Soul Shade (Soul Stones Book 2)

by T. L. Branson

Maya gasped. “You’re a shifter, but I thought that power belonged to—are you Erintos?”

  “Hah!” the second elf said. “Hardly.”

  Farrow sneered at him.

  “Consider yourself lucky that the Lord of the North is not here,” the elf said.

  “Then what are you?” Maya asked, activating the Soul Sight.

  A headache split her skull and she hissed in pain. The soul of the man—the elf—before her was still blurry, but then his soul grew sharper and took on a brown hue. As the haze disappeared so, too, did the migraines.

  Headaches, illusions, uncharacteristic behaviors, Merva said, then cursed. I should have seen this coming.

  What? Maya asked.

  Farrow pulled a brown stone out of his pocket.

  “Is that a—?”

  “—soul stone?” Farrow said. “Meet Kudu.”

  The face of a regal-looking elf with long brown hair appeared in her mind. Atop his head sat a golden leaf coronet. Maya winced as the throbbing in her head returned. Farrow grunted and gritted his teeth.

  He’s your counter, Merva said. Your powers are less effective on each other.

  “So, you’re like me,” Maya said, realization dawning on her. “You create things that aren’t real?”

  “I assure you this is very real,” Farrow said.

  A sword appeared in his hand. Raising it, he stuck the flat of the blade under her chin, the cold steel sending chills down her spine. Farrow pressed the point of the sword into her throat. A pinprick of pain pinched her skin, and she felt a drop of blood run down her neck. Then the sword, the pain, and the blood vanished.

  Maya blinked in confusion.

  “Maybe this will help you,” Farrow said.

  Maya’s headache came rushing back, along with an intense desire to strangle Farrow. She ground her teeth and hissed. Tugging at her bonds, she growled in anger and thrashed her head from side to side violently.

  “When I get out of these things I’m going to kill you!” Maya screamed. “I’ll kill every last elf!”

  Then all at once the anger disappeared, and her heart rate slowed as a smooth, calming sensation washed over her. Maya took a deep breath and shuddered as she released it.

  “You—You were in my head,” she said.

  “I changed the way your brain perceived your situation,” he said. “Whereas you alter the world around you, I alter your mind. The sword wasn’t really there, but you thought it was.”

  Maya’s eyes widened once more with realization. “So when my sea serpent attacked the pier?”

  “I gave it strength and weight by altering the minds of you and everyone on that dock,” Farrow said.

  “That night we met, you were trying to kill me, not save me,” Maya said.

  “Your waking from that nightmare was poor timing. Another minute and you’d have been dead,” Farrow admitted. “Briggs wasn’t really in the room. Sadly for him, since I made him out to be dead, I had to go out and kill him for real.”

  “You’re a monster,” she spat.

  “It’s called survival,” Farrow said. “Consider it a casualty of war.”

  Maya snorted. “And the dragon?”

  Farrow looked away. “That… was unfortunately very real. Though I chased it off by making it think an even larger dragon was after it.”

  Maya furrowed her eyebrows, “But I didn’t see—”

  “I was too tired to use my power on you, I focused solely on the—”

  “All right, enough gabbing, Thallan,” the other elf said.

  “Thallan?” Maya asked. “So Farrow isn’t even your real name. Was everything about you a lie?”

  The more she thought about it, Maya didn’t remember him sharing one bit of personal information with her in the week or so that they’d known each other. Now she knew why.

  “The only lie here is you,” Farrow—now Thallan—said. “You think yourself a queen, but you have no kingdom to rule over. The land you call ‘Aralith’ does not rightfully belong to you, it belongs to Morathil and we will take it back.”

  Thallan changed his appearance into his elf form once more.

  “I’m going to do you a favor,” he said. “Since you aren’t likely to survive the next few hours, I’ll tell you what’s going to happen when you’re gone. I’m going to masquerade around as you and rally your people to fight against the big bad enemy. Then, when all your armies are gathered, we’ll ambush them and take them out in one fell swoop.”

