The Shadow City (The Demon-Born Trilogy Book 2)

by L. C. Hibbett

  Diamond’s glare narrowed on my face, and she twisted her head at an angle, examining me like a specimen in a petri dish. “The Spirit Demons? No. The darkness is our enemy, the one that brings decay to our world. The Humans.”

       Chapter Twenty

  “We need to get the hell out of here; these kids are insane.” Sam leaned against my back and whispered into my ear. My skin tingled as I shouldered him away and shoved him ahead of me with a stern look.

  Valerie turned around to face us. “Did you say something?”

  I shook my head and gave my best attempt at an innocent smile. She beamed back at me and guilt pinched my throat closed. “The spring is just around the next corner. We used to bathe in the lagoon, but it’s safer not to leave the cave. Here we are.”

  Valerie swept her hand through the air, and hundreds of candles flickered into life, bathing the cavern in a soft glow. “I’ll go back and help Diamond and your friends prepare the food. I’ll leave a trail of candles lighting so that you can find your way back to us. These caves can be like a maze if you don’t know where you’re going.”

  She opened her burlap sack and pulled out two large sheets of thick cotton and laid them on a boulder at the side of the pool. “For when you’re finished bathing. I’m sorry we can’t offer you fresh garments to wear, but…” Valerie looked from her own slender body to myself and Sam, towering over her. “At least, I can help with the cold water.”

  She pulled a simple glass vial from the sack and emptied it into the pool, stirring the water gently with her fingertips. I inhaled, drawing the scent into my lungs. My lips twisted upward. “It smells like the ocean—”

  “Coconut.” Sam’s words collided with mine, and he screwed his face up. “How can you think that smells like the ocean? That’s coconut. It smells exactly like whatever you used to put in your hair.”

  “Coconut oil.” I blinked, surprised by the memory. “Eve used to make Cat drive to Castlebar to get it for me. She’d put it in my hair since I was tiny to try and tame my mane.”

  I pulled at the ends of my thick waves and tried to block out the memory of Eve patiently combing through the lengths and braiding it so that it would be shiny for when I went to the study group on Fridays. Sam reached out and stroked a lock of my hair. His voice was low. “I like the mane.”

  My cheeks flushed, and I jerked away from his touch, turning to thank Valerie for showing us to the bathing pool, but she was already gone. I scanned the cavern, using my power to seek her presence, but the space was deserted except for Sam and me. I tucked my hair behind my ears and crossed my arms over my chest. “She’s gone.”

  Sam massaged his temples with his thumbs and shook his head. “This is bad, Gracie. The Circle those kids are talking about—the great rulers that are going to rid the world of the Human race using the Spirit Demons and the might of the Spirit Children—that’s got to be the Brothers, right? The Spirit Eaters?”

  “Yep. That rat-faced sneak sent us straight to them. I wonder, was Peter expecting us? Do you think he knows we’re here? I mean, somebody had to open that portal for William.” I pressed the heels of my hands against my closed eyelids. “Sam, if we lead the Hounds to these kids—”

  Sam eased my fingers away from my face. “Gracie, those kids have survived their whole lives in this place. You heard them—this is where they were born, and it looks to me like they’re doing pretty okay. Deluded about the new world order and the mighty righteousness of the Circle, but they're able to look after themselves. I wouldn’t take Diamond on—kid would gut me.”

  I gave him a grudging smile. “She’s hardcore. The way she created that moving image out of thin air—I’ve never seen anyone do that, Sam. She has so much skill.”

  “Peter’s army of Demon-Born. They’ve probably been training the kids here for war since the moment they were born. What I don’t understand is why these two girls are living here alone, instead of in their precious City? They both sound so pious, like they truly believe in the creation of this new world order, so why hide from it in the hills?”

  The memory of Valerie’s zealous speech about how the Demon-Born and the Circle would sacrifice the Humans and feed the new Earth with their blood sent a shiver down my spine. I crossed my arms and opened my mouth to respond to Sam, but the heat rising from the bathing pool called to me like a drug. Sam lounged against a boulder and watched me with lazy eyes. “We should probably get into the water. If Valerie comes back and we’re not bathing, she’ll be suspicious.”

