Chasing Shadows

by ERIN BEDFORD

  “She’s right, in a way,” he waved a finger in the air as he talked, “you aren’t dead, and the rest aren’t really dead either but they,” he pointed to the spirits in the water, “are most certainly dead.”

  “No offense meant, but that didn’t exactly answer my question.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “No, I suppose it didn’t.” He made a humming noise, as he seemed to think on what to say next. “You see the Seelie Queen and I have an arrangement of sorts.”

  I snorted. “I heard all about that, it’s the reason the shadows were made in the first place. That arrangement caused more Fae to die in the last year than I’d ever heard of in my whole life.”

  The Reaper stopped abruptly, and I almost walked into his back before he spun on me. His eyes were electric blue and would have shot a bolt of lightning straight into me had he had the chance.

  “You, half-blood, do not know what you speak of. We did what we thought was best for our kind,” he hissed at me, his anger palpable in the air. “What you call a lot of Fae would have been much worse had we let those who became the shadows stay in your realm. Count yourself luck.”

  With those words he turned away, marching toward the looming building before us. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding and frowned. There seemed to be more to the story than Kat or I had ever known. His words didn’t make the deaths of my fellow Fae any less meaningful, but the fact that it could have been worse than it was caused a shiver down my spine.

  “Are you coming?” my eyes shot up to where the Reaper was waiting for me at the steps of the entrance.

  “Yes, yes,” I called out hurrying my footsteps to catch up to him. “I apologize, it seems that I have been left in the dark on some aspects of our fallen foe.”

  “As you should be,” he replied before his face fell and his eyes glanced toward the inside, “but not so fallen as you expect.”

  I was confused at first by his words but then when what he said made sense in my mind, my heart stopped. What he said couldn’t be true. The spell that Kat did that caused me to end up here had worked, hadn’t it? But then it had only said it would send the shadows back to where they belonged; it didn’t say anything about killing them.

  “Where are they?” I asked, my teeth clenched until the muscle in my jaw burned.

  “Come, this way.” He opened a large door made of the same stone that the walls and roof were made of, and his arm gestured me inside.

  I raised my brow and moved past him and into the building. The floors were stone throughout, the large columns outside also resided on the inside, the only difference was on every column mounted on the wall were torches of blue light. Normally, I would make a joke about him having a thing for blue, but in this case I felt that my comment might be ill-mannered toward someone who had my fate in their hands.

  As I walked further into the area that was larger than even the Seelie Queen’s ballroom, I felt the distinct presence of the Reaper at my back. Each step I took felt as if I was heading toward something. Something dark and evil, something I never wanted to feel again. Then my eyes landed on the pedestal at the head of the room. My mouth went dry as I took in the form lying on the slab of stone.

  The UnSeelie Prince. The last host of the Shadows and Kat’s ex-fiancé. If I were smart I would walk out the door and leave whatever was going on with him alone. But call me a masochist, or maybe I had turned into a good guy, but I had an overwhelming urge to find out what would happen to him.

  I approached the slab, my eyes roaming over his form. He was still clad in the clothing I had seen him in last: dark pants and an even darker shirt. They were his signature clothing that he thought made him look powerful, but I had always thought it just washed him out. He looked as if he was sleeping, but his skin was deathly pale, the veins underneath his skin pulsated with darkness. A blue power enveloped him in a sort of barrier that I was hesitant to touch.

  “It won’t hurt you,” the Reaper’s voice behind, and much to my chagrin, made me jump. “It is just keeping him in a comatose state.”

  “What’s wrong with him?” My eyes stayed on his sleeping form, fear at what he might say filling me.

  The Reaper stepped up beside me, his hand hovering over the top of the prince’s glowing form. “Your princess did what she had wished to do, but she did not think of the repercussions her action would have on her dear prince.”

  “Then it’s true,” I started, “the shadows are not truly defeated and they still lay exactly where they were when the spell was cast. Inside of the prince.”

  “Yes,” the Reaper shook his head, a sadness coming over his face, “an unfortunate side effect. But that is where you come in.”

  “Me?” I held my hands up in confusion. “What can I do?”

  “If you wish to leave this place you must do what I should have done years ago and destroy the shadows.”

  I stepped back from the prince’s body, shaking my head. “Then why don’t you do it now?”

  “Because to destroy them you must go into his mind, and he does not know me, but you…” he pointed at me. “You have a connection with him through your lady love. He might just let you in.”

  “Why do you even care? If he is stuck like this and the shadows can’t get out then why not just leave him like this?” I gestured a hand at the body. I didn’t want the prince stuck like this, but I wasn’t going to fix something that didn’t need fixing.

  “I care, as you ask,” The Reaper turned his gaze from me to the form of the prince, and then said softly, “Because he is my son.”

  His son? The UnSeelie Prince was the son of the Reaper? How could that be?

  There was nothing in the history books about who had sired the prince. We had never had a king, at least not in my time. Any who might have remembered a time when we had one had never brought it up either. Seer would be the only one that would be forthcoming with such information anyways.

