Miss Jubilee wasted no time as the unicorns ran towards everyone. “Everyone get behind me.” She commanded. “Castelle, do you know how to put up a shield?”

  He ran up and joined Miss Jubilee. “I do.” He had to use one sometimes when it came to his job.

  As soon as everyone in the vicinity was behind him and Miss Jubilee, they thrust their hands out. While most magic spells required an incantation to use, a shield was a mental skill. It required that a wizard put as much of their will into it as possible to stop any upcoming attacks. Castelle pushed outward like one would push a giant rock and the electric buzz of magic went through his body, out through his hands and became an invisible force that spread out in front of him.

  The unicorns struck the invisible wall. The impact made Castelle’s arms bend in slightly and he felt his muscles tingle. The unicorns had hit the wall horn first but were not knocked back. This became an immediate problem. Shields generally worked better when taking on a large impact in one spot. It’s easier to concentrate on. The unicorn’s horns hit the wall in multiple places. Castelle could feel the impact like small needles in his hands.

  Unicorns were not small creatures. They were at least twice the size of larger horses and they had more power thanks to their naturally magical horns. They pushed against the wall, digging their hooves into the ground and making progress inch by inch. Castelle tried to guide more will into the parts they were piercing but it made it more difficult to maintain, even with Miss Jubilee who was grinding her teeth and bracing herself against the pressure.

  One of the unicorns reeled back and stopped pushing. This took a little pressure off the shield. It galloped back a few yards and ran at full speed, its head down and horn thrust out. The impact broke a hole through the shield. The impact flooded into Castelle’s left elbow, like he got hit on the funny bone. The impact also knocked the unicorn back, but it gained its footing quickly and launched itself through the hole before Castelle could close it back up. The unicorn wasted no time turning and galloping towards him.

  Castelle tensed his body and loosened the pressure on the shield. He was going to have to let go so he could dodge the unicorn and then try and get another shield up to keep this one at bay. He bent his legs and was about to jump when a jet of water flew out and smashed the unicorn in the head. It was knocked off balance and squealed loudly. The unicorn nearly fell over but was able to keep upright. After it shook off the blow, it turned its attention away from Castelle. He glanced over his shoulder to see Iris at the edge of the pond staring down the unicorn. The group of others were crowded on the far corner of the pond.

  “Come on Pretty Horse.” Iris goaded.

  The unicorn stomped the ground and snorted before running towards Iris. It closed the distance quickly, but Iris stood in the same spot. As it got closer it lowered its horn but Iris managed to roll out of the way. The unicorn kept running and ran into the water. Iris got up and waved her hands in the air in deliberate motions. The water of the pond formed two giant hands and grabbed at the unicorn. There was barely a struggle as the water clamped on it and dragged it out to the middle of the pond.

  “Don’t drown it,” Castelle yelled. “It’s a protected species.”

  “I’m not going to,” Iris shot back. True to what she said, she kept the unicorn’s head above water. It continued to struggle, but it was only able to squeal and shake its head. “Drop the shield and get the other ones to get down here.”

  Castelle looked at Miss Jubilee who was down on one knee and sweating. She managed to get back to both feet and then gave a nod. At the same time they both dropped the shield and began running towards Iris. The unicorns staggered for a moment then began charging. Both Miss Jubilee and Castelle ran down towards Iris who had one hand pointed towards the unicorn in the water, and her other hand getting ready for the other three.

  Castelle ran past Iris and Miss Jubilee ran for the group of students and civilians. As the unicorns got closer, Iris made six more hands of water come out and grab for the animals. She successfully grabbed two of them and with strained effort pulled them into the pond to join the other one. The last unicorn managed to stop short and avoid the water grab, which splashed onto the ground and dispersed. The creature doubled back and took off towards the group of people.

  Castelle intercepted it. As the unicorn brought its horn down, he ran to the side and jumped on top of the unicorn’s head. He grabbed the horn and used his body weight to pull back on it and make the head go with it. The bones in a unicorn’s head, horn and neck were strong so doing this posed no real threat to it. It was, however, the best way to disorient them. As Castelle pulled back, the unicorn stood up onto its back legs and fell back down trying to throw him off. As it landed, Castelle managed to wrap his legs around the neck and pulled the horn sideways. Both he and the unicorn fell sideways, only a few feet away from the group. A couple of them screamed as they fell. The air was driven from Castelle’s lungs as his back hit the ground. The head of the unicorn pinned him there.

  It took a few moments before the unicorn was grabbed by the water and dragged out to the pond. Castelle was dragged a few feet with it before he managed to untangle himself and roll away.

