Song of Shadow

by Natalya Capello

  “Mmm?” Lorelei tried to push herself to a sitting position, but the world blurred around her. “Okay…give me a moment.”

  The sound of cloth rushing against cloth filled the air, and the bed shifted as Vaana sat down beside her. “Drink this.”

  Vaana pressed the smooth glass lip of a small bottle to Lorelei’s lips. Lorelei let the liquid run into her mouth and winced at the biting sour taste that invaded.

  She pulled her head back, swallowing. “Ugh, that is vile.”

  “Not all medicine is sweet,” Vaana said.

  “How is it you have an antidote for a poison of a demon spider?” Wes asked with a trace of suspicion in his voice.

  “It’s not a particular antidote. It’s water created by the Apostle of Water. This particular kind can cure all poisons.” Vaana held the vial up, now only half full. “It’s also very rare and this is the only bottle I have. So, try not to get poisoned again.”

  Lorelei blinked as the room became clear. “Oh, wow. That stuff is powerful.”

  Vaana glanced back at Vandermere with a frown. “Hmm, the antidote should be working for him as well.”

  Lorelei rubbed her face and stared at the shattered remains of the window. “What now?”

  “I wonder if the great lord knows his wife is a monster from beyond,” Wes muttered. “Seems a bit irresponsible of him not to and diabolical of him if he does.”

  “Someone had to have summoned her. Most likely it was him,” Vaana said.

  Lorelei looked down at Murgleis. How did you get to Threshold without being summoned?

  I was summoned a very long time ago and was never sent away. His mental voice sounded smug.

  A shadow passed near the open door and a slender ankou girl with long leather wings stepped into the room. Her brow knitted and her eyes narrowed as her gaze passed over each of them, pausing on Vandermere and then stopping on Lorelei.

  Oh, great Gehenna, they’d been found out by the help.

  Lorelei stood and raised her hands. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  The girl crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Oh, so a Sluagh didn’t attack your friend then?”

  “Oh, well, yes,” Lorelei stammered and blinked at the girl. “You know what’s going on here?”

  The girl chuckled and closed her eyes. Her form shimmered in a blur of light. There was a bright flash that blinded Lorelei. She blinked several times. Where her vision cleared, Amara stood in the place of the girl.

  Amara grinned.

  Wes sputtered, raising his hands in front of him.

  “I’m surprised to see you so soon, and here of all places,” Amara said.

  “Oh,” Vaana muttered. “I’m not sure if she’s a better option than the Sluagh.”

  Wes pointed between Lorelei and Amara. “You know each other?”

  “We’ve met,” Vaana said.

  “I owe Lorelei my freedom,” Amara said.

  Wes laughed and looked at Lorelei. “This a you thing you do often?”

  “It seemed to come up in Winderward.” Lorelei shrugged at him and turned to Amara. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to explore the world.”

  “I was, but imagine my surprise when I came across one of the very sorcerers who bound me,” Amara said.

  “Sorcerer?” Lorelei’s brow knitted together. “So, not the Sluagh.”

  “No, the one that summoned her. Zaos Nematona.”

  “Well,” Wes said, “that answers my question.”

  Amara leaned against the doorframe and raised her left hand, flipping it palm side up. “So, I’m here for a little vengeance. Hence the maid getup.”

  Wes stare at her. “Normal phooka can’t shapeshift the way you do. What are you?”

  “That’s one of those impolite questions you shouldn’t ask a lady. Besides, we have more pressing things to discuss. Such as the rogue lord and his Sluagh wife.”

  “Did you learn what he was up to?” Lorelei asked.

  Amara let out a sigh. “Unfortunately not. The Lord is picky who he lets into his private chambers.”

  Lorelei’s shoulders slumped. “Well, we need to find out soon. Our cover is pretty much blown…or their cover is. Both, I suppose.”

  Amara pulled out a key from her pocket and dangled it on her index finger. “Luckily, the chamber maid who cleans his study isn’t that smart, even for a Sluagh puppet. Also, it looks like the lord is out of the manor, doing all sorts of nefarious things, most likely. Shall we have a look?”

