Warrior Everlasting
By Wendy Knight
Published by Astraea Press
www.astraeapress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
WARRIOR EVERLASTING
Copyright © 2014 WENDY KNIGHT
ISBN 978-1-62135-285-3
Cover Art Designed by BOOK BEAUTIFUL
To my writing friends. These stories would never get told without all of you to hold my hand while I write them!
Chapter One
Hell stood before her, and it was beautiful.
Who knew?
Okay, technically this wasn’t the underworld… if the underworld even existed. Scout supposed there had to be somewhere for lost souls to go. But no, Aptavaras was the home of the Taraxippus. Soul stealers. Demons. Monsters. Kidnappers of her sister’s soul.
And she was here to get it back.
I’m coming, Lil Bit. Just hold on.
Scout glanced at Trey, the boy she loved, the boy who had broken her heart, almost killed her, saved her soul, and given up everything to follow her here. “Thank you.”
His dark, dark brown eyes crinkled when he smiled, and he ran a hand through his black spiky hair. “I’d have to be hogtied and dragged off by something a lot bigger than I am to get me to leave you again, Scout.”
Despite it all, the horror, the exhaustion, and the unknown, she laughed.
“So, are you two done? We probably need to figure out where we are and how to not die. You know, before the soul stealers find us and kill us.” Ashra, Scout’s soul-bonded unicorn, tossed her head and rammed her giant self into Scout, knocking her over. Her neck was still covered in lather from their desperate race across the sky, and her chest heaved.
Scout picked herself up off the ground as Torz snorted in agreement behind her, just as big and black and terrifying in his battle armor, but much more laid-back. For a battle unicorn.
“No offense, but you’re kind of a hothead,” Scout thought.
Ashra snickered. “Funny, I’ve been told that a time or two.”
“So… not that I’m complaining or anything, but where are the soul stealers? Shouldn’t they be swarming the place? I kind of figured we’d be under attack by now. And maybe dead. Not gonna lie.”
“Trey’s right,” Scout said. “Where are the soul stealers? In Paradesos, the minute we arrived, unicorns knew it. If this is the flip side of the same coin, why aren’t we being swarmed by demons?”
“Maybe Iros and Havik killed them all.” Trey looked around hopefully. The thought of Iros hurt. He was the immortal human commander of the Irwarros’ army. Havik was his unicorn — bigger, faster, more powerful than anything Scout had ever seen.
And so kind. So caring. He and his rider, both.
Scout’s heart ached.
Ashra shook her head. “It isn’t possible. There are hundreds of thousands. And I watched them come in before us.” Turning on Torz, she said, “How did you keep up with me? I’m supposed to be the fastest unicorn ever. What’s your deal, horse?”
“Desperation makes one run faster.” Torz wandered away from her, leaving Ashra to stare after him.
“Seriously. You’re so blind,” Scout said, bumping Ashra with her hip as she followed Trey’s unicorn. Unfortunately, it was Scout who went stumbling away, grumbling about never running into a unicorn the size of a Clydesdale.
Where Paradesos, the unicorn haven, was green and bright and beautiful, Aptavaras was blue and dim and beautiful, like a dream. A silver mist hung in the air, and the plants all had a dim azure sparkle. Even the grass was more blue than green.
“There is infinite space here. Just like in Paradesos. Finding the trapped souls could take lifetimes,” Ashra said.
Scout frowned. “We don’t have lifetimes. I’m figuring we have maybe a couple days, at most.”
“There’s a path here.” Trey squatted, tracing his finger along the dirt.
Scout knelt next to him, catching her breath as her knee brushed his. Would it ever stop? Would her pulse ever not race when she touched him? With herculean effort, she focused on the ground before her. “There is! There are pavers here!”
“So, you’re thinking this path is going to lead us right to Ariston? Even he wouldn’t be that stupid.” Ashra snorted.
