The Shadows of Dark Root (Daughters of Dark Root Book 5)

by April Aasheim

  Eve crossed her arms, anger replacing shame. “You’re mad that I was with two men, but you’re okay that I was with a woman?”

  “That’s different, too.”

  “I dunno about that,” Ruth Anne said. “But that’s not the point. You two weren’t romantically together when either of these things happened. You can’t be mad at someone for what they did before they met you.”

  Paul shrugged. “Logically, I know you’re right. But Ruth Anne, she kept something big from me, and then continued to lie about it. I wanted her to be the mother of my future children. I wanted her to be a mother to Nova.”

  “And you’re willing to throw all that away now?” I asked, suddenly outraged. I felt for Eve, and understood why she didn’t tell him. It was the same reason none of us told our secrets - we were afraid of losing the people we love. “Paul, not telling you might be one of the most human things Eve has ever done. Can’t you cut her some slack?”

  “What do you guys think?” Paul turned to Shane and Michael for support.

  “I think she was victimized,” Shane said. “We should be encouraging her to call the police when we get out of here, not berating her.”

  “I actually agree,” said Michael.

  “Well, it looks like you’ve got everyone on your side,” Paul said, throwing up his arms. “I guess you win.”

  “This isn’t about winning,” Eve said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but how could I? I was embarrassed and ashamed. The next day, I wasn’t even sure it had really happened, except for the strange robe I woke up in. I wanted… I needed to put it all behind me. I thought if I didn’t think about it, it would be like it never happened at all. Yes, I heard the videos were out there. All I could do was pray you wouldn’t see one, because I couldn’t stand for you to look at me… the way you’re looking at me now.”

  Paul walked away.

  “He shouldn’t go out there alone,” I said. “We don’t know the landscape here yet.”

  “I’ll get him,” Shane said.

  “Can you believe him?” Eve said, putting a hand on her hip.

  “I remember that day,” Merry said. “I knew you were in trouble. I felt it in the pit of my stomach. I kept calling…”

  “I know. I wish I’d picked up my phone.”

  “Did you go to the police?” Michael asked.

  “God, no. I just wanted to forget about it. That’s all I still want. Can we drop it now?”

  There was so much I wanted to say and know, but Eve was in no mood for an interrogation. And how dare those creeps do this to my sister. My blood boiled and the ground trembled. Merry gave me a sideways look and I squeezed my nails into my palms and thought of rainbows and butterflies. But it was no use. All I could think about was what I would do to Zach-from-New-York if I ever found him.

  “Save it,” Merry said softly to me. “We need to be there for Eve right now.”

  Eve’s face was somber and there was a vacant look in her eyes, as if she were putting up yet another wall. That event had impacted her deeply. But just because we knew her secret now, it didn’t mean she was letting us in.

  “We’ll get justice for this when I get home,” I vowed to Merry, who nodded.

  “Poor Eve,” Michael said to me.

  “Eve has always paid for men’s insecurities,” I said.

  “I guess you were listening in Sunday School,” he answered.

  The sky went crimson, but there were still stars above. Ruth Anne pointed to a constellation. “The Big Dipper!” she said. “In tomato soup.”

  As I followed the horizon, I saw the gray peaks of mountains, not far off. My heart nearly stopped. “Eagle Mountain!” I exclaimed, pointing and jumping up and down. “It’s there, it’s there!” I could feel it as well as see it, and I would have run straight for it, if Shane and Paul had still been with us.

  Shane soon returned with a distraught Paul, who sat on a low rock, massaging the bridge of his nose. “He’ll be fine,” Shane said. “In a few years.” He smiled resignedly, then noticed my expression. I simply pointed towards Eagle Mountain.

  “We should go now,” I said.

  “We can’t just yet. Paul and I scouted out the way forward. An icy river separates us from the mountain. There’s a bridge across it, but it looks pretty slick and rickety. I really think we should wait until daylight, assuming day ever comes.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I checked the hourglass and groaned at the missing sand. “Do we really have to wait until dawn. Can’t we just risk it?”

