A Shift in Power (Shadow Claw Book 5)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Someone whispered in the distance. A faint breeze blew past her, giving her momentary relief from the heat and sweat. She got up, looking around. A dim light glowed somewhere in the distance, illuminating only a fraction of the room, but all she saw was darkness.

  Another whisper, but from right behind her this time, followed by a slip of air past her neck. Nina’s body whipped around to see who it was, but was met with nothing. A whisper from beside her, but a little further, their breath brushing her arm. Nina felt alarmed and wrapped her arms around herself, carefully moving away from where she was standing and to wherever the light was coming from.

  The number of whispers only grew with the wind, and she couldn’t tell what they were saying. Some were faint, loud, far away, and some so close as if right by her ear. Her heart rang with fear, beating against her chest hard enough to break through its binds and escape. As her breath labored, it did nothing to expel the panic in her gut. The whispers were everywhere around her, and they wouldn’t stop. It didn’t matter how much she ran, the source of light stayed as far away as it did before.

  The wind grew stronger as the whispers closed in on her.

  “Wake up.”

  “Nina.”

  “Death.”

  “Mother.”

  “Morgus.”

  “Trouble.”

  “KILL THEM.”

  NO! She screamed, but it was an empty cry in the gusts that threatened to blow her to shreds in all directions. It sliced her skin, leaving small marks and blood oozing out to slide down her skin, staining her grey piece. She only felt the cuts, but no pain. Her senses were numbing out as the whispers closed in on her ears and the air finally ripped her apart into millions of pieces. She vanished into nothingness.

  Her eyes opened once again. She was okay…and back in the clothes she wore to bed. But she stood in a windy open field upon a dull grassy hill overlooking plains and smaller hills stretching on for miles on end. A few mountains in the distance pierced the clouds against a dreary, greyish-blue sky that looked like it would bring a storm at any time.

  The cold winds brought her some peace. Walking to the slope of the hill, she looked around for a sign, for a body, for anything that could give her a clue of what was going on. She felt a presence beside her and looked over. She almost screamed at the sight of Morrigan standing there, but she didn’t and carefully backed off instead.

  “Now there, don’t be too startled,” Morrigan started with a soft smile. “What you’re seeing is merely an essence of my existence.”

  “A-are you…where are you right now?” Nina demanded. She couldn’t bear the thought of her possibly getting away and free to roam.

  “I am no longer, my dear,” she answered, “since I was executed immediately after undoing the damage that I could. But there are remains of my consciousness in yours, which lay guard to your privacy and do not allow anyone to access your mind completely.”

  Nina remembered the time when she first stumbled across her father, Kalen, who ripped her mind apart to see if what she was telling him was the truth. He had mentioned of barriers.

  So, this is what it was, she guessed.

  “I’m glad you found happiness, Nina. I really am,” Morrigan said, looking at her. “You were my favorite. You were going to be such a great witch if only you had gone with what I had planned for you.”

  “Mass genocide is not my style.” She bit spitefully. “You know the repercussions of it all, Mo–”

  She caught herself before she could complete her sentence. Morrigan had caught on, and her smile was faint and wistful. “Life will not be perfect for too long. Soon, the time you spent will be whisked away like a memory. Trouble is coming, Nina.”

  “Isn’t it always?”

  “You have a choice. A chance to save it all.”

  Nina fell silent as Morrigan turned completely to look at her. She continued, “Life isn’t perfect. If it was, you’d never have free will. You wouldn’t have to make choices. You wouldn’t have a say in your fate. And so far, although your life was never perfect either, I still controlled and deprived you of that right,” she finished with a sigh. “I come to you with a gift.”

  Nina studied her carefully. Morrigan did not look completely solid. Her form was somewhat faint and see-through, but it flickered as if trying to achieve stability.

  “I’m leaving. My job here is done, and the end is drawing near.”

  That set Nina’s anxiety into action. Such news never boded well when coming from Morrigan.

