Warrior Everlasting

by Knight, Wendy

  Lil Bit’s unicorn.

  The white unicorn no one even knew existed — the one who brought peace, but didn’t fight. Even Iros hadn’t realized she was more than a legend until Scout had mentioned her. And now, she was flying into battle to save the little girl who wouldn’t give up on her. Scout’s smile grew, threatening to split her face.

  Ashra screamed.

  Scout hadn’t been paying attention. The soul stealers had gotten too close. She swung her scepter, batting them away, trying to break them all, but Ashra wasn’t moving. Her wings hung limp and her entire body was tense beneath Scout.

  “Ashra? What’s going on?”

  Ashra didn’t answer. There were so many soul stealers surrounding them, Scout couldn’t tell which one was causing the problem, but she knew one of them must have their claws in her unicorn. Her swings became more vicious, more powerful, fueled by desperation. But she couldn’t find it. There were too many. Too many claws and screams and demons who wouldn’t be content to take Ashra’s soul. They wanted her dead.

  Scout swung around, searching while trying to fight them off. So close. They were so close. Havik was right there. They weren’t falling from the sky, even without Ashra’s powerful wings. Something was holding them up. One of the creatures…

  The only one not trying to get away from Scout’s attacks was the big soul stealer at Ashra’s head. Its arm was extended, and it watched Ashra with a cold fury in its black, soulless eyes as it screamed in her face.

  Scout swung at it, but it was out of her reach. and she couldn’t move forward with Ashra’s tail holding her firmly in place. She willed an attack from her scepter, anything, even a little magic, but there was nothing. It was like she wasn’t even on Ashra and had tried to use the scepter.

  “My heart…” Ashra whispered, weak, so weak. Scout screamed as she realized, finally, what was going on. The creature had Ashra’s heart. And Scout couldn’t reach it. It was killing her unicorn.

  “What do I do?” She looked frantically for Torz and Trey, but they were too far away, a lifetime away in mere feet. Havik was still clear across a sky full of soul stealers. Lil Bit could lend strength, but even she couldn’t convince the demon to pull its claws out. There was no one.

  No one but me. Scout felt a fury unlike anything she’d ever experienced boil through her blood. Ashra, weakened beyond being able to hold Scout, let her tail fall. Scout clambered to her knees and then her feet, balancing on Ashra’s broad back, swinging at everything in her way. She shimmied forward as far as she could go, trying to reach the thing, realizing somewhere far back in her mind that her own screams would rival any soul stealer.

  Her scepter wasn’t long enough.

  Time seemed to freeze as Scout realized what she had to do. Without Ashra, she couldn’t fight. But without Scout, Ashra could still help, if someone healed her, and any Irwarro would have magic enough to do that. And they needed Ashra. Her sister needed Ashra.

  “Protect my Lil Bit, Ashra. Please? Take care of her. Take her home for me?”

  Scout leaped. She hurled herself over Ashra’s head, right into the arms of the demon. She clambered like a monkey onto its shoulders like it was the most awful game of chicken ever, and swung her scepter down on the arm buried elbow-deep in Ashra’s chest. The sickened black bones cracked, and the creature screamed, but its screams were nothing compared to Scout’s, as she brought her scepter down again, and then again. Its free hand reached up, dug into her thigh, pulling at her soul, but she wouldn’t let go. If it took her soul, she couldn’t save her unicorn.

  She’d rather die.

  The third time she brought she scepter down, weakened already by the sheer amount of blood gushing from her wound and from fighting to hold on to her soul, the arm shattered and fell away. Scout grabbed its head, pulling it back, tumbling through the sky end over end until its head just… came off.

  And Scout fell.

  “Lil Bit? I love you.”

  She heard screaming. Lil Bit, watching her fall. Tate and Liam weren’t supposed to let her see, but she could hear them screaming, too. “It’s okay. I won’t leave you. I’ll be your angel, Lil. I’ll always be there.”

  And then she prayed. She prayed for her sister and for Trey. For their families. For Ashra, that someone would get to her fast enough to save her. Please save my unicorn.

  She felt her eyes close, preparing for death, so scared and so at peace all at once, and then she hit something. Something too soft and too angry to be the ground.

