The Hidden Truth (Shadow Claw Book 7)

by Sarah J. Stone

  It wasn’t that Viria hadn’t felt cared for. She’d strived so hard to be completely independent that she’d forgotten what it was like to sit back and have things done for her. It reminded her of the days when she first came into Ivanna’s family and was adopted.

  She ate slowly. It was hard to believe ghouls were capable of so much flavor, but she enjoyed it to her fullest. She’d forgotten what it was like to enjoy something.

  As she was chewing, her eyes fell on Mitch’s face, his left side exposed to her as he stood guard. Narrowing her eyes she tried to convince herself her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. She got up from the bed carefully and approached Mitch, staring at him so hard that he had to turn to look at her. She grew closer to him and Mitch looked at her weirdly, almost nervous. He stood extremely still as her fingers traced his mouth.

  “Viria, what are you doing?” he asked, grabbing her hand. He couldn’t believe it, but he felt a jolt in his heart. It was supposed to be dead.

  “Your mouth was not like this,” she said and moved closer to observe his face. “Mitch, you’re healing…”

  “What?”

  “You’re healing,” she stated again. “See? Fresh meat, not decayed. I could see fourteen of your teeth before when you closed your mouth, and now I only see twelve. Give me your right hand.”

  He raised it for her to see and was surprised to see the flesh he’d ripped on his hand coming together very slowly.

  “What the fuck?” he breathed, grabbing his hand and staring.

  “You’re evolving,” Viria said in amazement. “I don’t know how this will turn out, but you’re evolving.”

  “I don’t get it.” He looked at her, a little alarmed.

  “Ghouls have evolved about twice in history,” she explained. “Once when it came to processing dark energy for absolute sustenance, they stopped needing to eat to survive. Second, when they obtained powers to control other dead bodies to their bidding. The dark energy in you has leveled up in its efficiency and is starting to practice it in another manner now. You did say you were powerful.”

  “But the Heads are stronger than me,” he said. “Why not them?”

  “Who knows, but you’re the new product now,” she said. “Only time will tell what will happen from here. This isn’t a bad thing, trust me.”

  “Should I tell the heads?”

  “Absolutely not.” She wagged her finger. “Not until the cemetery has been shifted.” He nodded obediently. Viria wanted to observe him a little more for more signs of return of life. “Can I touch your head?”

  He bowed his head to her and she ran her head over it. She felt small bristles of hair brush over her skin. His head looked darker than before now.

  “Your body is using dark energy for all of this,” she said as she grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse. “You’re heart is not beating. You really are evolving.”

  “This is insane,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “Don’t say a word to anyone about this, Mitch,” she said. “Okay?”

  He nodded again. She gleaned at his eyes and they weren’t as dull as before. His lips not as grey as before. She was awed to be witnessing something like this.

  Mitch looked at her, fascinated with him. It made him feel…somewhat embarrassed. In a good way, though. She liked her interest in him, but it dampened his mood to think it was just this new thing that was taking place that piqued it. It wasn’t him, but what was happening to him. With a deep breath he looked away and toward the entrance of the cemetery he could spot from where he stood.

  “Your companions are here,” he said and Viria moved away from him in seconds and off downhill toward the cemetery gates. He sighed and turned away, walking inside and sitting on the bed. He knew it would be useless to deny anything, but he wasn’t all too sure of what was going on. He was confused. Maybe it was because she was the only intelligent girl around, firm and determined about life and others around her, despite the pain she held inside herself. It was refreshing to be around her. It was something he wished he had ever since he was resurrected. Maybe it was a momentary attraction that would fade.

  He hoped it would. He knew how much trouble it would bring not just for her, but for himself, too. Because girls like Viria, who prominently faced pain more than happiness in their lives, were hard to deal with at their worst. It scared him how much he was willing to put up with it if he had to despite the sight being unbearable. It was so unbearable that when he saw her sleep for the first time, face contorting in pain and tendrils of magic curling off from her skin against a threat that was never there, his first thoughts was to help her no matter what and no matter how. Thoughts aside, it was an instinct that kicked in all too suddenly. He just wanted her to be okay. He knew the moment he started to fail bringing her peace, conflict would arise. He’d get hurt, and he’d hurt her, but he wouldn’t ever be able to let go.

  So, he hoped he felt nothing. And he hoped Viria didn’t come around to feeling anything, either.

  Viria greeted her companions at the gate. “We need to surround the whole area,” she explained, “and make sure the temple is at the very center of what we cover. It’s the main source of power for the cemetery.”

  “We’ll make a round and start marking points,” Yale offered. “You’re supposed to be at the temple, right?”

  “Yes, I’ll be the one to carry out the transfer,” she confirmed. Fae reached forward to put a hand on her shoulder.

  “You know the implications of this,” she reminded her. Viria nodded with determination.

  “I’m okay with it,” she said, “I’m the only one who can do this.”

  “Viria.”

  “There isn’t much to live for all that long, anyway,” she almost snapped, “I’m fine with this.”

  It had been a while since she’d shown the slightest of emotions, and Fae was taken aback. The young witch was always so controlled. More than any of them. Viria stomped away from her and Fae looked at everyone who was equally as surprised. Tina shrugged and asked the others to let her be.

