Flash.
All faerie. Society with churches flourishing.
Flash.
Butterflies of all colors fly around Vandermere.
Flash.
A shadow rises over the society. It cripples, kills, and destroys. Metals turns to iron. What was once the crowned female walks the world. Her crown is gone, and her hair has changed to blue and her eyes are white. Blood trails from her lips and down her alabaster skin. Wherever she goes, the shadow follows.
Vandermere’s chest tightens. He knows this shadow. It still hovers over the world now. The Miasma.
Flash.
The remaining six confront the once crowned female. Her hair has changed to a powder blue and her skin is as pale as ivory now. The fight takes them from Threshold and across many realms. The white-haired female fights fiercely, but she is the first to fall as the shadow strikes her and she is no more. The male with the obscured face turns to find the pale female beside him. She strikes him and he is no more. The male with glowing white eyes attacks the pale female. She tears him to shreds. The blue-haired male raises his sword and appears in front of her. The shadow strikes out and destroys him. The male in red drives his sword through her back. She turns to face him, charges forward, and impales him on his own blade. She pulls the sword from her back and turns her attention to the last one—the black and white female.
The black and white female grins at her. The shadow comes to strike and she tears the Miasma from it. Its body warps and twists, beginning to grow. She tosses it away and turn to the pale female. They fight but the black and white female overcomes the pale female. She stands over the pale female’s fallen form and sways. Small bits of corrosion appear on her skin. What is black and what is white splits into two separate beings. The shadow will eat the black part of her away. The white falls through the realms and hits the site of the future Imperial City.
A beautiful female will emerge from the crash and begin her trek, turning iron to emeralds as she walks.
Vandermere gasped, waving his arms in front of him, his entire body stiffening. The glow of the torches came into focus, followed by the stone of the secret room.
Lorelei was leaning over him with a frown on her face.
“I’m fine.” He pulled himself up with the help of the pillar behind him as he tried to chase away the scenes dancing behind his eyes. What did any of it mean? He had seen the Miasma, but the Shadow hadn’t driven him over the edge, for once.
Lorelei breathed a sigh, stood, and squeezed his shoulder gently. “I wasn’t sure what was happening. Especially since Vaana collapsed at the same time.”
Vaana lay in a heap in the center of the pedestals, twitching. Little bolts of lightning raced across her skin occasionally.
“She found what she was searching for,” he said. “She didn’t know the consequences.”
“Is she dead?” Lorelei raised up on her toes to peer at Vaana.
“No, she is probably acclimating to the new presences within her.”
“The lightning from the stone? Were they spirits?”
A flash of the faces of the six beings passed through his mind. “No. Gods.”
Lorelei stared at him with her eyes wide. She opened her mouth to ask him to elaborate but a sharp crack drowned out her words. An ice blue light swirled into being on the far wall. It grew larger and larger until a disk covered the wall, stretching from floor to ceiling. The pale female with blue hair stepped out.
Vandermere’s heart plummeted.
8
When Vandermere’s face paled, Lorelei turned to see what had caught his attention. The creature that stepped out of the portal could barely be called female. She was not sidhe or any other race Lorelei knew. Her blue hair flew about her wildly. From the neck down, she wore some sort of form-fitting armor made of bone and flesh that wasn’t her own.
Lorelei shivered. The being tilted her head and studied Lorelei and Vandermere with her crimson eyes before turning her gaze to Vaana. Two sharp fangs poked out from her lips as she smiled.
“Such an obedient girl,” the creature murmured.
She took a step in Vaana’s direction.
Vandermere darted forward to stand in between the creature and Vaana. She stared at him as if he was some sort of insect. He drew the sword at his side and pointed it at her.
“You won’t be taking her, or them, today,” he said.
She laughed. “You would dare stand in my way? Move aside, boy. I wish to be reunited with my siblings.”
