by Dahlia Leigh
Darien chuckled, not as irritated by the demon as he normally was, and stepped outside the protection of the dome. He didn’t have to wait long at the gate for his alpha to make his appearance. He was accompanied only by two Unbound shadows at his back.
His father looked furious and started right in on Darien. “How could you stand up for that… that Sentinel against your own people? Have you forgotten who imprisoned our brethren to start with?”
Darien said, “It wasn’t Ashlynn, but ancestors who had to do what they thought was right for all the top-side dwellers. You are stuck in your narrow-minded ways, refusing to see the entire picture.”
The alpha lashed out. “You would put the whole of the top dwellers over your own pack?”
“Father, your ways of thinking have the pack stuck in traditions that are no longer relevant in this world. You can’t even see I am thinking of the pack, have been the entire time. I want the pack to flourish alongside the humans, not diminish with traditions no longer able to advance them in a new world. We can still side with the Sentinel and try to work with her for the future of the pack. I have found something to fight for with her.” Realizing his father wasn’t listening until he mentioned working with the Sentinel, Darien found himself at a loss. His words only angered his father.
“If you think you know what’s best for this pack, you can try to take my position and lead the pack yourself.” In his enraged defensiveness, the alpha inadvertently issued a challenge of leadership to his son.
Darien knew as soon as the words left his father’s mouth, whether he meant them or not, the challenge had been declared. He also knew his father expected him to say no, to back down, and get back “in line” with the alpha’s wishes. Not today.
“Fine. Challenge accepted.”
Shock and even a glimpse of sadness flashed across the alpha’s face. “You’ve fallen in love with her—the Sentinel—haven’t you?” He only waited a moment before he demanded his question be answered. “Haven’t you?”
Darien realized his father was right.
“It’s true.”
Alpha Berone hung his head and inhaled through his nose. When he raised his head again, his face had gone blank and his eyes lost all emotion. Darien now faced the alpha of the shadow shifter pack.
“The rules of the challenge are as follows: 1. The fight is one-on-one; between the challenger and the challenged. 2. The challenger may choose which form to fight in and is allowed to shift. The competitor follows suit 3. Winner takes position as alpha of the pack. And 4. Challenges are to the death. I choose human to start.”
Darien sighed and dejectedly shook his head. “I never wanted to take over as alpha, but for the future and good of the pack, I will.”
Insulted and provoked, which was what Darien wanted, the alpha threw the first punch, beginning the challenge. They fought in physical form, exchanging punch after punch. Eventually, the alpha switched to shadow form, forcing Darien to do the same. In shadow form, his father was much larger than he was as a human. He matched Darien in most ways, but his father’s shadow beast was more aggressive and fierce, having a vast amount of experience. His father had earned his place as alpha and retained his position ever since.
As shadow beasts, they moved seamlessly together. Tendrils of shadow smoke blended together, creating a blur of charcoal motion.
Darien knew when his father took the upper hand, he felt the cold passion in his father’s movements. He was a ruthless fighter, and he no longer fought his son, but an enemy against the pack. Then Darien thought of Ashlynn and his strength and endurance grew. He truly didn’t want to be the alpha of the pack. What he wanted was Ashlynn. He wanted to be by her side against all odds, no matter what.
The fight seemed to shift in his favor. By the widening of his father’s glowing shadow eyes, the alpha knew it too. When it was apparent Darien might actually win, he backed off just enough his father could get a good swing in. Call him sentimental, but seeing his father shocked at Darien’s strength was satisfaction enough.
Darien sensed Ashlynn’s presence as she approached the dome. He didn’t take his eyes off his father’s form as she moved in closer. “Stay back, Ash. I don’t want you in the middle of this.”
The next thing he knew, though, Ashlynn marched right up in between them and took a swing at the alpha straight through his protective shadows, putting all her magic and power behind it. The blow was so strong her hit knocked the alpha to the ground.