  “How is this possible?” I looked to the prince and then to the Reaper, the resemblance between the two now unmistakable.

  “Let me tell you a story about a man and the choice between two queens.”

  Chapter 11

  Kat

  AS A HUMAN, I had never been in the UnSeelie Palace. Sure I had been in the garden a few times but never the palace itself.

  Unlike the Seelie Queen, the UnSeelie Queen didn’t force the decor to be solely focused on white and gold. The palace was covered in an array of colors. Dark purples to bright red. So much so that it almost clashed with each other but somehow it worked.

  I made my way up the palace steps and into the main entryway. There, a palace guard started to stop me but took one look at me and quickly changed his guarded stance to a low bow.

  “Your highness, we were not expecting you. If you had let us know you were coming we’d have prepared a proper greeting befitting of your station,” the guard with copper hair, and a sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of his nose stuttered out, making his pointed ears twitch.

  “This isn’t an official visit. So don’t worry about it.” I waved him off walking by him while taking in what had changed since I had last been there.

  When I was fully Fae and engaged to Dorian I had visited the palace with him a few times. Mostly for looks rather than actually wanting to be here. We had spent most of our time in his bedroom rather than walking around the palace itself.

  The entryway, though, was as I remembered. Large and open, there were glass murals depicting scenes that I had never found out the meaning behind. One of a woman crying by a pool of water that reflected a dark face. Another much like the statue in the garden showing two women, a man, and a tree. Stories that had probably been long before my time and would require another trip to the library to find the answers. Something that wasn’t on my to-do list anytime soon.

  “Katherine.” My attention was pulled from the decor at the sound of Mab’s voice. She stood at the top of
a grand staircase, her black dress glittering around her as it cascaded along the stairs.

  “Sorry to come by unannounced, but I’m here about—”

  “Finally,” she cut me off with an impatient smile. “I see you have finally realized what I have been saying all along.”

  “Yes,” I started again; a bit perturbed that she cut me off. “I got a message from Chess. He’s in the shadow realm, I saw him briefly through a mirror, but I couldn’t get through to him for more than a few seconds.”

  “Of course not,” she scoffed as if what I had said was a known fact. “If the Shadow Realm was so easily accessible everyone would be wanting to visit their loved ones who were banished there.” She gestured with a hand for me to follow her as she moved away from the stairs and down the corridor.

  Taking the stairs two at a time, I hurried to catch up with her, my breathing heavy by the time I reached her. “The only way I know into the Shadow Realm is through the door in the Between but since the handle is gone and my magic is currently mad at me, I’m at a loss on how to get to them.”

  “The handle is gone because I took it.”

  Stopping mid-step, my mouth dropped. “What? You took it? I thought it was my mother to try and hide her dirty work with the shadows.”

  Mab gave a half laugh before turning to me. “Everything does not revolve around Tatiana, no matter how much she might think otherwise. I took the door handle long before the shadows became a problem. Long before you were born.”

  “So, do you know another way in?”

  She gave me a look that was so Dorian that I couldn’t help but smile. Returning my grin with one of her own, she led me through the hallways of the UnSeelie Palace. A sense of nostalgia came over me as we walked down the corridor. The last time I had been here had been with Dorian.

  He had broken me out of the Seelie Palace a few months after we had become engaged. Even though I had agreed to the marriage, my mother had still sought to keep me under lock and key. Dorian didn’t understand that, and really neither had I. I still didn’t, to be honest.

  Dorian had snuck me out one night. Leading me by the hand, laughing and stopping to kiss me every once in a while, we had run down these halls without a care in the world. Now standing in the very hallway where we had spent so much time, where we had been so in love, I felt guilty.

  “So, many memories in these halls,” Mab commented glancing over her shoulder with a knowing smile and then frowned, “they have been too quiet the last century.”

  I wrapped my arms around my midsection, her words making my guilt even worse. Not only had I dumped her son, which caused his spiral that ended in him being in the Shadow Realm, but I had also been the reason she had been alone all this time. The curse my mother had placed on Dorian hadn’t just punished him but also punished his mother. It seemed I had a lot to make up for, starting with getting Chess and Dorian out of the Shadow Realm.

  Mab walked down the hallway, her steps echoing in the silence we had fallen into. I wondered where we were headed until she started up a winding staircase and then I didn’t have to wonder anymore. The door we ended at was that of Mab’s own bedroom.

  I’d never been in the room myself. The one time I had tried to enter Dorian had warned me away. Something about her liking her privacy or what not. Now I wasn’t so sure. I think she just wanted to keep him out.

  I waited for Mab to open the door, but she stopped before it with a sweep of her skirts. She folded her hands over each other and leveled her gaze on me.

  “What are you waiting for? The longer we stand here and talk the longer God knows what is happening to Chess and your son.”

  She waved me off as if my words had no consequence. “They have been there for half a year now, they aren’t going anywhere. Besides,” she gave me a secret smile, “I have it on good authority that they are perfectly fine and waiting for your arrival.”

  “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” I tried to push past her, but she stopped me with her hand.

