Warrior Innocent

by Wendy Knight

He glanced once at Scout, but her eyes were steely and hard. She was scared, he could tell, but he knew her well enough to know it wasn't the battle she feared. It was everyone she would fight alongside.

  "Scout!"

  She jerked her head toward him, broken from her trance.

  "I love you. No matter what!"

  The sea-foam green eyes softened as she smiled. "I love you, too."

  That was the last he heard from her as they hit the battle like a brick wall. And it was true, what she feared. Those around her, those who realized who she was under that armor, they flew away from her, so that Scout and Ashra were fighting alone amidst a mass of soul stealers.

  "I will fight by your side," Trey murmured. Torz agreed as he moved them closer until they were fighting back to back.

  The thing about Scout and Ashra, though, the thing that made them so strong, was they used their pain as a weapon, drew strength from it. He could tell from the heat of their attacks as they flew past him that there was immense power behind them. They obliterated everything they hit and set fire to the sky.

  "So that's how we win this war. We just have to make Scout so mad she can't see straight, and she'll kill everything for us." Tate, somehow, had found his way to their circle and aligned himself next to them.

  "I will fight beside you."

  Tate grinned.

  "She's not mad, idiot. She's hurt. You know nothing about women." Liam moved in from the other side, until they formed a diamond, fire shooting and twisting from its points.

  "I will fight beside you."

  Scout turned, staring dumbfounded at his brothers, and Trey could see the tears in her eyes.

  Together, they fought, side-by-side and back-to-back. Out of the midst of ash, blood, and bone, rose the souled demons, the ones Ariston had created by tearing to shreds innocent souls and then binding them to his Taraxippus. They were hard to kill, smart, and powerful.

  Ashra screeched and jerked up; a demon wafted mere inches in front of her. Her front hooves, sharp and deadly, struck out, tearing into the bone. The creature screamed and jerked up, slashing down with its clawed hands, but Scout was there, blocking its attack with her scepter. While it fought with her, Trey and Torz attacked, sending strike after strike into its chest. Tate and Liam fought off the other soul stealers, protecting Scout and Trey as they battled the souled one.

  Trey looked up. Iros watched them from above as he fought demons of his own, and his eyes held worry. But he did not come to their aid.

  Scout, too, had seen him. Trey knew because suddenly every movement was harsher and more deadly. Every attack became frightening in its intensity.

  Still, the demon wouldn't fall.

  Trey was bloody. His arms ached, and Torz was faltering in the sky. There were other souled demons. Trey could see their glowing red eyes amidst the smoke and fire. They were being attacked by hundreds at once, and somehow, holding their ground.

  Trey and Scout fought alone.

  A claw came up and slashed against Scout's chest, right through the armor. Scout screamed as Ashra danced backward, out of range.

  "Scout! Are you okay?" Trey yelled because he couldn't see her now, and turning his head to look for her could be a death sentence.

  She replied, but he didn't catch it. The soul stealer lurched forward as it was hit from the back. Hit by something very powerful. As its eyes faded to dull black and it fell from the sky, Havik flew behind it.

  Havik had saved them.

  Iros still fought the demons above them, but Havik had acted on his own. Scout and Ashra pulled closer to Trey, so he could see her just as she mouthed the words, thank you. Havik inclined his head, and then he was off, fighting something else.

  Scout caught Trey's eyes, the briefest glimmer of hope shimmering behind her helmet.

  And then they were plunged into darkness.

  Trey couldn't see. The air felt heavy against his chest, like trying to breathe in a smoke-filled room, and heat seared his skin.

  "Scout?" He coughed. "Torz, what's happening?"

  "I'm here." He heard Scout and knew she was nearby but couldn't see anything.

  "It seems the Taraxippus are using our own magic against us."

  The shroud attack. Of course.

  "But how?" He coughed again. "We can see in the shroud!"

  "Ariston must have altered it somehow when he gave the magic to his demons. We've got to get out of here before we're slaughtered." Scout sounded weak and scratchy.

  "A souled one probably holds the shroud. If we can find our way out, we can attack, and he will be forced to drop it."

  "Great. Let's do that." Trey raised his scepter, blinking against the darkness and trying to breathe.

