Shades of Prophecy

by Tessonja Odette

  Darius pushed me into the middle of a cluster of about a dozen soldiers, sending me sprawling at their feet. When I stood, the soldiers remained, Darius amongst them, but open sky was overhead. Where were we now?

  I whirled around, trying to catch my bearings, then realized Darius had disappeared. Moments later, a new cluster of soldiers appeared beside the first, then another, and another. I caught glimpses of Darius in each cluster, only to see him disappear again. My hand flung to my sword hilt, but the narrowed eyes of the soldiers that surrounded me gave me pause. There was no fighting my way out of this.

  Darius appeared beside me. “Don’t try anything stupid. I’d hate for this arrangement to end badly.”

  “We don’t have an arrangement,” I said through my teeth.

  “Oh, I think we do.” Darius made his way forward, and his soldiers parted for him while pushing me to follow in his wake. As we breached the edge of his army, Darius pushed me in front of him, finally revealing where we were.

  Ridine Castle stood before of us, the rising sun illuminating the tops of the tallest turrets as birds sang to the morning. Why had he brought me here?

  Darius faced his men. “Burn it down.”

  His soldiers ran forward, jostling me in their haste to obey, while I stared dumbfounded ahead. “No!” I shouted, the word catching in my throat. Ridine may not have been as well-staffed as it usually was, considering our call to war, but much of our household remained. Some would still be sleeping.

  Darius took me by the neck of my bloodied chest plate. “I’ll call them off if you tell me where the tear is.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his army reach the outer gate, then heard the clash of swords. I knew our guards wouldn’t last long against them. At least the fighting might alert those within the castle.

  “Fine, I will. First, tell me where Cora is. That’s all I ask of you.”

  His eyes locked on mine, but he said nothing.

  Why? I remembered the runner trying to get my attention, Darius’ laughter when I first confronted him about her whereabouts. My stomach felt hollow. “You don’t know where she is, either, do you?”

  Darius frowned.

  That’s why Emylia hadn’t been able to find her. Cora had escaped and must have returned to the veil. Hope and rage coursed through me, filling me with renewed determination. I kicked Darius in the thigh, unsheathing my sword as Darius stumbled back. I lunged for his side, plunging my sword between two plates of armor.

  Darius barely grimaced as I withdrew my sword and retreated a step. “Fine. Watch it burn.” He came at me with his sword, and I gritted my teeth to meet it with mine, when a flash of white dashed in front of me. Valorre rammed his head into Darius’ chest, horn clashing against armor, then reeled toward me. He lowered his head, and without a second thought, I pulled myself onto his back. I was barely on straight before Valorre took off.

  I expected Darius to appear at my side, perhaps striking Valorre, but when I turned my head, Darius remained in place, watching us ride away. Behind Darius, plumes of smoke rose into the sky. I faced forward, heart heavy with the burden that Ridine burned behind me.

  37

  WORLDWALKER

  Cora

  I pulled the bowstring to my cheek, the gold feather at the end of the arrow brushing my skin. Then I released it, sending the arrow soaring across the emerald green lawn to land in the middle of the red and gold target—one of many that spanned the length of the lawn.

  My first target had been a tree in the woods near the Elvan Palace, but at the horrified gasp of a watching Faeran, I returned to the palace to procure a less offensive alternative. Practicing on the palace lawn under the watchful eyes of guards and soldiers making their rounds was less than ideal, but so was shooting a tree, apparently. Yet, practice was what I needed, whatever the accommodations may be. It helped me take my mind off things I’d rather not ponder; things like Teryn. Valorre. The people of Lela. How the operations in Norun were going. How long it would be before Darius invaded.

  I took a few steps to the side and sent another arrow into the next target, then the next and the next.

  “You’ve always been good at that,” I heard Ailan say behind me.

  I didn’t turn to watch her approach as I sent an arrow into another target.

  She stood at my side, Garot and Etrix behind her. “How do you like the armor?”

