The Covenant of Shadows Collection

by Kade Cook

  Every eye is now on him. Orroryn regains his composure and begins to speak. “There wasn’t enough time. And as for having information,” he continues, sea-green eyes as dark and haunting as a forest, staring a warning at his demanding peer, “I have explained to Vaeda just moments ago, it was a necessary and immediate act. The girl’s life depended on it.”

  “The girl, the girl…enough about the girl. What I want to know is how did the monster get out?” Caspyous demands, clenching his fist until the skin around his knuckles pales.

  The room searches the table for a contribution to the question. Cimmerian lifts his stare from his folded hands and panics at all the eyes boring holes into him with the hope that Ethan refrains from probing his thoughts. “He must have found a loophole in the spell Cera cast upon him,” he offers in a low mournful song. “He is no longer bound to the darkness, at least not in essence anyway.” Cimmerian tries to swallow down the lump in his throat and coughs, choking on his words. The room begins to buzz from the loud chattering but he takes little notice as he clears his throat again. “It is my belief that he may be using his essence to appear, like the creatures of the night that enter and exit our world when the cover of darkness cloaks us, thinning the doors between the two dimensions.”

  He looks around cautiously to read the expressions on the faces of his peers. He hesitates to look at Ethan but instinct makes his eyes betray him and he glances over with fear. Ethan greets him with a comforting smile and a nod of confidence that makes Cimmerian’s hands sweat, then turns, whispering something to Orroryn about the matter.

  “So, is he gone?” Arramus inquires, leaning into the table, and folds his hands on top of the flat surface, jarring Cimmerian from his guarded thoughts.

  The room loses its voice once more. This is a question the entire table wants the answer to.

  Cimmerian scratches the side of his chin and tries to swallow but his mouth has grown dry. His words come out sanded and rough. “For now...I have managed to push him, and the fester of Gargons he had drawn around him, back into the darkness, but if he has found a way out once it is quite probable that he will do it again.”

  The voices thunder through his ears in a frenzy.

  “Since it is your domain this monster is dwelling in, can we assume you are going to take it upon yourself to monitor any and all unusual occurrences henceforth?” Vaeda asks him with a soft but commanding voice.

  “Of course, Lady of Zephyr.”

  “And am I to assume that any and all courses of action will be reported and will comply with the order of the Realm?”

  “Yes, of course,” Cimmerian snaps, feeling a twinge of guilt, but it’s shadowed by the irritation of the attention he’s receiving.

  “As for the matter of the girl, please have the guard give extra detail to her and her whereabouts from now on.” She refocuses her attention to Orroryn and Ethan. “I am certain that this won’t be an issue especially where the Schaeduwe are concerned. Orroryn?”

  “No, my lady. None whatsoever.”

  “I say we bring the girl in immediately and question her about why she was cavorting with this known monster in the first place.”

  “Caspyous, please…she was nearly killed. We can at least give her a few days to recover from the horrific ordeal before sending her into a lengthy inquisition.”

  “Humph…” Caspyous slumps back into his seat, folding his arms tightly across his chest as he shoots Vaeda a dirty look. But the glare only lasts a brief moment—not long enough to be caught by the entire group.

  Vaeda returns her attentions to the Covenant Elders.

  “As for the rest of us, be prepared to lend your assistance at a moment’s notice. There is no need for this to become an orchestrated fiasco.” Vaeda makes eye contact with every Elder at the table to ensure her message is getting through to them. “As a precaution, I would like to send out an advisory to ask all Realm-folk, and humans alike, to be leery of anything unusual and report it immediately.”

  “You think a Realm-wide advisory is not going to cause people to panic?”

  Vaeda takes a deep breath and sighs. “You know what he is, Ashen. Is there really any other choice?”

  1

  EARLY MORNING BLISS

  The dreams have found me again. But, I am not sure that I would actually call them dreams. Distorted faces and incoherent screams filled with pain are what they consist of most, so I guess nightmare is a more fitting term for what I have. It is part of the reason I am awake at five o’clock in the morning—that and the fact I know the Covenant of Shadows is eager to meet with me and drag me over the coals for my latest indiscretion.

