Shadows of Stone

by Jenna Wolfhart

  Shadows of Stone

  Protectors of Magic - Book Four

  Jenna Wolfhart

  Shadows of Stone

  Book 4 of The Protectors of Magic Series

  Book Cover Design by Covers by Christian

  Copyright © 2018 by Jenna Wolfhart

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Also by Jenna Wolfhart

  Part I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Part II

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Part III

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Part IV

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Excerpt from A Dance with Darkness

  About the Author

  Also by Jenna Wolfhart

  Otherworld Academy

  A Dance with Darkness

  A Song of Shadows

  A Touch of Starlight

  Protectors of Magic

  Wings of Stone

  Carved in Stone

  Bound by Stone

  Shadows of Stone

  The Bone Coven Chronicles

  Witch’s Curse

  Witch’s Storm

  Witch’s Blade

  Witch’s Fury

  Part I

  A Plot for Chaos

  Chapter 1

  “Honestly, Sebastian. There’s no need to put your hands all over me.”

  Sebastian tightened his grip around my waist and grinned. “Wouldn’t want you to fall and break your neck. Now, would I, princess?”

  Sebastian, as always, was getting under my skin. And he was enjoying it far too much. The two of us flew over the muddy countryside down below, trees and fields whooshing by as if they were nothing more than distant postcards. His powerful wings beat the air, and the scent of stone, mist, and clear night air filled my head.

  When we’d planned this little mission to the Blood Coven’s old castle up north, Sebastian had been the first to volunteer to go. He’d said he wanted to make things up to me. He wanted to redeem his earlier actions against me, the shadow witches, and the Queen. And for some crazy reason I didn’t understand now, I’d gone along with it.

  I was sorely regretting that decision now.

  My own arms were flung around his neck, and I was holding on with the kind of strength I’d only dreamt about in the past. Not even the strongest human male alive could have broken my grip. No longer was I the helpless, powerless girl I’d been back in Dreadford Castle. My magic was growing, my strength was growing. Only the gods could challenge me now.

  Specifically, a goddess named Eris. The goddess of chaos. The one who wanted to destroy us all, for reasons none of us knew or understood.

  In the distance, the home of the Blood Coven rose up from the ground, its towers poking into the pitch black sky. The stone walls were empty and lifeless. There were no gargoyles keeping watch for them now. In fact, there wasn’t anyone or anything inside. Not anymore. The fae had seen to that.

  Dread pooled in my stomach as Sebastian dropped us into the courtyard. The last time I’d set foot in this place, everything had gone terribly wrong. The fae had captured me. They’d killed dozens of witches. And I’d had to fight for my life with every ounce of power I had running through my veins.

  Sure, we’d “won” in the end. I’d gotten the sword that unlocked my powers, and we’d freed the witches who had been trapped here...only for the fae to then track them down.

  The memories of what had happened here—and all those deaths—flickered in the back of my mind. Ghosts of the lives I couldn’t save haunted me in the corners of my vision. It felt as though they were here with me now, and I was pretty certain I wasn’t particularly welcome.

  “So, where are these weapons stashed?” Sebastian said as our feet hit the hard ground. His hands whispered at my waist for just a second longer, and then they were gone. Something about that small, slight touch sent a flicker of something strange through my gut, and my heart beat just a tiny bit louder.

  But that was ridiculous.

  This was Sebastian, of all people. He’d done nothing but infuriate, annoy, or piss me off since I’d met him. Hell, he’d even fought me. And I’d punched him off the cliff of the City of Wings. That last bit caused my lips to twist up into a smirk.

  He raised his eyebrows as he regarded me carefully. “Is there something funny about sneaking into an abandoned castle in the middle of the goddamn night?”

  “Oh, I was just remembering that time I punched you so hard that you tumbled right off the cliffside.”

  He grunted. “You caught me off guard. Most people who punch me get their knuckles broken. If you tried it again now, you wouldn’t be so lucky.”

  “You think so, do you?” I grinned. “Then, by all means, why don’t you prove it when we’re back in Mont Circeo.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, I can’t wait for this. Now, where are those weapons?”

  The weapons. Of course. The entire reason we’d come all this way. The last time I’d been here, Marcus and I had stumbled upon a small room that held dozens upon dozens of weapons. Swords, bows and arrows, axes, and daggers. And if we were going to win the war against Eris, we needed as many weapons as we could get. Especially fae weapons, which were much more magically enhanced than any normal weapon found in the mortal realm.

  I just had to hope reports were right, and that the fae really had fled to their realm without returning to this castle.

  “That there is Crimson Hall,” I said, pointing to the nearest building—the one where I’d been held captive. “Which means that the Great Hall is probably that building over there.”