  “I’ll go check myself,” Michael said, walking past Shane. “The cowboy might be a tracker, but he’s not omnipotent.”

  We waited, silently lost in our own thoughts until Michael returned. “The bridge is covered in frost,” he admitted. “Perhaps we should wait until morning.”

  “That advice sounds familiar,” Shane said.

  Against my strong desire to push ahead, we settled in along the riverbank, waiting for the sun. The moon was fully up now, moving much quicker than in the Upper World. I hoped this meant dawn came just as fast.

  We sat on the ground and watched the stars . One by one, we yawned, succumbing to our exhaustion. Jillian had told us we wouldn’t need sleep or food or warmth, that it was all a product of our minds. Too bad our bodies hadn’t listened to her.

  I found a patch of grass and curled up with my head on my hands. As I closed my eyes, I heard a child giggle. Then, a woman’s voice sang me to sleep with a haunting lullaby.

  “Shh… sleep. beautiful human male.”

  I wriggled on the hard ground, squinting my eyes, looking for the woman’s voice. It was not yet sunrise. The others slept soundly nearby. I rose, tiptoeing between them.

  “Don’t be afraid, I will take good care of you,” the woman promised. This time I was able to follow the voice directly to Shane, who was sleeping with his back against a tree, his head on his shoulder. His hat was in his lap.

  I saw the woman, naked and straddling my husband as she stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. I stormed over. “Leave him alone, Lilith.”

  The beautiful woman turned to me, her eyes twinkling. “But I am giving him such good dreams. He deserves as much, doesn’t he?”

  I crouched before her, leveling a warning finger. “He’s mine. I’m sure you already have enough playthings.”

  “None as beautiful as him.” She giggled. Her form was not solid, but translucent, and her ebony hair caught the breeze, flowing around her, covering and uncovering parts of her body strategically. Her twinkling eyes continued to travel the length of Shane’s body.

  Lilith ignored my presence and pressed her lips to Shane’s. I reached over to push her away, but my hand went right through. I tried again and she laughed. “You have dealt with plenty of humans, and even spirits, but never a goddess. Be warned.”

  “What are you doing with my husband, Lilith? I thought you hated men.”

  “That is not the way you should greet a sister.” Lilith wriggled a finger and I was pushed backwards, several feet, unable to move forward. She wrinkled her nose and frowned. “I don’t like using my magick against another female, but we must carry on with some civility. That should hold you for a moment. Now, regarding your question: I do not hate men. I love men. That’s what I do.”

  Lilith snapped her fingers and a menagerie of images appeared between us…men of all ages, shapes and time periods floated by. She snapped her fingers again and the images vanished. “At one time or another, I loved them all.”

  “What exactly do you want with Shane?” I demanded, trying, unsuccessfully, to push through her magical barrier.

  “I told you that I was curious about you. And my curiosity extends to your mortal lover.” She tapped her chin and spun to face me, her lush hair blanketing most of her pale body. “I’ve been following him since we met. It was I who lured Cernunnos’ minions away from him. It was I who helped reconnect him to you through the moon. And when he fell asleep, it was I who placed
myself in his dreams, granting him what he desires most. Look how I aroused him,” she said, lifting the cowboy hat from his lap.

  “Enough!” I shouted, the word followed by a clap of thunder.

  Lilith smiled, looking up, undaunted. “You are fun,” she said. “I would have taken him, but he…” She frowned prettily. “He managed to lock me out.”

  “What do you mean, locked you out?”

  “He replaced my image - my body - with yours. Yours!” She raised both hands and slapped them against her bare thighs. “Ludicrous, right?” she asked, jiggling to reveal her curves. “Why, is what I’m wondering?”

  “He loves me,” I said simply.

  “Love? Men don’t understand love. It’s a convenience for them. An excuse to take a slave who will cook and clean and breed minions, only to be discarded when the man grows bored.” Lilith brushed a strand of Shane’s hair from his face, then languidly rose to her feet. Even I wasn’t immune from her sexual power and beauty. There was something compelling and primitive about her. No straight man gazing upon her stood a chance - in any world.

