Song of Shadow

by Natalya Capello

  “Great.” Lorelei flashed her a smile, then rushed to the bed and held her hand out to Vandermere. “Do you have anything you can’t live without in here?”

  “Just my sword and my bag.” Vandermere nodded to a table where both lay.

  Lorelei helped him to his feet and looped his arm over her shoulder. “Vaana, could you get those?”

  Vaana strode across the room, grabbed the bag and sword, and followed Lorelei as she assisted Vandermere through the door. Lorelei helped him down the hall, then stopped at the door to the servants’ passage. She glanced at Vandermere then at the door.

  “This is going to be a bit tricky,” she said. “It’s a tight fit for one person.”

  “If that’s true, the walls should be able to hold me up,” he said.

  “Great,” she said. “I’ll go first, then you, and Vaana can take the back. That way one of us will be on either side if you fall.”

  “Where are we going anyway?” Vaana asked. “Do we have an escape plan?”

  “Wes and Amara are searching for a hidden passage they think is in Lord Zaos’s study.”

  “And if there isn’t one?” Vaana asked.

  Lorelei glanced down the hall that led to the main staircase and foyer. “We may have to fight our way out.”

  “Lovely,” Vaana muttered. “I never thought I might die to a bunch of townsfolk with pitchforks.”

  “Well, you have gods within you,” Lorelei said. “You’d probably survive.”

  “Let’s not test that theory.” Vaana waved to Lorelei to lead the way. “Shall we?”

  Lorelei opened the door to the servant’s passage and stepped inside. As she traveled down the hall, she kept glancing back at Vandermere. His face seemed to glow in the pale magelight. Several times, his hand rested on her shoulder with a slight pressure, and he leaned heavier when traveling down the steps.

  Lorelei’s chest tightened and heat rose in her cheeks when she thought of what Arachne had done to him. She would make that Sluagh pay.

  As they reached the door to the study, a faraway crash from somewhere in the house caught her attention. She swallowed and pushed the door open with a silent prayer to anyone listening to let Wes and Amara have found something useful.

  Inside, Wes and Amara stood near where the small table with the statue had been, leaning over an opening in the floor. The table in question was slid to the left along with the bit of floor it had been standing on.

  “Looks like you could have turned the statue the other way,” Wes said with a flourish of his hand. “And now we have his secret passage. Shall we see where it leads?”

  A crash and the shattering of glass echoed from somewhere in the house.

  “Let’s do that.” Lorelei strode forward to the opening. “I’ll go first and check for anything to ambush us. Wes, can you give Vandermere a hand?”

  Wes glanced at Vandermere who was leaning against the desk. During their short walk, some color had returned to his face. The water Vaana had used seemed to be working, just more slowly for him. Lorelei hoped he would be well once they reached the end of where this passage led. There was probably going to be a fight there, if not along the way.

  She peered down into the hole. Bronze rungs were attached to a roughly hewn stone wall that descended into darkness. She bit the inside of her cheek. How was she going to see once she got down there? She didn’t have a lantern she could attach to her belt and she didn’t know a spell to create light.

  “I have it,” Amara said, as if she had read Lorelei’s mind.

  She flicked her wrist and spread her fingers. Tiny motes of white-blue light formed from each of her fingertips and floated to surround Lorelei.

  “Thanks.” Lorelei lowered herself on the ladder and began to climb down.

  Vaana followed her, then Amara and Vandermere with Wes taking the end. The trap door closed after Wes, darkening their passage. However, Amara’s floating lights were bright enough to guide their way.

  Lorelei’s feet touched the ground with a small scrape of dirt against her boots. She took a few steps forward and spun in a slow circle as the others climbed down. The ladder had ended in a small circular room. One lone tunnel made of stone exited from the chamber.

  Lorelei stepped to the mouth of the entrance and stared at it with narrowed eyes. After about fifteen feet, the path curved to the right. A familiar warmth and scent moved close to her. Vandermere. When had his presence become so familiar? She glanced behind her, smiling at him.

  She turned back to the tunnel. “Looks like this is the path.”

