The Shadows

by Cheyenne McCray

  Garran flipped the heart aside with his dagger. The heart made a squishing sound as it hit the rocks before it turned to silt.

  The demon’s body also collapsed into the fine, dark substance that blew away on the harsh winds.

  Hannah drew her magic back inside her. Garran kept his dagger unsheathed.

  “I can subdue two at once now that both of my hands are free,” she said, and he acknowledged her with a nod.

  Hannah followed as he moved through the near darkness toward the three remaining Fomorii guards.

  Lights from around the former prison gave enough light so that Hannah could no doubt see well enough. He hoped she would be able to keep from making any noise and not stir any rocks as they crept forward.

  The Fomorii rotten-fish malodor grew so great it was near to overpowering. It came not only from the demons guarding the entrance, but from the cavern hidden below the island.

  He glanced at Hannah, whose nose wrinkled as if she was trying to avoid sucking in too much of the foul air. She had both hands raised, prepared to release her magic ropes.

  When the three demons came into view, Garran’s eyes met Hannah’s and he gave a clipped nod.

  They looked forward, and as one released their magic.

  Two of the demons dropped silently to the ground as one of Hannah’s ropes completely subdued one Fomorii, and Garran’s power wrapped itself around the other.

  But Hannah’s rope missed the third demon’s mouth.

  Its roar shattered the night air and Garran’s scalp prickled as he cursed.

  “Bless it,” Hannah said in a hoarse whisper as she dropped the third demon and gagged it with her magic. Garran quickly cut out the hearts of the three demon guards.

  But it was too late.

  Other Fomorii had heard the lone guard’s fierce growl.

  Answering roars came from the cavern below.

  14

  Garran’s muscles tensed and his gut churned.

  Godsdamn. Now he must face the beasts head-on, rather than making the stealthy entrance he had intended.

  “Stay,” he commanded Hannah, and flung up a black barrier of magic that she would not be able to pass through.

  “Bastard!” Her voice was muted as she thumped her fists on the shadow shield, an expression of fury on her features.

  It was close enough that he would be able to maintain the shield with his magic and still have enough to do what he had to.

  Without pause, he rushed toward the roars, and hooked a stream of dark magic around a pair of boulders. He held on to it with one hand, his dagger in his other, and flung himself down from the barrier into the cavern.

  As he swung into the entrance, he slammed his booted feet into the first demon, sending the beast flying.

  A second Fomorii roared and reached for Garran, but he dug the demon’s heart out with a quick twist of his blade.

  Another came at Garran from behind, and he whirled, slicing the demon across the throat, but his dagger was not long enough to behead it. The demon healed almost at once and lunged for Garran.

  At the same time he battled, he analyzed the cavern. To his right was a series of rocks he could climb that led to a shelf.

  Garran cut the heart from another Fomorii, turning the beast into silt. He stepped back toward the rocks, still facing the oncoming demons.

  The damned beasts had tipped their claws in iron, as he’d been told, and iron was deadly to Fae and Elves. One slice of their claws could render him helpless—or kill him.

  Determination roared through his veins as he threw up a shadow shield between himself and the oncoming demons. The two shields he had created, and the large amount of magic he’d left behind to maintain the sphere, had stretched his powers thin.

  He scrambled up the rocks, dagger in one hand as his other grabbed for purchase. His breathing was heavy and his heart raced. It was all he could do to hold the wall up between Hannah and the entrance to the cavern, and the one between himself and the Fomorii.

  Below, demons growled and screeched so loudly the cavern echoed with it. The Fomorii were hideous—some orange, others green, purple, red, or blue. They had multiple limbs and eyes, and their claws all glinted from the iron they had been tipped in.

  Some of the demons tried to climb the rock wall to reach Garran, but he pushed forward, his target the shelf above the floor of the cavern. The closer he got to it, the deeper the sense of evil he felt.

