Shadow's Awakening: The Shadow Warder Series, Book One (An Urban Fantasy Romance Series) (16 page)

“Oh. That’s okay. I like whipped cream, but I’ve never liked marshmallows in cocoa. My mom hated them, so we never had them in the house.”

“How’s your head?” Conner asked.

Hannah stuck her nose in her mug and took a deep sniff. She hummed in appreciation and drank before answering him. “Fine. It feels normal again.”

“That didn’t work out the way I expected,” Conner said. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“You’ve never seen anything like this before?”

“Hannah, I’ve never seen a Shadow before yesterday. I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Oh.” Hannah bit her lower lip, chewing at the tender pink skin. Conner wanted to tell her to stop before she rubbed her lip raw. Better yet, he wanted to chew her lip himself. The pink flesh swelled under the pressure of her teeth. Conner looked away before he could follow the thought to her other soft pink parts.

“I’m assuming that this”—Conner paused, searching for the right word—“condition has something to do with you being a Shadow. I don’t know, it’s just a guess. But I’ve never heard of this happening and I’ve also never met a Shadow before. I tried to call the Oracle this morning to see if he had any ideas about what we should do next and he hasn’t called me back. He’s the only one I can think of to ask.”

“Is there a way we can fix it?” Hannah asked, her words slow, as if they were being pulled from her against her will. “At least the part where I start to lose my mind when you aren’t near me? I know we can’t stay here very long and I need to be able to function without you.”

“Maybe. It’s possible you’re borrowing from my shields.” Conner turned the idea over in his mind, ignoring the part of his gut that rebelled at the idea of teaching her to exist away from his side. “It might be as simple as teaching you to shield on your own. Warders don’t need shields the same way Shadows do. We use them to keep the Vorati from feeding from us during a fight. Not exactly the same kind of shield a Shadow would need, but if mine is helping you, it should be good enough for now. If I can teach you. Lucky for you, I was an instructor at the Academy.”

“Is it hard to learn?” Hannah asked, turning the mug back and forth between her hands as if warming them.

“Not really. We cover the basics when our children are four or five. I’m sure Shadows have more complex methods of protecting their minds—they’d have to—but this is the best I can do.”

“Okay, how do we start?”

“Let’s wait a little while. We’ll do it after lunch. I want you feeling steady before we go poking around in your head.” Conner waited for her to bring up the tugging sensation connecting them, but Hannah remained silent. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed. It was easier if they ignored it. Perversely, Conner didn’t want to.

Chapter Nine

As always, Michael felt Druj before he saw him. Not for the first time, Michael wished he commanded enough power to announce his presence the moment he entered a building. More impressive, Druj was somehow able to broadcast that power over a wide range, or focus it just on Michael. His level of control made him all the more frightening.

It was beyond dangerous to continue meeting Druj in the Warder Citadel, but he had immediate news and didn’t want to draw attention by going home in the middle of the day.

Druj swung the door open soundlessly and closed it behind him the same way. He was still in the same body, but the skin had taken on a pale, waxy cast. Michael suspected this meant Druj would soon be trading it in for a new model. He wondered if Druj had already chosen his victim. Michael didn’t care as long as he wasn’t at the top of the list.

Druj took a position opposite Michael’s desk and folded his tall frame into a chair. Michael had designed the seating in his office to remind his visitors of their inferiority. His desk chair was wide, high-backed and covered in dense, thick black leather. It dwarfed the room. When combined with Michael’s tall, broad frame, his seat became the throne of a dark lord. In contrast, his guests’ chairs were short, armless and a nondescript tan leather. They had a small footprint that was difficult for a large man to sit in comfortably. Even his smaller female Warders found them awkward. The result was a clear imbalance of power that started off meetings in Michael’s favor. Used to this advantage, Michael thought it incredibly irritating that Druj could somehow sit in one of those ridiculous chairs and appear ready to lead an army.

“I hope you have good news for me, Michael,” Druj said. The smooth, cool tones sent a shiver down Michael’s spine. He tried to hide it, but he suspected Druj knew.

Druj’s voice always sounded the same despite his constant shifting of bodies. It might be a little lower, or a shade more graveled, but the force of his spirit was so strong, it overrode biology and imprinted itself on each new form he possessed. Tightly leashed malevolence filled the office, shrinking the space. Michael pushed back his chair and stood. Even on his feet, it still seemed like Druj towered above him. His left wrist, healed shortly after Druj’s last visit, tingled with remembered pain.

“We’re closing in on the Warder who has our missing Shadow. His name is Conner Munro. He was sent on retreat for a few days by his handler and has been out of touch ever since. As soon as we locate him, I’m confident we’ll find the Shadow.”

“So you don’t know that it’s him?” Druj asked.

“Not one hundred percent, no. But he’s the only Warder who makes sense. No one from another territory was in this area in the timeframe. And its very suspect that Conner is unavailable. He doesn’t go on retreat often. When he does, he’s always with his hunting partner, Kiernan Black. I’ve questioned Kiernan and he maintains that Conner is camping at the beach. He also claims the cell service there is unreliable.” A shake of his head indicated what Michael thought of this excuse.

“Push him harder. If he’s a hunting partner of this Conner, he’ll know where Conner is.” Druj rose to his feet to pace in front of Michael’s desk. “I’m tired of these delays. Every day that she’s out of our hands increases the chances that she’ll slip through our fingers. None of our current subjects have her promise. Breaking through their training is taking too long. We need an untrained adult female. I don’t have to tell you how long it might be before we find another.”

