Blizzard of the Blue Moon: A Merlin Mission

rug….”
    The unicorn turned his head and looked out at the girl. The look in his blue eyes was ancient yet young, wise yet innocent. He lifted his head as if he were about to stand.
    The girl nodded to the boy. The boy slowly coiled the black rope into a noose. The girl looked at the unicorn again. “Come to me, Dianthus!” she coaxed. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll love you and show you the way—”

    “No, Dianthus!” yelled Annie. “Don’t go to her!” Annie and Jack bolted from their hiding place.
    Balor and Grinda whirled around in surprise. They both had pale faces and pale shining eyes.
    “Leave him alone!” Annie yelled at the strange pair. “You don’t love him!
We
love him!”
    At that moment, there was a flash of light, and the unicorn in the tapestry leapt like a deer over the woven fence. Balor and Grinda shrieked and jumped back. Jack covered his head.
    Then there was silence. Jack looked up. The tapestry on the wall was unchanged—it still showed a unicorn woven from yarn chained to a tree.
    But standing on the floor of the museum was the most beautiful creature Jack had ever seen.

T he unicorn had a broad milk-white chest and graceful neck. A tuft of hair curled under his chin. A long, spiraled horn rose from the middle of his forehead. He stood very still and very tall. His whole body seemed to be glowing.
    Balor and Grinda just stared at him. They both looked frightened. But Annie stepped forward. “Hi, Dianthus,” she whispered. She reached out and gently touched the unicorn’s white chest. “Feel, Jack, feel his heart pounding.”
    “Move away!” ordered Grinda. The girl steppedbetween Jack and Annie. “He is ours and he is coming with us.”
    “He’s
not
yours!” said Annie.
    “Who
are
you, anyway?” said Jack. “Where did you come from?”
    Grinda glared at Jack. “We come from the same magic world
he
comes from,” she said. “He belongs with us, not
you.
Balor!”
    The boy shoved Annie aside and tried to loop the black rope around the unicorn’s neck. But Dianthus reared up and wheeled around, forcing Balor and Grinda out of his way.
    Dianthus leapt across the tapestry room toward the garden. Jack and Annie followed him through the open doorway into the snowy cloister. Balor and Grinda charged after them. They pushed past Jack and Annie to Dianthus. Balor grabbed the unicorn’s blue collar. “You are coming with us, stupid, like it or not!”
    “Don’t pull on him!” yelled Annie. “And don’t call him stupid!”

    Dianthus tried to back up.
    “Let go!” screamed Annie. “He doesn’t want to go with you!”
    “He has no choice,” said Grinda. “As soon as that rope goes around his neck, all three of us will be instantly transported back to the Castle of the Dark Wizard.”
    “No!” Jack shouted. He charged at Balor and tried to grab the rope from his hand. Balor let go of the unicorn’s collar and shoved Jack into the snow. Then he turned back to the unicorn and began to swing the magic rope like a lasso.
    Dianthus reared up again and kicked his legs. Breath from his nostrils billowed into the icy air.
    “A rhyme, Jack!” yelled Annie. “A rhyme!”
    Kneeling in the snow, Jack yanked the book from his briefcase. He frantically turned the pages, looking for a rhyme they hadn’t used.
“Call a Cloud from the Sky?”
he shouted to Annie.
    “Anything!” she called. “Try it!”
    Jack read the rhyme aloud:
    Down from high, out of the sky
,
    Ee-no-fain-ee-ro-lie!
    A thick white fog instantly filled the cloister. The fog was so dense that Jack couldn’t even see his own hand.
    “Balor, where are you?” shrieked Grinda.
    “Here!” the boy yelled.
    Someone grabbed Jack. He struggled to break free. “Let me go!” he shouted.
    “It’s me!” whispered Annie. “Come on!”
    Jack stood up, clinging to Annie. They stumbled together through the garden. Feeling their way along the walkway, they came to the door that led to the main hall.
    “Dianthus, here!” Annie whispered.
    Jack heard the soft crunch of the unicorn’s hooves in the frozen snow.
    “Where did he go?” Balor shouted.
    “Find him!” yelled Grinda.
    Jack reached out and felt the unicorn’s soft mane. Annie pushed open the door. Then she, Dianthus, and Jack slipped inside the main hall.
    Jack closed the door before Balor and Grinda could escape the garden. There wasn’t a wisp of fog in the main hall. The museum lady was still behind her desk. She stared at Jack, Annie,