  I let down my bow, then flexed and relaxed my arm, rolling my shoulders. “I like it.” After a few days of donning the armor day and night, aside from during sleep, I was getting used to its weight and mobility. While not nearly as bulky as the armor worn by Lela’s Red Force, it was certainly heavier than my usual attire. But I felt safe in it. Strong. That’s what mattered.

  Ailan smiled. “Good. It makes you look like a warrior. Not that you need to look like one to be one. I know you already are.”

  “Thanks,” I said, facing her. Ailan looked like a warrior herself, black leather beneath her shimmering armor, dark hair done in an intricate arrangement of braids set on the top of her head like a crown. In that moment, it was hard to imagine she was ever the old, gentle Nalia of the Forest People. My eyes rested on the knife she wore at her belt, reminding me of what she must do.

  Her face fell, as if she knew what I was thinking. “I wish there was another way. Sometimes I wonder if things would have gone differently if Darius had been treated as an equal here.”

  I was torn between sympathy and worry. Was she having second thoughts? “Darius made his choices.”

  She nodded. “Yet, he made them from a skewed perception. He never realized how much I looked up to him. How much I adored him. Mother too. He was everything to her.”

  “I don’t think he can be reasoned with, Ailan. He believes too strongly in his own ideals.”

  “I know.” She sighed, then pressed her lips into a tight line, jaw set. “I’m ready to do what needs to be done, and I won’t hesitate to do it. I just wonder at times.”

  I opened my mouth, but the words were forgotten as my eyes were drawn to Garot and Etrix. Both had shifted suddenly and were exchanging a sharp look.

  “Did you feel that?” Etrix asked.

  Garot nodded. “The trigger. A human has entered the tear.”

  Ailan whirled around and called out to a nearby soldier. “Make sure Mareleau and Liam are surrounded by two dozen guards. Now!” The soldier sprang into action, running toward the palace, while Garot held out a hand, palm forward, as a swirling vortex of color opened.

  We entered the tunnel, my mind reeling as we hurried toward the veil. When the swirling stilled, the tunnel opened to reveal the soldiers guarding the tear. Ailan raced toward them, and they parted, allowing me, Etrix, and Garot to file in behind her. At the end of the rows of soldiers, Ailan paused, and I made my way to her side.

  Larylis stood inside the tear, hands behind his back in a military stance, his expression stoic as half a dozen spearheads framed his neck.

  “Stand down,” Ailan ordered, and the soldiers drew back their spears. “Speak,” she said to Larylis.

  His eyes moved from Ailan to me. “Teryn is here with word from Norun. Darius has reached Lela.”

  * * *

  Teryn

  My eyes were locked on the invisible space where Larylis had gone, unable to look away, unable to blink. Not until I saw Cora. I had to know I’d been right.

  Movement ahead, the shifting of the Black Force that guarded the two trees. My heart quickened.

  Larylis emerged first, followed by a flood of towering soldiers in unusual armor, who filed out in front of the tear, spreading out before it. Elvan, I realized with awe. More figures came through, but the soldiers were blocking my view.

  Valorre stomped his hooves beside me, tossing his mane up and down.

  I placed a hand on his side. “I know, friend. Me too.”

  Finally, the Elvan soldiers parted, and a petite figure ran forward. I barely had time to register her face before Cora j
umped into my arms. Our armor clashed, renewing my more painful battle wounds, but I ignored them, relishing the feeling of her arms around my neck, her breath on my cheek, her lips seeking mine.

  When we finally parted, her cheeks were wet, and we were both out of breath. She kept her arms around my neck as she studied me, then brushed her fingers along my jaw. “Are you hurt?”

  “Nothing bad,” I said, finding my throat raw. “You?”

  “No. An Elvan Skinweaver healed the wound Darius gave me.”

  “You escaped him, then?”

  She nodded, and Valorre nuzzled her shoulder. Cora pressed her face into his neck. “I’m so sorry,” she mumbled into his coat. “I know. I know you were worried. I was worried about you too.”

  After a few moments, she pulled away and met my eyes, expression hard. “Where is Darius? How close is he?”