  Vandermere stared into the dark tunnel with faraway eyes. “It leads to danger and discovery. The sludge under the trapping of beauty.”

  Lorelei gave a soft chuckle. “Danger and discovery. Seems to be our life now.”

  He nodded.

  Lorelei rested a hand on his arm. “Are you up for this?”

  He glanced up at the ladder then to her with a wry smile. “Not that I have much of a choice, but I’ll survive.”

  Lorelei pulled Murgleis out and stepped into the tunnel. “Let’s hope we all do.”

  The tunnel wound around like a snake, but there were no turn offs.

  Lorelei led the way, followed by Wes, Vandermere, Vaana, and Amara bringing up the rear. At one point, the muted swish of water flowed above the rock over their heads.

  Lorelei lost track of time as they trudged onward. Finally, a light appeared around one of the bends. It glowed from an exit in the tunnel, but she couldn’t make out what was beyond. However, the dull roar of falling water echoed from beyond. Her shoulders straightened and her breath caught in her throat. She tightened her grip on Murgleis.

  She glanced behind her and spoke in a soft voice. “Be ready. This looks like the end.”

  She marched forward and stepped out of the tunnel into a huge cavern. In the center, water flowed from an opening in the ceiling into a large pool in the ground. The distorted form of a person floated in the center of the falling water. Small metal spikes surrounded the pool and waterfall. Tables filled with metal contraptions of beakers and shelves stood around the edges of the cavern. The floor of the cave ascended to a raised platform of rock that curved behind the waterfall.

  “How is that even possible?” Wes muttered with his gaze on the waterfall.

  “Magic,” Lorelei said. “Certain spells can control the flow of water, though I think this is a binding circle of some kind.”

  “You would be correct.” Lord Zaos’s voice carried over the sound of the waterfall.

  He stepped from around the waterfall on the raised platform, and stared down at them with his lip curled and his eyes narrowed.

  Lorelei stiffened as a chill prickled on the back of her neck.

  This is what they had come for: the final confrontation to free the people of the town and unveil the ugliness that had been happening.

  “It seems you wish to meddle. No matter,” he said. “I have means to deal with busybodies.”

  He raised his hand. The scrape of rock sounded from above Lorelei and bits of dirt rained down on her. She lifted her gaze and gasped. White substance fell down in streams.

  “Look out!” she yelled to the others as she tried to duck out of the way.

  She crashed into the ground hard, scraping her knees on the hewn stone. A sticky, wet substance hit her legs, arms, and the back of her head. It held her fast to the ground, stretching with her movements. This had to be some sort of webbing from Arachne.

  She had no leverage to move Murgleis and cut herself free. Her head barely turned, but it was enough to see Wes had not been able to move fast enough either. He stood, a sheet of white, like lace, wrapped around his body and covering his head. Despite his struggle, he couldn’t take a step.

  Vandermere moved past her peripheral and his hand brushed against her fingertips. “I’ll have you out in a moment.”

  The tension on her right eased significantly, and she was able to inch her arm toward freedom. Just a li
ttle more and she could help cut herself out of this mess.

  Vaana’s boots moved into the view followed by the rest of her as she stopped in front of Lorelei and faced Lord Zaos.

  “Spirit binding, Sluagh summoning,” Vaana said in a low voice full of ire. “You trek in heresy so easily.”

  Lord Zaos threw his head back and laughed. “That matters little if I can achieve godhood.”

  “The Empress is the one true goddess,” Vaana said in a hard voice.

  She lowered her head and began chanting. Then, she pointed her finger to him.

  Nothing happened.

  He laughed and raised his hand up at Vaana as if to say “what now?” Amara appeared just behind him and raised her arm, which gleamed like metal in the pale light, and shoved it into his side. His eyes widened and he yanked away from Amara, turning to face her.

  Amara gave him a thin-lipped smile. “Hello, Zaos. I’m delighted to see you again.”

  A shadow moved in Lorelei’s upper vision.

  “Vandermere, look out,” Wes shouted.

