Dusk crawled to the balcony door and positioned himself to one side. With one quick movement, he stole a glance before retaking cover. Shilpy half expected a bullet to follow him, but none came.
Had Dusk seen the shooter? Could the shooter see him?
Each moment dragged out. The silence lasted so long, Shilpy irrationally wondered if the sniper had gone home. Of course, she wasn’t game to test that. All the shooter needed was one clean shot, and she was dead.
The phone rang.
Dusk and Shilpy exchanged a look. “Answer it,” he said.
“Untie me,” she shot back.
Dusk picked up a long shard of broken glass with a sharp edge and slid it across the floor to her. Of course. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Shilpy shuffled across the rubble that used to be their apartment.
The phone stopped ringing just as she reached the glass shard. Shilpy lay where she was. She beat her head against the floor, cursing herself for being too slow. A moment later, the ringing restarted. After almost a minute of fierce struggling, she freed a hand and grabbed for the phone.
“Hello?” she said, out of breath.
“Shilpy Chopra.” After all these years, Angela Wick’s voice was still unmistakable.
“It’s me.”
“Thank the gods. Have they hurt you? We’ll get you out of there.”
What the actual—
“Are the men listening?” Angela asked.
“No.”
“Then we have a few moments. I’ve spoken with Denise Gibbs. I understand your . . . misgivings towards me. Despite what happened, you’re one of us. You’re blessed, Shilpy. I could never hurt one of the blessed. Do you still have the Star?”
Shilpy frowned. Angela didn’t want to hurt her? Had she forgotten that she’d ordered a sniper to shoot up her apartment not a minute before?
Dusk signalled Shilpy with his hand and mouthed, “Stall her.” She frowned, wondering what he was up to.
“It’s here,” Shilpy replied.
“To think, a gift from the Moirai themselves. Together, we will train you to master this gift. All we need is time.”
“The Moirai told me I’m out of time.”
Dusk’s head snapped around, and he locked his gaze on her.
“I see. Well, if we can master the Star, maybe we can fix that. But enough. The men—tell them the apartment is surrounded. They will surrender themselves and their weapons to us.”
“What if they don’t?”
Dusk’s phone beeped. Confused, he reached into his pocket, stared at the text, and then replaced the phone. He looked off into the distance.
“Let’s avoid a noisy confrontation, Ms. Chopra. No need to alert the public.”
Shilpy’s mind was racing in every direction. Dusk and Hond were up to something. It was a fair bet Angela was stalling while her soldiers moved into position.
Shilpy had no doubt the apartment was surrounded. Running was out of the question. If Dusk chose to fight, people were going to die. Maybe that was what Angela was counting on.
“I’ll tell Dusk your conditions,” Shilpy said.
“I’m not surrendering,” Dusk said immediately. He glanced towards the bedroom door. Behind it, Hond was still chanting. He repeated the same words over and over, and with each repetition, his voice grew louder and more passionate.
“Shilpy.” The voice on the phone was now Denise’s. “Give up, please. I’m begging you. You don’t understand how many of . . . of our sisters are out here, and they’re all carrying weapons. The things they’ve been telling me about Dusk, and what he’s done to them . . . to us—you need to get out of there. Surrender the Star to Angela. We can use it to cure Thomas. Please, Shilps. Please.”
It broke Shilpy’s heart to hear her friend refer to the Keres Ter Nyx as her sisters. “Denise, I haven’t given up on Thomas.” She edged towards the couch and sword. “But Angela can’t heal him.”
“I don’t want to fight you, Shilps,” she said, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears. “But if you don’t come out then you’ll have to fight on Dusk’s side, and they’ll kill you. Don’t make us do this. Please.”
Before Shilpy could reply, a low, fierce growl built in volume and anger from the bedroom. The first growl was joined by a second, and then a third. Shilpy frowned in confusion. Was that . . . dogs? How had they got in here?
The door opened, and Hond staggered out. His eyes were bloodshot, and skin hung loosely off his face. Shilpy couldn’t see any animals behind him, but the noise grew louder, and the bedroom looked darker, as if the light bulb had lost power. Shilpy’s eyes returned to the bag with the Star inside.
