Shade of Darkness

by D. N. Leo

  The key was being pulled upward. The ice around the base of its column cracked and broke.

  Alyna looked at Caedmon and saw him smiling at her.

  He was taking the key to Eudaiz. Lorcan must have made arrangements.

  There was no need for her to worry about guardianship.

  The shadows of the wings continued to whirl as the key spun. It was still seeking a guardian, but it no longer had any pull.

  Alyna felt a sudden blow to her abdomen. The woman had given her a two-leg kick, sending her to the floor. While she was down, the woman charged toward the wings’ shadow.

  Alyna scrambled to her feet and grabbed the woman. They fought again. The woman once again dominated the fight.

  The entire column of ice with the scorpion inside lifted above the icy surface. Alyna heard a haunting cry, like the Scorpion king was calling for the guardian to come to him.

  The woman pounded a second hard kick on Alyna and then left her to jump into the shadow of the wings.

  Before the woman’s body reached the shadow, however, Alyna heard a loud bang and saw a blinding white spark, and then a gigantic light blade came from below and sliced straight through the ice column and through the scorpion inside, cutting off its head.

  The column broke in half, fell to the floor, and exploded into thousands of pieces.

  Alyna watched as Caedmon slumped to the floor. She recalled Orla telling her Caedmon was the top-ranked Silver Blood commander in Eudaiz. His silver blood energy was his innate talent. Caedmon was still adapting to this new energy, though, and thus every strike took a lot out of him. She was sure he had used his energy to create the light blade that destroyed the Scorpio key so that the woman, whoever she was, couldn’t claim the guardianship.

  The woman roared in anger and turned toward Caedmon, who appeared to be quite weakened after the strike. Orla and Nathan helped him to his feet.

  Not paying attention to the woman, Alyna rushed toward Caedmon, and the woman swung a side kick at her temple. Alyna nearly passed out.

  The woman then directed her animosity at Caedmon, Nathan, and Orla. In a few short, quick moves, Orla and Nathan were thrown to the far corner of the room.

  Then the woman faced Caedmon.

  Blood trickled from his nose and ears. He could hardly stand straight. The woman came at him with several harsh blows. He blocked but didn’t fight back at all.

  Alyna knew the difference between being defensive and being defeated. Caedmon was weak, but she knew his modus operandi for fighting. His actions suggested to her that he didn’t want to fight the woman—for reasons unknown to her.

  The woman continued her attack. With each blow, Caedmon withdrew, moving several feet back.

  And then, the woman took a few steps back.

  Alyna knew her intention. She needed the extra space to gain momentum for a two-leg kick at Caedmon. Orla had once told Alyna that Silver Blood commanders had a weak point when they had their energy on, and she could tell this wouldn’t be just any kick. It would be deadly.

  Hoping to destroy the Scorpion key, Caedmon had turned his energy on. Alyna didn’t know where Caedmon’s fatal point was, but she had a strange feeling that this woman knew, and that she was going to take his life with her next move.

  Alyna couldn’t stand for that.

  She grabbed a shard of blood ice, charged at the woman, and stabbed her from behind. The ice pierced through her body into her heart. She stopped and dropped dead at Alyna’s feet. Her body glowed and then disintegrated into nothingness.

  Caedmon dropped to the floor as well and was totally out.

  What Alyna couldn’t quite understand was the hurt in Caedmon’s eyes when she killed the woman. Yes, she had stabbed her from behind, something she had never done before in her life. But it was to save his life, so she thought it justifiable.

  Orla and Nathan limped toward her.

  Lorcan walked in from the entrance of the temple. He had just come back via a portal and had observed the whole scene from his control panel. He rushed to Orla. “Are you okay?” he fussed.

  “Yes,” Orla said and turned to Caedmon to check on him.

  “He should be okay. Physically,” Lorcan said.

  “What do you mean?” Orla asked.

  Lorcan looked at Alyna. “Thanks, Alyna. If you hadn’t taken her out, that blow would have been lethal. Caedmon owes you his life, again. He will just have to get past what you’ve done.”

