Shadowborn (36 page)

When did I get turned around?

“It seems like everyone has a beef with you today, Lila.” Alastair leaned against the tree, legs crossed at the ankle, one smoky arm slung over a low-hanging branch. “Pity they’ll go away empty-handed.”

“Fuck you, Alastair.” My teeth clicked together.

A brief pause preceded his bone-wrenching laugh. “These feathered creatures are spoiling my fun, so for the sake of the bounty, I shall keep you close to me until your energy is spent.”

I needed more power
.
What I drew from the fae wouldn’t be enough. I didn’t know how or why I knew, but I did. Where could I get more?

The heartbeat of the earth vibrated up my legs. Creatures, from tiny ants to great lumbering bears, offered their life force, adding to the rolling tides of power already inside me; but still, in my heart, I understood it wouldn’t be enough.

I didn’t think I had it in me to do to everyone what I did to Liam and the others.

“Look to the skies, Lila Gray.”
The voice, ringing crystal clear in my head, didn’t bring a reaction from Alastair.

The skies? I peered up, a hand shielding my eyes. I fought the urge to smack myself in the forehead. The sun.
Of course. You idiot!

In danger of shaking with the effort to hold the energy, I stood still, closed my eyes and tilted my face toward the sun. Even though clouds hindered my efforts, it blazed into me so suddenly I cried out.

“Need more time, Parthalan.”
As I called to him, the presences of the other fae grew brighter in my head.

They were coming. All of them.

“What are you doing, Lila?” Alastair’s voice held a threat.

Light burst free of my skin and consumed my flesh.

His form grew larger, and he growled. “This is your last warning.”

To all who fed me energy, I shouted, “I need more time! Do not let him harm the child!”

Talawen had said all life, human and otherwise, would end if I failed.

Arianne, the tiny fae child I’d cradled to my breast after the poker game, filled my thoughts with color that I read as clearly as if she’d spoken. She believed in me, demanding I return to her as I promised.

Why did her mother bring her into danger? Did she have that much faith that I would win?

My back straightened, and a new determination tightened down on my thoughts. I had to have faith that any who fell, I could pull back from whatever dark place they were taken to.

Chaos erupted in the clearing. Wind whipped in a tornado around me, my arms spread wide as I drew even more power from everywhere. What remained of the Sluagh dove at Alastair. Every one that made contact fell with a thud to the cold ground. Their souls emerged from the shadows as murky forms that joined the fray while Alastair cackled and threw triumphant fists into the air.

The fae who could teleport arrived first. Their screams permeated my thoughts and wrenched my heart as they, too, kept Alastair too busy to get to Juliet. The rest I could return to their bodies, but if he destroyed Juliet’s, she’d be lost in the void forever.

I wailed into the sky as more arrived, the other Shadowborn sucking them into the ground, and whoever made it through, having their soul torn from their bodies by Alastair.

Yet, something still wasn’t right.
“I underssstand what I mussst do, Missstresss
,” Parthalan hissed at me.

“What are you talking about”?
A new surge of panic gripped my throat and squeezed until no air passed through.

As Parthalan plummeted from the sky, he stared at me with those ice-blue eyes. I thought I found a sad smile in them. The instant Alastair touched him, the bond shattered. Parthalan’s lifeless body smashed into the earth. Screaming, I fell to the ground on hands and knees. Searing agony tore down my spine and pooled in my extremities. When it passed, I drew in a giant gulp of air, gagged and coughed at the sudden absence of him. Tears dropped onto the frost underneath me.

The only part left within me I hadn’t accessed was where my bond with Parthalan had existed.

He’s gone. He’s really gone.
While I expected relief, only deep sadness came.

What had changed in me? What had the breaking of the bond done? I closed my eyes. For once, my head was quiet, almost peaceful. My energy waved within like the spirits in the sky above Dun Bray. When I opened them again, my energy arched outward like an extension of my arm, glowing fingers of Light curled to mirror mine.

The pieces fit together.

I’d passed through Liam, maybe I could pass into the realm where Alastair existed. If so, maybe I could snuff him out, use the energy to imprison and crush him.

To do it, I’d need more energy.

