curse."

The unicorn looked at him sadly. "Then, there's only one way to free you of it," she told him. "You'd better send Cricket to your friend so that he knows where to find me. Besides, I don't think you want your familiar to watch this."

"You're right," Ian said, the words followed with a sigh of resignation. "Cricket, come here."

The Leaffle did as commanded, alighting on Ian's shoulder and peering at him with concern. "Find DeathStalker," the magus told the creature. "You're going to have to show him where Alia is once he's rescued Rhiannon. Got it?"

There was some hesitation in the small creature. It clearly didn't want to leave its master alone when his life was so threatened. "God-damn it, obey!" A small stomp of the foot was Cricket's only protest before it darted off, vanishing from sight as it flew around a corner to make good on what it was ordered to do.

The man looked up at Alia, his hand moving from her nose to the sleek fur against her cheek. "I'm ready."

"You know how this works, Ian. It's... not going to be pleasant," the unicorn told him.

He nodded. His voice, when he replied, was shaky at best. "Yeah. Let's... just get it over with, all right?" Ian forcibly pulled himself to his feet, leaning against the brick wall behind him for support, until he was more or less standing before the majestic being. His head tilted back as his hands lifted to pull the high collar of his shirt out of the way.

The golden alicorn's point touched against the hollow of his throat between the collar bones. The tip was so sharp, just the touch itself was enough to prick the skin for a drop of blood to seep down. This was an ancient test of trust between man and beast, despite the fact that Alia knew the magus trusted her implicitly.

The beautiful unicorn said nothing, but took a single step forward, thrusting her spiraled horn through the soft flesh.