Poisoned Shadow: An Urban Fantasy Supernatural Detective Mystery (The Shadow Series Book 2)

by Candice Bundy

  “I can definitely do something,” Becka replied. “But I don’t know what will happen to you once I’ve destroyed the magic.”

  “Destroy… so what, will I lose my legs?” he asked, appearing more curious than shaken at the prospect.

  Saana cleared her throat. “Although that is a possibility, we really don’t know. You’ve had this disfigurement nearly your entire life. There is a high likelihood that resolving your curse won’t change the way your legs function. However, if she removes this magic, other things can be done to restore function.”

  Langdon groaned. “You don’t have any clue. Never have on how to fix me up. What do you say, Becka?”

  She hesitated for only a moment. “I can break the magic, but I have no clue what that will do to you. I might even damage your gift. You may well be worse off after I’m done.”

  A brief look of surprise flashed across his face, followed by a glint of amusement in his pale golden eyes. “I like your candor. Go on. Get on with it. The suspense is killing me.”

  Becka wished she felt as hopeful as Langdon. No, hopeful wasn’t right. His amusement in the face of the facts wasn’t him being hopeful. He was resigned. He knew the risks and was willing to accept whatever might happen for a chance at leaving this curse behind. She slid off her gloves, tucking them into her pants pocket. “Don’t move.”

  Over the past few months, Becka had become used to holding her powers within her skin. This was a fundamental aspect of her training with Astrid and something she’d become competent doing as her default state without a lot of extra effort. Pushing beyond her skin now took mental effort and focus. She’d gotten a decent amount of control over the past few months.

  She still wore the sea silk gloves during the day and didn’t know how great her control was when she slept, but at least Becka no longer worried about controlling her Null power every waking moment. When she’d been unconscious after the poisoning, her shifter guards had moved her to the infirmary with no ill effects, and Illan had treated her using gloves of his own.

  During the months since they had assigned the shifters to her, she’d come into contact with them many times with no ill effect. They were fearless, convinced her fae gift had no ability to harm them. Becka didn’t understand what bolstered their confidence. If their positions had been reversed, Becka would not have risked contact.

  The shifters’—and Quinn’s—apparent immunity was the subject of ongoing debate within the Illusionists Guild. Astrid continued to push for more control during their training sessions, always aiming for the next level. Her aunt had privately expressed her concern to Becka that newly emerged gifts had, historically, been difficult to predict in their development, and so she wanted Becka to err on the side of caution.

  The potential that her gift might evolve sent momentary chills down her spine. What if it grew stronger over time? So strong she lost the ability to control it and it later drove her mad?

  Becka shook her head to center her thoughts and moved her chair back a few inches. She then let her gift fill her bare palms. She hesitated. She’d never done magic deliberately on a person before. What if she screwed up, and she left Langdon worse off? What if it worked, and he was also worse off?

  “He knows there are risks, Becka,” Saana said in low tones. “Sometimes the pain is worth the risk.”

  Langdon met Becka’s gaze and nodded at her to get on with it.

  Becka paused. “I have your consent?”

  “Yeah, yeah, get on with it, lass,” his weathered gaze was grim.

  Becka let out a long sigh and focused on the task at hand. She reached down and brought her hands millimeters from the bottoms of Langdon’s stumps. With intention, she pushed her gift ever closer to the skin.

  She experienced the sensation of pushing against an unseen barrier. The migraine slamming into her skull was the first sign she’d gone far enough, and she immediately stopped. If she needed to do more, there was plenty of time for that. Too much, and she did not know what the consequences might be to him. Even as Becka pulled back and stood, pushing her chair out from under her, Langdon howled. He grabbed at his legs, as if trying to rub away the pain.

  His flesh twisted and roiled, the rootlike tendrils of human skin flailing and withdrawing as if burned by an unseen fire. The skin of his legs, which had been covered in knots and a tree-bark-like scale, shuddered and then slowly paled.

  Was it working? Despite the aching in her head, a spark of hope leapt in her chest.

  Yet Langdon screeched, “Ow! Ow! Stop it!” in terse staccato beats.