  “What exactly did I do, Lorcan?”

  “The woman you just killed is Sedna. His wife.”

  Chapter 38

  Goddammit, Alyna thought as she stood up from the pavement behind her house. The corner of the wall that had collapsed when Caedmon turned for the first time was still there. She could have the wall fixed.

  But she knew her relationship with Caedmon was unfixable.

  She didn’t have a lot of experience in relationships, but it didn’t take much to know that when a man came here because of his wife, and then she stabbed his wife in the heart right in front of him, it was a definite deal breaker.

  Her fat, lazy cat sauntered out and sat next to her.

  “I’m going inside now, Lazi.”

  The cat ignored her and started licking his paws.

  She shrugged. Lazi might be the only friend she had left now. She sat back down next to him.

  “Where do you think Caedmon is now? Home in Eudaiz?”

  No response from Lazi, which didn’t surprise her.

  Then the cat stopped washing. He stood on all fours, his hair stood up, and his tail pointed straight up into the air. That was a sign that Teacher was calling her. She had a feeling Teacher might come to her with answers. The cat loped into the dark alley. She followed right behind.

  Alyna felt a rush of cool air over her skin, and her surroundings suddenly changed. She knew she had stepped through some kind of gateway to a place she couldn’t normally see.

  She was in a long, dark, narrow tunnel. The wall was made of large, rough rocks. The light was so dim she had to work hard to follow Lazi’s dark tail. After walking for a while, she stepped out into some sort of compartment with cells lined up along the far wall.

  She had seen this before in books when she researched the human legal and law enforcement system in ancient times. If she recalled correctly, it was called a prison.

  But such a place wasn’t needed in her time. Why was there a prison here? And why did Teacher bring her here?

  She heard the faint crackling sound of a fire. She turned around but couldn’t find Lazi anymore.

  Out of nowhere, a fire ignited in the middle of the room.

  “Teacher?”

  “Yes, Alyna. I called you here to ask you a favor,” said a soothing female voice.

  “I don’t need a favor,” said a harsher, younger female voice.

  “It’s impossible to have a conversation when I can’t see who I’m talking to,” Alyna said.

  She felt another wave of cold air wash over her. Then she saw a beautiful young woman shackled to the wall with chains. Her form was transparent and flickering. Alyna thought she might be partially here and partially in another place she didn’t know of.

  Still, she couldn’t see Teacher.

  “That’s Thunder, Alyna. Like you, she’s my student. But she’s not a mage. She is a descendent of angels.”

  “So you’re saying she isn’t an angel? Like disqualified as an angel?”

  She heard a soft chuckle. “Yes, you could say so, Alyna. Her parents were killed. She was raised by the Keymaster who made the Scorpio key you’re protecting.”

  Alyna narrowed her eyes. “Okay, so how can I help?”

  Thunder looked at Alyna through narrowed eyes. “I don’t need your help. I helped make the key, and I can destroy it if I want to. It’s mine.”

  “Why are you angry at me?” Alyna asked.

  “Because you don’t deserve the stone.”

  “I don’t want it.”

  “So
why didn’t you let me take the guardianship?”

  “Oh…so it was you! So Caedmon’s wife actually died then, and you took her body. But why?”

  “I searched for the key for thousands of years because I promised Keymaster. I knew it would end up with a mage tribe. But that was all I knew. I went from one tribe to another. I’ve walked the Earth for as long as I can remember. What did Sedna ever do?”

  “Do?” Alyna asked. “Well, I assume she didn’t want to be the mage of bloodstone?”

  “Oh, she didn’t get that close. She couldn’t even tell the fake key from the real one.”

  “Because she didn’t make the evil key.”

  “She did nothing to deserve him!”

  Alyna took a step back. “So this is about Caedmon? You met Caedmon back then, but he chose Sedna.”

  Thunder yanked at the chains. “It wasn’t a fair choice. He chose her only because he couldn’t see me. What did she have that I didn’t?”