Lorelei swallowed, her mouth going dry. What in Gehenna was this thing? Could it be a Sluagh…or even a Fomorian? She didn’t know, but it wanted to take Vaana and she couldn’t let that happen, even if she had no idea what Vaana had gotten them into.
Lorelei strode to stand beside Vandermere. “I don’t think anyone here is related to you, whoever or whatever you are.”
The creature smirked. “You shouldn’t get involved in things you know nothing about.”
Lorelei felt her cheeks flame. Throughout the exploration of the vault, she had felt like a passenger in a carriage that she had no idea where it was going.
She took a deep breath. “I know enough to know you’re not welcome here.”
“I go where I please.”
“Not here,” Lorelei unsheathed her sword.
This was her chance to prove she was a true descendant of Lady Moura. Her House was fearless, after all.
“And you plan to stop me?”
Lorelei raised her sword.
The creature threw her head back and laughed. “Who are you to believe you can defeat the Mother of Vampires?”
Lorelei’s heart raced in her chest. She had heard tales of vampires, Fomorians that could drain the very essence of the faerie. Daan, the Mother of Vampires, had become twisted by the Miasma. She had spread her contagion wherever she went, creating more and more children. During her adventure with Arryn in the Citadel of Night she’d found vampires. It had taken everything for her to prevent an ancient one from awakening.
Now, Lorelei stood face to face with the original. She swallowed and straightened her shoulders.
“I am Lorelei ap Moura,” she said. “Remember it in your death.”
Vandermere glanced at her and frowned.
“I was going to save you for after,” Daan said with a snarl. “However, I think an appetizer before the main course is more fitting.”
Lorelei swung her sword and connected with Daan’s shoulder. The blade scraped against the bones and bounced off with a show of sparks. Daan smirked and swiped her hand at Lorelei. The knobby claws sliced through Lorelei’s sleeve and sank into her shoulder. Lorelei screamed and yanked herself backwards. She covered her wound with her hand, and her royal blue blood seeped through her fingers.
Vandermere jabbed his sword through the thin opening in between the bones that covered Daan’s chest. Red ichor oozed from the wound. Lorelei’s heart pounded in her ears. Only Fomorians had red blood. Daan’s gaze traveled from the wound to Vandermere, and her face twisted in a fearsome scowl. Her backhand sent him flying across the room.
Lorelei lunged forward, aiming her sword for Daan’s breast. Daan knocked the blade to the side with one hand and swiped at Lorelei’s chest with the other. The bones that made up the shoulder pads in her armor stretched out and buried themselves in Lorelei’s shoulders and arms. She screamed. She could feel a pulling sensation that started with the blood in her veins. She choked out a gargle as her entire body burned. Her sword fell from her numbing fingers.
Lorelei heaved herself up and gripped one of the bones imbedded in her arm. The world had taken on a surreal quality. She twisted her wrist and the bone snapped under her hand. Pain shot through her arm as a spurt of blood gushed across her chest and once again, she was swinging in the air. The air became so heavy, she had to suck in long gasps.
She shifted to grab the next bone but Daan’s hand snaked out and caught her in the throat. Vandermere swung his sword at the remaining
bones. Daan batted the blade away with the back of her other hand. The bones retracted from Lorelei’s arm.
“You taste different.” Daan narrowed her eyes. “There is something more to you than just a sidhe. Did your mother have a dalliance with a little god?”
Vandermere rammed his blade through the fleshy part of Daan’s armpit. Lorelei hit the ground and the breath was knocked out of her. Her fingers brushed against her sword’s handle.
Daan grabbed Vandermere and rammed him into the pillar. He slid to the floor as she dropped him. Lorelei lunged at Daan. She buried her blade between the bones covering her abdomen. Daan gave a little choke and glared at Lorelei. Her shove sent Lorelei skittering across the floor and into Vaana.
Vaana moaned and sat up as Lorelei climbed off her. Daan strutted towards the two of them with an anticipatory smile. Lorelei struggled to her feet. Blood that flowed from the holes the bones had left behind streaked her dress. Thank the Empress, the protrusions still stuck in her had blocked the other wounds or she might not even be able to stand at this point. The world was spinning as it was. However, she wouldn’t die on her knees.
