Luna Brightwood's Arc

Chapter 22 of 22

Luna stepped out of the shop with the prints against her chest. The smoke was thin but steady, rising straight up over the pines. Silvana pulled the door shut behind them. "An hour back on foot," she said. "Maybe less if we cut the ridge." Luna shook her head. "He'll hear us coming. If we walk in blind, he takes us and the prints." She looked at the sky. "We need eyes first. We need to see the clearing before he sees us." Silvana was quiet a moment. Then she whistled once, low, two notes. Nothing moved. She whistled again. A shape dropped through the pines and landed light on the path in front of them, hooves quiet on the needles. A pale purple pegasus, wings folded, deep purple patches across her flank. "Lumina keeps her near the lab," Silvana said. "For runs the runners can't make." Luna slid the prints into the padded case beside the camera. She climbed on behind Silvana. The pegasus lifted them above the trees in three beats. The wind pushed Luna's hair back. She kept one hand on the case and one on Silvana's belt. Below, the forest turned into a dark quilt, and the smoke line grew thicker where it met the clearing. "High," Luna said. "Stay above the smoke. I want the long lens." Silvana leaned forward and the pegasus climbed. Luna pulled the camera free with one hand, braced the lens on her forearm, and looked through it. The dome sparkled in the clearing like a bead of glass. The unicorns were inside, small shapes on the porch. Silvain stood on the steps outside the dome, sword drawn. The blade threw a hard white light across the grass. The cloaked man stood at the treeline, red trim bright against the pines. Two Shadow Hornbeasts crouched at his sides. Luna clicked through frames. Positions, distances, the gap between Silvain and the beasts. She counted. Two beasts, not more. The cloaked man had not moved yet. He was waiting for something, or someone. "He hasn't attacked," she said. "He's watching the sword." Silvana nodded. "He learned it hurts him. He's looking for the angle." Luna lowered the camera. "We don't land near Silvain. We land behind the cloaked man. If the pegasus drops us in the trees behind him, he's between two blades." Silvana looked at her. "You have no blade." "I have the flash," Luna said. "It worked before. It buys Silvain one second. One second is what he needs." Silvana held her eyes, then spoke to the pegasus. The pegasus banked wide around the clearing, staying above the smoke, and began her descent into the pines behind the cloaked man's back. Luna gripped the camera. The prints were safe in the case. Silvain was still standing. The plan was set. The pegasus dropped through the branches, and the clearing came up to meet them.