by Elissa Daye
Lyssa had been tracking and recording for such a long time that she was wearing herself to the bone, and Julius finally felt the need to intervene. “Lyssa. Enough. You’re no good to us if you’re exhausted.”
Lyssa looked up at him with eyes that ached from too much concentration. He was right. She needed to get away from this for a moment. “Fine. What else can I do?”
“Come with me.” He reached out his hand, and she took it trustingly. He may have done some brash things, but she still trusted him.
When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find herself in the cemetery they had visited before. Why were they back here? She looked up at Julius, trying to understand why he would have brought her here. “Julius?”
“We’re going to take a stroll.”
“In a cemetery? Really?” Lyssa bristled at the easy sarcasm that entered her voice. Did she really have to be at odds with everyone around her?
Julius walked her to a different area of the cemetery. There were several smaller tombstones with tiny lettering on them. She could see a few names on a handful of them, while others were blank with just a date of death. No one had been able to identify the people buried beneath. The only things they had in common were that they had died in this city, and all the dates of death fell within the past two years. There were close to twenty lost souls beneath her. Their souls were probably trapped underground too.
“Okay. So what exactly are you trying to tell me here, Julius?” Lyssa eyed him warily.
“We have all lost someone, Lyssa. We all know how you’re feeling. Every soul here had someone who loved them. We cannot take back the pain. We cannot erase the loss. We can do what they have always done.”
“And what is that?”
“Live to fight another day.”
“What? That’s it. Here you are standing in front of these graves, and you want to spout that crap to me? If you knew someone here, it wouldn’t be so easy for you to stand here and say we’ve done everything we could. There’s always something more we could have done.”
“My little sister is buried here. She was only sixteen when the shadows drove her into taking her own life. I want nothing more than to spend every minute of my life searching for her lost soul in the Land of the Shadows, but I have to remember all the people who are with the living first.”
“Their souls should not be any less important than the living, Julius. They can’t live again if they are shackled to this lifetime. I’ve had enough waiting, Julius. I want to start searching the Land of the Shadows. There just isn’t enough information available about it. I want to enter other portals and find what is powering these damn shadows. Every entity in this world is fueled by some kind of energy. The shadows are no different, but evolution has changed them so that they can feed on the energy of others. Where do they begin before all of that occurs? Do we even know how they are born?”
Julius looked at her speculatively before answering her. “I had a feeling you would say that. I agree that we need to do more research about the Land of the Shadows. The Craven are getting a lot of their powers through the darkness they are channeling through the rising shadows. They are both parasites feeding off each other in some kind of symbiotic relationship. If we can stop the rising of the shadows underneath us, then the Craven could be defeated. These damn things are like psychic vampires draining the life from others wherever they can.”
“Why are we talking about this here, Julius? Why not in front of the others?”
“Because this is not something mandated by the Watch Tower. It would be incognito, and you would be on your own.”
“You would send me in on my own? Without Jackson?”
“Let’s be honest for a minute. You and I both know that I couldn’t stop you. Look, Lyssa, I know what road you are meant to travel. I’ve already seen it. You are destined to unravel the mystery in the Land of the Shadows while we fight them here. Hunter and Logan are learning more about the Craven each day so that we can find a way to break the cycle of energy between them. But you, Lyssa, you are meant to find the key to it all. Jackson has his own niche as a Guardian, but you both have separate destinies.”
“Wow, that’s a tall order.” Lyssa took a deep breath. That was a lot to put on one person, a lot to take in one afternoon, but he was right. She would not stop until she found a way to save the souls trapped underground, and to do that, she had to know what made the shadows tick. Lyssa had a lot more work to do than she’d first thought, and he was right about Jackson. He had another path within the Watch Tower.
“You’ll still have responsibilities at the Watch Tower. Otherwise, the others will wonder what you’re up to. I trust you’ll be careful when you go.”
“You can count on it. I’ve already located some portals that I would like to investigate.”
“Get some rest first.”
“You got it.”
Chapter 22
Lyssa returned to the Watch Tower and pretended that the conversation with Julius had never happened. No one else needed to know what they had discussed. Julius was right. Sometimes they had to take things into their own hands. She now had a little more respect for him as a leader. He knew that they could not always be at a standstill with the world. Sometimes they had to act, even when others thought it was easier to wait for answers.
During the next day, she researched and cataloged information just like every day before, but the way that she looked at the world had changed. She had been feeling held back and helpless. Now, Lyssa felt empowered and encouraged. If anyone could find the answers to the origins of the shadows, it would be her. This was the only thing she had to look forward to right now. Hunter had disappeared from her life so easily, and while she should be able to contact him, she had not been able to for some time. Being able to just barely sense him made her feel completely disconnected, and she started to feel a wall building up around her. Lyssa could not focus on how she felt about him right now. If she dwelt in the bitterness of their separation, she would not be of any help to anyone else. So that was what she did.
