Awake in Shadows

by Eve Langlais

  From her body sprang roots, a pair of them. One a deep crimson kind of like one of the blobs, and the other kept changing colors, just like the camo one. Those roots pulsed, and a closer examination showed pumping globules emerging from her body along those connecting lines. Sucking the very essence of Titus and Logan from her.

  It’s working. The spell was pulling them out of her.

  And when the roots stopped sucking?

  Shears comprised of silver light appeared in midair and snipped. Clip. Clip.

  The roots snapped and recoiled like living things, and she could finally draw a breath.

  A deep one. The pain was gone.

  She expected to wake at any moment now that the ties were severed. Instead, she remained on that strange plain, her ghostly body still hovering.

  “What’s happening?” Not her voice, but Titus’s as if spoken from far away.

  Something is wrong.

  The green blob crossed into the circle, and she realized it was the witch. Madame Poulin ran her hands over Adara’s frame, not that she felt it still disembodied.

  “There is something here.” The witch chanted something and waved her hands.

  The agony hit Adara, and her body bowed again.

  Why? What happened? The two roots were gone. Had the spell missed parts of Titus and Logan?

  She heard the muttering as it from afar. “What’s this? A third thread?”

  Adara might never have noticed the opaque strand if the witch hadn’t plucked it like the string on a guitar.

  The invisible filament to her soul quivered yet emitted no sound.

  It was so very, very quiet.

  Yet someone on the other end heard it.

  And answered. “I see you.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sound asleep, the strumming of the mark proved startling. A bright flare of the sun’s rays in what was previously only darkness.

  The abruptness of it woke him, and he sat upright, wondering if he’d imagined the pulsing in his soul. A connection he’d not felt in a long time. He reached for it. Tried to follow the thin, wavering strand.

  Is it you?

  He couldn’t see the other end. It was hidden from him. Yet, even hidden, he felt something familiar.

  Something impossible.

  Through that link echoed a message: “I see you.”

  As quickly as his mark ignited, it extinguished.

  “Come back.” He looked deep within. Swept his soul for the thread. Only to find nothing. Not even a hint of its presence. As if it were never there at all.

  “No,” he yelled, frustration in the word. Anger quickly followed.

  No denying it now. She lived. How could she be alive? He’d searched everywhere to find her. Cast countless spells when the mark between them extinguished. It should have meant she’d died. The resurrection of it, though, proved otherwise. It seemed she had simply moved beyond his reach.

  It shouldn’t have been possible.

  None ever escaped a dark prince, and yet, she had. And then she’d hidden. Concealed herself so she wouldn’t have to face his wrath at her treachery.

  But now, he knew the truth.

  She lives. And she’d made a mistake.

  She’d foolishly tried to tamper with the mark. Even though it appeared dead again, his being throbbed with the memory. While not active long enough for him to discern her immediate location, it did provide a starting point. The realm beyond Hell.

  “I’m coming for you.”

  And when he found her, she wouldn’t escape.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Logan was the first to realize there was something wrong.

  “Why is Adara twitching again?” He’d stopped bleeding the moment his mark to Adara was cut. Titus also bore no signs of his wound.

  Yet his honey was hanging like some demon toy in the middle of the circle, thrashing as if it were happening all over again. Worse, the witch appeared concerned, her voice chanting, her arms waving. To no avail.

  “I don’t know,” Titus grumbled. “By all accounts, the spell should be done.”

  “Should we help?” Indecision kept Logan still, especially since this concerned magic. One wrong move could make things worse.

  The decision proved simple to make when the witch collapse on the floor, twitching and drooling.

  “That can’t be good,” he remarked.

  “No, it’s not. If she’s having some kind of seizure, then something has gone horribly wrong.” Titus knelt by the circle and hissed as his hand hit the invisible barrier holding Adara in. “The magic is barring our entry.”

  “How do we get it to fail?” Logan asked, ready to charge it with his body if needed.

