She found her brush and attacked the monstrosity that was her hair, taming it from an explosive bush into a sleek tail, then braiding it quickly and looping it in half and securing it at her nape. It wouldn’t stop Antzel or the necromancer from getting hold of it completely, but it might lessen their success if they tried.
Rooting through the drawers of her bedside cabinet, Allianna smirked when she found her knives. A sweet-sixteen birthday present from Islador she’d never had chance to use. They would come in handy, as would the brass knuckles she’d stolen from Kian’s personal weapon stash.
Her first mission was to put the necromancer down.
Well actually, her first mission was to track the hissing viper to wherever it resided. Her second mission was to eradicate it from the realm and send it screaming back to hell. Once mommy demon was dealt with, Allianna would make sure Antzel followed swiftly on his mother’s heels.
Swinging on a soft, lightweight jacket, Alli stashed her weapons in the pockets and cracked open the door to the hallway. Peering out, she heard shouted orders and more running feet. It seemed Antzel had been pushed into a tailspin by her sudden disappearance.
Testing her newfound abilities, Allianna called the shadows to her, relieved when they came without question, whispering quietly as they cloaked her from view. Trusting them, she stepped into the hallway as the tail end of a small band of soldiers trotted past.
“Take me to the necromancer,” she crooned under her breath. A giggle nearly escaped her as the shadows at her back propelled her forward eagerly, their touch like hands firmly against her back, steering her around corners and pressing her against walls when Shadow soldiers marched past.
It was as though she had a physical shield of bodyguards surrounding her and, strangely, she liked the omnipotent feeling that gave her. The shadows were under her command, they were invincible to the highest degree, and they were loyal.
They guided her through hallways she’d never seen, through passageways and tunnels she didn’t know existed. The floor began to slope beneath her feet, directing her to a level that felt cold and barren, sucking the warmth from her bones and the life from her heart.
This was an evil place. The kind of place where sacrifices haunted the walls.
It gave her the shivers.
Darkness was the operative word here, with not a flicker of light to guide her way. Her footsteps faltered, became stilted as she tried to set her feet down in the oppressive blackness, wary of traps and holes in the ground. Her fingers found the wall, used it as a guide rope as the shadows escorted her deeper.
“I really wish I had some light about now,” she muttered, thinking how even a box of matches would make a difference. The faintest reprieve from the gloom would alleviate the sense of dread plaguing her.
Her hands warmed, defying the cold settling into her soul, and to Allianna’s puzzlement, began to glow subtly. Pale red light hummed through her skin, illuminating the narrow corridor she found herself in, before the shadows shushed her and extinguished the radiance.
But not before she saw the door just a few feet ahead.
Understanding, she nodded and caressed a shadow braceleted around her wrist in thanks. It vibrated with pleasure and sent the rest of them quivering with delight. They really were easy to please.
Moving forward with her goal in mind, she went with her guiding shadows, stopping when they gently pulled her to a halt and turned her toward the door on her left. With them as her protection, she slid her fingers over the freezing cold doorknob and slowly eased the door open just enough to slip inside and flatten herself against the wall.
Candlelight flickered along the walls of the chamber, a similar layout to Kian’s and Islador’s. That was the only similarity. This was the lair of evil, the epicenter of horror. Decades of unspeakable acts had been performed here, Alli could smell the blood in the goddamn walls and floor.
Itzel was fond of obsidian it seemed, the same stone Alli had been bound to. The few sparse pieces of furniture were all carved from the black rock, and those pieces of furniture were meant for nothing good. The twin of the altar in Kian’s chamber took pride of place in the middle of the room, just a smaller version.
Two carved units lined the walls, and heavy shelves hung from the walls. Bottles and vials were scattered everywhere, labels faded and peeling. Small marble deities sat on either end of the shelves, glowing down at the altar, silent witnesses to whatever atrocities the demon committed in here.
“I’ll find the bitch and make her pay,” the demon chittered from the next room, making the eerie noise that set Allianna’s teeth on edge. “If ssshe has ssset back my plans, I’ll peel the ssskin from her bones myself. Ssshe will regret ssshowing me up.”