  “I want you to be happy, my dear,” Morrigan spoke desperately, wishing for Nina to believe her. “So once I’m gone, the barrier I have set within you will lift. You will achieve your full potential. Use it well, Nina. This is your chance to protect all those you love. This is your chance to change the prophecy. Practice it diligently.”

  Something in Morrigan’s eyes, although dead, told her that she hadn’t had the best past herself. She’d made a mistake, and she was determined to save Nina from suffering the same fate.

  Morrigan had really loved her as her own. And though what she’d done to take over repulsed Nina, she knew she was lucky and should be grateful for Morrigan. She was a part of her, no matter what had happened. She’d raised her, too.

  “I came to say goodbye.”

  Nina could only stand and stare. She hated the tears that rose up in her eyes, but she blinked and pushed them back. She couldn’t let Morrigan feel the slightest bit of forgiveness or acceptance. She had ruined so many people. She deserved to disappear feeling the same way.

  Morrigan could only sigh and turn away, looking at the expanse before them. Her form started to dissipate, starting from the bottom. Charred ashes pulled away from her feet, then her dress, and up until she was pulled apart completely by the wind. And when her ashes had completely disappeared, Nina felt light. Very light. A surge of power ran through her chest, spreading out to the tips of her hands, legs, and hair. And it was then that she saw it all.

  War. A raging war, quite unlike all the others. The plains she looked over were ablaze, peppered with blood, dead bodies, and violence all around. The black sky was stained red, as if with blood. Everyone was geared up in armor, and so were the Council members. The bear and wolf shifters, backed up with vampires, witches, and all the other shifters were engaged in fierce battles all around against humans. But there seemed to be a proper formation and protocol to it all. A pattern. She followed it to a distance that seemed to be the center of it all.

  What she saw sent a wave of shock, and if she wasn’t already unconscious, then she definitely would have been now.

  Kevin, Ammara, Kalen, and herself stood battling all while guarding someone. Someone powerful. She could feel it from here. Nina noticed that she and Kalen looked older and more mature. Wiser and a whole lot stronger.

  The four of them spread out against their enemies. Whoever was being guarded came into view, and Nina lost her breath. It was Dahlia, just as she saw in her dreams when in her coma during her pregnancy. But Dahlia was older, most likely a teenager. And she was harnessing powers beyond her own imagination.

  She could see Dahlia’s eyes glowing from where she stood. Tendrils of golden and silver energy flowed off her in waves as she floated in mid-air, mouth moving as she muttered spells and enchantments. Hands moving to trace symbols in colorful lights and grabbing them to slam them into the ground that would send a pulse of energy, wiping out enemies nearest to them at the forefronts.

  Nina had never seen anything quite like this.

  She saw herself facing death in every moment. It was as if her destiny was written and she was fated to die every moment, but she deflected it with every attack that came to impale her through her heart. Her own powers awed her. Although not as powerful as Dahlia, she still held it stronger than she currently did.

  Suddenly, it all paused. It was as if she was watching a movie.

  Dahlia moved. She was the only one who
moved. Floating through the air, she landed gracefully in front of Nina. So gracefully, she could’ve been mistaken for Ammara had she not looked so much like her father. Nina almost cried, remembering how her own daughter told her she would die.

  “You can change your fate, Mom.” Dahlia said, sounding so much older, “You will still die, but everything has loopholes.”

  “What do you mean?” Nina choked. She did not dare touch her, fearing this would end and she would never get her answers.

  “Nothing is perfect, Mom. Nothing is set in stone,” she rushed. “You will have to find your own way. There was a reason Morrigan visited you before leaving. Think about it.”

  Dahlia looked over her shoulder and at the stilled battle. “All I know is that we won’t be leading the most peaceful of lives, but,” she looked at her mother with the strangest glint of happiness, “we have a chance to make it work for us all. We can be okay if you wish it.”

  Nina understood nothing. She was confused. She was exhausted. She was scared.

