by Jen Pretty
“Want to explain how you two went from laughing together last night to skewering each other this morning?”
Puck sighed and looked away so I turned to Bain. He held my eye contact for a moment then looked at the ground.
I stood in the silence, tapping my foot. Damn, these unicorns were a pain in the ass.
“It’s nothing, Lex,” Puck said. “We just have a long history.”
“Well, let’s work out some things because I need you two on board for this. I have already wasted too much time; I need the elves and the unicorns to work together and I’m betting that would go smoother if you two weren’t trying to kill each other.”
Bain scowled at Puck. “The unicorns are just a little annoyed with how easily Puck returned to the elves. He should not feel he can speak for us.”
“And what is it the unicorns want to say? If you don’t want Puck to speak for you, then you speak for yourself. Tell me,” I replied.
He stared at me for a moment, biting his lip like he didn’t want the words to come out before he had arranged them perfectly. I raised a brow at him, waiting for his reply.
‘We want assurances, Your Highness, that the elves won’t abandon us in this new world. We can’t go back to being what we were.”
“Assurances?” I snorted unkindly. “And what do you think will happen if we leave the witch alone and she comes back here? Do you think she will leave you alone? You can run and hide and play the blame game or you can get over it and help me defeat her once and for all. Then you can have your discussions and assurances. I will not stand by and watch her destroy this world again and then move on to destroy Earth. If you will not stand by me…”
I didn’t need to finish. Both unicorn shifters were on their knees; their heads bowed to the ground.
They didn’t move for so long, I thought maybe I had stopped time. I tried to let go of my magic, but it wasn’t magic holding them to the ground. When Puck finally raised his head slightly, without raising his eyes, he said “I’m sorry, Lex. I didn’t mean to fail you.”
“You idiot, you didn’t fail me. You will never fail me. You really like stabbing people and I have failed to give you a proper target for that desire. That ends now, buddy. Let's go stab that witch bitch.”
Puck stood up, looking much happier, then glanced back at his brother, who was still on his knees, head cradled in his arms. His body shook as sobs wracked his body.
“What’s the matter?” I asked quietly.
He didn’t look up, but he managed to clear his throat and said “We have not had a true Elf leader in so long. I’m sorry. I will help mend this rift between the elves and unicorn.”
“Good, thank you.”
Stupid unicorns. Being queen was starting to agree with me, though.
Back at the camp, the tents had been packed up. Two uneasy groups stood apart from each other.
Puck scooped me up and shifted back into his unicorn form, then pranced back through camp, stopping in the middle between the group of angry unicorns and the group of disgraced elves.
Bain stood beside us and addressed his fellow unicorns.
“Our time for anger needs to end. We will not be successful if we go into war divided like this.”
He spun to look at Clive. Picking him out of the crowd, he marched over, his hand extended in a display of peace. As they shook, Bain pulled Clive forward and swung him up on his back as he transformed into a unicorn. Seeing Clive, my quiet doorman transformed into a battle-ready elf. His whole demeanour changed. The sword at his side was unsheathed and he held it up in the air. The silent display was all it took, the rest of the unicorns and elves quickly followed suit until before me stood a mighty army of white steeds ridden by sword-wielding elves. The elves grinned and cheered, and the unicorns stomped their hooves and screamed their battle cry.
That which was ours.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The march across the shifter’s land to the caves was long, but made lighter by the war stories. Everyone was carefully tiptoeing around the topic of the elves leaving the unicorns behind, keeping the peace through avoidance. They would hopefully repair burned bridges with the battle ahead.
I hadn’t had time yet to consider the battle itself. The witch was immune to my time magic, but she had to die before she made a portal and escaped again. Hopefully my new powers would help, but walking into this without a clear idea of how I was going to beat her increased my stress level by a thousand. Every step took me closer to the unknown and I had a big army of people to protect when the time came.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Roman asked as we made our way on to the rocky outcroppings that led to the caves.
“I’m just worried about what we’ll find.”
He slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it. Roman was a strange man: confident and self-assured, but quietly supportive. He had my back and I could count on that.
“Thank you,” I whispered. He smiled, leaned in and kissed me, pulling me to a stop. The troops of elves, unicorns, hunters and wolf shifters all separated and flowed around us like a stream around a rock as we took one last moment together.
He broke our kiss and rested his forehead against mine. His red eyes flashed before he closed them and took a deep breath. “When this is over, we’re going to hide away for a week and relax. I want you all to myself, Alexandra Everest.”
“I want that too. I want it more than anything,” I replied, kissing his nose and pushing away from him, but keeping hold of his hand.
Up ahead, the troops were getting to the mouth of the cave. I kept hold of his hand, but turned and started moving us along with the flow of the army we had collected. Roman and I had been through a lot, but this was probably going to be our biggest challenge yet.
Armond caught up to us, squished himself between Roman and me and flung his arms around our shoulders. I elbowed him in the ribs, but he just grinned.
“You ready, princess?” he asked, looking way too happy to be charging blindly into a strange new land with unknown danger.
