Warrior Everlasting

by Knight, Wendy

  For the first time, Scout looked beyond him to the castle surrounding them. It was dark — not as in the absence of light, for there were many candles hanging from the black chandeliers. The floors were black, the sparse furniture was all dark, twisted wood. The walls weren’t painted, but whatever the castle was made of — it was black as well. She couldn’t see the ceiling. It disappeared far beyond her view, obliterated by the mass of writhing soul stealers. The room itself stretched wide, nearly the size of a football field. But she saw no cage of unicorn bones holding thousands of souls.

  “Where are you keeping my sister — my family?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “In the throne room, of course. They keep me company.”

  She stared at him. What, exactly, did she do now? She hurt, she was terrified, and there was no way she could fight this creature in front of her. She didn’t even dare demand she see her sister. Where was Ashra’s strength when she needed it?

  Oh right. I left her outside fighting. I abandoned them to throw myself into a trap.

  “This way.” Ariston turned sharply, snapping his fingers at her like she was some sort of servant. She opened and closed her mouth like a lost sea creature, but as soon as the orb from his scepter faded, the soul stealers swarmed in. With a screech rivaling any banshee, Scout bolted after him — after the protective glow of the orb.

  At the far end of the room, a normal-size arch was nearly hidden in the darkness. Everything else in the castle was so wide, so sweeping, that the regular-ness of the doorway confused Scout.

  “Are you coming, or did you want to play with my pets?” Ariston sounded exasperated. Not cruel, not evil. This human aspect of him threw Scout off. Everyone talked about him like he was larger than life and completely evil. She expected him to have horns and be thirty feet tall. It was harder to hate him when he sounded like any guy she might meet on a boat to Greece.

  Until she saw the cage.

  She came through the archway into another large room, although not as large as the first. The ceiling above her seemed to be alive, until she looked closer and realized it was roiling with soul stealers so thick it was impossible to see through them. And she knew why. Torz had been right — they weren’t swarming Aptavaras because they were attracted to the souls. To the left, in the shadows, was the cage of unicorn bones. It rose at least two stories high. Scout squinted, trying to see through the bones. They were woven together with only small gaps through, but then she saw them — hands. White, wispy hands reaching through the cracks in the cage, desperate to escape. Except… The closer the hands got to the floor, the less they were reaching, until at the very bottom the hands lay motionless, like they had given up.

  Lil Bit was in there somewhere. Scout’s heart didn’t know whether to leap with hope or shatter in horror. So it did neither.

  It kept beating.

  Chapter Ten

  “I’m here, Scout. We’re here at the top.” Lil Bit’s voice was stronger when Scout was so close. It didn’t sound frightened or hurt. Lil Bit sounded… perky. Cheerful even, like if Scout could look up and see her, she would be waving enthusiastically her big, dark eyes shining. Like she would be unmindful of the fact that she was a soul without a body, trapped in an unbreakable cage, surrounded by creatures that wanted to tear her apart. Like she was only a little sister who was excited to see her big sister.

  Scout’s heart broke and she sobbed.

  “Stop that. I have no use for tears,” Ariston snapped, turning on her.

  “You have no use for tears?” Scout yelped. “Then don’t make me cry!”

  Ariston strode up, his orb bouncing across the hard floor. “No one makes you do anything, Scout. People will do their own things, and you choose how to respond.” His breath on her face was like dry, cracked air, but he was panting as if the effort to speak was exhausting. “I think this is something you, especially, forget.”

  Scout blinked. Life lesson from a master of demons. That, she was not expecting.

  She could see him read the acknowledgement in her face, and it was as if that confused him. He backed away quickly, staring at her with those black, black eyes, so very full of pain. Was it pain because he had failed to save the girl he loved all those hundreds of years ago? In doing so, he had become the master of the Taraxippus. Or was it pain because he’d been trapped here for so long, with no solace, no warmth of the sun. Did he miss his brother, maybe? Did he mourn the unicorn he betrayed? Scout knew firsthand the strength of the bond. Ashra might drive her bonkers almost every waking second, but she was also an extension of Scout’s very heart. In just a few short days, she had found a best friend… no, more than that, she had found a soul mate. Even the thought of living without Ashra nearly brought Scout to her knees.

