by Wendy Knight
Havik lowered his head in acknowledgement. “Scout, you have to understand, billions of lives are at stake. The soul stealers are further along in building their army and if they succeed, we can’t fight them. They’ll come for Paradesos and then the world — your world, will be lost.”
“Just—just let me go down there.” Scout brushed the tears angrily away from her cheeks. “Just let me go after her before Iros shuts the gate.”
“And do what?” Havik asked gently. “You can’t fight the soul stealers. Not without a unicorn’s magic.”
And Ashra wouldn’t help me if her life depended on it. “I’ll figure out something. Please, Havik. Please let me go to Aptavaras.” Her voice broke pitifully.
“Scout, to do that would be suicide. And it will give them one more soul for their army.”
Scout lost control, sobs escaping despite her efforts to hold them in. “Please, Havik. I can’t let her go. She’s waiting for me. I—I told her I would protect her.”
His eyes were kind, but she could see the answer there. “I’m sorry, Scout.”
Scout sucked in a breath, trying to stop her sobs. “Then take me home. I don’t want to be here anymore.”
“Scout—”
“No, Havik. Iros told me he would help me if I helped him. So I helped. And he lied. Now I want to go home.”
“Talk to Iros first, Scout. You won’t be safe there. And we can’t stay to protect you.”
Scout hugged herself tight, feeling small and lost. “I can’t find Iros.”
Havik backed away, his tail sweeping the grass. “Come with me. I’ll take you to him.” She hesitated, but what choice did she have? Scrubbing her eyes with her fists, she climbed up the fiery stairs and settled on his back. He set off through the forest at an easy lope, somehow managing to miss the giant roots and low hanging branches. Scout closed her eyes, not wanting to see the beauty of this place any longer. Not if Lil Bit was lost in a place of darkness and terror.
When he slowed, she opened her eyes. The huts stood in front of them. Trey sat outside his, watching their approach silently. Scout looked away from him. She had to find Iros. That was all that mattered. She slid off Havik’s back. “Thank you,” she murmured quietly, but couldn’t look at him, either. She straightened her spine and marched into Iros’ hut.
He wasn’t there. The beautiful girl — Aella? — still slept silently, her chest rising and falling in her glowing sphere. What would Iros do with her once the gate was closed? Would he just let her die? Scout thought of Lil Bit’s body, small in the big hospital bed, covered in tubes. Would she stay like that forever? Or would her body give up if the soul didn’t return?
“Havik, he isn’t here,” Scout whispered, but she knew he could hear her. She glanced out the window in time to see him loping across the valley to a bright green Ekse waiting near the forest. Seconds later the Ekse darted into the sky and disappeared through the trees.
“We’ll find him,” she heard Havik whisper in her mind, and then he, too, escaped into the darkness of the forest. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, standing in Iros’ hut with a comatose ancient girl, so she left.
Trey stood up when she approached, but she shook her head. “Don’t, Trey. I don’t want to get you in trouble again.”
He opened his mouth and shut it before he nodded slowly. Watching him turn away nearly broke what was left of her heart and she had to hold tight to the anger that had been so easy to find before. Where had it gone? When had it deteriorated into practically nothing? If she didn’t have that anger, she had nothing but pain. Because without the anger, she would love him, and loving him would crush her.
He went into his hut. She stared at her own doorway and wished for home. Homesickness nearly overwhelmed her and she sank to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest. She didn’t see the bright green unicorn coming until he landed in front of her, tucking his fiery wings close to his side. Without looking at her, he sent her his thoughts, “You want to go home?”
She raised her head, watching him suspiciously. “Yes. But Havik just went to find Iros—”
“Who will never let you leave because it isn’t safe.” Now the unicorn faced her, fury racing through his eyes, “You are the single biggest threat we’ve ever faced in Paradesos. Iros nearly gave up everything for you and your single-minded pursuit of your sister.” He tossed his head. “You. Must. Leave.”
Scout’s eyes stung but she refused to let the tears fall. “And you’re here to take me home?”