  The clang of a hard object on metal echoed behind her. Lorelei shifted her body, wiggling back and forth for a better view. A ripping sound was followed by a greater release of pressure. She could move her arm.

  She rolled onto her side and raised Murgleis to the spot where her legs were still trapped.

  Vandermere had his sword raised and was deflecting the attacks of three of Arachne’s legs as she hung a few feet above the ground by a thick strand of webbing. His final blow sent her swinging backward.

  Vaana shouted. Lorelei glanced back at her to find the white-haired female from the vault, the one who called herself the Morrigan, in Vaana’s place.

  Lord Zaos stared at her, unblinking. Amara struck him in his shoulder. He grunted, clutching his arm, and, with a glare, swished his other hand. A wave of force slammed into Amara, knocking her off the platform. She landed on the ground below.

  He turned back to Vaana-Morrigan with a gleam in his eyes. “A goddess within a girl. You will do much to further my research.”

  He raised both his hands with his palms facing Vaana, then pushed them together with his thumbs and forefingers touching to form a triangle. From that triangle, black energy rushed towards Vaana-Morrigan. It hit the ground in front of her, creating a dark sludge.

  Black tentacles erupted from the sludge. Vaana-Morrigan leapt back with a shout.

  Lorelei’s stomach tightened. If Vaana was taken by this madman, there was no telling what he would do to her.

  Arachne’s scream was followed by Vandermere’s shout of pain. He backed away from her with one hand clutching his head.

  Lorelei glanced down, then sliced through more of the webbing holding her. The last swipe cut the bindings on her legs, allowing her to roll over. With two quick slashes, she freed her other arm and stood. She sprinted to Wes, who was still cocooned in a web.

  He looked up at her with a snarl on his face. His nose was that of a cat and tufts of fur covered his face. Lorelei’s eyes widened. She’s seen other phooka use their ability to shapeshift into animals, but she’d never seen them stuck halfway through the process.

  “Every time I try to shift into something smaller, the binding shrinks,” he said with a growl.

  Her web is attuned to her, Murgleis said.

  He couldn’t even reach his sword in its sheath. She cut through the webbing on his arms and around his waist. He shook it off, spluttering. She pulled out his sword and handed it to him.

  “Can you get yourself free?” she asked. “I need to help Vandermere and Vaana.

  He glanced at Vaana-Morrigan. “Not sure what help she needs, but I got this.”

  “Good.” Lorelei turned to survey the rest of the battle.

  Vaana-Morrigan was slicing through the tentacles with her axe as they rose to attack. However, more rose in place of the ones she cut down.

  Lord Zaos was engaged against Amara who had returned to the platform. Black bolts of magic shot from his hands, which she dodged or deflected, though she got no closer to cutting him down.

  Arachne was closing in on Vandermere. She had given up hiding under numerous layers of cloth. Her breasts hung bare as did the large spider abdomen and eight legs. Vandermere stood holding his head. Lorelei knew from experience he was probably in a lot of pain.

  She smirked. Arachne wasn’t the only one who could use her vocal cords.

  Lorelei sang a few verses, forming an intricate spell that ended on a high note. A wave of energy burst forth and slammed into Arachne. She flew back from the force of the energy and careened towards the pool in the center of the room. As she passed between two of the spikes lines of electricity formed between them and struck Arachne in her chest.

  Lorelei sprinted forward and raised Murgleis in the air. He began to glow bright green. She swung, and the blade sliced into Arachne’s neck with a flash of light that traveled down her chest. Arachne gave a low gurgle and went limp. She burst into motes of green light as she fell to the ground.

  Lorelei took a step back, blinking. Is she dead?

  Sluagh do not truly die. She will Change, Murgleis said. Become something else.

  Before Lorelei could ask what Murgleis meant, Lord Zaos shouted something in a language she couldn’t comprehend. Vaana-Morrigan slashed through the remaining tentacles and took a step forward. Lord Zaos’s glare traveled over the lot of them, lingering on Vaana-Morrigan and Amara.

  “This will have to be continued another time,” he said.