  She opened her mouth to ask this creature before her what it was that hurt him so much. And then she remembered who he was. Evil. He was the thing that kept her sister trapped in a space more terrifying than hell.

  “At least I keep her alive, Scout,” Ariston whispered, searching her eyes, reading her thoughts. “Hell does not have hope of leaving.” He turned on his heel and threw himself onto the throne, massaging his temples. Scout could only gape at him. Did he really just tell her that there was hope of Lil Bit’s escape?

  “You can rest over there. I do not feel like being soothed now. I rather enjoy my pain sometimes.” He waved his hand toward the corner next to him, on the opposite side of the cage. There were blankets there, all waded up in a nest like he’d at one time kept a very large dog. Scout limped over, watching him suspiciously, but he seemed to be content, ignoring her entirely.

  As she came parallel to the throne, she realized that behind it, in the shadows, was another cage — much, much smaller than the first. Only big enough, actually, to hold one soul. And it wasn’t woven tightly together like the main cage, so Scout could see the girl in it. She gasped as she realized she’d seen this girl before. Lying unconscious, kept alive by unicorn magic, in Iros’s hut. Beautiful, with long, dark hair and the face of a goddess. As a soul, she was a washed out, transparent version of her living self, but it was still very clear who she was.

  “Aella. You’re alive!”

  “Oh, so you’ve met. How nice for both of you. Maybe Aella will stop hounding me now and will pester you, instead.” Ariston ran a hand through his dark hair like the mere thought of Aella antagonized him, even though the soul in front of Scout hadn’t said a word. Instead, she moved around her little cage so she could face Scout directly, watching her with wide eyes.

  Scout hadn’t seen her real eyes open when she’d stumbled across her in Iros’s hut, and she wondered what color they were. The girl she’d seen then had black hair, long and silky, and pale skin. If Scout had to guess, she’d think Aella’s eyes were green. “Hi,” Scout whispered.

  Still, she didn’t speak. Maybe souls couldn’t speak. Maybe only Lil Bit could speak to Scout because of a sister bond or because of Lil Bit’s special gifts. But Ariston had just said that Aella was driving him mad…

  “Can you talk?” Scout whispered, inching closer to the cage, sneaking frightened glances at Ariston.

  He didn’t bother to look over at her. “Yes, she can talk. She’s no doubt shocked speechless by your epic fail of a rescue attempt. Leave her alone and sleep now. I’ll protect you from my pets.”

  Scout raised an eyebrow, going back to her blankets. She felt like the pet in this situation. And if he really thought she’d dare go to sleep with a gazillion demons flying over her head and the master of them all ignoring her completely, he was insane.

  But she knew that already, didn’t she?

  ****

  “What are you doing? We have to go in there! We have to go after her!” Trey had never wished for reigns with Torz before, but at the moment he would have given his right arm for them. Or failing that, to be able to free himself from the smoke-like tail holding him in place as Torz followed Ashra away from the castle, so he could go after Scout himself.
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  The soul stealer had done a number on them all. He could see blood running in rivulets down Ashra’s right wing. Torz had deep gashes along his neck. And Trey’s left arm was cut nearly to the bone from a random swipe of the creature’s claws. But it was dead now, so all he had to worry about was his heart, threatening to explode in his chest.

  “Trey, shut up and think for thirty seconds, will you?” Ashra snarled. They stumbled to a landing at the mouth of the canyon, and Ashra didn’t pause even then. She raced ahead, into the canyon’s shadows. Torz, of course, followed her.

  When Scout had fallen, Ashra had tried to go after her. The soul stealer, they realized belatedly, had one goal — keep Ashra away from Scout. Trey and Torz hadn’t been able to hold it back on their own. By the time they’d killed it, Scout was inside, and then Ashra had herded them all away from the castle.

