Jodi shook off the feeling. There was nothing there. It was just her imagination. She proceeded into the library. She quickly found the book she was looking for and checked it out, and then made her way across the campus toward the main building, for her next class. On the way, she passed an old storage shed that was so overgrown with ivy that the front of the building wasn’t even visible. A strange scent caught her attention, something dark and foul like death and decay. The sinister feeling returned, and she spun around. Jodi caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eyes. It was a tall man, dressed in black. She’d seen him stepping into the shadows under the ivy.
Jodi approached the building, peering into the darkness. The lingering scent washed over her, and a chill crawled down her spine. It was a revolting smell, something she feared and hated all at once, and yet she had no idea what it might be. Jodi pulled the vines apart and stepped into the sheltered canopy under the arch. The heavy wooden door at the front of the building was black with age, and the wrought iron fittings were covered with rust. A layer of leaves and soil pressed up against the base of the door. It looked like no one had opened that door in decades.
Jodi glanced around to be sure no one was watching, and then grasped the handle and pulled. It was locked. Probably rusted shut, too. She frowned. She was sure she’d seen a man go into that entryway. She thought back, trying to focus the image in her mind. If she remembered correctly, he’d been wearing a heavy suit of black material and an old-fashioned fedora hat. The man was no professor, she was sure of that much. Those were the clothes of a man-in-black, a Shadowlord. The scent that filled her nostrils confirmed that much, as did the crawling sensation that sent shivers across her skin.
Whatever it was, he was gone. If she was right, Jodi would have to warn Gabriel and Pete. She wondered if she should tell Starling, too. The Commander would probably want to know that her base had been infiltrated by a Shadowlord. Then again, maybe she already knew…
Jodi turned to leave and the shadow next to her came alive. The Shadowlord appeared as if out of nowhere, and stepped forward. Jodi didn’t even have time to scream as it reached out and caught her by the face.
“Forget,” it said in a hissing whisper. “Forget the past…”
The scent of the Shadow washed over her. A moan escaped Jodi’s lips and her eyes fluttered. She felt the filthy presence of the Shadowlord crawling into her mind. Instinctively, she jerked away. The Shadowlord pressed forward, pushing her up against the door. “Forget,” it said again.
Jodi felt an instinctive fear deep inside of her, and she struggled wildly against the creature. The Shadowlord was impossibly strong. It gripped her wrists with hands like bands of iron, its pale skin icy cold against her. A cold chill crawled up and down her spine and sent shivers out along her limbs. The Shadowlord’s presence in her mind surged forward, overwhelming her senses, but still Jodi fought. And then something happened. Something neither the Shadowlord nor Jodi expected. Something else appeared inside Jodi, something that was different from her and yet part of her all at the same time. It was an animal, a creature of the wild, fearless and filled with an instinctive hatred of the putrefying scent of the Shadow.
Jodi screamed. Her body twisted convulsively, bones cracking up and down her entire frame. Somewhere deep inside Jodi’s mind, the beast drove the Shadowlord back. The Shadowlord loosened his grip, confused. Jodi fell backwards and landed hard on the ground, writhing in pain. The Shadowlord watched her for a moment and then reached for her again.
“No!” Jodi shouted, but the word came out more like a growl or a bark.
The rest of the change happened in a split second. In the twinkling of an eye, Jodi’s human body vanished and a wolf appeared. A deep, fearsome snarl erupted from her lips and the Shadowlord took a step back.
Jodi’s vision changed. The reds and greens around her faded into the background and became dull, washed-out gray. The color yellow jumped to the forefront, as if no other color had ever existed. Then came the dull, washed out-blue to fill in the gaps. Suddenly the world around her was a deep midnight blue monochrome, sharpened at the edges by yellows and reds, colored by the vivid scents that washed over her…
The Shadowlord cautiously reached for her and Jodi instinctively snapped at him. Her jaws closed around his hand for a split second and then she let go. The Shadowlord recoiled, turning to flee through the wall of ivy and out onto the lawn. Jodi leaped after him, long canine fangs stretching for his jugular. She slammed into his back with her full weight and they went down in a heap.
