A Tale of Traitors

Willow: Final Flight

Marcellus's wings beat viciously above.

The Professor was choking.

Someone was shaking me.

        The world was blurry and my eyes struggled to focus on anything. Plains, grass, paper-white sky. Why was it so bright? My legs were running, but I couldn't feel them. Someone was running next to me, practically dragging me along with them. Three shapes ahead. Only three. Words wouldn't form, even thinking made my brain hurt, but I needed to know what was going on. I wouldn't be useless.
"Can you hear me yet?" Adresin gasped for air, turning to look at me as my eyes finally focused on him.
"Yyy." I struggled to respond, head bobbing uncontrollably, world going blurry, hearing going in and out.

"Okay," he started slowly, voice going from squeaky high to inhumanly low. "I know it's hard but I need you to focus. For a little while, if you can."
"Yye."
"The animals living here just woke up, and we're in the middle of their hunting grounds."
"Wh..." Everything went black. The village is burning, I'm stuck, I can't reach my sword—
"Willow, can you hear me?" He shook me into reality. I blinked in response.
"We're being pursued by creatures much faster, smarter, and bigger than us. We're probably not making it to the swamp. Marcellus is keeping some of the animals away for now. Soon enough we'll need to fend for ourselves, and when that happens, if we can't save everyone, you will have to leave us behind."
"No," I said firmly, desperately trying to focus on the shapes ahead. Dalia. Queen. Bob. I glanced back at Adresin. I'd never seen eyes as deep and dark as his.
"Yes, you are." He responded between pants, looking over his shoulder. "Don't argue, you know what you have to do. We don't have long. Can you run?" He started to release me until I collapsed.
"Can you see?"
"It's so bright," I whispered.
"HEY," he shouted ahead, and Queen was the first one to look back. "They're here."
        I could have sworn their heads were human. Their eyes were brilliant blue, faces drained of life and color until the blue veins were apparent under the skin. They had horrible pointed teeth, each one caked with dried blood. They circled us, flashing their teeth and digging their claws into the grass. Their bodies were like lions, a deep red mane shooting down their spines. They weren't human... they weren't all animal, either.
"Avoid the tails." Adresin said to the group as everyone circled around me. "They're poisonous."
"What are they?" Bob asked in a squeaky voice.
"Manticores."
"What?"
"Manticores."
"No, I heard you, but what are--"
One of them launched forward, and Queen sliced her knife through the air just above its head. The creature darted backward, examining her, its blue eyes contemplating when to strike. And then it had the gaul to smile at her, to let out a little laugh. If death had just one sound, it would sound like the laugh of the manticore.
"Willow, can you stand?" Adresin mumbled quietly.
"Yes."
"Can you hold a sword?"
"Maybe."
"If you can, you should. These things are fast."
        Something was rumbling in the back of my throat, but there was no sound. There was something I needed to remember. When I was little, I took piano lessons. That's not a helpful memory in any way, but I couldn't shake it. Sometimes I forgot the piano notes, but my fingers knew what to play. Muscle memory. My throat itched, there was something there I knew deep down, even if my brain didn't comprehend it yet. I needed to take a risk, say whatever it was that my throat wanted to belt out. What did we really have to lose?
        I don't know what it was that I screamed. I still don't remember where I learned the spell. One minute, I was shouting and everyone was telling me to shut up and the manticores were launching themselves at us. The next thing I knew, a ring of fire encircled us, keeping the filthy creatures back. They growled and laughed, creeping along the edge of the flames. The force of the spell bounced back on me, shooting me to the ground and making the dizziness come back doubly worse than before.
"How did you—" Queen started, admiring the fire shooting high above our heads. "You know, never mind."
"Any moment now they're going to find an opening. Manticores are smart." Adresin mumbled, focused intently on the smallest of the pack.
"Why are they, like, all jittery?" Bob turned in a slow circle. "They're, like, shaking, a lot."
He was right. They were jumpy, not staying in one place for more than a few seconds, like dogs that need to be let out. Some of them started... whining?
"We should get out. We really should." Queen started, dragging me to my feet and preparing to sprint. "Something worse must be coming."
"Whoah, wait, there's no way you'll outrun them," Adresin broke his concentration to face us.
"I've got spells of protection, Dummy. It can get us as far as the swamp."
"If the scouts haven't found us by now, they're going to look in the swamps first. You'll be caught by morning."
"Do you see another option?" Queen rolled her eyes. "Where's your bird?"
"Griffin."
"Whatever."
"Marcellus has your friends in a safe location."
"You're not going to say where?"
"Someone might be listening."
"Okay," I croaked, "let's just go. Queen's right. We can't stay here."
"Stay close, don't be stupid," Queen encouraged. "Stay connected. Link arms or hold hands or something, it makes the spell stronger. Stay together. We'll go on the count of three."
The manticores realized we were up to something, and they closed in on the little circle.
"One."
Their faces pushed together, waiting for us to leap through the flames.
"Two."
But... if we didn't leave, something worse would come, right?
"Three!"
        The fire split for me, red flames parting to leave us unscathed as we fled. Queen's voice thundered over the plains, neon red light swallowing us as we tore through the pack of manticores. I heard other voices chiming into her chant. Adresin and Dalia both had started helping her, and it made our field stronger. The teeth of the manticores bounced off of what would have been our flesh, but instead the shocked creatures started to back off. They had their own powers, too, and ours wouldn't last long. We were never going to make it to that swamp.