  I’d only entered the Great Hall via passageway, so I couldn’t be certain I was right. It looked pretty Great from the outside though. Two thick pillars rose up on either side of the entrance, and a pair of tall, thick double doors stood three times as tall as me. Every inch of them had been covered by intricately carved artwork.

  As we strode closer, I began to make out those strange, carved shapes, even in the heavy darkness. They were carvings of vampires. Every single one of them. And their fangs flashed with drops of brightly-colored blood.

  “Now, that’s weird,” I said, pointing at the carvings as we approached the door. “I knew the blood witches were obsessed with vampires, but this is a bit much.”

  “Not just obsessed, princess,” Sebastian said. “They wanted to become those immortal beings themselves.”

  “I remember.” I shivered. In fact, it was an image I would not soon forget. Their pale faces. Their weakness underneath the light of the sun. They’d wanted to become vampires for strength, for immortality, for life. But instead, the vampiric disease they’d wanted had been eating them from the inside out.

  Sebastian pressed his hands against the heavy doors. With a push, the doors creaked open, revealing a long, dark ha
llway that disappeared into pitch black. A sight that was more than a tad unsettling.

  “Right,” Sebastian said, again with a whisper of his hand at my waist. “This place is giving me the creeps. Tell me we don’t have to go too far down that hall.”

  I raised my eyebrows and glanced up at him. It was next to impossible to see his expression, not when he was backlit by the dim moon. His silhouette was all darkness and shadows, obscuring even the faint scar that ran down one cheek.

  “Don’t tell me you’re scared. The bad-ass assassin, Sebastian? Wait until we get back, and I tell the others.”

  “In that case, you should go first.” And with a slight push against my back, Sebastian made me tumble into the hallway of the Blood Coven’s abandoned castle. For a moment, I had the irresistible urge to turn and glare at him, but there was something distinctly unsettling about this place. So much so that I couldn’t bear to do anything other than keep my eyes zeroed in on the hallway ahead and my ears open to any sounds at all.

  Something whispered by my ear, and I stiffened, my blood running cold.

  And then... “Boo!”

  I jumped ten feet high, my heart lurching into my throat. Whirling, I turned on Sebastian with fisted hands and narrowed eyes, my stomach throbbing like a snake had twisted it into a hundred tiny knots. My entire body buzzed, both from fear and anger and an electrifying emotion I couldn’t name.

  “I swear to the goddess, Sebastian. One of these days, I’m going to...”

  Going to what, Rowena?

  “Shh,” Sebastian hissed, pressing a finger to his lips. “Did you hear that?”

  “Oh, right.” I rolled my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest. “Good one. Like you’re going to get me a second time that easily. I get that I can be naive at times, but I’m not that dumb.”

  “No, I’m serious.” His voice dropped low, and he took my elbow in his strong grip, yanking me slightly closer to him.

  Frowning, I searched his face for some indication of what he was really feeling. This was some kind of joke again, right? He hadn’t actually heard anything. I mean, I certainly hadn’t, but I had also been pretty darn distracted by my pounding fear.

  I didn’t want to give Sebastian the smug satisfaction of startling me a second time, but—

  A strange eerie screech echoed down the darkened hallway.

  My blood ran cold, and I swallowed hard. Despite myself, I shifted closer to Sebastian, dropping my voice into a whisper. “Okay, I heard that.”

  “The fae all went back to their realm, right?”

  I swallowed hard. “I don’t think that’s a fae. It sounds more like a Nosferatu.”

  “A bloodsucker,” he said, words dripping with disgust. “Should have known they’d come here after the blood mages were gone. One last ‘fuck you’ to their greatest enemy.”

  “Well, we need those weapons. We’re just going to have to hope they won’t notice we’re here.”

  The look Sebastian gave me was one only he could. Translation: fat chance in hell of that happening.

  “Come on.” I stepped away from him, and his hand dropped from my elbow. For some strange reason, the absence of his touch felt as though I’d just lost something, though that was ridiculous. I was just missing my mates, that was all. Marcus, Eli, and Jasper had all wanted to come along, but this was a simple dash in and out mission, and there were a hundred other things we were all trying to juggle right now.

  So, I was stuck with Sebastian and missing my mates. That was it. Period.

  Together, we strode down the hallway. Our footsteps were quiet on the stone floor. I’d been practicing my growing magic, and I had the ability to keep the both of us cloaked in shadows, though my magic did nothing to obscure the sound or scent of us. And that was what I was most worried about when it came to Nosferatu vampires. They were feral, vicious things, and demonic in origin, which meant their senses were the most enhanced of all the vampire types.

  They wouldn’t need to see us to know we were here.

