by Anna Hub
Tara stopped. “What did you say?”
“Do you know how the shadows become a portal between the two worlds?”
“How the shadows become what?"
I frowned. “The portal.”
“I can’t hear you properly, Selena.”
There was no reason why she shouldn’t. “I want to know more about the shadows and how they brought us here.”
She shook her head, holding her hands up in exasperation. “Then ask your question.”
“I already did.”
“Then I didn’t hear you.” She grumbled and carried on.
For a moment, I was left in utter shock. Brayden and Tara continued as though nothing had happened but something clearly wasn’t right.
I’d made no effort to talk to her about the shadows before. It was something I’d always been curious about but there’d been so many other things to worry about. Now that I thought about it, it seemed strange the elders hadn’t mentioned them either. They’d asked so many questions about my passing and how Brayden and I met, but when I mentioned the shadows they didn’t acknowledge it. It was such an integral part of their world, how could they neglect it?
“Tara?” I hurried to catch up with her.
“What?”
“Do you know the shadows are the portal between the two worlds?”
“It’s like you’re talking and the words don’t make any sense. I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but we haven’t got time to play games.”
“Let me ask you something else then. When you first came to this world did you wonder how you got here?”
“I was too busy trying to stay alive."
“But you still had questions right? You asked yourself why this happened to you.”
“I guess.”
“Did you ask anyone else those questions?”
She thought hard as she continued walking. “You should talk to Bill about this stuff. He can probably answer your questions.”
Matt had spoken about him before. The science professor. While I had every intention of speaking to him, it still disturbed me that Tara seemed so disinterested.
“Did you ever notice your shadow moving?” I asked her.
“It moves all the time.”
“In the Origin I mean.”
“They don’t move there.”
“They move when we move,” I corrected her.
“No they don’t.”
She was a logical person; she was smart enough to figure things out on her own which meant something had to be wrong with her. I couldn’t imagine why or how, but considering what I’d learnt about the village so far, I guessed it had something to do with them.
“Is everyone like this?” I asked.
She opened her mouth but Brayden cut her off before she could say anything.
“Shh.” He stopped walking.
A woman appeared in the distance. I took a step forward but Brayden pulled me back; his hand spread over my stomach as he stood close behind me.
The woman’s hair was matted together in a knot and her body was decorated with the dirt of the Valley. She scooped her shadow into her arms as her ghostly eyes settled on us.
“Aren’t you going to do something?” Tara nudged Brayden’s shoulder causing me to lose my balance.
He gripped me tighter and as I found my footing, the sunlight reached my feet. My shadow formed and I quickly snatched it into my arms, afraid the hunter would attack while I was distracted. I nearly ran but Brayden secured me against him as he stared at the ground.
A small creature hung at the edge of the tree’s shadow as though it was a border it couldn't cross. Its skin morphed in black and brown camouflage. If Brayden hadn't stared at it so intently, I wouldn't have even seen it.
"The hunter," Tara urged as she raised her bow.
Brayden’s Instinct always forced him to focus on the strongest threat first. Whatever this small creature could do, it was obviously worse than the hunter. Its skin shifted again as it shuffled closer to us.
“Tara?” I stared. “Tara, get out of the sun.”
Her arrow spun off target as I yanked her back. The hunter crouched and flicked her shadow out to attack us. Brayden caught it in his fist and the woman snarled and braced herself. He pinned her shadow to the ground and the camouflaged creature attached itself to the black mass. The hunter fell to the ground, her shadow slowly fading to a pale grey.
“Is she dead?” I asked as she fell limp.
“No,” Brayden replied.
“What the hell is that?” Tara stared.
Brayden took my hand, his fingers slipping between mine. “Let’s get out of here.”
Chapter Twelve
The forest rushed past as we ran and between the gaps of foliage, I caught sight of a brown torso—the dark fur of a whip cat waiting in our midst. But once again, it showed no aggression towards us and soon after, whip tails cracked in the distance. Did that mean they’d found the injured hunter we'd left behind?
Brayden finally slowed. His eyes filtered back to brown and the danger of the camouflaged creature must have been left behind. His hand still gripped mine, loosely now as though by choice rather than necessity. I stared down at it.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I lifted my head, still struggling to catch my breath. His eyes seemed less vacant now and I wrapped my arms around his neck impulsively. He hugged me back and I closed my eyes, relieved to be in his embrace when he seemed like his old self again.
“What was that thing?” Tara asked.
I pulled away and Brayden shook his head. "I don't know."
“It was like it ate her shadow. What does that mean?” I wiped sweat from beneath my eyes.
Tara pulled at her braid. “But she didn’t die, right?”
The question was aimed at Brayden but he climbed a nearby tree without answering.
Tara looked at me. "And what about the whip cats? Why are they always here but never attacking?"
"It wasn't like this the last time we were here," I said. So much had changed. Not just the whip cats but the other creatures that had appeared as well. Why hadn't I seen any of them before?