“Use me, Lila Gray” Galati said from the edge of the clearing, speaking with the same crystal voice that had pointed me toward the sun. So the elves hadn’t abandoned me after all. “Through me, take all that Freymoor has to offer and set your people free.”

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I searched her, through her, through all of Freymoor. Every elf. The two moons. The fountain of light in their town square. Every creature that skittered through their strange forest. The millions of moon pixies.

All gave willingly.

I rose above the ground while a continuous stream of fae from both Courts ran at Alastair. I’d siphoned away all of their Light and darkness, leaving them none to protect themselves. A pile of soulless bodies littered the clearing around the haven of his tree.

Another round of terrible laughter filled the emptiness around me. “How many will you sacrifice to me before you accept defeat, Lila? Hundreds? Thousands?” He reached down and yanked Juliet up by the arm until only her upper body showed above the shadows. “You’ve condemned her and the rest of children of this world to hell. Are you happy now?”

“No!” A blast of energy out of my feet sent me hurtling toward him, but I wouldn’t make it in time.

Alastair shoved his hand inside the girl’s chest and yanked out her essence, holding it in his fist. Even though his face was dark, malevolent eyes told me he’d destroy her body, trap her soul in his realm and enjoy it, too.

“Wait.” I stopped and touched down to the earth again. I needed to buy some time to think. “Let her go, and I’m all yours.” Unsure where I’d put it all, I pulled my Light back enough that it disappeared beneath my skin. My flesh thrummed with it.

Gripping Juliet’s soul in one hand and her body in the other, Alastair walked to the edge of his shadow. “Come closer.” He snickered.

If I drew near enough, I might be able to make him drop Juliet.

I took a step. Another.

Could I extend my hand of energy through the earth and take him from behind before he saw it?

Another step.

One more would put me within his reach.

Roaring, Liam materialized beside him. Returned to normal but drained of energy to feed me, he dove at Alastair. Juliet’s soul floated away. Her body thudded to the ground.

Liam’s lifeless shell fell a moment later.

A scream poured out of me—a piteous wail to shatter the soul, rattling the distant hills.

Brígh, Cas and the rest followed after him, dodging around the obstacle course of corpses. Donovan and Gallagher, followed by hundreds more, emerged from the woods.

One by one, all those I loved …
fell
.

I roared my agony into the sky. My Light consumed me. The Shadowborn ducked to the ground, arms wrapped around their heads.

“You disappoint me, King of the Unseelie,” Alastair said, holding Liam’s soul by the throat. “You were supposed to be my next bit of fun, but I guess I’ll take you, anyway. Perhaps you can scrub my feet.”

Liam’s shadow mouth gaped open in a silent scream.

In one surge of strength, I reached into every flame in my head, into every fae. I plunged deeper into their cores and broke all forgotten energy free. Some screamed. Others laughed as if lost in a drunken state of euphoria. I took it all.

Every last scrap of power.

I dove straight for the fucked-up piece of shit. My energy flared. Screeching, Alastair dove into the shadow where he’d emerged. I plunged in after him. My hands of power searched the inky darkness. My rage grew every second that passed without success.

Movement to my left. I snapped to face it and forced my Light toward the source. When I raised my extra limbs, a scrawny man struggled in its grip.

He wailed and thrashed, still no more flesh and bone than the breeze, but my energy held him captive.

“How do I put the souls back?”

His mocking laughter made me brighten. “You’ve lost them, Lila Gray.”

“I don’t believe you. What do the Magi want with me?” My voice had changed into a booming roar like a thousand voices speaking in unison. I squeezed him, his cry evoking that part of me that enjoyed other’s pain. “Tell me, and I’ll kill you quickly. Delay, and I’ll spread it out over weeks.”

Alastair went still, a gurgling laugh tumbling from his throat. “What they want you’ve already given them, you fool. They gave you time to unlock your potential. Do you really think I would have given you two days to prepare if they didn’t force my hand? Kill me and end this curse. You’d be doing me a favor.”

“Already given them … what are you talking about?” It took every bit of willpower not to finish him.

“I said you didn’t have it in you. They disagreed. Now you’re ready to serve them.”

It was all a ruse? A means to make me realize my potential? “Was Talawen a part of this?”