  “Blood created it. Therefore, it stands to reason—”

  “Blood might break it.”

  Except a slash and drip of their blood did nothing but make the shield visible and pulse with pink light.

  Frustrated, Logan began to pound at the wards, smashing his fists against it. It took but a moment to grasp his intent. Breaking the circle might shatter the spell keeping them out.

  They both pounded at the rock floor, bloodying their fists, bruising and scraping their flesh, making not a single dent.

  In the circle, Adara continued to writhe and moan. Sharp cries of pain stabbed Logan in the chest. How many times would he fail to protect her?

  “I thought you said this wouldn’t hurt,” he snarled at Titus.

  “The witch lied.” Titus glared.

  “We need to stop this.” Logan gave one last pounding of his fist on the ground and finally cracked it.

  The backlash was immediate. The magic burst free and hit them hard enough to toss them both to the ground.

  “Aaaaaaah!” Adara screamed, and Logan scrambled to his feet in time to see her eyes open wide, glowing like purple lanterns. Uncanny the way her jaw unhinged even wider, emitting a deep voice that said, “He has seen her. He knows she lives. He must not find her.”

  With those words, Adara collapsed, her body hitting the floor with a thump. Silence fell almost deafeningly after the hum of the spell.

  The quiet didn’t last. Baba Yaga rose unsteadily to her feet, her eyes glowing a fierce white, her hair lifting as if caught in a static field. “The Forsaken One cannot be found.” Her voice, while her own, held no inflection, no tone at all. “So say the gods.”

  The chanting began anew, and on the floor, Adara’s body trembled, and she whimpered.

  “We need to put a halt to this. The witch is doing something,” Titus remarked.

  “No shit,” Logan remarked. Baba Yaga frothed at the mouth but continued to recite her spell, an invocation bearing fruit given she hung suspended a few inches above the ground. “Fuck this shit. I’m putting a stop to this.” Logan bolted for the witch.

  “There might be backlash,” Titus warned, keeping pace by his side.

  “Then brace yourself.” Logan tackled the witch to the floor, hearing her “oomph” with the impact. He straddled her, ready to slap her if needed—because the no-hitting-girls rule didn’t apply with sorceresses—when her eyes opened, clear and frightened.

  “Foolish, wolf. What have you done?”

  “Stopped you from torturing Adara,” he growled. “What the fuck?”

  She shoved at him. “You don’t understand. We have to hide her. He has seen her.”

  “Who is he?” Titus asked. “Who is she hiding from?”

  “He will come for her. You mustn’t let him capture the Forsaken One, or all is lost.”

  “Who are you talking about?”

  “Idiot. I don’t have time for this.” She shoved at Logan with magic, and he flew through the air, landing a few feet beyond Adara.

  The witch got to her feet, Titus frowning by her side.

  “What is that?” He pointed to a serpent of shadow sliding across the floor, easing along the edge of the circle until it found the spot they’d cracked. It slipped in.

  “He’s looking f
or the thread. He mustn’t find it.” The witch began chanting, the words unintelligible.

  Logan watched the shadow snake. “How do we fight it?”

  “I don’t know, but we can’t let it reach Adara.” Titus moved to block the tendril, but it darted past him. It coiled and sprang.

  Despite not being anywhere near Adara, she screamed.

  Logan flexed his fists. “What’s happening?”

  “It’s attacking the third thread.” Titus pointed.

  Sure enough, the shadow snake had latched onto the opaque thread. Held it in a dark maw, but more worrisome was the bulge moving along its length.

  “What is that?” Logan asked.

  “He comes,” said Baba Yaga.

  Logan jabbed a finger at her. “Stop it. Shut down the spell.”

  “I was trying to hide her again when you stopped me.”

  “Finish it.”

  “It’s too late.” The witch shook her head. “He’s already seen her.”

  “Fuck that.” Titus was the one to try and grab the black snake, gripped it even though it wasn’t really there.