"Are the cats trying to lead us into a trap?" Tara asked.
Brayden spoke up from his tree. "Something’s changed. They don’t want to kill us.”
“It's almost like they're trying to protect us." I shook my head. That couldn't be right. But they had saved Tara from the reptile. They'd attacked the bats and today, they'd come when we were under attack from the hunter.
"Whip cats don't protect humans or hunters. Why on earth would they do that?" Tara exclaimed.
Something in the Valley had definitely changed. Something to make the cats feel threatened and give all the other creatures the strength to challenge them. But what really mattered was that right now, the cats were on our side. If we were smart, we could use them to keep our enemies off our backs.
"Sel, come up here," Brayden called from the tree.
Tara and I exchanged a look before I hoisted myself into the tree and used my shadow to secure myself as I climbed higher.
When I reached him, I could see right into the Valley. The river ran through the centre in clear view and I recognised places where I'd been when I first passed into this world. In the Origin, we would have been close to my old apartment. People from my old life could be walking the street below. For a moment, I almost felt like I was back in that other world.
Brayden pulled me close and pointed into the distance. A flash of bare skin caught my eye as a person hurried between the trees.
I opened my mouth to call out but quickly reminded myself that person could be a hunter. A second person came into view. Both were male; too far away for me to see the colour of their eyes. Neither of them had a shadow—but they weren't in the sun.
The first man ran while the other followed close behind.
"Is that someone from the Origin?" I grabbed Brayden's arm.
"Yes."
"Wait,” he whispered.
My heart pumped harder. The man at the front looked back, causing his feet to fumble. I flinched as his pursuer got closer but a third man dove into view and bowled the chaser to the ground.
Brayden’s shadow flew over my head as he wrapped it under my arms. “Now. Go!”
He pushed me off the branch but the shadow lowered me to the floor gently and I landed beside Tara.
I grabbed her arm as I ran. “We've found someone from the Origin. Quick."
Tara overtook with an arrow in one hand and her bow in the other. The thumping of hunters fighting was unmistakable. We didn’t have long before one of them would fall and the winner would turn on us.
As we tore through the trees, I caught sight of the man from the Origin. "Don’t run. I can help you!” I called.
The hunters turned at the sound of my voice and my heart leapt into my throat. But it wasn't me they'd seen, it was Brayden. Hunters always turned on the biggest threat first. That meant Brayden had to be stronger than both of them.
My stomach flipped at the thought of him being attacked by two at once, but Tara quickly redirected me.
“Go after the new shadow, Selena. I’ll use my bow.”
The man lingering behind a tree. He’d obviously heard me call out but wasn’t sure if he could trust me. I was caught between two minds: there was no way I could forget Brayden's battle with the two hunters, but if I didn’t rescue this man, it would all be for nothing. I forced myself to walk slowly and I tried to block the sound of the hunters behind.
I held my arms out to show I had no weapon. “You don't need to run from me. I can help you.”
As I got closer, I realised he was only a teenager. He had short dark hair and a face so completely drenched with terror, I wanted to scoop him into my arms, and comfort him.
He held his hand out and I reminded myself that I must have looked wild; covered in scratches and dirt, my hair knotted and a spider web burnt into my face. But I did have clothes. Even though they were only underwear by Origin standards, in here, they represented so much more.
“What’s your name?”
He stared, his knees bent as though he were prepared to run.
“Please don’t run," I said softly. "I know how scared you are. Not long ago, I was in the same position and I only survived because someone helped me. I can help you.”
His gaze drifted to the hunters.
“My name is Selena.”
“Don’t come any closer,” his voice shook.
I stopped moving, afraid I might lose him, “Okay, I’ll stay here for now, but we don’t have long before the hunters find us.”
“You're with them.”
“No. No, he is not like them. He's on our side.”
The boy glanced at the battle behind us.
“I promise I can help you.” I took a slow step forward. “I don’t know how long you’ve been here, but I know you've never seen anyone like me before. The Valley is the most dangerous place in this world, but I can take you somewhere safer." I continued forward until only a tree trunk stood between us.
“Selena, one’s down,” Tara warned.
“Tell me your name,” I said urgently.
"Nick.” He looked over my shoulder as Brayden fought the last hunter.
“Listen to me, Nick. You don’t have a choice. This Valley is too dangerous to survive alone. If you come with me, I can tell you how to get home.”
“Really?”
I held my hand out. “I promise.”
He extended his shaking hand. I wanted desperately to drag him closer but forced myself to wait. His brown eyes searched my face, and I smiled until he finally slipped his hand into mine. I pulled him closer and turned back to brave the scene with the hunter.
Tara had her bow pointed at the fight.
“I can’t shoot. They’re moving too fast,” she shouted.
“It’s too dangerous, they’re tangled anyway.” I didn't want her to risk shooting Brayden when he probably had a better chance of beating the hunter alone. “We have to get out of here.”