  “Umm…a physical form?”

  Thunder growled.

  Alyna turned to where she’d heard Teacher’s voice before. “Teacher, what exactly do you want me to do? I’m certainly not interested in this woman’s rant.”

  “There’s nothing you can do, Teacher,” Thunder grunted as she yanked at the chains. “I’ve made several mistakes. I killed many people because of the key. I knew Sedna had the fake key, but I let her think otherwise. Then I told her it was going to blow Eudaiz up so she would take it and jump into the oblivion. See, it was me. It’s all me…”

  “Why did you want to kill Caedmon at the temple?”

  Thunder laughed. “Is that naivete or stupidity, Alyna? Do you think I’d kill Caedmon?”

  Alyna stepped closer to Thunder and looked at her in her flickering form. “You wanted to make me kill Sedna in front of Caedmon! Killing two birds with one stone.”

  “What I don’t have, nobody can have. Ideally, I wanted to do that after I took the key, but given Caedmon destroyed the key, I have nothing else to live for.” Thunder laughed. “Now I’ll go to hell for my sins. The first of my angel kind to get there. Care to accompany me, Alyna?”

  “Enjoy hell, then,” Alyna said. “Teacher, I’m afraid whatever you’d ask me to do for this woman, I can’t.”

  “But you owe me a favor, Alyna. Now I am asking for it. I ask you to pardon her for the sins she committed against you. She will be punished, but at least she had a chance to redeem herself.”

  “I do not seek redemption, Teacher!”

  Alyna shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t repay you with this favor. Do whatever you want with me, Teacher. But this woman needs to go to hell.” Alyna turned and walked away. At the entrance of the long tunnel, she stopped and turned around. “Teacher?”

  “Yes, Alyna.”

  “Is Thunder immortal?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will she always be a magical creature? You haven’t turned her into anything else?”

  “No.”

  “Can you promise me she will stay a magical creature forever, that you won’t turn her under any circumstances? If so, then I’ll pardon her.”

  “No, no, I don’t want your pardon.”

  “Teacher?” Alyna asked.

  “Yes, I promise.”

  Alyna nodded. “Then, Thunder, I forgive you for the sins you committed against me. Consider yourself pardoned.”

  The chains broke loose. Thunder stormed out in the form of a wriggling spirit and flew into the dark tunnel, leaving behind a haunting wail.

  “Why did you change your mind, Alyna?” Teacher asked.

  She shrugged. “Given that you care for her, I just wanted to do a good deed for the day. Can I now consider myself free from debts?”

  “Yes, Alyna. You won’t regret this.”

  “Regret isn’t a word in my dictionary.” She picked up her cat, who had come back into the room and rubbed up against her legs. “Goodbye, Teacher.”

  She refrained from having any thoughts when she left the tunnel, just in case Teacher was a mind reader. She didn’t want Teacher to know that she understood the pain of living a mortal life, and never having those you love was a worse punishment than hell. Caedmon would never take Thunder to the multiverse, and as a magical creature, she couldn’t cross to his world without his permission.

  Going to hell would have been too easy for Thunder. And Alyna would then have no chance to beat that woman to mud. She believed if Thunder hadn’t taken Sedna’s form, and she’d had a fair chance to fight, she would have pounded on that woman until she announced defeat.

  Chapter 39

  Caedmon looked at the magnificent arched stone door of the museum. Who would have thought this architecture survived for thousands of years in England? There were some replicas in Eudaiz, because ancestors of the LeBlancs had brought them from Earth to the universe, but they didn’t feel the same.

  He grew up not knowing Earth’s culture, let alone its architecture. But the very first moment he laid eyes on Earth, he fell in love with the place.

  Then he fell for the people living there.

  Then he met Sedna, a mage from Greenland. Before he knew it, they were married, and he was about to have a family—and then the whole thing was taken away from him.

  Then came Alyna.

  Caedmon shook his head and pushed the thought aside. He’d come here for a reason, and he needed to complete his plan.