  At that moment, the screaming started.

  From everywhere around them came the screams and terrified screeching of the unicorns. Trey felt a claw swipe at his face, and still couldn't see it. It didn't matter. The demons were in here with them, slaughtering them like the unicorns had done to the Taraxippus so many times before. Horror roiled in Trey's stomach as he gripped his useless scepter. What good was magic if he couldn't see to use it?

  "We don't have to see. Start attacking. Our magic won't hurt our kind."

  "Right. Okay."

  Near him, Scout coughed and choked, but Trey could feel the heat of the attack as it brushed past him and knew she was fighting back. Trey raised his scepter over his head, swinging it in a circle until it whacked something hard.

  A girl screamed.

  "Sorry!" Trey ducked low as unicorn hooves brushed his head, sharp and deadly. Their magic might not hurt each other, but physical attacks could.

  "It's Scout." He heard the whisper, heard the fear in it. He felt the unicorn's wings fight to get them away.

  Scout whimpered. His brothers yelled, fear making their words unintelligible as more of their fighters were attacked around them.

  They were all going to die.

  "Wait!" Scout screamed. "Lil Bit! Trey, she can get us out of here! It's okay, Ashra. Lil Bit will get us out of here." The fear was gone from Scout's voice.

  "I know," Ashra responded.

  "Maybe she can help us get the others out, too," Tate called, voice wavering.

  Trey could count on one hand the times he'd seen his brothers scared. It broke him to think this was one of those times, and he couldn't do anything about it.

  Ashra snorted. "If we find our way out, we can attack the demon holding the shroud and save them all."

  Trey shook his head as claws swiped at him again, nearly ripping off his helmet. "There isn't time. If it is a souled Taraxippus, it will take us forever to fight it. They'll all die by then."

  Scout spoke quickly. "Lil Bit can see them. She'll lead us to them. She says there aren't many Soul Stealers in here, but they don't seem to be able to see very well. Better than us, though."

  Awesome. Of course they could.

  "Okay, time to move. Trey, hold on to this!"

  Trey reached out toward the direction he thought her voice was coming from, waving his hand around until he felt her scepter smack into his knuckles. Desperately, he grabbed it.

  "Tate! Liam! Trey's going to lower his scepter. Reach for it!"

  Okay. His brothers were below him. "Thank you, Lil Bit." Still holding Scout's scepter in his right hand, he lowered his scepter with his left and waved it in a slow circle until he felt it hit something. They struggled to breathe, but wisely chose not to try to be heard over the screaming, through the smoke, unless they had to. "Got it!" Liam yelled.

  "Make sure you're holding on to each other, too," Trey called.

  "We are. Let's move!" Tate choked and hacked on the thick smoke.

  Slowly, they moved forward. Trey closed his eyes, listening only for Scout's voice. She drowned out all the fear and terror and screams of the dying.

  Only a few more seconds of slow progress, and Scout started yelling orders again.

  "Tate! Emmalee and Constance on your right. Emmalee,
Tate's going to hold out his scepter. Catch it and hold on. We'll get you out of here. Constance, hold on to Emmalee!"

  "Okay." Emmalee's voice shook even as she tried to sound strong.

  "Got her!" Tate yelled.

  "I've got Emmalee," Constance said.

  Scout's voice was raspy, but she yelled out again. "Constance, raise your scepter."

  Trey held his breath, waiting for confirmation that she'd caught someone, but none came. "Constance?"

  "I'm trying," Constance responded, coughing.

  "Emmalee, Constance, don't go with her. She'll sell your souls to Ariston." It was a voice Trey didn’t recognize.

  Scout gasped, and Trey heard so much pain in that small noise. Angrily, he erupted. "You can come with us, or you can stay here and die. Take your pick."

  Constance spoke first. "I'm with you, Scout."

  "Me, too," Emmalee agreed.

  Another voice. "She's going to take you right to death. Stay away from her."

  If Trey could have seen them in the darkness, he would have launched himself from Torz's back and punched them. Maybe in the throat. Before he could tell them so, Scout was yelling again. "Hey! We all escape or we all die. I'm not leaving you. Stop being a baby and grab her scepter before your stupidity kills them all."