  A sharp pain struck my chest. How could I tell her? “He worldwalked with his army to…Ridine. He said if I didn’t tell him where the tear was, he’d burn it down.”

  She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, her face twisting with pain. “So he did, didn’t he?”

  “Yes. Valorre intervened when Darius tried to fight me, and we came here. I didn’t get to see how far the damage went.”

  Cora’s lower lip trembled as she opened her eyes, but her breathing remained steady. “I’m glad you didn’t give him the location of the tear. Your warning will give us time to prepare. He will find us, eventually. He—”

  The Elvan soldiers suddenly moved in unison, startling us, and we whirled to face them. Their spears were thrust forward, at us. No, at something behind us. Valorre whinnied, sidling into Cora. She and I turned.

  Darius stood alone beneath the trees a short distance away. “Thank you, Teryn. I knew our arrangement would be beneficial.”

  “We had no arrangement,” I shouted through my teeth.

  “Oh, I think we did. You wanted Cora. Obviously, you figured out where to find her. And I wanted the veil. Win, win.” He slapped the neck of his chest plate, grinning.

  My own hand flew to my chest plate, remembering how he’d grabbed me there. It all began to make sense. How he’d watched me ride away with Valorre. How he’d barely seemed bothered when I’d stabbed him. He wanted me to get away. He knew where I’d go.

  “You wove a trigger on my chest plate,” I said, more to myself than to him.

  “Like I said, thank you.” Then he was gone.

  I stared at the space where he’d been, shame flooding me. How could I have been so stupid?

  Whispers from the Elvan soldiers and the Black Force alike erupted behind me. I could almost feel the terror coursing through them.

  “It isn’t your fault, Teryn,” Cora whispered at my side. “At least you warned us.”

  I said nothing as I continued to watch the empty space, chest heaving. Cora stared up at me, brow furrowed with concern, then joined my watch. She knocked an arrow into her bow. I unsheathed my sword. From the corner of my eye, an unfamiliar female figure joined us, knife in one hand, sword in the other.

  “It’s time,” the woman said.

  Then, where Darius had disappeared, a cluster of soldiers materialized. Then another. Then other. And another.

  “Yes,” I said, shifting my feet into a fighting stance. “It is time.”

  * * *

  Larylis

  Our forces clashed, Black Force fighting alongside the Elvan soldiers as the newcomers charged us. I remained with those who were entrusted to protect the tear, half Black Force, half Elvan. The Elvan guards sneered at us, but they didn’t have much attention to spare as the fighting moved closer and closer to us.

  I stood in the back row of guards, closest to the veil. Closest to Mare and Liam. If Darius wanted in, he’d have to cut me down first.

  A blood-chilling scream came from nearby. One of the Black Force guards, it seemed. I shuddered. Then a scream came from the other end of the guard squad. Then another from a few men away.

  Black Force and Elvan alike dropped one after the other, forcing our remaining squad to cluster closer together as we struggled to watch all around us at once.

  “He’s coming,” Temberly said, standing at my side. Temberly was one of the bravest of the Black Force, yet his sword trembled in his hand. “He’s killing us one by one. It’s like he’s playing with us.”

  The Elvan at my other side muttered something in his language. Although I couldn’t understand him, his tone was laced with fear. It chilled me. Weren’t Elvan nearly impossible to kill?

  My eyes searched for the first sign of movement, for the first hint that—

  Blood splashed my face, and I gasped. I swung to the side, striking at the man who’d slit Temberly’s throat. All I saw was a maniacal grin and a bloody knife before the attacker—it had to be Darius—disappeared again. I had to force my eyes off Temberly’s lifeless form, ignoring the lurching of my stomach. For the love of Lela, how was I going to make it out of this alive?

  I just have to keep Darius from entering the tear. But how? We couldn’t fight someone who could move that fast. Again and again, more screams came from nearby. There was barely any sign of actual combat before it seemed Darius had moved on to surprise another victim. Our squad filed in closer and closer.

  Why was he playing with us like this? Why kill one random guard after the other?

