The Covenant of Shadows Collection

by Kade Cook

  The tall stranger watches her for a moment and steadies the cylinder as it begins to shift across the floor then hovers just over the opening in the floor. Hearing a loud whoop from below, the man grins, sliding free a metal bar lodged beneath the load then looks over at Ashen and nods once, giving her the go-ahead to continue.

  Releasing her hold on the first lever, she grasps the end of another metal bar and presses down on it. The gears in the pulley moan as the ropes constrict, holding the full weight of the metal cage. Still holding on, the team lowers the freezer down into the hole. With another loud whoop from Broghen below, the ropes slacken and Ashen releases the lever.

  “All right, Reef. You better get down there before he tries to load that himself,” Ashen giggles. “You know what happened the last time we left him alone for a minute.”

  The tall stranger covers his mouth with his hand, as if to hold back the sound of laughter that does not come. His eyes twinkle and crease handsomely at the edges. With a nod, he starts toward the stairs. Gabrian steps aside to let him pass and his eyes dance with hers again, sending warm shards of energy through her. Not as much as the first time but there is still a current flowing through them. She smiles politely and steps back to give him space to pass then starts toward Ashen, uncomfortable with the exchange. He only grins at her and continues past—descending the steps, two at a time. Gabrian glances back over her shoulder, watching him go. Feeling a slight elevation of warmth in the cool morning air around her, Gabrian sips her coffee and meets Ashen’s pleasant smile with her own. “Who is that?”

  “That is Reef,” Ashen says, catching on to Gabrian’s discomfort. “He helps with deliveries.”

  “Ah,” is all she says, slowly nodding and wondering if Ashen is going to divulge more of who he is. But she does not—not really.

  “I noticed your aura flare out, is everything all right?”

  Holding her cup snug against her lips, Gabrian continues to be aloof—trying to figure out why this stranger would have such a strange effect on her. “Um, yeah. I am fine,” she says with slow unconfident words. “Is he from the Realm?”

  “Reef? No,” Ashen says, shaking her head, the loose white strands of hair bouncing as she does. Walking back towards the wall, she glances down through the opening in the floor and steps in front of the two erected levers—pushing it upward to shift the pulley system back into place. “He is as human as they get. Well, almost. He is mute.”

  “Oh.” Gabrian gasps, the statement takes her by surprise—unsure of why, though. It is not like it is unheard of or anything. It just rings funny in her ears, not settling right.

  “Nice boy, though,” Ashen continues as the pulley returns, empty and ready for duty. “And, one heck of a worker.”

  Gabrian steps toward the hole and stares down, watching the two men slide the freezer into the back of the van then strap the sides so it doesn’t shift on delivery. Her eyes dance around the numerous metal boxes, just like the one that had been loaded for delivery to somewhere, triggering her interest in something other than the silent boy.

  “So, what are you shipping in there, anyway?” Gabrian asks, sipping her coffee.

  “Oh right, I didn’t show you yesterday, did I?” Ashen grins and scurries toward another larger freezer at the other side of the room, this one nearly as large as the wall itself, and waves her hand for Gabrian to follow.

  “Show me what?” Gabrian says dragging her feet behind her.

  “My magic.”

  Gabrian’s mouth twists as her brows bunch crookedly atop her face. “Your magic? You keep your magic in a freezer?”

  Ashen’s smile grows wide as she grabs hold of the handles on the front of the freezer. Looking back over her bare shoulder, she gives Gabrian a grin and winks. “Yes, actually.”

  31

  ICE, ICE BABY

  Giving the handles a good sturdy tug, the large metallic doors swing open on both sides. A hazy wave of frozen mist sweeps outward into the warm air revealing a frozen biosphere—dozens of sculptured creatures made of ice, surrounded by crystalline waterfalls and sheer abstracted columns reach outward—spiraling all around them.

  “Oh, wow,” Gabrian gasps, stepping closer to get a better look. Every figurine is pristine in its features. From the curvatures in the waterfalls to the smallest rock formations around the water’s edge—even the eyes on the mythical creatures look as if they are staring right at her. It is surreal elegance but just a touch on the creepy side. “They are beautiful. Did you make all of these?”