Furious, the alpha jumped to his feet in human form, wiping spurting blood from his nose. He seemed surprised not only of the impact, but that she had punched him through his shadow form. “This is outrageous! She has interfered with the challenge.”
“Damn straight, I did. This challenge is unofficial and voided. According to your traditions, you need the witness of the pack to be official and they are not here with you. This challenge, and your behavior, is dishonorable. I call this bullshit over. You both need to settle your issues with words or get off my property.” Ashlynn was pissed.
Taegen and Edmund came up on either side of her, showing their support. Darien shifted back human and wiped off the blood trickling from his split lip. He shot a look at Taegen for letting Ashlynn step in between them, but he shrugged as if he knew he couldn’t have stopped her if he wanted to.
The alpha straightened his clothes as if he hadn’t just been knocked to the ground by a young girl, then issued an ultimatum. “This is your last chance, Darien. I had set up a future for you with your own people. Come back to the pack and I will overlook all this. Choose wrong and there’s no coming back. Choose the pack or the Sentinel, son.”
“I choose Ashlynn,” Darien said with no hesitation. She stepped beside him right as the angry alpha threw one last punch at Darien, this time as a pissed off father. Instead of hitting Darien’s face, his fist collided with Ashlynn’s hand, blocking his punch. By protecting Darien, she sent her own message to the alpha of the shadow shifters. Darien was hers.
“So be it. You are no son of mine. The Sentinels have finally taken all my family from me.” Enraged, the alpha spoke out of hurt and his perceived betrayal of his son by falling for the Sentinel. His father’s words broke Darien’s heart, but he wouldn’t change his decision.
“Keep the Unbound and the shifters out of the castle and away from Ashlynn or we will finish what we started another time,” Darien said.
“Yes. Indeed we will.” His father spat to the ground and left, spewing words about how he had to take care of everything himself to get it done right. The two Unbound creatures followed in his wake.
“This isn’t over,” Darien said to Ashlynn after the alpha had gone.
“No, it’s not.” A handful of Unbound shadows emerged from where they hid behind trees and blended with the natural shadows of the day at the opposite end of the gate. They were already within the castle grounds, left over from when they snuck through the first breach, simply waiting for their alpha’s signal. On top of that, several Shadow Shifters came out from behind trees opposite Ashlynn and the guys outside the borders. They were being surrounded.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ashlynn
“Fall back. We need to be inside the castle border,” Ashlynn said, directing the warriors for their best chances.
“Draw your weapons,” Taegen added.
They drew swords and/or daggers, extending them, ready to fight as they moved quickly back through the gate into the castle grounds, watching the enemy from both directions.
“Shit! How did I not sense them near?” Darien questioned himself.
“You were distracted with your father, don’t beat yourself up,” Edmund said.
The shifters in human form swiftly moved to follow them into the gate. Darien and Taegen stepped forward to defend the entrance to the grounds. The shifters also had swords, and they fought each other at the gate.
“Asteroth, shut the dome gate, quickly if you can,” Ashlynn said as she and Edmund turned�
�their backs to Darien and Taegen’s—to face the Unbound shadows inside the grounds.
“They aren’t closing,” Taegen said through gritted teeth as his sword clashed against a shifter’s sword.
“Asteroth? Do you hear me? Shut the gates!”
“Trying,” said the little gnome statue with a green hat by the gate.
“Ash, you are connected with Asteroth. Can you help him using your Sentinel magic? Help direct the energy to the gate?” Edmund offered as he held his sword coated with the light spell ready when the Unbound reached them.
“Good idea!” Ash did as Ed suggested and helped channel the castle’s lacking energy toward the gate to close it. She heard one last clang of swords clashing, then no more as the gate closed.
“It worked,” Darien said through heaving breaths as both he and Taegen turned to join Ashlynn and Edmund. The shifters standing on the outside seethed with lost opportunity to fight, effectively shut out of the grounds. The four of them together faced the approaching Unbound.
