by Dahlia Leigh
Edmund barely heard the castle speaking through the small statue of and owl on the bookshelf.
“Asteroth? Is that you? You sound so weak.”
“Your crystal idea is a good one.” Asteroth’s voice was thin and Edmund strained to hear him, but continued to listen. “Could even concoct them into… potion to shoot or coat weapons…”
Edmund’s eyes lit up. “Yes, excellent Asteroth!”
“You need to hurry. Finish crystals and get ready to use them. Watch over her if I am unable.”
Worried, Edmund moved in close to the statue, nodding he would hurry. “Watch over who? Ash? Asteroth, are you all right?”
With broken words, Asteroth whispered, “Need to… pull back energy… be prepared… protect veil.”
Then he said no more; he was no longer in the statue. Edmund frowned. He didn’t have much time. He had to complete his spells then find Ash.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Alpha Berone
Alpha Berone met with his old friend Shado-Heim and learned of the success of their plan to get Unbound through the dome and into the castle. “How many got through the dome?”
The Unbound creature stood before the alpha in all his shadow glory with the shadow smoke moving along his body in the place of skin. He inclined his head and spoke, his words garbled and his tone low, “A handful got through. We detained the Sentinel and her warriors just as planned. We sustained a few hits. She could touch us and fight back.”
The alpha’s eyes widened. “She could touch you in shadow?”
The Unbound silently nodded. “She has a demon of royalty fighting with her. He was unexpected as well.”
“That is interesting.” Berone rubbed his beard between thumb and forefinger. “What else?” the alpha asked. His eyes narrowed on his old friend. “What aren’t you telling me?”
The Unbound reluctantly continued. “Your son, Darien, fought alongside the Sentinel. It could be for show to stay on her side, but perhaps…”
“It wasn’t.” The alpha finished his sentence for him.
“One more thing, Alpha…” the Unbound interrupted Berone’s thoughts, “I stopped at the crystal cavern to check on news from Nightstead, but I did not enter when I heard Rozalind’s voice.”
The alpha’s interest was piqued as she was supposed to be at the attack. “Oh?”
“She was meeting with someone from the Void, though I do not know the nature of the meeting. I thought you should know.”
Suspicious, the alpha considered his words but he regained his confidence in his choice for his son’s future mate. “Thank you, Shado-Heim. I will discuss the matter with her. I’m sure she has a good reason. I am confident in Roz and her ability to make things happen for our pack.” The alpha rose from his black glass throne to seek out Rozalind and address the matter with her specifically. Shado-Heim followed him out then went his own way.
After seeking for her in shadow form, the alpha went to her room in case he missed her return. She didn’t answer his knock, and so he did what any suspicious alpha would do… he entered her room without waiting. While in her room, he felt a darkness not of their world, a darkness born from the Void. Berone was drawn to the feeling and found a closed container filled with scrolls of parchment, each with a different seal representing a different royal or high-up family in the Void. He opened several. Each scroll said she would be accepted as a citizen of the Void, sponsored by the individual when she chose to join them and forsake her shadow alpha.
“What?” Berone’s eyes squinted in disbelief then re-read every single scroll. “She has treaties of pardon for every major family and area within the Void. Is her loyalty to me a show? Is she using me?” The alpha was outraged at the idea of such treason, but needed more information before he cast complete judgment. He knew she had been working on a plan, perhaps this was part of that. If what she has done was not part of her plan for the pack… well, the alpha couldn’t comprehend that level of treachery, especially by one so close to his heart. The thought alone of her potential betrayal undid him. Until he saw her next, he would give her the benefit of the doubt.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ashlynn
The next morning, Ashlynn found Ed vigorously working away at creating various concoctions and potions in his lab. Judging by his rumpled appearance, Ashlynn would guess he had been at whatever he was doing all night again. She stood in the doorway, content to watch him for a moment. His tinkering movements and precise measurements with his work fascinated her.
Finally noting her presence, Edmund stopped what he was doing and smiled at her. The way he looked at her with such adoration warmed her from the inside out.
“Good morning, Ash. Come in, come in. I have much to tell you about.” He enthusiastically beckoned her with his hands to enter. As if that wasn’t enough, he came around the table he had been behind and met her at the door with his hand extended. She took his hand and let him pull her into his workspace.
“Good morning to you too, Ed. What is going on in here? It looks like a crystal exploded dust in here.”
“Basically, it did. Well, sort of… let me explain from the beginning. I found a way to use the ancient light spells against the shadow shifters or the Unbound in shadow form.”
“You did?” Ashlynn’s face lit up, excited about Edmund’s discovery. “Tell me.” She moved around to the stool near him and sat down, letting him speak.
“I discovered a light spell that would work with light crystals which we have an abundance of in our nearby mountains. And the castle just so happened to have a healthy stock on hand for me to experiment with to see if my spell would work. And it did!” He paused and pushed his glasses up again to keep them from sliding.
