Trading by Shroomlight

by C. M. Simpson

  It was too late to try shadow stepping. They’d already turned back.

  “Merde,” she shouted, and her curse was greeted with amusement.

  Well, at least she’d made them laugh...and she’d succeeded in distracting them from the kat long enough for Dan to change her position. Now to distract them some more. She was relieved to find she was no longer alone.

  Izmay and Roeglin charged from the piece of shadow she’d chosen, dragging Henri and Jakob with them. They led with spears, skewering a raider apiece as the men turned to face them. Mordan used the raiders’ distraction to take down one on the closest edge and Marsh came to her feet.

  She pulled a sword from the shadow and drove it forward in one fluid movement, killing the raider in front of her. Leaving the blade to dissipate in his chest, she drew another from the dark, keeping her hand and arm moving so that the sword materialized into solidity in time to finish the stroke she’d traced through the air.

  The raider blocked the strike, but he couldn’t block an attack coming in from behind, and Roeglin’s aim was deadly. With the numbers even, the battle was short-lived. Izmay nudged one with the toe of her boot.

  “What do we do with these?”

  “We search them,” Marsh said, trying to ignore the way her hands were shaking.

  The others stared at her.

  “For clues,” she explained. “One of them has to be carrying something that will show us where they came from. We are going to find them, and we are going to burn them to the ground.”

  She felt Roeglin’s shock even before she caught the look on his face. “What?”

  “That. I’ve never heard you sound so angry,” he answered.

  “Or so bloodthirsty,” Jakob added and Roeglin scowled at him.

  He backed up, raising his hands. “What? She does. Ever since the kids—”

  “Merde.” Marsh was on her feet, all thought of clues and origins and vengeance forgotten. She whirled and ran back down the tunnel.

  Roeglin’s horrified, “Sons of the Deep!” followed her, but she didn’t stop, and she didn’t slow.

  17

  Some You Win, and Some

  Behind her, Marsh was sure she could hear Roeglin shouting. Or maybe that was because she could hear his voice in her head, as well. She ignored him, bouncing through one patch of shadow and into the space she’d appeared from to attack the first set of raiders.

  “Leclerc!” Gustav shouted, slapping down a hastily raised crossbow. “Slow your ass down!”

  Well, at least he wasn’t trying to stop her, which was more than she could say for Roeglin. He was shouting to every mind mage in range. One of them tried to grab her as she went past, but she ducked under his arm and then stepped through another piece of shadow, hoping she’d directed her next step correctly.

  It was a relief when she appeared under the stand of brevilars where she’d hidden to heal herself. She kept moving, though.

  Aisha!

  Not waiting for a reply, she ran for the ruins, wishing she remembered the shadows there well enough to step straight through.

  Cave. Mordan’s reminder was accompanied by an image of the tunnel under the burnt-out barn.

  Yes. As fast as thought, Marsh stepped into the next piece of shadow, willing the magic to take her to the tunnel. Mordan chose a different shadow patch, but they both emerged at the same place...as did Roeglin, Izmay, and the others.

  Gustav was not impressed. Marsh could feel the anger boiling off him even though he didn’t say a word. She ignored the urge to apologize and ran for the ladder. Why in all the Deeps she hadn’t been able to think of somewhere above ground, she didn’t know.

  She climbed as fast as she could just as Mordan vanished into another piece of shadow and Roeglin led the others after her. Smartasses!

  Quit your complaining, Roeglin answered, reaching down to haul her up the last few rungs. The kids are okay.

  They’re here?

  No, the raiders have them. They took Brigitte and Zeb and Gerry too.

  Marsh’s heart plummeted, and she almost missed his next words. Mordan is already on their trail. Mina has sent the pride ahead.

  The pride? It took Marsh a moment to remember the shroom kats that had saved her and the team on their way after the first body of raiders, and then she shoved all thought of that away. The kids might be fine now, but the raiders had already shown they’d kill their prisoners to make an example.

  Not gonna happen, Roeglin told her, but Marsh ignored him.

  Dan! she called, pushing past him. Show me where!