  He leaped from Torz’s back and rounded on the sleek, bloody, black unicorn. “You’re supposed to be bonded. She’s defenseless in there, and you abandoned her! I knew you were heartless, Ashra, but this—”

  Trey went flying backward. Torz stood over him, breathing hard, his wing still outstretched from using it to smack Trey. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Shut up, Trey.”

  Trey had rarely seen Torz angry, and never at him. He pushed himself up to his elbows and glared, but it had no vehemence. “They’re going to kill her, Torz.”

  Ashra finally spoke, and in her words Trey could hear the panic and pain that seemed to be choking the life from his own heart. “Ariston will not kill her. He wants her alive, but I don’t know why.”

  “You know this? You can still hear her?”

  Ashra shook her head, her mist-like mane wafting in the breeze like lazy flames. “Not anymore. I could. He wants her to dance for him.”

  Trey scrambled to his knees, shoving himself to his feet. “Is she okay? Is she hurt? Is he frightening her?”

  Ashra looked away, her big eyes full of pain. “She begged for my strength. And I could not give it.”

  Trey threw his arm backward, toward the castle. “Then let’s go get her! We’ll bust in the doors and—”

  Torz blew a breath, whinnying just a bit like a normal horse. “Trey, think.” The anger was gone now, and he just sounded exhausted. “We are her only hope. If we go racing in there without thinking, like she did, we will all die and there will be no saving anyone.”

  “We need a plan.” Ashra agreed. “And we need to recover before we can take on Ariston’s forces.”

  “We don’t have time for that!” Trey yelled. “We don’t know what he’s doing to her now! We don’t know if she’s hurt or broken or—”

  Ashra glanced at him before turning away toward Torz, using the weak glow from her horn to heal him. “We must have faith that Scout will take care of herself. Until we can be with her again.”

  Trey stood silently, watching them heal, knowing they would come to heal him next, knowing there was no one to heal Scout. He could go back, on foot. He could find a way in, but Ashra was right. It would doom them all. “The last thing I said to her—”

  Ashra’s wing spread, beating lazily in what Trey had realized was a nervous gesture. “One of the last things I said to her was that she was part soul stealer. Words mean nothing.”

  Trey sank to the ground, his head in his hands. He could feel the healing power from Torz’s horn, stopping the blood flow, mending the torn skin. “I already abandoned her once, Ashra. She won’t believe I haven’t done it again.”

  Ashra didn’t say anything for a very long time. When Trey finally looked up, she was staring through the mouth of the canyon, toward the castle. She must have felt his eyes on her, because she finally spoke.

  “She thinks everyone abandons her, Trey. You are not the only one who fears she believes we’ve left her.”

  “Trey, I can’t… I can’t heal you.” Torz sounded completely baffled.

  Trey glanced at him and then down to his arm. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but the cut was still there, long and gory across the top of his arm. It had frayed one of his leather bracelets, but it hadn’t torn. Thank goodness. “It’s fine, Torz. It will heal on its own.”

  “Or it won’t, because you won’t let it.” Torz backed away, leaving Trey to think on that while he went to find fruit. He speared it easily with his horn, lighting it up from the inside as he purified it, then offered it to Trey. Trey took it, because he had to keep up his strength. But who knew when Scout would eat again? How could he eat while she starved?

  The unicorns hadn’t been able to heal Scout’s back because she held on to so much emotional pain, so much bitterness and anger. It wasn’t until she let that go that she could finally have peace. Trey definitely had the pain and anger… and yes, now that he admitted it to himself, he had bitterness, too. If Scout hadn’t been so headstrong, this wouldn’t have happened. If she hadn’t been so stubborn.

  “Rest,” Ashra said. “We will go back to the castle tomorrow. We will see what we can learn from the shadows beyond.”

  Trey nodded, easing himself back onto the thick grass. Just a day ago, Scout had lain with him, with her head on his chest so he could hear her breathe all night long. His hands ached to feel the silk strands of her hair against his skin. His body ached to feel the weight and warmth of her against him as she slept. His heart ached. Everything ached.