We were delaying the inevitable.

        The field was dying away, regardless of how loud they chanted. We were slowing down. The manticores laughed gleefully as they closed in on us. I was leaning on Adresin and Bob. Queen and Dalia were charging just ahead of us. Was this how our journey ended? Scouts soared above, racing through the clouds to get back to their masters. There had to be a way out. I wouldn't lose hope now.

Hope shot into my vision right when I thought I would give up.

"QUEEN!" I yelled. "Look right!"
        Everyone turned their heads when they heard the whinnies. Three sets of hooves pounded in unison through the tall purple grass, rushing toward the manticores that were right behind us. The laughing manticores went silent and fled when faced with the creatures hurrying around us—rainbow fractals burst forth from their horns, surrounding us in color and protection. The manticores fled whimpering as the alpha unicorn spread his wings. His enormous black feathers beat furiously against the air, making him look like a living storm cloud as light shot from his horn. Queen leapt onto his back and pulled me up by the arms. As soon as the others hopped onto the other two, the alpha slammed his hooves on the ground and flew up into the sky. The other unicorns didn't have wings, but they galloped directly under us. I still hated flying... but in that moment, I was more than grateful to be in the air.
        Herds of beasts were spread throughout the open plains, hunting and tearing each other apart. The intersecting suns stained the plains in red, cries of pain boomed through the hilltops and reached our ears even as we flew. There were beasts beneath me that I couldn't recognize or name. It was horrifying and beautiful all at the same time to see creatures that had only been rumored to exist, beings that had gone on for thousands of years without being seen by Elvish eyes. It was hard to look away.

Then the nausea set in and suddenly looking away wasn't so hard.

        "I told you, they're loyal creatures!" Queen was squealing from behind me. "They came back for US!"
The alpha whinnied in response, darting quickly through the clouds.
"What's that?" I screamed.
"I said, 'they came back for US!'"
"LOOK OUT," I shrieked, slamming my head into the mane of the alpha as he shot sideways to avoid the enormous mass coming toward us.
"No, no, no," Queen held on tighter as the alpha flipped upside down to avoid what seemed to be only a shadow. "It's a Jinx--keep your head down. It'll try to claw out your Shadow Catcher!"
"What did you just sAY--" I yelled as the alpha took a steep dive toward the ground and pulled right back upward, trying to shake away the shadow. 
"It's a Jinx, slave of the spirits." She leaned in to whisper to the alpha in a perfect Elvish dialect. It was the one the poor people speak. She must've been from Tribe 11 or 12, the ones who most commonly speak to animals. Was she one of the rare few who could command beasts such as the one we were riding?

