The Shadows

by Cheyenne McCray

  His gut churned and he drew his Glock with its special bullets and waited for his officers to arrive.

  He’d take a few of his men and women with him into the tower. The rest he’d leave to intercept and at least slow down the regular cops and fire department guys who might just get themselves killed.

  Like us.

  Like every one of us.

  24

  Before he started the transference, Garran’s knees almost buckled at the pain he felt through his link with Hannah.

  Fury roared through him. He drew his sword and caused his dark magic to infuse him and surround him. He followed Hannah’s pain from the transference stone.

  Red light blinded him. Smells of smoke, fire, and the stench of rotten fish assaulted his senses.

  Before he even had the opportunity to assess the situation a ball of fire slammed into the dark shield he had protected himself with.

  Hannah. In a ball of flame. Naked. Bare of any protection from the fire.

  With a quick sweep of his gaze, he saw that he was in some kind of tower. Fomorii demons surrounded him and Hannah.

  Anger arrowed through him as he saw Hannah writhe in the great ball of flame, and he felt the depth of her pain. On the other side of the flames were a Fire Dragon and Ceithlenn. The goddess scowled and flung another fireball at him but it ricocheted off his magic, out of the tower, and exploded, lighting up the dark sky.

  Demons dove for Garran, but bounced off the power shielding him. If he did not have the shield up, he could have fought off the demons with his sword, but he would not be protected from Ceithlenn or the Dragon.

  Hannah continued to scream and roll in agony in the fire and Garran shook with fury.

  Instinct drove him forward. Sword in one fist, he dropped his shield and dove for the ball of flame.

  Fire seared his skin as he entered the sphere and the pain he had felt through his connection with Hannah multiplied. His sight blurred as he landed across her legs, bracing his arms and barely keeping his weight from crushing her.

  Blocking out as much of the fiery agony as he could, he scooped Hannah in his arms and flung out a dark spell of protection that surrounded them at once, a soothing fabric of magic.

  Instantly his body cooled and Hannah stopped screaming. She wrapped her arms around his neck before releasing him at once, as if realizing she did not have time to waste on comfort.

  When Hannah was on her feet, he felt her trembling beside him from the power of her pain. From the corner of his eye he saw her hair and naked body damp from sweat.

  Ceithlenn stood outside the bubble and folded her arms in front of her chest. “Now I have both you and the witch.”

  She focused on Garran. “Your powers cannot withstand mine and the Fire Dragon’s for long. You will pay for what you have done with my demons.”

  “No.” He growled the word. “You will pay for all that you have done to the people of this world.”

  Garran prepared himself to use his power gifted to him by the Great Guardian. He might only send a few of the Fomorii to Underworld, but he would rid them of Ceithlenn at the same time he saved Hannah, too.

  “Such a cocky Drow bastard.” Ceithlenn smirked and walked closer to the fiery sphere. “It seems that I have you at—what would you call it? A disadvantage.”

  The Guardian’s power built within him. He closed his eyelids for just a moment, and as in the cavern, every Fomorii’s image and presence firmly imprinted themselves in his mind.

  His eyes snapped open and he drew on the power, bringing it from his core and letting the silver magic encase his body so that he glowed with it.

  The fiery sphere blew apart into red sparks.

  Garran dropped the shield and Fomorii dove for them.

  Ceithlenn stumbled backward. “No!” she shouted.

  A fraction of a moment before Garran set the Guardian’s power free, Ceithlenn wrapped her wings around herself and vanished.

  The Fire Dragon left with her.

  The magic blasted into the Fomorii and, with a thought, Garran sent them all to Underworld.

  He felt a moment’s triumph at saving Hannah.

  A moment’s regret at not capturing Ceithlenn.

  And a moment’s fear at using the power twice—and that he would have to do so a third and final time.

  Leaving his people without a trained leader.

  All the thoughts raced in his mind right before agony speared his body like a thousand swords. He dropped to the floor of the tower and darkness stole him.

