Warrior Beautiful

by Wendy Knight

  “Believe.”

  Scout froze, whirling in a circle, nearly decapitating herself on a tree branch. She was positive she’d just heard a voice, but there was no one there. Confused and frightened, she slowly started again, walking in silence, listening, shaking, trying to pretend she was brave and not in pain all at the same time.

  She felt the rush of dark, frightening power slide past her — the same thing she’d felt at the hospital. “Hello?” She spun again, but in the quickly fading light everything looked ominous. It hit her again, swirling around her. Her ponytail whipped her face and the leaves exploded into a mini tornado. She heard herself screech, but it was from a distance.

  And then a different feeling, one more hopeless, more full of pain and evil, surrounded her, closing around her heart. The darkness was crushing her. She fell to her knees, only aware that she was still screaming because her throat scratched and tore. Blood seemed to fill her mouth. She crawled, blind, trying to escape. The breeze, like something big brushing by her, nearly blew her over, and all at once she was free. Shoving herself to her feet, she ran.

  Soul stealers. They’re here. They’re here. Her panicked mind froze on repeat as she sprinted through the forest, dodging trees, feeling the power, the darkness, two separate terrors right behind her. She leaped over a gnarled root, landing on one foot as pain shot up her leg and through her back. She fell, her screams dying in her throat, crashing like a wounded bird through the undergrowth. She felt the branches tearing at her hair and face, her hands uselessly trying to protect her.

  “Believe.”

  She finally came to a stop, and the entire world seemed to stop with her. There was no sound, no movement. She moaned, tried to move, failed. Her body felt like she’d been hit by the semi all over again. “Where are you?” she gasped. “She said you’d help. She said you were here. But you’re not here. You abandoned her.” Scout lay on the ground, staring at the stars through the trees. “You abandoned me.” She forced herself up, her back protesting against the agony. She only made it to a sitting position before it refused to cooperate again. “Where are you?” she screamed at the sky. “Where are you, you stupid unicorns? Why aren’t you here?”

  “We are.”

  Scout felt the darkness again — the power, a different kind of darkness than the soul-crushing evil — before she actually saw it, staring at the sky as she was. She jerked her eyes down, searching, panicked because she knew full well she couldn’t run.

  “You only had to ask. We’ve been here the entire time, luv.” The voice was male, but she couldn’t see who spoke. A ghost, maybe? A hallucination because she’d completely lost her mind?

  She saw the glowing, throbbing light first. It took her eyes several seconds before they acknowledged that what she was seeing was the brilliant fire of a horn.

  From the edges of her vision she saw the black, hulking shape she’d seen the night Lil Bit had been caught.

  “Soul stealer.” She tried to scrabble backward but couldn’t move. A scream froze in her throat as the shape solidified in front of her. Her terrified mind tried desperately to grasp what she was seeing.

  It was beautiful.

  A gigantic black horse, bigger than any Clydesdale she’d ever seen, pranced in front of her. Shimmering charcoal wings folded and unfolded restlessly, flapping against thick black armor that covered the entire body. A single horn of twisted fire, rising from the center of the majestic head, glowed brightly in the enveloping darkness. Its mane and tail seemed to be a mist, fading in and out as she watched. The horse slowly lowered its head until she could meet its gaze — sitting in the grass, the top of her ponytail only came to its forearm. Black eyes stared at her, just darker than the darkest brown.

  “We won’t hurt you.” The voice seemed to reverberate around in her skull, deep and soothing, not terrifying at all.

  “You’re the unicorns? You fight the soul stealers?” she asked, trying to sound braver than she felt.

  The gigantic creature in front of her nodded slowly, the bright horn swirling with what looked like colored sparkles on fire.

  Her eyes locked on the horn, unable to look away or even blink. “I need your help,” she whispered.

  Chapter Six

  “This is the mighty warrior we’ve been waiting for? Are you kidding?” Scout heard the voice in her head, not aloud, but very clear. She blinked rapidly, searching for the source, and realized beyond the giant in front of her, there were two others, nearly as large and frightening as the first one.

