Casey’s heart pounded at his temples. He tried to turn his horse away, but the other guards blocked his path. He didn’t know what nonsense they believed about him; he’d never committed the crime of theft in his life. These strangers aimed to expropriate his party of its horses. He understood that. And anyone so eager to steal had no value for his life.

Just as his horse acquired enough space to sprint, a single guard grabbed the reins and pulled back. The horse slowed down again, and the hands of multiple guards dragged Casey Byrne from the horse. He squirmed and kicked out. He swung at the guards with his walking stick, but he couldn’t land a blow fast enough. He fell into the hands of the guards, who refused to let him go. Casey looked between them and saw Ryan and Colm detained. Their horses neighed and kicked about in the grass, unsure of what to do. The guards dragged all three men toward the gatehouse, where a conversation ensued between the first guard and Reamonn.

Reamonn stood with one hand on his hip and pointed at Casey with the other as he said, “They’re the ones. They’re the thieves. And that one’s Casey Byrne, himself! Imagine my fortune. In one night, I’ve captured a unicorn and Casey Byrne.”

“You’ve made a mistake,” Casey yelled at him. “I’ve never stolen anything. There must be another Casey Byrne.”

“Nah,” Reamonn said as he walked up to Casey. “You’re the one, alright. That deformity in your left ear, the lumpiness of it—you got that from a goat that resisted you when you kidnapped it. Just like the legends say.”

“A goat, yes,” Casey said, “but he was never kidnapped. I was six when it happened, too young to be the thief you’re describing. It was time to take him to slaughter, and I think the goat could smell how hungry I was.” Casey realized that this was an upside-down theater where fact and fiction held hands and danced together. He’d never stolen that goat. He’d never visited this town, even, but the people here needed a thief story, and his name seemed as good as any.

“The gatehouse is full of crooks just like him,” the first guard said. “I don’t have any room for another thief. He’ll suffocate, or they’ll riot, and we won’t have a moment of peace.”

“Let me suggest an alternative,” Reamonn offered. “Allow me to take him in the caravan. Lord Rey Polilla can decide what to do with him, the man who stole from god.”

“The others resisted his arrest, as well,” the guard said.

“A shame. We’ll have to expropriate them of their horses.”

“This is outrageous!” Colm screamed. “We’re in the service of King Lloyd III. You can’t do this to us!”

Ryan and Colm yelled more at the guards, but it did no good. Casey felt the guards placing shackles on his wrists. For the first time ever, he experienced the life of a detained criminal. The guards walked the men and their two horses to the caravan. The guards led the horses into a trailer with the unicorn, and Casey, Colm, and Ryan were led into a smaller trailer of their own.

Reamonn swung the door open himself. He took the swords and knives from the sheaths of Colm and Ryan, and then he took Casey’s walking stick that had fallen to the ground in the scuffle of shackling him.

“Oof,” he grunted as he strained under the weight of his new weapons. “These are some fine weapons I’ve acquired here! Welcome to your new home, boys.”

The guards walked them in and thrust them onto the floor.

Casey collapsed on the hard wood clumsily, thankful that a little roll saved him from a hard impact. The guards shut the door to the trailer, leaving Casey and his two companions in darkness.

“What in the world is going on here?” Casey asked, bewildered.

“Is anyone injured?” Colm asked.

“No,” Casey and Ryan answered. Casey heard the metallic ratcheting sounds of the town gate opening up. The men running the caravan shouted commands to each other outside, and the trailer continued rolling forward. Hooves and wheels made their grinding and clopping sounds. Tiny slivers of moonlight pierced between the iron bars of the trailer’s single window.

“This was not the plan,” Casey said to Colm. “You uprooted me from my home because you believed Casey Byrne was the hero who could slay Rey Polilla. And now this?”

“It sounds like they’ve heard of you, too,” Ryan said. “They have their own version of who you are. You’re a thief to them, a scapegrace.”

“That’s nonsense; I’ve never been to Hairbryn and I’ve never stolen anything.”

“It doesn’t matter!” Colm nearly yelled. “Consider the fencing we’ve learned.”

“Fencing?” Ryan asked.

“I’ve never built a fence, either,” Casey added.

“Shh!” Colm hushed them both. “Every attack is also a deflection; they call you awful things because they, themselves, are guilty. They call you a horse thief, but they have a unicorn in captivity and will sacrifice it to a dragon. Nothing can mend what they’re guilty of; they have to salve their psyches by condemning you. They know they’re thieves, and possibly murderers, too. We’re in the most miserable circle of people.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Casey let those words sink into his skull for a time. He hadn’t met evil of this caliber before. Nothing that the people of Hairbryn said reflected reality. Words became weapons here, twisted every way to wicked ends. He missed being home. He missed his parents’ cooking and the smell of their bakery. He missed being their laughable disappointment who burned everything.

“What are they going to do with us?” Casey asked.

“Rey Polilla will eat Ryan because Ryan’s chubby,” Colm said, and both knights chuckled. “What happens to you and me and our horses is any man’s guess, but a dragon is a hungry creature, and one man will not be enough to satisfy him.”

“Then I’ll be dragon food—”

“Fear not,” Colm commanded. “It’s not allowed.” Colm and Casey had discussed fears before, and there was no sense in going over it again.

Casey only had fear to express now, so he kept his thoughts to himself. He knew an old knight like Colm had a distaste for fear.

