by Wendy Knight
Because the only way to get into Paradesos was with a soul.
He could feel a tension between Ashra and Scout, one he wasn't familiar with. But neither seemed in a hurry to talk about it, so he didn't bring it up. Instead, he pushed away from the tree. "Ready?"
Scout nodded. Ashra snorted, which he took to be agreement, and they started down the hill to the valley. Torz landed next to them, whacking Ashra with his wing in hello.
Immediately, Trey felt stronger. Braver. Safer. It was his bond with Torz that made them both more than they could ever be alone. "Ready for this, big guy? he asked, laying a hand on the unicorn’s muzzle.
“Always.”
For several hundred years, the only human in Paradesos had been Iros. Then Iros found Scout, and Trey found Iros because he followed Scout out into a forest. Kylin had followed Trey and got sucked into the whole world, too. After they saved Lil Bit and Trey's brothers from the cage, Paradesos had been crawling with humans. The unicorns had objected at first. They had hated humans because of Ariston's betrayal.
Fortunately for everyone, with so many humans in the valley, the unicorns got over it, eventually. Mostly thanks to Lil Bit and her elusive white unicorn, Eirene. For the most part, they were all one big, happy family.
"Okay people. Let's start you in—" Trey could practically see the gears running in Scout's head as she counted all those here to train, "—five lines of eight. Let's meet your unicorns." Scout nodded to Ashra, and Ashra whinnied, high-pitched and powerful. It carried through the valley, and seconds later, a dark cloud arose from the surrounding trees.
Except it wasn't a cloud at all. It was the Irwarros.
Wings stretched, heads high, they soared through the sky, circled twice, and landed in a group not far from the humans waiting to train. Without their battle armor, they were beautiful. Bigger than any normal horse Trey had ever seen, with silky black wings and mist-made mane and tail.
With their armor, that was all hidden. The only part visible was their big, dark eyes that seemed to glow under the sharp, black metal that protected their bodies. With armor on, they were nearly as terrifying as the soul stealers.
But since they were trying to scare the new recruits as little as possible, armor had been left off for the day.
"Spread out a little. Give them some room. Let's see if they are drawn to any of you. That will make the bonding process easier because you'll already have a connection," Scout yelled.
Trey's brothers joined them quietly, watching the process below.
This was Scout's favorite part, Trey knew. One only had to look at her to know that. Her eyes danced and her cheeks flushed as she rubbed at the sudden goosebumps along her arms, watching the unicorns below break from their group and walk toward their new humans. It didn't happen all the time. In fact, in this group there only seemed to be five matches, all girls. "Nima, Jaycie, Crystal, Andi, and Cali," Tate murmured. Of course he knew their names already.
Scout's face lit up. These would be their strongest warriors.
Trey stepped up. "If there are no others, unicorns, please pick a human." The remaining unicorns broke away and wandered toward the recruits. It was possible there were matches still to be made. Scout and Ashra had positively hated each other at the beginning.
Now Scout was Iros's second in command, and Ashra was Havik's.
"That one there is Emmery." Liam pointed. "And her sister Oriah. Next to her is Sienna and her sister Calista. That's their brother Carson."
Scout raised an eyebrow. "You remembered a boy's name. That's new." Grinning, she patted his cheek. "You're growing!"
Liam waved her hand away, laughing.
Below them, several humans were shying away from the giant creatures, with wide eyes and trembling bodies. "This is taking forever," Tate groaned.
"It's okay," Trey yelled to the group, glaring sideways at his brother. "They won't hurt you. They're here to train with you, and they'll fight for your souls and the souls of all those taken. But they'll do it a lot better if fear doesn't stand in your way."
It still took several minutes, but finally everyone in the group was paired up and ready to begin. Ashra whistled, and one by one the unicorns' horns lit. In the light of their magic, scepters were created. "Take them," Scout instructed. "These are your weapons against the Soul Stealers. They only work if you're riding your unicorn. Don't try to use their magic if you're on your own, because it won't be there."