  No doubt Ceithlenn. He hoped to the gods she was here so that he could send her back with the Fomorii—if she didn’t kill him first.

  Rocks bit into his palms as he pulled himself upward and then forward, driving himself toward his destination.

  Shrieks from the demons nearly deafened him and his nose clogged and eyes watered from the rotten-fish stench. Just as he tumbled onto the ledge, his power holding the shields in place snapped.

  Garran fell, his face hitting the stone shelf. So much for Elvin grace.

  While the Fomorii rushed him from the left and other demons attempted to climb from below, Garran pushed himself to his feet. He stretched his body to his full height. The dagger had clattered to the rock shelf when he dropped it.

  At the same time he was all too aware of everything going on around him, and of the demons nearing him.

  He closed his eyes and blocked everything out. He dug deep inside his soul for the magic the Guardian had given him.

  It was there, swirling, waiting to break free.

  Garran thrust his chest out, expanded his arms, saw every Fomorii in the cavern with his mind’s eye.

  Power burst from him. So intense, so hot, he thought he might burn away.

  He opened his eyes as his body shook with magic to see the cavern bathed in silver light. It glittered, bounced off every surface in the cavern, almost blindingly so.

  With all his might he focused on sending the Fomorii back to Underworld.

  Pain shot through his head. His body.

  He put more force into the power of his gift.

  The demons vanished.

  The cavern was empty.

  Complete silence.

  Exhaustion and pain slammed into Garran and he crumpled to the rock shelf.

  * * *

  The shield holding Hannah dissolved as she banged on it. Off balance, she stumbled forward and dropped on one knee on the hard rock. Pain shot through her knee.

  She scrambled to her feet and headed toward the roars.

  Oh, goddess. What am I doing? What is Garran doing?

  Was it a good sign that the beasts still roared in the cavern below? That Garran still survived?

  The strength of her fear for Garran burned in her chest. Anger, too, that he had done this—but she would deal with that later. Providing he survived whatever crazy plan he’d had in his mind when he brought them here. She’d kill him herself if they made it out of here alive.

  Hannah ran toward the boulder where Garran had used his magic to climb down. She tripped over a rock but kept herself from falling by bracing her hands on the boulder.

  A plan formed in her mind.

  Her heart pounded so loud her ears throbbed, but the roars and shrieks of the demons still cut through. The Fomorii stench was overwhelming and she wanted to clap her hand over her nose.

  Instead, she whipped a thick rope of magic from her palm and wrapped it around the boulders. When she slid down the rope she would be prepared to throw up a spellshield to protect herself and Garran. If she had to, she’d use spellfire to knock the demons out of her way so that she could reach Garran.

  How they would get out alive, she wasn’t sure, but she could protect them, and fight if necessary.

  Heart still pounding like crazy, she readied herself on the overhang. She gripped the magic rope in both fists.

  Sudden silence filled her ears as she swung down.

  Shock coursed through her as she landed on the lip of the cavern entrance. She clung to the rope, unable to pry her fingers from it as she stared int
o the enormous space.

  No demons. Nothing.

  No more roars or screeches, or the horrid odor of the Fomorii—only a little lingered. All she heard were waves rolling up to the far end of the lip that extended out toward the water.

  At her feet were a few piles of silt from demons that had been killed, but in the cavern—not a scent, not a sound, not a presence.

  Garran. Where’s Garran?

  Her throat grew dry and knots twisted her stomach as she searched the cavern with her gaze. The Fomorii had vanished. Had Garran, too?

  Hannah’s own breath nearly strangled her when she saw Garran’s body on a rock shelf. He’d collapsed on his side and wasn’t moving.

  She looked at the rocks between her and Garran. There was a good climb between the two of them, but she pushed herself forward and scrambled up the rocks. Their sharpness bit into her palms, and shards of pain splintered through her every time one of her knees hit the jagged stone.