“Not knowingly. Just a useful tool to my masters.”

“Your masters. The Magi?”

“Please.” The form in my grasp shook. “I know I have no right to ask for mercy, but please, set me free from them. Please.”

“Why? Are they the ones who cursed you?”

“They stranded me here so long ago I’ve lost count of the years, when I visited this hellish land out of innocent curiosity.”

“Tell me what they want me to do for them, and I’ll do what you ask.”

“They don’t think as the Goddess’s creatures do, Lila Gray. They will see an end to all things before they’re done. You as the conduit.”

In a fit of rage, I flexed my power.

Alastair’s heartbeat drummed in my ears as it faltered, skipped and went still.

32

Although I steeled myself for what I’d find, my return to the surface still tore the heart out of me. The bodies of everyone I loved lay strewn around the tree. Countless others must still have been trapped in the other realm. By my count, only a few hundred Unseelie had answered my call, while almost half of the three thousand Seelie showed up.

The rest of the Shadowborn cowered into every finger of darkness available. Why hadn’t they returned to their bodies?

“Use your Will, Lila Gray.”

I whirled to find Galati half consumed by the opposite side of the tree that had taken Talawen.

I searched the circle of trees and found nothing. “Where are those cruel fucks?”

An echo of laughter carried on the wind. “We’ll be seeing you soon, fairie queen,” a female voice called from what sounded like every direction at once.

My vision turned red through my fury. When I moved away to find the owner of the voice, Galati cried out, “Don’t leave me like this. I know we’ve treated you poorly, but please, have mercy.”

Torn between the part of me that needed to shed some blood and the other who needed to save the elf who’d helped me, I willed away my anger. I studied the tree as I laid my hand against it. The wood hadn’t yet penetrated Galati’s skull.

“You must kill me, Lila Gray.”

“No. Not this time.” Concentrating on only the bits of wood attached to Galati, I pinned her under my stare. “Are you ready?”

Tears streaked her face in silver. “Yes.”

My skin still resembled a pulsing beam of light, and with a tiny jolt of my energy, the tree splintered.

Galati fell forward, motionless. Her spine lay exposed across her back, shards of wood protruding from the gaping wound. Afraid of overdosing her on my energy, I moved away and sent my healing thoughts through the ground. Her skin knitted together, once again shielding the vertebrae. The splinters worked themselves out. Painful seconds passed before she gasped and began to weep.

Use your Will,
she’d said.

Shaking, I stood and faced the rest of the fallen, allowing trickles of power to spread over the land through my feet. “Those stolen by Alastair, return to your bodies if they still draw breath. If you have no host to return to, move on to the next existence.” Emotion overtook me, and I choked on a sob.

“I’m so sorry.” I fell to my knees over Liam’s body, half covered by Gallagher’s still form. Liam’s vacant eyes stared past me to the clouds boiling across the sky. “Come back to me. Oh, Goddess, please, bring him back.”

He remained dead in my arms.

It didn’t work.

I’d lost them all.

In the grips of grief that threatened to choke me to death, I wailed into his chest.

Strange shadows danced around me. The sky no longer resembled the one from the human world, but a mixture of gold, cream and purple liquid took its place. Had I summoned the spirits to me, too?

Mist descended toward us. One of the souls, in the hands of a fae spirit, disappeared into one of the bodies on the ground. A moment later, the male fae cried out and sat up, gasping. More tendrils of fog swept over the crowd of shadows. One by one, lost souls rejoined their bodies, the ones already recovered consoling those just reawakening.

Gallagher stood. Brígh. Cas. Neve. They hugged, laughing.

Liam still lay unmoving under my hands. I searched his body with my Sight but found nothing broken, nothing I could repair. Desperate, I gazed into the sky. “Please, Goddess. Don’t take him from me. I am yours until the end of days. Take my soul if you want, but please, please, let him live.”

No answer.

When I lowered my blurry eyes, I found the rest of my friends kneeling around me, shedding their own tears. Even Gallagher.

One lone wisp of mist descended from the sky. It encircled one of the remaining lost souls and guided it to me. Garret’s innocent laughter filled my head while he laid Liam into his body.