  Part of me wanted to shake Sam for making such a ridiculous suggestion when we needed to figure out an escape plan, but the rest of me ached to move closer to the warm water and breathe in the intoxicating aroma of the Atlantic winds.

  I stared down at my bare legs in surprise, suddenly aware that I had already shed my jeans and shirt. Sam pulled his tee shirt over his head and held my stare as he slipped his jeans over his hips and let them fall to the ground. I jumped into the water and waded into the center. The water tickled my chin.

  My heart was beating so fast that I was sure Sam would be able to see it through the water. I took a deep breath and submerged myself, squeezing my eyes shut and running my hands through the blissfully warm water. Hard flesh pressed against my fingertips and I thrust my head above the waterline, gasping in surprise. Sam’s chest was inches from my face. His hair fell onto his forehead in damp waves, and I had to curl my hand into a fist to stop myself from reaching out to brush it away from his intense green stare.

  “Do you want to talk about last night?” Sam took a step closer, and his fingers brushed my waist under the water.

  “That’s not important now, Sam. We need to figure out a way to get back home. We need to make a plan before we get back to the others.” Sam’s face didn’t seem to register my words. I knew I should move away, but my body refused to listen to reason.

  “You think you care about me, Grace, but you don’t know me. I know you. I know you’re too pure to see the darkness inside me.” His mouth was perfect. I wanted to trace its contours with my fingers, even when I hated the words it spoke.

  I dragged my gaze away from his lips and stared into his eyes, but there was no release for me there. My chest rose and fell under the clear water. “I know you, Sam—I might not know your past, but I see your heart every time I use my gift. There’s no darkness in your Spirit, only light.”

  “What if I told you that you’re right? I like it when I hurt you. I like knowing that you care enough about me that I can make you feel pain, just my locking myself away. I like to torture myself for my sins by denying myself the only thing I have every really given a damn about—you.”

  I should walked away. Cat’s voice whispered in my mind—he’s a troubled boy. Troubled. Damaged. Broken. His eyes devoured me, waiting to see if I would push him away. I dug my nails into his flesh and dragged him closer to me. Skin colliding with skin. I tilted my head back so that Sam’s lips were directly above mine. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as if he was drawing me into his lungs like a drug.

  A drug.

  “Oh my God!” I flung myself over the edge of the pool and sprinted over the rough sand. I heard Sam pulling his jeans on behind me, but I didn’t even bother to grab my clothes.

  When Sam caught up with me halfway down the passage, his face was drawn and his fists clenched. “What the hell did she put in the water, Grace? I’ve never felt a spell like that. God damn it, I should have known when we both smelled different scents.”

  “The things we craved the most. It smelled like home.” I closed my mouth over the words, suddenly realising that the scent Sam desired the most had been mine.

  Sam opened his mouth to say something, but I shook my head and pressed my finger against my lips. The entrance to the cave where we had left the others preparing food was still brightly lit by the magical fire burning in the center of the room. I edged further into the
room, using my energy to search for any signs of life, but finding none. Panic bloomed in my chest, and I grabbed hold of Sam’s hand and squeezed tightly. “They are gone, Sam.”

  A crease appeared between Sam’s eyebrows, and he tipped his head toward the pile of bedding on the other side of the fire. I squinted at the sight of Cat and Cain sleeping, with Ozzie and Dawn cuddled between them. My head ached. “I don’t understand; I couldn’t sense them. I was sure they were gone, it’s almost like somebody has used a block—”

  The sound of hands clapping together cracked through the air, and Sam tried to pull my body behind his as he scanned the room with wild eyes. Three figures pulled away from the darkness at the far end of the cave, and my feet stuck to the ground has I recognized the two closest faces. I had been over a year since I had seen the conniving Demons, but Lara’s titian curls and Fergus’s leering smile were burned into my memory. Fergus pressed his meaty fingers together, ceasing his slow clap, and grinned at me with hungry eyes. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Did you miss me, little girl?”