  “Yes,” Ashen admits, proud of what she does, and steps in to close the doors of her miniature frozen world inside. “You might say I have a ‘gift’ for it.”

  Gabrian moves aside to allow the doors to swing shut, still staring at the sculptures, and lets the words sink in. Her eyes widen, understanding the true meaning of them then turns to face her host, leaning against the coolness of the sealed metal doors. “This is how you use your gift?”

  “My dear, not every gift needs to be used in force or in battle, although it has proven highly effective in slowing an adversary down if necessary. Just like your Borrower’s gift, it can be used for good when wielded in efforts of beauty and kindness. It is not all about doom and gloom. I am afraid our beloved Elders of the Covenant of Shadows have cast your view of Realm life to shine under a dim and unappealing light. And I apologize for that.”

  “It is not the Covenant in entirety, only…” Gabrian begins.

  Ashen raises her hand and holds it in surrender to Gabrian’s insight. “I know, there are a few thorns amongst the mix. I just hope you allow me the chance to try and sway your view of us.”

  “I am trying,” Gabrian says, tucking her free arm across her chest, and hangs her hand on her shoulder. Shuffling her feet, she looks away, searching for something to distract her rising temper. “But it is hard to ignore the mental hatred that is exuded whenever I have to enter that hall.”

  Ashen’s lips pucker as she raises a hand to dust across Gabrian’s shoulder, wishing she could tell her that it will get easier to deal with them but she can’t. Individual opinions are out of her control. “That is all I can ask of you.” She scans the lofted room. To her right, her eyes rest upon on the small nickel-plated water well, only inches from a round-marble turntable secured to the side of the pine board wall. She grins, gliding toward it, and whips her head back around to face Gabrian. “Anyway, enough of the heavy dreary chatter. You are not here to discuss any of that boring stuff, you are here to see what kind of mischief your gifts can get you into.”

  Gabrian stops her brooding and follows Ashen’s movements toward the odd-looking sink, hearing the tone in her voice change—light and playful.

  “So, are you ready to find out?”

  Gabrian chokes on her coffee in mid sip at Ashen’s question and swallows down hard, trying to clear her trachea. “Sure, I guess. You are the boss.”

  “Boss? No. I prefer to use the term ‘free spirited artistic guide’. Yes, Definitely. I will be the one who is going to enlighten your soul, and teach it how to dance.” Ashen closes her eyes and lifts her chin, swaying her hands around, letting them drift as if floating in the wind.

  Gabrian’s brow lifts as she watches Ashen’s airy display and bites her bottom lip, unsure of how to react. This is definitely not the same person she sat in front of deep within the shadow guarded covenant. Ashen finishes her performance and opens her eyes to the girl’s twisted face. She settles her hands onto her hips and laughs out loud. “What, too much?”

  “Maybe just a smidge,” Gabrian says, pinching her fingers together in front of her now wrinkled nose.

  Waving her hand at her audience, Ashen turns her back and flips the small switch just above the water. A low humming sound, barely audible above the purr of the surrounding freezers, fills the room. Babbling water rushes up into the center of the metal bowl, making bubbles and bends upon its surface. “Come on then,” Ashen says rubbing her hands together. “It is t
ime to get messy.”

  Gabrian’s mind had conjured up many visions of how her new mentor was going to draw forth her unexpected gift but this is not one of them. Somehow, she never envisioned anything quite as mundane as what is happening before her.

  Ashen pulls out a long bench from beneath the marble table and sits upon it, placing her hands atop the oval marble slab. Gabrian gathers closer to get a better look at what is happening. “I will let you see what it is that I do,” she explains as she stills her hands in the center of the oval. “We will begin with the basics—finding the cornerstone to secure your foundation.”

  Hovering over Ashen’s shoulder, Gabrian watches, clutching her empty coffee mug to her chest as the magic begins to unveil from within her host. “You must learn to feel the differences between the elements surrounding you, implore them and encourage them to join you, to alter and transform what they are, into being what you want them to be…excite and conform them.”