Over the next few days, her appetite returned, and she was suddenly hungry for a good dinner. Lyssa ignored the stares from the table when she devoured the food that Jackson had prepared. He always made extra whenever Serena came in hopes that Lyssa would sit down and eat for a change, and today was a good day to start. Lyssa thought about all the work she had ahead of her and smirked. She couldn’t help wondering if she had bitten off more than she could chew.
“So what gives?”
“Hmm?” Lyssa concentrated on washing the cup she was holding.
“Why so chipper?”
“Well, I can either dwell on things I cannot change, or I can work on changing the things that are within my realm of possibilities.”
“Have you heard from Hunter? Is that what happened today?”
“Nope. Not that it would change things if I had, Jackson. We can’t be together right now. We may have had something while he was here, but we are definitely on break now that he is gone.” Lyssa pursed her lips at that comment. Was that how she truly felt about Hunter right now? Did she still love him? People always said that absence made the heart grow fonder, but whoever first said that was a certifiable idiot. She was not fond of Hunter right now. She was downright pissed at him. It wasn’t like she didn’t know that he had to be where he was, but why even bother making her fall for him if he were just going to drop off the face of the planet?
“You can’t mean that, Lyssa. I know how much he means to you.” Serena was looking at her sadly.
Lyssa laughed out loud. “Really? I am doing the healthiest thing I could be doing right now. I’m moving on and focusing on what I really need to work on. Come now, Serena, you must recall the embittered, self-conscious person you met when I first walked in that door. Do you want me to be the same simpering idiot who pines after someone she can�
��t have?”
“But you have him, Lyssa. He’ll be back. Sooner than you think.”
“I’m not holding my breath, Serena. Look what happens to the people I love. I’d do better to focus on our mission to rid the world of the shadows. Please, just drop it. I’m okay. I’m doing me right now, that’s it. M-E.”
“Sing it, sister!” Jackson smiled and gave a sassy swish of his head.
“As long as you’re okay.”
Serena did not seem happy with any of her responses, but the redhead did not know her agenda. If she was able to solve some of the puzzles of the Land of the Shadows and how they were being created, then she might actually be able to bring Hunter home before any more damage was done to his soul. For now, she would not be sitting around, waiting for him to contact her. As she told Serena, she was going to do what she needed to do, just as Hunter was.
When everyone had finished for the evening, she yawned and made it clear that she was heading up to her room for the night. Since the only person who had ever disturbed her in her room was Hunter, it was pretty easy to assume she would be left to her own devices. Lyssa had already found at least six portals that she would like to enter, but tonight, she was revisiting the first portal she had entered to see if there was any more information to be found. She looked through her closet to find clothes that would allow her to camouflage herself. If she appeared like one of the shadows below, maybe it would be harder to be detected. Lyssa found a black pair of jeans, black boots, and a black hooded sweatshirt. A black mask would complete the whole look perfectly, but she did not have one, so covering her head with the hood of the sweatshirt would have to do.
Lyssa closed her eyes and pictured the cemetery she had visited before. Instead of moving to the entrance of the cemetery, this time, she teleported to the tree beside the portal. She hid there in the darkness for a few moments to make sure that no one was watching her. The night was quiet like any other, and the graves cast shadows on the ground from the moonlit glow above. When she was sure the cemetery was empty, she stepped out from behind the tree and moved near the portal. She felt the space in front of her get colder when the vortex of the portal was giving off frigid air. This time she mentally prepared herself for the pitch black of the cave inside as she stepped through the entrance.
Her eyes slowly adjusted, and she started to move cautiously through the darkness in front of her. When she had made it to the stairs of the subway, she looked above carefully. It was no darker here than it was before, even though it was the still of night in her world above it. A cool breeze floated across her face, and she saw newspapers scatter across the ground like tumbleweeds. Shadows were in the far distance, but she was not troubled by their appearance. They were headed away from her, and from what she could see, they looked much like her, all in black from head to toe. She pulled out her wand and used it to make her aura mimic the energy around her. She felt the air swirl around her and coat her like a blanket. If this worked correctly, it would be the best cloaking device ever invented. The only true test would be to get closer to a shadow and see if they noticed her. If they did, she would have to teleport out of there quickly. While she was tempted to find this out right away, she knew that was only part of her mission tonight. Tonight, she wanted to speak with other lost souls to see if they had any information that would help her free them.
Lyssa went to the building across the street as she had before. When she climbed the stairs and opened the door, she was saddened to realize that the souls that had been there before were no longer present. Instead, charred marks now stained the floor like pools of black blood.