Scout stood up, turning her back on Trey and her myriad of uber-confusing feelings, and crossed her arms over her chest. “You got a better idea, little filly?” She grinned when Ashra flattened her ears and bared her teeth.
“If I could suggest something…” Torz interrupted. “Maybe we should find somewhere to sleep. You know, since we haven’t done that for a while and if we have to fight, it might be a good idea to have all our magic.”
Next to him, Trey nodded, playing with the leather bracelets on his arm. “He’s got a point.”
“I would feel much better sleeping if I knew why there aren’t soul stealers swarming us right now.” Scout rubbed her arms. It was cold here, and even through her leather and armor she could feel the chill.
Ashra’s horn illuminated, a warm sparkly flame drifted through the twilight air and covered Scout in a long, soft cloak. With a hood. It helped with the chill, but… “Seriously? A cloak? Couldn’t you just give me sweats?”
Ashra snorted indignantly. “I am hundreds of years old. I do not make sweats.”
Scout sighed, giving up. There was no arguing with her strange unicorn. Instead, she wandered away, hoping someone would follow her because she had no intention of going far by herself. This place was all kinds of scary, even if it was beautiful.
Thankfully, she heard Ashra’s heavy hooves behind her. Neither she nor Torz had removed their battle armor yet. Scout knew they were the most beautiful creatures in the world, but with that armor on, they were almost as terrifying as the soul stealers.
Almost. Not quite.
Trey fell into cautious step beside her. He had a long black cloak on now as well, but he made it look big and tough and very, very hot. Scout swallowed.
Twice.
Forcing her attention away from the boy next to her, she said, “Are those apples? Giant blueberries? Giant blue apples?” She squinted. On the trees in the distance, there did appear to be giant blueberries. Or blue apples. Maybe pears. Whatever they were, they were a sudden, painful reminder of how hungry she was. The last time she’d eaten was right after the last time she’d slept. Which was… one day ago? Two? How long had they fought alongside Havik before he’d shut the gates?
“Don’t eat the fruit. Or drink the water. It will dissolve your soul,” Torz said, his voice completely lacking the cryptic quality one must have when saying words like that.
Trey stumbled to a stop, slipping a little on the blue moss. Scout’s hand shot out to steady him, gripping his forearm. She could feel the muscles flex under her fingers. “Wait… you’re saying we can’t eat? Or drink?”
Ashra trotted past them, long black mist-like tail flowing behind her. She paused, inspecting the tree. “We can purify it. You won’t starve to death after fifteen minutes.”
Trey hurried after her, grumbling. “I’m a football player. I need a lot of calories.”
Scout and Torz followed more slowly. Scout, because of sheer exhaustion and Torz, because he was protecting her, if she di
dn’t know better. “Your back is truly healed?”
She glanced sideways at him with a smile. “Yes. When I…” When I forgave Trey and let that burden go… “When the Leerha healed me, she healed my back completely. I’m like a new girl.”
Leerhas were small, blue unicorns. Healers. Ashra and Torz and the other Irwarros were gigantic and black with massive feet and battle armor that made them look like demons. But there were other breeds of unicorns that were smaller, sleeker, and different colors — each color specifying their gift.
Irwarros, incidentally, were warriors. Big, tough, powerful warriors. “Big, tough, powerful warriors who still need little girls like me to make you undefeatable.” Scout smirked, because she could feel Ashra in her head. They had bonded, finally, which had allowed them to survive the battle outside before Iros had shut the gate.
And trapped them inside.
To be fair, he had been trying to trap the soul stealers inside and save the world. Ashra and Scout had snuck in at the last minute to save Scout’s family. Trey and Torz just seemed to be along for the ride, although Trey’s brothers and parents were trapped, as well.
Ashra half-heartedly attempted to whip Scout with her tail. Scout danced out of the way, laughing. They were stuck in a demon world, and she was laughing.
Clearly, she had lost her mind.