He tossed his head. “Or kill you. Whichever is necessary.”
Scout rose to her feet. “How do I know you aren’t going to kill me instead of taking me home?” She glanced over at Trey’s hut, but he hadn’t come out again. Would he try to stop her if he knew she was leaving?
“You have my word.” The unicorn lowered his head, his horn glowing.
For all Scout knew, he could be completely lying and lighting that brilliant horn up for fun. But it didn’t matter. “Take me home.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Where is Scout?” Iros strode through Trey’s doorway without even a knock. Trey had spent the last eternity staring at the thatched roof, lying on his cot, forbidding himself from going to talk to her.
He sat up so fast the room spun and he had to grab the edge of the bed to keep from toppling off. “I’m guessing she’s in her hut.” Kylin followed Iros into the room, glaring fiercely at Trey, one hand clinging to Iros’ arm. Trey glanced at it and back up at her face — she looked smug. Trey tried not to roll his eyes. Kylin was the queen at playing games, and he just couldn’t bring himself to care.
“She’s not in her hut, and the Ekse can’t find her anywhere.” Iros’ voice held more panic than Trey was used to hearing from their strong leader.
“But I just saw her outside her hut. With Havik.” Trey jumped to his feet, shoving Iros and Kylin both out of the way as he stalked through the door. “You said this space is infinite. She could be anywhere.”
“It is infinite.” Iros followed him out. “But the Ekse can find anyone here. They’re trackers. That’s what they do. Havik left her here to find me. By the time I got here, she was gone.”
Trey glanced in Scout’s hut, but Iros hadn’t been lying. She wasn’t there. A hard knot formed in the pit of his stomach. “She was upset.”
“I know. I wanted to talk to her, to explain my reasoning.”
Trey frowned. “Reasoning for what?” He turned on Iros, feeling his heart threatening to pound right out of his chest.
“Ashra told Scout that I have to close the gate. Lock the soul stealers in Aptavaras.” Iros looked away from him, staring hard at the ground.
“How can you — what about everyone trapped down there? What about my family? Scout’s family?”
Iros made a visible effort to make his voice sound kind. “It’s too late for them, Trey. The soul stealers have already formed the new souls, which means the ones they’ve taken are already gone.”
Trey stumbled backward onto his cot, disbelief nearly knocking him over. “What do you mean? How can they be gone? It’s only been a few days, Iros.”
“I know.” Iros barely seemed to notice Kylin as she sidled up next to him and laid her head against his shoulder.
“He’s only trying to save the rest of the world, Trey. My family is still out there.”
Trey sank to the cot, his head in his hands. He ignored Kylin and asked Iros, “How do you know this?”
“Our Ekse have sighted soul stealers with souls.” If the grimness in Iros’ voice wasn’t terrifying enough, the haunted look in his eyes was.
“How do you know they have souls?” Trey returned his gaze to the dirt floor, absently wondering why, with all the magic in this land, he had a dirt floor and Scout had an actual wood floor.
“You can see it in their eyes. They glow red. They aren’t an empty skeleton anymore.” Iros sat next to him, leaving Kylin standing awkwardly by herself in the doorway. “Trey, w
e have to find Scout. We need her to fight this new threat, or we may all fail.” He laid a hesitant hand on Trey’s shoulder, searching for understanding.
Trey shook his head. “Why can’t you just let her mourn in peace? Wherever she is, she doesn’t want to be found.”
Iros pushed to his feet, wandering around the hut, holding his head like he was afraid it would escape. Trey watched him for several minutes. He couldn’t believe he’d lost them — his brothers, his parents. They were gone?
“Scout and Ashra are powerful together, Trey. Even without bonding, they are more powerful than anything I’ve ever seen. Their driving force, their pain, makes them unstoppable. We need that right now. Or we can’t win.”
Absently, Trey murmured, “Well she’s gotta be here somewhere, right? It’s not like she can walk out of Paradesos.” He looked up from where he still hunched on his bed, feeling like he had to protect the pain in his chest somehow.