Walking over to the stains, she put her hand over them. Her mind soaked an imprint from them as flashes of pictures entered her head. Lyssa saw the shadows enter the room, then the blast of fiery light from blackened fingertips that seared each soul. Their screeching cries echoed horribly around her. She had always thought that pain ended when you died, but it was very clear from the impressions on the floor that there was still pain after death if the soul was not allowed to ascend to its final resting place. The rest of their life’s essence pooled on the ground like crude oil as the imprint continued. Moments after their souls had been obliterated, the puddles boiled over, and a black smoke rose from the pools. It rose higher and wafted toward the shadows standing near the door. The shadows raised black crystals toward the smoke that acted like quiet vacuums, sucking what was left of the souls and trapping them firmly inside. She raised her hand away from the floor and felt herself shiver as she tried to wave away the evil vision she had just seen. If this was what happened to Lana, there would be hell to pay.
Was that how the shadows were getting the energy to expand their abilities? Wasn’t it bad enough that these things were corrupting the innocent thoughts of others to the point that death seemed a much more pleasant alternative than living their lives? Now, these shadows were feeding and growing from the souls they had trapped beneath the surface. This was bad. This was so much worse than they had imagined. But this by itself was not enough information for the Watch Tower. She did not have conclusive proof that these beings were formed entirely by devouring the souls of others. There was still much more research to do.
Lyssa decided to continue her exploration of this area and find out if the shadows could detect her within their radius. Walking down the stairs, she entered the street carefully. From what she remembered, the shadows had been moving down this street away from where she had started, so Lyssa decided to keep going to where she had last seen them. As she walked down the street, she looked at the buildings surrounding her. There was no energy soaking through the walls, nor any spirits screaming for release. It was like a deserted city. She couldn’t help but wonder if their last excursion here had made the shadows wipe the souls out of existence. Lyssa would have to be very careful not to leave any trail of her energy in this world.
Lyssa searched for hours before she actually found another shadow walking about. Was it possible that the shadows were not present in the witching hours? Would this be the time they spent stalking the innocents in the human world? If that was the case, wouldn’t this time of night be the best time to help the souls trapped here? It was a hypothesis that would need further research.
Lyssa crept closer to the shadow to test her shield and was happy to find it did not turn as she got closer. When she got near enough to almost touch it, the shadow stopped. She ducked into the stoop of a doorway to her left. Standing there quietly, she kept as flush to the door as possible, her head looking down to the ground, so that her hood would conceal her head while holding her breath. The shadow turned toward her, but then it turned back around and started to move forward through the empty street. Lyssa let a breath out slowly and inhaled another just as quietly. So the shadow could sense her if she got too close to it, but when there was enough distance between them, she was safe enough. These were all interesting details she would need to report to Julius when she had enough information to act.
When it was safe again, she followed behind the shadow at a farther distance, so as not to be detected. The shadow was soon joined by two others. None of them turned around to look at her. After tracking them for close to an hour, they neared another subway terminal and started to climb into its depths. Part of her felt leery about following them into a dark tunnel. They would have the advantage, as she would not be able to see nearly as well as they could, but she knew there had to be something down there that drew them to it.
Ever so slowly, she entered the tunnel behind them. Lyssa had her wand stashed up her sleeve in case she needed to use it to defend herself, but it seemed unnecessary. These beings were being pulled to something she could not feel. It was almost as if a large magnetic force was drawing them closer. She mimicked their movements and moved closer to the entrance to another tunnel.
When she looked inside the entrance, Lyssa saw something that almost turned her stomach. The shadows had all
gathered around a large black sphere that appeared to be made of some kind of obsidian stone. They raised their wands, and a swarm of black dots flew toward the orb like locusts attracted to some kind of dark energy. She recognized the energy at once. It was the same helpless feeling that she had felt when the shadows were feeding on her soul. She stood in a black circle that resembled the same oily substance as the black pools staining the floors in the building. This was what they were doing with the energy from the stolen souls.
Lyssa stepped through the entrance and moved to the side of the closest wall. She stood there, transfixed with their ritual and breathless as a silent rage built inside her, and yet she had to stay there. A need to find out as much as she could consumed her. As she watched the ritual reach completion, another clue presented itself. The stone orb pulsed like a charcoal heart, rising and falling, and a staccato beat sounded around the tunnel. Before her eyes, a blob of darkness started to pulse from one side of the orb. It grew in shape and form, so large that it was like a child ripping itself from its womb. She was awestruck with what she was seeing…the birth of evil so slow and simple. Three more shadows formed from the orb and grew to standing size. Clearly, these rocks were responsible for the continued growth in the shadow population, being fed with the energy that these leeches sucked out of the helpless people of her world. Lyssa wanted to attack it, but she knew that being hotheaded would not lend itself to her research. She had to get out of there while she still could. The shadows kept pooling forth from the orb, and it was clear that if they kept multiplying within this tunnel, she would be detected. Lyssa exited the tunnel and teleported directly home.