  Should I have exposed him to more? For longer? Becka wrung her hands.

  Another few moments of Langdon bellowing and Becka holding her breath… and then there was a discernible trend towards the better with his feet. Then Langdon got quiet, and Becka knew things would be better when she could make out his toes. Chunks of dirt had peeled off his legs, falling in sodden clumps to the floor. A frog emerged from one clump, a declarative ribbit filling the chamber. And were those more snails? Ugh.

  Langdon jumped up, launching himself into the air. He scrunched his toes and danced back and forth on his feet for a few seconds, before grabbing Becka by the arms and scooping her into a boisterous twirl around his chair.

  I can’t believe that worked! He’s no longer in pain. I helped him!

  A moment later, Langdon’s feet went out from under him. Had he slipped on a clod of mud he’d shed mere moments before? Or the snails? She hoped it wasn’t the frog.

  Regardless, he lost his grip on Becka, yet the momentum of his dance propelled her backwards and dumped her into Hanna Hawthorne’s lap, messing up the pattern of her perfectly placed skirt in an instant.

  Chapter 16

  Despite the fae-born having the reputation for excelling in dexterity, strength, and grace, Hanna and Becka tumbled sideways to the floor. Becka blamed the trajectory of her impact for the rolling tumble, but no doubt the unexpected nature of being tossed onto Hanna’s lap was more to blame. Becka reached out to break her fall, grabbing Hanna by the arm as they came to a stop.

  Becka pushed Hanna away, her other hand touching Hanna’s shoulder. Her head. Already pounding from working her Null abilities on Langdon, it throbbed anew with such intensity she let out a groan. Before she could right herself, hands grasped her around the waist and lifted her off of Hanna. Luce set Becka down on her feet, her arm at Becka’s hips to steady her.

  “Are you all right?” Luce asked.

  Becka held her head in her hands. “I think so,” she forced out.

  Wait…

  Her hands were bare. Gloves off. She glanced at Hanna, her heart plummeting into her stomach.

  I touched Hanna. With bare hands. With my gift in full swing.

  Hanna had no defense.

  Langdon, who’d also picked himself up off the floor and appeared sobered, approached her. “I’m so sorry about that, Lady Becka. I was so excited I forgot myself.”

  “I’m so sorry…” Becka echoed, not to Langdon, but to Hanna.

  “What did you do?” Hanna, who’d sat up and was straightening her braids, but her gaze lacked focus.

  Berak approached her and helped her up onto a chair. She sat gingerly, continuing to look around the room as if she’d lost her sight.

  “Can someone please fetch Astrid?” Becka asked, hearing the tinge of panic in her voice. Poor Hanna, she doesn’t deserve this. “And Alain?”

  “I’ll go get Astrid,” Berak replied, leaving at a near run from the testing chamber.

  “I think I know where Alain is,” Saige said, and then took off at a loping run.

  Hanna looked right at Becka, her expression a mixture of fear and anger. “What. Did. You. Do?”

  Wait, no. She’d missed the betrayal in Hanna’s gaze, and it cut Becka to the bone because she deserved it.

  Luce moved Becka a step back and behind her. “Put your gloves back on,” she whispered, although everyone heard her in the hushed room. Becka too
k the suggestion.

  Saana approached Hanna. “My dear Hanna, how are you?”

  Hanna looked at Saana. “The patterns are gone. The fiery connections between people that bind and repel them. It’s as if they disappeared. Or evaporated. But that’s not possible, is it?”

  Tears ran down Becka’s cheeks. She’d saved Langdon from his life of pain, but she had a feeling Hanna’s pain had only begun.

  Saana pulled up a chair next to Hanna’s and gently took her hands in her own. “My dear, I’m afraid you have been touched by Becka’s Null powers.”

  Hanna opened her mouth to speak, shut it again, and then opened it again. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean to say, her gift breaks magic,” Saana replied.

  Hanna frowned. “I suppose I didn’t comprehend Becka’s powers fully before. Such an odd ability.”

  “Truly,” Saana replied. “And yet so vital for those fae who, like Langdon, are saddled with magic gone awry.”

