A shadow watched their reflections in a still mountain pool; the images of a bossy unicorn, a snotty girl, an obnoxious fairy, and a soleon were traveling through a deep ravine. The young man scowled and dropped a stone into the image which then rippled and vanished.
“We need to be more careful.” He seemed to be talking to himself as he straightened and stared towards the mountain pass.
It was drizzling, draping the foliage in glimmering liquid diamonds. The man was soaked through, drab garments blending with his drab surroundings, but he cared nothing for comfort. His mind was focused on only one task: the girl.
“We must get to her before the second realm.” He said to the air. “She surprisingly made it through the first.” He scowled. “She may even be beyond your power if she reaches the last realm.” His green eyes shot over to a blanket of overhanging branches.
“Hmm,” answered another voice from beneath the dripping leaves. “If she gets there. It’s been shielded like the rest. They were lucky finding the soleons. No one can find the realms. You could hardly find the first one. I’ll give you my best horse if you find the second. Oh wait, I don’t have one.”
“You arrogant ass,” said the first man. “The molochs were released, were they not?” Only a scoff answered from the shadows, making him clench a fist to keep from replying with violence. He inhaled. “They weren’t lucky. The unicorn’s with them, you idiot, and she’s up to something.” He glared into the trees. “We have to get to her before they reach the Dragon. It will be far more difficult to get those stones once the Dragon’s involved. He’s not very…sympathetic to our cause.”
“He may not be to theirs either.”
“But if the snake is?”
Crouched in the branches, his younger brother did not reply.
“It’s time you do what you do best.” He tossed a stone high into the air.
It fell towards his palm, but instead of the smack of stone against skin it halted and hovered an inch above his hand. He flicked his wrist, and a nearby tree exploded into kindling before groaning and collapsing sideways. He grinned.
A twig snapped in the thick undergrowth, but neither of them flinched.
He peered into the gloom and raised his hand. “You’ll have her soon.”
The moloch snarled and melted back into the darkness, both drawn and repulsed by the golden object around the man’s neck. A hundred thousand pairs of crimson eyes glowed in the darkness of the mountainside.