Shadow Lands (21 page)

A
n ear-splitting
roar shook Shanti’s bones. She knew that sound. She knew the giant animal that made it and the destructive force it was capable of.

“They’re using the beasts,” she said to Cayan, words getting lost in the next roar.

She felt an officer’s mind gush fear before it winked out. The beast was coming down from the north-east, closer to the ocean.

A push of Graygual came from the left. The tide of black eddied toward them as people backed away from something. Xavier burst through, covered in blood and moving like a man twice his experience level. His sword rose and fell. Gracas was right beside him, his hands moving so fast the enemy couldn’t keep up.

The people in front of her started to fall. Backing away from the Honor Guard, and then shoved north by her and Cayan, they finally sank to the ground or flew out of the way as a wall of reddish-orange leather came through, led by two in shiny blue. A growl and a screaming Graygual announced Sanders’ arrival.

Like the wind parting the clouds, a clearing opened up through the Graygual as they all joined. Shanti couldn’t help a smile of relief as her eyes met Sonson’s. “Good to have you.”

He matched her smile. “You made it.”

The Graygual pressed in on them once again, allowing them no time to rest.

T
hey pushed through the Graygual
, aiming for whoever had begun this assault. Cayan’s
Gift
rolled out in waves, dropping those close, making those further away falter. Shanti continued to work at the minds of only the sharpest on that field, taking them down quickly and efficiently.

Under their combined force, Graygual dropped like rain. The lesser tried to run, not getting far before being cut down by Sonson’s extended force. Those with better skill provided opposition before succumbing to their fate.

Then Shanti saw him. Up on a small hilltop out of her range, standing beside a tree with his Inner Circle gathered tightly around him—Xandre.

“He’s here!” Shanti yelled as a torrid of emotions assaulted her. Fear, shock, surprise, rage, and finally,
Wrath
.

Like a conduit of energy, she pulled the lightning out of the sky. She stirred Cayan, making him snatch up the thunder. Electrical current fired through her body and pushed her
Gift
to new heights. All she could focus on was that balding man. On his death.

“Get me to that hill!” she yelled. Her voice whipped from her mouth and carried. A beast roared in the distance. Lightning flashed.

Shadow surged forward, answering her call. Responding to her power. She felt Rohnan fall in behind her, his single-minded focus adding to hers. His rage increasing the velocity.

The man on the hill turned, facing directly at her, at the sphere of death opening up around her and at the unyielding fall of the Graygual as she and her army ran through the battlefield.

“Cayan, let’s unleash our full power,” Shanti said as a calm descended on her. As the rage blistered so hot, it stabilized into sharp intent. “Clear the way.”

The subsonic blast of power turned into a massive flood unlike anything anyone had ever seen. It grew and boiled to colossal heights before rolling forward. Screams; terrified, agony-filled screams, drowned out the battlefield. Like a tidal wave, the power rolled before them. Graygual fell. Bodies sank, writhing. Limbs twisted, faces screwed up in pain, as they died.

The power washed toward the hill with the Shadow and Cayan’s men racing the death to get to Xandre.

And there he stood. She just
knew
he was focused solely on her. He watched her advancing—his prize. The one thing he’d wanted since she’d beaten him when she had been so young. More powerful now than anything out of history.

More out of reach.

He took one step toward her, and she thought he would engage in the battle. She almost thought he would run down to meet her advance.

But then he turned toward the sea. And started running.

“No!” Shanti screamed. “He’s trying to escape!”

Her pace picked up. Her sword swung faster than it ever had before. She cut through unresisting people as if they were already dead and just needed to be knocked down. Cayan could barely keep up with her. No one could, except one.

Rohnan took Cayan’s place at the front, his urgency matching her own. Together they acted like fire to brush, clearing a path to the sea. Following that disgusting tyrant who had ruined their lives.

The Graygual turned and ran. Some ran away, some ran east to follow their leader. They were retreating, taking Xandre with them in a tide of fear.

“Catch him!” Shanti cried desperately, sprinting. She stabbed a Graygual in the back and ripped him to the side. “Don’t let him get away!”