  “She’ll come around on her own when she has to,” she said. “Let’s get this work done and take one less burden off her shoulders.”

  Viria felt frustrated. Proper frustrated, and as soon as she realized it she stopped in her tracks and composed herself.

  “It’s okay to feel this way,” she told herself. “You’re supposed to feel things. It’s fine. They only say it because they care for you, is all. It’s not that bad.”

  These were some of the words she heard from Ivanna that she’d repeat to herself to calm herself. She wished Ivanna was here to hold the Council off when they got like this. Viria had wanted to ask how far she ad Nina had gotten in the process, but she’d let her emotions get in the way and got frustrated. Nothing she was proud of, but she forgave herself. She was glad to have felt it in a way. She was still capable of feeling more. She hadn’t felt feelings so intensely in a long time, though she may not have portrayed them as strongly.

  Sighing, she started to walk again, slower, breathing deeply and trying to calm down her head that had grown hot.

  Wow, that really made my blood pressure rise, she thought. Fae didn’t even say anything that annoying.

  She reached the temple, and with another deep breath, she entered. “Please don’t suck my soul out,” she requested, “I need to perform a ritual to initiate the relocation.”

  The ghouls nodded in their dark coffins. Viria went to the center and sat down, waiting for the call to start the process. Minutes later, it came and she stood up to get on with the ritual, moving slowly and fluidly as she formed symbols using her glowing hands and feet to trace symbols in the air. The Heads watched in awe of her as she encased herself within an intricately precise cage of power and magic, the drawings an old language translating into spells, but acting more power than it did with a simple chant. The ghouls felt it, and for a moment, it threatened them to see something that they could feel so easily overpower
them.

  Viria felt the unease and did something very out of character. She gave them a comforting smile. “Nothing overpowers death, so don’t worry.”

  Viria felt the ritual starting to take effect as different-colored lights broke in from the walls and right into the smaller symbols traced onto the cage and disappearing right through them. She closed her eyes and went into meditation. The moment she opened her eyes, they glowed golden and markings zipped down her whole body as her full potential came into play.

  The ghouls watched in absolute awe as Viria’s whole form glowed brighter and brighter through her marks with each passing second until it enveloped the whole room and blinded everyone.

  Chapter 16

  Nina still remembered the way to the Inner Circle. She knew the secret spells she needed to get herself there through the teleportation portals in the High Council quarters. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to go, though. The members knew she had run away and she wasn’t sure if they were dumb enough to fall for the deceit she had planned, or if they would even accept the sight of her.

  “Viria went into the Inner Circle a few times,” Ivanna explained. “She overheard a lot. They won’t have anyone but you taking over Morrigan’s position there.”

  “That’s really strange,” Nina admitted.

  “Morrigan loved you a lot,” she said. “The seal over her throne will not break unless you’re in its presence.”

  Nina scoffed. “Loved?”

  “Well, no,” she agreed, “but obsessed, yes.”

  “Makes sense.” She sighed. “All right, let’s do this.”

  Nina stood on Morrigan’s signature portal and chanted a few spells under her breath, and she broke into small pieces of light that evaporated and disappeared into the air. Ivanna went over to stand and simply moved her fingers in the air that traced out a small symbol, and she was gone.

  They two appeared in the familiar room made of black stone and was dimly lit with scones of fire mounted onto the walls and candles on the crystal chandelier above them. Ivanna always wondered why they couldn’t just get electricity here and upgrade to lightbulbs like in the HQ. Or computers. Or anything that has helped the world toward efficiency.

  No one was present in the room. The books in the wall seemed untouched, the curtains dusty, tables dull with books, ink bottles, and pens left lying open. The pedestal – which held the glowing, smoky water of the essence of the realm – had minute fissures and cracks, grey and brown patches marking it in places. The witches and wizards didn’t bother cleaning the place after Morrigan’s death. They left everything as it was.

  The throne sat at the far corner of the room in its red, black, and gold glory upon its ruby platform within an enclosure of its own on the either side of it. Nina shuddered as he took it all in, and it was just how she’d remembered it, except dusty. She could see the aging in the book pages, walls, and curtains, and in the wood of the table.

  “Go to it,” Ivanna ordered. “The throne will let you sit on it.”

  “What happens if it doesn’t?” she asked.

  “You won’t be able to,” Ivanna explained, “the throne puts up an invisible wall around itself if anyone but whoever is assigned to it nears it.”

  Nina breathed deeply. She wasn’t willing to take a step forward, but she remembered who and what she was doing it for. So, she pushed her will and walked to the throne that glimmered under a soft light coming from the window above it. She neared it cautiously, wishing for it to just catch flames and combust, or melt away.

  Stopping before the throne, she looked back at Ivanna who was waiting expectantly.

  “Nina,” she said gently, “You’ll be shifting the responsibility to me as soon as the throne accepts you. It’s okay if you don’t want to do it, though. Viria will find another way.”

  “Can she?”

  “Nothing is impossible for her.” Ivanna chuckled. “But you doing this will save us a few months’ of work and using dark magic.”