  “What are we going to do?” Iris asked. “I can’t hold them like this for too much longer.”

  Castelle picked himself up and pointed. “Put them in the corral. I’ll get the door so they don’t get out.”

  Iris thrust out both hands towards the unicorns. As she guided them out of the water and towards the corral, her face turned beet red with the strain. Castelle had her keep a hold of them as he went to the gate and placed his hand on it. He guided some of his magic into his palm and envisioned the entire corral being locked tight with no one or nothing able to get in or out. Enclose. The magic left his hand and permeated into the gate. A ripple went around the entire space in a dome.

  The ripple cut through Iris’s water and the spell dropped splashing water to the ground. As soon as they were released, the unicorns galloped around. There wasn’t any anger or violence like before. It was joyful running, like they would if they were in the wild.

  “What the hell was that?” Iris asked.

  Castelle shook his head. “I’ve never seen unicorns act that way.”

  “They came out of nowhere,” said a man from the group.

  “What do you mean?” Castelle asked.

  “At first we heard screaming, then they just started crashing through the stalls and trampling everything.”

  “Which way did they come from?”

  The man pointed towards the opposite side of the festival grounds from the entrance.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “What are you thinking?” Miss Jubilee asked.

  “I need to investigate. Something was done to these unicorns.”

  “I’m going with you. I need to coordinate with the Academy and do damage control.” Castelle nodded.

  “Me too.” Iris interjected.

  “Absolutely not.” Miss Jubilee motioned towards the crowd of people. “You need to stay here and keep an eye on them.”

  “There’s other students here. They can help them. You might need me.” She looked at Castelle pleadingly. “If it wasn’t for me those unicorns would’ve gored you and everyone.”

  “You never know what you might encounter in the field.” Castelle shrugged. “Plus she’ll probably just follow us if we try to leave her.”

  Miss Jubilee huffed. “Alright, but you listen to me or him. No questions asked.” Iris nodded. Miss Jubilee then turned to the group of people. “Astor, you’re the most senior student here. Keep everyone here and don’t let anyone leave until you are cleared by any teachers from the Academy or by the city guard. Understood.” An older male student with short black hair called out an affirmation.

  Castelle, Miss Jubilee and Iris walked towards the main part of the festival. There were still screams and the sound of things crashing, but now there was smoke coming from random spots.

  They entered at the main part of the walkway. Stalls were caved in and pieces of wood and other debris coated the path. Signs from the stalls were ripped and blew in the wind. As they walked they had to watch where they stepped so they wouldn’t trip. Inside a few of the stalls were people who were cowering, or holding parts of their bodies. Some of their clothes were stained red. In one of the stalls, Castelle thought he saw a pair of legs sticking out from underneath a collapsed table. His chest tightened at seeing the destruction. No matter how many times he saw anything like this, it never got easier. He knew it was best to continue on and let the right people get to them when they could.

  They turned onto the central pathway that ran through the entire festival. Castelle was surprised to see that they didn’t see any of the other unicorns as they walked. He expected some stragglers, but there weren't any. There were people on the pathway walking back towards the entrance. They were being guided by the city guard who were calling for people to walk that way. None of the guards seemed to notice the trio walking.

  “I can’t believe unicorns did all of this.” Miss Jubilee said. “I didn’t know they were capable of this.”

  “They’re wild animals, so something like this isn’t out of the realm of possibilities, but,” Castelle nudged a piece of debris with his foot, “this kind of behavior isn’t natural. It’s even more peculiar since they don’t normally travel in packs. Unicorns are solitary animals. I doubt anyone has ever seen this many all at once.”

  There was the sound of crashing ahead of them and a unicorn burst out of the wall of a stall sending debris into the air. Castelle blocked his face and some of the splinters pricked his arm. The unicorn stopped and stared at the three of them before huffing, shaking its head and galloping in the direction they were headed.

  Out of the hole the unicorn made two people dressed in Lumrin Academy robes run out. It was two men. They stopped and watched the unicorn until it disappeared down another path. They then turned around and saw the three. It was hard to tell them apart since their hair was hidden underneath caps. The only way to easily tell them apart was one of them wearing glasses.

  “Evika?” The one without glasses said.

  “Elias. Stolas. Good to see you made it.” Miss Jubilee said.

  “Likewise.” Elias, the one without glasses nodded. “Miss Riverloch. And…”

  “This is Castelle Dovetail. A former student.”

  Elias acknowledged him. “You three need to leave. We’re trying to round up everyone we can and help any injured.”

  “I can’t.” Castelle said. “I need to investigate the cause of this.”