  Lorelei grinned at her then glanced back at Vandermere, biting her lip. He still hadn’t woken. She didn’t want to leave him here alone. Arachne might return.

  As if reading her thoughts, Vanna said, “Go ahead. I’ll stay here and makes sure he’s all right.”

  “Take care of him.” Lorelei licked her dry lips.

  “Just find what this bastard is up to,” Vaana said.

  Lorelei nodded and followed Amara down the hall with Wes behind her. She would indeed find what Lord Zaos was up to and put a stop to it. Even if that stop meant burying Murgleis in his chest.

  Amara paused at the end of the hall and touched a piece of chair rail. There was the sound of a click, and the panel of wall next to them flipped open.

  “Secret passage?” Wes asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Lorelei shot him a look. “Servants’ passage. For when they don’t want the servants seen.”

  Amara stepped into the narrow hall and glanced behind her. “Is this really a time for a noble lesson?”

  Lorelei shrugged. “Let’s go.”

  The hall was a tight fit. Dim yellow magelights lined the ceiling above their head.

  Amara led them through a series of twists and turns, and then down a set of steep wooden steps, which were followed by more twists and turns. Finally, she stopped at a small door with a brass handle and turned it.

  The door opened up to a dim room. The coals of a dying fire glowed in the hearth and the scent of burnt wood filled the air. Above the hearth hung a silver-lined mirror that reflected a large ebonwood desk full of a mess of papers to their left.

  Amara stepped inside the room and pulled a candle and holder from her pocket. At Lorelei’s raised eyebrow, she shrugged. “He may have set his magelights to alert him if anyone is in here.”

  Lorelei nodded to the fireplace. “Looks like he was here a while ago.”

  “Now they are gone.” Wes strode to the desk. “Let’s find what he’s up to before he comes back.”

  Amara joined Wes at the desk and began pulling open drawers. Lorelei wandered over a set of tall bookshelves along the right wall. Her fingers trailed over the spines, the leather soft against her skin, as she read them. It was an odd assortment of religious texts and histories of the Empress.

  Her hand paused as she touched the third row. Instead of the soft brush of leather, hard grain grated against the tips of her fingers. She tried to pull one out, but it wouldn’t budge. It was as if the entire row of books were one piece.

  “I think I found something,” she said.

  Amara dropped the small crystal ball she had been holding back in the drawer of the desk and joined Lorelei at the bookshelf. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the books.

  “Wood. False shelf,” she said. “Probably where he has his secret books hidden. There has to be a latch or something around here.”

  Lorelei scanned the bookshelf, searching for anything out of place. Lord Zaos wouldn’t have been as lame as to have made the switch a false book, would he? She ran her fingers along the books on the top two rows, but unlike the third, they felt normal. She stepped to the side and scanned the wall for a hidden button. Nothing.

  She turned her back to the bookshelf as her gaze passed over the room. A statue of a female with a snake body and long leathery wings sat on a side table next to a high back leather chair. The statue’s gold surface reflected the dying embers of the fire.

  That’s a Sluagh, Murgleis said. Or a depiction of one. />
  Do I even want to know which one? Lorelei strode over to it and knelt for a better look.

  The statue was well sculpted with minute details from the scowl on the creature’s face to the ornate weapons in her six arms.

  She is the Six Bladed Queen, Murgleis said. Be lucky it is not she that this sorcerer has summoned.

  I’m guessing she is more powerful than you. Lorelei reached to pick the statue up, but it held to the surface of the table. “Huh.”

  She is equal to my creator.

  The statue wiggled in its base, like it was removable. You have a creator?

  She is the heart of the Demon City.

  That’s some pedigree for you, I suppose. Lorelei wiggled the statue again. Maybe it could turn.

  Murgleis’ mental sigh echoed in her head. You are truly ignorant of my kind, little girl.

  We’ve already had this discussion about ignorance. That’s why I’m asking questions. Lorelei placed her fingers around the shoulders and turned the statue to the right.