  “I suppose so. How long does the effect last?” Hanna looked around at all of them, her eyes full of desperate hope.

  A silence hung in the room. Becka could almost hear Hanna’s heart rate increase and her blood pressure spike.

  “As far as we know, the effects of Becka’s magic Nullification are permanent,” Saana replied.

  Becka heard Elder Alaetha’s warning echoing in her mind. All harm Becka caused could invite retribution from other fae. Fate couldn’t have given her a crueler example by hurting sweet Hanna. Bile rose in Becka’s throat. She pulled away from Luce and ran to the bathroom at the far end of the room, emptying her stomach contents into the toilet.

  “You can’t be serious,” Hanna replied, her tone flat. Lifeless.

  Just then Alain arrived, followed by Astrid, Saige, and Berak. Becka washed her face, put her gloves back on, and then returned to the main room. The weight of everyone’s gaze followed her, guilt churned in her now empty stomach. Were they all afraid they’d be next?

  “Langdon,” Berak asked, “are your gifts impacted?”

  Alain sat close to Hanna, holding her shoulders as she sobbed against him. His nostrils flared and his eyes shone with the fire of his gift. Saige must have filled him in on the way to the testing chamber.

  Langdon’s red-brimmed eyes sparkled with unshed tears. “I don’t think so. I can sense the moon in the sky and her pull on the water. But I won’t try to alter the flow right now. It wouldn’t be proper.” The frog who’d been freed by Becka’s magic hopped to Langdon’s feet, and he scooped it up and popped it into the same pocket on his chest he’d been talking into earlier. “Shh, you. Now’s not the time,” he whispered.

  Face hot and sweaty, Becka worked to control her breathing, but her throat was as raw as her emotions. At least she’d been able to remove Langdon’s broken magic. Hopefully his gift would remain intact. This level of Null control was what Astrid had been training her for since her return.

  Astrid and Berak exchanged glances.

  “Then it sounds like your cure for Elder Langdon’s curse is a success, which is very good news,” Berak replied. “It’s deeply unfortunate Becka injured you, Lady Hanna.”

  Hanna sobbed anew against Alain. Becka’s heart ached for her.

  “It’s not at all fair!” cried Langdon. “They prepared me to live my life without my magic if it meant being healed. It’s my fault Lady Hanna got hurt, and yet here I am, restored to my proper self. I take full responsibility.”

  “House Willow will make restorations to House Hawthorne. As will House Rowan,” Alain said, the fire in his voice brooking no argument.

  Becka wished she’d already had that promised talk with Maura about the current state of the union between fae-touched houses, just so she could fully grasp how wrong things just went.

  Pretty darned wrong, Becka. Sure, coming into contact with Hanna had been an accident, but Becka was responsible for her magical loss. Becka had broken Hanna, and her heart ached, knowing she had no way to reverse the harm she’d done to her friend.

  “House Rowan will do all we can to make amends,” replied Astrid. She turned to Langdon. “I will have Duchess Maura speak with House Willow to ensure they do.”

  “Our house stands by its compacts,” Langdon said, his voice certain despite the fearful look in his eyes.

  Hanna pulled away from Alain, wiping her eyes with a kerchief from her pocket, and stood.

  “How can you keep her here?” Hanna asked Astrid. “She’s a danger to any fae she touches!”

  Hearing the venomous words from Hanna broke Becka’s heart. She wanted to run, to flee the room and Hanna’s accusations, but staying to bear the brunt of her ire was the least Becka could do. She owed Hanna that much in this moment.

  Is Hanna right? Am I too dangerous to live amongst other fae? If so, what will become of me?

  “You have every right to be upset, Hanna,” Astrid replied. “And I cannot imagine the profound depth of your loss. But it’s unfair to label Becka so. Houses have been blessed with profoundly powerful individuals in the past and have learned to accommodate them.”

  “Your house won’t consider itself so lucky after she blights one of your own!” Hanna’s raised voice filled the room. “She could maim any of you.”

  “Perhaps you should rest?” Berak said. “I could give you something to ease your nerves.”

  Hanna glared at everyone. Elder Langdon shrank back, attempting to hide behind a chair.

