by Sam Cheever
Brina frowned. “I do not know. But the sooner we find the royal soldiers the better.”
I couldn’t agree more. So we started off again.
We’d been walking for what felt like hours. I don’t know how long we’d actually been in the Shadows because time, like reality, was distorted there. In reaction to the distortion, my heartbeat had actually slowed to the point where I was having trouble breathing and I kept stumbling over my own feet.
I’d felt as if I couldn’t see anything there before, when I still had my powers. Without my ability to see auras I realized how blind I really was. The few times we’d passed too close to danger, Brina had had to stop me and warn me to stay silent.
Staying quiet is not an easy task when you’re blowing air like a space buffalo running from a Martian bow hunter.
But I’d been seeing a small brightness in the distance for several moments, and as we kept walking it was growing larger and closer. When I finally recognized it as a light in the window of a house, I moved faster, hoping we’d find some answers there.
A large black shape loomed up suddenly on my left and I stopped with a sharp intake of breath.
When the shape didn’t move I realized it was a structure. If I squinted I could just barely make out half-rotted gray wood with the occasional spot of faded paint on it. I sniffed and recognized the rotting taint of a place I’d been recently. I looked at Brina. “The old house on Crisanne’s property.”
“Yes.”
My gaze lifted to the light in the distance. “That would be Crisanne’s tree house.”
It wasn’t a question but she answered it anyway. “Yes.”
We’d come full circle.
And we’d reached the exact place where we needed to be.
Each and every place in the real world has a counterpart in the Shadows. But while they were juxtaposed in form and function, geographic location is not ordered in the Shadows as it is in the real world. So the only way to be sure of getting from the real world version of a place to the Shadow version, and vice versa, unless you’re a dark worlder who’s tuned into the place on an unfathomable level, is to enter one from the other.
Since Brina pulled me out of the real world tree house into the Shadows, I would probably never have found the Shadows tree house without her help.
And to get back home, well, I’d need to find the portal from inside the house. Or hitch a ride with a dark worlder.
I glanced at Brina. “Someday you’ll have to tell me how you dark-world types manage to navigate this horrible place so well.”
She shrugged, giving me a soft smile in return. “It is our place. Designed for those who live among the shadows in life. Our blood sings here. Of course we mold its form to our own purposes.”
Alrighty then. I guessed I wasn’t ever going to know how to get around in the Shadows.
I could live with that.
I started toward the light, almost forgetting my anchor in my enthusiasm. I suddenly knew Dialle would be in that house. Because the Pukas would be in that house. And Crisanne would be in that house.
And, as an added bonus, the Shadows tree house was my way back to the real world. And, if I was very lucky, that was where I’d get my power back.
At the base of the tree, Brina grabbed my wrist and bent her knees. Before I knew what she had planned, she jumped, pulling me high into the air with her. I’d been expecting to be space shifted into the house and yelped in surprise as I went airborne through the mist.
Brina shushed me as we landed softly on the wooden walkway in front of an unpainted wooden door.
“Sorry,” I whispered harshly, “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“It isn’t wise to space shift in the Shadows, the magic runs amok here. You never know where you’ll end up.”
Didn’t I know it.
She stood in front of the wood door and looked at me. “Are you ready?”
I pulled my sword from its sheath along my back and nodded. “Open it.”
The doorknob turned with a creak and Brina shoved it inward. I watched her carefully but couldn’t see her pulling her power forward, though I knew she must have. We were entering a viper pit so deep and so dangerous even the vipers would be leery of entering.
Her pretty black eyes widened and her lush lips dropped open.
I peered around her, expecting the place to be empty as it had been on the other side.
But I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The room looked as if it would have been furnished the same as it had been on the other side. Except that the furniture was all in timbers and swatches, with puffs of stuffing floating across the floor like dust bunnies.
The windows were all broken out, allowing thick wisps of dense mist to swirl inside and infuse the room with heat and lung-clogging moisture.
Two men sat on the floor across from the door, their faces battered and bloody. They were small, wiry-muscled creatures with fine features and dense orange hair with dark-gray stripes.
The Pukas.
At least one of them was still alive, though his eyes were dull and he hunched against the wall like an empty husk. The two men leaned against each other and I saw that their hands were clasped.
I pushed against Brina’s back and she stepped inside. I stepped in too, and my gaze swept the room, looking for Dialle.
A thick mound of armor and scaly red skin caught my attention and I hurried over to kneel beside Gerch. Slipping my sword back into its sheath, I ran my hands over him.
Horror tightened my throat. A tear slipped from my eyes and landed on Gerch’s dented armor. He wasn’t moving, didn’t appear to be breathing and his body trailed green blood in thick rivulets all around where he lay. I glanced at Brina. “Get him out of here, back to the court healers.”
She shook her head. “I cannot. I promised the king I would watch over you at all times.”
And another piece of the puzzle dropped into place. Dialle had given Brina to me. Apparently he’d known he couldn’t trust Milc.
“That’s an order, Brina! He’s near enough dead already. I won’t watch this loyal soldier die without trying to save him, do you understand me?”