“I make six outside,” Dusk said, all business. “There’s one on the roof, three covering the back door, and two at the stairs. Expect more out front. There are two further down the street. Also, Wolf and Terry are here.”
“Well then, my friend,” Hond replied with an evil smile. “It’s playtime.”
Shilpy watched in horror as a dozen shadows, all shaped like dogs, leaped from the bedroom.
Oh no.
The shadows served Hond.
Hond worked for Dusk.
But that made no sense. She’d seen them leaping into Dusk’s chest. She’d seen them killing him.
She didn’t understand, but for now, the shadows were working for Dusk. She’d brought the Star of Fate back to stop the shadows, which meant it was also here to stop him.
The shadow dogs grew so loud that the noise drowned out everything else. Barking, snarling, growling, and gnashing of teeth—feral, vicious, and terrifying—filled the room. If Shilpy hadn’t already had the phone to her ear, she wouldn’t have heard Angela’s voice. “Kill them.”
Chapter 15
Gunshots struck the opposite wall. The sniper’s continuous fire tore through the contents of the room, but with the curtains billowing, the shots missed their mark.
Regardless, Shilpy kept her head down. Tears fell from her eyes. Curled up in a ball on the floor, she locked her gaze on one thing—Denise’s bag. Although she couldn’t see it, she knew the Sword of Ponos was leaning against the wall near the bedroom. She had to get out with both.
Before she could make her move, something hard smashed against the apartment door. It fell open at an odd angle. Two women, each wearing black jeans and tops, stood at the doorstep with guns raised. Their pistols had been fitted with silencers. They advanced and raised their weapons at Dusk and Hond.
Black outlines streaked across the walls, roof, and floor. Before either woman could fire, the shadows descended on them. Impossibly, the woman to the left was lifted into the air, gurgling and clutching at her neck. Two more dark shapes pulled at her shadow, and her arms shot outward until she was spread-eagled. Her eyes bulged in terror. Her gun fired, but the bullet only hit the wall.
In a tumble of limbs, she was thrown backward and down the stairs. Half a dozen dark shapes chased after.
Meanwhile, the other woman’s foot was ripped from beneath her, and she fell to the ground. Invisible forces slammed her body against the door frame, threw her into the ceiling, and smashed her back against the kitchen counter. She shrieked until her head smashed through the television with a sickening thud.
Dazed and covered in blood, she was dragged across the room. Shadows attached themselves to her arms and legs. Her limbs snapped outward and stretched until they were extended as far as they could go. Then they stretched further still. The woman’s face twisted in agony.
Finally, another crack sounded, and blood splattered against the wall. The screaming stopped. The opposing forces continued to pull at the woman’s body, but the life had left her eyes. She was just meat now.
With a wave of his hand, Hond sent all the shadow monsters streaming across the ceiling and walls and out the door. They disappeared down the stairs, leaving behind the victim’s lifeless and twisted body.
Resisting the urge to vomit, Shilpy crawled over glass until her right hand found the Swo
rd of Ponos. She would expose herself to the sniper if she went after the Star. A suicide mission, yet, she found herself moving on hands and knees towards it.
She was only a few metres away from the bag when invisible teeth bit into her left arm and pulled hard. Shilpy cried out. A cold chill spread through her body. She’d thought that all the shadows had gone down the stairs. Obviously, she’d been wrong. One of the shadow dogs had her.
She pulled at her left arm, but the shadow was insanely strong. Wildly, she swung the sword at it, and the sound coming from the shadow changed from a growl to a whimpering shriek. The sensation of teeth biting her arm disappeared.
She’d hurt it.
Crack, crack, crack. The sniper had resumed fire.
With a chill, she realized the surrounding area had darkened. Shapes moved across the carpet and Shilpy shuffled backwards eying the nearest shadow. Something darted towards her. She swung the blade, and the monster dissolved into fine ash. Then she returned to crawling towards the bag with the Star.