Iros shook his head. “No, she’s got to be here somewhere. If she were to leave...” His face whitened.
“What? If she were to leave, what?” Kylin asked when Iros didn’t finish.
He faced her, but looked at Trey. “If she did somehow leave, went out into the real world, the soul stealers would attack — swiftly and brutally. They’ve been watching for her, especially after our last battle.”
“Well then it’s a good thing she can’t leave, isn’t it?” Kylin said when Trey couldn’t speak for the horror in his throat.
Iros spun on his heel and marched out of the hut. Trey leaped to his feet and followed him out, brushing past Kylin without a word.
Iros was silent, staring into the forest surrounding their valley. Within seconds, the trees started to shake as mighty hooves thundered closer. Havik is coming.
The magnificent commander roared to a stop in front of them, tossing his head. “We haven’t found Ashra. Or Scout.”
“Call the Ekse. I would like to speak to them.” Iros said aloud. Trey raised an eyebrow, but Havik flipped his wings out and exploded into the air, disappearing through the trees.
“Now what?” Trey asked.
“We wait.”
They didn’t have to wait long. Kylin sat on the ground, pinching off split ends from her short blonde hair. Trey paced, because not moving seemed to leave him open to more pain. Iros stood absolutely still, his hands behind his back, staring at the trees. When the leaves started to shake, Trey stopped and stood next to him as the bright green unicorns followed Havik into the valley.
The Ekse stopped in front of Iros, stamping and snorting. There weren’t many, maybe fifty, and they were much smaller than the mighty Irwarros, but still it was a sight to behold with their flashing horns and metallic emerald hair.
“Where is she?” Iros asked. His voice was flat and hard. Trey looked at him in surprise, but Iros ignored him as he marched back and forth in front of trackers. Their heads lowered as one, horns nearly touching the mossy green ground, but as far as Trey could tell, no one said a word.
Until Havik turned on them. Fire shot from his horns as his giant wings spread out, lit with flames. His nostrils flared and his eyes rolled wildly. Kylin screeched and escaped for her hut, but Trey didn’t move. “Where. Is. She?”
The Ekse nearly impaled each other in their rush to get in front of him, kneeling at his feet. “We took her home. Hours ago. We’re still waiting for Kizt to return.”
Havik speared him, his horn going right through the wispy wings. The Ekse screamed, and behind them, Kylin screamed as well. “How long ago did they leave?” Havik growled deep in his throat, the threat reverberating through the valley.
“This morning. Kizt should have returned long ago.” The Ekse squealed in pain.
Havik released him. “Kizt is dead.” He turned toward Iros. “And Scout is in grave danger.”
Iros paced, holding his head again. “I have to close the gate before midnight or it will be too late. The soul stealers will be free.”
“We can’t find Scout and go to the gate too, Iros.” Trey had never heard Havik sound frightened, until now.
“You don’t have to.” Ashra dropped from the sky, landing hard next to Havik. The ground exploded under her feet. “I’m going after her. I’ll bring her home.”
Torz burst from the trees at the far end of the valley, galloping toward them, his thunderous hooves echoing across the valley floor. “I’m going with you.”
Ashra tossed her head. “I don’t need your help. I chased her away. I’ll bring her back.”
“I didn’t ask, Ashra.” Torz, usually so mild, was anything but when he spoke.
Trey stepped forward, laying a hand on Torz’s neck. “I’m going with you.”
“Oh no you aren’t.” Kylin burst from her hut and hurried over, walking on her toes to avoid the moss. “You are going to leave her alone, Trey. Or we’re done.” Tears soaked her cheeks and she trembled so hard her teeth clacked together.
“Kylin—” Trey started, but she cut him off.
“No. I’ve had enough, Trey. You’ve hurt me enough. If you go after her, we’re done. I’m going back to Kasen.”
Trey frowned, lost. “Kasen? Back to? What?” And then he shook his head. “Kylin, if I don’t help, she could die. And not just her,” he flung his arm toward Ashra and Torz. “They could die trying to bring her back. With me, they have a chance.” He grabbed her arm and led her away, although he knew they could all still hear him. “Kylin, we’re already done.” When she opened her mouth to object, he shook his head, “You know we are. We’ve been done for a long time. But I don’t want you to hate me for trying to save Scout.”