  A series of clicks sounded from the statue followed by the sliding of wood upon wood from behind her. Lorelei turned. The false books on the shelf had flipped open to reveal the real shelf filled with thick books.

  “Excellent work,” Amara breathed as she leaned down to scan the titles.

  Lorelei walked to the shelf and let out a gasp. These were books the lord would want to keep hidden. The Secret Names of Gehenna. Sluagh and Their Progeny. The Gods of Celestial Bureaucracy.

  The last title stood out from the others. Gods like the ones Vaana had within her? What was the Celestial Bureaucracy, like a government for gods?

  Lorelei pulled out the book and flipped it open to a page with notes written in the margins. An illustration depicted a long shark-like creature in an underwater setting. From the perspective, it had to be huge. She couldn’t understand the language the book was written in, but she could read the margins. Something about the essence could lead to Apotheosis.

  “Amara, what’s Apotheosis?” Lorelei held the book out the show her.

  Amara took the book and scanned the page, her face turning pale.

  Her voice softened. “Lyr.”

  “That doesn’t help my confusion,” Lorelei said.

  Wes looked up from the desk. “But I’m guessing you found something important.”

  Amara’s throat moved and she swallowed hard. “She did. I know what Zaos is after and we have to stop him.”

  “What?” Lorelei asked.

  “He’s trying to become a god.” Amara handed the book back to Lorelei. “And it looks like he’s trying to do so by stealing the Aether from another god.”

  “I thought the gods were gone. Except the Empress, of course. Is this a remainder of a god, like…” Lorelei trailed off and cast a glance at Wes. She didn’t need to reveal Vaana’s secret.

  “Not all,” Amara said in a steely voice. “Several exist here on Threshold, despite the attempted purge of the Order.”

  The door of the study opened with a creak and they turned with wide eyes. Lorelei’s hand hovered over Murgleis. A phooka male held open the door while two hobs slipped inside followed by a phooka female and an ankou male. All were dressed in the servants’ livery of the manor.

  Lorelei straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin, her voice taking on an annoyed tone. “We have been waiting for Lord Zaos for hours. How long does he expect us to stay here?”

  “You can stop your games,” the phooka male at the door said with a low animalistic growl.

  One of the hobs, a female, stepped forward and pulled out a butcher knife from her skirts. “We won’t let you hurt our mistress anymore.”

  22

  The phooka male shut the door as his servant companions pulled out weapons. A male ankou held a pistol while phooka female had a brass fire poker.

  Amara stepped back into a dark corner near the bookshelf and vanished.

  Wes cursed. “I guess she’s abandoning us?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Amara wouldn’t abandon them, would she?

  Lorelei pushed away the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had to focus on the fight ahead. She pulled Murgleis out and raised him in a defensive stance. Her heart sank as she scanned the faces of the servants. Their eyes were narrowed as they glared at Wes and Lorelei and their faces were twisted in an expression of fierce hatred.

  How had she earned such ire?

  They’re puppets of Arachne, Murgleis said. Their minds, bodies, and souls belong to her. You are seeing an extension of her ire.

  Lorelei gripped her sword as they moved forward. Still, they were just faerie. They didn’t deserve the fate given them.

  The phooka male darted toward Wes, knife jutted forward. Wes yanked out his pistol and shot the phooka male in the shoulder. The echo rang out in the room. The phooka staggered back two steps, but he didn’t even seem to register pain.

  The phooka female raised the long brass fire poker and hopped over the couch to come at Lorelei. Tensing, Lorelei took a step back. The phooka lunged forward, stabbing the poker into Lorelei’s side. Pain shot up and down her body. She stumbled back, blinking.

  Had she just been attacked by a fire poker of all things?

  This is why you shouldn’t hesitate, Murgleis said. Step aside and let me take over.

  How about no. I have this.

  Lorelei swung Murgleis at the fire poker and twisted her wrist. The poker flung from the phooka’s hand and sailed over the high-backed chair. She brought Murgleis across the phooka’s middle, slashing into her stomach. Bright green blood flowed from the wound. The phooka dropped to the ground without a sound.

