Call it a hunch.

Or maybe call it my life.

“Tiomon, are you ready?”

Her laughter sparkled through my mind. Tracker, I am always ready. The question is, are you?

“Oh, probably not, but I’m kinda used to that.”

Again, she laughed, and I tangled my hands into her long black mane, weaving the silky strands through my fingers. Her energy flowed along my skin, and with it, the smell of hot sand and exotic wildflowers. A flash of an oasis in the desert rolled through me. Home. That was her home, so far from here, across the world, and yet she’d come.

Hang on, Tracker. We are going to fly on the back of the wind.

Tiomon leapt forward and I thought maybe she was shitting me about the wind thing.

Her hooves made no sound as she skimmed the earth. I dared a look down only to see a blur of legs and ground. “Tiomon, I need to go into the heart of the city. You sure that’s going to work?”

She flicked her head once, her horn catching the light and reflecting it around us.

Watch me, Tracker, watch me.

CHAPTER 33

RYLEE

TIOMON SKIDDED TO a stop where I directed, her hooves sparking along the pavement. What would have taken three hours to drive, she’d done in about an hour. I slid off her back, my legs trembling from gripping her sides so tightly. Sweat slicked her body, but she pranced on the spot, flipping her head up and down several times.

You are a good rider, Rylee. I think I would like to run with you again after the battle is over. She blew a big gust of air through her nostrils as if clearing her lungs. I patted her on the hip.

“Thanks. Let’s make that a plan, Tiomon.”

She flicked her head up and down again, her mane floating through the air as her horn caught the light. All around us, humans walked, shopped and drove. And they didn’t even look our way.

There was a freaking unicorn standing in front of them and they didn’t even see her. A little girl stepped out of the shop I’d come to and looked right at Tiomon. Her blue eyes welled up and she whispered a single word, “Unicorn.”

I crouched to her and nodded. “She is that, indeed. Don’t ever forget it, kid. You’re one of the lucky few.”

The little girl reached up and Tiomon dropped her head to nuzzle her hand. I left them. I had things to do.

The shop in front of me was one I’d visited more than once.

Hannigan’s Shenanigans. A toy store extraordinaire. Swallowing hard past the memories the store brought up, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. I swept through the front part of the building, ignoring the looks I got. While Tiomon was invisible to the human world, I, with my bristling weapons, most certainly was not.

The clerk was one I’d dealt with before. Melanie, if I remembered right.

“Melanie, I’ll be in and out in a flash.” I held both my hands up over my head as I strode to the back of the store. The stuffed animal section. I scanned the wall, wondering which two to pick.

While it seemed a silly thing, I knew there was a reason for everything that fucking well happened. Even this.

I reached up and brushed my hand against a fluffy brown bear that was at least three feet tall. The fur tickled my hand and I grabbed it. That was one. But the other? A large stuffed eagle hung to the left of me. Its eyes were glass, and seemed to be looking at me. I didn’t hesitate, but grabbed it and yanked it down. Both had long strings still attached to them. At least I would be able to tie them on for the ride back.

“No, you can’t have that one, its display only,” Melanie said, as she tried to take the eagle from me. I clamped down on it and looked her straight in the eye.

“Melanie, do not fuck with me. I’m taking these two stuffed animals, and I can either pay for them or walk out without paying. Which do you want?”

Her eyes widened and she swallowed hard. “I could call the police.”

“Over a stuffed animal?” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bills Doran had given me. “This should cover it, yes?”

“You’re the one trying to stop Orion from helping us. I saw you on the TV,” she spluttered.

Definitely time to leave. I strode from the room while Melanie yelled behind me.

“We have to stop her; she’d going to hurt Orion!”

What I found, though, when I stepped out of the shop was not at all what I’d expected.

The humans could see Tiomon as clearly as I could apparently. She looked at me.

How is this possible?

Tying the two stuffed animals to my back, I shook my head. “I don’t know, but we have to get the fuck out of here—” Perhaps Orion had inadvertently opened humans’ eyes.

As soon as the thought rolled through me, I knew it was true. Those who had the pox had been touched by the supernatural. And now they could see it.

Several sets of hands grabbed me and yanked me away from Tiomon. “Stay away from her, you filthy demon!”

I was thrown backward, the stuffed animals cushioning my fall. A ring of humans circled me, and for the first time, I was afraid of them. Sure, they had no supernatural powers, they couldn’t heal fast, and they would fall back from my sword like children.

But there were so many of them that even I knew they would eventually overwhelm me. A boot slammed onto the ground beside my head, barely missing me. I rolled and pulled a sword at the same time. The blade caught the string attaching the stuffed eagle to me. Fuck it, I only needed the one.

I whirled my sword around my head and the mob backed up a few steps, though the growing murmur sent chills down my spine. Searching the faces around me, I tried to find one with a semblance of reason. “I am not your enemy,” I said, holding my sword at eye level as I slowly walked toward Tiomon.