They devoured the purified fruit. It tasted like leaves. Scout had always liked her food on the bland side, but right then salad dressing was worth more to her than her left pinky. If pinkies were a hot commodity that she could use to trade for salad dressing. On the bright side, her stomach didn’t feel like it was trying to eat her alive from the inside out, so she grabbed extras, shoved them in Ashra’s saddle bag, and they set off in search of shelter.
“I’m thinking,” Torz started, his big brown eyes narrowing in the darkness as his head swiveled around, surveying the landscape, “this land was created in Paradesos’s image. If that is so, then there should be a cave this way. And Ariston would build his throne where the human encampment was in his homeland.” He swung his head guiltily toward Ashra. “Which means Trey’s path might actually lead us right to Ariston.”
Trey grinned triumphantly as Ashra blew out a long, annoyed breath. But Scout had gotten caught on the memory of the beautiful valley in Paradesos, protected by a giant overhanging rock. The tiny little huts with no glass on the windows and no doors. Her heart ached. Thinking of Paradesos hurt more than thinking of her home in Montana.
She wasn’t sure what that meant, so she filed it away to examine later.
Trey tipped his head back, staring at the navy sky above them. It was like someone had washed the entire place in different shades of blue. With his head still back, he rolled his eyes to glance at Scout. “I miss that place.”
When they’d been together, before the accident, before he abandoned her in a hospital, before it all, they had worked well together. Amazingly well. It was like their brains operated on the same wavelength. A year apart hadn’t seemed to change that.
“Me too.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not entirely thrilled to be away from there, either. Having lived there for, ya know, like hundreds and hundreds of years.”
“Awww. Is the wittle baby horsey homesick?” Scout asked, giggling even though she knew she was asking for trouble.
Ashra snapped at her with big, sharp teeth, and when she missed, she unfurled one long wing and whacked Scout, knocking her on her butt. “You complained first, Princess.”
Torz blew out a breath, tossing his head. “Cave. Right there. Am I brilliant, or am I brilliant?”
Scout followed his gaze. The mountain rose steadily next to them, but settled back behind the trees and uber-big rocks was, indeed, a cave. Trey patted Torz’s neck. “Yeah, man. You’re brilliant.”
“He is not a man. He is a unicorn. Stop insulting him.” Ashra sighed. Trey ignored her as he and Torz hurried up the hillside.
“Sleep is sounding pretty good right now.” Scout yawned as she followed them more slowly. Ashra’s head dipped once in agreement.
Torz already had that bright horn lit up, and he and Trey were exploring the cave by the time Ashra and Scout made it up there. “It’s not huge, but it’ll fit all of us,” Trey said, his eyes scanning the high ceiling. Scout nodded, pulling off her cloak, watching as Ashra’s armor misted away. She wished hers was that easy to get off. Ashra made a fire with a brief, bright spark from her horn, and Scout collapsed on the mossy ground. It was soft, like the rest of Aptavaras, covered by the thick blue grasses they’d been walking on since they got here.
“I’ll take first watch,” Torz said, moving to stand at the entryway. He melted into the shadows until Scout couldn’t even see him anymore.
“So,” she yawned. “Not only are you guys all super-powerful and stuff, but you’re also ninjas. Cool.”
Trey settled next to her, shaking his cloak and stretching out on top of it, hands behind his head. Scout tried not to notice the muscles in his arms or the way his dark eyes watched her — confused, hopeful. Unsure. Yeah, he’d told her he loved her, that he always had and always would. They had thought they were going to die — it had seemed the right thing to do at the time. Scout would have said it back if there had been time. But now? Now that they weren’t going to die — Where did they go from here? She watched the firelight dance across his face, struck for the thousand and first time at how beautiful he was.
He had a girlfriend. Kylin had fought with them in the epic gate-closing battle. And Scout didn’t want to be one of those stupid girls who fell right back into the arms of her ex just because he’d, say, thrown himself in front of a demon for her. They needed to learn trust again. Love wasn’t enough. Not always. It hadn’t been before. So… what, exactly, did one do in such a predicament?