A huge animal burst through from the left. Its jaws tore through a neck. It shook its furry head before seeing the movement, then it joined the fray, chasing the Graygual to the sea.

Cayan’s
Gift
boomed out, knocking people down. But there were too many blocking the way between Shanti and her vengeance.

“Please,” she begged the Elders.

“
We must go faster!
” Rohnan yelled frantically, his staff whirling.

Shanti and Rohnan cut down men and tore through, running for all they were worth. Running for their people.

A hole opened up. Shanti barreled through it, landing on the soft mud of the shore, looking around with wild eyes.

A sob escaped her as she looked out across the water.

Xandre stood on the back of a sleek ship. The sails streamed down. The crisp fabric sounded a
crack
as they immediately filled with wind. The ship was already on the move.

Away from her.

“No!” She looked around frantically, but all she saw were enemy ships. There was no way to follow him, because even if she ran across the island to the nearest port, she’d have to fight her way there. By then he would be out of reach.

She would never catch him, and even if she could reach him with her
Gift,
as strained as it was after the battle, he’d have Inkna protecting him. There was no way.

“No,” she sighed, deflated.

She stumbled into the water, right beside Rohnan, staring at that man.

He stared back.

A soft smile spread across his face. His hand rose, offering her a slow wave as the ship gained speed and took him away from the island.

Fighting still raged around her, but she was almost blind to it. She didn’t care. She watched with a sinking heart as her one true enemy stood at the back of the ship, surrounded by his Inner Circle, smiling at her like an old friend as he drifted out into the ocean.

A tear fell before she felt Cayan’s arms wrap around her and carry her away to safety.

I
n the aftermath
, after all the remaining Graygual had been cut down, Shanti sat on a small berm with Rohnan. Tears still swam in her eyes and dribbled down her cheeks. She’d been so close. She’d
seen
him. And he’d gotten away.

“There was no way you could have got to him,
mesasha
,” Cayan said, taking a seat by her side. He was covered in blood, with enough gashes to match her own. If he was like her, though, he wouldn’t feel any of them. “He planned this all perfectly. He confronted his worst case scenario, I am sure, and knew exactly when the battle was lost.”

“He was right
there,
Cayan!” Shanti clutched at the air with bloody hands. “We could’ve ended this whole war if I could’ve just reached him.”

“He’s too smart for that, Chosen,” Rohnan said, tears in his voice to match his eyes. “But we did get close. Next time, we will finish the job.”

Shanti sighed and bowed, letting her head hang between her knees. “What about the battle? Who is accounted for?”

Cayan stiffened. In an even voice that said he was suppressing emotion, he said, “Etherlan didn’t make it. Neither did Tepson. Tomous took a bad wound—Marc is looking after him now. Ruisa and Gracas both have broken bones, but Marc assures me that he knows how to set them, and thinks they’ll both be fine. The rest are exhausted and battered, but alive. Thankfully alive.”

“All the boys?” Shanti asked with a tight throat.

“All the boys. And the girl. They all made it.”

Shanti felt a moment of relief before the sorrow of losing Etherlan and Tepson consumed her. She didn’t know them that well, but they had been part of their team. An important part.

“More to add to the butcher’s bill,” she said in a shaking voice.

Cayan didn’t answer. She felt his sorrow well up, and then the guilt.

Blinking away the tears, Shanti stood. She met Cayan’s gaze. “Let’s not lose the cubs.”

Rohnan rose with them, aching sorrow drifting from him, feeling the loss of their friends and family all over again.

They climbed the hill slowly, each lost to their own thoughts, before they found the tree. Shanti sat down and took out one of the cubs. She held it tight, feeling the warm little body against her heart. She dug her face into the squirming little thing and cried. She cried for the lost, she cried for her people, and she cried in gratitude for being alive.

A
couple of hours later
, after the pain and loss had subsided a little, and the three of them descended the hill again, Sonson, an aging woman with a regal stance and a full dose of power, and a man who looked uncommonly like Rohnan, waited for them. Their eyes were hollow, and sorrow radiated out of them, but they did not show her their emotion. Their faces were grim and set.

The woman stepped forward. “I am Emery, the Shadow Lord. I lead these people.”

Shanti couldn’t summon up the surprise she might’ve felt on a different day. “A woman.”