  Everything bombarded Hannah at once. The appearance of Garran, the safety and protection of his magic, the fire sphere exploding, and Ceithlenn and the Fire Dragon vanishing. Followed by blinding silver light and the Fomorii demons simply gone.

  Dizziness threatened to overcome her until Garran collapsed.

  Hannah cried out and went to her knees beside Garran. She put her hand on his heart and felt instant relief at the strength of its beat.

  But he was out cold. His skin was clammy and his breathing shallow. The bluish-gray tint of his skin paled so that it was more of a stark bluish white.

  The seemingly permanent lump in her throat growing, she held her palms over Garran and let her magic flow to his chest. She put almost everything she had into giving him part of her essence so that she weakened even more.

  Nothing. The pallor of his skin didn’t change. He didn’t move. His chest still rose in shallow puffs.

  “Dear Anu.” Hannah looked up at the opening at the top of the tower, up at the night sky. “Please lend me more of your strength to help Garran.”

  She closed her eyes, but felt nothing.

  What was wrong? Why was she failing in so many ways?

  Sirens shrieked, and she knew law enforcement would be here soon. She couldn’t let them see Garran. A bluish-gray man with silvery-blue hair and pointed ears? Not to mention they were at the top of the tower illegally, and no one would believe her story.

  “Wake up.” She shook Garran’s shoulder, hard, but he didn’t even stir. “Come on.” More urgency infused her voice. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

  Not even the flicker of an eyelid.

  She whipped her gaze around the tower. They were alone, and she had no idea how she was going to get herself and Garran down from the tower and back to headquarters.

  For a brief second, she had the absurd desire to laugh as she thought of herself as Rapunzel, trapped in a tower with no way down. No long hair, either.

  She did have her magic ropes, but she didn’t think she’d ever be able to use them to get Garran down a two hundred foot tall tower, and get him back to the warehouse.

  The sirens cutting through the night closed in—the police had arrived. She peeked out to see police cars coming to a stop. Strobes flashed red and blue against the white of the tower. The sound of police radios crackling and more sirens met her ears.

  Hannah racked her brain. To keep the police from seeing her and Garran, she could hide the two of them with a glamour. With the power Garran had lent her, she was certain the glamour would be strong.

  That wouldn’t keep police officers from possibly tripping over Garran, though, when they searched the tower. And once the police left, how would she get Garran down? He was too big for her to carry. She looked him over from head to toe. Goddess, was he big.

  One thought after another traveled through her head and she discarded each one.

  The D’Danann! The great winged Fae warriors could carry Garran with ease.

  Could she get their attention? They constantly surveyed the city by flying over it for signs of the Fomorii. As compact as San Francisco was, Coit Tower wasn’t that far from the warehouse.

  So where were they? The D’Danann should have been investigating the strange activity in the tower by now—all the red magical flames.

  What if Ceithlenn came back before she could get Garran out of there?

  Knots in her stomach that had never gone away tightened until she
thought they might snap. Her flesh still felt as if it were burning and shriveling from the power of the heat that had encased her.

  She might be imagining it but she thought she smelled smoke mixed with the remnants of the demon’s rotten-fish stench.

  A sense of urgency rose in her like a hot fountain, bubbling and gurgling and ready to spout out of her. She had to get Garran to Cassia so that she could heal him.

  When she got to her feet, Hannah’s legs shook enough that for a moment she had to stand still to compose herself. When she was steady enough, she hurried to the side of the tower that looked out in the direction where she’d be able to see the warehouse.

  The floor was cool beneath her feet and the chill air welcome after what her body had just been through. It was only then that she remembered she was naked. Ceithlenn had caught her at her most vulnerable.

  The police car and firetruck flashers were even brighter and she saw a group of firemen breaking into the tower. The fiery sphere was gone, the top of the tower dark, but she was certain they weren’t planning on taking any chances.

  Another wave of dizziness caused her to hold her hand to her forehead as she looked down from the two hundred plus height. Not a good idea.

