This story is dedicated to Bobby Coxx, who requested a story involving unicorns and terrible decisions. Happy holidays, Bobby!
Dev and Manny followed their father up the stairs, their footsteps muffled by the pale, blue carpet.
“Yes. Send someone who knows how to deal with non-magical clients. We don’t want a repeat of last year. Also, schedule a meeting with Mage Kon for me. Two days from now. Thank you.”
“Dad, what are we going to do today?” Manny asked.
“You, my daughter, are going to stay with your brother,” William said. They reached the top of the stairs and turned left down the corridor. William’s phone chimed again when he reached for the last door.
He swung it open and waved them inside as he took the call.
Dev gave his twin sister an exasperated look when he realised that they were in the library. She returned the expression with an eye roll.
“You two—find something to do in the library. I’ll be back tonight.”
“But dad—”
“—Can’t we just go out?”
“If it were any other week, yes, I would love to, but not this time,” William said. “Something came up and I have to deal with it. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll find something to do in here.”
“In the library?”
William raised his eyebrows. “Where else do you think spells are found? In the kitchen?”
Dev groaned. “But spells are only in the magic libraries, not the stupid mundane one that you have…” He trailed off when he saw William’s lips twitch.
“No. Way.” Manny gasped. “You didn’t.”
“Merry Christmas,” William said and spread his arms to encompass the library.
Dev and Manny let out a whoop of joy, hugged their father, and ran into the room. “Thanks, dad!”
“When did he build a magic library?” Manny asked while she ran down the isle to the end of the room.
“There were some people in here the last time we came. Maybe they were setting it up,” Dev said. He reached the large, wooden table first and slapped his palm against its surface. “Show me the directory!”
Ink melted onto the table and Dev took a step back to read it. Manny pointed and pulled on Dev’s arm. “Look! I told you books about dimensions existed.”
“I didn’t say you were lying,” Dev said as he looked down the list. “The Basic Theory of Multi-Dimensional Space Travel.”
“It’s this way,” Manny said and started to count off the rows. Dev left the table and found Manny sitting on the floor with a large book opened in front of her.
“I can’t believe dad has these books,” Dev said.
“It doesn’t matter if he does,” Manny said after a moment. “All dimensions were sealed away hundreds of years ago.”
“Really?”
“It says so right here.”
“I bet they missed one or two. Do you want to try to find one?”
“As long as we don’t open it, it should be fine.”
“I wonder what’s on the other side,” Dev said. “Maybe there are dragons.”
“Or faeries. Maybe monsters.” She shared a wary look with her twin.
“We’re not going to open it,” Dev said.
Manny nodded. “No harm in looking.”
“No harm at all.”
Dev had a feeling their father didn’t expect them to spend hours looking for ways to open an unsealed portal to another dimension; it wasn’t something they found interesting the last time they visited their father, so he wouldn’t know.
They pulled book after book off the shelves, trying to find a feasible method of using their combined magic to seek out a portal.
“I can't find anything,” Dev said. He flung himself onto a couch next to Manny, who was reading The Conspiracy Theories of Dimensional Seals.
“Here!” She pointed at a line on the page.
Dev leaned in and read with her. “‘There are endless dimensions in the universe. Not even the High Mages could account for each and every one. Claiming that all dimensions are sealed is a general statement that the Mages are only able to say truthfully because of the spells that were used in the sealing.’ That sounds like good news.”
Manny turned the page. “‘The way in which dimensions were sealed depended on the algorithms that were used by the High Mages. These algorithms only looked for worlds that matched its programmed commands. This method is quick and the amount of power needed for it to work is predictable. While this method sealed thousands of dimensions, there are still some worlds that do not fall into the parameters that the algorithm searched in. It is still unknown how many portals are unsealed. This is what the High Mages have failed to tell the people.’”
“How accurate do you think—” Dev glanced at the front cover. “—Mage Jovey Kipper is?”
“It sounds…possible,” Manny said.
“It’s not like we found any other book that explained how the High Mages sealed the dimensions.”
“But sometimes nonsense sounds logical when it really isn’t.”
“Sometimes it really is logical.”
“Right.”
Dev picked up the book and flipped a few more pages. “Kipper even gives us instructions on how to find an unsealed dimension. He says any mage could try it, though it almost never works because they don’t know what kind of world isn’t within the parameters.”
“Let’s do it.”
Manny set the book down and crossed her legs on the couch. Dev mirrored her and they held hands. The twins cast their mind outward, following the instructions they memorised.
“I’m pretty sure they sealed off dragons,” Manny said.
“Mm…yep. No dragon portals. Aliens?”
“Aliens are part of our universe.”
“What about…unicorns?”
“Are you saying that they didn’t seal off the world of unicorns?”