  The kat obliged and Marsh twisted out of Roeglin’s grasp to slide into the closest piece of shadow...or she tried to. The damn man didn’t let go. I’m coming too.

  She shook his arm free as they emerged in the middle of a clump of brown noses, the knee-high brown fungi shattering as they landed.

  Very funny, kat.

  Mordan gave her a look and twitched her tail. The landing place had not been deliberate, and the kat had other things to think about.

  Marsh caught her mood and half-crouched as she ran to join her. Her heart caught when she saw what the kat was stalking. The prey has laid a trap.

  The kat twitched her tail again, laying her ears flat against her skull.

  Where? Marsh asked just as Gustav and the others came through the brown noses behind them. The stench of crushed fungi reached her, and she covered her mouth and nose. With that much damage, they’d probably released spores into the air, and she knew what that could do.

  Only when they’re mixed with ground blue buttons and flame shroom, Roeglin told her. Have you found them yet?

  Found them? Marsh wondered, and he gave an exasperated sigh. Oh.

  She’d been so busy staring at where the shadow mages and the children were tied in the middle of the path that she’d forgotten to look for the other lives in the cavern. The kat had brought them out a little ahead on the trail, and that had bought them some time.

  Where was Mina’s pride?

  Coming.

  Marsh didn’t think they were going to come quickly enough. She watched as the raiders began looking around, and almost jumped out of her skin when Gustav laid a heavy hand on her shoulder.

  “Show me,” he growled, his breath warm against her ear. It took her a moment to understand.

  When she did, she closed her eyes, focusing on collecting the information he wanted from the shadow threads and the gleam of the life force within the cavern.

  “Well shag the shadows and shard the shrooms,” he murmured. “This is a goat-sucking mess.”

  At least he didn’t say it was a goat-sucking mess she’d gotten them into.

  Of course, Roeglin relayed it and Gustav replied. “No, Leclerc. This goat-sucking mess is all mine.”

  Marsh couldn’t help it. She peeked into his head to find the meaning and found he blamed himself for the shadow mages and children’s capture. “Not your fault.”

  He grunted. Roeglin, pass this out. We can’t wait.

  Roeglin did as he asked, giving them all the plan Marsh could see forming in his mind. She didn’t need to hear Henri’s muttered, “That’s insane,” or Izmay’s soft whistle to know Gustav’s plan was pure crazy.

  “Roeglin, call Tabia. Tell her we’re gonna need some help.”

  Well, there was an understatement. But Gustav wasn’t privy to her thoughts, and he wouldn’t have cared anyway. He knew what he was doing, and this particular piece of insanity was the only chance they had of getting Brigitte and the kids out of there alive.

  What happened to the other prisoners? she wondered.

  I’ll find out, Roeglin replied but didn’t explain how.

  Gustav, however, had other ideas. “We’ll try to take one alive,” he snapped. “Find out later. Izmay, Roeglin, can you take us through?”

  “Mais oui,” Izmay told him, but Marsh could hear fatigue dragging at the edges of her words.

  Not your concern, Roeglin told her and Mordan g
runted an assent.

  The risks the pride took for each other were their own choice. If the other female thought she was strong enough, Marsh did not have the right to deny her.

  Marsh opened her mouth to protest and then closed it again. She might not like it, but the kat had a point.

  Just do your part, Roeglin told her. Get Brigitte and the children out of here. He paused. Try to save Zeb and Gerry if you can.

  As if she wasn’t going to.

  The children are your first priority.

  Aisha would never forgive me.

  And they know what she can do. She can’t reach either of them.

  Looking at the life forces and then studying what the shadow threads brought her, Marsh saw what he meant. Aisha had been tied back to back with her brother, then the raiders had used thin bands of stone to pin them in place...or they might have. Tamlin was the only one still stuck down.

  They’d put Brigitte between the other guards and the children, and now Marsh saw what she’d initially missed in her scan. Zeb and Gerry’s life forces were fading. Aisha must have been beside herself.

  She exhausted herself trying to get to them, Roeglin told her. She’s okay, but she’ll be out for a while.