“Yeah, I guess. You just stay alive and don’t get caught by that witch again,” I said, elbowing him in the ribs one more time. The hunters were planning to take out any trolls with the help of my magic. Trolls would probably be the easiest of our possible foes, but at least they were something we could plan for.
“Don’t worry about me. I haven’t had a good battle in a while and I’m itching to get some blood on my blades.” The other hunters looked equally keen. They all had a bit of a spring in their steps and small giddy grins.
In the cave, the teams carried torches and followed the well-worn stone path to the deepest cave where the witch had disappeared last time we were here. The portal still waited for us like the creepy entrance to a haunted house. I was fully expecting horrors to be waiting on the other side. As the army ahead of me filed through and I finally got my turn, Puck gave me a cocky grin and slid past me at the last moment, waving as he disappeared through the portal. I wasn’t sure who was keener for a good fight, the hunters or the unicorns. I firmed my grip on Romans hand and tucked Daisy under my arm.
✽✽✽
The open field beyond the portal was barren. There were no trees or vegetation and a foul pool of black slime sat beside the portal, edges crisp and curling where it met the dry ground. The army clustered around, but moved slightly further into the hollow world to allow more space for the rest of the unicorns and elves to come through behind us. The sky was a dirty brown that clouded out the sun, leaving just enough light to see by, but the smog was thick so we couldn’t see far.
“What the hell?” I whispered to myself.
Armond answered, “This is what the old stories told of. They said the witch was from a harsh land of death and destruction where war was the way of life."
As he finished and before the last of our army was through the portal, a massive hoard of trolls descended upon us from just beyond the fog. Their greasy dreadlocked hair swung around
them as they unsheathed their swords and stomped forward, the sound of their feet echoing off the packed ground. Daisy flew out of my arms and circled above, leaving the fighting to us.
Puck, on the other hand, tossed me onto his back as he flashed into a raging unicorn and pressed towards the large group of ragged looking trolls. The shifters and unicorns began fighting the trolls alongside the hunters. They were using their teeth, horns and swords, but I slammed time to a stop, freezing everyone except the hunters and Roman. Armond and his men kept cutting down the trolls with their swords, but they all soon lost their enthusiasm. Armond glared over his shoulder at me.
“What?” I asked. “It’s too soon to be letting a long battle wear us down. We have to save it for the witch.”
The hunters grumbled but went about butchering the trolls.
Soon it was a disgusting bloody battlefield, but only trolls had lost their lives. We didn’t have any serious injuries. I suspected that the road ahead wouldn’t be this easy as we neared our final battle.
I let go of my magic and our army moved through the dead trolls. As we passed the last of the corpses, the trolls began to twitch. A surprised shout had us turning back in time to watch as the first troll slowly rose, then all at once, they stood and came back towards us.
“What the hell?” I whispered to myself as the trolls and hunters began to fight again. Some of the shapeshifters were teaming up, their razor teeth biting and tearing at the undead trolls. The army wouldn’t last long if the trolls just kept coming back to life.
One of the trolls smashed past the line of hunters fighting and, as I watched, he aimed his long sword straight for Roman, whose back was turned, as he fought beside a group of unicorns and elves. I wanted to call out to him. To get there and stop the disaster, but he was across the crowded battle field. I had no time left.
Puck reared. My panic pushing him into action but when I yelled, “NO!” the troll who was about to strike down Roman paused for half a second, mid swing, and shattered like glass. He fell to the ground and didn’t rise again.
The witch’s magic was keeping the trolls on their feet, but my magic was stronger. I pictured knocking out another troll who was swinging a sword, but nothing happened. He continued to spar with a hunter.
“Shit,” I muttered. “How the fuck did I do that?” I asked myself, trying to stay on Puck’s back while he pranced, keen to join the battle. His hoof started striking the ground in impatience, but I needed to think. It had to be my will. That’s what Helena had said. It had to come from my heart.
The sounds of steel meeting steel rang through the empty land. Men yelling and wolves snarling and snapping their teeth. The trolls weren’t moving as fast and many had taken a lot of damage when the hunters had taken them down the first time, but they were still strong and they fought like they weren’t dead at all.
A hunter cried out as a troll got in a lucky strike. The hunter was bleeding but still swinging his sword at the troll who had caught him. Magic poured out of me like a bucket overflowing with water. The troll who had struck the hunter crumbled to the ground and I cast my glance at the reincarnated abominations that were trying to destroy my hunters -- my army.
The trolls shattered and fell to the ground, one by one like some sick version of the wave in a baseball stadium.
We stood in the silence that followed and waited for the trolls to revive, but they didn’t.
We moved through the battlefield again, careful not to let down our guard. I slid off Puck’s back and staggered to keep my feet under me. Puck transformed back into a man with a pout on his face to rival any six-year-old who didn’t get candy at the store.
“You could have let me have a little fun, Lex,” he complained.
“Then I wouldn’t have had time to figure out how to actually kill the trolls.” I said. I started to walk away but tripped over my feet and would have gone down, but Puck caught me.
“You ok?” he asked as Roman appeared at my side, wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Yeah, I just feel a bit weak. That was weird magic. I felt like I was overflowing.”