  There was startled silence, and then she squealed. "Lil Bit says soul stealer on the left. Trey, I've gotta let go—"

  If she let go and turned to fight, he might not find her again. They would be trapped in this darkness until the smoke killed them.

  Or the demons did.

  "I got it!" Nisha's voice, moving rapidly closer. Heat blew past Trey's face, and the demon screamed.

  "Nice, Nisha!" Trey yelled.

  "Nisha, take my scepter. Scout's getting us out of here," Constance called.

  There were several frustrated grunts and one shriek when someone was whacked with a scepter, and then Nisha called out, "I've got it."

  The voice from before, hesitant and quiet, said, "Nisha, can you find me with your scepter?"

  "And me, too?"

  Trey grinned. No one could see it, and it was stupid, but those who had thought Scout was leading them to die had changed their minds. They could move on.

  His anger abated, a little bit.

  Slowly, all of them moved, gasping for breath, arms aching, wings aching as Lil Bit led them through the shroud. Trey had no idea how many were in their little train, only that they were all alive and moving forward. Lil Bit would get them out.

  His lungs were on fire, and his arm had long since gone numb when he suddenly realized he could see. It was fuzzy, still dark, but he could definitely see Scout's form taking shape in front of him. Blinking rapidly, he twisted to see behind him. It was a black abyss, with Liam emerging from the darkness.

  "We're almost out!" Scout yelled, ecstatic. "Hold on, guys! We're almost there!"

  And suddenly they were free. Trey rubbed his eyes, sucking in clean night air. He would have given his right arm for water right then, but there was still a battle to fight. Iros and Havik fought the demon holding the shroud, magic and fire locked with evil and bone. Havik was strong, but not strong enough to kill it on his own. The un-souled demons were keeping everyone else away from them, protecting the holder of the shroud.

  Unfortunately for the demons, Scout and her train of survivors were inside that circle.

  With a fierce battle cry, Scout jerked her scepter up. Trey followed, their attacks joined by Tate and Liam and all the others, winding together into a thick rope of blazing magic that slammed into the souled Taraxippus's chest. It howled, tumbling end over end backward, burning from the inside out, raining ash on everything below it. The shroud dropped, but there was nothing left inside except soul stealers. Anyone Scout hadn't saved hadn't survived.

  Screeching, the rest of the demons fled.

  Scout and Ashra, of course, went after them. Still harboring too much anger himself, Trey urged Torz forward, and he happily responded, racing across the sky after the soul stealers, attacking anything they could catch up with. The sky suddenly split in front of them, and Trey had a brief view of Ariston on the other side, face blank as he called his demons. The soul stealers escaped through the tear, and it was slammed shut with a peal of thunder. Scout and Ashra drew up quickly as Torz and Trey stopped next to them. Both unicorns were breathing hard, lathered and weak and bloody. Scout had a gash across her chest that was bleeding freely, joined by the blood from a wound on her ribs.

  "We need to get her to the healers." Torz tipped his horn to her wound.

  "Agreed. Let's go."

  Behind them, lightning tore through the darkness, and Ashra wheeled around, exhausted, still wheezing. Torz, too, struggled to find the strength to run with the rest of the Irwarros. Trey thought for half a second Iros might not hold the doorway to Paradesos open for them, but he was wrong. Iros held the door until Ashra had made her way through, and then let it fall around them.

  21

  They landed hard, too exhausted to try to cushion it. Scout tumbled from Ashra's back, landing on her hands and knees, coughing up thick, black smoke. Ashra laid a wing over Scout's back, looking to the skies desperately. "Bring me a Leerha."

  Scout raised her head, eyes watering. She could see Lil Bit sprinting for all she was worth down the hill, long, dark hair billowing out behind her. Her parents weren't far behind. Leerhas circled Ashra, healing her many wounds, and those of Trey and Torz.

  "Not me. Heal Scout. Heal my rider."

  "No."

  Scout's arms gave out, and toppled forward, just catching herself before she face-planted. After everything she'd been through with them, everything she'd fought for, they still turned on her so quickly. Ashra shrieked, rising on her back legs, fury blazing in her big, brown eyes. Before she could say anything more, though, Scout pushed herself up, pressing her hand over the gashes in her chest, trying to stop the bleeding. "It's okay, Ashra. I don't want their help anyway."