  “I want nothing more from you,” Hanna replied. She looked to Alain, who glanced back at Becka for a lingering moment before accompanying Hanna from the chambers.

  “That could have gone better,” Astrid said, rubbing a hand against her temple. “Langdon, I take it you’re well?”

  “Yes, Lady Astrid.”

  “Then if you wouldn’t mind excusing us?”

  “Oh! Yes.” He approached Becka and reached out for her gloved hand. She flinched, but then took his hand in hers. He bowed at the waist, his long, unkempt hair reaching the floor. “Lady Becka, I am forever in your debt.”

  “You’re welcome, Elder Langdon,” she replied, searching for and unable to muster a more eloquent reply. She’d had too many shocks in too short a period, and falling back on rote protocols learned as a child was all she could muster.

  He left, leaving Astrid, Becka, Berak, Saana, and Luce and Saige in the room.

  “I’ll speak with the duchess,” Astrid said. “Saana and Berak, I want you to monitor both Lady Hanna and Elder Langdon daily until they leave. Let me know if there’s any change in their respective conditions.”

  “As you say,” Saana replied. Berak nodded his agreement.

  “This isn’t any fault of yours,” Astrid said to Becka. “It was an accident.”

  Becka tried to see Astrid’s point of view, but Hanna’s censure and rejection, which Becka had earned every inch of, had shaken her to the core. She didn’t intend to hurt anyone, but it just kept happening. First Vott and now Hanna. Who might she hurt next? Meanwhile, Astrid’s callous focus remained on what Becka’s power might mean to the house, first and foremost.

  “It was my gift. It pretty much feels like my fault.”

  “Try not to blame yourself. It was your power, but someone else literally forced your hand to use it.”

  Becka groaned. “I wish I understood why it damages some gifts and not others.”

  “I understand your frustration,” Astrid replied. “But you must be patient. In time, we will have the answers you seek.”

  “I know we’ve spoken of this many times. Is there some way we can do more testing? I need to know why my powers don’t impact House Oak’s innate powers or the shifters,” Becka said.

  “Shifters don’t count,” Luce said, her tone brooking no argument.

  “What do you mean?” Becka asked. “Shifting is your own sort of… gift?”

  “Shifting isn’t magical. It’s an aspect of our nature. An artifact of our covenant with the earth. Fae magic can’t touch
it.”

  She blinked at Luce, who had just delivered the longest speech Becka had ever heard from her lips. She’d heard about the shifter covenant and knew it had to do with their creation stories, but had never heard a shifter explain in more depth. Despite her curiosity, Becka knew better than to press for more information. No doubt Luce had revealed all she’d intended to.

  “So, that’s not a thing, then?” Becka replied. Both Luce and Saige gave curt nods. She sighed in relief. At least she couldn’t hurt her shifter friends. “Well, all right.”

  “Berak and I will puzzle over the vagaries of immunity to your gift, Becka,” said Saana. “But in the meantime, please avoid further contact with both Quinn and the shifters. There may be some threshold we don’t yet understand.”

  The idea that some level of increased contact might harm Quinn turned Becka’s stomach. If she damaged his powers, Becka would never forgive herself.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” she replied.

  Astrid moved closer to Becka. “Will you come with me to see the duchess? I know she’ll want to hear about your success today.”

  “Yes, it would be wise to have a quick word. Although I’m more interested in speaking to her about the accident with Hanna than I am about my success with Elder Langdon.” Her head still throbbed from using her Null power. She needed hot sauce. A whole bottle might not do the trick. Becka grabbed her bag and then fell into step beside Astrid. “After that I’ll head back to my quarters, order dinner, and then take a bubble bath.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’ve been head trainer for House Rowan for more decades than you’ve been alive. I could tell you stories of failures, perhaps not as awe-inspiring as today, but you’d be… suitably appalled. Life is not perfect, and neither is magic.”

  Becka didn’t doubt Astrid’s experience, and, thinking back through her training, this might have been the kindest thing she’d ever said to her. Which was either a piece of reassurance or a censure of the position Becka found herself in. Perhaps both?