Empusa was standing right next to Josh, ready to bite him with her sharp teeth and drain him off of his blood. Her burning hair and her fangs were sending a pretty clear message; death. She caught his neck and pushed him on a tree. I could hear Josh's heartbeat clear and fast. Little drops of sweat were falling from his forehead into his eyes. I just couldn't let him die. Not like that!

I ran towards them and hit her hand with my horn. She didn't expect that at all, after all those months that I was running for my life. She left Josh and made a step back. There was barely a scratch on her hand.

"So, the unicorn revealed its teeth? This is hilarious the least!" she said.

Josh was shaking on the trunk of the tree. But he didn't leave the clearing. What's wrong with him?, I thought. I stood still, trying to measure what Empusa would do next. She moved towards me with her creepy legs echoing inside the park. She seemed so sure of herself, like she could effortlessly catch me. That was exactly what I needed. I ran fast and hit her in her throat. She gasped and cursed, as she staggered.

I was right next to Josh. I pointed with my paw an edgy log, hoping that he would understand what I was trying to say; or actually show. And he did. He took the log into his hand and moved towards Empusa. But she was faster than him. She got me from behind, breaking my ribs.

I instantly fell on the ground, ready to accept my coming death. Empusa came over me and she caught my horn inside her hands. That's what she wanted from the beginning. That's why she was haunting me those past few months. She wanted the moon dust. She needed the moon dust. How else could she gain her immortality back?

My ribs and my horn were hurting. I guess she wanted to torture me. She was ready to rip my horn out. Suddenly, her grip softened and in my dizziness I managed to see the log coming out of her chest. She fell next to me on the ground and she started to transform. At first slowly and then faster. She turned into a beautiful woman. She turned into my aunt, Diana. And an instant later she burst into flames.

Josh was astonished but he moved closer to me.

"Poor little thing," he said. He was trying to comfort me, to ease my pain. He didn't notice that a few seconds later, I started to transform back into myself again. Only when he saw me lying down naked in front of him, he goggled his eyes.

"How about going for coffee right now?" I whispered.

"I don't know how tasty the hospital coffee could be, but we'll take our chances," he said, covering me with his jacket and taking me into his embrace.

That was when I lost consciousness.

© Victoria Moschou. All Rights Reserved 2016.