“Drop it!” Hond was crouched in the kitchen pointing the gun that had killed Anderson at Shilpy. Their eyes met, and a cruel smile split his face. “Weak, am I?”
“Hond!” Dusk said, from behind his spot next to the balcony, but Hond wasn’t listening. He raised the gun until it was pointed directly at her head. Crack, crack, crack. A new barrage of bullets hit the kitchen bench and wall.
Hond fell backward and leaned hard against the wall. The firing paused, and Hond seized the brief respite and darted forward, firing out the balcony. Dusk, still cornered next to the doorway, curled into a ball to avoid the bullets coming from both directions.
In the confusion, Shilpy shuffled across the floor until she was in front of the Star. Above the curve of the bag she could see Dusk looking at her. He shook his head slowly. Shilpy ignored him, grabbed the bag, rolled to her feet, and ran.
She caught sight of Hond, his teeth bared, snapping his weapon around at her. Before he could fire, one of the sniper’s shots clipped his exposed arm. Clutching his shoulder, Hond screamed. His gun went off, but the bullet must have gone wide.
Shilpy was out the door. She sprinted down the stairs, taking three or four at a time. On the last flight, she nearly stumbled. Below her, the woman in black who’d burst through their door lay dead on the ground. Her head jutted at an odd angle from her body.
With the sword in one hand and the open bag in the other, Shilpy leaped over her and outside into the narrow street. It was like stepping into a nightmare. A woman clothed in black was being dragged, screaming, along the road, leaving a trail of blood behind.
Something launched the woman into the air. She hovered in place, screaming and clawing at her throat. Then, whatever invisible force was holding her in place smashed her face-first through the windscreen of a car.
Red splattered all over the vehicle, and then, like a rag doll being mauled by a dog, she was lifted back into the air and pounded into the vehicle over and over in quick succession.
“Shilpy!” Dusk screamed from the stairwell. Shilpy didn’t wait. She raced down the street and around the corner.
That Dusk could order Hond to unleash something like that on anyone, let alone in their home, in their neighbourhood . . . It was unthinkable.
Shilpy dashed up the road, leaving their flat behind her. After passing a few houses, she spotted a home with a thick garden. She vaulted over the fence and hid as best she could.
It did the trick. Although Dusk knew the area as well as she, he streaked past without looking back. She stayed where she was for a few moments, just in case Hond appeared behind him, or Dusk doubled back.
“Shilpy!” he called out. “Come back. Shilpy! I’m sorry. I should never have left you alone with him. Don’t betray me. Not you.”
Shilpy cowered on her back, trying to catch her breath and praying he wouldn’t find her. If he did, would he hurt her? No. She didn’t believe that. But she didn’t feel safe just because she was one of the people he wasn’t trying to kill.
It looked as if the sword could stop the shadows, and the Moirai had claimed the Star could as well. She had to get both artefacts away.
Thirty seconds passed. In the distance, she could hear dogs and screams, but nothing close enough to be dangerous. Dusk wasn’t shouting anymore and appeared to have moved on.
Then she heard a siren.
Grimacing, she climbed to her feet. If she could get to the highway, she might be safer. The crowds of people would offer a little more protection. Although they probably wouldn’t protect her from the police. And running around with a sword in her hand would hardly allow her to blend in.
Shilpy hugged the weapon close. Trying to look inconspicuous, she set off at a brisk walk. After she’d turned two corners, she felt a surge of relief. Only four or five blocks from the main strip.
Three teenage girls were walking in the opposite direction looking uneasy. They eyed Shilpy suspiciously, staring at the blade in her hands.
“Get inside,” Shilpy urged them. “There are dogs. It’s not safe.”
The girls didn’t say anything. They probably thought she was a weirdo, which was fine with Shilpy if it kept them safe. They quickened their pace and moved away from the sound of the shadow dogs. “Tell others!” she shouted after them. “Get off the road.”
The sirens were louder now. She’d made it almost to the end of the street when the police car turned onto the road. Red and blue lights flashed on its roof, and its headlights played across the street behind her.