The caravan rolled through the city, stopping at intervals to collect sacrifices for Rey Polilla. The night passed like this until the men dozed off and lost track of time.

The trailer came to a sudden stop and the door in the rear swung open. The morning light nearly blinded Casey as he looked at the silhouette of the person at the door. He recognized the outline even; it belonged to the young girl who mourned the loss of the unicorn. As Casey’s eyes adjusted, he saw her face, where a playful smirk teased the corner of her mouth.

“They didn’t rough you up too badly, did they?” she asked.

“My lady,” Colm said, “I’m Sir Colm Murphy, and this is Sir Ryan Dow—”

“I know who you are. I know what you’re doing.” She shut the door behind her, and the four of them remained quiet in the darkness. Traces of daylight broke through the window and revealed teasing details about her, like her white teeth, or the sheen of her red hair. A leather strap connected something to her back—a weapon? No. A musical instrument, a lute.

“Please don’t hate us,” she pleaded. “It wasn’t always like this.” She seated herself on the floor beside Casey. “These wasteful sacrifices are a perversion of our normally good character.”

“Be careful, my lady. What you’re saying now is blasphemy and sacrilege to the new god, Rey Polilla,” Colm warned her.

“I know the curses I speak,” she said with an indignant shake of her head. “I choose them on purpose, on my own accord, in private company with a horse thief and his men-at-arms who’re powerless to stop me.”

“My lady, we’re not only men-at-arms, we’re knights!” Colm insisted.

“Of course, and I’m the queen!” She laughed. “Rey Polilla is no god. He’s a dragon the people make sacrifices to in fear. They’re called Guarantors because their sacrifices are supposed to guarantee Rey Polilla won’t attack our town. The sacrifices are costly enough that some of us are ready to upend everything.”

“Why are you so brazen?” Casey asked her.

“The unicorn is a friend of mine. He visited me and gave me the most peaceful, beautiful moments of my young life. I played the lute for him. I don’t know what goes on in a unicorn’s mind, but I think that he loved me, and I don’t believe he should die for that.”

“No, he shouldn’t,” Casey agreed.

“I know Rey Polilla is the supreme power in the land now, but I refuse to accept that growing up in this world means sacrificing a unicorn to a dragon.”

Casey looked at her and saw the same uncertainty in her that he knew in himself. They were the same age, not quite adults yet, and the realm of adulthood gave them reason to tremble—reason to be heroic.

She pointed at them and said, “You’re on a journey and you’ll want your horses back.”

“Yes,” the men agreed in chorus.

“The Guarantors will work through the day. When evening comes, they won’t cross the Rees River because it’s unsafe then. Tomorrow morning, after everyone sleeps before the Rees River, they’ll cross the river and leave the city for Cronine.”

“So, we should capture our horses when they’re sleeping in front of the river,” Colm said.

“Wait—why is the river unsafe then?” Ryan asked.

“It’s Gadai, isn’t it?” Colm asked. “I’m old enough to remember the stories. Gadai is the serpent that lives in the river. He hunts at night, so no one crosses the bridges then. He’s large enough to leap from the river and take a few people down with him.”

The girl said nothing for a moment, fear having struck her silent and widened her eyes. “We do not cross the river at night,” she stipulated with a raised finger. “That’s how I know where the caravan will stop after you’re free. I’m not going to let you do this just because I’m a nice girl; there’s one extra horse I need you to set free.” She reached over and took Casey’s jaw in her hand with a smile.

“You want us to free the unicorn, too,” Casey said.

“It shouldn’t be a problem for a horse thief, after all. You have all the skills you need. I’ll free you from being sacrificed to Rey Polilla, but you must understand how important it is that the unicorn be free, too.”

“A unicorn was never made to be in captivity,” Casey said. He wanted to object to being called a horse thief, but looking like a horse thief earned him his freedom today.

“I expect you to deliver the unicorn to me. You may call me Aisling. My family supplies the Guarantors with all the things they need to operate this caravan.” She lifted a ring of keys up, and they clinked and jingled in her grip. “If you agree to bring me the unicorn, I can set you free. You have to call the unicorn by its name to get him to work with you. His name is Iontach. The right name is a magic word; it manufactures comfort with the person who uses it, and it reveals your familiarity.”

“I can remember that name and free him,” Casey said with a relieved smile.

“We will get you your unicorn, my lady,” Colm insisted.

“Then let me unshackle you!”

As she worked on Casey’s shackles, he looked over at his fellow knights to smile about their fortune. Ryan smiled, but Colm did not. He must have known something more, or his old age made him stoic to the ebbs and flows of fortune.

With all of the men freed, Aisling stepped back and returned to the door. “I will play a song for the men at the front of the caravan, a ballad about the thief, Casey Byrne.” She smiled. “When you hear my voice, that would be a good time to make your way out of the caravan. After sunset, you’ll find the caravan again at Morgan’s Bridge, and I will wait by the tree with violet blooms for my unicorn.” She said the final words with a depth of sincerity and gravity in her voice. She tossed the ring of keys to Casey, who caught them with ease. She walked backwards out of the cramped space of the caravan, keeping her eyes on Casey as though he were a criminal.

Far out of sight, she began a song at the front of the caravan. Her voice came to Casey with the sweetest music, and he loved her more than he should have. Ryan gave him a shove to knock him out of his trance.

“Time to move, lover boy.”