"Unless you use it as a bat. Like Scout does." Tate nudged her, grinning.
She shrugged. "Whatever works. Ashra's not around all the time, you know."
“Because you run into danger every chance you get. I get tired.”
"Me?" Scout's eyebrows shot up. "I run into danger? Are you kidding me?"
Ashra snickered.
Ignoring them, Trey addressed the recruits. "Get used to these. Get used to their weight, get used to holding them in your hands. These are your only defense against the soul stealers."
The humans tested the scepters' weight, hefting them in their hands, swinging them lightly.
"Each scepter is unique. It's created for the rider, not the unicorn," Scout offered after watching silently for several minutes.
Several weeks ago Iros had made Scout a belt to carry her scepter and somehow had found rhinestones and sparkles to adorn it. She wore it now, and freed the scepter from its holster, holding it up. "This is mine. You'll notice it has similarities to yours—the fireball, for example, and the black metal it's made from. But that's where their similarities end. Uncover your own strengths, and you will find them in your scepter."
There were some excited murmurs about that one as every recruit seemed to look at their scepter with new eyes. Scout smiled up at Trey, bouncing lightly on her toes.
"The first thing you've gotta be able to do is actually get on your unicorn. Some of you are pretty small…" Trey frowned. Scout was right. Several of these recruits were barely old enough to ride a school bus, let alone fight in a demon battle.
Torz nudged him with his wing, and Trey swallowed hard, trying to remember his point. "Some of you will need help for a while. Your unicorns realize this and will do what they can. But for those of you big enough, let's practice getting on and off. When we're called to battle, struggling to figure out how to climb on the back of a gigantic beast will waste precious seconds."
He and his brothers split up, wandering up and down the wide rows, offering help and encouragement. Scout stayed at the front, helping those there. Only a few were able to successfully mount the unicorns after a few tries. The rest fell or flopped or crashed ungracefully to the ground.
Scout met Trey’s gaze across the sea of bodies, sea-green eyes crinkling in the corners. She hadn't been able to master this part at first, either. It had taken days and sheer force of will before she finally succeeded. Of course, she'd had a badly broken and barely-healed back at the time.
"It's gonna be a long day," Tate muttered as he passed Trey to help one guy who'd flung himself up and clear over the unicorn's back, landing on his face.
There was blood.
"Yeah…we might need the Leerhas to make an appearance." Liam nodded.
A scepter whooshed end over end, narrowly missing Trey's face and smacking into the side of the unicorn next to him. There was shrieking and sparks of magic and lots of apologizing.
"Yeah." Trey ran a hand over his face. "It's going to be a long day.
4
"It took us five hours. Five hours of training, and they can still barely get on their unicorns." Tate flopped back on his bed, exhausted, like it had been him trying to jump six feet in the air all day long.
"They're young, Tate." Scout shoved him over and sat down next to him. "And small. We can't all have your eight-foot-long legs."
Tate sat up and admired said legs. "It's a pity."
Scout laughed, rolling her eyes.
Trey followed them in, pulling his black shirt over his head. It was covered in grass sta
ins, soot, and blood. Scout’s shirt had barely fared better.
But she forgot all that with the first glimpse of his chiseled stomach and chest, the well-defined arms. In another life, mere months ago, Trey had been a football player. He'd had college coaches from all over the country trying to recruit him. He was in very good shape.
Very good shape.
Tate laughed. "You're drooling, Scout."
Blushing, Scout swiped at her face. "Sorry."
Raising her eyes from Trey's stomach, her gaze caught on the tattoo circling Trey's arm. "Forgive Me." He'd gotten that for her.
It was after a car accident that almost killed her. Trey had been driving. He hadn’t seen the semi. Scout had ended up with a broken back and no hope of walking again. Trey only had cuts and bruises. The guilt had been too much. He hadn’t been able to face her for over a year. Scout had been… angry, to say the least, because she hadn’t understood. When she finally had, forgiveness healed them both.