“One sleeps, Princess.” Ashra’s voice echoed tiredly in her head, and Scout jerked toward her, forgetting about the giant unicorn and her ability to drop in on Scout’s internal conversations.
“You really need to learn to knock first before you come busting in on my thoughts.” Scout frowned, feeling a blush color her cheeks.
Trey noticed it, too, raising an eyebrow as his lips quirked in the barest of smiles. “Whatcha thinking?”
She shook her head. “I’m thinking sleep is going to be hard to find when we could be attacked at any second.”
“We can smell the Taraxippus if they come even within miles. They aren’t out there. I don’t know where they are.” Scout could hear the worry in Torz’s voice. Not knowing where the soul stealers were or why they weren’t attacking was nearly as frightening as being attacked by them.
But not quite.
Soul stealers looked like hunched-over skeletons with empty black eyes and skin and rags hanging off their bones. They smelled like a thousand rotting corpses, and they shrieked like banshees, if banshees were real. And maybe they were. If unicorns were real, then why not banshees and werewolves and…
She woke to screaming. The screaming of thousands upon thousands of voices. She sat up, but her movements felt slow, like gravity was working overtime, trying to hold her down. And she was alone. Ashra, Torz, even Trey were gone. The fire was gone. She stood alone in the darkness with the screams.
She couldn’t differentiate between them at first. She could only hear many, many voices mashed together. And then one little voice found its way through.
Lil Bit.
Lil Bit, and she sounded terrified and in pain. Scout tried to race from the cave, but it was so dark she couldn’t see, and she crashed into the walls. She felt her forehead split, and blood flowed into her eyes as she sobbed, reaching blindly to trace the walls with her hands, searching for the way out.
“I can make this easy for you, Scout. I know you’re here. I know you’re coming for me. My Taraxippus are already searching for you. Give me Paradesos, and I’ll let them go. Fight me, and you will watch their souls be torn apart before your eyes.”
And
then another voice, quieter, but it wrapped around the first voice, smothering it and bringing a feeling of peace. “It’s okay, Scout. I’m okay. We’ll fight him until you save us. I love you.”
Lil Bit.
Scout sobbed, trying to hold on to the voice, but someone was shaking her, and then the first voice found its way back, hissing angrily before it was cut off completely.
“Scout! Wake up!” Trey’s voice now, real and strong, cut through the darkness, and she grabbed onto it, following it to the light.
“Smack her. That usually works.”
She forced her eyes open, unaware that they were even closed. Trey hovered over her, searching her face. Relief flooded across his strong features when she met his gaze.
“Hey, there you are.”
“I… I guess I had a nightmare.”
“It wasn’t a nightmare,” Ashra said grimly. Scout twisted her head as Trey pulled her against him, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to chase away the goosebumps. He was so strong. So safe. Torz and Ashra both watched her, horns brighter than normal as if their fire could chase away the fear.
“It was Ariston. He knows we’re here.”
Chapter Two
Even after she went back to sleep, which took hours, Scout didn’t stop shaking. Trey wasn’t sure where their relationship stood at the moment, but he wasn’t going to leave her to face the nightmares alone. He dragged his cloak right next to hers and pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her so she stayed put.
She cried out, and then turned and buried her face against his chest. The shaking stopped, and eventually so did the whimpering.
“He’s using us against her. All of us — her sister, too.” Ashra’s voice was soft in his head, like she was allowing him to hear her but didn’t want to wake him if he was asleep. He lay silently, wishing he could talk back to her without speaking aloud. If he even breathed wrong, Scout’s whimpers started again. Moving was pretty much out, too.
“You can see her dream?” Torz asked. He and Ashra both stood at the entrance to the cave, staring out into the night. Watching. Waiting.
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