  Maya clenched her hands and gave Thallan a stare that would have murdered him if looks could kill.

  “First, I’m going to take your crown,” Thallan said. “Then, I’m going to take your family. Do you know what I’ll do after that?”

  He stepped in closer and placed his mouth an inch away from Maya’s ear. Maya closed her eyes, and it took every ounce of energy to restrain from hitting him.

  In the faintest of whispers, he said, “Ophi is watching. She sees and hears all. If you want to get out of this alive, do as I say and don’t argue. Use your power to seal this room and block it from prying eyes.”

  Then he stepped away and uttered a perfectly wicked laugh as if he’d just told her something absolutely terrifying. Maya didn’t know what to think of this turn of events. Was he trying to kill her or trying to save her? It was terribly confusing, and her head started hurting for entirely different reasons.

  Could she trust him? Was he telling the truth?

  He’s not lying, Merva said.

  Wait a minute, you knew about this power of Ophi’s and didn’t tell me? Maya asked.

  I assumed you already knew, Merva replied. She’s not called the Soul Seer for nothing.

  Will what he suggests work? Maya asked.

  Yes, Merva said. You blocked Will from seeing and hearing you shouting at him the day Luka died, remember? What he is asking you to do is not so different.

  Maya delved deep into her core and pulled on her magic, then thrust it outward. A burst of red, interwoven arcs of energy, like a spider’s web, filled the room, sticking to every surface. It pulsed and coursed with life.

  The second elf said, “What’s she—”

  Thallan pulled a dagger from his waist and thrust it into the elf’s heart. The man’s eyes went wide with shock, and then dimmed as life fled from him. Maya was equally amazed at his sudden ferocity.

  Moving around Maya and kneeling down behind her, Thallan cut the ropes binding her to the chair.

  “Why are you doing this?” Maya asked, standing. “Tell me what’s going on, and I want the truth. No more lies.”

  “They have my brother,” Thallan said.

  “Who has your brother?” Maya asked.

  “Ophi and Erintos,” he said. “When the gods returned from their imprisonment, they weren’t met with open and loving arms. Many of us had chosen to forget the past and move on. But they wouldn’t take no for an answer. Eventually, enough of my elven brethren came around and pledged their fealty to our long-lost queen and her war against humanity.

  “Ophi wasn’t satisfied that a small faction still refused her, so she rounded us all up and began slaughtering us one by one until Erintos arrived and stopped her. He convinced her to spare our lives by making us their pawns instead. So they sent us to infiltrate your kingdom while they held our loved ones hostage. If we fail our mission, we die. If we refuse, our family dies.”

  “And you were to kill me?” Maya asked.

  Thallan nodded. “Erintos sent a letter to the kingdoms trying to save himself the trouble. He’d hoped they would do it for him.”

  “They tried,” Maya said. “But I’m not so easily done away with.”

  “I was their backup plan. I infiltrated Havan and killed the real Farrow before you arrived. He’s at the bottom of the canal,” Thallan said. “That first night, you were just a mark—a way to buy my brother’s freedom. In the days that followed, the ship was too crowded, my every move watched. Even if I’d have been able to kill you and block the mind
s of every single person on that ship, I had nowhere to go. I couldn’t hold up the ruse for days—my magic falls apart when I’m asleep. Someone would have figured out the truth and I would have been dead.

  “Then you saved my life, and… I don’t know,” he continued. “I couldn’t kill you anymore. But you must understand that my brother’s life is still in danger. When you take down the seal, Ophi will know what happened here. I can’t come with you. It has to look like you overpowered me, killed Jharak, and escaped.”

  “No,” Maya said. “I’m not leaving you.”

  “Then my brother is as good as dead,” he said. “And I won’t let that happen. Make no mistake, I will kill you before I let him die.”

  “And if I take you prisoner?” Maya said. “What then?”

  “It could work,” he said. “But what would be the point? I couldn’t fight for you.”

  “Have you asked yourself what happens if I escape?” she said. “Won’t Ophi just kill your brother anyway?