  “Before I show you the way, I have to know.” The way she paused reminded me of those soap operas where the main character was just about to reveal that they weren’t who they say they were but their evil twin. It didn’t ease the anxiety I had to get Chess and Dorian out, which I suppose was the point.

  “What is it?”

  “Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get them back? If not then I will not even waste my time leading you into my private domain.” She pressed her hand on the door of her bedroom as if it were a sacred place.

  My brows furrowed, and I quickly said, “Yes, of course. That’s not even a question.”

  “Good, then let us proceed.” Mab turned the knob to her bedroom and opened the door.

  As it swung open, my heart lifted in my chest and then sank like a stone. What the hell? I was expecting something like a dominatrix lair or maybe even for her to have a secret obsession with pink frills. Sadly, neither was true. The room was completely ordinary.

  She had a four poster bed with dark blue covers. The nightstands on either side of the bed matched the standing wardrobe. The only thing that was out of place from a usual bedroom was a large mirror that took up most of one wall.

  Moving into the room, I started for the mirror. One thing I knew about the Underground, everything had to do with mirrors. For the mirror to be here for no other reason than for her to stare at herself all day would be too hard to believe. If she was anything like my mother, the mirror contained something that couldn’t be left open to the masses.

  “You are a quick one, I give you that.” Mab approached me from behind as I stood before the mirror, her reflection showing with mine. “But then again, your human side has always been the more resourceful one.”

  Ignoring her insult to my prior self, I stared into the mirror trying to find some kind of difference. There was no frame on the mirror, so I couldn’t activate it like all the rest. If it was the entrance to the Shadow Realm, how did I get inside?

  “As you can tell,” she traced her fingertips along the surface of the mirror causing it to ripple beneath her touch. “This mirror is not like the rest.”

  “Will it get me into the Shadow Realm?”

  “Yes, it’s actually the only way in and out left. Even my cousin does not know about this mirror.” Her voice became low and filled with remorse. “It has been my best-kept secret for so long it is hard to share it with anyone. Even to get my precious son back.”

  “But why even have it if it is so dangerous?” I gestured a hand at the mirror. “Isn’t the Shadow Realm the reason we are in this mess in the first place? I would think that all the portals to it would have been destroyed.”

  “They were, except for this one.” A flash of guilt crossed her face and then it dawned on me.

  “You’re the reason they got out, aren’t you?” I pointed an accusatory finger at her. When she winced and didn’t deny it, anger filled me, my magic coming to the surface fully recharged and ready to play. “This is all your fault.”

  “Now, now, let’s not be too hasty.” She waved her hands at me as if it would deflect me from unleashing my rage on her.

  Everything that had happened to me from Alice’s trick, to my death, to all those who had died since then, had been because of her and this damn mirror. She was lucky I didn’t turn her in on the spot.

  “I just have one question.” I held a finger up to her and held back a smile, as she visibly relaxed. At least I knew that even she was scared of me. “What was so important that you would put everyone at risk by keeping this mirror?”

  “The very same reason you are willing to go in to save your Cheshire.” Her eyes became misty with emotion. “Love.”

  “So, what? Your guy got exiled to the Shadow Realm and because you couldn’t let go and move on, you put everyone in danger?” I understood going to extremes for your loved ones but this was ridiculous. Though, in her place, I couldn’t say I wouldn’t
do the same. I still felt the ache in my chest where Chess should be. If given the chance to ease that pain, I might be tempted to break a rule or two.

  “Let’s just say I fell for the wrong prince.” She gave a grim smile and then turned back to the mirror. “I am sorry for what happened. That is why I accepted my cousin’s punishment without argument. Now, I wish to make up for my crimes against my son,” she pressed her hand to her mouth with a sob, “he did not deserve any of this, and I fear that his torment is far from over.”

  “What do you mean?” I cocked my head to the side. “What’s so horrible about the Shadow Realm? Isn’t it just like dark and barren? I mean, that’s what I saw when I talked to Chess.”

  Shaking her head, she placed her hand on the mirror. “There are more dangers in the Shadow Realm than just the shadows themselves. Those who were exiled there still reside in its arms.”

  “Okay, so it’s a realm full of convicts. Good to know.” I nodded my head and started to place my hand on the mirror as well but she grabbed it in a tight grip.

  “No, they are not simply convicts. While some of those that were sent there did not deserve to be there but were on the wrong side of your mother’s temper, there are others who must be kept there at all costs. They are dangerous not just to others but also to themselves. You must heed caution before stepping into the Shadow Realm.”

  “So, stay away from the convicts and watch out for the big bad. Got it. Anything else?”

  “You are not taking this seriously, Katherine.” The way she said my name reminded me of my human mother when she was trying to lecture me on decorum. “You are not simply going to be able to walk in there and walk out with our men like it’s a regular Sunday walk.”

  “I know that,” I huffed, “There are dangers untold around every corner. Isn’t that the way it’s been since I stepped foot back in the Underground? Believe me, I took on the shadows. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  “But are you ready to take on the Reaper?” Mab’s questioned, the mention of the Reaper finally getting my attention.