  Her breathing grew harsher as she made her way toward Garran. His bluish-gray complexion looked pale and his eyes were closed. He was lying on his side, his features slack.

  She climbed over the last rock and hurried to Garran’s side. She dropped to her haunches next to him. Her hands trembled as she raised them over his body and sent her healing magic from her palms to Garran’s body.

  At once she felt his lifeforce. It was strong, his heart beating a steady rhythm. Relief flowed through her like a warm wave.

  Through her magic she felt that his powers had been drained. Something more was there, too, but she couldn’t tell what it was.

  She sent strong healing energy from her body, through her hands, and into his prone form. Her green magic sparkled between them and he stirred.

  Even as more relief poured through her like wine warming her belly, she continued to heal him as best she could. Cassia would know what to do once Hannah managed to get Garran to her.

  She glanced at the rocky path she’d taken to get to him and wondered how in Anu’s name she would get Garran to the sphere.

  His hand suddenly clasped around her wrist, startling her and bringing her attention to him. His eyes were open and for a moment she stared into their liquid silver depths.

  Hannah’s first instinct was to kiss him, her second to slap him for putting himself in so much danger.

  But where had the danger gone?

  The healing magic she’d been using faded back into her body. She glared at him and braced her hands on her hips as she rested on her haunches. “Idiot.”

  He smiled, the same sexy, cocky smile that told her he was going to be okay.

  “You could have been killed by all those…” She slowly swept her gaze over the cavern. “Demons,” she finished, not really knowing what else to say.

  Had the cavern already been empty? Were just a few here that Garran had fought with hand to hand?

  But why was he lying on this rock shelf, passed out? What had happened?

  Garran pushed himself to a sitting position and braced himself on the rock shelf with one hand. “They are gone.”

  “How many? And how?” She wrinkled her brow and looked around the cavern again, feeling as if a Fomorii might just pop up out of nowhere. “I don’t understand.”

  Garran said nothing as he got to his knees and then to his feet. He wavered, as if he were tipsy, and she hurried to her feet, afraid he might fall off the edge of the rock shelf.

  She wrapped her arm around his waist. “Lean on me.”

  “I am fine.” He took a step forward and staggered a little, almost making her fall with him. “I will be fine,” he amended with a smile at her.

  “With you injured, how are we supposed to get out of here?” She moved with him as he took a step forward. “I don’t suppose you can create one of those floaty balls, or order the one you left behind to come and get us.”

  “My powers have lessened.” He took another step toward the rock they would need to climb on. “From this distance I don’t have the strength to bring the geodess to us.”

  She released him as he reached the rock and he started to climb. His biceps bulged as his arms trembled with the effort, the muscles in his back flexing beneath his T-shirt. What had this great Elvin warrior done to be so weak?

  “Was Ceithlenn here?” Hannah followed as he made slow progress along the rocks that led back to the entrance. “Did she make all the Fomorii disappear?”

  “She was not here.” Garran’s boot slipped on a rock as he crept forward. “I fear she is still in your city.”

  Hannah’s gut twisted at the mention of Ceithlenn still in San Francisco. “If she didn’t do this, what happened?”

  “I do not have the strength for speech.” His voice did sound weak as he moved on.

  Hannah clamped her lips shut. This entire thing had been crazy, from the moment they left the pier until now. In some unbelievable way, Garran had something to do with the disappearance of the demons. She just didn’t know how.

  Unless they hadn’t been there to begin with? Her skin went cold. Did that mean more demons were in the city than they’d thought?

  Their progress was agonizingly slow and Hannah’s stomach constantly churned, as if Ceithlenn might appear. Hannah wasn’t sure she could shield herself and Garran against an onslaught of the dark goddess’s magical powers or her ability to suck up souls. Hannah flinched at the thought of what the goddess had done to all those people at the stadium and acid rose up in her throat.