  Fear nearly choked her. Goddess! What could she do?

  The sensation of someone behind her made her head buzz. With a rush of icy fear Hannah whirled.

  Hawk, Keir, and Tiernan.

  Relief flooded through Hannah, the ice melting away. The D’Danann had come.

  They folded their great feathered wings away so that the wings vanished beneath their shirts.

  “What happened?” Hawk said as he knelt beside Garran.

  “I’ll explain when we get back to headquarters.” She glanced toward the stairs that the firemen and cops would use to climb the tower. They wouldn’t use the elevator in case of a fire.

  Hawk nodded. He and Tiernan picked up Garran’s dead weight, Hawk holding Garran under his arms and Tiernan grabbing Garran by his boots. They stepped onto the ledge and hoisted the Dark Elf.

  They unfurled their wings as they stepped off the ledge and vanished from sight.

  Keir drew off his long black coat and settled it over Hannah’s naked shoulders. She stared at him as she pushed her arms through the enormous coat and wrapped it around herself. He kept proving to her he wasn’t the barbarian she’d always accused him of being.

  She’d been carried by a D’Danann in flight before, but it still sent a burst of nerves through her belly. Keir secured his arm around her waist, spread his great wings, and rose from the top of the tower into the night.

  Avoiding looking down at the police units and fire tracks, she clung to him as they flew at dizzying heights. Once the D’Danann were in winged form, they could not be seen by the human eye. Anyone they were carrying was also invisible.

  Still her heart raced as they flew. The coat flapped in the wind and her hair whipped her face.

  While they flew, Keir briefed her on the attack on the warehouse, and her skin chilled even more.

  By the time she and Keir finally reached the warehouse, Garran had already been taken into HQ. Hannah bolted inside as soon as her feet touched the ground, pushing her hair out of her face as she ran.

  She counted her sister witches as soon as she saw them. Relief flowed through her—they were all there.

  Thank the goddess Anu.

  The witches looked wound up and had obviously just been in a fight or battle, but they were fine.

  They were alive.

  Hannah thanked the Ancestors, the Elementals, and Anu again.

  Ceithlenn had apparently been telling the truth when she said she had a “surprise” in store for the D’Anu—not that Hannah had doubted the evil goddess. It hadn’t been a threat. It had been a statement.

  Now that she knew her sister witches had survived whatever had happened in Hannah’s absence, she had to focus on Garran.

  Her heart gave a hard jerk-twist-pull.

  At the same time Silver carried some vials of creams and oils, she ushered Hannah down the hallway to the room Hannah had shared with Garran.

  When they reached the room, the door was already open and she hurried inside to see Garran stretched out on the sleeping bags, still looking pale and out cold. Silver came into the room with Hannah, and the only other person there was Cassia.

  Cassia held her hands over Garran’s chest as her healing magic flowed from her to Garran. Her brow was crumpled with concern. “He’s very ill, but I’m not sure why.”

  Hannah cleared her throat “I think he made more demons disappear.”

  When Silver and Cassia looked up at Hannah, she continued, feeling as if her words were tumbling over each other like rocks in a landslide. “Ceithlenn and the Fire Dragon had me in a burning ball of fire at the top of Coit Tower and I was surrounded by Fomorii.”

  Silver’s jaw tensed. “The Fomorii that attacked the warehouse were probably just a diversion so the D’Danann couldn’t rescue you.”

  Hannah looked from Silver to Cassia. “Ceithlenn told me—she sent them after all of the D’Anu here.”

  Silver said, “Explain to us what happened.”

  “I’m not sure.” Hannah looked down at Garran. “He arrived out of the blue and managed to protect me with a shield of his own.”

  Hannah frowned. “Then a silverish power enveloped him and Ceithlenn seemed frightened. A moment after she vanished, all the Fomorii did, too.” She studied Garran. “Then he collapsed.”

