Read Online 02 Unicorn Rider by Kevin Outlaw - Free Book Online

need to look to someone else. And you are so strong and fast, and such a good fisherman.’
    ‘I don’t want Nim to die,’ Tidal said, disliking the way his own words were being used to mock him.
    ‘Then what do you want?’
    ‘I just wish that he wasn’t always the centre of attention.’
    ‘That’s all?’
    Tidal let his head sink. ‘No. Not really. That wouldn’t be enough.’
    ‘And what is enough?’
    ‘I wish I had been the one who found Cumulo. I wish I had become the Wing Warrior.’
    ‘That is a brave wish.’
    ‘I’m not a coward.’
    ‘I know.’
    There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Eventually Tidal picked up his oars. ‘I have to go home.’
    ‘I think you should stay.’
    Tidal’s oars splashed in the water. ‘I’m leaving,’ he said.
    ‘I could make you stay. I could eat your boat right out from underneath you. It would barely be more than a mouthful. And I could snap you up in just one bite.’
    ‘Then why don’t you?’
    ‘Because I want the same thing you want. Help. We could help each other.’
    ‘I don’t want your help.’
    ‘Yes you do. You want me to turn you into a hero.’
    ‘How would you do that?’ Tidal tried not to sound as interested as he really was.
    ‘I am a very powerful, ancient creature. Only Mother’s age exceeded mine, and she is now no more. I have slept longer than most things have breathed, and even the combined might of all the realms was not enough to kill me.’
    ‘And you would help me to become a hero?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘What do you want in return?’
    The only response was the slurping of the water around the boat, and a distant splash.
    The horizon stretched on forever; untouched, and far beyond reach.
     
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    The sun had finally set on the terrible bloodshed of the day, dipping the world into a mystical darkness that only the bravest villagers would dare venture out in. Peculiar darkling creatures – snuffling, snorting, foraging beasts – ambled through the streets, scrabbled hungrily at bolted doors, and watched the glimmering candlelight in the windows of the houses. In his safely padlocked stable, Onyx paced agitatedly, all too aware of the scent of alien monstrosities lurking in the gloom.
    In the village square, Cumulo stood motionless, watching the magical things as they hunted and fought and snapped and squealed and bleated. The night–time world was alive with animals that were born of magic, just as he was; but he was not a part of that world. He was Cumulo, the last of the dragons, the spirit of eleven great titans in one body. He was bred to assist in defending the peoples of the realm. It was his destiny to be ever vigilant and strong. He could not run and play with these lesser creatures, even if his heart yearned to do so.
    He hunkered down and rested his head on his claws. Pixies danced in the still air, giggling and chasing each other and leaving trails of sparkling dust behind them. In one of the gardens, two gnomes wrestled over a fat worm; and the peculiar, lumbering thing known as a boggart rummaged in the hedge, perhaps looking for a juicy rabbit or hedgehog for its dinner.
    In the far distance, where the curve of the earth hid everything from view, a wolf howled at the moon. The sound of that desolate cry filled Cumulo with a sadness far greater than he ever would have thought possible.
    Today he had killed a creature of magic: The thing the people of the village had called a wyvern. It had looked like a dragon in many ways, with its scales, claws, and sharp snout. The people had cheered when he killed it. They cheered because they had feared it, and now it was dead.
    Some people – people like Hawk – feared Cumulo too. Would those people have cheered any less if he had been the broken, lifeless body lying on the beach?
    In the garden, the boggart chuckled excitedly as a rabbit dashed out of the hedge, colliding with the two squabbling gnomes. There was a mad flurry of activity as seven