  The third figure raised its arm and swatted Fergus out of its way. A familiar voice flowed through the warm air, and Sam’s muscles turned to stone under my fingers. “Enough, Fergus, Peter was crystal clear that the Shadow Children should be unharmed.”

  Our former tutor’s pretty blue eyes skimmed over my face and fixed on Sam’s black glare. “Hello, Sam. We’ve been waiting for you.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Deirdre’s soft, brown hair fell in waves over her shoulders, and her small plump fingers held a purple cloak tightly across her body. A hot wave of fury beat a path through my veins, and I lunged forward to grab her cloak at the throat. Fergus and Lara stepped in front of her and blocked my hands. I spat my words over their shoulders and into Deirdre’s face. “You witch. You sly, treacherous witch.”

  Something soft flickered behind Deirdre’s eyes as Sam stepped forward and pressed a cool hand around my waist, but it disappeared as quickly as it has come. Sam’s voice was level, but I could feel the tangle of emotion stirring in his stomach like a pit of snakes. “How did you find us, Deirdre?”

  My eyes scanned the bare floor of the cave, slipping over the slumbering bodies, and onto the two small figures standing to Deirdre’s right. Diamond was watching me through the curtain of her dirty blond hair. A sly grin tugged at the corner of her lips. Valerie’s arms were wrapped tightly around her small waist, and she didn’t lift her face to meet my glare.

  I curled my fingers inside my fists. “We tried to help you. Dawn nearly died trying to help you. If they hadn’t saved you—”

  “He has chosen the path. Those who possess the Lost Powers are our salvation. We were merely delivering your friend to his destiny.” Diamond’s voice sounded high pitched and pious, but her words couldn’t detract from the glint in the steely blue of her irises.

  Sam wrapped his arms around me and ran his thumb over my clenched fist. His voice was sharp. “How, Diamond?”

  “Aurora’s root potion for them,” Diamond tipped her head in the direction of the sleeping bodies on the floor, “Dead Man’s Brew, for you and her. I was apprenticed to the potions master at the temple. Lucky me.”

  Fergus leered at us and reached out to stroke my face. Sam slammed his body between us and raised his arms. The sound of thunder rolled through the sky outside. Fergus grinned and held his two hands up, palms out. “Easy, boy. You’re all worked up. They say that Dead Man’s Brew will do that to you—strong enough to stir passion in a corpse. But you didn’t have time to work off all the energy, ay? Work away there, boy, girl is still half bare—why not finish what you started? We don’t mind waiting. Watching…”

  His stare crawled over my skin like a horde of maggots, and I shrank away from him as Sam thrust his fist forward and smashed it into Fergus’s face. His head swung back, and the sound of crunching cartilage split the air. Deirdre  flung her arms wide, and both men were frozen solid, except for their eyes. Her lips narrowed. “Peter, and Peter alone is waiting for the Shadow Children to be delivered. They are to be unharmed and untouched. Is that clear?” She shifted her glare onto Sam’s motionless face. “If there is any more trouble, you will remain frozen until we reach our destination—is that clear, Samuel?”

  Sam blinked his eyes, and Deirdre let her hands fall to his side again. Sam and Fergus both gasped for air. Deirdre turned to Lara and began listing off commands. “Arrange for the men outside to transport the sleeping… guests to the designated area. The other two can travel with us by foot.” She pointed a finger at Diamond and Valerie, and I noticed her once manicured nails were bare and ragged at the tips. “Please accompany Fergus back to the city. The Circle will be grateful for the service you have rendered today.”

  I threaded my fingers through Sam’s as we followed Deirdre, and the men carrying our friends’ bodies, out of the cave and into the daylight that filtered down through the tall canopy of trees. Fergus squared his jaw as he watched us leave over the heads of our two little traitors. His glare pressed against my back like a knife. I jerked my head forward and didn’t look back.

  Deirdre gestured for the men who were carrying the others to follow behind us. Cat and Dawn were light enough to be cradled against the chests of the white-robed men, but Cain’s unconscious weight required the assistance of two men to transport it. Deirdre swept her arm in front of her face, and a path appeared through the forest, straight and true as a Roman road.