  “Give her some time. She’s not a natural innocent. She’s found us because of desperation.” This voice, a man, wasn’t in her head. She heard it with her ears.

  Scout scrubbed her eyes, trying desperately to make her mind understand what was going on while ignoring the screaming pain when she moved her arms. “I’m not a mighty warrior. My sister—”

  “Lil Bit told you about us. We know.” Another male voice, again in her head.

  “Wait, she can hear us?” The first voice again, distinctly female.

  Her eyes roamed from one dark face to the next, finally settling on the one in the far back. “Yes, I can hear you.”

  The unicorn blinked in surprise. “Well. Maybe it’s not a lost cause after all. Do you think she can fight?”

  “Fight? No, not me. You. I need you to save my sister. I—I can’t even move. My back…” Her words died in her throat as a man slid from the back of the unicorn in front of her. She hadn’t even seen him until now.

  He was hot and not much older than she was. His hair was short with dark, loose curls. Strong jaw. He wore all black, which was why she hadn’t seen him before — he blended right in with his ride, and he wore a thick leather belt low across his hips with a sword or something strapped to his side.

  “Let me see.” He knelt in front of her; light green eyes peered at her under thick brows.

  “It’s—it’s nothing. I hurt it a year ago, in a car accident. It just flares up… I wasn’t supposed to walk again.” Her voice trailed off, feeling stupid as he waited patiently for her to shut up.

  “I know. I can see that you were healed by unicorn magic.” He had an accent. Not quite British, but beautiful.

  “No. Not if these are unicorns.” Scout shook her head. “The one I saw was small. Pretty. Peaceful…”

  He chuckled. “These,” he swept his hand behind him, “are our warriors. Our Irwarros. Not all unicorns look like them.” He looked back at her, smile dying as worry crinkled at the corner of his eyes. “Can I see your back? We might be able to fix it here, if it isn’t too bad. We don’t have a Leerha with us.”

  “My—my back?” she squeaked. “Leerha?”

  His lips quirked. “That’s where you’re hurt, right? And Leerha, our healers.”

  “She’s a bright one,” the female voice said. The sleek, dark one in the back shook her head violently.

  “Do they ever talk aloud?” Scout asked, scowling at the insult.

  “No. Only the innocent can see them. Or the desperate who almost believe, apparently.” He frowned, “But only the truly innocent should be able to hear them. And you, Scout, are not truly innocent.”

  Scout’s face burned. “I’m a virgin…”

  The man threw his head back and laughed. “That has nothing to do with true innocence. True innocence is wonder, hope, acceptance, believing.”

  Certain she was going to die of embarrassment any second, Scout mumbled, “Oh.”

  “No offense, but you have a lot of bitterness in your heart. And very little hope. That explains Ashra’s surprise that you can hear her.”

  Scout wanted to argue, but it was true and she knew it. “Ashra?”

  “The sarcastic one in the back. She’s usually glaring, but it’s hard to tell under her armor. And I’m Iros, by the way.” His lips quirked. The darker, sleeker of the unicorns tossed her head again and stomped a sharp hoof in annoyance.

  “Can I see? If it isn’t too horrible, Havik can prob
ably fix it.” He had very kind eyes and his accent…

  Scout blinked several times, trying to pull her head out of the clouds. “The name Havik doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.”

  He chuckled again as Scout leaned forward, yelping as pain shot up her spine. Gingerly, he pulled her shirt up in the back, and Scout clutched the front tightly, blushing as her stomach was exposed. “This is pretty bad, missy. Havik can help, but we need a Leerha for this.” The gigantic unicorn snorted angrily and the man held up a hand, laughing. “Sorry. It’s true, she’s messed herself up beyond your power.”

  Scout had been so lost in her own pain that she didn’t hear the footsteps through the forest until Trey emerged across the trees from them. “What the—? Who are you? Get away from her!”

  Iros dropped her shirt back into place and stood slowly. He was roughly the same size as Trey, but all in black, he looked much more frightening. “I’m Iros. I’m here to help.”

  “Scout? Are you okay? I heard screaming.” Trey looked past Iros to Scout, searching her face.

