The Survivor (Eve Duncan #30)

“Why else would we be here?” Maya asked. “And I believe Bailey is right about not wasting time.” She was looking to the east where clouds were gathering. “I didn’t like the weather report last night.”

“It’s only supposed to be a light snowstorm. I think it will hold until we get the equipment stored and a temporary shelter in place.” He tilted his head as he glanced at Bailey. “But that’s not good enough, is it?”

She gravely shook her head. “No, I might need you. I don’t know yet.” She looked at Riley. “She said you could fix things. It might be time.”

“Well, then we wouldn’t want to waste a second, would we?” He turned to Maya. “Give me a couple minutes to talk to Kirby with final instructions. You wouldn’t care to tell me where the hell we’re going?”

“The upper valley.” Maya was heading for a jeep parked on the side of the road. “No more than a couple minutes, Cade. I might have to pull some of the workers out of the area.”

Cade looked over his shoulder at Riley. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

She shook her head. “The only thing I’ve learned recently is that we can’t count on anything being what it seems. How far away is this valley, Maya?”

“Only a few miles.” Maya jumped into the driver’s seat. “But it’s rough country most of the way.” She started the jeep. “And if we get caught in a storm, it could be deadly. The passes close down and we could end up trapped.”

“Then why not wait until the storm passes?” Cade finished giving his instructions and ran back and jumped into the vehicle.

“Because that’s not how we handle things,” Maya said. “Now be quiet and let me concentrate on this road. I don’t want to end up running off the mountain.”

“It’s going to be okay, Mama.” Bailey was looking up at the darkening sky. “We’ll have time. And I don’t think the storm is going to last long.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Maya said. “But that doesn’t mean that it might not cause chaos while it’s going on. I’ve already called the shepherds to alert them of the move, but it’s going to be edgy.”

“Chaim will get them down. They’re used to him,” Bailey said. “I can help.” She was sitting forward on her seat, her eyes shining with excitement. “I already hear them. They must be right around the next bend.” She glanced at Riley. “They’re so beautiful. You’re going to love them.”

“Am I?” Riley was smiling. “I can see that you do. I can’t wait to—” She broke off and they turned the corner and she saw the vast green valley spread out before them.

The valley, and the great herd of wild deer being driven down from the barren mountains and across that valley by leather-garbed shepherds!

“Holy smoke,” she murmured, stunned. “How many are there?” She shook her head as she tried to estimate. “A couple hundred or more?”

“Probably,” Maya said. “We don’t do a count every year. The deer are watched very closely by the shepherds to be sure there are no injuries. But it’s not as if we’re raising them for sale.”

Cade was cursing softly as he took binoculars out of this pocket and raised them to his eyes, focusing on the herd. “You’d cause a riot if you did.” His gaze zeroed in on the animals as they drew closer. “I’ll be damned.” He lowered the binoculars and turned to Maya. “Are they all the same? Only one horn?”

“Most of them. There are a few mountain musk deer in the bunch with no horns at all, but the majority of the main herd have only one.”

Riley could see Cade’s intensity as he looked back at the herd. She knew how much this meant to him, but she had to be sure. “Unicorns? They’re unicorns, Cade?”

“That’s what they appear to be. We’ll have to take a closer look at them and compare them with the tall tales and literature.” He glanced back at Maya. “I thought that they were probably extinct, if they ever existed. I believed you were using them as a lure.”

“I was,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I’d lie to you. It was a question of not letting anyone know there was a possibility that they did exist. You were right, it could have caused me problems.”

“Besides interfering with one of your prime functions on the island,” Riley said as she stared at the sleek, graceful animals. Now that they were closer, she could see they were tan with touches of white and had the most beautiful crystal-brown eyes she’d ever seen… “You’re doing your duty as caretaker. Isn’t that right?”

Maya nodded. “What can I say? It’s tradition. Silvana brought the first deer here when she came from Rome. Actually, the herds were much smaller then because she’d paid a visit to her home in the steppes and purchased fifty healthy specimens from the nomads in the Kazakhstan camps where she’d grown up. She wanted her old life back, and that included the animals of her childhood.”

“Kazakhstan,” Cade repeated. He gave a low whistle as he leaned forward. “The story is growing by leaps and bounds. Are we definitely talking about unicorns, Maya?”

“We might be.” She grinned. “I told you I might include them in the deal if we ran across any. But Silvana never referred to them as unicorns. She only called them ‘the herd.’ She said there were quite a few one-horned animals in her village. She’d heard tales of unicorns herself, but she was a warrior. She paid no attention to them. When she was captured and sent to Rome, you can bet she never mentioned them to Antonio. She wasn’t going to let them take anything else from her.” She braked the jeep. “Now Bailey and I have to go and help the shepherds get those deer to safety.”

“What can we do to help?” Cade asked.

“Nothing at the moment. They’re excited and might trample you,” Maya said. “We’re leading them down to a hollowed-out cave in the mountain where we can protect them and keep them warm if the storm is worse than we think. They’re always safe there. Silvana thought of everything when she set up her kingdom.” She smiled. “Just drive the jeep down the rest of the way to the cave and meet us there.” She turned to Bailey. “Ready?”

“You can go help the shepherds.” Bailey was already out of the jeep and heading up the hill. “I’ll bring Riva. She might be frightened. I’ll see you at the cave.” She glanced at Riley. “I told you that they were wonderful. Aren’t you glad you came?”

“I couldn’t be happier,” Riley said. “You’re right, it’s exciting. We’ll see you at this cave and you can introduce us on a more personal level. Be careful.”