  Thallan snorted. “I’m so stupid,” he said, shaking his head. “Of course she will.”

  “But if I take you prisoner, there’s still a shot that you break free and kill me, so Ophi won’t think the mission is a total bust, right?” Maya asked.

  “That sounds like a stretch,” Thallan said.

  “Do you have a better plan?”

  “Besides killing you and completing my mission?” Thallan asked.

  Maya chuckled nervously, unsure whether he would change his mind and do just that.

  No, not after the tremendous risk he took to protect me, or so he says.

  Maya had no way to know if there really was a brother. This was normally where she would check to see if he was lying, but every time she’d tried to use her powers on him it ended badly for her.

  “So what do you—”

  An explosion shook the ground. Shouts erupted on the other side of the door and the stomping of feet grew louder, then faded away.

  “Hit me,” Thallan said, alarmed.

  “What?” Maya asked incredulously.

  “Drop the seal, then hit me and tie me up,” Thallan answered. “Do it.”

  The webbing of red energy dissipated and Maya punched Thallan in the face, knocking him to the ground. She probably hit him a lot harder than she’d needed to, but he deserved it.

  She tied him up using the rope that had held her only minutes earlier, then hoisted him to his feet. Pulling the dagger from Jharak’s body, she held it to Thallan’s back and said, “Open the door.”

  The metal hinges squeaked as the iron door swung inward. Something heavy smashed into a body just out of sight, the echo of snapping bones reverberating down the hall. A moment later an elf landed on his back in front of the open door, his chest caved in and blood trickling from his open mouth.

  Maya pushed Thallan through the door. He screamed and cringed as he looked away. Emerging from the room, Maya saw a thickset older man in full battle armor swinging a giant hammer at Thallan’s head.

  At the sight of Maya, the armored man halted and stayed his hammer from crushing Thallan’s skull.

  “Maya?” the man asked in an inquiring tone.

  “You first,” she said, scanning the room for enemies.

  “Name’s Ari,” he said. “We’re here to rescue you.”

  Two more soldiers, a younger man and woman, ran up.

  The man said, “They’ve got us blocked in. It’s going to be a blood bath on both sides trying to get out of here. I hope this girl was worth—”

  His eyes drifted from Ari to Maya. “My queen!” he said, bowing. To Ari he added, “You didn’t say the queen was our target.”

  “Didn’t want to tip off the enemy,” Ari replied. “I protect this godsforsaken city and they made it in undetected. Until I know how deep their infiltration runs, best to keep details to a minimum. Enough chatter, let’s get out of here.”

  “Is there another exit to this place?” Maya asked, pressing the knife into Thallan’s back for effect.

  “No,” he said quickly. Then he added, “Umm… yes. It’s not a door, but there are windows in the supply room at the back. We might be able to reach it and climb out.”

  “Good enough,” Ari said, motioning for Thallan to lead the way.

  “Over here!” someone shouted.

  “Go!” Ari yelled as they all took off at a run.

  They ran down the hall, turned left, and then took a sharp right.

  “There,” Thallan said, nodding toward a door, “That’s it.”

  Ari ran ahead and pushed the door open. The small closet was barely big enough for the five of them. When they were all inside, Ari closed the door and barred it with a chair, then slid a cabinet over the rest of it.

  “That’ll hold for a little while, but not long,” he said.

  The door handle jiggled and someone pounded on the door. “They’re in here!” the voice said.

  The window Thallan mentioned was little more than three feet wide and a foot and a half tall.

  “We’re supposed to fit through that?” the young woman scoffed.

  “Not with armor,” Ari said. “Leave it all behind.”

  “You can’t be serious,” the young man said.

  “I’m as serious as a beard on a goat,” Ari said. “Shed your gear or die in this place.”

  The three of them shucked their armor while Maya moved a table beneath the window.

  “Up,” Maya told Thallan.

  He held up his bound hands and said, “These are going to make it hard to get out of that.”

  Maya cut the ropes and said, “If you try to run, I’ll kill you. If you attack me, I’ll kill you. Do we understand each other?”