Apparently, she was.

        The alpha sped forward, spiraling in the sky, practically crashing to the ground, his thick black wings intertwined with streaks of red and gold. The jinx was leaping from side to side, clawing at the wings of the alpha and flashing his enormous yellow eyes at me. He was a shifty creature, a shapeshifting shadow with a snake's tongue and the leathery wings of a bat. He was fluttering about like a confused moth, dark power radiating all around him. No matter how much we were thrown about in the air, I wouldn't remove my left hand from the catcher. I wouldn't let the jinx distract me long enough to hurt me. Suddenly, Queen let out a shriek. Turning to catch a glimpse of what caught her attention, I didn't hesitate to let out a similar cry. There was a swarm of Jinx headed our way, probably sent by the scouts we had seen before. We saw them diving down upon the others. Adresin's whistle pierced the air, and Marcellus's call quickly echoed through the hills. We were fleeing the realm, then. There was nowhere to hide.
"What's the realm closest to us?" I yelled.
"I--don't--" Queen started answering as we tumbled backward.
"It could be worse than here! They could be waiting for us!"
"It doesn't matter--we can't get caught by the spirits. It's better to be anywhere but here right now with our friends dying and jinxes on our tail," she screamed back. "If even one jinx crosses the border with us, our whole mission could be in jeopardy!" Queen yelled. 
        The alpha tumbled to the ground and shielded us with his wings, springing back to his hooves and pounding alongside the other unicorns. My vision was still spinning from using the Mindseeker, and the back and forth jerking motions certainly didn't help my concentration. We were rapidly approaching the blue fire that signified the end of the realm, Marcellus circling above. Queen continued to speak to the alpha, who in turn told his pack to move faster. The manticores had long since fled, dreading the danger that was quickly approaching. Adresin's loud voice boomed, and with a green flash, every Jinx stumbled backward, disappearing among the dying weeds. They wouldn't stay down for long, but hopefully long enough for us to make it to the border.
"Stay together!" I managed to call out to the others. "Stay close so we can't get separated. What realm are we heading into?"
"Four!" Adresin answered. Blue fire licked the hooves of the unicorns, black storm clouds split the sky in half, green lights rained down on us, panic caused the alpha to stumble.
        Queen screamed my name, tried to grab my arm, but it was already too late. I fell off the side of the alpha, and as my shoulders struck the blue fire, I locked eyes with the lone Jinx that had infiltrated our group. Ground shaking, someone screaming, blurry vision and flying and drowning at the same time. The normal border jumping experience—but this one ended wrong. White light blinded me, and there was a sound of thunder and a forceful boom that shot all of us in different directions, panic and pain exploding through my body. Something was really, really wrong. I was perfectly conscious through the whole thing, sitting up completely alert as soon as my surroundings came into view. It was a dark, twisted forest, and I was muddy. Cold.

But I wasn't alone.

        Adresin was unconscious just a few feet away from me. I stumbled to his side and shook him.
"Wake up," I said quietly, shaking him a little harder. "Adresin, wake up!"

A low rumble sounded from behind the trees.

"Get. UP." I shook him one more time before giving up. I dragged my hand through my backpack and felt to make sure the chests were still safe and secure. They were.

The rumble was getting louder.

Knife in my hand, I wandered closer to the sound, turning in a careful circle to make sure there was only one.

The creature slowly came into view, creeping out of the trees, the shadowy figure morphing from a tiny animal with wings to one that towered over me, the glowing yellow eyes locked on mine.

I had never fought a Jinx before. What if this is it? What if I let us all down? What if Adresin dies because I can't protect him?

Pushing these thoughts of failure aside, I dove straight forward and was enveloped in darkness.