Something soft passed over her features as she looked at me. Something I’d never seen before from a member of the Royal Court. Something that looked a little like respect.
Finally, she inclined her head. “I will be gone only moments, my queen. You must hide until I return.”
I nodded, anxious for her to save Gerch. “Hurry. I’m not sure he’s breathing.”
“You must promise me.”
“I promise! Now go!”
She scooped the massive lower devil into her slim arms as if he weighed no more than a sack of flour and then popped away.
I sniffed and looked at the Pukas. Their dark-orange eyes stared blankly in my direction. I stood up and walked across the room, touching the older one on a thin, bloodied knee. “Your majesty?”
Slowly, with exquisite deliberation, the orange eyes blinked a response. I nodded. “I’ve come to help you. When the Royal who just left returns I will send her away with you and your consort. The healers at the court of Dialle the Second will take care of you.”
Tears swelled in his orange eyes and drifted down pale-gray cheeks. I glanced at his consort and saw lifeless eyes and a pallid grayness that wasn’t natural.
Even for a Puka.
I was afraid the consort was already dead. There was nothing I could do about that except feel really bad that I hadn’t gotten there sooner.
Patting the king on his knee, I stood and looked around. The door at the top of the landing was closed and I looked toward it wistfully. If things were as they should be, that door would lead me back to my world.
But I couldn’t go there yet. I had to find Dialle and bring him back with me.
As I stood there in an uncomfortable silence, I heard a strange noise coming from the bedroom. Scratching sounds.
I pulled my sword and slipped
silently through the debris-strewn place, toward the open door that had led to the bedroom on the other side. Stopping just outside the door, I wished fervently that I had some powers to wrap myself in for protection.
Clutching the sword in two hands, I took a breath and stepped around the doorframe.
A long, elegant body lay draped across the floor, the face hidden beneath a shiny curtain of silky black hair. I gasped, panic coursing through me.
Dialle!
Forgetting about Crisanne, I lowered my sword and ran toward the fallen Royal. Kneeling beside him, I settled my sword on the floor and reached for his shoulder, gently pushing him over.
“We meet again, Tweener.”
I jumped, turning, and found myself staring into the beautiful, cold face of my arch nemesis.
“Evil Barbie. Why am I not surprised to see you here.”
Rayanne blinked and looked down, laughing. “Oh. Sorry. I forgot to change.” Her form shimmered, darkened and grew shorter, becoming Crisanne.
And yet another piece of the puzzle snapped into frame.
“So that was you in Nerul’s death chamber that day?”
She smiled. “I’ve been with you nearly every moment of every day for a week, Astra. Pity you haven’t recognized me.”
Her form shimmered and she became the pain-loving witch, Astis.
Shock battered me.
Stars burst before my gaze and I stood, staggering backward. My sword was in my hand, though I didn’t remember picking it up. Although it was hard to look unaffected when you were stumbling backward in horror, I gave it my best shot. “You’ve been busy.”
“You know what they say about idle hands…” She laughed, the sound hitting the thickening mist like crystal breaking against wool.
“The devil’s plaything? Little do the humans know how relevant that statement really is.” I looked down at Dialle. “Is this your work?”
She glanced down at the fallen Royal, her gaze cold. “He actually believed I wanted to rule the court with him.” She laughed. “Men can be so stupid. Why would I take the court jester when I can taste the king?” Her gaze lifted. “I had hoped I could announce my betrothal to your sexy king when you arrived. But, alas, he proved too quick for me.” She cocked her head. “I’m sure he’ll come for you as soon as he learns you’re here.” Her smile made my stomach churn. “Until then, we’ll just sit tight and wait for him.”
I scooted toward the door but it slammed shut behind me. Alrighty then. Distraction was in order. “So you kidnapped the Puka King and his consort? I suppose you were my client Mx. Davis too?”
“Very good, Astra. You get a black star.”
I nodded, my gaze sliding around the space, looking for something that might save me. “You kidnapped the Pukas, hoping to set Dialle up as Sovereign. Then you thought to get rid of me and join him in the power, become his new queen?”
She lifted long-fingered brown hands and gave me a couple of lazy claps. “Bravo.”
“And the demon?”
She made a fart noise with her lips. “That was annoying. The demon was meant to kill you and the Pukas. Solving my problems in one fell swoop. Unfortunately those damn Pukas managed to kill it and then hired you to protect them.” She lifted her hands. “As you can see, things got much more complex after that.”
“Yet somehow you poisoned me that day.”
“The poison was in the demon’s blood. A little backup plan. Demons aren’t susceptible to Benificious. But the poison remains potent in the blood when consumed.” She frowned. “Apparently Pukas aren’t susceptible either. Good to know.”
A traitorous trembling started in my hands and spread through my whole body, leaving me quaking like a bidgie bug in a firestorm. “And Dialle’s poisoning?” I was terrified to hear how Astis-Crisanne had poisoned Dialle. But I had to know.
Her keen gaze couldn’t have missed my quaking fear. I fully expected her to take advantage of it.
But she just laughed. “You fear he dallied with the very sick but hauntingly beautiful Astis? How quaint. But I won’t lie to you. He resisted our charms at every turn. I had to resort to a single scratch of his perfect golden skin with a poison-soaked fingernail. He barely noticed it.”