“Remember, your weapons are coated with the light magic. The spell should work against these big guys,” Edmund said.
“Should?” Taegen looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
“Ok, yes, the spell will work,” Edmund said, then under his breath added, “I hope.”
“Here they come, boys,” Ashlynn said with a hint of excitement in her tone.
“Well, fellas, looks like we got a blood-thirsty one here in our Sentinel.” Taegen laughed and winked at Ash. Darien chuckled. Edmund nervously laughed but kept watching the approaching beasts.
The Unbound strode en masse across the massive lawn, their numbers reaching ten. But ten large, hulking, shadow beasts with writhing smoke all over their bodies, ash pieces flaking off them as they moved, large and sometimes curled horns, and glowing green and violet eyes were quite an impressive force.
“They’re truly scary,” Edmund said, then gulped.
“Nah, you got this Ed,” Taegen said with a smirk, sinking into his fighting stance.
“We might need to up our game,” Ashlynn said. “Darien, go shadow to even out our numbers a bit.” Darien nodded. Then, with nothing more than a thought, he changed into his own shadow beast, growing in size and mass.
Edmund glanced over, nervously watching as Darien shifted.
“Yeah, that’ll help,” Taegen added, satisfied with the new odds.
Darien and Taegen moved to different sides, drawing some of the Unbound toward them. Then, as if in a blur, swords clashed, and the sound of metal rang out across the grounds. The Unbound roared when Taegen slashed one with his light-coated blade. The blow wasn’t lethal, but the slash impacted the shadow.
“Hey, Ed, they do work!” Taegen shouted.
Edmund fumbled with something in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle. “Ashlynn catch.” He threw her the bottle.
Ashlynn grabbed the small potion bottle out of the air and unstopped it, unsure what exactly would happen. She threw the bottle at one of the Unbound coming at her and Edmund. A brief explosion of light erupted, forcing a couple of the Unbound to cover their eyes. They shrieked with an inhuman sound and scattered away from Ashlynn, turning to ash as they went. Edmund brought out other vials in his hand.
“Darien, Taegen, catch!” He threw one to each of them. “Throw them at the shadows.”
Ashlynn fought with her sword and grabbed another vial of light from Ed too. She had one engaged at close range, then another two ganged up on her. She looked up briefly and saw Darien stealthily rush in as a shadow behind the group of three Unbound. He threw the vial, lighting them up. Their hissing screeches deafened anyone with ears within hearing range. Ashlynn nodded her appreciation for the assist and caught her breath.
Edmund backed away from another one and then threw his vial. Taegen fought next to him with his fear magic, distracting the two he entertained, and then Edmund threw another vial at them, banishing the Unbound in an instant. Taegen’s expression lightened with the satisfaction of dispatching an enemy to the point he turned to Edmund and awkwardly offered his hand high in the air.
Without missing a beat, Edmund gave him a high five and his smile beamed. “Now you get it!”
The hulking shadow that was Darien went after the one Taegen injured in the beginning to finish what he had started. But Darien didn’t use the vial, he continued to fight the shadow with his sword and claws. Each roared their aggression then with one final blow, Darien swung his sword and relieved the Unbound’s head from his shoulders. Both parts of the shadow lit from the spell on his sword and burst into ash.
“Darien, look out!” Ash yelled as the final Unbound rushed Darien from behind about to skewer Darien with his extended claws. At the same time, Taegen and Edmund threw vials at the Unbound’s back, sending him into a puff of ash before he reached Darien.
Everyone breathed deep with a sigh of relief when the Unbound were dispersed.
“Well, that was fun,” Taegen said, wiping his sword off onto the grass.
“Edmund, you’re light spell mixtures were perfect!” Ashlynn said, gripping his arm in excitement.