  Marsh felt a white-hot flare of anger. I will kill them all.

  Beside her, Mordan’s tail twitched in agitation. You can have whatever I leave.

  “Now, Roeglin.” Gustav’s order was soft but implacable. “Get us down there.”

  The Protector Captain’s presence lifted away from her, and Marsh glanced back just in time to see Roeglin take Gustav’s place. Before she could work out what he was doing, he’d knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

  The kiss that followed was swift and unexpected. It was accompanied by the briefest of hugs and a world of regret, and then he followed Gustav and the others. Henri broke the mood. “Nice move, shadow mage.”

  “Don’t make me leave you halfway there.”

  Hearing the gruffness in Roeglin’s tone, Marsh half-turned. She was just in time to see him and Izmay take a firm grip on Gustav, Jakob, and Henri and take them into the nearest piece of shadow. She didn’t know what to say or do or...

  “Deeps dammit, Roeglin! Your timing is way off,” she muttered, and Mordan growled in soft agreement.

  It is time. Mating can wait for after the hunt. Before Marsh could respond to that, the kat rose to her feet and bounded into the shadows and out of sight.

  Marsh scrambled to follow, catching the kat’s destination from her mind and following her through. She arrived just as Mordan took down her second raider. A third one raised a crossbow, but not toward the kat.

  Marsh gave a shout of outrage and dived toward him. He kept his aim steady, but Marsh’s shout had been enough to warn Brigitte and Tamlin, and they’d obviously planned what they were going to do. Tamlin tilted one way, dragging Aisha over with him, and Brigitte tilted the other, shoving Zeb and Gerry over.

  The bolt meant for the middle of her back missed, and he did not have time to fire another. The last two raiders were already running. Marsh hit the one who had fired and drove a shadow spike through his head. Disentangling herself from his corpse, she bolted for the other two, only to be knocked aside by Mordan.

  Mine! The cubs!

  The cubs... Sons of the Deep, where were Perdemor and Scruffy? Marsh pivoted and raced back the other way, hoping she’d find the kit and pup safe and sound.

  The cubs, Mordan repeated, although the thought was accompanied by a growl and a scream. Another shriek followed and the remaining raider fled, gibbering in terror. Marsh ignored him.

  She ignored the possibility there might be others too. From the main ambush site, she heard the clash of weapons as Gustav and the others found their own targets, but she didn’t remember there being anyone else in her scans. Shadow’s Heart, she hoped she hadn’t missed anyone.

  Brigitte heard her coming and tried to turn so she could see her.

  “It’s okay. It’s just me.”

  “Save them,” Brigitte ordered. “Shield us and save them.”

  Shield them. Marsh kicked herself for not thinking of it. Gustav’s orders had been to grab the kids and run. Marsh sighed. Gustav was going to kill her, but how he’d expected her to get them free without Aisha’s help was beyond her.

  He didn’t see the stone bands. Roeglin’s contact was as unexpected as it was welcome, regardless of the news it bore.

  Marsh pulled a shield over herself, the guards, and the children, and pulled Brigitte upright.

  Are you hurt?

  If Brigitte was startled by the contact, she didn’t show it. “No, you warned me in time.”

  She flinched as Marsh cut the ropes holding her and then slapped her. “The boys need you more than I need my hands.”

  The slap was so unBrigittelike that Marsh gaped at her.

  Brigitte reached back and shook her. “The boys don’t have much time. I’ve got Tamlin.”

  So saying, she stretched past Marsh and took hold of the boy’s arm, pulling him back upright.

  “Please, Marsh,” he added. “You need to save them. Aysh...”

  He shrugged, but Marsh got it. She really did need to pull Zeb and Gerry back from the brink. Ripples spread out over the surface of the shield and a dull boom echoed around them.

  Tamlin scowled. “I’ve got the shield. You need to hurry.”

  How he knew, Marsh didn’t know, but the boy was right. She put the question aside as something she should ask him later and shifted over to the two unconscious guards. There was a lot of blood pooled beneath them, and their skins were clammy to the touch.