  “Don’t give up on me, Scout. I’m still here.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Trey prayed that Ariston would visit his dreams that night, and show him Scout. Even if only as a means to torture him, at least he would get to see her. But Ariston did not. Trey woke in the morning feeling disgustedly rested. He immediately sat up, looking for Ashra. She wasn’t visible at first, until his eyes adjusted to the shadows where she lurked, staring toward the castle. That was when it finally hit him — Scout’s capture was as hard on Ashra as it was on him.

  He got up, shook out his cloak, and swung it on against the chill in the air. He assumed the magic in the cloak was that it kept him warm despite the fact that he could see his breath in the air. He made a mental note to ask Torz later, but right now he had other, more important things on his mind.

  “Food?” Torz let a fruit roll down his wing and flipped it through the air. Trey caught it easily and bit into it as he went after Ashra.

  “Have you heard anything yet?” he asked quietly, hope making his voice crack.

  Some people thought hope was a good thing. Those people, apparently, had never had to hope for long periods of time. In Trey’s opinion, hope was just something to crush the spirit. It was certainly crushing his — and it had been since the day he put Scout in the hospital. And the day Scout told him she hated him. He’d been hoping she’d change her mind ever since. Now he was just hoping she was still alive.

  The hope might kill him.

  Ashra’s head dipped lower, like she didn’t have the energy to hold it up. He knew she did. He knew that physically Ashra wasn’t as strong as she was with Scout, but she wouldn’t die without their bond. It was the emotional strain crushing her now. “Nothing. I cannot hear her, and she doesn’t respond to my calls.”

  Trey’s chin fell to his chest in defeat. Please, baby. Please still be alive. He had so much to tell her. That he loved her. That he would always loved her. That he was sorry, and that he didn’t care if there was a future or not, he would wait forever.

  ****

  Scout raised her head. Somehow, she’d fallen asleep, leaning against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest and her forehead resting on her knees. Her neck was so stiff she nearly screamed when she had to move it. Her tumble down the mountain the day before really hadn’t helped in the whole back-healing-from-a-major-accident nonsense… although she didn’t hurt as much as she’d thought she should. Weird.

  “You were right to sleep. He will not let them hurt you.”

  Scout shrieked, whirling toward the voice. Above her, the soul stealers fed off her fear, but she
ignored them. Ariston was not here, but his scepter was, the green orb glowing brightly, keeping the demons at bay.

  Aella stood in her cage, white soul-hands gripping the unicorn-bone bars. Her eyes were wide as she watched Scout, her hair swirling around her like there was a light wind Scout could not feel.

  “How do you know he won’t let them hurt me?” Scout whispered, crawling toward Aella’s cage.

  Aella looked toward the scepter, “He would not have left that here to protect you if he intended to let them hurt you. He needs you.”

  Aella had the same accent as Iros and Ariston, although the sound coming out of her mouth was wispy, more like a breeze than the solid sound of an actual voice.

  “Why does he need me?” Scout cast furtive glances around the room. She was dying to race over to the cage, to see if she could see Lil Bit, or her parents, or Trey’s family. But it was outside the protective glow of the orb.

  “I do not know.”

  Scout’s eyes fell on the scepter. It looked like it was firmly in place, but maybe she could pull it out. She heaved her aching body to her feet and tiptoed to the throne. Before she could get caught, she wrapped her hands around the long neck and tugged. It didn’t budge. She tugged again, pushing with her legs against the throne, but it didn’t move even a centimeter. She swore under her breath, hoping Lil Bit couldn’t hear her.

  “It won’t move unless I touch it. It was gratifying to watch you try, though.” Ariston’s voice came from behind her, and Scout squeaked in alarm, her fingers slipping. She tumbled backward and landed with a grunt on her back. Ariston peered down at her. “I thought perhaps you’d be content to just hang around and wait to be rescued. I was losing faith in Iros’s opinion of you.”

  She glared at him. He held out a hand to help her up, but since he was upside down, it would have been awkward taking it. That and the fact that she wanted to strangle him with her bare hands. That made things awkward, too. Instead she sat up, her back shrieking in protest just like the old days. Or, three days ago. Which was the same thing. She clambered to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at him again. “What do you want?”