TITLE: THE UNICORN TAMER
GENRE: MIDDLE-GRADE FANTASY
Emma is 13 years old and was asleep in her bed when her cat's hissing woke her up. After hearing some strange, muffled sounds coming from her parents' bedroom, she goes to investigate.
Emma walked into the room, unaware that she was holding her breath, and found one black arrow pierced through the bed. Delicate, down feathers from the mattress had escaped from the arrow's wound and littered the top of the sheet. Suddenly she was very cold, her heart thundering so much that she was afraid it was going to break through her chest. The large window in her parents' room was wide open, and the night breeze snuck in and played with the feathers. Emma stared at the ominous arrow and instinctively took a step back. Her foot felt like it was full of lead as she willed her eyes to adjust to the dark. She wanted to shout for her dad, but there was something terribly wrong with her voice. Emma turned sharply when something big and white flashed by the house, and a single, perfect, white feather floated into the bedroom through the open window. Nearby, she could hear the sound of beating wings mingled with the yelps of her dogs. Before she could find the source to the sound, a gigantic, gloved hand wrapped tight around her face. The putrid smell of the cloth hidden in the palm of the hand caused her to struggle, and she kicked the air a couple of times before her limbs felt too heavy to lift. Before her eyes closed, she saw again, through the slits between the gloved hand, the flash of white outside the window, and then, there was nothing, but black.