  After what felt like a million years, we finally came to the door of the small armory. It creaked on its hinges as we pulled it open, a deafening sound in the stillness of the castle. I held my breath tight in my throat as I stepped inside, scanning the shelves that had been full to the brim the last time I’d been here.

  Now, they were mostly empty, save for two swords and a bow.

  Sebastian swore underneath his breath. “So much for the secret stash of fae weaponry.”

  “We always knew it wouldn’t be full,” I argued, trying my best to see the hope in the situation, though the heavy feeling in my heart did much to obscure my optimism. We’d needed these weapons. When the magic hunters came for us, we wanted every mage alive armed with more than just their powers. A shadow witch could only do so much against an avalanche of arrows and bullets. There had been guns here before, and dozens of bows.

  “At least we won’t have to haul a heavy-ass trunk full of weapons all the way back to Mont Circeo.”

  “Yeah,” I said, heart sinking even more. “At least we won’t have to do that.”

  “Let’s just grab the bow and go. The swords aren’t—”

  The door blasted open, and the acrid stench of burnt flesh filled my nose. Sebastian and I whirled toward the noise, our shoulders pressing tight together. Glittering red eyes stared back at us, eyes that were sunken into pale, stretched faces.

  The Nosferatu had heard us. Or smelled us. And now they wanted our blood.

  Chapter 2

  I grabbed the nearest sword off the wall and threw it into Sebastian’s hand before whirling to get the second for myself. The steel glittered, even in the darkness, and a strange kind of raw power shot up my arm. Okay. So, that was interesting.

  But I didn’t have much time to think about what had just happened. One of the Nosferatu launched at me, his fingers curled into claws that were tipped with the sharpest nails. I ducked down just in time, thanking the goddess for all that time Jasper had spent training me in the elements of a physical fight.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Sebastian fighting the other, and his grunts echoed out the door, into the hallway, and into the ears of any other bloodsuckers haunting this castle.

  We needed to take down these two Nosferatu and get the hell out of here while we still had the chance.

  The Nosferatu jumped toward me again. This time, I didn’t duck. Instead, I raised my sword and slashed it sideways with all the strength within my core. The blade connected with the rotting flesh of the vampire, sinking deep into his gut. I gritted my teeth at the horrible sound, but I kept my grip tight on the hilt.

  With a grunt, I yanked the sword from his body and wiped the black blood onto my jeans. Heart still roaring in my chest, I twisted toward Sebastian. He’d taken out his Nosferatu while I’d been busy with mine, and he was now staring at me with a strange expression on his face.

  “What?” I snapped.

  “Nothing,” he said in a voice much softer than any I’d heard from Sebastian before now. “It’s just...well, you’ve gotten mighty good at that, princess.”

  “Stop calling me princess.”

  But despite myself, I felt my chest lift in pride. The truth was, I had gotten good at fighting. It was hard to remember how I’d once been: stuck inside a tower with barely enough energy to walk into the courtyard and back. Now, I could take on the best of them, and the fact that Sebastian, of all people, had noticed made me feel as though I could take on a hundred Nosferatu if I had to do it.

  Not that I wanted to do it. Goddess help me, I didn’t want to do that.

  As if in response to my thoughts, dozens of screeches echoed from somewhere in the castle. My spine went stiff and straight, and the grim set to Sebastian’s lips reflected the terrible feeling twisting my gut.

  “They’ve heard us, and they’re coming.” He held out his hand. “My wings are too wide for us to fly down this hallway. We need to run. As soon as we’re outside, I’ll
get us out of here.”

  So, I took Sebastian’s hand, and we ran. Our feet pounded the floor as we raced down the hallway to the open double doors. With every step, Sebastian’s grip grew tighter, almost as though he needed to feel me right there with him in order to escape this situation alive.

  Within moments, we were out in the courtyard. Nosferatu streamed from every corner of the castle, every single one headed straight our way. There were more than dozens of them. There were hundreds. My heart thudded in my chest. They’d claimed the castle as their own.

  Sebastian yanked me to his chest, and my arms surrounded his neck as if by instinct. And then his powerful wings beat the air, lifting us from the ground just seconds before the Nosferatu reached us. But as dangerous as the feral vampires might be, they couldn’t fly. We were gone into the night before they could do a damn thing about it.

  When we were a solid distance from the castle, Sebastian set us back down on the ground. We were in the middle of a field full of cows, and the scent that drifted into my nose was...well, I could only call it disgusting.

  “Why have we stopped?” I asked, propping my fists on my hips. “Don’t tell me you’re trying to woo me with the smell of cow patties.”

  Sebastian’s eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead. “Interesting that it’s the first thought you’d have in your head. But no, Rowena, I’m not trying to woo you. I figure you have more than enough gargoyles to go around, eh?”