Warriors of the Black Shroud

by Peter Howe

  “Come back, you cowards!” he roared. “Obey your master now!”

  But none did, and the remaining Warrior bent down and picked him up like a baby, and he, too, ran into the farthest depths of Diabolonia.

  “That was awesome,” whispered Frankie.

  When the last Warrior disappeared all that was left was an empty, barren landscape illuminated by the birds’ wings. The surviving children jumped up and down with excitement, and then Walker noticed them looking up into the sky. He followed their eyes to see what the birds were doing now.

  The main body was heading home, but two groups had peeled off. One now hovered over their heads, while another, larger formation flew in the opposite direction, away from the Kingdom. Frankie saw it too.

  “Where do you think they’re going?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” answered Walker, “but I think I’m going there too.”

  Lightning whinnied and dropped to her knees, waiting to be mounted. He leapt on her back and began to urge her forward.

  “Hey!” cried Frankie. “Not without me!”

  “You stay with the children and get them back to Nebula,” he told her.

  “You’re going to leave me all alone?” she yelled.

  “All alone?” Walker snorted. “Look around you, Frankie. You’ve never been less alone in your whole life.”

  He was right. Now that the enemy had fled, several of the animals had gathered around the delighted children. Frankie was surrounded by the strange little furry creatures, several dogs, and two small dragons. One of the birds had landed on her shoulder.

  “I’ll see you back in the Kingdom!” he shouted as Lightning moved forward.

  “Walker Watson!” Frankie cried out. “That is so totally not cool to leave without me! I’ll get you back for that, you see if I don’t.”

  Walker’s only response was to wave at her and smile as Lightning began to gather speed.

  “Follow the birds,” he told the unicorn.

  She had no saddle or reins, so he had to hang on to her mane with one hand while he gripped Eddie’s sword with the other. Faster and faster she went, until suddenly her wings unfolded with a wumping sound and they were airborne. Walker could feel the beat of her massive wings as they went higher and higher, and then he saw the birds ahead of them.

  Lightning quickly caught up with the birds and they regrouped to fly in formation behind the speeding unicorn. They were so close, Walker could make out their every detail. They had alert eyes like a hawk’s, but without the sharp, hooked beak. Their feathers looked as if they had been beaten out of thin metal and then polished to a mirror finish. They seemed delicate but strong, graceful yet powerful.

  The unicorn and the birds began to lose height and by the light they shed Walker could make out the reason for their descent. Below them was a line of men and women, all going in the same direction that the Shroud had fled. They stumbled forward, their feet shackled, and on either side of the column were Nightangels with whips. They cracked them in the air before bringing them down on the shoulders and legs of their prisoners as they tried to drive them faster into the Outer Wastes. Then Walker saw something that filled his heart with joy and fear at the same time.

  At the head of the column were two Warriors of the Black Shroud and several Nightangels armed with spears forged out of black metal. They were guarding one special prisoner—Eddie.

  The Nightangels were aware of the birds above their heads and urged their captives on even more harshly. With Walker hanging on for dear life, Lightning swooped down on the Warrior guards. This time the Warriors’ aim was true, and darkning bolts flew within inches of Walker’s face, but there was no sucking sensation, and the noise the bolts made was different. A scary thought occurred to Walker—maybe now the Shroud were shooting to kill, not capture.

  Lightning ducked and weaved with amazing skill, avoiding the bolts often by a hair’s breadth, and almost tossing Walker from her back several times. She flew so close to one of the Warriors that Walker almost brushed against him and would have done so but for the fact that her light caused the monster to reel back. She wheeled around and once again Walker nearly fell off. He thrust out the arm that carried the sword to balance himself and he heard a roar come from the Warrior. The sword had sliced through the creature’s shoulder, but there had been no jarring sensation when it did—in fact, no sensation at all. But as he saw the blade penetrate the Warrior’s body, its glow of light spread like fire, and the beast began to crumple before disappearing in a cloud of dust.