  “Yeah. I’m fine. Trey…” He didn’t see them. If he did, he wouldn’t be standing there calmly, within kicking distance of Ashra’s powerful hooves. “Trey, he rides the unicorns.”

  Trey blinked at her. She’d expected derision, or at the very least, pity. But he looked around him, eyeing the trees like he expected unicorns to pop out of the branches. “You can’t see them.” She said it as a statement. The disappointment that came with it was a complete surprise.

  “They’re here? Now?” He stepped menacingly toward Iros. “Did they do this to you?”

  “No. I did this to me. I tripped and fell.”

  “Graceful, that one.” Ashra whispered. Trey’s head jerked up and he looked toward the sound. Scout frowned. She was positive it could only be heard in her mind, fuzzy though it was.

  “You heard that?” Iros pointed in Ashra’s direction.

  Trey’s eyebrows drew together. “Yeah I heard that.” He rubbed his forehead.

  Iros looked at Havik, raising an eyebrow before he turned back to Trey. “But you can’t see them?”

  “No. I —” He looked at Scout. “You can see them?”

  “Yes. Look Trey,” she motioned, but pain shot through her when she raised her arm and she squealed.

  “Havik.” Iros turned his back on Trey and knelt again at her side. The giant unicorn stepped forward, and Scout had a brief moment of panic, thinking he would trample her under his gigantic feet, but he was amazingly gentle. Slowly, as if aware of her fear, he lowered his head. His horn brightened with flames twisting through the spiral. Scout whimpered. “It’s okay. He won’t hurt you.” Iros laid a comforting hand on her arm.

  From where he stood across the little clearing, Trey yelled and dove backward. Iros grinned. “I think he can see them now.”

  “I won’t hurt you. But I can’t heal you completely. I can make it more manageable. I’m sorry.” Havik’s voice echoed in her head, deep and powerful and yet calming, soothing. It was his voice she had heard in the beginning.

  “Okay.” Scout nodded, wishing she wasn’t trembling like a small, hairless dog in a hurricane.

  “Scout?” Trey murmured. He edged around the unicorns without taking his eyes off them before crouching next to her.

  The flame reached, curling and beautiful. She felt the heat brush her cheek before it seeped into her shoulder. Scout cried out; it burned, flames licking up and down her spine. Trey pulled her into his arms, cradling her against his chest. Still there was pain, twisting through her and around her, but Scout could feel it healing, mending the damaged spine.

  “There now. Almost done,” Iros murmured, and then the giant unicorn raised his head and stepped back.

  “That’s all I can do.”

  It took several seconds before Scout could raise her head away from Trey’s chest. “How do you feel?” Iros asked, rising to his feet.

  Scout sat up, slowly lifted her arms and moved her head. “Better. It — it doesn’t hurt like it did.”

  “Let go of the anger and our Leerhas could fix you completely.” Iros raised an eyebrow and gave her a knowing look.

  Under his breath, Trey muttered, “Not a snowball’s chance.”

  Scout ignored him, nodding at Iros as she pushed herself to her feet. And then she turned to Havik. “Thank you,” she said, wondering if it was appropriate to pet a battle unicorn. “Wait, if I hear them in my head, can they hear my… thoughts?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t hear our thoughts. Those are ours. You can hear what we want you to hear.” Ashra scoffed, throwing her majestic head.

  “Can I — Can I talk to you in my head?”

  Iros smiled. “I can talk to Havik. There has to be a bond between unicorn and rider. It can be very difficult to achieve. But it also makes them very powerful in a fight.”

  “Where are their riders?” Trey asked, nodding toward the other two unicorns.

  “Dead,” Ashra said.

  Scout gasped.

  “They hadn’t bonded.” Iros glared at Ashra. “Ashra lost hers while we were still up north. Torz lost his in the attack yesterday.”

  “The attack… by the soul stealers?” Scout asked.

  “Soul stealers.” Iros scratched his head. “We know them by a different name — Taraxippus, but soul stealers is much easier to pronounce and, sadly, very fitting. And in answer to your question, yes, in the hospital. We were protecting you and they got away from us. We should never have let the… soul stealers, as you call them, into the hospital.”