  “What the snowball do you think you’re doing?” Ashra screamed at her as she fought to keep them both in the sky, teetering sideways on weak wings. “How is it, after all this time, you still think I’m so easy to defeat?”

  Scout sobbed. “You’re okay! You’re alive!”

  “Of course I’m alive. If I was that easy to kill, someone would have done it a long time ago.” Ashra snarled, but her voice was weak in Scout’s head as they half-flew, mostly fell through the sky. It was more of a crash landing than anything, ending in Scout being pitched over Ashra’s head as the big unicorn collapsed to the ground.

  Scout forced herself to her hands and knees, scrabbling weakly across the soft grass. She was aware of Lil Bit, Trey’s brothers, lots of other souls racing toward them, but she couldn’t look at them, not yet. She was afraid if she looked away from Ashra, she would lose her forever.

  It was the mighty hooves nearly landing on top of her that finally jerked Scout out of her trance, just as she reached Ashra’s side.

  “Scout! I saw you fall,” Trey yelled as he slid off Torz’s back. He scooped her into his arms, crushing her to his chest. He was burned, bloody, bruised, torn. His entire body shook with exhaustion or fear. “I thought I lost you. I thought—”

  “Ashra, I brought help.” Torz spoke and there was so much pain, so much terror in his voice that it stopped Trey short, although he didn’t release Scout.

  Scout turned her head, leaning against Trey’s broad chest, unwilling to leave his strength, his safety. And looked straight into Kylin’s furious brown eyes. She stood mere feet from them, arms crossed over her chest. Her unicorn, one Scout had never met before, lowered her horn to Ashra’s wound, mending it, sealing it.

  “That’s all I can do. Havik said to take your human and her sister and get out of here. The demons want them, and we cannot win with them still in Aptavaras.”

  Ashra surged to her feet, stood unsteadily for a moment, and then unfurled her sweeping black wings. “Get on, Princess. Lil Bit, you too.”

  Torz stepped forward. “Are you strong enough, Ashra? To carry them both?”

  Ashra snorted at him but didn’t reply.

  “I was scared, Ashra. I thought I’d lost you. I can’t go through that again”

  Scout froze. She could feel Trey holding his breath. Even Kylin glanced at Torz momentarily before returning the force of her glare to Scout.

  “I would not leave you, Torz, if there is an ounce of will in me left to fight.”

  A huge part of Scout wanted to squeal and clap her hands and maybe bounce. But she’d almost lost Ashra, too. And then she’d said goodbye to everything she loved. Her heart did not have the strength for enthusiasm. But when Ashra met her eyes, Scout managed a smile.

  “Trey, we will accompany them. I’ll carry one of your brothers, and Melete will carry her human and your other brother.”

  “What about our parents?”

  Trey’s arms tightened around her as his brothers flanked him on either side. Lil Bit stood silently next to Scout, sadness in her big eyes. She already knew Torz’s answer.

  “We can stay and search, if you’d like. But it is dangerous for you and for your brothers. Scout and her sister cannot stay. And…” Torz trailed off, turning his big head to look at Ashra. “I would like to accompany her home.”

  Scout swallowed. She had to choose between her unicorn and her sister’s safety, or her parents? How was she supposed to make that choice?

&n
bsp; “There is a chance that your parents are already in Paradesos. Unicorns may have found them and taken them, willing or unwilling. We’re very stubborn,” Ashra said, her eyes kinder, more understanding than normal. Maybe her near-death had killed her sarcastic side. “You take your time deciding while I stand here and try not to die.”

  Nope, hadn’t killed it.

  Scout bit her lip, looking helplessly at Trey. “I don’t know what to do.”

  The screaming, the smell made the decision for her. The demons had found them, and now dove from the sky, one at a time but one after another.

  “How do you carry the souls?” Scout yelled as she shooed Lil Bit forward.

  Trey did the same for his brothers, and Kylin, still without having said a word, clambered up the steps her unicorn created.

  “Magic, Princess. Get out of the way.”

