Page 65 of Silver Linings

But then it sank in.

Victor Maplehurst didn’t know that the circle of stones was some kind of portal. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made that remark about “worm food.” No, he probably viewed the stones and the glowing plants as prizes in and of themselves, unique specimens that somehow phased in and out of this plane, true, but nothing that could be viewed as more than the sum of their parts. It didn’t seem too far-fetched to imagine that he planned to uproot the stones and the moss and the flowers and sell them off to those who collected the strange and unusual.

Once upon a time, Ben would have thought such a scenario far-fetched in the extreme. His immersion in the world of cryptozoology, however, had taught him almost nothing was beyond the bounds of possibility, not when it was an open secret in the community that a certain high-flying billionaire was willing to pay a hundred million bucks for a fully intact Sasquatch carcass — so he could have it stuffed and put on display in one of his mansions, most likely.

And while he doubted Victor Maplehurst cared too much about such things, it seemed likely enough that he was just fine with adding a few million to his coffers, whatever the objects in the clearing might be able to fetch.

But if he hadn’t realized that the stone circle was something a bit more than a collection of rare and unusual rocks, he was about to find out in a hurry.

Sidney sent Ben another sideways glance, and then her gaze slid down to the pistol the man held. Not expertly — his grip was far too tight — which meant he might not be all that good at using the thing.

Would it be worth the risk to lunge for him and push him into the circle? Even if he didn’t shoot, there was no guarantee the portal would open up and swallow him whole. They still didn’t know for sure how the thing even worked, which meant all they might earn for their trouble was one seriously pissed-off lumber company exec with murder in his heart and a loaded pistol in his hand.

Before either of them could make the fateful decision, though, a blur of white exploded out of the center of the standing stones.

The unicorn.

It charged at Victor Maplehurst, horn held down, pointed directly at his heart.

He lifted the gun.

The bang was so loud that Ben lifted his hands to cover his ears, and Sidney winced.

No stain of red on the unicorn’s glimmering white coat, nothing to show that the shot had connected.

Thank God.

His brain didn’t have time for much more than that, though, because the unicorn rushed forward.

Connected.

Victor Maplehurst’s eyes went wide, and he let out an odd little, “Guh,” possibly the sound of the air escaping his punctured lungs. But then he collapsed on the glowing moss, dark blood beginning to flow outward from his body and dimming the shimmer of the ground cover.

Both of Sidney’s hands went to her mouth, as though she was worried that if she didn’t cover it, she’d let out a cry of dismay that would surely scare the unicorn off.

Curt and Lenny, on the other hand, didn’t appear to be worried about any of that. They both made screeching noises that sounded more as if they’d emerged from a couple of scared fifth-graders than a pair of grown men before they bolted into the woods.

The unicorn didn’t seem interested in pursuing them — probably because they no longer presented a threat. Instead, he swiveled his head back to look at Sidney.

Magically, his horn now gleamed pure silvery white, as though it hadn’t just been coated in blood and several even less pleasant substances only a moment earlier.

Then the animal took a step toward her, and another. Ben began to move in that direction as well, even as he realized there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot he could do if the creature decided to charge.

That didn’t seem to be the animal’s intention, however. No, he lowered his head once he was within arm’s reach and stood there, patiently waiting.

With one shaking hand, she reached out and began to stroke the unicorn’s mane. “Thank you,” she murmured. “Thank you for protecting us.”

Would Maplehurst really have pulled the trigger? Ben couldn’t say for sure, but it seemed the animal had sensed the man was a danger to them…to the forest as a whole.

The unicorn stood quietly as Sidney continued to run her hand over his mane. Then he took a step backward and then another, moving toward the stone circle. She followed, something about her expression almost mesmerized, as if she was so caught by the creature’s spell that she wasn’t paying much attention to her surroundings.

“Sidney — ” Ben said, and she blinked, seeming to suddenly realize she was only a few steps away from the standing stones.

She gave the unicorn a stern look. “Were you trying to draw me in there?”

The horned horse shook, then stamped one hoof on the ground. Ben knew even less about unicorn-speak than he did old Irish, but something about the gesture almost seemed to say, Of course not.

“So we’re not supposed to go in the circle?”

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