  When she scanned their life signs, she saw them fading—and faster than she’d like. Looking at them, it was pretty clear that choosing one to heal first would condemn the other. She settled onto her knees and placed the palm of one hand on each of them.

  There was only one way she could save them both...and she’d have to remember to have enough left over to get Aisha back on her feet, or she’d never be able to get them out of here. Who knew what they’d find when they dropped the shield?

  Marsh! Roeglin again, reminding her to concentrate.

  She closed her eyes, seeking the life forces in the cavern around her, feeling the heat of the light generated by the calla shrooms and brevilars, and touching the faint glow of a hidden cluster of golden gleams. It would be enough.

  Brigitte looked at her. “If you need any energy, you can borrow some of mine.”

  Marsh kept her eyes closed, but she nodded. “Merci.”

  There was enough without Brigitte’s help, she thought, but it was good to know.

  The dull booming echoed around her again and Tamlin spoke. “They can’t get in. Do your thing.”

  He sounded confident and just a little bit smug, so Marsh forced herself to focus on drawing the magic in and directing it into Zeb and Gerry. The first thing she needed was for the bleeding to stop. That took more time and power than she’d thought, and she decided to draw from a little farther out.

  There were more life forms moving past her. Some reminded her of Mordan but weren’t quite as powerful. They had energy to spare and Marsh took a little from each, directing it into the two shadow guards with orders to “fix what was broken” and “mend anything that needs it.”

  The skin beneath her palms grew warmer. Zeb gasped, sitting straighter and jerking away from her in panic.

  “Stay still!” Brigitte commanded, laying an arm around his shoulders. “It’s Marsh. Stay still.” She pushed him gently back into reach.

  Marsh looked at him and saw the panic slowly fade from his eyes. Brigitte took the knife from Marsh’s belt and cut his hands free. He twisted around. “Gerry?”

  Marsh laid her hand against his cheek. “Give him a moment.”

  It was hard to direct the healing while she was talking, but Zeb needed to hear her voice—and he needed to know that she’d pulled Gerry back from the brink. Only just, but that was some
thing he didn’t need to know.

  Again the hollow booming rang out around her, and she scrambled to hold her concentration, dragging more energy from the world around her and accepting Brigitte’s offer of even more. When Gerry opened his eyes, his reaction was exactly the same as Zeb’s, except that he also pulled a sword from the shadow.

  Marsh blocked the strike and yanked the magic from his control, sending the shadows back to where they’d come from.

  “It’s me, dumbass,” she snapped.

  He flailed at her for a moment longer and then let his hands drop to his lap. “You could have said.”

  Ignoring the snark in his comment, Marsh rose into a half-crouch and walked around to where Aisha leaned against the center of her brother’s back. He tracked her anxiously, and she knelt where he could see her.

  “Is she all right?” he asked when she’d had time to study the little girl.

  Marsh nodded. Aisha’s life force was paler than she’d like, but she figured the child had almost drained herself dry trying to save her friends.

  And the kit and pup, Roeglin added, dropping into her head without warning.

  Marsh drew a sharp breath. Are they?

  Yeah, they’re fine. Henri is carrying the pup, and Izmay has Perdemor. Aisha encased them both in stone. I don’t know what she was going to do if she couldn’t get them out.

  He paused. How is she?

  Give me a bit.

  You want to drop the shield?

  Are they gone?

  No, I’m pulling you out into a ring of swords so the raiders can get rid of you really easily. What do you think?

  Marsh rolled her eyes. Since you asked so nicely.

  I’m sorry.

  She shrugged and concentrated on Aisha.

  Roeglin tried again. I was worried.

  Shut it, Ro. We’re fine.

  He fell silent, and the dull boom rang out again. Tamlin groaned.

  Marsh opened her eyes. “Drop the shield, Tams. It’s Roeglin.”

  “You hope,” the boy muttered, but he did as she asked.

  Marsh flinched as shapes moved past her.

  “Tabia’s people are here,” Roeglin told her, crouching beside her.