Emery nodded. “A woman like you, forced to step into the role of leader.”

“Yes, though you have done a better job of protecting your people.”

Emery looked at her for a moment, her gray eyes soft, before turning to the men in blue beside her. “These are my sons. You’ve met Sonson.”

“Yes,” Shanti said in a flat voice. She was emotionally spent and hoped they understood.

“And this is Portolmous.” The man who looked like Rohnan stepped forward with an outstretched hand. She shook it before he stepped back.

Emery looked at Cayan and Rohnan in turn. She said, “I have met Rohnan.”

“Right, sorry,” Shanti said as fatigue tugged at her. She put her hand on Cayan’s arm. “This is Cayan. He was with me in the trials.”

“Yes. You two have
Joined.
I can feel it.” Emery’s gaze dipped to Cayan’s neck. “Such a rare thing to find someone who is your power’s perfect mate. There is only one, after all. The fates are at work here.” She turned back to Shanti. “You have the ring that goes back generations, linking our people.”

Shanti touched her throat. “Yes. It was given to me by my father, who received it from his father. I am the first woman to wear it.”

“Which is why it hangs heavy around your neck. Fitting. I am the first woman to solely lead my people. I do not have a ring, but the same weight hangs heavy around me.” Emery nodded toward Cayan. “And he has another remnant of days past…”

Cayan’s brow crinkled as he looked at Shanti. Shanti said, “The necklace, you mean?”

“Yes.” Emery smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes. “He wears a piece of our distant kin, as do you. That is fitting, since the Chosen is said to wear something from our common ancestors. Now. Tell me. Do you have anything else?”

Shanti sighed as the last of her adrenaline trickled away. She shook her head. “No. I have people to look after. If you plan to kill us, can you do it tomorrow? I’ve had enough for the day.”

Disappointment drooped Emery’s expression. Emery nodded. “We will meet tomorrow.”

Shanti should’ve been scared. Or worried. Or any number of things. Instead, she was just tired.

She shouldered her pack as Marc walked up on shaky legs and with uneasy steps. “S’am, I need to get Tomous back to the city, but I thought I would check on you first.”

Shanti hugged him. He didn’t bother to put his arms up to her. He just leaned against her. When she backed away, he blinked. “I’m tired, S’am,” he said, his mouth turning down at the corners and wobbling. Emotion worked into his expression. He wasn’t as good at hiding it as the older men. He hadn’t had the practice.

“I know,” she said, reaching up to cup his cheek. “We’re done now, though.”

He nodded and glanced at Cayan. His gaze took in Cayan’s gashes, but seeing they weren’t serious, he shrugged and slouched off.

Shanti watched him go before appealing to Sonson. “You have that beast, so I… well Cayan, thought you might be able to help us with these.”

Shanti put her pack on the ground carefully and extracted the cub. It growled before wiggling into her hands and trying to snuggle in closer. Cayan extracted his, holding one in each hand.

Shanti didn’t hold it out—she craved the warmth and innocence of its little body. Instead, she nodded at it. “We killed the parents. Cayan didn’t want to leave them to die, but we don’t have any milk for them.”

A smile creased Sonson’s face as he stepped forward to pet the little black fur ball. “This counts. This absolutely counts.”

From five paces away, Burson laughed and clapped his dirty, battle-stained hands. “Our future has stretched years. Wonderful!”

“Welcome to the Shadow Lands, Chosen,” Emery said. “You have passed all the trials.”

F
our grueling hours later
, as night fell to cover the loss and destruction caused by the biggest battle the Shadow had ever seen, Shanti followed Sonson down a wide corridor in the building where guests of the city were housed. This was a different area than that used for visitors and traders with enough money to house themselves. They were not visiting; they were family coming home for a stay.

It was a small building. It seemed the Shadow didn’t invite many into their fold.

Cayan and Rohnan followed directly behind Shanti, close to exhaustion but still standing tall. Everyone had fought hard that day, and everyone had lost friends and loved ones—details that needed to be looked after before rest. It was what was right.