  Dahlia reached out with her hand, touching her mother’s forehead. A loving warmth spread all over. She stared at Dahlia as her vision blurred and faded out into white. She looked so hopeful and so happy with just being given a chance. Not even a definite promise. Just a chance. How hard had her life become to be so grateful for something so improbable?

  And with the last wink of the sight, all fell dark.

  ***

  Kaia broke out from the trees and had reached the heart of the territory set in a beautiful clearing. A thin waterfall protruded against a large boulder, falling right into a small lake surrounded by giant crystals protruding from the ground. Some were set in the water and glowed. Lilies floated about, shimmering with dew drops. It was a pleasant and beautiful sight.

  Abigail was grateful for the halt, but it worried her that Kaia was here. Kaia looked around and studied her surroundings. Abigail was sure to conceal herself well, and it seemed to have worked because Kaia smiled in satisfaction and sat on the ground. Abigail allowed her cramped legs the rest and took to the ground.

  Looking up, Abigail noted that Kaia was right under the moon. A crescent hooked onto the stars spilled out light over the clearing. Although dim, its intensity was enough to allow the place to grow in ethereal wonder. Tearing her gaze from the sight, she set her gaze on Kaia.

  She’d crawled over and picked up a beautiful pebble from the lake. Scooting away from the water, she dug a large circle with it around her in the ground. Abigail recognized this move. Kaia was creating a shield to build a connection so that she could communicate with someone without any interruptions. She pushed herself further in the trees and moved within them to be closer to her so that she could hear whatever she was saying.

  It started off small, with spells and enchantments. It did not alarm Abigail when the circle began to ooze out darkness. Small tendrils of smoke erupted and evaporated in the air. The shield had been activated. The spells became longer as time passed, and Abigail picked up odd disturbances in the air. Something in the wind crackled and made the hairs on her arms and legs stand up on their ends.

  Chaos erupted. The silent kind. The sky changed color to the most intimidating shades of red. The wind picked up violently, slapping against the trees and almost bending them. The branches groaned against the force as they collided into each other, leaves fluttering loudly, as if alarmed and crying for help. The wind was so strong that it almost blew Abigail away. She held onto an upturned root jutting out from the ground and wrapped herself tightly. It took the air away from her nostrils and hardly let her breathe.

  Her chanting grew louder as the tendrils from her shield rose higher and higher around her, encasing her in a dark cylinder. The sky changed colors again to an acid green hue, then to a violent purple. Muddy brown. Bright turquoise. And then back to red. Abigail was still holding the root against the wind as the sky shifted dizzyingly. She couldn’t make out how much time had passed, but it felt like it would carry on forever.

  And suddenly, it all stopped. The shield fell around her in smoke and disappeared. The sky darkened to its midnight hue, and the wind calmed down with the passing seconds until it stopped completely. The trees straightened back, and none of the leaves fell out of place. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

  Looking back at Kaia muttering peacefully under her breath, she noticed a small light starting to form from the moonlight. The light clung and came together until it was a floating ball the size of Kaia’s palm.

  “I’m in the fairy territory,” she said to it, “and I know how you can locate it.”

  The sound coming from the ball was faint, and Abigail could make out nothing, but she watched in horror as Kaia spoke of things about the fairy territory she shouldn’t have known. About Ammara’s house, Nina’s life-tree, Kalen’s energy force, about the Council members. Everything.

  Abigail felt dizzy, and not from fatigue. Nonetheless, she stayed there as her ears picked up every bit of information Kaia had milked out from her short stay here. And it horrified her.

  How could they all have been so careless?

  How could we? she thought despairingly. But there was no time for despair, only actions.

  She had to warn the others before Kaia returned. She had to leave now.

  ***

  Nina felt a blow to her face, as if slapped by a frying pan. Her body reacted violently, and she sat up abruptly, gasping for breath and absolutely drenched in sweat. She was back in bed, Kevin standing over her with a wailing Dahlia in his arms.