Ashlynn smiled, thinking the gesture was cute, but thought having to push his glasses up all the time had to get old for him. Perhaps, she could get the castle to do something to help him with that issue once other things have settled down. Ashlynn caught herself and realized she let her line of thought stray as if the guys were staying, but she still had a choice to make. Getting herself back on track she asked, “What did you do with the light crystals?”
“Right. So, I ground them up into a powder and added the spell ingredients to that mixture.” He beamed and placed both his hands on the worktable in anticipation.
“So that mixture is usable against the Unbound?”
“Yes! The uses are endless. But immediately, if we coat the mixture onto large stones or other crystals, we can place them around the castle for added protection to keep the shadows out. I worked with Asteroth a bit last night and we came up with the idea we could also coat weapons with the mixture or…”
“Or come up with a way to shoot the mixture at the shadows or the Unbound.” Ashlynn interjected seeing where his line of thought had been.
“Exactly! I ran some tests last night and the spell seems to have held when placed on all those items, but I didn’t have any shadows to physically test them on.”
“But the spell will work?”
“In theory, yes. We could have Darien test them out. Unfortunately, the light crystals would keep Darien out of the areas they protected as well so I came up with a counter spell and placed the mixture on this small crystal shard. This spell would allow him to pass through the wards we create. He would need the crystal on him at all times. I put a strap of leather through the crystal, so he could wear it around his neck.”
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Edmund.” Edmund in his element, expressing his passions for his work, stirred a feeling of endearment in Ash.
“All this however, is up to you if you choose to give the crystal to him.” Ed paused, concern clouded his face.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Ashlynn asked.
“Ashlynn, I can’t help but notice the other two men here are dangerous. Out of concern for your safety, I have found a weakness for each of the men should you ever need to incapacitate them to protect yourself.”
“Oh real
ly? That was insightful of you. I happen to have a list of my own. However, I will consider what you have found.”
“I’m sure you are well-versed in the history of the shadow shifters and the Unbound. I found a couple bits of information that might be helpful in addition: they can slip unnoticed through most magical wards—which is where the light crystals will come in handy. Also, the strongest of them are often pulled toward the shadows more than others. And if the pulled don’t have a strong enough reason to fight back, they can get trapped in the shadows for long periods of time. In the shadows, they become unaware and changed if in there too long. So, if you ever need to get free of Darien, you could abandon him to the shadows. Just saying.” Edmund winked at her.
Ashlynn smirked then asked, “So how would I be able to incapacitate you, should the need arise?”
Sheepishly Edmund realized he had cornered himself and backed up. “Well… I would hope you wouldn’t need to, but I suppose…”
Ashlynn laughed with good humor. “Why don’t you keep the information to yourself for now.”
He nodded, but his face flushed with embarrassment. Internally, Ashlynn went through her own list for him: without potions and his magic spells she could easily incapacitate him with physical force or use one of his potions against him.
“I also perfected the incapacitation spell yesterday—which could be used on Taegen should the need arise as well, just so you know. Oddly enough, Taegen was the one who helped me—in his own way—find where I had gone wrong during the demonstration.”
“He did?” Ashlynn was surprised at Taegen’s consideration for Edmund’s work and made a mental note. “Will you show me?”
“Of course.” Edmund had the spell already set up, probably to show her what he had accomplished. “Just give me a second to draw the symbols properly.” Quickly he drew the symbols on the chalkboard without even consulting his magic spell book. He sprinkled the dust in his hand over the chalkboard. “This infuses the dust with the spell then you can use the dust.”
Ashlynn watched with interest as the symbols glowed. Edmund seemed in control and expectant of every move he made, reassuring her a portal wasn’t about to open in the lab again.
“Would you be a willing volunteer to see how it works? Or better yet…” Edmund moved out away from the table and handed her a little pinch of the powder. “Throw the powder at me. While I don’t have magic, the spell should still incapacitate me for a moment. I didn’t give you much, so it won’t last long.”
“Just throw it at you?” she asked uncertain. At his nod, she threw it at his chest. Instantly, Edmund froze mid-movement. “It worked!”
Ashlynn simply waited for Ed to move. Luckily, he was right and the spell only lasted a minute.
“That wasn’t terrible, but the feeling was strange to be able to hear and see you but not move or respond in any way.” He shook the rest of the dust off his shirt and lab coat then smiled. “It worked!”
Sharing in his excitement, Ashlynn leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He placed his hand where her lips had been and simply held it there with a big grin on his face.
“Well done with the spell and with the light potions, Edmund. These will be most helpful. Could you also inspect the castle and seek any ways to try and fix what the quakes have disturbed, especially with the castle’s magic?”
“Of course.” Edmund hesitated, his face filled with concern.
“What is it?”
“Last night, Asteroth seemed in bad shape. His speech was strained but still encouraged me with the light magic and told me to hurry to complete them. And he mentioned something about pulling back energy from the castle too, though his words were incomplete I didn’t get the entire message.”
“The tremors are doing a lot of damage,” Ashlynn sadly said. “We need to protect the castle as soon as possible. Come with me.”
They left the lab armed with a basket full of crystals and stones spelled with ancient light magic to place around the castle and specific rooms for added protection from the shadow creatures.