Even still, that tattoo was mighty hot.
Her eyes finally reached Trey's face. He was grinning, of course. Because he knew exactly what he did to her. What he'd always done to her.
Liam tossed him a clean shirt. "Put this on already. It's getting inappropriate for children in here."
Trey chuckled softly as he tugged the black cotton over his head.
Scout stifled a regretful sigh and stood up. "I'm going to change and check on Lil Bit's progress. I thought she'd be back by now."
Trey's head jerked up, and Tate and Liam both spun toward her, like puppets all connected to the same string. "She's not back yet?"
Scout shook her head. "She's not in trouble. I'd know if she were." I think. Emotional bonds could be tricky that way.
"Do you know where she went today?" Trey barely concealed his panic. Lil Bit was the heart of all of them. To lose her would be to lose hope. And this war.
But before all that, before the war and the demons and the unicorns, before the accident, Trey had loved Lil Bit. Almost as much as he'd loved Scout.
She shook her head. "In the U.S. somewhere. Havik will know."
She didn't bother to change her shirt. If Lil Bit wasn't back by the time Scout found Havik, they'd leave Paradesos to go look for her, and there would probably be a battle. No point ruining another shirt.
Trey and his brothers followed her.
Kylin was sitting outside her hut with Cole and Kasen. She had changed her shirt to something designer and trendy. Scout stopped herself from pulling self-consciously on the stained one she still wore.
She had more important things to do.
Trey said, “hi,” because he was polite that way. Scout didn't even look at them, keeping her eyes ahead.
"Hey, we were thinking of playing a little football in a bit. You guys want in?" Cole asked.
She didn't have to look at Tate and Liam to know their faces both lit up.
"Nah. We're looking for Lil Bit. You haven't seen her, have you?" Tate answered.
Broken hope crashing to the ground was almost audible, but Tate and Liam stayed by her side. "You can go play.” Scout nudged Tate with her shoulder.
He shook his head. “Trey needs all the help he can get. Mom always said he couldn’t find a snake if it bit him.”
“That’s not how the saying goes.” Trey sighed. “But we can always use more help finding Lil.”
"I thought your little plaything talked to her sister in her mind." Kylin giggled, trying to bait Scout into an argument, but it wasn't going to work. Scout ignored her and kept going.
"No man," Cole said apologetically. "Sorry. Need help looking?"
"I'll let you know." Trey left them to jog to Scout's side. "Anything yet?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
Scout closed her eyes, searching for her sister. Lil Bit was always there when Scout needed her, but other times, not so much. Opening her eyes, Scout shook her head.
Iros, mighty leader of them all, lived in a hut the exact same as everyone else's. He shared it with Aella, and Scout could see her dark head bent over the table as they came to the doorway. None of the huts had actual, closeable doors. Or windows. So Scout tapped on the wall to announce her presence.
Aella looked up with a smile, as always. "Scout."
Without Aella, Scout would never have survived Ariston's lair. To say Scout was fond of her would be an understatement. Iros looked up, too. They were studying maps, plotting and planning. Always fighting this war.
"Hey. Sorry to bother you, but I haven't heard from Lil Bit. Do you know where she went today?"
Iros frowned. "I don't. Was she with Eirene?"
Scout nodded.
Iros closed his eyes, talking to Havik, probably. Seconds later, the ground shook as the big black unicorn landed outside the hut. Scout smiled up at him. Besides Ashra, of course, Havik was her favorite. So massively powerful, and yet so kind and so good.
“Lil Bit is in Washington. She's met some friends.”
Scout frowned. Her little sister met friends every time she turned around. It had never kept her away for so long. "I'll see if Ashra can take me to her."
Trey nodded. "I'm going, too."
Behind him, both brothers agreed.
Havik lowered his head. “I'll accompany you.”
They turned in unison to Iros, who stretched. "I need a break anyway. My back's not what it used to be." Seeing as how he was well over six hundred years old, Scout would say his back was doing pretty good. He reached over, caught Aella's hand, and brought her fingers to his lips. "I'll be home soon."