Allianna waited for someone to comment, but after a few moments’ silence, she decided the demon was talking to herself. Excellent. She crept forward, sticking as close to the walls as she could while the shadows worked their magic. Peering carefully around the corner, she barely managed to stifle a cry of disgust at what she saw.
Itzel had ditched the hood robe she’d worn for the rituals and stood staring into a fire that wasn’t normal. No fire Alli had ever seen burned black and red and smelled like sulphur.
The demon rested both skeletal hands on the mantel above the hearth, those stick-like fingers drumming agitatedly on the obsidian surface with creepy little taps. The body was shaped like a narrow hourglass, an incredibly small torso tapering down to an almost non-existent waist the width of Allianna’s palm, down into malnourished-looking hips. The thighs and calves weren’t there—Itzel had the limbs of a spider, both arms and legs.
But it was the head, the serpentine-shaped head, that turned Alli’s stomach. From the back, Itzel was hooded like a king cobra, her slender neck protected by what looked like a thick plate of the same exoskeleton that covered the rest of her. Impenetrable by knife, at a guess.
“Well, well, this is an interesting turn of events.” The demon turned slowly, revealing the full extent of her demonic status, and Allianna struggled not to take several steps in rapid retreat. “Who’s there?”
Itzel’s face was a rough triangle of angles, mimicking a snake without any of the grace or elegance of a true serpent. The three red eyes flicked around the room independently of each other while a thick, black forked tongue slithered out of jaws that, by the look of them, could unhinge to swallow a man whole. Jaws sporting two sets of needle-thin, razor-sharp curved fangs.
No wonder the bitch hissed.
Taking a deep breath, Allianna shrugged off the veil of shadows, much to their distress, and stepped away from the wall into Itzel’s line of sight. It was gratifying to see the demon’s mouth drop open a couple inches in shock before those killer jaws snapped shut with a manic hiss.
“Didn’t expect to see me, did you, Itzel?” Allianna grinned wolfishly, determined not to let the demon see her unease. This was the first step to cleaning her new house, and she wanted it fucking spotless. “I wonder if your bastard son will be pleased to see me?”
Itzel chittered, showing those wicked sharp teeth. “When I drag you to him in chains, he will be most delighted to relive the exquisite pleasure of your agony. The entire realm is sssearching for you.”
Alli spread her arms wide. “I’m right here. They haven’t searched very well, have they? But then, who would expect me to stumble my way into the necromancer’s lair by accident and destroy her where she’s shed so much blood?”
“You’ve found your ssspine.” Itzel’s neck hood began to quiver and expand. “Why don’t you let me rip it out for you. You can return to being the sssnivelling little whore bent over the altar, believing her prince charming still exists beneath the monster.”
“Kian still lives,” Alli said calmly. Her hand slipped into her pocket, brass slipping over her fingers and settling into place. “That won’t stop me from sending Antzel back to hell on your heels, bitch. We all have sacrifices to make; if I’m willing to give my life t
o get you and your spawn out of my goddamn realm, I won’t hesitate to put Kian out of his misery to do the same.”
They drifted toward each other, circling as they moved and eyeing up the competition. Light versus dark, shadows closing in around them on one side while a curtain of black magic throbbed on the other. Two powerful entities trapped in a fighting circle, neither entirely sure of the other’s full capabilities.
Itzel snickered. “Your realm? You have nothing but an empty title.”
Allianna shrugged off her jacket and fisted her hand around the brass knuckles. Adrenaline pumped into her bloodstream, fueling the bloodlust building inside her, and she welcomed it. Embraced it like a long-lost friend. She’d lost some of her edge, some of her sense of self, while chained down on the altar, but her inner warrior was surging, itching for a fight she had no guarantees of winning.
“I have more than you imagine.” She leaped, landing a foot in front of the necromancer and ducking as her feet hit the floor. A whip-thin arm lashed out, whistling over her head like a whip, and Allianna bolted up, leading with her brass knuckles straight under the demon’s jaws with a savage crack.