The wounds she and Vandermere had inflicted on Daan were already closing. The sword was all but useless against this creature.
She needed something more magical. She glanced at her bag. Vandermere said the heartstone would be useful, though he’d inferred for later. Still, she didn’t have much of a choice. She yanked the ruby from her bag and held it in front of her like a medallion.
Daan threw her head back and laughed. “What are you expecting that to do?”
Lorelei pursed her lips. She had no idea how to activate such a thing. The Order had confiscated most of the heartstones. She had to think of something.
Sing.
A song to call fire that she’d learned from the academy came to mind. She hummed and the lyrics sprang from her lips as she concentrated on coaxing fire from the stone.
Fire burst from the ruby in an explosion that slammed into Daan and her, sending them flying in opposite directions. Lorelei crashed into one of the pedestals and hit the ground. With a groan, she picked herself up and ran her hands over her body. Other than her clothes being singed, she’d taken no harm from the flames. The ruby had to have protected her.
Daan was another matter. The fiery blast had left a giant burn across the flesh parts of her body and scorched the bone along Daan’s chest. She hobbled to her feet and glared at Lorelei, raising her bone wings for a strike.
Lorelei trembled as a wave of exhaustion hit her. This was it. She would die now.
A blur of motion in her peripheral caught her attention. A female with a white hair and some sort of metal visor that glowed violet marched past her.
Where had she come from? The spot Vaana had lay was now empty.
Daan stiffened, her eyes fixed on the female. The white-haired female hand extended as she continued to stride towards the Daan. A large axe appeared in it. She gripped it with her other hand, spun, and swung the axe at Daan’s midsection. Daan leapt back and the blade of the axe missed her by inches. She glowered at the white-haired female as she backed towards the open portal.
“Leaving so soon?” the white hair female asked. “We have much to discuss.”
Daan gave her a sour smile. “Another time.”
“I’ll be waiting,” the white-haired female said.
Daan stepped back into the portal with her gaze locked on the white-haired female. The portal shrunk until it became a tiny dot and disappeared.
Lorelei stumbled back against the wall, her body sagging. Her veins were still singing, but nausea rose from the pit of her stomach.
She turned to study the female. She was taller than even Vandermere and held herself as if she was larger than life.
“Thank you,” Lorelei said. “Though I don’t know who I should be thanking.”
The female studied her with narrowed eyes. “You don’t know the Morrigan?”
Lorelei blinked. “Who?”
The female gave a disgusted snort. “What has the faerie come to, they forget their own gods?”
“The only Goddess I know of is the Empress,” Lorelei said. “I guess you can thank the Miasma if we lost anyone else.”
The female snarled.
“So, I’m guessing you would be the Morrigan?”
The Morrigan took a step closer to Lorelei with her axe gripped in her hand.
Lorelei’s heart pounded. Now she had done it.
The Morrigan staggered and paused to rest one hand on a pillar. She let out a gasp as her entire body shuddered. It shook again and continued until her entire form became a blur. It shrank upon itself.
Lorelei took a hesitant step towards her. Would touching her be bad? Tiny bolts of lightning raced across the form and the vibrating ceased. In her place, Vaana collapsed to her hands and knees with her chest heaving.
Lorelei rushed to her. “What is going on? This whole night is insane.”
Vaana looked up at her with exhausted eyes. “You have no idea.”
Lorelei stood and scanned the room. She hadn’t seen Vandermere since Daan had knocked him across the room. Her gaze fell upon his still form on the floor and her chest squeezed painfully.
Lorelei rushed to Vandermere and knelt beside him. His skin was cool to the touch. She stared at his chest, praying for some indication of movement.
There it was. She let out a sigh of relief and pulled his head into her lap.
“You shouldn’t move him,” Vaana said in a hoarse voice.