  To keep their souls—the D’Danann, D’Anu, and PSF officers—from being taken by the goddess, the Great Guardian had created an elixir from an Amarant, an exceedingly powerful, magical precursor of the everlasting, never-fading amaranth they knew here.

  The Guardian had provided a flagon that contained a magical potion made from the rare Amarant that bloomed only in Otherworld. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough to put in the city’s water supply to save everyone in San Francisco.

  As far as Hannah knew, she was still protected from losing her soul. She studied Garran as he moved ahead of her. He wasn’t safe from that fate since he hadn’t been around when they’d taken the elixir.

  When they got back—and they would get back—she’d have to see if Cassia had more in that flagon.

  Blessed Anu, it seemed to take forever and a week to reach the lip of the cave’s entrance but they finally did.

  Garran sat for a moment on the last rock he had stepped on. Hannah settled beside him and noticed his skin was slick with a sheen of sweat and his chest rose and fell with each harsh breath.

  He still looked pale—more so than he did when he was in the daylight and his skin and hair color changed.

  Water pushed back and forth from the rock just below the lip of the cavern’s entrance. As they sat on the rocks for a moment, Hannah thought about the change in his skin tones and hair when he was in the daylight.

  As always, he had been magnificent. Beautiful yet dangerous. His hair had gleamed white-gold in the sunrise and his skin had been almost the same color as the Great Guardian’s. Fair, but a little darker than the Guardian’s.

  She studied him as he sat beside her, still the proud, strong, dangerous warrior king despite the fact that somehow he’d been weakened. And he was gorgeous with his skin the shade of bluish gray and with his silvery-blue hair.

  It was beautiful as it rested on his shoulders. His liquid silver eyes, powerful build, and regal bearing were enough to take a woman’s breath away. She wanted to reach up and trace his ear to its point and down.

  Garran looked at her with his slow, lazy perusal that made her body tighten and the place between her thighs ache.

  With a slight smile to his lips, he looked to the mouth of the cave. Immediately she sensed him using his powers—the darkness and strength of it made her shiver.

  The magic faded and he took her hand as they both rose to their feet. He looked beyond tired as they walked to the short drop-off to the water. When she peeked over, the black sphere was wai
ting for them.

  “So, you did have some magic left,” she said.

  “When I came close enough to it, I was able to draw the geodess.”

  He looked down as if he weren’t sure how he was going to climb the distance. He frowned and took Hannah’s hand. “We will have to jump.”

  Hannah gripped Garran’s hand tighter. “We won’t bounce off?”

  He shook his head. Before she had time to realize what he was doing, he pulled her to the edge of the entrance—and jumped, bringing her with him.

  A cry ripped from her as they fell. When they hit the bubble, it cushioned their fall then immediately sucked them inside.

  Garran and Hannah landed on their asses and her head knocked against his.

  “Ow.” She rolled away and rubbed the temple that had struck him. “You’re thickheaded in more ways than one.”

  His lips curved into a slight smile as he closed his eyes and his body went slack.

  Hannah’s heart jumped and she immediately used her magic to examine him.

  He was fine. He just needed to recover from—from whatever had happened back there.

  She kept her hand on his chest, feeling the hardness through his T-shirt. Thank Anu the Fomorii hadn’t gotten their claws into him.

  The sphere rocked, spun a little, causing her to feel a bit dizzy before it slowly began moving toward San Francisco.

  The spell that had woven the geodess together didn’t seem as strong as it had before. She could see through the walls and it wasn’t as dark. It also moved more slowly.

  She glanced at Garran, who remained passed out on the floor of the sphere.

  A grasping sensation made her belly squeeze tight as the bubble slowed even more and seemed to sink a little. She looked around at the walls that grew lighter with every second.

  Her belly clenched again—and then she knew exactly what to do. She raised her hands and released her green magic, creating a spellshield all around them and intertwining it with Garran’s magic.

  She shivered at the darkness of the power he’d used to create the sphere. It wasn’t black, but it was so, so dark.