Tara nodded as she turned and saw Nick following reluctantly behind me.
I looked at the boy. “We have to run now.”
He nodded. I glanced at Brayden one last time; he was shadowless but I had to hope he was stronger than the hunter he fought.
Nick ran faster than me. I let his hand go and struggled to keep pace as we charged up the Valley slope. By the time we reached the peak, my head spun and my muscles cramped, but I forced myself to hold it together for Nick's sake.
There was no sign of Brayden or the other hunter and I couldn't ignore the panic building in my chest. How had Tara coped without knowing if Matt was safe for so long?
I offered Nick a drink from my water bag and passed around food to help with our energy levels. I took a seat on a nearby rock and when I looked up, Nick's eyes were round with fear as he stared behind me.
I turned and found Brayden just a few feet away. His eyes a ghostly shade and his expression numb.
"Wait!" Tara called out as Nick ran between the trees.
She jumped up and ran after them, Tara catching him before I could catch up with them. She held his shoulders, insisting he was safe as she marched him back to the clearing.
I rushed back to Brayden and threw my arms around him. "Thank God. Are you okay?"
“Fine.” He held my waist and stared past me to where Tara stood with the boy.
I cleared my throat and turned to Nick once again. “This is Brayden. He's on our side. And Tara too.”
Nick's dark eyes measured each one of us, then paused on Brayden. I wasn't sure where to start. Somehow I needed to explain how Brayden's Instinct was different from the other hunters. Nick would need to understand the process of transferring to the Shadowlands and eventually, I would have to tell him he would die in the Origin. I’d already lived a decent portion of my life in that world. I’d finished school, worked, loved and lost. I’d learnt almost everything I needed to know to live here. How would it feel to have it taken away before you’d grown up? How would he cope with his death which actually felt more like the death of everyone else he cared about?
Somehow I’d have to find a way to tell him. When the time was right. No doubt, he'd have hundreds of questions, but for now he seemed too afraid to ask any of them.
"We should probably set up camp for the night,” Tara suggested. "And we need a fire before it gets dark."
Nick's frown deepened at the quiver in Tara's voice.
“There's a safer location with rocks to settle amongst further that way.” Brayden pointed and began walking.
Nick waited until the other two had gone ahead, then he looked at me with uncertainty.
“It’s okay.” I nodded; relieved to see he was willing to trust me. I placed a gentle hand to his back and followed behind the others.
We set up camp in between a collection of large rocks. There were plenty of escape paths and the forest was thick enough to create shelter from the wind.
We ate most of our remaining food supplies, none of us voicing aloud how vulnerable that left us. We needed to get out of here as soon as possible, considering it would still take days to reach the village and replenish our stocks. But in reality, who knew if they would even help us if we made it back there? And days into our mission, we'd only collected one new shadow. That was a far cry from what I'd promised.
Brayden reached in front of me and picked up my water bag. "I'm going to collect water."
“I’ll come too.” I grabbed Tara’s bag and followed him.
The forest grew thicker as we moved and the moon was soon concealed by the tree canopy overhead. Somehow my breath sounded louder in the darkness. I stretched my hands out and walked slowly, assessing the ground around me with each step. Ahead I caught the vague motion of Brayden slipping between the trees. At least he was still in sight.
“Is something wrong?”
He shook his head with a frown. “I’m not sure.”
I hovered beside him. My heart quickened the longer we stood in silence. He must have sensed something but his eyes remained dark.
“Shall I fill my bag?” I moved closer to the river.
He didn’t answer but as I kneeled down and leaned toward the water, he wrapped his hand around my wrist. “Don’t put your hand in the water.”
I sat back. “What’s in there?”
His eyes scanned the length of the river. “Something that wasn’t there before.”
He took the water bags from my hands and submerged them, his eyes grey before he pulled his hands back abruptly. I blinked at the black abyss of the river but couldn’t see anything.
“That will have to do.” He tied string around the water bags and stood up.
He turned to leave but I held his arm. “We haven’t seen anyone else from the Origin. Do you have any idea if there are more nearby?”
“There are more. I can feel them in the pit—the deepest point of the Valley—only a few hours away from where we are now. But there are more hunters there too.”
“Do you know how many?”
“It’s hard to tell.”
I realised I was holding my breath and forced myself to exhale again. “I’m worried about our food supply. So I want you to be honest with me. Is it achievable for us to find the shadows we’re looking for and get out of here in time?”
“We’re close. I can’t say anything’s definite, but at this stage, I wouldn’t be willing to leave without getting what we came for.”
A smile pulled at my lips. It was such a relief to hear him say that, not just because we were closer to achieving our goal, but it showed that he was invested in this mission too.
“What are you smiling at?” He grinned back at me.
“I’m relieved. I wasn’t sure how close we were, and I didn’t know if you were still working toward the same goal.”
“It hasn’t been easy in here, but my head has been clearer lately.”
“Even with Tara around,” I noted.