“They’re High Mages, not kids. Why would they think of unicorns?”
“You’re so stupid. Of course they’d seal off unicorn land.”
“You’re the one who’s stupid. What if the unicorns they’re thinking of aren’t the ones I have in mind?”
“Only an idiot would think that there are other kinds of unicorn. Unicorns are unicorns: horses with a horn sticking out of their heads.”
She felt Dev’s anger flare in her mind. He said, “There are stories about evil unicorns! Dark unicorns that kill people. I’m not stupid.”
Manny’s own annoyance was rising to the brim. “Then those aren’t unicorns because unicorns are always those pure white animals that girls swoon over all the time.”
“Of course you’d know about that version. You’re a girl!”
Manny let out an angry cry. “Shut up, stupid brother! Being a girl has nothing to do with it!”
“Then why do I have a different version of unicorns, huh? Unicorns are all evil!”
“I’m telling you, there is no unicorn portal! If there was, we would have found it by now! Besides, unicorn’s can’t be bad. They’re good!”
Their mental minds butted heads and angry sparks flew everywhere, making them pull back with a wince. “Ow! Now what?” They tried to retreat into their mind but there was an unknown force yanking their magic from their bodies.
“D-Dev!”
“We need to get dad!” This was way over their heads. Dev gripped Manny’s hands in his to keep them together physically as well as mentally.
They couldn’t hear anything except for an angry roar that screamed in their minds. Excruciating pain shot through their bodies for just a moment before they were freed from the force.
Scrambling, they retreated into themselves. When they opened their eyes, they found that the shelves on either side of them were blasted against the walls and onto other shelves. The twins were sprawled on the ground metres from where the couch was now burning. Pressure built in the room and loose papers started to fly in the air toward one invisible point in front of them.
With a cry of alarm, they skittered further back.
Someone was hitting the library doors. “Dev! Manny! Are you alright? Answer me! What force field did you place on this door? It’s too strong for you to control. Release it at once!”
Neither of them moved from their spot, barely registering William’s shout—a portal was growing into existence right in front of their eyes.
The power emitted by the portal wasn’t like anything they had felt before this very moment. It pulled at the energy in the room, including Dev and Manny’s remaining magic, which they held close. They winced when tendrils of power brushed against their minds. The white light coming from the portal called to them—beckoning them to come forth and fall into the other world.
“We have to close it,” Dev said, just as the portal expanded even further, to take up the size of a horse…no. It was being shaped into a horse.
They heard hoofbeats and a neigh. A second later, a long, spiralling horn protruded from the portal, followed by a snout, a horse’s head, a neck, a body, and a rider.
Manny thought that she couldn’t be any more surprised or scared, but the sight of a unicorn and another human coming out from the portal proved her wrong. When the strangers were entirely through, the portal snapped shut and the air stood still.
I told you unicorns were fighters, Dev wanted to say, but he was too stunned by the sight of a unicorn with leather armour strapped to its head, its neck, and the bulk of its body. What wasn’t covered shone white. Unlike the pretty and innocent unicorns Manny heard about, this one stood strong and alert, not allowing a single movement to go unobserved. The unicorn shook its head and pointed its horn directly at the them.
“Brai, stop,” the rider said. The unicorn stopped advancing but held its horn steady as though it were a weapon. The rider—a woman, from the voice—was also covered with leather armour and a helmet that covered her face. She held a slim blade in her right hand and a silver staff in the other.
After looking around the library, the rider asked the twins, “Where am I? Why did you bring me here?”
The rider made a gesture with the staff and her helmet was flung off. It revealed a young woman who was the entire opposite of the unicorn: she was black skinned, black haired, and black eyed. Even her lips were a darker shade of red that was so dark it looked black.
The twins could only stare at the rider, who couldn’t have been fully human—her slanted eyes, narrow nose, and pointed ears gave her away. Her voice, which held an odd rhythm of speech, betrayed the anger her face did not show. That voice sharpened when the twins did not answer immediately.
Anika, we need to go back immediately, Brai said to his rider, his horn still at the ready.
I know. Anika gave the children a once-over. Their identical facial features, including their brown eyes and blond hair, told her that they were related…magical twins. But she didn’t have time to worry about that. “Where am I? Who are you?”
The twins flinched. The girl said, “You’re in Mage William Hurey’s magic library.”
Picking up from the girl’s speech, the boy answered, “Which is on Earth. We’re Dev and Manny Hurey, the ones who…well…”
“We accidentally opened the portal.”
Anika stared at them. “You accidentally opened the portal to the Darkened Light? Impossible. How—? No, don’t answer that.” She swiped her staff horizontally. Of all the things that could have happened, she was sucked into a portal opened by children. “Return me to my world this instant.”