  The other Warrior, sensing its partner’s fate, lumbered toward them. Lightning flew straight up until she was high above its head and then plummeted down. She tried to get behind the enemy, away from the deadly bolts, but the monster swung around and Walker looked straight into its featureless metallic face. Walker knew what he had to do. He rammed the sword into its head, and there was a groan from the Warrior, followed by a shower of dust cascading to the ground.

  Lightning landed and folded her wings back into her body. The Warrior guards were no more, but the Nightangels were still a threat, and they began to charge, their spears lowered. Walker leaped from Lightning’s back.

  “Keep them away from me while I free Eddie!” he cried.

  Lightning pawed the ground and then let out a long, loud whinny. At the sound of it the birds that had been hovering overhead swooped down and flew among the Nightangels. The birds had talons and sharp beaks with which to fight, and they attacked mercilessly. Lightning used her stubby horn to butt each Nightangel that charged at Walker, or sent them sprawling with a kick from her strong hind legs. This allowed Walker to weave his way through to Eddie until he was face-to-face with his friend.

  “Quick, get me free!” Eddie said, holding out his bound wrists. They were fastened together with a thick rope that was easy for the sword to cut through, but the shackles around his ankles were another matter. They were made of the same black metal that formed the Nightangels’ spears and there was no way that Eddie’s sword would be able to cut through them. As Walker was bent over trying to see how they were fastened, Eddie suddenly yelled out.

  “Look out! Behind you!”

  Walker swiveled around to see that one of the Nightangels had evaded Lightning and was running at them full tilt. Instinctively Walker raised the sword to defend himself and it made contact with the enemy’s spear. This time he felt the blow, and a jarring sensation rippled through his body. He had deflected the Nightangel’s stroke, but only for a moment, and already his opponent was preparing himself to make another thrust. Walker tried to get up, but stumbled and fell.

  “Quick, throw me the sword!” yelled Eddie.

  Walker threw the weapon toward Eddie, who deftly caught it by its handle. Eddie then shuffled toward the Nightangel, beating back each stab of the spear. His skill with the sword was one that had obviously been perfected over many years.

  Walker was back on his feet. He looked around to see how he could help his friend. Now that Eddie had the sword, Walker was unarmed—except, of course, for Lightning. She was proving herself to be every bit as good as a sword.

  “Lightning, come here, girl!” Walker yelled.

  She galloped over to him and he leaped on her back. Since she was his only weapon, he would use her well. He turned her head toward the nearest Nightangel. Then, in the same way he told the unicorn where to go just by thinking of it, he concentrated really hard and conjured up in his mind’s eye a picture of Lightning sending the Nightangel flying through the air with her hooves. He felt a bump, heard a cry, and to his delight saw that his vision had come true. The Nightangel lay sprawled on the ground some distance away. It scrambled to its feet and fled.

  Walker focused on one enemy after another until the only one left was the creature fighting a desperate duel with Eddie. Walker headed Lightning to where the battle was taking place, only this time he didn’t have to imagine the action. Lightning knew exactly what to do. She reared up and then turned he
r hindquarters to Eddie’s opponent and let out a powerful kick with both legs. One hoof hit the Nightangel in the head and another in the chest, and he fell to the ground unconscious.

  “Way to go, Lightning!” Walker cried. He leaped from Lightning’s back and ran over to Eddie.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Eddie said, trying to catch his breath. “Thanks for the rescue. It took a lot of guts to do that by yourself.”

  “I wasn’t by myself,” said Walker, his arm around Lightning’s neck.

  “No, I suppose not,” Eddie agreed. “And you’re not going to be by yourself now.” He pointed. “Here comes the cavalry!”

  Walker looked and saw a cloud of dust and light speeding toward them. As it got closer he began to make out knights on unicorns, their gleaming lances topped with fluttering pennants. King Leukos’s jet-black war unicorn led the group, with Jevon mounted on him—and a passenger. Clinging on with one arm and waving with the other was Frankie. As the huge beast thundered to a halt in front of them, she leaped from its back.