  When Hannah looked up. Silver looked puzzled while Cassia just nodded and continued using her magic on Garran. Silver handed Hannah a vial and when she opened it she smelled cedar wood. It was used for healing, protection, and to drive away evil.

  Hannah took the cedar wood oil and touched Garran at his temples and throat. He was wearing his Drow warrior gear, so his chest was bare except for his leather and gem-encrusted straps.

  Silver helped her to remove the straps and weapons belt, and then Hannah rubbed the cedar oil over his powerful chest, down to the waistband of his leather pants. The air smelled of cedar and Garran’s masculine scent.

  “I think we’ve done all we can do for now,” Cassia said as she got up. She wore a pale blue robe that swirled around her feet when she stood. “I’m certain he’ll be all right. It might take a few days of healing, but he’ll be as fit as always.”

  The knots in Hannah’s stomach got impossibly tighter. “How could you know that?”

  Cassia smiled, one of her peaceful smiles that usually had a calming effect. “From what you described I believe I know why this is happening, and why he is ill. If it’s so, then he will recover.” Cassia’s smile faded and she sighed. “This time.”

  Hannah got to her feet in a rush. “What? What do you mean, ‘this time?’”

  Cassia shook her head. “It is not for me to tell. You will have to wait until the time is right to learn his secret.”

  Hannah glared. Riddling bitch. She’s as bad as the Great Guardian and just as immovable. Like a damned piece of witchstone.

  Hannah didn’t know what to say as she tried to decipher what Cassia had said. Silver and Cassia left the room, closing the door behind them.

  Exhausted, every bone in her body weighing her down, with great effort Hannah dropped Keir’s coat to the floor and jerked on one of her robes. She stumbled to the sleeping bags, eased down, and curled up beside Garran.

  Rain and ice battered Hannah’s body and she could barely see through the gray downpour as she ran. Her clothing stuck to her skin, the rain plastered her hair to her face, and pea-sized hail struck her as if someone were throwing small rocks at her.

  Her heart raced as she darted through the fog and rain and hail. Her arms and legs hurt from running and her chest ached from her harsh breathing.

  She came up short when she reached the pier and she blinked away the rain, unable to believe what she was seeing.

  Hundreds and hundreds of demons rose from the bay, scrabbli
ng to gain purchase before flooding the docks crowded with humans.

  Terror ripped through Hannah as the Fomorii grabbed people, killing them by snapping their necks, taking out their hearts, or slicing their throats.

  People screamed and tried to run from the docks, but the demons were too fast. They took down one human after another after another. Blood poured out of the people but the rain washed it from the asphalt streets, concrete sidewalks, and the wooden piers.

  Bile rose up in Hannah’s throat and the urge to throw up was so strong she didn’t think she could hold it back. But she needed to. She needed to figure out what to do to stop these demons.

  Hannah’s gaze snapped to the sky.

  Ceithlenn flapped her huge wings and rose above the beasts.

  Like in the baseball stadium, souls shot through the air straight for the goddess. Only these were from humans the Fomorii were murdering, not souls she was stealing from those still living.

  Ceithlenn absorbed the souls, looking more powerful, more terrible with every soul she gathered—her eyes becoming a deeper red, her hair flaming higher, her wings stretching wider, her fangs and claws growing longer.

  Hannah tried to scream for help, but no words would come to her mouth. She turned in a full circle, looking around her. Panic rose in her like something trying to rip her from the inside out. Where was everyone? Garran and the Drow weren’t there. The entire Alliance was missing.

  Hannah’s whole body tightened as she came around to face the carnage again.

  Garran lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes wide and sightless.

  Ceithlenn rushed straight toward Hannah.

  * * *

  Hannah cried out as she sat up on the sleeping bags. She put her hand to her forehead as if to block out the horrible nightmare.

  The pounding in her heart was answered by a throbbing in her head, blurring her vision for a moment.

  Banshee gave an answering shriek and Hannah looked up to see the falcon familiar circling above. He glided down and landed on her shoulder, his nails biting through her robe just enough to let her know she really was awake.