  Ethan continues to ask me how I am doing and I keep lying to him, telling him that I am fine, but I think he knows the truth. He just doesn’t push the matter of the dark circles under my eyes or the fact that my gifts haven’t fully returned yet. I am still able to feed, thankfully, but my ability to lend is inoperable, which if anyone knew would cause a few issues within the Realm…not mention the Covenant of Shadows.

  A Borrower that can only take is not a Borrower at all in the eyes of the Covenant. It is something altogether different—something to fear. So, mentioning anything about the fact that I am struggling to contain my cravings for the white and pure life essences would pretty much seal my fate within the eyes of the Covenant and undoubtedly, my death sentence.

  The smell of earth and summer catches Gabrian’s attention before his thoughts do. Putting her pencil down for the moment, a grin tugs at the corner of her mouth as she turns to greet her company. The thumping beneath her chest accelerates at the sight of the silhouetted figure standing in the archway of her bedroom door. Even if she couldn’t see him, she would still know who it was just from his summery scent and the way her body reacts to the rhythm of his soul radiating with hers.

  Though she cannot sense his energy, she can still feel him. It is a bonding the two of them now share; one that was created when Shane’s heart chose her, defying his own will. All through the Realm’s history, Shadow Walkers and Borrowers have been adversaries. This pairing of Fellowships goes against all odds, but as life would have it, fate finally got its way.

  “You’re up early, couldn’t sleep again?”

  Gabrian would love to slip back beneath the warm covers of her bed and close her eyes to sleep but she’s afraid of what awaits her if she does. “Yeah, something like that.”

  “Do you want some coffee?”

  Gabrian raises her brow and twists her lips into a sassy smirk. Shane rolls his eyes at her and shakes his head in defeat, curls scattering recklessly.

  “Yeah, I know…stupid question. I forgot who I was talking to for a moment.” Shane grabs at the imaginary pot of coffee on the shelf beside him and wraps his muscular hands around it, tipping his head back to finish off its invisible remains.

  Gabrian grabs the pillow from the day chair beside her desk and throws it at him.

  Catching it in mid-flight, Shane snubs his nose at her efforts. “You need to be faster than that,” he boasts and turns to put on the kettle. Gabrian picks up a second pillow and whips it across the room with force. It lands hard on the back of his head. His hand shoots up to the point of impact then twists to catch it before it falls and glares at her with a wink, patting down his tousled locks. “Hey now, watch the hair.”

  Gabrian’s heart warms in his attempt at humour—cheesy as it is—and watches him disappear into the hallway. Her chest raises as she draws in her breath then sighs heavily, shifting in her chair to return to her journal entry.

  I don’t want to tell Shane about the dreams or the cravings either. It will just add to the worry of the already growing concern he carries about me. It’s not fair that my life and dramas have consumed any chance that he has at following his aspirations in life. I am grateful for his presence but the guilt of his weighted oath is sometimes suffocating.

  The succulent smell of coffee wafts up the stairs, capturing her attention, and pulls he
r out of her temporary funk. She closes her eyes and forces her lips to turn upward into what might pass for a smile. Gabrian pretends for a moment that the coffee she is about to consume is a magical elixir—one that will make all her worries fade into the abyss.

  Sometimes it even does.

  2

  A RAY OF HOPE

  Gabrian’s taste buds yearn for the elixir Shane has so graciously left waiting for her on top of the kitchen counter. The last few steps from the stairwell to the coffee cup seem like far too many, but having reached her final destination, she stands quiet, embracing the oversized cup in her hands.

  After swallowing down her first warm sip, she breaks from her internal trance and looks for Shane to thank him properly. Catching a slight movement on the other side of her patio doors, Gabrian sees a glimpse of him standing on the deck, overlooking the water with nothing more than pants and a T-shirt for warmth.