  “Eddie!” she cried in delight. “Is that you? It is you. It really is!”

  Chapter 23

  Frankie ran toward Eddie. She leaped into the air, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

  “Whoa!” he cried. “You’ll have us both on the floor, and I wouldn’t want to mess up my best clothes.”

  The action had happened so quickly that Walker hadn’t really looked at everything around him. Eddie’s clothes were in fact torn and filthy, with what appeared to be scorch marks on them in several places. But if he was looking disheveled, the people behind him were worse. Their clothes and hair were caked with mud, and beneath the grime their faces looked gray, unhealthy, and exhausted.

  “We thought you were dead,” said Walker.

  “Yes,” agreed Eddie. “For the moment so did I. But the Warriors had other plans for me. I was held as a hostage to force the Kingdom to surrender. You, too, I might add, when they got you.”

  “I’m so glad you’re not dead!” squealed Frankie. “I’m not talking to you, Walker Watson,” she said, turning to Walker. “How you can call yourself my friend and leave me behind like that I’ll never know. Just as well for you Jevon came along when he did, so don’t think in the future you can get away from me because as you can see you can’t.”

  “I thought you weren’t talking to me,” said Walker.

  “I’m not,” Frankie assured him. “I’m just telling you what you need to know.”

  Jevon, who was listening to all this, chuckled.

  “It’s good to see you alive, your royal highness,” he said to Eddie. “But what happened to you?”

  “I was on top of the wall and got hit by a darkning bolt, and everything went black,” Eddie explained. “Then the next thing I knew I was on the ground being guarded by someone or something with whips. Every time I tried to move I got a lash or a poke with a whip handle. And I could hear the sound of digging, lots of people digging, and more whippings and shouts from guards. These poor folk were the diggers, although what they were digging I have no idea.”

  “Who are they?” whispered Frankie.

  “They were prisoners of the Warriors. They lived in the Sister Cities before the invasion of the Black Count,” Eddie told her.

  Walker noticed that Jevon was standing in front of one of the freed slaves, a man who looked very old and worn-out.

  “My lord Valoris—is that you?” he heard the knight ask.

  The old man raised his head, and then beneath the grime that caked his face a look of recognition appeared.

  “Lord Jevon, my friend.” He smiled. “I never thought I would see you again. Did the king lead this rescue?”

  “No, my lord,” replied Jevon. “He was killed when you were taken prisoner.”

  Valoris slumped as if someone had hit him.

  “I wish I had died there with him and not been captured by these monsters!” he cried.

  “Don’t say that, my lord. Nebula needs your wisdom and experience now more than ever,” Jevon assured him. “Are the rest of the king’s patrol here also?”

  “They are in this crowd somewhere,” Valoris replied. “They separated us when we were first captured.”

  “Let’s see if we can get you and these poor people out of those shackles,” said Jevon.

  There was a groan from the fallen Nightangel. He had regained consciousness and rolled over.

  “Look!” cried Walker. “On his belt—there’s a huge bunch of keys.”

  Two knights ran over and each grabbed one of the Nightangel’s arms. When it was clear he couldn’t escape, Walker pulled the large metal ring from his belt and gave it to Jevon. There were dozens of keys on it and it took some time to find the right one, but eventually they heard a satisfying click and the metal band fell away from Eddie’s ankle.

  “Great,” said Jevon. “Now let’s free the others.”

  They started the long process of releasing all of the former slaves one by one. As their chains came off they rubbed their wrists and ankles, unsure of what would happen next.

  “Master,” one of the women said to Jevon, “what do you want us to do? Where shall we go?”

  “I’m not your master,” Jevon replied, “for once again you’re a free woman. We will take you back to Nebula until you’ve recovered enough to return to your homes.”

  “Our homes,” she said. “I fear we have no homes.”

  One of the men, tall and dignified even in his threadbare clothes, turned to Jevon.