Relief swamped me. My knees wobbled. Dialle hadn’t betrayed me.
Then horror at the way I’d treated him, the ugliness of my accusations, flowed in to replace the relief.
Fortunately, Brina’s voice called out from the other room to pull me from my regrets. I opened my mouth to warn her, but an invisible hand clenched around my throat, choking off the alert.
When Brina entered the room, her dark eyes took one look at my choking and quaking form and she flung power across the room, diving toward me as Crisanne caught her power and consumed it, unharmed.
The world muted and stopped moving and, for a beat, I thought Brina would get us out of there in time. But the evil bitch across the room lifted a hand, sending us skidding across the floor.
Beside me, Brina suddenly clasped her throat and made choking sounds. Her small hands clawed at her throat as Crisanne squeezed with her horrible power.
I knew she had only seconds to live and realized I couldn’t just stand there and let it happen. With that thought I rediscovered the spine I’d lost when I looked up and found Crisanne across the room from me.
I leapt forward, sweeping the sharp edge of my sword in a downward arc that would have severed her arm at the elbow if she hadn’t stopped me with a power arrow to the chest. Pain blossomed, the concussion of her blast sending me flying backward to smack against the wall above the bed.
The air left my lungs in a painful whoosh and I slid downward, scraping my back against the wood of the bed’s headboard before ending up in a breathless pile on the mattress.
Brina was still choking, but the sound was softening as she died beneath Crisanne’s crushing magic fingers.
I pushed myself to my feet and took a running leap toward the powerful Tweener. She lifted her other hand and held me above her head like a bug pinned on an invisible board.
I screamed my frustration and kicked out, but my legs were too short to reach her.
Something crashed in the other room and the wall between the main room and the bedroom exploded.
Crisanne lost her grips on Brina and me as chunks of wall rained down on us. She was forced to protect her head and face with her hands.
As the dust settled, the room filled with a painfully bright white light and wind swirled through the space, blowing everything in its path away from the glowing form standing in the center of the main room.
A head-jarring roar filled the rooms, making it impossible to hear anything else.
The figure stood eight feet tall, its robes swirling around slim legs and large feet, and power pulsed from it in such visible waves that even I without my magics could see it.
Aubrey lifted large hands toward Crisanne and she flew off the ground, smashing hard against the wall.
I ran to Brina and pulled her off the ground. “Are you okay?”
She nodded.
Leave this place, Astra. Aubrey’s deep voice filled my head and I blinked.
“Aubrey! Is my sister okay? Myra?”
They are fine. I left them cleaning up the last of Crisanne’s evil surprises.
Relieved, I grabbed Brina’s arms. “Come on, shift us out of here.”
Brina tried but nothing happened. She turned dark eyes filled with horror in my direction. “I can’t feel my power.”
I swore. That dark bitch had done it again. I turned around and grabbed my sword, striding toward Crisanne with blood in my eye.
“Astra.” Aubrey sounded mildly concerned but mostly irritated.
“Shut up, angel. I have a score to settle.”
The air next to me shimmered and Dialle appeared, his eyes swirling with rage. “As usual, you ignored me and put yourself into danger anyway, Astra.”
I shrugged. What could I say?
He s
ighed. “It is not important. You deserve this kill. I will allow you to help me.”
I shook my head. “You can’t fight her. I won’t risk having her drain you of your power.”
“We are in the Shadows, my love.”
I turned to him, blinking. “And?”
“Do you not remember Prince Nille?”
I blinked a moment longer and then smiled. “Do you think it will work?”
He leaned close and placed a tender kiss on my lips, his mouth moving softly over mine as he savored the touch.
I breathed deeply, inhaling his scent and feeling my body tighten with pleasure.
When he pulled away I licked my lips. “Hold that thought, Dialle. I have plans for you later.”
Inclining his sexy, dark head he said, “Your wish is my command, my queen.”
“Astra!” Aubrey’s deep voice boomed around us, rising above the sound of his massive power throbbing through the room.
I turned to him. “Release her, Aubrey.”
His form wavered as if I’d struck him. “I will not. Remove yourself from this place and let Heaven deal with this creature.”
I shook my head. “I have a score to settle.”
“Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.”
“Yeah, well He’s never had the power sucked out of him by an evil bitch. Besides, I’ve met the Big Guy. I think he’d understand.”
Aubrey’s light blinked off and the room fell shockingly silent. He glanced down at his hands, looking confused.
Apparently the Big Guy had hit the off switch on Aubrey’s power.
Crisanne slid to the floor with a thump and rolled onto her face. She lay there groaning, her legs and arms twitching.
Aubrey stared at me with confusion written across his handsome features and shook his head. “You are a very difficult creature, Astra Q. Phelps.”
“I know that’s the rumor. But, for the record, I’m denying it.”
Aubrey crossed his arms over his broad chest and frowned. “Get on with it then. I will allow you to try it your way.”
As if he had a choice.
A blast of power hit Dialle, ripping him away from me as the evil Crisanne finally found her sea legs and fired the first shot over our bow.
