The Survivor (Eve Duncan #30)

“She likes you,” Bailey whispered. “I knew she would. Will you help me?”

“If I can, though my midwife experience is limited.” She reached out and stroked the doe’s neck again. “But I can see why you can’t bear the thought of anything happening to her. She’s… extraordinary.” She smiled. “So why don’t you sit down and have your tea and muffin and let me get to know her a little better? While I finish brushing her, you can tell me all about her…”

CHAPTER 8

Forty-five minutes later Riley was crossing the cave to where Cade was sitting on the floor beside the door opening gazing out at the falling snow. She plopped down beside him. “Maya said she was going to give you the third degree about your intentions regarding the unicorns. Did she do it?”

“She made the attempt, but I told her that I hadn’t made any firm decisions yet.” He shrugged. “And that it was her fault for not giving me definitive answers regarding them when I first asked her. She didn’t like it, but she let me get away with it. Though I could see her mentally filing it away to come back around and attack later. She does like to be in control.”

Her brows rose. “And you don’t? Takes one to know one. As a matter of fact, she mentioned that you have the instincts of a caretaker.” She tilted her chin. “But she could see how it might annoy me since I wasn’t a child.”

“Ouch.” He met her eyes. “Did you have a nice chat about it?”

“No, I try never to talk about you to anyone else. I figure you get enough of that from everyone else who tries to analyze or get something from you.” She made a face. “I remember I did tell her once that I could handle you.”

“And so you can. As often and as intimately as you choose.” He added, “And we’re both working on ways to take other more challenging steps.”

“That’s why I’m sitting here. Maya was right, you do have the instincts of a caretaker. But I’m trying not to resent it. Even though it does piss me off that you seem too busy to give me explanations that would make me feel more like a partner and less like a child.” She held up her hand as he started to speak. “So I thought I’d corner you and have you keep your promise about explaining more about what you know about those unicorns. Because one way or the other that’s going to happen. You’re the one who was having problems with me not confiding in you—that’s how we ended up here. Remember?”

“How could I forget?” He added, “And I had no intention of keeping anything from you. I think I can chalk this up to Maya’s not-so-helpful remark. We have been a little busy since we got here.”

“Yes, we have.” She paused. “And Maya wasn’t trying to cause trouble. She was just being… Maya.”

“Which can be trouble in itself.” He waved his hand. “But we’ll get this over quickly. Tell me what you already know about the unicorns, and I’ll fill you in on anything extra. We should be able to whisk right through this. Besides your archaeologist background, you’re also a scholar who cut her teeth on legends and ancient history.”

“What do I know? Only that there’s mega dispute about whether unicorns ever existed or if they’re another myth. Or if they did exist but became extinct sometime near the Iron Age.” She shrugged. “And I admit I was more interested in the people who shaped the world than the animals that inhabited it.”

“Like your Helen of Troy?” He smiled. “I don’t expect there to be any competition. Yet the Iliad mentioned unicorns.”

“And the Iliad was mythology. But it was Ctesias of Cnidus who was responsible for creating the first legend about unicorns more than two thousand years ago. He told of a wild ass in India that was as large as a horse or maybe even larger. It had dark blue eyes and had a single horn on the forehead that was about a foot and a half long. He was a physician in the Persian court and had a great curiosity that led him to dive deep into research.” Her lips twisted. “Even though many later experts didn’t have sterling opinions about the quality of his work. Later Aristotle and Pliny both were more respected.”

“Very good,” he said. “I was right, you already know quite a bit about unicorns. What else?”

“That there have been legends and descriptions of unicorns from practically every country on the planet, and most of them sound like pure bullshit. Unicorn descriptions varied from looking like Ctesias’s ass to antelopes to a very weird but popular belief that a unicorn really looked like a rhinoceros.”

“Not so weird,” Cade said. “I agree that the rhino’s appearance is less than appealing when you compare it with the sentimental unicorn fables. But you have to look at what was most important to the people who were searching for the unicorn through the centuries: the single horn gracing the rhino’s snout. Because if you could claim that you’d caught a unicorn and taken its horn, then you could sell it for enormous profits. Since even the existence of the unicorn was in dispute, it was an easy enough con. Which was what happened in late medieval and Renaissance times. Horns of any sort were one of the most popular gifts among royal families. The great horn of Windsor owned by the British royal family was valued very highly. But a unicorn horn would have been considered a special prize.”

Riley nodded. “Because their horns supposedly not only had magical medical properties but could also protect anyone from poison.”

“Right,” he said. “And had several other applications depending on who you consulted during which millennium. Everyone wanted to believe the magic. Even some world-famous Victorian explorers like Sir Henry Stanley and Harry Johnston who were studying Pygmies in the Congo mentioned stories that the Pygmies might have discovered an ass-like creature in Africa that could have been a unicorn. They wanted it to be true. So did the dreamers who came after them.” He added bitterly, “And the poachers are always eager to accommodate anyone willing to pay the price. Anything to do with those horns fetched incredibly high fees through the centuries. Even when their authenticity was suspect, they still brought in a bundle of money. Particularly in the Chinese and Russian markets.” He cast a glance back at the herd moving restlessly in the cave behind them. “You can imagine how the price would skyrocket if the poacher could show proof that the horn was genuine. Not to mention any other vital organs that he could sell at top price. It would be a bonanza for the son of a bitch.”

“And you hate it,” Riley said. “Who could blame you? It makes me sick.”

“You’re damn right. I hate poachers on principle. But this makes me want to go after Nadim and harvest a few of his organs.” His gaze was still on the unicorns. “These creatures have fought to survive through the centuries, and this may be their last chance if Nadim finds a way to capture them.” He smiled recklessly. “Which he won’t. I won’t let the bastard get hold of even one of them.”

“But how do we do it? If they’re so rare that almost everyone thinks they’re extinct, it won’t be easy to keep them alive much less tuck them safely away somewhere.”

“Good question,” he said wryly. “I’m working on it. And it may not be a matter of tucking them away but letting them strut their stuff. Nadim is proving to be an aggressive bastard. We’ll have to study his next move.”

“And hope it’s not aimed at us?”

“He’s a poacher. It’s what he was doing in India.” He added grimly, “If he’s found out anything about why Maya is protecting this area, every weapon will be zeroed in on taking those deer out. She told me Bevan was his informant. I’d bet if he doesn’t know now, he will soon.”

“Are we sure that they’re that rare? You mentioned something about Laos. Were they sighted there?”

He shook his head. “But there was an animal in the bovid family who has been seen there. The Saola. It didn’t have the same physical characteristics as these unicorns. They have two horns and generally live in the forests instead of the mountains. The Lao people refer to them as ‘the polite animal’ because they move quietly through the forest and are very gentle. I was interested because the IUCN Species Survival Commission asked for my help out of fears that they would soon be declared extinct. The press has been referring to them as ‘the Asian unicorns.’ Not only were the poachers after them, but the local hunters and tribesmen were killing them. A trip to Laos was next on my list.”

“The polite animal,” Riley mused as her gaze wandered across the cave to where Bailey was still brushing Riva. “Those Saola might not be the same exact species as these deer, but they could be first cousins. One of the things Bailey mentioned about that unicorn she’s taking such good care of was that she was very solitary. After she mated, she wanted nothing more to do with the sire and went off to be by herself. She’s spent most of her time waiting for the birth and just wandering around on her own.”