  Gabrian chuckles at her words, the strangeness in how she speaks about inanimate objects as if they are real. “You talk as if they have a choice.”

  “They do.”

  Gabrian’s head tilts to the left as she looks down upon her teacher, floundering with her answer. “How is that possible? It is water.”

  Ashen halts her peaceful trance and wrenches herself to focus on Gabrian, tucking her hands together on the edge of the table. “Everything on this Earth has the essence of life within it. Whether it is the dirt below your feet or the clouds that float carelessly above you, life is evident and listening. You just have to learn how to communicate with it, befriend it and trust in the bonds you forge with it—in nature there is always a choice.”

  Never having looked at the world and its belongings quite in this light, Gabrian’s understanding—although still limited—opens to sift through the minute grains of logic that dictate how she processes things. Looking at the big picture is not going to work in this circumstance. She is going to have to filter it down to the smallest particles in order to grasp how to start at the beginning.

  Having silenced her protégé, and hoping she gave her something to ponder, Ashen returns to her stance and lets her mind quiet. Letting her hands hover over the slab, the magic within her veins awakens and slips to her hands. From beneath her palms, a florescent glimmer dances on the marble below. Invisible vapors from the air and the water bubbling nearby pool beneath Ashen’s skin—collecting together and transforming from liquid to near solid—swirling meticulously and aligning together to form into an altered state of being. She rests her hands above the manifestation as it blends, growing larger, and gathers together until it is the size of a bowling ball. Satisfied with her bland creation, she lifts her hands—snuffing out the light.

  She glances upward, to the sight of Gabrian’s ghostly face—her skin unnaturally pale against her darkened hair and her blue eyes the colour of glacier tips blazing in contrast to the sharpness of her red pursed lips.

  “Are you all right?” Ashen asks, jumping to her feet, and clasps her hands over Gabrian’s arms, hoping to steady her.

  Gabrian eyes, still glued to the large marble of ice, slowly shifts to her teacher. Blinking, wide-eyed and with lifted brow, she exhales, “That was so incredible. Am I supposed to be able to do that?”

  Ashen releases a loud chuckle, relieved to know that her concern is in vain, and sits back down, resting her hands in her lap. “Yes, and technically, from what I was told about the beer incident, you already have,” she informs Gabrian, sliding her hand under the table to pull out another wooden bench. Pushing it under the other side of the oval table, she pats the top of it and grins. “We just have to figure out how to get you to do it again.”

  32

  THE MAGIC WITHIN

  Slipping down upon the wooden bench, Gabrian’s hands shake in nervous anticipation of what she is expected to do, causing her stomach to twist and turn beneath her skin, ignorant of how to actually start. Her fingertips warm in her angst and she curses, pumping her fists and shaking out her arms, hoping that it will help calm the normal heating anomaly because it seems more of a hindrance than a means of help right now.

  “Now just relax and hover your hands above the coolness of the marble,” Ashen says, her voice nothing more than a distant whisper, but the words sting in Gabrian’s ears. Not knowing how to begin festers in her confidence, but she does as instructed. “With your senses, locate the energy point within the center of your palms and focus, draw on it like a beacon for the life within the water to gather to.”

  Not completely understanding, she stretches her arms out like a zombie on a mission and holds them in place, trembling above the marble. She closes her eyes, hoping it will cut out any visual sensory and force the other senses to engage more aggressively. Searching in the darkness for something she can use, something her gifts have to show her that she hasn’t seen before, Gabrian lets her mind wander. And wander. But all she finds is the crystalline essence of Ashen drifting uncomfortably close and bringing into play the acknowledgement of her hunger she has, so far, kept at bay. But being this close to Ashen, in such a confined space with nothing to cleanse the air between them, flares the hunger pangs. The beast within bares its teeth, gnawing its way back to the foreground, and deluges Gabrian’s concentration on the task at hand. Her thoughts no longer search for the water’s energy, they fight to control the urge to give in to the hunter inside, searing away the thin barrier holding her back. Gabrian grits her teeth as the visions of devouring Ashen’s life force violently thrashes around in her head, threatening to break free—yearning to consume.