Shilpy moved to a nearby fence, doing her best to keep the sword out of view. How was she going to explain this?
Then she saw them. Dark shapes sped across the road and dived forward at the car. Without warning, the vehicle swerved violently towards Shilpy.
She threw herself to the side, and the police car struck the fence with a deafening crash and ploughed into a neighbour’s backyard. There was another loud bang followed by a smashing sound.
Shilpy climbed to her feet and winced. She’d grazed her knees and elbows, but she couldn’t worry about that now. Climbing over the broken fence, she saw that the police car had spun across the grass before rolling up and onto its side, leaving a trail of mud behind it.
A dark shape shot across the lawn towards her, and she swung the blade just in time. The monster whimpered once, and a thin cloud of ash sprayed across the ruined garden.
Shilpy spun in a circle expecting another attack, but none came. She dashed to the front of the police car and peered through the shattered windscreen. Both officers hung limply from their seats. Their eyes stared blankly past her.
“Jesus.” A slightly overweight man in a tank top and shorts stood on the back step of his house.
“Get inside!” Shilpy said. “Call an ambulance, but stay inside.”
“Are they—”
“Get inside.” It would be dangerous for him if she stayed. She could only hope that the monsters wouldn’t attack the ambulance as well.
Shilpy climbed back over the remains of the fence and jogged further down the street. She could see people watching her from the houses, but for the most part the streets were empty.
This was insane. The shadow dogs didn’t care who they attacked or killed. While this fight went on, no one was safe. How many other innocents might have been injured?
Her hand tightened around the sword and she moved warily, listening for some sign of the monsters. She turned the next corner and stopped in her tracks.
Angela and Denise stood on the opposite side of the road.
Shilpy hadn’t seen Angela since the Ritual of Seers. The memories of that night came flooding back, as strong as any vision. Shilpy remembered sitting naked in the sweat tent, and the fight that had followed. The fire had been an accident, and time had healed the wounds, but the scars on Angela’s face were still visible. Shilpy stepped backward, but then Angela spotted her.
“Wait!” Angela shouted. Shilpy gripped the sword tighter. Ang
ela’s scarred face twisted into a sickly smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “We are not your enemy, Shilpy Chopra.”
“Stay away!” Shilpy cried.
“You’ve seen it, haven’t you?” Angela said. “Dusk. You’ve seen his true nature.”
Shilpy was rooted to the spot. The sword shook in her hand. She found herself nodding.
“Shilps,” Denise said. “I know you think having a normal life, a normal relationship, is going to fix you. It’s not going to be with him.”
“There is nothing wrong with you,” Angela said. “Nothing that needs fixing. With training, we can control your power. You can help us stop them.”
Shilpy turned and took a few steps, but Denise called after her. She stopped.
“You don’t have to run anymore,” Denise said.
“We all have to run,” Shilpy replied. “Innocent people are dying because of this.”
“You don’t need to run from us,” Angela replied. “Only we will ever understand this. If you master the Star of Fate, we can save Thomas, we can stop the shadows, and we can extend your life. You are the Moirai’s chosen, their blessed seer.”
No, they were both so wrong. Yes, she was blessed, but she wasn’t their chosen. Yes, she could extend her life, but not if she wanted to save Thomas. She’d come to realise that the Star of Fate demanded a sacrifice. The Moirai had said there would be a price to be paid. When Angela figured that out, would she really reverse it? Could Shilpy trust her?
“I have to go. You need to get your soldiers out of here.”
“Shilps, Dusk lied to you. He lied to us both about who and what he was. He pretended to be this wonderful boyfriend—”
“I know what he is,” Shilpy interrupted, angrily. “He is a wonderful boyfriend, but he’s also a killer. Same as her.” She met Angela’s steely gaze and found herself suddenly unafraid. “You know what goes on in your own organisation. Yes, Dusk fights your soldiers with his monsters. The Keres Ter Nyx though, you prey on the weak.”
The Gifts of Fate Page 13