Her eyes welled with fresh tears, but he didn’t see her slap coming until his skin stung from the contact. “I hope you die together,” she hissed before she whirled away.
Trey stared after her, shock making him slow to respond. “I can’t believe you just said that,” he whispered, but she didn’t hear him — he hadn’t meant her to.
Shaking his head, he turned abruptly, and leaped on Torz’s back. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Iros stepped up, laying a hand on Ashra’s neck.
“We’ve never fought without you,” she said quietly.
“I’ll be here.” He patted her chest, where her heart was. “And when you bring Scout back safe, I will meet you here. We will celebrate the end of the war. We will mourn our lost loved ones together, and we will heal together.”
Ashra nudged him gently, leaning her head against his cheek. Torz leaned his head down as well, and Havik joined them. For several moments, they stood silently. And then as one, Ashra and Torz shot into the air.
****
Scout stood in the middle of the street, looking around her. The place was deserted. There were no cars, no dogs, nothing, and the Ekse had dropped her in the middle of the town; so she got a very good view as she wandered down the road toward her neighborhood.
There was a small gas station on the corner, not far from where she stumbled aimlessly in the center of the street. Maybe there would be a phone or someone she could call… she jogged over, glancing uncertainly around her as she tugged open the door. The silence was beyond eerie. The little bell rang over the door and seemed to echo through the entire town. “Hello?” Scout went to the counter, leaning over the scratched laminate to peer into the back room. She could barely see a hand, unmoving in the doorway, disappearing into the darkness beyond. “Oh no. No, no, no, no.” She rushed around the counter, slipping through the gate. She slid to her knees next to the man, shaking his shoulder. His head rolled toward her, eyes wide and staring. Scout screamed and fell backward, scrambling away on her hands and feet like a crab before she finally got her legs under her. She leaped over the boxes and skidded sideways over the counter top, banging her head on the cash register. She felt blood, but didn’t stop as she raced out the door, even as the blood trickled down the side of her face. She ran across the road to the dollar store, bursting inside. At first glance, it was emp
ty, but as she jogged into the back, she saw more bodies. She felt for a pulse, trying to keep the panic threatening to overwhelm her under control. There was nothing. She stood up, searching frantically for a phone. Her terrified, frozen brain took several seconds to actually see one only a few steps away. She tripped over her own feet trying to get to it quickly, punching in 911. It rang and rang, but no one picked up.
Through the big front windows, she saw the storm clouds rolling in, dark and angry. Giving up on calling for help, she dropped the phone and wound her way back through the store. It wasn’t until she got to the front door that she realized there was only one storm cloud. And it wasn’t until she stood in the middle of the street that she realized it wasn’t a storm cloud at all.
“Soul stealers.” Her heart stopped as she watched them scream through the sky, coming for the only thing still alive in this town.
Her.
She spun and ran as hard as she could go, her feet pounding against the asphalt, but she wasn’t stupid enough to think she could outrun them. She’d seen them move, she knew how fast they were. And she couldn’t hide, either. She knew that too.
She stopped, breathing hard, not sure if those were sobs or hard breaths coming from her lungs. Her hand went to the scepter still hanging in the belt at her side. It was useless without unicorn power. But she had no choice. They swooped around her, diving and screeching. The sound, without Ashra to cover her ears, was skull shattering. The claws reached, grabbing at her skin, searching for her soul. She knocked them away with her scepter, swinging it hard like a baseball bat. They were skeletons — they looked so fragile, but they didn’t break. Instead, she made them angry. The claws caught in her hair, ripping her head back as another set of claws dragged across her neck. The scream gurgled in her throat and she gagged and choked. More claws, just outside her peripheral vision, reached for her arms, her heart. They were going to take her soul. Lil Bit. I’m so sorry. She closed her eyes tight, trying to hold on.