Jodi lost her balance and rolled sideways. Immediately, she bounded back to her paws. She spun in a wild circle, heart racing, eyes searching for the creature. The Shadowlord was gone. He had vanished.
Jodi circled the area for a moment, sniffing at the leaf-covered grass. The scent of the Shadow was everywhere, like a spotlight shining on the entire area, but it was a trail that led nowhere. It simply ended. Jodi raised her head at the sound of voices, and saw a crowd gathering on the lawn. Someone screamed.
Jodi bolted, her body little more than a streak of brownish-red fur bounding across the campus. She easily leapt the eight-foot fence at the edge of the campus and vanished into the woods beyond.
Chapter 22
The moment Gabriel returned to his bedroom that morning, he realized he’d forgotten to ask Aldron something important. Gabriel’s training had progressed rapidly in the previous two nights and he hoped he would be able to bring the orphans into the Shadow world with a few more practice sessions, but he had no idea when it was supposed to happen, or where they were going to stay after it was done. He wanted to get all of the details sorted out ahead of time so there wouldn’t be any mistakes. That way, if he did have to alter his plans at the last minute, he wouldn’t endanger the orphans.
Naturally, just as Gabriel realized that he needed to talk to Aldron, he heard Jodi coming down the hallway towards his room. He had a feeling that if she saw him awake, she’d want to talk. If he let that happen, he’d lose his chance to talk to Aldron. So, Gabriel dove into his bed and pulled the covers up. It wasn’t hard to pretend he was asleep. He was so exhausted that he could have fallen asleep right there.
He heard the sound of the door opening as she came in and looked him over. She quietly left, closing the door behind her. Gabriel felt a tinge of guilt as he heard her footsteps going down the stairs. It’s not exactly lying, he told himself. And she wouldn’t understand. It’s for her own good. It’s for the best, for all of us.
Gabriel closed his eyes and reached for the Shadow world. It only took a moment to reach the power, latch onto it, and vanish. He reappeared in the cave in the Shadow world. “Aldron?” he said. There was no answer but the dripping of water and the rush of air through the catacombs. Aldron had already left.
Gabriel ran out of the cave and down towards the lake, hoping to catch the older man before he got too far. Unfortunately, Aldron wasn’t there either. Gabriel ended up racing all the way up to the mouth of the tunnel on the side of the mountain. He stood there for a moment, scanning the slope and the valley beyond. Then a small moving shadow on the adjacent ridge caught his eye.
The figure looked like Aldron, but Gabriel couldn’t be certain because of the distance and the dim light. He started to call out, but then bit his tongue. If it wasn’t Aldron, he might be attracting the attention of someone sinister… possibly even a Shadowlord. Not to mention the dozens of shadowcreatures that were probably within earshot, many of which would love a nice tasty human for breakfast.
Gabriel took a moment to decide what to do. He’d have to get back to the base soon, but Jodi had already been to his room and left. That meant he probably had some time. He figured he could afford twenty minutes or so without getting caught.
Gabriel took off down the slope, trailing after the shadowy figure as fast as he could run. In a short time, he had crossed the valley and started the climb on the far side. When he reached the summit and saw the tower
of the Black Palace rising up in the distance, he caught his breath. The first time he’d seen it, the sinister edifice had seemed far away. Now, it was only a few miles in the distance, and the imposing structure loomed over the land like some sort of dark god.
A great clamor rose up, and Gabriel saw that thousands of men and goblins and strange creatures were toiling in the mines around the castle. They drew great carts out of the earth, loaded with dirt and massive chunks of stone. Other workers crushed these into manageable pieces with great sledgehammers, and then fed them into towering black furnaces that billowed great black clouds of smoke endlessly into the air. Around them, Gabriel saw blacksmiths and engineers working to build war machines and weapons, and he remembered what Aldron had said:
“The Shadowlords know their magic will not work in your world, so they’re building war machines… they will attack your mountain bunker soon!”