  Grabbing a throw from the bench beside the fireplace, she releases the patio doors and Shane turns his head to greet her with a smile. He stretches out a bared arm, beckoning for her to join him. Glad to take cover from the chill under his wing, she slips across the deck and cloaks herself within his warmth as they stand in the darkness, sipping their coffee in silence.

  Gabrian looks up at his silhouetted face, strong and noble yet etched with delicate precision, and ponders the idea of Shane’s existence, that he and the Schaeduwe must have been fashioned in the purest essences of the Gods. His caramel skin lay smooth and undisturbed against the perfected angles of his cheek and brow. His sea green eyes are calm, not a trace of worry to be found, which makes her believe that contentment and tranquility seem to be his natural state.

  “How do you do it?”

  Shane’s peaceful look is replaced with confusion as shadows fall upon the space between his brows. “How do I do what, Gabrian?”

  She slides her body around to better see the entirety of his face and he pulls her in close.

  “After all the wars you have seen, with the amount of loss and suffering you have endured, how is it that you can look so peaceful and content all the time?” she asks with the hope that somewhere within his words she might find a secret to help her understand.

  His mouth curls upward and his adoration for her never-ending curiosity reaches the soft lines gathering at the edges of his sea-green gaze. “It’s kind of like watching a sunrise.”

  Gabrian furrows her brow at his answer, confused. He laughs at her dismay and pulls her in a little closer. Feeling the heat of his body against hers in the coolness of the damp morning, she does not resist, savoring the lent warmth as it spreads across her flesh.

  “The way I see it is if the sun is brave enough to rise every single morning, fighting its way through the seemingly impenetrable walls of night’s darkness, then there is always hope. Each day we are given here on Earth, in this Realm, is a fragile gift that expires quickly.” Shane raises his arm and with the back side of his calloused hand, lets his fingers gently graze the soft flesh of Gabrian’s cheek. “I have learned to be grateful for every measure of beauty we find. Even during life’s moments of ugliness there is still beauty hidden within…only we can’t see it until we are ready to understand. There is always something good to fight for. And so, because of this, I try to carry that measure of gratitude with me as a reminder to keep breathing, keep believing, and keep fighting for those precious moments.”

  Hearing his voice of quiet reason resonate through her mind, Gabrian meets his soft stare. Lifting her hand, she cups the edge of his jaw and slowly traces his bottom lip with her thumb, feeling the plumpness in its curve. Within his words, she realizes something—Shane has become like the sunrise to her with his unrelenting ability to lift her up even when there seems to be nothing left but darkness.

  “The sun is almost at the horizon, are you ready?” he whispers, breaking the silence.

  Gabrian holds his gaze for a moment more then releases him, her hand slipping back under the throw. Turning away, she focuses her eyes to the edge of the skyline dawning before her and grips her cup a little tighter. “Almost, the Covenant of Shadows can wait until I finish my coffee.”

  Shane lets out a breathy huff. “Yes, I suppose they can.”

  Raising her cup, she rests the edge of the cool ceramic mug against her lips and pushes back at the heavy sinking feeling that has begun twisting in the pit of her core just from saying the name. She lets the air in her lungs finally escape in a loud sigh and swallows down the last of the lukewarm elixir.

  Holding her head just a little higher, she whispers to the Shadow Walker, “Okay, now I am ready.”

  “Okay.” Shane nods, waiting for her to set her cup down onto the railing of the deck. He takes her in his arms and rests his chin atop her head, kissing her hair as he inhales its cinnamon scent. Relinquishing the embrace, he cups her elbow for a moment then slides his hand along the side of her arm to her wrist and clasps his fingers around it within a firm grip. With his free hand, he reaches toward the darkness encasing them and finds the familiar tingle of the shadow’s edge, wrapping them within its magic and into the Veil.

  Gabrian closes her eyes as the world around her goes dark.