  Somehow, from somewhere deep inside where she never thought to check, she found the strength to walk past them. Trey was fighting his way to her side, but she didn't wait. She was afraid if she stopped, if she had to face anyone else or any more pain, she would break down and she would cry.

  She refused to let them see her cry.

  She made it to Lil Bit, or maybe Lil Bit made it to her. And then her dad ripped off his shirt and wrapped it around her wounds. As he scooped her to his chest, she trailed her hand down Lil Bit's cheek. "You saved us."

  A single tear snaked down Lil Bit's cheek. "I didn't do it for them."

  Scout smiled as they started up the hill, because she knew her sister too well. "Yes you did, Lil. You did it for us all."

  The events after were blurry. Her mom and dad, struggling to stop the bleeding. Trey, yelling at anything and everything. Pain, so much pain. So much weakness. She struggled to keep her eyes from sliding shut. She could hear Ashra in her head, but she couldn't make sense of the words.

  "I'm sorry, Ashra."

  "Everyone needs to leave. Right now. I can help her, but you all need to leave!" Lil Bit bellowed.

  Scout's eyes shot open, because Lil Bit never bellowed. Her little sister stood in front of her bed, shaking hands on her hips. Her clothes were bloodstained, and her face was pale and tear-streaked.

  "Oh Lil Bit. What have I done to you?"

  "Nothing. You have not done anything. I can help you. Wait, Scout. I can help."

  Trey herded everyone else from the room. Scout struggled to see around the blackness at the edges of her vision. Lil Bit turned quickly and knelt at Scout's bedside. "She can help you, Scout."

  A white blur, small and soft, formed just out of Scout's line of sight.

  Eirene.

  As Scout fought to stay conscious, she couldn't help but compare this time to the first time they'd met, she and this little unicorn. In a hospital a lifetime from here.

  "Hi Scout." Scout could tell immediately Lil Bit was nervou
s, even though she couldn't open her eyes. In fact, she was pretty sure if she did open her eyes, Lil Bit would clam right up. "No one believes me. Everyone thinks I'm crazy." Lil Bit's voice broke as her small hands started smoothing Scout's hair, running the brush through the tangles. "But I…I know a way to help you. I have a friend."

  As Eirene's sweet magic washed over Scout, healing the wounds and erasing the pain, Scout's eyes cleared, and she reached for Lil Bit's hand. "Look how far you've come."

  Lil Bit, who had obviously read Scout's thoughts, smiled a watery smile, dark eyes shining. "Look how far you've come, too. Everyone else was too angry. Eirene couldn't come with them near. But you weren't angry." Lil Bit tipped her head to the side, watching Scout.

  Scout shook her head. "No. Just sad." She reached a hand out, brushing the silky, white mane away from Eirene's blue, blue eyes. "Thank you."

  Eirene's horn glowed and then she was just gone. Scout's hand fell to her side, disappointed, wondering if she'd been the reason Eirene had left so abruptly. Maybe she was angry?

  "I am sorry, Scout."

  Scout jerked toward the doorway as Iros ducked inside.

  Ah. That was why Eirene left.

  His face was bloody, his arms and chest torn and bleeding. "They won't heal you, either?" she asked stupidly, because it was the first thing that came to her mind.

  He shook his head, turning his helmet over and over in his hands. "I wouldn't let them."

  Scout glanced at Lil Bit and then back at Iros. "Why not?"

  "Because I am the reason they wouldn't heal you. And I do not deserve to be healed because of it."

  Scout sighed and fell back against her pillow. Ashra hovered outside the window, horn blazing angrily. "Iros, I don't think—"

  "She is the reason we are alive. Would a traitor have saved us all, Iros? Would a traitor have stayed and told them we all survive or we all die together?"

  Scout hid a smile. Good heavens, how she loved her unicorn.

  "No. A traitor would not have." Trey stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. He, too, had not been healed.

  "My champions," Scout whispered, smiling down at her lap, grateful tears welling in her eyes.