  “My lord,” he said. “My name is Gallimor and I am the leader of those taken from Litherium. Can you tell me, please, if you have any news of our children?”

  “Good news,” Jevon assured him. “They are all safe and my men are taking them to Nebula as we speak. They were saved by three of our children, who showed much courage.”

  “We are indebted to these children,” Gallimor said, “and long to be reunited with our own.”

  “As you shall be, and soon,” said Jevon. “Lightkeepers—help these people back to the Kingdom.”

  The knights began to gently organize the former prisoners and slowly started to move them in the direction of Nebula for the long march back. The Nightangel felled by Lightning’s hooves was chained in the shackles that Eddie had worn and was prodded to the end of the long line of people.

  Jevon turned to the three friends.

  “Each of you is as brave as any knight here,” he said. “You are all the children of light. King Leukos would have been so proud of you. And your father,” he said to Eddie, “would have been so pleased to know what a brave son he had.”

  “Is the Black Count finally defeated?” Walker asked. “Or will he and the Shroud try again?”

  “I wish we had been able to get here sooner,” answered Jevon. “Then maybe we would have had total victory over the Count. But yes, he will return. Evil like his does not vanish of its own accord; it must be vanquished. Now we must get you and these poor folk back to the Kingdom.”

  Jevon gave the command to the knights to mount up. When they were back on their unicorns, they formed two columns on either side of the children and the refugees. With Jevon in the lead, they all slowly moved forward, with Eddie and Frankie next to Walker, who was leading Lightning.

  “For goodness sake, Walker,” said Eddie, “get up on your unicorn. What’s the point of having one if you don’t ride it? It’s not a pet, you know.”

  “I would kind of feel uncomfortable doing that,” Walker told him. “We were all in this together, and I don’t want it to look like I’m trying to take all the credit myself.”

  “Well, that depends on whether there is credit to be had,” said Eddie. “I’m not sure that Lady Lumina’s going to be quite as overjoyed about what we did as Lord Jevon is. We disobeyed her orders, after all. And in my experience she’s not one to forgive and forget easily.”

  “He’s got a point,”
Frankie agreed. “Just because we saved the Kingdom doesn’t mean we’re the flavor of the month in her mind.”

  As it happened, she couldn’t have been more wrong. By the time they approached the gates they could see flags waving from the ramparts, and flocks of citizens gathered. The news of their victory had spread quickly as soon as the knights accompanying the children of Litherium told everyone what had happened. When the three friends were within earshot, they could hear cheering that got louder and louder the closer they came. When they were a short distance from the walls, the knights raced their unicorns forward and lined up on either side of the gates, tilting their lances to make a tunnel of shining metal beneath which the children would pass.

  The huge gates slowly opened to reveal a party of the Kingdom’s highest dignitaries waiting to welcome them home. It was, of course, headed by Lumina, and behind her was gathered every member of the Lightkeepers, and behind them were more riders holding banners displaying the Kingdom’s symbol.

  Frankie, as always, loved being the center of attention, and Eddie looked more like a prince than ever before. He seemed to have grown, both in height and dignity. His long copper-colored hair streamed out behind him, and his bright green eyes flashed, taking in every detail of the scene. As they came through the gates Walker noticed a strange, reddish mark on Eddie’s cheekbone.

  “What happened to your face?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” Eddie replied. “What can you see?”

  “There’s a sort of red mark there.”

  Eddie rubbed the place that Walker had noticed.

  “Yeah,” he said, “it’s a bit sore. I think it must be where the darkning bolt hit me. It’s probably just a bruise.”

  Frankie saw what Walker was talking about and she ran in front of Eddie, stopping him and the entire column.

  “Whoa!” she cried. “That’s no bruise. Look where it is, and look what it’s doing. That, prince boy, is the mark!”

  And sure enough, as they stood and watched it the “bruise” began to transform itself from a red blotch to the identical sun-shaped symbol that Walker carried on his own cheek.