  Then a chilling realization came to me. I knew exactly why he was doing what he was doing. With every man he felled, another would take his place, narrowing our squad as we fought to remain in front of the tear. The more men he killed, the narrower our range. The better he could see where we focused our attention.

  “Spread out!” I called to the soldiers around me. I repeated the order until they began to obey. It was risky leaving so much space through to the veil, but how were we benefiting by closing a gap that Darius could worldwalk to, no matter what the size? We needed to keep him guessing, keep him from narrowing down his options.

  As our squad spread out, it also gave us more space to watch for Darius, more visibility to defend our comrades. Even so, men continued to fall to Darius’ slaughter. Some out of sight, some just out of my reach.

  The clash of sword on armor rang out beside me, and I joined the Elvan who had jumped in to attack Darius as he’d tried to fell one of my men. Darius engaged the Elvan solider, but as I swung at his side, Darius disappeared, only to reappear behind the Elvan. I called out a warning, but Darius’ blade swept through the Elvan’s neck, cutting his head clean off.

  I stumbled back, eyes wide, staring down at the disembodied head. The Elvan may be immortal, but I knew there was no coming back from that. I charged at Darius, but he disappeared. I whirled around, prepared for his ruse. Sure enough, he materialized and lunged forward with his sword. I dropped to the ground beneath his swing and rolled away.

  I got to my feet, crouched in a half-squat, but all I saw was a wall of mist. Oh no. No, no, no, this isn’t good. I’d been too close to the veil. Too close…to Mareleau and Liam. The position I’d been so determined to keep would now be my downfall.

  Maybe he disappeared before he could see where I went. It was a futile hope, one that didn’t have time to take root before a pale hand reached through the veil. I lifted my sword, joining the ranks of Elvan soldiers who’d been left to guard the inside of the tear. Their spears inched closer as Darius stepped through.

  He seemed unperturbed by the spears as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as if relishing the scents around him. An Elvan soldier called out something in their language, and the squad surged forward. Darius didn’t bother to open his eyes before disappearing.

  “Where is the Blood of Ailan?”

  I turned toward the voice and found Darius with his sword at an Elvan soldier’s neck.

  “No answer?” Darius swung his blade, beheading the soldier before disappearing.

  “Where is the Blood of Ailan?” Again, Darius appeared amongst the squad, sword to a soldier’s neck. D
ead. “Where is the Blood of Ailan?” Another dead. “Where is the Blood of Ailan?” No one could act fast enough before Darius could exact his judgment. “Where is the Blood of Ailan?”

  A terrified voice called out in words I couldn’t understand. I spun, finding Darius with his sword at another Elvan soldier’s neck. The words were repeated, causing Darius to hesitate. “You’ll tell me where to find them? Good.”

  The squad surged forward, but Darius—and the Elvan he’d held beneath his sword—vanished.

  I stared at the empty space, eyes wide. Heat flooded my veins, boiling my blood. “Let’s go! Now!”

  The Elvan soldiers turned toward me, but none moved to obey.

  I pointed toward what was clearly a path away from the veil. The Elvan may not have understood my words, but they had to understand what I wanted them to do. “We know where he is going. He’s going to find Mareleau and Liam. We need to protect them.”

  “Edell-Morkara’Elle,” said one of the Elvan, followed by a string of shouts from another, voice ringing with the authority of one giving an order.

  Three soldiers turned toward the veil, bracing themselves before disappearing through the tear, while the rest took off down the path. I followed the latter, gritting my teeth and hoping beyond hope that we could get there in time.

  38

  MASSACRE

  Mareleau

  “Was that a scream?” I rose from my seat at the edge of my bed, heart racing as the guards pacing my room grew terrifyingly still. Another wail sounded, and this time I was certain it was coming from inside the palace. I scooped Liam from his place on my bed and cradled him to my chest.

  More guards filed in, the last shutting the door behind him. “Edell-Morkara’Elle,” he shouted, then pointed to the tall table in the middle of the room. I ran to it, setting Liam in the metal bassinet that sat atop the table. My body trembled as the guards circled me and Liam, facing away from us, swords drawn.