  “It was you I felt at the hospital. It was you I was running away from. Not the soul stealers.” Scout felt like someone had punched her. The dark power wasn’t evil. It was the unicorns. Protecting her while all those other people fell.

  Iros looked grim, glancing at Havik before turning back to her. “It was us you felt, but the evil was the soul stealers. They seem to have targeted you, and we’ve had to fight them away from you twice now.”

  Ah. That explained it. Scout remembered feeling two different kinds of darkness. One, huge and powerful, had been the unicorns. The other, the one that had felt like it was crushing her heart; that had been the soul stealers.

  “Wait. It’s the four of you against something that took out most of our town in a day?” Trey’s eyebrows shot up.

  “No. There are others. We are the only ones that have… had riders.” Havik said.

  Scout rubbed her head, feeling a headache coming. “Wait, I’m confused. Why? Why do you need riders?”

  “Irwarros are,” Iros glanced at Havik again, then shrugged, “much more powerful with a rider.”

  “And with a bonded rider, even more powerful than that,” Havik explained, watching Scout closely with those dark, dark eyes.

  “Then why don’t you all have riders?” Trey asked, looking as confused as Scout felt. He ran a hand through his messy spiked hair and tugged on the leather bands on his wrist.

  “Because humans are worthless, untrustworthy, and weak.” Ashra’s horn shot sparks, igniting the trees above her.

  “Because humans and unicorns… have trust issues.” Havik turned to look back at Ashra. He tossed his head again, and his mane slid through the air, enveloping the fiery trees in a thin mist, extinguishing the sparks.

  “Because it is hard to build an army when innocence is lost so young.” Iros sighed. “Lil Bit was one of our most powerful prospects. We were just waiting for her to get old enough to fight.”

  “Lil Bit?” Trey’s jaw dropped.

  “Of course.” Scout smiled despite herself. She’d always known her little sister was special. And she missed her so, so much.

  “That’s why we were watching you. We hoped you would have her gift. That you could be a rider,” Iros said.

  “A rider? Me? I can’t even jump off a roof without immobilizing myself!” Scout gasped.

  “That’s how you got out?” Trey exclaimed.

  Scout glanced
at him and away, feeling heat rise to her cheeks like a scolded child.

  Iros leaned forward until she was forced to meet those green eyes. “Scout, you don’t understand.” He gripped her shoulders. “We need an army to battle the soul stealers. Or the human race is lost.”

  Trey smiled down at her. “I always knew you’d save the world.”

  “What is going on? Trey? You left me at her house! Alone!” Kylin bellowed, exploding into the small clearing with all the force of a starving hurricane. For such a small thing, she was loud. “What are you two doing out here?” She pulled up abruptly, smoothing her long bangs away from her eyes as her gaze landed on Iros. “Who are you?”

  “He’s a unicorn rider,” Scout said flatly.

  “A what? Has she lost her mind?” Kylin asked, glaring first at Scout and then at Trey.

  “Possibly,” Scout muttered.

  “Kylin, close your eyes. You have to believe me on this, but if you’re really quiet, you can feel them.” Trey crossed through the trees to stand next to her, closing her eyes with gentle fingers. Scout felt her heart break a little in her chest. Why did she have to still be in love with him? Why couldn’t she be happy hating him forever?

  Iros gave her a startled look. “I thought you two were…”

  “No. Not even close.” Scout cut him off. “That is Kylin. His girlfriend.”

  “Interesting,” Torz muttered. His voice was quieter, more subdued, than Havik’s although his eyes were the same beautiful darker-than-dark brown.

  “Not really.” Scout growled, shoving her ponytail over her shoulder.

  Kylin screamed.

  It wasn’t as pathetic as Scout had been, crawling on hands and knees to escape them, but it was still high-pitched enough that wolves howled in the distance.

  “Trey! What are those monsters?” Kylin dove behind him, her hand shaking as she grabbed at his arm.

  “Hey! They’re not monsters!” Scout yelled before she even realized she had opened her mouth. She advanced on Kylin, wishing she had a horn of her own to shoot sparks with. “They’re beautiful! They fight the monsters, you idiot!”