Priceless

others, but I didn’t care.
    You have a far way to journey yet, do not lose heart. A bright spot in the darkness; that is what you can be, if you choose. Steel your resolve. You are not alone. There are those who cheer you on, those you cannot possibly know; those who believe you will be the one to break his hold on us. Do not let your guilt blind you to the future that awaits you.
    Blinking, I wiped the tears from my face. “Whose hold? What are you talking about?”
    If unicorns could smile, this one did.
I have said too much already.
    At some unspoken signal, the Crush of Unicorns spun in unison swirling around us, close enough to smell the lavender and whisper of jasmine clinging to their hides. Their split hooves pounded out a rhythm around us, rattling my bones until my heart beat in time with theirs.
    Just like that, they were gone. There was no malice in them, not even toward us, who’d brought their age-old nemesis right into their territory.
    The dust swirled and settled, the sun beat down, and it was like nothing had happened. Minutes passed; the silence thick and heavy. It was O’Shea who finally broke the spell the Crush cast.
    He stepped in front of me. “Question her. She’s our only chance for info on the Coven.”
    Though I didn’t need him to tell me what I already knew, he was right. Turning, I headed over to the Harpy the unicorns had pinioned. She was barely breathing, blood pouring from multiple punctures.
    “Well played, Tracker, well played,” she coughed out, her mouth twitching.
    “Why are you working for a rogue Coven?” The sound of my voice seemed so harsh and unreal after hearing the Stallion’s voice inside my head, feeling his emotions in my heart.
    The Harpy shuddered. “They are powerful; they spelled us so we had no choice. Please, free my sister. She is young yet, a child in our years.”
    Ah, fuck.
    I crouched down to her. “You know I can’t. I’m seeking another child, one the Coven stole.”
    “You swore an oath once, Tracker. To seek out and save any child you could, for anyone who would ask for your help. Do you renounce this oath now?” Her eyes, though dulling as death stalked her body, filled with sharp intelligence.
    There was no way around it. “No, I do not renounce my oath.”
    She twitched again, her eyes shifting to stare behind me. Alex crept forward, sniffing the blood, his lip curling at the bitter scent.
    He got too close. She lashed out, pinning Alex to the ground with a claw, her eyes fierce. “Give me your word, Tracker. Free her from them, when you free the human child.” Her claws dug into Alex and he cried out, struggling against the impossibly strong claws. Her meaning was crystal clear.
    Double fuck.
    “I will free her, one way or another,” I said.
    Her eyes narrowed, understanding exactly what I said, but more importantly, what I hadn’t. I would set her sister free, or I would kill her. Either way, the Coven would no longer control the young Harpy.
    She withdrew her claws from Alex, who scrambled backwards until he pressed up against O’Shea. “That will do.” She coughed and shifted her weight. I couldn’t stop the involuntary tensing of my muscles. Even this close to death, she was a deadly adversary, one that could kill me with barely a flick of one claw.
    “Do you know why the Coven is stealing children?” After seeing the mineshaft I had no doubt the kidnappings had been going on for a while, which meant there was more than one kid down there.
    The Harpy took a deep rattling breath, the scent of coppery blood on her words as she exhaled. “The Coven tagged us, with this.” She lifted a claw and I saw a ruby embedded in the top of her foot.
    I bent over and put the edge of a knife to it, popping it free, and slid it into my pocket.
    The Harpy blinked twice, eyes un-focusing in between each movement. “That is what you must remove from my sister if you are to free her. My sister’s true name, call her by it and she will know you mean her no harm. Eve, her name is Eve.“ Her chest stilled, and the last of her life escaped from her as she breathed her sister’s name. Damn it.
    Standing up, I brushed the dirt off my jeans. “Let’s go.”
    O’Shea and Alex climbed into the Jeep in silence, but it didn’t last for long.
    “I think we should pull up the files on the other three kids that are missing,” O’Shea said, his voice steady, considering the last half an hour.
    I put the Jeep in gear and headed out,