  3

  BITTEN TONGUES

  Exiting the Veil and entering into the magical binds of the Covenant of Shadows irritates Gabrian’s fragile mood right away. Though she has been here a couple of times, she had forgotten the feeling of being constrained against her will. Inwardly, it pulls at her in a way that makes her want to tear at the invisible restraints so tightly wound around her that even breathing feels laboured.

  The last time she walked through the stone corridors, her adoptive mother and father had accompanied her. But today, the raw sadness of their absence eats away at her heart and threatens to expose a thread of weakness. She uses her unspoken hatred for the Covenant’s rules to bury her emotions deep within, smothering them for the moment. Now is not the time to be weepy.

  Not now. Not today.

  Today, she needs to seal any cracks in her defences. Every eye will be on her and from her past experiences, any liberties to tear through her will be taken, especially since her reason for being here is the fact that she allied herself with the very monster they thought had been destroyed.

  Shane eases some of the hold he has on Gabrian’s arm once they are through the shadows but does not fully let go. As they march closer to the end of the passage and nearer to the opening of the great hall, Gabrian runs her fingers along the grooves in the walls—protection spells etched within the narrow corridors. The coolness of the stone against the warmth in her fingertips makes her feel less irritated and she wishes just once to enter these walls without malice echoing in every corner of her mind. The edifice is enchanting and encrypted with thousands of years of knowledge of her new world. It would truly be amazing to study if it didn’t hold so many memories—if it held a different meaning for her.

  But it doesn’t. Not yet.

  Reaching the opening of the catacombs, the light from the outside world enters through the enchanted stone wall on the other side of the room and cascades across the smooth marbled floor, brightening the gloominess of the caverned city. Gabrian tilts her head back, taking in the enormity of her surroundings, and it reminds her how small she truly is. Its heavenly illusion twinkles with star-like jewels but even that holds little beauty for her today.

  Shane tugs on her arm and she shifts her eyes to meet his glance. “We are late.”

  Gabrian lets out a breath weighted with stress and furrows her brow. “Ugh, fine.”

  They push forward and rush through the large marble room, weaving in between the massive support pillars rising endlessly upward. The reflective ambience of cauldrons filled with coloured flames line the walls of the hall but her eyes catch at the only spot without a flame. It is the same cauldron that had been empty on her last visit. Her fingers spark unexpectedly at the sight of it and she slows her pace for just a step to study them, wiggling
them in front of her face, mind racing. The cauldron had ignited before, briefly, when she was here, scaring the life out of her, and now it causes her fingers to burn by just looking at it. “What on earth?”

  “Gabrian, come on,” Shane says, glancing back at her.

  She drops her hand, dismissing her inquiry of the sparks, and lunges forward to catch up. Standing still at the edge of the room before the High Table surrounded by the Elders, Gabrian’s body heavies with the weight of their stares as they turn to acknowledge her presence. Gabrian’s heart thumps loudly in her ears, drowning out any audible verbiage coming from them. Shane brushes his hand down her back, resting it at her side then cups her tiny fingers in his just briefly before releasing and tucks his hands behind his back. He takes a step in reverse and pulls his shoulders back into the respective stance of a Guardian.

  Though his hand is now preoccupied with his duty, his slight touch leaves Gabrian with a reminder that she is no longer alone, not anymore.

  Vaeda and Orroryn stand at once to greet her.

  “Gabrian Shadwell, we as the Elders of the Covenant of Shadows, would like to thank you for your presence here today,” Vaeda hums the welcome melodically as she clasps her delicate hands together expelling a sweet yet sympathetic smile in Gabrian’s direction. Unlocking her hands, she stretches an arm toward the cold, stone chair Gabrian has become all too familiar with, and invites her to take her place. “Please, won’t you come and sit down?”

  Gabrian swallows down the bitterness building in her throat and nods at her host’s warm welcome before searching her audience. Seeing the sincere smile on Orroryn’s face, her heart lightens and she treks around the table to her designated seat, forcing a mirrored smile.