  “What had happened to you?” Kevin demanded, looking so worried that Nina felt extremely guilty of the things she made him put up with. She looked down at her hands, embarrassed. Kevin only sighed, but out of relief and engulfed his mate in his arms.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I just get so worried about you, you know?”

  “I really tried this time, Kevin.”

  “Don’t force it away. Prophecies are a part of you,” Kevin said gently. “You’re okay, and that’s what matters to me.”

  Nina turned her head so that the side of her face was against his chest, and she looked around the room. Everyone had woken up and seemingly rushed to their room.

  “You screamed so loud,” Cassie stated. “We thought you’d been killed or something.”

  “It was honestly the scariest thing I’d heard in a while,” Luke agreed.

  “Ammara, did you really have to slap her awake?” Kalen grumbled. “Her face is all red now.”

  “I knew what I was doing, all right?”

  The room erupted in chatter in an attempt to ease everyone and bring the mood back to normal. Diana asked if anyone needed water and that she was heading out to get some for Nina. A few voices piped up, and she made her way to the door. But before she could turn the knob, the door flew open right in her face.

  “Oh, my goodness!” Cassie cried as Diana fell back. Fergus roared angrily as he rushed forward to her, but Kalen’s face blew up behind his lips and turned red as he tried to contain his laughter.

  “Everyone! I’ve…oh, god damn it. I am so sorry Diana, I…” Abigail stopped short and moved away quickly as Fergus growled at her menacingly. Ammara twisted Kalen’s ear who apologized profusely for laughing as Heather and Cassie rushed to Diana to check on her,

  “Guys, I’m fine. Just a nosebleed. It’s okay. Abigail,” Diana waved her hand at everyone to shoo them away, “you were saying?”

  “It’s Kaia.” Abigail rushed, bringing everyone to attention.

  Trouble. It was about time trouble showed its face.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I figured,” yawned a sleepy Samuel coming up behind her. “So I wanted to keep watch. I fell asleep, though.”

  “Alas!” Kalen cried dramatically, and everyone gave him a dubious look. He glared right back at them. Nina could only explain his face as ‘done with life.’ All the other men in the room didn’t seem too happy e
ither, but Kalen was beyond the point of caring anymore.

  “We’re not even going to argue about how this happened.” Luke’s finger wagged exasperatedly. “Details would be appreciated, Abigail. Quick.”

  She rushed it to the important parts, about how she called upon to communicate with someone at the heart of Kalen’s territory and all that she had told. “So, we should definitely expect an attack soon.”

  Kalen only grunted and took to marching out of the room. “I’m reinforcing the barriers. You guys take care of Kaia in the meantime. Also, I want her to be here when I return.” His next words sent goosebumps popping on everyone’s skin. “I don’t take kindly to spies.”

  Once out of eye-shot, they let loose the breaths they were holding. “Okay, but who let Kaia in, though?” someone piped up, and Luke whacked them upside the head.

  “Boys, we’re going on patrol,” the alpha bear ordered. Kevin and Fergus were reluctant to leave their mates behind, but seeing him walk over to Cassie and kissing her forehead as he told her he trusted her and that she was strong enough to take anyone, they understood the ladies were in no greater danger without them, either. They followed after Luke who punched contacts into his cellphone to call upon reinforcements.

  “I’ll call upon my witches from before,” Ammara suggested, “They shouldn’t be too far off.”

  “We’ll need all the help we can get,” Samuel agreed. “I’ll be patrolling with the others in the meantime. Call me when Kaia arrives.”

  “Sure.”

  As he left, the women assembled themselves to take to the entrance of their site and await Kaia’s return. Nina felt awry and didn’t want her child to be in Kaia’s line of sight. She couldn’t believe how foolish she had been to so easily warm up to her, give her a name, and welcome her so warmly. Only to be betrayed this way. Betrayal was not a new concept, but it had been so long that it left a fresh scar on her criticism of judgement and intuition. She felt that she couldn’t trust herself anymore.