  The male phooka pulled out a long knife, the kind used for skinning, and leapt at Wes. He plunged the knife into Wes’ stomach. Wes gasped and shoved the phooka away from him with both hands. The phooka stumbled back, pulling the knife free.

  Wes pressed a hand to his wound and stared at Lorelei with wide eyes.

  “These servants are deadlier than I thought they would be,” he said with a coughing chuckle.

  “Stay with me Wes,” Lorelei said.

  “I still have some fight in me,” he said.

  Lorelei’s eyes widened as the ankou rose in the air with his wings flapping and aimed a pistol in her direction. She ducked down as the gun fired. The force of the blast knocked the ankou back in the air and the bullet hit the wall a few feet from where she had been standing.

  Amara materialized out of the ankou’s shadow and snatched him from the air by his arm. He hit the ground and she was on top of him before he could react. A blade gleamed in her hand as it came down on the ankou. He stopped moving.

  The phooka male charged at Wes again. Wes yanked his sword from its sheath on his belt and spun it in his hand. He jabbed the phooka male in the chest. The phooka gurgled blood from his lips and collapsed to the ground.

  Pain flared in Lorelei’s upper thigh. She screamed, grabbing at her leg, and then glanced behind her, gasping. The hob male was holding his butcher knife with the blade buried in her leg. How had she overlooked the hobs? She brought her sword down diagonally across him. He was flung back into the bookshelf and fell to the ground. He did not get up.

  The second hob was sneaking up on Amara with her butcher knife raised.

  “Look out for the other hob,” Lorelei called.

  Amara half turned, snatched the hob by her neck, and twisted. A snap echoed through the room and the hob dropped. Lorelei swallowed at the sour feeling in her stomach. Just how strong was Amara?

  The room was silent except for their breathing. Lorelei leaned back against the wall, pressing her hand to the wound from the poker. The warm sticky blood ran through her fingers and down her side. Now that the fight was over, dizziness was setting in. Amara rushed towards her and ripped several pieces of cloth from her clothes to wrap around Lorelei’s wounds.

  “You should see to Wes,” Lorelei said in a faint voice.

  “
I got it,” Wes pulled a roll of bandages from a pocket inside his jacket and began to wrap his wound. “That phooka was kind of a terrible fighter.”

  “I thought you said they were deadly.” Lorelei leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

  He chuckled. “Well, it seemed like an exciting thing to say at the time.”

  The far-off crash of metal resounded from outside. Lorelei sat forward. Wes hobbled to the window and stared out.

  “We have a problem,” he said in a grim voice. “It looks like half the town is converging here.”

  Lorelei hobbled back through the servants’ passage and up the stairs to Vandermere’s room. Amara and Wes had stayed in the study to search for a passage or any clues they’d missed.

  Vaana spun around in her direction with her sword drawn as Lorelei stopped in the doorway. She gripped the sides, panting. Vandermere, awake and propped up against some pillows, glanced up at her with a wan smile. His expression changed to a furrowed brow.

  “We have to go,” Lorelei said between huffs of breath. “The Sluagh has sent her minions after us and it looks like it’s half the damn town.”

  Vandermere swung his legs over the edge of the bed and started to stand. He wobbled, then lowered himself back on the bed with a groan.

  “That’s going to be a problem. The Sluagh poisoned him more than you.” Vaana glanced at Lorelei and frowned at her wounds. “What happened to you?”

  “Servants with household tools,” Lorelei muttered. She turned to Vandermere. “Think you can walk if we lend you a couple of shoulders to lean on?”

  He gave her a ghost of his smile. “You look like you need leaning yourself.”

  “Sit down,” Vaana said to Lorelei. “You won’t do us much good if you pass out.”

  Lorelei glanced back at the hall, biting the inside of her cheek. The mob could break in at any moment. She didn’t want them to be separated from Amara and Wes when that happened.

  “Fine.” Vaana stood and strode to her. She held a hand over each of Lorelei’s wounds, closed her eyes, and began chanting. Tingling warmth spread from the wounds and throughout her body. After a few seconds, the sharp throbbing that had been there disappeared.