By the time they made it back outside, Ashra and Torz were waiting. Havik must have called them, or Ashra was in Scout's head again without Scout even noticing. She didn't ask. Gnawing on her lip, she told herself Lil Bit was fine. She was a kid, not even a teenager yet. She couldn't always be perfect. She'd lost track of time. That was all.
But the fact that both Iros and Havik were covered in armor told Scout all she needed to know. By the time she was on Ashra's back, she and Trey and both his brothers were ready, too.
Lil Bit. What are you doing?
Havik split the sky, lightning arcing from his horn, and they rose through it and out of the safety of Paradesos.
When Scout had first joined the war, the cities were all still aglow in the world below, but now…
Now there weren't enough people to run the cities.
She knew Lil Bit often checked the hospital where their parents were kept, and knew that somehow her sister was keeping them and the many other patients there alive. She didn't know how, and her sister had never offered the information.
Just another one of Lil Bit's gifts.
They soared through the darkened skies, wary, watching for soul stealers, scepters ready. Havik led them north, past the national parks and away from the big cities. After several long minutes of only trees and rainforest below them, Scout started to doubt Havik's knowledge.
And then below, there was light.
It wasn't the light of electricity. It came from fire, but it was oddly colored. A mix of blue and red instead of the usual orange glow. They sank through the skies toward the fire as houses and people took shape. And then Havik hit a wall.
Scout couldn't see it. Ashra pumped her wings hard, trying to pull up before she hit it, too, but wasn't fast enough. They skidded across an invisible surface and tumbled over the other side. Scout fought to hang on while Ashra struggled to get her wings under them.
“It's like a giant dome protects them.” Havik's voice sounded in her head.
"Awesome," Trey muttered, peering through the darkness. "How are we supposed to get her out of there?"
Scout wanted to sob. Was this going to be their life now? Lil Bit constantly needing to be rescued? The universe always fighting to keep them apart—
“No, big sister. I have someone I want you to meet. Tell Havik to fly to the west. You'll see me soon.”
"Thank goodness," Scout murmured. Hearing her sister's voice, e
ven in her head, quieted her pounding heart. "Havik! She says fly to the west."
Their leader tossed his head once before spreading his wings and tipping sideways, soaring toward the setting sun. No one had to ask how Scout had gotten that knowledge. Everyone was familiar with her little sister randomly popping into Scout's brain to chat.
The trees below them cleared and Lil Bit stood in the meadow, waving excitedly. Like the little girl she was. "Scout! Scout! Iros!"
Relief swept the weight off Scout's shoulders, replaced by anger. As Ashra landed, Scout slid off her back and stormed across the clearing. "Do you know how worried I was? Iros is in armor, Havik's all dark and scary, and you—"
She pulled up abruptly when she realized Lil Bit was surrounded by people. They were all very tall, and Scout felt immediately that there was something different about them. She didn't know what—maybe it was their eyes? One had white, white hair and silver eyes. Another had metallic-blue eyes, like nothing Scout had ever seen before.
And then there was their obvious leader. Probably close to six feet tall, with waist-length red-and-black hair, and dangerous, flashing brown eyes. She moved protectively in front of Lil Bit, sparks lighting from her fingertips.
Scout pulled up short. Wait…sparks?
“Looks like it. Tread carefully, princess.” Ashra's horn lit into flames as well.
Trey left Torz's side, scepter in hand, to stand beside Scout. Iros took his place in front of them, and suddenly the group Scout faced all had fire in their hands and had formed a protective ring around Lil Bit.
Behind her, Tate and Liam stopped. She could feel the rage washing off them in waves.
Lil Bit laughed.
"It's okay! I know them!” She bounced out of the protective circle and ran to Scout. Scout hugged her tight, unsure whether she should strangle her while she was at it. "Scout, I made new friends. Iros, it's okay." Lil Bit pulled away and placed a small hand on Iros's chiseled arm.