  Warm flames slid from Ashra’s horn and enveloped Lil Bit, pulling her close against Ashra’s newly mended chest. Scout didn’t waste time admiring the ingenuity of it; she leaped on Ashra’s back and they took off. Not into the air, as Scout had been expecting. Ashra stayed on her feet, her hooves thundering across the ground, cracking it whenever they landed. Torz and Melete followed closely as they wove through the canyon’s tunnels and chasms, passing souls who watched them fly by.

  Scout spun around, horrified that the soul stealers would grab the souls and haul them back to Ariston’s prison, but they didn’t even seem to see them.

  They wanted her sister. And Ariston wanted her. No one else mattered.

  Unicorns dropped from above them, snatching souls and flying away, dodging the soul stealers. Melete and Kylin kept shooting attacks, Kylin practically sitting backward so she could see where she was aiming. But no matter how many demons she killed, another swooped in to take its place.

  Scout leaned low over Ashra’s back. “Run, Ashra. Run.”

  Ashra ran. Her long legs stretched out, and she practically flew over the ground, her wings tucked tightly into her sides. They hit the mouth of the canyon, and she exploded from it, sweeping her wings out and rocketing into the air. But there were so many demons in front of them. So many between them and the gate. And Scout and Ashra still didn’t have any magic to fight with.

  Ashra lowered her head, intent on using her horn to barrel their way through.

  A huge black shadow eclipsed them. Scout swung sideways, scepter ready.

  The mighty Havik flew next to them. Protecting them. Blocking for them like it was a game of football, and Ashra was the running back. Iros glanced at her and grinned, looking for all the world like a very happy Greek god, before he whirled away to attack the things in front of them. They thundered through the sky, Havik leading, clearing them a path, and then there was another unicorn to the side of Ashra. And when that one fell behind, one further on took its place. And then another. And more joined, until Ashra was completely surrounded by unicorns, and the demons didn’t have a snowball’s chance of getting near her, despite how desperately they fought, how viciously they swung their claws and screamed their frustrations.

  The unicorns fought off the soul stealers with bright flames and united attacks until Ashra was running through a mist of Taraxippus blood and ash, and the only thing showing them the way through was Havik’s bright horn.

  The gate loomed in front of them, a gaping maw in the otherwise blue sky, and beyond, blackness. And stars. Scout’s sky. Her world.

  Havik shot through the gate, past the unicorns fighting to keep the soul stealers in. Ashra followed closely, tight against his left wing.

  And they were free.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Scout had never realized how truly beautiful the earth’s night sky was. The world’s horizon waited in the distance with all its colors. She sucked in lungfuls of air like she’d been holding her breath for weeks, and then she cried. They were free. They’d saved Lil Bit, and they’d made it out.

  Havik swung toward them. “We don’t have much time,” Iros yelled. “They’ll fight harder to get out now that Scout isn’t in there anymore. We’ve got to get you back to Paradesos where you’re safe.”

  “We can’t accompany you. There are too many souls who have waited too long for us to free them. We will join you as soon as we can.”

  Havik tossed his head, and Scout would swear there were tears in his large brown eyes.

  “It is good to have you back, my friends. Eirene will go with you. She has missed her human.”

  Havik looked over their shoulders, and Scout turned to follow his gaze. The tiny white unicorn, not bigger than a Shetland pony, hung in the air behind them.

  Immediately, Scout felt peace and smiled. She remembered this sweet creature. She’d visited Scout in the hospital when Scout had thought all hope was lost. She’d come to Scout’s room when Scout thought her heart was broken. She was Lil Bit’s unicorn, and she had come to save her.

  “Hurry home, Havik,” Ashra said, dipping her head toward her commander, her mentor. Her friend. Torz touched his horn to Havik’s in respect as he and Trey passed by, with Liam safely against Torz’s chest.

  And Havik lit up the sky. Lightning crashed around them as the air split in two.

  “Go, now! We will meet you soon!” Havik yelled.

  “Unicorns, ride!” Iros bellowed, motioning them forward.

  Ashra leaped like she’d been smacked on the flank. “Really? Another horse comparison?”

  She sighed as she raced through the opening, Torz and Melete following close behind. But when Scout turned to look, Eirene was gone.