  He walked into the museum, past the exhibit of ancient cultures. Artifacts were displayed behind security screens. A while ago, it was the artifacts he had come here for, with the hope of learning more about the Scorpio key and manipulating his way into obtaining it.

  Now he knew what it was. And he only hoped Lorcan’s time-traveling plan worked.

  In a few seconds, he would meet Sedna by accident. Previously, he had engaged in conversation with her, and then later on, he asked her out.

  Now he had to undo the scenario. If he never engaged in conversation with her, never asked her out, her life would never have taken the turn it did, and she would not have to die because of the fake key.

  It was easy. In theory.

  He kept walking.

  There she was, mesmerized by a small statue that she thought was the work of an ancient artist. Previously, he had approached her and initiated a conversation. He knew the statue wasn’t manmade. It was the frozen form of Xiilok creatures when they died in combat. That was how he had originally started talking to her. Asking her how she could be so sure it was a work of art.

  She’s beautiful, Caedmon thought—back then, and now.

  When Alyna stabbed her in the heart in the temple, he knew it was only her body that had been taken by Thunder, but it still hurt. He wasn’t sure which was more painful—watching Sedna jump into an explosion or watching her die in front of him.

  His emotions were still raw. But he had to control them.

  He kept walking.

  She stared at the statue and didn’t seem to notice that he was approaching. Good. He kept walking, and it felt as if he were wearing shoes of stone.

  Just as he walked past, he heard her say, “Excuse me!”

  He stopped. He couldn’t just keep walking. He turned around slowly. “Yes?” he asked and smiled at her.

  “Is this yours?” She was holding a museum pass in her hand. “Without it, you can’t get into the VIP area.” She pointed ahead. “That’s where you’re heading.”

  He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. But thank you.”

  She frowned. “But you haven’t even checked your pocket.”

  He smiled again. “I don’t have a ticket.”

  “You didn’t buy a ticket?”

  “No, I mean I’m not a museum visitor. I’m here for business, with the museum, of course.”

  She nodded. “All right then.”

  “Thank you again.” He turned and walked away, making sure not to look as if he was hurrying.

  “Excuse me, I think that’s mine…”
a male voice said from behind him. He took a quick look over his shoulder as he walked away and saw a man approaching Sedna.

  He was a decent-looking man, Caedmon thought. Polite. Intelligent. He did a quick scan with his microchip and was sure the man was not a creature from the multiverse.

  “Are you sure this is the work of an artist?” The man said exactly what Caedmon had said in the past.

  Caedmon shook his head and walked away as fast as he could. Sedna’s life had turned for the better, and there was no way in hell he would interfere with that.

  He couldn’t explain it, but he felt deliriously happy as he walked away from the museum.

  There she was. Alyna stood on the staircase outside of the museum. She wasn’t in combat clothes. Her hair was down, embracing her shoulders. She smiled at him.

  He approached. “In the future Earth, do they have time-traveling tours?”

  She smiled. “Not yet, but it’s a good business idea.” Then her smiled faded. “Lorcan arranged this trip for me because I need to talk to you before you go back to Eudaiz.”

  He nodded. “I’m listening.”

  “In the temple, I thought—”

  “I know. I understand. I’ve figured it out, and there’s no need for an explanation.”

  “How so?”

  They heard a laugh from Sedna from behind them as she walked out of the museum with the man she had just met. The two of them were headed toward the cafe at the far end of the street.

  Alyna looked at the couple and then turned to Caedmon. He smiled at her. “Sedna and I never met.”

  She looked away and smiled. It might have been the sunshine on her face, but Caedmon thought he saw her blushing.

  She shrugged. “Now that I don’t need to explain that anymore, my work here is done. I’ll ask Lorcan to take me back.”

  He nodded. “Thank you for coming. And thanks for the time you spent with me. I know you have a lot to take care of now that you’re the leader of Amaraq. But if you have time to spare, could we have a cup of coffee? I’ll introduce you to some food from the Earth’s ancient past.”