  She turned her finger in the air three times, and I was free to move again.

  “That’s not the way of all men, Lilith. There are only a handful who—“

  Lilith put out a hand. “Save your lectures. Men are faithful only when someone’s watching,” she continued. “I’ve seen it played out since time immortal. But in the dream world, no one is watching. Haven’t you wondered why Shane returns to his so often?”

  “Shane’s different,” I said, looking at his sleeping body. I couldn’t bear to see his arousal so I willed the breeze to push his hat back over his lap.

  Lilith laughed at my efforts. “Jealousy is rooted in the fear of loss. I won’t take him, Maggie, I just wanted to borrow him, for a little fun.” She ran her fingers through her silken hair, her hips rolling as she slowly approached me. “Normally, even the most faithful husbands give in to me, but this one… he chooses you. And I can’t leave until I know why. It’s troubling, and exciting. It can’t be your breasts, or your figure, or your hair. Perhaps its your fire he craves?”

  “I already told you, it’s-“

  “Shhh!” Lilith pinched two fingers together, barring me from speech. She laughed again, as if it were the funniest thing she’d seen in a long while. “Mortals are too much fun. But back to the question of fidelity and love. Your husband’s response made me wonder if there was someone else who might tempt him. Perhaps someone more familiar.”

  She twined her hands, as if pulling cotton candy. A dusting of blue light settled over Shane’s sleeping body. He rolled his head slightly and half-opened his eyes. Lilith snapped her fingers. She was now in Eve’s form, completely naked. “Men are always fond of sisters.”

  “Shane, I’m so scared!” Lilith-Eve whispered, crouching low and grabbing his shoulders. His lashes fluttered and he tried to sit upright. “Can I sit close to you?” she asked.

  Without waiting for an answer, ‘Eve’ straddled his lap, looping her legs around his waist. She spoke to him in a voice indiscernible from my true sister, telling him how she admired him and how unfair I was to him. Shane, still asleep, lazily wrapped his arm around Eve’s back and pulled her close to his chest. She turned to me and winked.

  I thrust out my hands and sent a blast of energy her way, but I couldn’t dislodge her. Lilith rolled her eyes, then stood up again, revealing that Shane had fallen fully back to sleep.

  “So, the bad girls do little for him,” Lilith mused. “Perhaps he likes the good girls?” She morphed into Merry’s shape. “Or the smart ones?” she said, now becoming Ruth Anne. “Or maybe he likes familiarity.”

  Lilith took her time melting into her next form. Now, standing naked before Shane, was his ex-wife, Irene.

  I’d had enough.

  I drew from the earth and the sky and everything around, ripping the sound from my body. “Stop!” I intoned, breaking her silence spell. “You will leave us alone, now!”

  Lilith looked surprised but laughed as she returned to her natural form, this one solid. We moved towards one another, standing nose to nose. I wasn’t a goddess, but I was no pushover, either.

  Without warning, she kissed me, biting my bottom lip before releasing me. “You smell of lavender,” she said. “An earthly delight, and my favorite.”

  “What is wrong with you?” I demanded, pushing her back. “Don’t you understand what love is?”

  She put her hand under her chin. “In theory, I do. But I have yet to see it. You say he loves you now, but will he still love you when your face is covered in lines and your breasts are barren?” A sheer gown appeared on her body and her hair was now bound up in radiant jewels. “Romantic love is temporary, but the Sisterhood is eternal. Join us, Magdalene. We will drive the evils of men from the Upper World and reclaim it as our own. If you join us, I will help you prevail against both Larinda and Armand.”

  I backed up. “Is that why you’re here? To prove to me that all men are evil, hoping I will join your cause? My son will grow to be a man one day. I won’t listen to anything more you have to say.”

  “I merely wanted to show you the truth of things. Men cannot be trusted. They all begin as someone’s sweet son, but time corrupts them. You’ve been privy to your father’s story. Surely, you see that what I’m saying is truth.”

  “What did you show me? You couldn’t tempt Shane. Not in your own guise, and not in any other.”

  “There was one image he responded to. Yours. It puzzles me the most.”