“You want me to carry you?” Puck asked, stepping back like he was going to shift again.
“No, I can walk,” I smiled and moved out of Roman arms. He had a concerned look on his face but didn’t press the issue.
There was a trodden path that led away from the portal. With no real directions to follow, it seemed like the best way to go.
The path led along below a sharp rock cliff. I still hadn’t seen any animals or plants. The brown outcropping, dark dirt and heavy smog made everything look dreary and deadly. Living things weren’t welcome in this place. I hoped we would find the witch quickly and take care of her, so we could leave, but as time marched on with no change in the scenery, I worried that it was just an endless smoggy desert.
We continued along for several hours before our army came to a halt. I was near the middle so I wasn’t sure why we stopped until a hush fell and a distant rumble reached my ears. The sound was getting louder and closer as we waited. The unicorns shifted and pranced in place silently. The elves climbed onto their mounts and unsheathed their weapons. The hunters moved into a tactical formation as the sound got louder, but it was a full minute longer before we could see anything on the horizon. The dim light and smoggy atmosphere only allowed the shape of the approaching herd to be seen vaguely from our position. With the rocky cliff behind us, I felt confident we could handle whatever came. But still the foreboding in my bones was dumping adrenaline into my bloodstream and making me want to move.
Roman moved a touch ahead of me on my right and Armond slid to my left but the space in front of me was now blocked, and I couldn’t see over the unicorns. I started to push forward just as Puck scooped me up in his arms and flung me on to his back as he shifted into a unicorn. Then he pushed past the vampire and hunter and brought me to the head of the army. Roman caught up to us and continued to flank me as we waited. A dust cloud billowing up behind the mass of writhing creatures that approached trailed up to meet the brown fog that hung above them, distorting them further, making them look like boulders, rumbling across the desolate landscape.
Finally, they started to become clear and I realized they were individual animals, similar in size to the unicorns, but each had a much broader skull and a horn on either side of their heads instead of one. Like sleek fork lifts, they charged towards us as fast as horses but with black shaggy coats and thick legs, they looked more like tiny woolly mammoths. I sent my magic out to stop them, but all that accomplished was to stop our army and the creatures kept coming. I tried to will them to do anything. Stop, turn around, disappear. But they just kept coming. I gave up and wrapped my hand in Puck’s mane.
“They are immune to my powers!” I shouted. We were out of time. “We face them together!”
The unicorns were rearing and dancing in anticipation. The hunters unsheathed their swords when Armond shouted, “Hunters ready!”
My heart pounded in my chest to the beat of the approaching hoard. They didn’t slow as they got closer, they just spread out to form a wider, more intimidating front line. I glanced around at the army I had assembled. They swarmed me now, shuffling and spreading out so I was in the middle of a writhing mass of men and women and shifters. The thundering hooves were joined by battle cries and the sound of steel clanking against horns as the first of the wild creatures made contact. I watched as the first unicorn and elf team faced an oncoming beast. They stopped its progress with a swing of a sword and quick impalement by a unicorn horn, but that was the last easy win of the battle.
The battle against the swarm became all consuming. Shifters fought in small groups, tearing at their opponents with razor teeth. The elves and unicorns worked in harmony: unicorn facing one enemy while the elf on its back would guard its flanks, taking out any challenger approaching from the sides or rear. I watched as one unicorn bore a beast to the ground. Raising its head, it savagely slammed it down over
and over into the thick hide like a pointed battering ram.
Soon the sleek white unicorns were painted red. Most were still pressing forward to the battle, but some had wounds and injuries severe enough that they were backing away from the front line, and the pressing herd of foes were getting close enough that I urged Puck on. He didn’t require a second invitation. He was ready to get into the battle and didn’t need any encouragement from me.
I unsheathed my short sword and heard Roman call a warning as the first ragged beast charged at Puck and me. Puck swung towards the beast and met him head-to-head. His roaring war cry muffled as his head dropped and he launched us at the horned creature in a final leap. The impact nearly dislodged me. Some unexpected magic kept me stuck to Puck’s back. I untangled my hand from his mane and brought my blade down on the neck of a creature attacking another elf and unicorn pair beside us. My short sword slid through the monster’s neck like butter and it fell the ground -- more litter to avoid as the battle raged on. The sounds of the attackers merged with the sounds of our defense as the teams worked seamlessly throughout the battle.
I glanced up at one point to see a bloodied Roman with his fangs latched onto one of the monsters. I had seen him drink blood only once before -- in the castle when we were attacked and he was almost beheaded. The sight made worry flash through my mind and I lost my focus for a moment, thinking Roman was severely injured. That lapse was all the time a beast needed to come up beside us and impale Puck in the side, right next to my leg. Puck roared and spun, removing the horn that had stabbed him. At the same moment, Bain charged in, using his teeth to grab the animal by the throat and tear.
Blood sprayed in an arc coating Puck and I in the aftermath.
Clive bowed his head from the back of Bain, and then they were gone back into the fray.
Puck wobbled, and I began to panic, worried he was going down. I slid off and he changed back into a man. He moaned and wrapped his arm around his side.