  “Wait! Hold the gate open!” Scout screeched, but Ashra didn’t have the strength to make a spark, let alone create a hole in the sky. As Paradesos unfolded in front of them, the gate behind them slammed shut with the crash of thunder.

  Ashra tumbled from the sky, half-flying, half-too-exhausted-to-do-anything-but-fall. They landed hard on the plush green grass, and immediately they were surrounded by smaller blue unicorns. Lil Bit was freed from Ashra’s magic, stretching like she’d been tucked in a drawer for the entire ride.

  “Lil Bit, Eirene didn’t make it through—”

  And then Eirene was just there, standing next to them. She wasn’t, and then suddenly she was.

  Lil Bit smiled. “She doesn’t fly. She… materializes.”

  Scout turned to her. “Thank you. Thank you for coming to our rescue.”

  The white unicorn dipped her head but didn’t say a word.

  “She doesn’t talk,” Lil Bit explained. “Words get in the way of peace. People talk too much to hide their hurt. And their fear.”

  Scout could only gape at her little sister’s wisdom. Lil Bit grinned back at her.

  “She’ll be fine, but she needs rest,” the Leerha said, gaining Scout’s attention. Finally, the mass of blue healers had moved out of the way so Scout could see her unicorn. She was half-lying, half-sitting up in the grass, looking perfectly content. Until Scout met her eyes. Sheer and utter exhaustion looked back at her.

  “We need to heal your wounds as well. And then we will ask for volunteers to take your sister back to her body.”

  Scout blinked. Take Lil Bit away from here? But she was safe here. Scout had just gotten her back.

  “I’ll just grab my body and be right back, Scout. Don’t freak out.”

  Like it was a teddy bear or a backpack Lil Bit was going after.

  “We’re coming back, too,” Tate said. Scout hadn’t even realized he and Liam stood next to her until Tate spoke. Trey stood with Torz, but he watched her silently over the heads of the healers. A brief, tired smile lit his face.

  “Okay. Yes. But we’re going to Montana with you. To make sure you make it there and back to Paradesos with no more problems. You’re safe here. We’ll find you a hut and bring your homework. There’s infinite space here, so don’t go wandering off.” Scout nodded, agreeing with herself. They were safe.

  “No, Scout. You don’t understand. We’re coming back. To help
you fight.”

  “Oh no, you’re not. Not a chance. Your parents won’t let you. Trey won’t let you! You have to stay here where you’re safe!” Scout yelled without meaning to.

  “Scout, we’re bigger than you are—”

  “Tate, we just got you back. I am not willing to throw you into harm’s way again.”

  Tate smiled, gently, and he reminded her of Trey so much it hurt.

  “I know, warrior princess. But there’s a war, and they need us.” He moved to put his hands on her shoulders, but couldn’t, so he dropped them to his side. “You don’t have to fight alone anymore.” Beside him, Liam nodded helpfully.

  The Leerha appeared again. “I have found volunteers to take you to your home and bring you back. They are ready as soon as we heal you.”

  Scout shook her head. “No. No, we can’t go yet. My parents — we have to find my parents. Iros hoped they were here.”

  The Leerha nodded once, her horn lit. Scout barely had time to blink as an Eske, bright green hair gleaming in the sunlight, shot out of the woods and landed next to them. “Search for her parents. If you find them, bring them to me.”

  “I’m going with, Scout. I can help look, and Ashra needs you here.” Lil Bit crossed her arms stubbornly before Scout could even think of arguing.

  “But I just got you back,” Scout said weakly. This was an argument she was going to lose.

  “I’m safe here, Scout. These are our friends.” She reached up and patted the Eske. The same breed that had told Scout the last time she’d been in Paradesos that it would either take her home or kill her. Yeah, real safe.

  But the Eske nuzzled Lil Bit’s hand. It was her gift. That special, sweet spirit Lil Bit possessed. Everything sensed it.

  “Okay, Lil. Just be careful. Please?”

  Lil Bit nodded and squealed, bouncing just a bit. Her childlike spirit, somehow, had not been crushed through all of this — it was still a grand adventure to her.

  The Eske met Scout’s eyes and nodded, as if to tell her that he understood her protectiveness and would take good care of her sister. Then he wrapped Lil Bit against his chest.