  Then the voice inside begins to speak. She is only one, and no one will see. You have been taught what to do. Just take what you need and leave the rest. No harm, no foul.

  Having not eaten anything close to what she needs, Gabrian’s body tremors as she wills herself to resist. A waft of Ashen’s light catches on her breath and her instincts explode with her desire. Clenching her fists and thrusting herself backwards, Gabrian presses hard against the edge of the marble table and lands on her feet behind her bench. Wrenching her fists through her dark hair, twisting it into tight knots behind her neck, she rushes to the window and wildly winds the handle—creating a break in the seal. The scent of salt and kelp rushes through the new opening, filling her nose with the cleansing scents of the ocean and eliminates some of the essence that threatens to ruin everything and allows her a moment to gather herself.

  “Gabrian, are you all right?” Ashen gasps, seeing her unexpected reaction and jumps up, rushing toward Gabrian who leans forward, bracing her arms on the frame of the window for support.

  She inhales as much salted air into her lungs as she can stand before Ashen’s aura reaches her and can cause any more havoc on her lessons. “Yes, I am fine. Frustrated is all.” She twists her eyes to glance briefly at Ashen.

  Ashen innocently touches her back, concerned for her student. Gabrian’s skin burns at the contact, elated from the desire to steal her life. “It is kind of stuffy in here. Do you mind if I open another window to get a crosswind going? I feel like I am going to suffocate.” She pushes out, standing upright, and jogs to the window just on the other side of the room, twisting the white handle below the window. Gabrian stands in the opening—eager to avoid Ashen’s affections—wanting to clear the air as quickly as she can. Otherwise, the session may go another direction—one that is a lot harder to fix.

  “Yes, of course. So sorry about that,” Ashen says, stepping across the room to the other side of the levers, and opens the windows beside it as well. “I am so used to being up here I forget how stale the air gets with all the machines going and the heat from the sun overhead.”

  The room fills with scents of sweet lilac drizzled in a salty breeze. Ashen’s essences floats carelessly around the room in fragmented streams—thinned with natures perfumes, just enough to make being in the same room tolerable. Taking a deep breath, Gabrian gathers her senses and presses her monste
r back into the shadows of her will once more. Her strained facial muscles relax and she unclenches her jaw then turns to Ashen who stares at her, hands on her hips.

  “Better?” she asks.

  “Much, thank you,” Gabrian exhales, almost telling the truth.

  “Okay, great. Now back to work.” Ashen sidles back to her work station and waits for Gabrian to settle herself back down beside her on the bench. “I think you may be trying too hard to make this happen.”

  Gabrian sits silently with her hands folded in her lap while Ashen tells her to relax and try to remember the emotions and the thoughts that took place in her head the day she froze her beer to the patio table. “What were you thinking about?”

  Wrinkling her brow, and twisting her bottom lip, Gabrian sifts through her thoughts, trying to recall the exact replay. “Rachael had been going on about a problem she was having concerning her love life or what she considers her love life.”

  “Oh, she has a fella. That is wonderful, she is a lovely girl,” Ashen begins to ramble on about Rachael and Gabrian stops to let her. After a few moments, Ashen stops herself realizing that this is not gossip hour at the tavern. “Sorry, not helping, please continue.”

  Arching her eyebrow and smirking at Ashen’s humanness, she continues, “Then all I can remember is wishing that my beer was cold so that I could drink it.”

  Leaning on one arm, Ashen’s eyes widen and she smiles, focusing on Gabrian’s last words. “Oh great, we have a starting point,” she cheers and turns back to place her hands on her stone, flicking her chin for Gabrian to do the same. “Now, what did you see? What did you hear? What did you feel? Go to that specific memory and replay it as exact and as vivid as you can.”

  Gabrian twists herself to mirror Ashen’s position and closes her eyes again. She steps back in to her thoughts, recalling the heat and imagining an icy mountain top, frozen and barren. She smells the fresh clean scent of a new snowfall. Raising her chin and leaning her head back as if to let the imaginary flakes of falling snow touch upon her face, she smiles. Tiny dollops of icy flecks tingle sparingly all over her body.