  The vampire grimaced with the effort. Fucker was trying to be the hero. Two could play that game.

  Logan joined him and also placed his hands on the shadow serpent, sucking in a breath at the heat pulsing from the vein. The wrongness of it.

  “We have to sever it somehow,” Titus murmured.

  Tugging did nothing but stretch it, and Logan couldn’t squeeze tight enough to make it snap.

  It needed to be cut, but he had no knife. Nothing sharp except for…

  He knelt and brought that magical vein to his lips.

  “That will probably hurt,” Titus warned.

  He could handle pain. “Gotta do something.” He bit down on the snake. Gagged at the acrid taste of it. But it shredded as his teeth gnawed at it. Split, sending out a wave of energy that entered his body with the zap of a zillion bolts.

  As he jiggled on the floor, heels thumping, drooling, and almost biting off his tongue, he had a clear view of Titus slapping away the severed body of the snake. The damned thing wouldn’t give up so easily. It darted for Adara, but the vampire stood in its path. The strangest battle ensued with Titus dodging and punching. The longer he sparred, the slower the snake got.

  Baba Yaga resumed her chanting, and with each repetition of the garbled words, the last thread grew fainter and fainter. Finally disappearing. Only then did the serpent dissolve into nothingness.

  Quiet fell once again. Adara no longer cried out. Logan managed to turn his head and saw her lying limp on the floor. He couldn’t see if she breathed.

  Titus raced to her side. Logan settled for a crawl.

  The bloody vampire beat him. “Dearest. Open your eyes. It’s over. The enemy has fled.”

  “Titus?” she mumbled.

  “I’m here.”

  “Logan?” She turned her head, seeking him.

  “Also here.” He took up position on her other side and clasped her hand.

  Her lashes fluttered, and she heaved in a deep breath before opening her eyes fully, the violet vivid and bright. Her lips parted, and she whispered, “I need you...” She paused and licked her lips.

  “Yes?” they breathed in tandem.

  She squeezed their hands tight. “I need you to run. Now. Before it’s too late.”

  “Why?” Titus asked.

  Her expression turned bleak. “He’s coming for me.”

  Chapter Twenty

  The men wanted to know who was coming. Only…Adara couldn’t answer because she didn’t know. She remembered very little of the experience after she entered he circle other than the fact it hurt.

  Severing her tie to Titus and Logan hadn’t been painless. But it wasn’t horrible. The true agony came after.

  What of that moment of elation?

  Had it even happened? Right after the ties binding her to the men were severed, she’d felt something in her come alive. A moment of joy as her heart and soul flared bright. It didn’t last long.

  Something interfered. I see you.

  The ominous words before a new round of agony, fear, and primal terror. Now that it was over she couldn’t have said what happened. The only thing she did emerge with was a certainty she’d messed with something she shouldn’t have.

  He knows I’m alive.

  Who that he was she’d yet to figure out but given the stone in the pit of her stomach, it couldn’t be good.

  The witch shook her finger at them. “Get out. All of you. Out of Baba’s shop. You bring me bad luck. You did not tell me, nightwalker, that a dark lord was seeking her.”

  “What dark lord? What are you talking about?” Titus asked.

  The witch clamped her lips tight and pointed. “I am done with you. Leave. Now.”

  Stubborn Logan and curious Titus didn’t obey.

  Titus shook his head. “I’m not leaving without answers. Tell us who that third thread belonged to.”

  “What was that thing that attached to it?” Logan added.

  Great questions.

  Didn’t matter.

  Baba Yaga waved her hand and blew. A force pushed Logan and Titus across the floor, their feet sliding as if on grease, and no amount of straining, cursing, or thrashing stopped the men from getting shoved through the beaded curtain and out of the massive room.

  That same force, however, didn’t touch Adara.

  She gazed at the witch. “What happened?”

  “I cannot help you, Forsaken One. Those are the rules.”