  Nina felt horrified and it was enough to convince her to do this. She marched up the sparkling ruby platform and easily plopped herself onto the throne. Ivanna gave her a half-smile, one that conveyed gratefulness. It reminded Nina of the Ivanna she knew before Morrigan took her away to the Inner Circle.

  Neither of them expected what came next. The room exploded into dust, making them cough their lungs out. But the air cleared up just as suddenly, and so did their chests, and it was as if the room was never left unattended. Everything had been cleared of dust, their shine and gloss returned. The two did not expect all of the members of the Inner Circle come barreling through the door either.

  “Nina!” one of them cried. It was Agatha. Nina remembered her well. She’d dueled with her a lot and often lost. She was pretty disappointed when she found out Nina attempted to run away. As cruel as she was, she took just as much a liking to Nina as Morrigan had.

  There were gasps and murmurs that spread around everywhere as more people filled the room until there were twelve in total. Ivanna looked at them and understood why any discrepancy would take place from their side. Twelve was a large number and it was hard to control what was going on within such a number.

  “Erm,” Nina started, “Hi, guys.”

  Ivanna watched everyone very carefully.

  “And what made you come back?” An oversized man with a protruding pot-belly sneered. Agatha glared at him.

  “Morrigan chose her for a reason,” she declared. “She needs to state no reason for her return.”

  Agatha’s too eager, Ivanna noted. Fat guy’s reasonably questioning.

  “That’s not it, Agatha,” another witch spoke up. “She ran away from responsibility only to come back to claim it without proper basis or experience. We work on merit.”

  Nina felt absolutely awful, but she looked at Ivanna in the shadows who raised her hand in a gesture to wait it out.

  “Why would you question Morrigan’s decision?” a wizard asked. “If Nina wasn’t worthy, then she would’ve taken off the spell from the throne after Nina had disappeared.”

  Nah, he seems okay, Ivanna assessed.

  “Nina has always been a very important part of the community from the beginning,” a pale, blonde wizard spoke passionately. “If our leader is back, then we should treat her with respect.”

  Definitely suspicious, Ivanna noted.

  “I understand why people would be suspicious, but the throne does not work for simply anyone, Morrigan’s magic or not,” a dark witch explained. “She should definitely undergo assessment and training to prove herself, but she cannot be forced off. The throne has accepted her. There must be some potential in her.”

  Reasonable. She’s all right.

  “She still needs to explain why she came back, though,” a silver haired witch said. “I think we deserve that from her, if she’s wants us to cooperate with her.”

  Agatha and the blonde wizard seemed furious. A few more of the witches and wizards spoke and Ivanna pinned down three more for suspicious behavior. Almost half the group was candidates for investigation of betraying the realm’s supernatural creatures. It was disturbing.

  “I came back because of a vision,” Nina stated confidently. Ivanna was impressed with how convincing she sounded then. “Trouble will soon fall to our communities and I’d been busy looking for answers.”

  “How will your coming back help?”

  “Morrigan’s essence within me faded away a while ago,” she said. “She visited me and told me to come back here and complete her job. Once that was done, I was free to leave and hand over power to one of you. But I know things about her even you don’t. Once those are taken care of, I shall leave and you will be the ones to lead.”

  All Ivanna had marked suspicious exchanged eager glances with each other. Viria had taught her enough about reading the air and faces and she was glad she’s paid attention to it.

  “How would you determine who is fit from us to take your place?”

  “I wo
n’t,” she said. “Ivanna will.”

  Good move, she thought to herself as she moved out of the shadows. Seven of the witches and wizards nodded in approval once they saw her.

  “Ivanna, we’ve heard about you from Morrigan,” the silver haired aged lady came forward. “You’ve taken her position in the High Council, I believe?”

  “Yes, I have.” Ivanna nodded.

  “I heard a lot about you from the other members of it,” she said as she took Ivanna’s hand to shake. “You work well with the people and have built good connections. A capable leader, I must say.”

  “Thank you,” Ivanna said. “I appreciate the acknowledgement.”

  “How would you vouch for Nina taking up such a position?”

  “The only reason I brought her here was because of Morrigan’s orders, but I’m given the reins to judge and guide her. Her role in the community is vital. People will listen to her, since she’s well-known as the prodigy child and Morrigan’s chosen one.”

  The silver-haired lady looked at her, and for a moment, a flicker of vulnerability surfaced through. She appeared helpless, but now very hopeful. She squeezed Ivanna’s hand lightly which she immediately understood. Something was really wrong in the Inner Circle.

  “Please choose wisely when the time comes, Ivanna,” she begged in a low voice. “The future of the community depends on it. I know Nina is a good person at heart, and so are you. Please retain that and choose someone similar to make the right decisions for the community and not for easy power.”

  Ivanna knew instantly she could trust the woman.

  “I’ll be sure to honor your request,” Ivanna replied. “I didn’t come here without a reason and plan.”

  The lady closed her eyes and breathed a prayer, looking at Ivanna like she was a blessing. She moved away and walked toward the bowl set on the pedestal that looked good as new. She dipped her hand into the smoky substance and pulled out a beautiful black gem the size of a thumb nail.