  Thallan nodded and climbed onto the table. Pushing the window open, he grabbed the ledge of the windowsill and pulled himself up and halfway through the opening. He tried to spin around, though the gap wasn’t large enough. He started to come back in, but Ari had hopped up onto the table and pushed him through. His legs disappeared and Maya heard a thud, followed by a groan.

  Ari reached for Maya’s hand to pull her up.

  “I think I can do this myself, thank you very much,” she said.

  He shrugged and helped his comrades.

  Maya put her back to the wall and reached through the window, grabbing the frame from the outside. She pulled her head through first, then lifted her body out and swung her legs through. Falling about ten feet, she landed upright, racing over to Thallan and placing the dagger in his back once more.

  “Are you all right?” she said, leaning close to whisper in his ear.

  Thallan gave an almost imperceptible nod. The young man came through the window, followed by the woman and then Ari’s hammer. As Ari himself climbed through, he got stuck.

  “Bah!” he grumbled. “Remind me to cut back on the cinnamon rolls.”

  Wood splintered inside the room and a loud bang escaped through the window. Ari wriggled faster to get through the opening.

  He was suddenly yanked back into the room about a foot, but resisted and regained his ground. He sucked in a great breath and pulled as hard as he could. His body made it through, and he joined them on the ground a moment later.

  An elf’s head appeared through the window.

  Hoisting his hammer, Ari swung.

  The elf’s eyes grew large and he withdrew his head a half a second before Ari’s weapon crashed through the window, shattering the frame. He readied his weapon once more and waited for the elves to try again.

  When no pursuit came, Ari led them around to the front of the warehouse. Ten more steel-plated soldiers and a woman wearing black leather armor were engaged in battle with nearly as many elves, who had taken up a defensive position in front of the structure.

  “Khate!” Ari shouted.

  The woman spun around, sword raised to defend against a surprise attack. “Ari? What in Iket’s name—?”

  “Never mind that, let’s go,” he said, beckoning Khate and the othe
rs to follow him. “Fall back, boys!”

  One by one the soldiers broke their positions. The last man pulled a chunk of pyridis from the satchel over his shoulder and tossed it at the elves, then turned and followed the others. The elves all dove for cover as the pyridis smashed into the ground and exploded.

  Maya didn’t wait to see if any had been injured as she turned and ran after Ari, the soldiers filing in around her. They ran uphill through Penrythe’s streets—beggars, homeless, and ruffians scrambling away from the rushing wall of iron and steel.

  29

  Ocken moved about the cave, helping the people of Celesti pack up their belongings. He and Robert had waited with them through the night, but no more elves had come. The enemy either didn’t know about the survivors or didn’t care about them. Ocken found the last thought disconcerting.

  If the elves knew and didn’t bother to hunt them down, then it showed a complete confidence in their abilities. An enemy who feared defeat pressed every advantage and eliminated every possible threat. The elves seemed to be doing neither.

  Where were they? Why bother attacking at all if they didn’t immediately press on to Luton?

  These questions bothered Ocken, and something about the situation hadn’t sat right with him. His first thought was to chart off into the unknown and find the answers he desired. But to go into the elves’ territory with no knowledge of the area and with no support was a suicide mission.

  At the same time, he’d been on suicide missions in the past and still he endured. But those had been much simpler times. Besides, Ocken couldn’t rightly leave these people to fend for themselves knowing full well that the elves might not have been aware of survivors and would chase them down and wipe them out if they were discovered.

  “Your assistance is much appreciated,” Gus said, walking up to Ocken.

  “Anything for Robert,” he said. “We’ll get you safely to Luton, but then I’m afraid we’ll need to part ways.”

  “Don’t apologize,” Gus said. “Truth be told, I’m shocked you’ve stuck around this long. Robert told me you’re both in the new queen’s inner circle. I can’t imagine knowledge of the elves’ invasion is widespread, but I trust that the queen is doing everything in her power to prepare for it. By all accounts you should be out looking for a way to stop them.”