  “What rules?” she grumbled. “I’m so tired of being in the dark. Why can’t anyone tell me anything?”

  “That is the burden for those forsaken.”

  “Forsaken by who?” Adara exclaimed. “You said a dark lord is looking for me, and I don’t even know what a dark lord is.”

  “Hell has many princes and the shadow serpent we vanquished belonged to one of them. He won’t be happy we interfered.”

  “Who cares if he’s peeved? You make it sound as if keeping it from getting me is a bad thing.”

  The witch shook her head. “Impeding a dark lord is tantamount to a death sentence.”

  “I put you in danger? I’m sorry.” Adara felt chagrin at dragging yet another person in to her mess.

  The witch snorted. “I am not the only one who needs to watch herself. Those men out there will be targets, too. As for you…” The witch shook her head. “You’ll need more than a spell to hide you now. He’s seen you. He’s looking. And he won’t stop until he finds you.”

  “Do you know his name?”

  The witch shook her head. “It doesn’t matter which of the lords is searching. Run. Flee while you can. It’s only a matter of time until you are located and punished for your trespasses.”

  Not exactly the most auspicious of advice. Shoulders sagging in defeat, Adara dragged herself out of the shop, finding the men pacing at the bottom of the stairs.

  Logan saw her first. “Honey! You okay?”

  She came down the steps, weary of it all. “Fine.” For now. But the words of the witch echoed inside. Another variation of the whole forsaken deal. Was she doomed to drag people into her mess and spend her life running and afraid?

  Maybe I should give up?

  “Let’s get you home and tucked into a bed,” Titus offered, opening the car door.

  Too tired to argue, she just nodded and got in the car.

  The men joined her, silent, and yet she felt the weight of their gaze, the smothering blanket of their concern.

  Funny how she thought severing their ties to her would give her the separation she craved. Yet she still felt their regard for her. Their affection.

  Despite the ties being gone they continued to care, and so did she. She cared too darned much about them. Which was what made her next choice so hard.

  She knew they would do anything for her. Even risk their lives. But that wasn’t fair. Adara couldn’t forget what the witch said. A dark lo
rd with an interest in her wouldn’t stop searching. A monster so great that a powerful witch showed fear.

  There was only one thing to do. One way to keep everyone safe. But she doubted Logan or Titus would understand.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The bell jangled as he entered the shop. Such a discordant sound. Mammon preferred the screams of a live victim to announce visitors. A cacophony of smells assaulted the senses, easily ignored. What he did find interesting was the layers of spells. So many of them, most meant to shield.

  A pity for the owner that they failed.

  An old crone bustling behind a table noticed him and squinted with rheumy eyes. “The sign says closed.”

  “I know.” As if that applied to him. The door slammed shut, the lock re-engaging. “I am looking for someone.”

  “Don’t deal in people. Just ingredients.” The old woman swept a gnarled hand, a slight tremor in the limb. Frailty or fear? He hoped the latter.

  “We both know that’s not entirely true.” He tsked. “The person I’m seeking is a client of yours. Recently here.” All the smells in this shop couldn’t hide the lingering stench of magic.

  “Ain’t no clients here now.” The old lady pulled her shawl closer.

  “Are you sure?” The trail Mammon had followed stopped here.

  “Look for yourself. There’s no one left but me.” She smacked her gums.

  Mammon didn’t move, merely extended his senses to confirm what he already knew. His target had moved on. “Tell me where she’s gone.”

  “Don’t know, and none of my business. I don’t keep track once the clients leave. Now, if you don’t mind…I said I was closed.” She waved a hand at him, and the forces she wielded burst upon his frame and rattled the items to his left and right.

  He brushed a hand down his suit and swept the remnants of the spell to the side. “As a matter of fact, I do mind. I said I was looking for someone.” He leaned forward. “A woman. And you’re going to tell me everything you know about her.”

  To his delight, the witch chose stubbornness first. When her screams transitioned to sobs, he got what he was looking for.