He threw his gaze back and forth in awe, wondering at all he saw below. The first time Aldron had shown him the Shadow army, it hadn’t been half this size. There were more workers now, more slaves, and more war machines. Many more. Black smoke rolled up from the forges and the glow of the foundries radiated through the darkness around the castle. Dark shapes moved back and forth across the land like a swarm of ants on a piece of discarded food.
Gabriel glanced around, suddenly wondering what had become of Aldron. He was sure he’d seen the man come this way, but why would Aldron have gone towards the Black Palace? Had he gone there to spy on the Shadowlords, to learn of their plans and assess the danger? Had he gone to sabotage their machines, and thereby slow the Shadow’s preparations? Gabriel could only guess.
He quietly made his way down the rocky slope to a steep ledge that overlooked the encamped army. There, he pressed himself down against the flat stone precipice and gazed out over the plain. Flashes of steel weapons glittered here and there in the darkness, and a thousand campfires threw their light out against the gloom. Nearly invisible against the sky, dark-skinned wyvern and varsifur circled ominously overhead, dashing in and around the great dirigible warships.
Near the base of the tower, a large group of shadowfriends and green-skinned goblins lifted heavy iron chains and began pulling something large out of the earth. There came a roar and a flash of fire from the pit, and a creature appeared, a beast of such great proportion that Gabriel caught his breath and nearly fled in terror. It was a dragon, a behemoth of a creature that dwarfed any living thing Gabriel had ever seen. It rose up out of the pit and climbed up onto the cracked and barren soil, the earth rumbling beneath its heavy steps. The dragon struggled against the chains bound around its waist and snout, and it snorted great billowing flames forth from its nostrils.
The dragon relaxed for a moment as if it had conceded, and the chains went slack. The goblins took this as a sign, and loosened their grip on the chains. Instantly, the beast reared up. A dozen bodies flew into the air, and the chains fell to the ground. Shadowfriends and creatures fell upon one another in their panic to escape. The dragon shook the great chain from its snout and released a deep, fiery breath upon the crowd. The sound of screams and howls of terror filled the air.
The crowd parted as a Shadowlord stepped forward. He raised his hand, palm facing the creature, and spoke words that Gabriel could not hear. The dragon instantly gave up the fight. It heaved a great sigh and settled down on the ground, like a cat curling up on a pillow for a nap. The Shadowlord stepped forward to touch the beast on the forehead and it promptly closed its eyes and went to sleep. A cheer rose among the encampment.
The workers quickly moved to stake the chains down with great steel posts they had driven into the earth. They had just finished this process when Gabriel heard a shout followed by the blaring of trumpets. The sound drew his gaze to the top of the tower, where a group of men had appeared on one of the balconies. He saw Victor there, and a handful of Shadowlords… and among them, Gabriel saw Aldron. He looked different. His skin was paler, his eyes darker, but he still wore the same clothes and there was no doubt in Gabriel’s mind that it was him.
Aldron stepped forward and a cheer went up amongst the soldiers. “I have wonderful news,” he exclaimed. “Two of the statues are now in our possession, and by the end of the week we shall have them all!” Another great cheer went up, and Aldron waited for the screaming and chanting to die down. Finally, he continued:
“The foolish humans have collected the statues and brought them together with the machine, ready for us to take. At last, victory is within our grasp. D.A.S. has been annihilated.” The shadowkind roared at that, stomping on the ground and hammering their weapons together in an ear-shattering noise. The ground shook beneath their feet like an earthquake.
“Within hours, the Shadow-born children will be in our possession and mankind will stand defenseless against us. This is our moment. Even now, the planets move towards the alignment that will throw the earth into darkness.” Another cheer went up, this time so loud that it hurt Gabriel’s ears. The warriors stomped on the ground with their heavy boots and slammed their spears and swords into their shields.