Her entire body was leaned against one pillar with her palms flat against it. She looked as if it was supporting her along with the ceiling. She took several unsteady steps and all but collapsed beside Vandermere.
“Move,” she said.
“You’re a healer?” Lorelei asked.
“One of the skills of the Order is healing.”
Lorelei leaned back and closed her eyes as the dizziness flared up again. “You’re a female of many talents.”
The sharp sting across her cheek caused her to jump. She blinked at Vaana leaning over her. When had she lain down?
Vandermere was sitting up rubbing his temple, a large white bandage swathed his head. Vaana was wrapping bandages around the bone shards still protruding out of Lorelei.
“Fall asleep and you may never awaken,” Vaana said. “I will have to remove the shard later.”
“Will she be able to make it through the Marsh?” Vandermere asked.
Vaana raised an eyebrow at him. “Not alone.”
“Very well.” He stood up. “I’ll carry her.”
“Someone please tell me what just happened. Why was the Mother of Vampires trying to eat me?”
Vaana stood and pulled Lorelei to her feet. “It’s a long tale. One we don’t have time for.”
Lorelei frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She’ll be sending her minions to finish us off,” Vandermere said. “We don’t want them to find us here while you’re in this condition.”
“We should go to the Order,” Lorelei said. “They’ll want to know the Mother of Vampires is in Winderward.”
“I can’t now,” Vaana muttered, looking away.
“What do you mean?” Lorelei asked. “Aren’t you a priest or something?”
Vandermere cleared his throat. “Vaana has found herself in quite a predicament.”
“Things didn’t go as planned,” Vaana said.
“All of which can be discussed at a later time, when we are safely away,” Vandermere said.
Lorelei took a step and the world tilted. She reached out and grabbed onto Vaana’s arm. Vandermere took her shoulders and steadied her. When she found her balance, he guided her through the hall, toward the exit.
The rooms became a blur. Soon, she found herself outside, staring at the moon with the fresh air sending chills down her back. She wandered to one of the large rocks and sat down. With a groan, she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, an
d willed the world to stop spinning.
Vandermere hovered over her, but he turned to Vaana. “Shut the entrance.”
The rumble of sliding stone echoed through the night. Vandermere jerked his blade across his palm in a swift motion. He let his blue blood drip on the spiral writing of the stone pillar. Purple light shimmered across the surface, followed by a soft pop.
“That should keep them out,” Vandermere said.
Vaana crossed her arms. “Not forever.”
“Long enough for the head of my House, Lord Lorenz, to receive my letter.” Vandermere sheathed his sword, pulled a small handkerchief from his pocket, and wrapped it around his hand.
He took Lorelei by her elbow, nudging her to her feet, and guided her through the treacherous maze of rocks set on tripping her on her way to the bottom of the hill. Vaana was already halfway down. They seemed to be leaving the opposite way they arrived though Lorelei couldn’t be sure. The dizziness seemed to grow with each step. Once they made it to the Marsh, Vandermere lifted her into his arms and cradled her against his chest. Her arm brushed against his and sent a sharp bolt through her body.
“Just a little longer,” Vandermere murmured in her ear.
Time slowed to a crawl. Every step Vandermere took seemed to take an eternity. Lorelei longed to close her eyes, but she couldn’t. Her mind was racing. Each question she had was like a layer of an onion being peeled back to reveal a new one. Who the hell was the Morrigan and how had Vaana changed into her?
The Mother of Vampires had been afraid of her. Why? This all started with the stone Vaana had been after. What were they, really? Vandermere and Vaana would come off of what they knew as soon as the world quit spinning.
When they finally stopped hours later, Lorelei slid off out of Vandermere’s arms and to sitting position on the ground. Vaana marched over and knelt beside Lorelei. She drew out a rolled-up leather case from her backpack, opened it, and pulled a large pair of tongs and a piece of flat wood.
“This will hurt.” Vaana held out the wood to her.
Song of Shadow Page 7