Staggering away, Itzel yowled. Magic crackled and brewed, a lethal thunderstorm, and exploded outwards in a shower of onyx sparks. Red eyes gleaming triumphantly, she stalked forward, batting Allianna to one side without laying a hand on her.
Immediately the shadows roared into life, separating into two roiling clouds. One cocooned around Alli, deflecting the nasty flicks of evil shooting toward her, while the other...the other took on a life of its own. It doubled in size, in density and strength, forming into a familiar if unexpected shape.
Winded, Alli lifted an eyebrow as the shadows became a dragon’s head, jaws wide open and poised to strike. She got to her feet, cracking her neck with a hiss, and threw herself back into the fight. Brass met exoskeleton with harsh thuds, her fist pounding Itzel’s torso in short, vicious blows.
Sharp talons slashed at her back and shoulders, slicing through cloth without mercy and drawing blood. Flesh wept crimson tears as skin and muscle tore beneath the razor-sharp tips. But she gritted her teeth, blocked the pain and shock of her body being mauled, and renewed her assault on the demon.
Her free hand came up, scrabbled for a grip on the shiny surface, and found the faintest hairline crack in Itzel’s seemingly impenetrable armor. Her heart skipped a thick beat, and for a moment everything froze. A small weakness but possibly a vital one.
Digging her nails into that impossibly thin crack in Itzel’s defenses, Allianna drew on the power she’d stolen from Antzel and pulled. The demon screeched in alarm, magic crashed down on them both like a wave on top of a surfer and sent them both careening into opposite walls as dark forces and the shadow dragon went head to head.
Alli skidded into the rock, breath bursting free on a hard oomph, and stared down at the plate of Itzel’s torso in her hand. Lightweight, astonishingly strong and resistant, she realized she’d just leveled the playing field in a huge way.
The dark and the dragon battled ferociously in the middle of the room, obliterating everything in its path. Furniture turned to matchsticks, the obsidian shattering into dust beneath the combined entities.
The shadow dragon drew strength from Allianna, suckling from her in strong pulls as it expended more and more energy in the fight. She felt every blow it took vibrate down their connection, rattling her bones and jarring her teeth. Bit by bit, Alli sensed her physical body fade as the dragon almost drained her dry, the shadows protecting her now holding her upright.
The demon walked through the battle without a care, red eyes bright with triumphant glee. Her forked tongue flicked over sharp teeth, tasted the air, and a malicious grin spread those deadly jaws wide. “Ssscared, little girl? What I do to you will be nothing compared to Antzel’s intentions.”
Allianna’s gaze dropped to the exposed hole of Itzel’s chest. With the plate removed, the demon’s internal organs were guarded by a thin mesh of what looked like bone. Through it, Alli could see the pulsing mass of what she assumed passed as the creature’s cold, black heart. “You don’t scare me, bitch. Go through what I have the last couple of days, and there’s not much left to fear.”
Itzel bared her teeth. “But ssso much more to take. You’re getting weaker. Every minute your power sstruggles against mine, the more of it I drink like blood from your heart. Feed off it, and you. When you’re almost dead, too weak to think, I’ll take you back to Antzel and watch him punish you. Chain you, keep you alive until the prophesized ssson is born, and then I will devour him, inch by delectable inch, in front of you before Antzel kills you.”
Allianna’s blood sparked with disgusted fury, but a little voice in her head told her to keep her cool. Instead, she dissected what the demon had said and smiled slowly. So that was how these things worked? Here she was pumping life into the dragon, only for the demon to act like a giant leech and drain it dry?
Oh hell, no.
Two could use that tactic.
With a soft grunt, she cut off the internal supply of power, choking as the dragon protested and tried to claw more out of her. Concentrating, she urged it to look elsewhere, to turn dark eyes upon the foe they both fought and see what it really was.
A deep, almost bottomless pit of energy just right for a ravenous appetite.
And see it did. As one being, Allianna and the shadow dragon focused their gaze on the dark magic and saw it not as a formidable, insurmountable enemy, but a delicious banquet, writhing and squirming seductively as it reared back and aimed for a strike.