“Today we march,” Aldron continued after the noise had died down. “Tonight, the mighty Red Star will align with the earth’s sun, and at the exact moment of alignment, we will activate the machine. After this day, there will be no more hunger, no more fear… after today, our world will be whole!”
A large hand clamped down on Gabriel’s shoulder and he almost jumped out of his skin. He spun around, his hands clenching into fists. He stood face to face with a hideous, green-skinned troll.
Chapter 23
That afternoon, Pete found himself alone in the Tech Sector. Hank had gone off to help some of the other lab workers with a problem, leaving Pete alone with the fiber optic solar array. As fascinating as this was, there was something more important that drew him away. Pete nonchalantly wandered to the back of the sector and entered the giant room that housed the clockwork machine. He had started calling it that because he didn’t know the actual name of the thing and he couldn’t think of a better description.
It stood in the center of the room like a tower, rising more than twenty feet in the air. The base was approximately fifteen feet in diameter and it tapered slightly towards the top. The lines were not symmetrical, and there was something slightly disconcerting about the shape. Pete felt like the machine was pulling him in as he stared at it.
A low humming sound came from deep inside the device, almost like the sound of a generator spinning. Gears clicked and whirred here and there for no apparent reason. It was impossible to discern how they were connected or what purpose they might serve without taking the machine apart. The only telling thing was the presence of the statues. The fact that the Shadow was after them and that the government had been collecting them could only mean one thing: the machine was some sort of weapon.
Pete slowly circled the base, looking for clues as to how the machine worked or what exactly it was supposed to do. It looked extremely old, judging by the patina of black and green that covered most of the machine’s surface. Brass gears and steel springs were visible from every angle, all the way up to the top. Large gears connected to small gears, sprockets connected to chains, and rivets and rods held it all together. The deeper Pete looked into the device, the more perplexed he felt.
“What are you?” Pete said quietly. He reached out and touched the rough, blackened surface, feeling the coarse texture under his fingertips. The machine hummed and clicked quietly.
An idea struck him, and Pete glanced at his watch. He looked back at the machine. There seemed to be a pattern to some of the sounds, as if they repeated at regular intervals. Was it counting? Was the machine some sort of time-keeping device?
No, he thought. Who would build a clock like this? Why make something so huge, so intricate just to keep time?
He stood back, contemplating. “You’re not a clock,” he whispered, thinking aloud. “A clock is simple. A spring contains the ener
gy to turn the gears. The gears turn at certain speeds to simulate the passage of time. One tick is a second, sixty ticks a minute…”
Pete’s eyes lit up. He stepped back even further, trying to view the entire machine at once. “Aha!” he said. “That’s why you’re so big! A clock is simple because it only tracks the passage of time by measuring the movement of the earth and the sun. … you don’t just keep track of one planet and one star. You keep track of thousands, maybe millions…”
A dark figure emerged from the shadows to his right, and Pete leapt backwards. He stumbled and slammed into the wall behind him. The Shadowlord stepped forward and reached out, pressing its palm to his face.
“Forget,” it said in a hissing voice. “Forget everything…”
Chapter 24
As Victor cut the cable Reeves was hanging from, it became instantly clear in Reeves’ mind that he was about to die. He had a split second to twist the cable around his arm, hoping it would break his fall before hit the floor. Thousands of slithering vipers awaited his landing. Reeves knew that the instant he touched them, the serpents’ instinctive reaction would be to lash out and sink their fangs into him. Then, as he laid in his death throes, with blood leaking from his nose and eyes, they’d slither away to safety.
But as Reeves plummeted towards an inevitably painful and horrendous death, the booby -trap on the altar gave way. His multi-tool had slipped out of the crack, and the center of the altar jumped up, releasing some sort of pressure valve. The result was that, as Reeves plunged toward his death, the floor dropped a dozen feet lower. The ground below him and the venomous vipers disappeared into darkness, and a thousand sharpened spikes thrust up into the air.
Shadow Rising (Shadow Born Trilogy Book 2) Page 12