“W-We don’t know what we did—” Dev said.
I don’t have time for this, Brai said and started forward.
Anika sighed. She didn’t want to be so hard on the twins but seeing no other option, she allowed Brai to get in close enough so that she towered over them.
“Let me tell you something, humans. I am the Shadow Rider, chosen by the Bright Unicorn. We are in the middle of negotiations for peace in my world and if we are not there, everything we have done up to this point will be for naught. There will be endless battles for another eternity before a new Shadow Rider and Bright Unicorn can be found to hold the peace. You will open the portal once more so we may return, if it is the last thing you do!”
Brai snorted. A little over-exaggerated but not wrong.
“Oh, jeez,” Dev said. “I don’t even know what we said that made the portal open in the first place!”
“Gods…what do we do?” Manny cringed from Anika. “What were we even doing? We were only trying to find a portal that wasn’t sealed off by the High Mages…”
Dev shot to his feet. “Unicorns!”
Anika felt Brai stiffen at those words.
“We were talking about good and evil unicorns, which I thought existed, but Manny kept telling me that there weren’t any evil unicorns, so I called her a stupid girl and we started to argue about that, and then we went back to fighting about evil unicorns that killed people, but then I hit her with my mind and…”
Of all the imaginings the children could have had, they imagined a world with good and evil…no, not evil…dark unicorns. “You found the loophole.” She sheathed her sword and dismounted her unicorn. She stood before them and slammed the butt of her staff on the carpeted floor. A blast of magic rippled through the room.
“Listen up, children. The High Mages do not know about our world and we would prefer it to stay that way. You will do exactly as I say and nothing else. You must swear on your lives and the lives of those you love that you will never speak of this terrible decision or its outcome to anyone. You must never try to open the portal again under any circumstances. Is that clear?”
“Y—Yea—yes, totally! Crystal clear!” Dev paused. “Can’t you open it yourself?”
Anika glared at them. She wasn't about to tell them that she didn't have any magic left after a battle with an army of giants.
“W-We’ll do it,” Manny said. “Tell us what to do.”
Anika commended their bravery and determination to set things right. She returned to stand by Brai. In that moment of silence, they finally heard the rapid knocking on the door and the shouts that came with it.
“Dev! Manny! I don’t know what you’re doing in there, but if you can hear me, release the magic you placed on this door! You will both die if you continue to exhaust your powers!”
Anika watched Dev and Manny exchange confused glances.
“But we didn’t do anything—”
“—Yeah, the doors should be open.”
“It’s pressure from the portal,” Anika said. “It will diminish as soon as the portal disappears. Now close your eyes and concentrate on what I tell you.
“The portal you opened leads to the Darkened Light, one of the cities that connects to other worlds. With this city comes darkness and hope for the light to shine once more. People are dying. People are being born. Life continues, but it is a better life that the people seek—one where both riders and unicorns of the dark and the light can live in peace.
“A ceasefire has been ordered and everyone is holding their breath, waiting to see what will happen in the main courtyard of the Princess’s palace. That courtyard is where you will direct the other end of the portal to appear. Picture this and find the portal.”
Anika watched as the children furrowed their brows, trying to imagine the picture that she painted for them. It was a temporary picture that wouldn’t last, no matter what the outcome of the negotiations turn out to be. That picture is a standstill in time where one wrong decision can tilt the scales and plummet them all into chaos. She just hoped that this wasn’t that one wrong decision, even though the children definitely weren’t thinking of the consequences when they sought out different dimensions.
Brai snorted and butted his head against Anika’s chest. Look. The troublesome children have succeeded again.
Anika turned and saw the portal swirl into existence. The song of her world called out to her and without hesitation, she walked toward it. She mounted Brai and pulled out her sword.
With her staff, she saluted the two gobsmacked children. “Remember: this never happened.” The last of her words faded with the closing of the portal.
Anika kept her eyes open as she travelled through the portal, waiting for the painful collision at the other end. Gritting her teeth, she pressed her presence against the portal’s door. The moment it recognised her, the portal released the rider into her own world.
Not knowing what she would face upon her return, Anika pushed all thoughts of the children out of her mind to focus on the present.
Men and women, both black and white, with their black and white unicorns, were arguing in the courtyard—but none of them had their weapons drawn.
Something has them agitated, Brai said.
They were staring at her with dismayed, excited, and calculating expressions.
Ah. I think I know what, Anika said.
The Shadow Rider sheathed her sword and laid the staff across her legs, holding it with both hands. She gave the princess a nod before taking in a deep breath to address the party.
“Right. I forgot to tell you I could travel through portals. But never mind that. Where were we?”
ns 15.158.61.20da2
