Siegfried was silent. Was he thinking? Not one unicorn spoke a word.
Hannah’s gaze drifted to the two unicorns on either side of Siegfried. They were tawny in color, with shimmering golden manes and tails. They looked silently at Hannah with their shining golden eyes. Even the rest of the herd and Edeltraud, who were standing behind them, uttered not a single sound. Hannah was about to speak, but Irmgard made a barely perceptible movement that amounted to shaking her head.
Hannah took a deep breath and resisted the urge to break the silence. Her heart was pounding faster and faster, as if she were trying to make up for the time lost by simply standing there and saying nothing.
“There is a way to save the innocent soul.”
“So we’ll be able to rescue Maximilian?” Hannah blurted out, glad to finally be able to speak again.
“That remains to be seen.” Siegfried cautiously sniffed the air. His nostrils were flaring with infinite deliberation, as if patiently attempting to detect a scent. “There is a flower that has the power to break the chain of evil.”
“A flower?” Hannah shook her head in disbelief. “How can a flower be a match for something as powerful as the Evil?”
“Many flowers are pure and innocent, and some are strong and possess more powers than is apparent at first glance.”
Irmgard neighed. “Which one is it?”
The stallion sniffed again, as though what he had just smelled were revealing to him which plant it was. “It is the red fireflower. In its center grows a pearl so pure and powerful that it has the capacity to save the soul.”
“Where does it grow?”
Siegfried sniffed once more. This time, Hannah also tried to detect something unusual in the air, but all she could smell was the scent of spruce needles and pinecones.
“It grows north of here. On the barren crags of the Black Stone.”
“The Black Stone? What is that?” Hannah asked.
Irmgard neighed. “I know where it is. East of?—”
“North!” Siegfried said, correcting her.
“Yes, right, north of here. I know those mountains.” Impatient, Irmgard trotted in place and nodded with excitement.
“And once we have the flower,” Hannah persisted, “then how do we find the soul of Mirabelle’s mother in the dark void?”
“By the time you have found and plucked the flower, the Evil will have long since been on your heels. It knows the power of the fireflower and the magic of its pearl. It will do everything in its power to prevent you from picking it. It will be very close to you—and so, therefore, will be the void where it holds the lost soul captive.”
Hannah shivered. “The Evil will be very close?” She thought of the beguiling voice from the night before—of the calling, the cajoling, and also the power with which it had tried to tear her away from the protection of the larches.
“A great deal is riding on whether or not you succeed in this journey. This includes, not least of all, the future of the forest and our herd.”
“Irmgard, can you protect us from the Evil until we have the flower in our hands?” Hannah asked.
Irmgard whinnied. “It would undoubtedly be easier with some help, but I’m assuming that no one wants to come with us.” She looked around at her fellow unicorns, who glanced at each other. A few exchanged uncertain looks as if they hadn’t yet made up their minds, but not one of them said a word.
Siegfried stomped on the ground with his front hooves so hard that they made a thunderous noise. “You must accomplish this without our help. We are the last unicorns in this forest. We cannot allow anything to happen to us. If we were to go with you, the Evil would see it as an attack and would pursue us until it had wiped out every single one of us. You know what happened to the last herd of unicorns, Irmgard, and you know why! It must not view us as a threat!”
“But Irmgard will be with me,” Hannah cried, “so a unicorn is already involved!”
“The Evil knows that Irmgard lives apart from our herd. It won’t relate her actions to us —as long as we keep clear of you.”
Irmgard understood and whinnied. She seemed a little sad as she looked at the other unicorns. Was she longing to be a member of the group again?
“Irmgard,” Siegfried began, “I know why you left us. You have already learned a great deal. Continue on your path, and you shall find your way back to our midst!”
Irmgard uttered a soft, perceptive whinny. There was nothing they could do. They would have to go on without the help of the herd.
“What power do we still have against the Evil?” Hannah asked as she continued to probe. “How do we defeat it? And how do we find the soul once we’ve picked the flower?”