Chapter Thirty
Ashlynn
Later in the dining hall, Ashlynn greeted the men as they met her for dinner. The food was served as per usual.
“This afternoon, Edmund and I placed stones and crystal shards coated with light magic he discovered around the most important points in the castle and at the outside entrances. These should help keep out any shadow shifters and the Unbound. The spell won’t do much to any shadows still lingering in the castle, I’m afraid. But I have it under good authority these stones will help protect the castle, thus the veil.” She turned and winked at Edmund.
“Way to go Edmund,” Darien said. Taegen nodded his agreement.
Edmund seemed uncomfortable with their affirmation but gracefully accepted it. “Thank you.”
Ashlynn inhaled deeply. “If you haven’t already noticed or if I haven’t already said anything, Asteroth Castle is weakening. You will need to know the truth to help protect him. He will need to conserve his magical energy and consolidate his power around the castle. Please don’t ask him anything you could do on your own or any unnecessary magical tasks. Asteroth will need to focus his remaining energy on the dome and the veil below, guarding the entrance to the Void.”
The guys looked from one to another possibly unsure what to say to her, so she continued. She handed Darien the necklace Ed made. “This is a small crystal shard coated with the opposite magic from the light spells. Edmund made you this to allow you entrance through the light spells when they would otherwise try to keep you out. Your shadow beast should remain unaffected. Wear the necklace or keep the crystal on your person at all times.”
“I didn’t know you were already at the stage in your relationship for jewelry gifts. Congratulations.” Taegen apparently couldn’t help but make a snide comment.
Darien smacked Taegen in the chest and took the necklace, placing it around his neck. “Thank you, Edmund, that was considerate. Thank you, Ashlynn.”
After dinner, Ashlynn headed off alone to the Sentinel Library to read more of her book, but on the way Taegen joined her and began walking at her side.
“Dinner was good, did you enjoy yours?” he awkwardly asked.
Ashlynn peered at him, suspiciously squinting her eyes. Her face must have expressed the absurdity she felt at his question because he attempted something else.
“I was quite shocked at Edmund’s proposal to alpha-boy with that necklace at dinner, weren’t you?” Even Taegen must have resented what he said as he shook his head and bit the inside of his cheek in consternation. Ashlynn couldn’t help but laugh. She stopped and faced him.
“Your attempt at small talk sucks. What do you need Taegen?”
Taegen’s shoulders relaxed, obviously relieved at not having to continue his attempt. He took a deep breath and simply said, “I like being around you and wondered if you would like to get dessert with me?”
Taken aback by his request, Ashlynn was sweetly surprised at his gesture. “I would like that.”
Taegen’s eye widened, surprised at her answer. “Oh, ok, great.”
Ashlynn rerouted them back in the direction of the kitchen. “When I was little, the castle used to let me sneak ice cream at night. Obviously, he was the one who let me have it, but giving me the illusion I was sneaking it on my own was fun.”
“That sounds… that sounds nice, Ashlynn.” Hesitantly Taegen reached out and took her hand and held it within his strong masculine one.
Ashlynn was surprised at the thrill from such a simple gesture. She had no idea how she was supposed to choose one of them in the coming days, but for now she let him keep her hand in his.
ASHLYNN
On the way back to her room, she thought of Asteroth and even spoke to a statue. “Don’t respond, Asteroth. Save your energy. I just wanted you to know I will protect you and find a way to strengthen your energy again. I promise.” Deep emotion swam within her and her chest
hurt as she thought about what her life would be like without the castle.
It was too late when Ashlynn saw one of the crystals’ light had gone out—the crystal had failed. The statue buzzed with warning, and her necklace warmed, just as she turned and saw one of the Unbound who still remained in the castle. His large, clawed, shadowed hand gripped her head. She reached for her power but was not fast enough.
Chapter Thirty-One
Ashlynn
Ashlynn swayed but kept steady on her feet as her vision clouded with dark, magical shadow smoke.
“I have a message for you.” The Unbound shadow spoke into her mind, with a deep and dark, whispering hiss.
In Ashlynn’s mind, with a strange, magical, telepathic connection, she saw who the message was from. Rozalind grinned sweetly then sashayed into her view. She had the same purplish-black hair and violet lips Ash remembered from seeing her with Darien outside the castle on his first day.
“What do you want?” Ashlynn asked.
With a shift in her demeanor, Rozalind abandoned her sickly sweet persona to one with cunning confidence. “I’ll cut straight to the point then, Sentinel. I know you have a plan to take Darien away from me and his position as the next alpha… but I won’t let you.”
“What are you talking about?” Ashlynn attempted to wrestle herself out of her situation but with no luck.
“Don’t play coy with me. You want to take him away from me. You manipulate him into thinking he has a place with you, that you can offer him more than I ever could. Well, you are wrong!”
“I think the only one manipulating him is you,” Ashlynn said, frank. Her pendant heated at her neck though slower than usual.
Rozalind curled her lip in disgust at Ash.