“Chosen…zzz.” Sonson summoned up a small smile below his ragged face and dull eyes. Blood had been scrubbed away, but the memory would linger for the rest of his life, Shanti had no doubt. “Chosens.” He opened a door leading into a wide living area. “These are your quarters.”

Shanti glanced back at Cayan. Her middle tingled, but wariness encroached. She was too tired to think of how things would change between them. So she shuffled out of the way and mimicked Sonson’s gesture. “Go ahead, Cayan. I’ll just stay with Rohnan.”

“Are you not…?” Sonson let the words drift away, but the confusion showed in his furrowed eyebrows.

“Yes we are, but she hasn’t admitted it yet it seems,” Cayan said. Humor and determination danced in his words and sparked in his mind.

Shanti ignored both.

“Ah.” Sonson waited for Cayan to enter the room, and walked down the hall. He stopped at the next door and glanced at Rohnan. “The Chosen…zzz—I need to get used to having two. The Chosens have earned their status as family. You, however, are kin, however remote. Even without rings and golden charms, you look just like my brother. Obviously your people were as selective in breeding as mine. The origins stayed pure.” Sonson laughed and opened the door. “You are welcome here, anytime.”

Rohnan offered a bow.
“I am honored
,
”
Rohnan said in the native dialect.
“It’s been a long road. You have no idea what it means to finally reach this place and have the door opened to us.”
Rohnan shook his head. His eyes glossed over and he entered the room, saying no more.

“He’s sensitive,”
Shanti said, trying to conjure a smile but not quite able.
“He’ll probably be a puddle of tears in a minute.”

Sonson nodded.
“I can’t imagine what you two have been through. But I have a feeling I will soon. We will follow you to the mainland, and then into Death’s playground—I do like that expression. We have a score to settle, just like you.”

“It won’t be easy, I’ll tell you that much. I was
so close!
”
A memory of Xandre’s wave as he drifted away materialized in her mind.
“So close.”

“He is scared. He must be. He outnumbered us in both mental-workers and warriors… and he ran. He is scared, and we will ram that fear down his throat when next we meet.”

A hard edge had crept into Sonson’s eyes and voice.
“Until then, we will assemble, we will prepare, and we will follow you to battle. We have much to do yet, but we will all do it together, and we will succeed.”

Shanti watched him walk away, his mind as full of fire as the sweep of hair around his head. He was a worthy ally.

Shanti trudged into Rohnan’s quarters. He sat on the couch with his head leaned back and his eyes closed. When she closed the door he asked, “Will he get you your own residence?”

Shanti shrugged, even though he couldn’t see it with his eyes closed. “He didn’t say. Doesn’t matter, though. You have plenty of space. You’ll share and you’ll like it.”

A grin drifted up Rohnan’s face. “Yes. I’ve never been worried about having family close. What of the animals?”

Shanti thought of the small cats. She wished she could’ve brought them to these quarters with her, but they were dehydrated, tired, and no doubt feeling lost. “The Shadow have animal keepers—not just for horses. They have a plethora of exotic creatures it seems. The cats are being looked after.”

“They won’t be put back into the wild?”

Shanti took a plush chair made of fabric and soft stuffing. It wasn’t even remotely as comfortable as Cayan’s leather couches. Unexpectedly, her heart pinched. She felt his expectant relaxation from down the hall. The distance between them was nothing. Their
Gift
still mingled and mixed, sharing their bodies as though they were one.

Distracting herself, she crossed an ankle over her knee and thought about a bath. She desperately needed one.

Remembering Rohnan’s question, she answered, “No. They’d be killed by other predators, and they don’t have a mother to teach them. Killing the mother killed whatever chance the cubs had.”

“So what will be done with them?”

Shanti grimaced. “Coming with us, I guess. It’ll take a few months to get the first group of Shadow mobile. We’ll head back to Cayan’s land then and await the rest. But in a few months they should be able to travel with us. The beasts will be coming, too—though how the Shadow plan to get those huge monsters across the sea is beyond me. And what we’ll do with them in Cayan’s city…”

“You are excited about going back.”

Shanti felt the swirl of expectation at the thought of heading back to Cayan’s city, with the calm certainty that it was home; the only place she’d felt comfortable since she left her birth place. She longed for just that tiny bit of stability.