Excerpt from Unicorn Valley 4: Moontyger's Quest

Moontyger had not bothered to mention the unicorn mercenary was handsome, with white hair and startling jade green eyes. "Charming" she'd called him. Oh, yes, he reminded Li Chin of the kitsune with their grace, sweet words, and silver haired beauty. Was he as amoral as the fox demons as well?

Li Chin clenched his fists. Moontyger would not notice something so base as masculine beauty. Her mind was constantly questing for new information for her precious scrolls, and she never gave a thought to danger or pleasure. She could be a vicious predator when it suited her, but was also a small graceful female who seemed to have her mind on the stars, not where she placed her tiny feet.

He groaned silently. If only she knew how she could use those dainty appendages to walk all over an Imperial dragon. He'd loved her for well over a century, but never understood how to break her out of her isolated trance except to annoy her.

Now, a handsome unicorn did what he could not. She would leave her lair with him, not Li Chin. Perhaps Jamir would even seduce Moontyger, plucking the delicate lotus Li Chin craved for himself. He put his face in his hands with a grimace of pain.

His mind floated off on a cloud, peaceful and serene. There was no sorrow, no pain. The world opened before him with its infinite beauty, and the sky called his name.

Li Chin snapped back to the material world, gasping for breath. How long had he been gone this time? The Ethereal World called to him increasingly with each decade. How much longer did he have before he would be gone? Already the twig-like growths appeared on his dragon head, signaling his readiness to translate to a pure spirit form.

A masculine shout jerked him from his self-pity. "This is neither reasonable nor practical!" The odd accent told him it was the handsome mercenary.

Li Chin peered through the scrollwork. He choked back laughter in his desire to maintain secrecy. If the unicorn thought to intimidate Moontyger by glowering over her, he was wrong. Li Chin knew the stubborn tilt of her pointed chin all too well.

She jutted out her whole jaw and defiantly stood toe to toe with the taller mercenary. "I need my scrolls, inks and papers. They are my references, and the place where I might make notes of what we learn. "

Moontyger wore her most beautiful silks, making her appear as fragile as a butterfly's wings and just as lovely. Li Chin could see where the unicorn might not believe she could rip him in two, with or without her sword on her back. "Why can you not leave these many bags of medicinal plants behind? We can make what we need on the journey."

Oh, this was entertaining. Li Chin smiled and leaned casually against the wall to hear the argument. Someone else would be sliced with her razor logic instead of him. He was delighted.

Jamir scrubbed his face, avoiding the golden knob in the center of his forehead. He drew several breaths, just as one did while meditating, and then he spoke to Moontyger in the same tones one might use on a recalcitrant child. "We cannot make anything we desire once we cross into the human areas. Magic energy flows very weakly there. Spell casting is limited to small earth magic like fire starting, unless you have a dependable, portable, and renewable source of energy. If you even so much as sunburn your pretty snub nose, we'll need those herbs." He flicked a finger on her nose.

Ah, so the unicorn mercenary also was a skilled herbalist. Perhaps he might indeed be able to see Moontyger's safety, if he could keep his hands off her. Li Chin burned with jealousy. If he, Li Chin, had done so, he'd be missing a hand, not clenching them with fury.

Moontyger merely stepped backward a pace, her eyes never leaving Jamir's face. "We have but one yak, Jamir." Moontyger stubbornly continued the argument. "Some things we might wish to carry must be sacrificed. " She pointed to the palace attendants loading the hairy beast. "It can only carry so much and be expected to travel so far in a day."

Jamir snorted, a very equine sound, as he turned to look at the yak. The poor beast was covered in boxes, bags, and bales. It looked ready to collapse. "It will be a long walk with on overburdened yak as our sole transport. It certainly won't be able to carry trade goods to make us look like legitimate travelers. What is that thing on top?"

"My pavilion." Moontyger's imperious voice brooked no argument.

The mercenary's laughter began as low chuckles and made a crescendo of harsh derision. Li Chin could sympathize with both of them. Moontyger was used to her comforts and would not think of sleeping on the cold, hard ground. Especially since she'd be limited to her frail human form. She would need the pavilion to protect her from the harsh climate of the desert night.

The yak bawled a protest at his burdens. What Li Chin could carry easily was a great weight for the poor beast. The mercenary stepped outside to check on the yak, leaving Moontyger to fume and pace.

Li Chin's head snapped up. Wait. He could indeed carry such a load. There was the answer to his jealousy and longing to spend every precious moment left to him in the Material World with the one person who mattered to him. He could protect her from the handsome, charming unicorn by simply being there to act as chaperone to guard Moontyger's virtue.