  “We are already aware of who is behind this attack.” Stolas, the other one said. “It was Elric Ivantes.”

  “It can’t be.” Miss Jubilee cried.

  “Who is that?” Castelle asked.

  Iris stepped forward. “He’s one of those idiots from the Zoology Club.”

  “I think I met one of them earlier today. Curly hair. Kind of a pretty boy to be honest.”

  “That’s him.”

  Castelle looked at Miss Jubilee. “Looks like I’ll be giving a bit more than a speech to your student.”

  “Excuse me,” Elais interjected. “We just informed you that you need to leave. Even if you’re a former student, what makes you think you can do otherwise?”

  Castelle sighed and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a patch with an insignia on it. It had a green background with the silhouette of a dragon and it had the letters WM on one side and MD on the other. The letters stood for Wildlife Marshall, Magical Division. “I have the right and authority to investigate due to the unique nature of the attack.”

  Stolas moved forward and adjusted his glasses to look closer at the patch. “I believe this is legitimate. Very well, we’ll let you handle Elric Ivantes while we assist the city guard and civilians.” He looked to Iris and Miss Jubilee. “Will you two be joining us?”

  Miss Jubilee shook her head. “Mr. Dovetail has asked us for our assistance. Also there is a group of students and civilians in the academy’s club area. We were attacked down there, but the animals were subdued.”

  Elias and Stolas nodded and hurried away towards the way the three had come. Castelle, Miss Jubilee and Iris hurried down the path of destruction. It was hard to keep their eyes forward and keep moving, especially when there was the occasional cry for help. They eventually managed to make it to the other end of the festival and down another path. There was a hole in the fence and the path led up to the top of a hill.

  The hill was covered in white looking like a recent snowfall. As they got closer, the white turned out to be a herd of unicorns. They weren’t moving at all and were facing the same direction. They were facing towards the trio. Every pair of each unicorn’s eyes were trained on them in a soulless stare.

  “Creepy.” Iris said.

  Castelle tip-toed up to the closest unicorn to try and examine it. “Try not to make any sudden movements. We don’t want to spook them.” He reached his hand out, but the unicorn didn’t make any movements or try to get away. Hesitating, he managed to put his hand onto the unicorn’s head underneath its mouth. Again it did nothing. It and the others just stared.

  Unicorn hair is some of the softest material in the world. The fanciest silks couldn’t compare. Touching their coat was like sticking your hand in a cloud. The lucky few who had the pleasure of riding a unicorn have described it as floating. It was so soft that it was said you couldn’tt feel the motion of the animal running. Through the sensation of the hair, Castelle could feel a buzz. Sort of like feeling a heartbeat.

  He pulled his hand away. “They aren’t going to attack us. Not unless told to. They’ve been enchanted. Are they sure that Elric did this? It takes powerful magic to ensnare one unicorn, let alone a herd.”

  “That’s a little rude.” At the top of the hill was the boy Castelle had seen earlier, curly hair and all. He was sitting sideways on one of the unicorns. “Judging me before you even met me. But that’s not surprising considering how you blew me off this morning.”

  “Elric…” Miss Jubilee started but Elric interrupted her.

  “I don’t have to explain myself to you. Not that you would believe us anyway.”

  “The why can wait.” Castelle said. “I’m more interested in how you were able to do this.”

  Elric grinned widely. “Curious are you?” He held up a silver tube.

  “Is that a whistle?” Iris asked.

  “No. It’s a flute.”

  “Enchanted music?” Castelle said. “That’s more advanced than I thought. I doubt he made it himself.”

  “What do you mean?” Iris asked.

  “It takes a working knowledge of magical frequencies and notes.” Miss Jubilee chimed in. “That flute was specifically made for unicorns. If anyone else heard it, it wouldn’t have any effect.”

  Elric clapped. “A+ for Miss Jubilee. Yes, with this flute I can make my unicorn friends do anything I want. For example.” He put the flute up to his mouth and played a quick three note melody. In unison every single unicorn bent their front knees and lowered their heads like a bow. He blew two sets of dual notes and the unicorns all jumped once. The landing shook the ground and made the trio wobble a bit. “Impressed?”

  “I kind of am.” Castelle answered. Miss Jubilee gave him a questioning look. He shrugged. “Just because it’s against the law, doesn’t mean I don’t see some amazing things from time to time. This is honestly one of those things.”

  “Flattery won’t do much for you now.”

  “So what’s the plan?” Iris asked.

  Castelle shrugged. “Easy. We get the flute from him.” Elric played a longer melody and the unicorn’s directed their attention back to the trio.

  “Okay, but do you have an actual plan?”

  “Can you put up a shield?”