Allianna closed her eyes, saw through the cloaked vision of the shadow dragon. There was color unlike she’d ever seen, jeweled and vibrant. The demon’s power didn’t look as intimidating this way, a shimmering cloud of dusky shades glittering like crystalized candy floss.
She licked her lips and pounced, floaty and effortless, taking over the dragon easily and biting deep into the smorgasbord of magic in front of her. Quick bites, long slurps, and her strength surged back with a vengeance. Part of her recognized her human body feeling invincible, another began to fret as the power throbbed until her skin seemed to stretch tight enough to burst.
Still she feasted, listening to Itzel gasp and wheeze. When the demon’s energy was nearly completely consumed, Allianna opened her eyes and shed the shadow dragon, leaving it to finish its meal.
Talons gripped her thighs, piercing skin and muscle as Itzel kneeled before Alli with the reptilian face contorted with agony and confusion.
“What are you?” the demon demanded. “This isn’t possible.”
Was this what Kian felt? This sense of pure enlightenment, as though she could pick individual genetic cells from Itzel’s scaly form? Could she really taste the light, the demon’s terror, like they were sugar and lemon? Because they were so moreish.
Drunk on the high, Allianna grinned down at Itzel. Yes, this was right. This was perfect. The first of her enemies to kneel before her awaiting her justice. She pressed a hand to her belly, to the life safe inside her. Her son would never be subjected to the horrors of this creature.
The shadow dragon polished off the last of its supper and Allianna preened a little as the final dregs slipped into every nook and cranny of her soul. It was gratifying to witness the bright light in Itzel’s gleaming ruby eyes die as it dawned on the foul beast just what was in her immediate future.
Death.
One by one, Alli cracked her knuckles and stretched out her fingers on each hand with deliberate care. So many ways to kill the beast and only one chance to do so. With her left hand, she lashed out and wrapped her fingers around the demon’s neck, holding tight as she bent and tapped the fingertips of her free hand over the intricate webbing of Itzel’s chest.
“I am the Queen of Shadows. I have the blood of an archangel in my veins, the abilities of a demon in my control, and the neck of a necromancer on her knees in my hand.” Allianna let her grin turn a little bit wild. �
��Scared, bitch?”
The demon’s eyes closed. “Hell doesn’t scare me.”
Allianna’s fingers gripped the fragile bones comprising the demon’s chest and crushed them with little effort. “No, I don’t suppose returning to the cesspool you came from is frightening.” She leaned down closer, ready to smash Itzel’s teeth from her mouth if the demon made one wrong move. “It might interest you to know I had a fascinating conversation with Lucifer earlier. He is not pleased with you or the scum you birthed, and he is looking forward to having you home, Itzel. Won’t that be fun?”
Who knew a black-skinned demon could turn pale? It was satisfying to watch the necromancer quail at the mention of Lucifer, and Alli wondered just what the devil had in store for his two unruly citizens. She hoped it was painful, everlasting, and that at some point in time, she got to witness their suffering.
“Antzel will avenge me,” Itzel claimed with the fervor of someone who fully believed a lie. “When he finds out you killed me, he will destroy you.”
Allianna thrust her hand into the necromancer’s chest, grimacing as cold, slimy organs enveloped her warm skin. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to find the insides of the beast as frozen as the outside but feeling it firsthand was not something she wanted to do again. Ever. This life or next. She caged the demon’s heart between fingers and palm.
“Antzel will be following you swiftly, Itzel. This nightmare needs to come to an end. A demon will never be King of Shadows, I’ll see to that personally. You and your son will rot under Lucifer’s hand while my son and I rule the Shadow realm the way it deserves.”
Itzel started to laugh, but the sound became a pained gurgle as Alli simultaneously clenched her fist and wrenched it free. The heart in her hand wasn’t the solid muscle of anything living; it crumbled like wet, black earth between her fingers, oozing filthy liquid and stinking like a rotting corpse.
King Of Shadows: The Shadowcrown Duet Page 14