  “Lara, the silver.” Lara dug her hands into a small pouch and threw six thin strips of silver into the air. I watched them spinning, mesmerized by their dance as Deirdre conducted them with her fingertips. I yelped in surprise as one of the bands snapped closed around my wrist. Deirdre’s lips moved, and each of the bands flashed brightly on our arms and then grew pale. My stomach dropped as I recommend recognized the sensation from my time as a captive to the London Demons.

  “You bound our magic?” Sam glowered at Deirdre.

  She crossed her arms and pinched her lips together. “The binding is temporary; it will be removed as soon as we can get you to a magical vacuum. No lasting harm will be done.” The corners of her mouth turned downward. “Although, it is hardly necessary considering how flabby your powers have grown. I see the Shadow Children have wasted the past year on wild goose chases, instead of strengthening your gifts.”

  The truth of her words stung like salt in an open wound. Our powers hadn’t helped us at all, we had let everyone down. I had let everyone down. Again.

  Rage burned in Sam’s eyes. “And you’re satisfied with how you’ve spent the last year, are you? A devoted servant to this circle of men intent on massacring an entire race of people—you should be very proud of yourself.”

  Deirdre recoiled from the sarcasm dripping from Sam’s words like it was poison. She pulled her purple cloak tighter around her body and forged ahead through the undergrowth. “The Circle have their reasons—they understand the sacrifices that must be made to preserve the integrity of our world.”

  “You don’t believe that.” Sam sprinted forward and drew level with the woman who had been his favorite tutor for so many years. He shook his head. “Billions of people—innocent children, pregnant women. And for what? Do they want a whole world populated with Demon-Born? Because we’re so much better than the Humans? Better at what? How can we protect the integrity of anything?”

  Deirdre pressed on without meeting his eye. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand, the Shadow Children have blinded you to the true crisis facing our world. Peter and the Circle will help you see the light. The Veil is failing. The evil continues to grow. I’ve seen. I’ve watched it feed.”

  The memory of the hungry evil that I had felt in the Silent Home after the massacre surfaced in my mind like a drowned body emerging from the waves. Deirdre’s lips were as p
ale as her skin. “It must be stopped. Purifying the blood is the only path to salvation. We will be tested in fire and be reborn in his image.”

  Sam’s jaw tensed. Trying to reason with Deirdre was hopeless—she spoke exactly like the children had in the cave. We walked on in silence through the muggy heat of the undergrowth, until we reached the edge of a barren desert.

  The moment the last of our party stepped foot on the burning sand, the trees behind us vanished, and all that surrounded us, as far as the eye could see, was scorched earth and bare mountains. I winced and rose up onto my toes to escape the burning heat emanating from the ground, suddenly aware that my feet and legs were still bare. Deirdre glanced down at the sand and flicked her wrist. A gleaming white path appeared under our feet and wound its way through the dry valley. She pointed her finger at one of the guards. “Give the girl your cloak.”

  I took the long piece of flowing linen and wrapped it around my body gratefully. Deirdre marched on without a backward glance, and I trailed her with a growing sense of unease. I pulled closer to Sam. “This is where they sent me. That day in London—the portal brought me to this desert. I’m almost certain.”

  Sam’s eyes darted along the skyline, and I knew he was looking for the same thing that I was—Spirit Demons.

  Deirdre glanced at us out of the corner of her eye. “They’re not here. The Circle has drawn the Spirit Demons to the city to prepare for the hunt.”

  “City?” Sam raised his eyebrows and stared across the seemingly unending miles of sand. Deirdre tutted again and spread her arms out as wide as they would reach.

  In an instant, the desert melted away, and we found ourselves looking down onto a walled town. The buildings were low and squat, their walls terracotta red and their roofs covered in simple flat tiles. Narrow streets wound in a spiral until they reached a fortified building that rose like a goddess crowned with gold above the simple dwellings. The white polished stone and the metallic roof showed no trace of dust or sand.