  My anger quickly melted. Lilith may not believe in love, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t real. She had spent her immortal years trying to prove it’s non-existence in order to validate her own earlier betrayal, and with Shane, at least, she had failed.

  “He can still be turned,” Lilith said confidently. “Given time and motivation.”

  “Not Shane. And not me.”

  The smugness lifted from Lilith’s face. She looked toward the emerging sunrise, her eyes flickering as she considered my words. “I hope you are correct. That might be nice. I will keep my eye on you, Maggie Maddock. And I’m taking this in lieu of your husband.” She opened her hand to reveal the sprig of lavender Jillian had given me. “It reminds me of home.”

  Her body became less dimensional. She was fading away. “I hope you will reconsider and join us someday. There is a great battle coming, and everyone will pick a side - in our world and in yours.”

  Lilith disappeared, taking the remainder of the night with her.

  Birdsong soon filled the sky, waking the others. They rubbed their eyes, all claiming they had never slept so deeply. I gave Shane a quick and grateful kiss.

  The frost covering the bridge was quickly thawing, and I could clearly see the other side.

  “Looks safe to me,” Michael said.

  “I agree. And I don’t think the portal is far beyond,” Shane said pointing to an expanse of rocks.

  “Can’t we just go straight for the mountain?” I asked. “It doesn’t look that far.”

  “No, it’s deceptive. If you look close, you’ll see it’s moving,” Shane said.

  I squinted. Sure enough, the mountain seemed to have shifted to the west. “I’m guessing it was created so that it can’t be accessed directly.”

  “Another portal, huh? Aren’t you worried it’s your turn beneath the interrogation lights?” Michael asked Shane.

  “Aren’t you?”

  Michael lifted the cross he wore around his neck. “I have nothing to fear.”

  “You’d better hope so,” Shane grumbled, closing up his pack. “Because if I find out you ever did anything to hurt Maggie…”

  “Let’s get going,” I said, stepping in before it could escalate.

  The scent of salt was on the wind, and several pelican-like birds appeared along the river, landing on boulders and squawking out their hellos. Eagle Mountain was now squarely in our sights. Our fortunes had surely turned.

>   We crossed the wide river easily, finding ourselves on a rocky beach. White foamy waves washed onto the shore and seagulls squawked overhead. Somehow, it now felt more like an ocean than a river.

  “Where do I know this place from?” Eve said. “It looks familiar.”

  “A movie set from one of your films?” Paul answered.

  Eve glowered at him and turned away.

  “This looks like the beach Mama took us to when we were kids,” Merry said. “We didn’t stay long, but I remember running barefoot through the wet sand.” She looked at the beach longingly.

  “Maybe that’s it,” Eve agreed, solemnly.

  It did look like the Oregon beach of our youth, with towering boulders, brewing clouds, and froth along the water’s edge.

  I heard a baby crying, not far away. And then another. Their cries became yowls of pain. The others heard it too, their eyes darting around, chasing shadows. “Did anyone hear Montana?” I asked desperately.

  “I can’t tell!” Merry said.

  We held still, listening as the gut-wrenching sounds rose and fell like the waves.

  “Mags!” Ruth Anne punched me in the shoulder. She pointed to a cave entrance further down the beach, carved into the shadows of a low cliff. And then I saw them - squat gray-winged creatures marching out of the cave in a steady stream. They had hooked fingers and flat feet, and carried woven baskets in their teeth.

  Even from that distance I could make out their bulbous eyes, rounded ears, and great bat-like wings. We watched as they climbed a set of steep stairs to the top of the cliff. From there, they pumped their wings and set sail. The baskets dangling from their mouths wiggled and shook, emitting the sounds of crying infants.

  “Gargoyles!” Eve said. “I’ve seen them before.”

  I charged towards the cave, not waiting for further explanation, directing my anger at the nearest gargoyle. “Leave those children alone!” It turned its lion face towards me, hissing so fiercely it dropped the basket from its mouth. I harnessed the energy around me, blasting one beast after another with my wand. They began falling from the sky, dropping their bundles.