“Drawing attention to what we’re doing would be disastrous,” Michael said. “Pushing Kiernan is not a good idea. He isn’t one of the sheep—he’s sharp and he lacks an appreciation for authority. If I come down on him, he’s going to push back. He may already be suspicious that I had his handler ask about Conner. Kiernan aside, the last thing we need to do is get Alexa curious. She’s the perfect combination of lazy and ambitious. But if she gets intrigued by my asking the wrong questions, she could create problems.”

“Who cares about a Warder soldier and his handler? Focus on the endgame,” Druj said with an impatient flick of his wrist.

“I am,” Michael said sharply, his tone just below a shout. He had a silence spell on the room to prevent eavesdropping, but there was no sense in pushing it. “I am,” he said again, reaching for calm. “We’ve been able to set up our facility with Warder resources because we’re working under the radar. Raising suspicion would slow us down even more and as you’ve noted, our current delays are frustrating enough on their own. Neither of us wants to add to them.” Michael took his seat again, hoping Druj would do the same. When he did, Michael continued, “Do you know who Alexa Grey’s father is? Ranald Grey. Does the name ring a bell?”

“Of course. He’s one of your Directorate,” Druj said with annoyance.

“Exactly. There are seven of us governing all the Warders. Ranald is one of the oldest. No one rises to the Directorate and remains an innocent, but Ranald is not corrupt. He is extremely powerful. If he had any idea what we’re up to, we would be fucked. We don’t want to interest Alexa in this any more than necessary. Let me handle it for now.”

“Fine. I’ll give you a few more days.” He fell silent, lost in thought. “Send one of our Warders to have a conversation with Ranald. And tell him not to preserve so much of the soul this time. We made a mistake with Blake. Letting them keep their souls increases the chances for errors.”

“Taking their souls too quickly increases the likelihood of discovery,” Michael protested.

“Perhaps,” Druj said, apparently finished discussing the issue. “Now, explain to me why you haven’t simply used a locator spell on the Warder.”

“I have,” Michael said. The question was an insult. He wasn’t a trainee. A locator spell had been his first step. “Unfortunately, there’s interference of some kind. I can’t tell if it’s something that Conner is doing or if it’s being generated by his location. It doesn’t have the feel of Warder spell craft. The Shadow doesn’t have the skill to conceal them on her own. It’s as if an outside force is shielding them. I’m still working on narrowing it down.”

“Do it again,” Druj said. “I want to feel the interference myself.”

Michael gave a sharp nod and turned to collect the tools he’d need for the spell. He wasn’t highly skilled at spell craft, but this was a basic spell and well within his abilities. Yet he wasn’t surprised when Druj took the items he laid on the desk and began to perform the spell himself. As much as it annoyed Michael to have the reins pulled from his grasp, he had to admit that Druj had far more experience than he. Not to mention more power. Druj spread Michael’s map of the Southeast United States over the desk, smoothing the surface so that it lay perfectly flat. In one hand he held a thin metal rod with a flexible wire hanging from one end. At the end of the wire hung a teardrop of copper. Druj held out his other hand.

“The soldier’s marker?” he asked without lifting his eyes from the map. Wordlessly, Michael handed him a flat metal disc with Conner’s name inscribed on both sides. Most locator spells used an item that belonged to the subject of the spell. Searching for a Warder was much easier. In the event that a Warder might be injured or killed and out of contact, they each had markers charged with their essence stored at their assigned Citadel. If a Warder went missing, the marker could be used to find them.

Druj wrapped his strong fingers around the disc and closed his eyes. The copper drop swung over the map in widening circles as Druj moved the rod. He continued, breath held, until he had covered the entire map from center to outside. Several times the copper drop strayed from its course, pulling to one side or the other. Each time it fell back into the same swirling pattern. Druj repeated the exercise from the outside in, watching as the drop again swayed off course, this time at different locations from the first pass.

Without looking at Michael, he spoke. “You’re right, there is interference. It tastes familiar, but I can’t get a lock on it.”

Druj took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He began the process once more, starting from the center as he had the first time. Halfway through, he flung the rod and disc on the desk with a curse. Michael jumped back, startled by Druj’s loss of control.

“Do you know what it is?” Michael asked.

“Yes,” Druj hissed. “I do. Keep trying to find them from your end. I’ll be in touch.”

With a swing of the door, Druj was gone. Michael sank into his chair, leaning back into the comforting leather. Now that he was alone, it was safe to sigh in relief. He’d breathe much easier once they had the Shadow in custody.

Chapter Ten

Warm, buttery sunlight filtered through the trees, teasing with the promise of spring. Hannah tilted her face up to soak in the gentle heat. Conner sat cross-legged on the chilly ground opposite Hannah, close enough for their knees to touch.

“I’m not sure if this is going to work,” he said. “Our minds are different than yours. But I’ve always understood that shielding, for Shadows, is mostly automatic. So I think if we can get your mind on the right track, it should be able to take over.”

“Okay,” Hannah said, trying to sound confident. If shielding was automatic, wouldn’t she be doing it already?

“Now close your eyes and turn your awareness inward. Stop paying attention to what’s around and listen to what’s inside you.”

Hannah tried, but she felt stupid sitting there. Conner’s knees pressed into hers, two focal points of heat. Instead of losing herself in her mind, Hannah found herself stuck on Conner’s knees against hers. Stuck imagining what would happen if he leaned forward and pulled her closer. She’d be able to press her lips to his. Conner’s mouth was tempting, his lips soft in a face filled with angles. If Hannah kissed him, she could keep pressing him back until she lay on top of him, his lean, hard body beneath her. Then he could put his strong hands all over her while his hot mouth moved on hers.