  “To Gehenna with that,” Amara said with a snarl. “This ends now.”

  As she rushed towards him, Lord Zaos pushed his hand down with his palm towards the ground. Black smoke burst from the earth, concealing him. It spread quickly, filling the room and their lungs with heavy, choking air.

  Lorelei leaned forward, heaving and hacking. By the time she had coughed enough to make her chest ache, the smoke had dissipated to a few remaining wisps.

  Lord Zaos was nowhere to be seen.

  23

  Amara’s scream of frustration reverberated against the walls of the cave, and Lorelei winced. She turned and slammed her fist into one of the nearby tables. It collapsed in a heap. With a growl, she turned her back to the group, shoulders stiff.

  Vaana-Morrigan staggered and dropped to her knees. Her axe shifted back to Vaana’s small sword as her white hair darkened to black. She shrank and within moments Vaana knelt on her hands and knees, panting with her face pale.

  Lorelei strode to Vaana and leaned over her. “Are you all right?”

  Vaana waved her aside. “I will be. Just give me a few moments.”

  Lorelei walked to Amara and placed a hand on her back. “We’ll find him. He won’t get away.”

  Amara gave a bitter laugh. “It was easy to find him here because he’d grown lazy. Now, he’ll know I’m coming after him.”

  “He will slip up again.” Lorelei glanced at Vandermere with a hopeful expression. “Right?”

  Vandermere shook his head as he leaned against one of the walls. His face had lost even more of his color. The battle had taken its toll on him.

  “Perhaps,” he said. “I cannot see for certain.”

  Lorelei sighed. “Well, if this was his hidden lab, maybe there will be information on where he could have gone.”

  She moved to one of the tables and began sifting through the books and stacks of paper on it.

  “What about him?” Vaana nodded to the figure in the circle of water. “That’s a god, isn’t it?”

  “That is Lyr,” Amara said. “The god of the sea.”

  Vanna snorted and shook her head. “He is a heretic god, then. He should be killed.”

  Amara strode down the stones steps to stand in front of the circle with her glare burning into Vaana. “You won’t touch him.”

  “He is an affront to the Order,” Vaana said.

  “Not this again.” Lorelei groaned and spun around. “How long do you plan to follow those laws, esp
ecially with what you carry?”

  “I took vows to honor the Empress and her Order.” Vaana pressed her hand to her chest. “And honestly, I feel everyday I’m following farther and farther. Perhaps I should just turn myself over to the Order.”

  “But you want to live,” Vandermere murmured. “And you know you won’t live if you do that.”

  “That doesn’t mean I should keep ignoring my duties when I find more heresy.” Vaana flung her hand to Amara and then Lyr.

  Amara bowed her head to look at the floor. “In the time of the Miasma, the Empress set on a quest to tame the magic of Threshold. Her path took her to meet many of the gods of the world, including Lyr. It was the belief of the Order that every god had a part in the celestial order of the world.”

  Vaana snorted at her. “More lies.”

  “No.” Amara raised her hard gaze to Vaana. “I believe your Order has become full of lies. Lies and conspiracy.”

  Vaana hissed between her teeth and gripped the hilt of her sword. Wes grabbed her arm before she could launch herself at Amara.

  “Let’s look at this reasonably,” Wes said. “She’s not completely wrong. You have doubts which appear to be well founded. We can look into the truth of things, starting here.”

  “How do you propose we do that?” Vaana jerked her hand free of his hold.

  He spread his arms wide, waving around the room. “This so-called lord was working with your Order, was he not?”

  “Yes,” Amara said. “And we found a book in his study that showed he planned to take the Aether of a god to become one himself.”

  “So you say.” A sneer spread across Vaana’s lips. “The Order doesn’t keep up with every faerie or what they do.”

  “But it is a possibility.” Lorelei continued with her next words despite the glare Vaana shot her. “It is also a possibility he was looking for a way to end the god as a heretic on the Elemental Order’s command. Perhaps they wanted to cultivate the remaining Aether. That is important to the Order, correct?”