“Well, I had a pretty good helper.” He smiled at Ash then turned to the others and added, “I didn’t have time to explain but there are a couple different ways to use the spells. You already know your weapons have been coated with it, and the bottles will disintegrate them instantaneously, but you have to hit them with the vial for it to explode. There is one more use: I also have pouches of the dust you can throw at them. The dust will solidify them enough you can pierce them with weapons and defuse them. You can hit a faster target with the dust as it scatters before the powder hits them.”
“Yes, well done, Ed,” Darien said and slapped him on the back.
Ashlynn watched the guys together. They had worked well together, covering each other and communicating through the fight as a team. As she surveyed the men around her, they curiously took note of her study but didn’t question her.
For the first time in her entire life, she pondered the idea of needing help to ensure the castle’s security. She had never imagined Asteroth’s magic could fail and leave her more on her own than she had ever been. Still, Ashlynn didn’t think she couldn’t protect the castle on her own, but the company had been nice so far. If she was honest with herself, the team before her wasn’t too bad, if she had to have one. She felt herself being drawn into them, becoming more emotionally involved with each of them than she had ever imagined was possible. Unsure who she could possibly send home at this point, she reconsidered the idea that perhaps she did need a team in her arsenal.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ashlynn
Ashlynn and the guys picked up the empty vials for Ed to refill then started back toward the castle. Luckily, no one was hurt beyond a few scrapes and torn clothing. Ashlynn inhaled a deep breath of gratitude—the fight could have been much worse. The alpha had left, and the shifters had left the front gate as soon as the Unbound were disintegrated.
“Leaving so soon? I do like to make an entrance.” Rozalind crooned in her sweet, sultry voice as she swayed her hips and moved closer to the gates outside of the border. “And to think you were here to give a welcoming party for little ole me.” Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were wild.
“What are you doing here, Roz?” Darien asked, his hand going to the hilt of his sword. Ashlynn and the others came to his side and gave Roz their attention.
“Oh, Darien, dear, I got the message we were no longer betrothed. Such a pity.” Roz stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. “I came all this way to see for myself if the words were true… after all we have been through together. I felt I deserved to hear it from you.” A fire of rage flashed in her eyes.
“It is true. I have called off the betrothal. But something tells me you aren’t too broke up about it—at least the emotional side of it. I was only a means to your end, Roz, and we both know the truth.”
“How dare you!” Rozalind seethed.
“It’s time for you to leave now, Rozalind,” Ashlynn said. Her voice was strong but not harsh, hoping Roz would take the chance to leave before things got too ugly.
Rozalind rounded on Ashlynn, pointing her finger toward her face. “This is all your fault!”
“The choice was mine alone.” Darien explained and stepped forward out of instinct. The gate was up, and Roz couldn’t get through the boundary. “You need to leave, Roz. You have no place here.”
Rozalind’s lip rose in a smirk. “Not yet, but soon.” She seductively leaned in toward the gate in Darien’s direction. “I’ll even leave a place open for you when I do.”
Roz turned to leave but blew Ashlynn a kiss before she did. She shifted into a shadow then receded into the darkening afternoon.
Darien scowled, but relaxed his features as Ashlynn placed her hand on his arm and said, “That was… odd.”
“It was. Even for her,” Darien agreed.
Something stirred in the trees and they all looked up. “I think she may have left a parting gift,” Taegen said.
“Oh fuck, seriously?” Ashlynn asked with exasperation. Hordes of Grievers emerged to surround the dome. They couldn’t get in yet but simultaneously pounded against the dome with both might and dark magic from the Void. The already weakened castle dome flickered with the force.
“Asteroth can’t handle this much against the dome right now. Fall back to the castle.” Ashlynn ran as she led them straight into the castle, barring the doors and breathing hard.
“We have the crystals spelled with the light magic placed around the entrances. They shouldn’t be able to get inside the castle,” Edmund said, confirming Ashlynn’s thoughts.
Ashlynn quickly realized any damage done to the castle didn’t affect her like it used to since Ed had given her a spell to buffer the connection she had with the Asteroth. She turned to the armored knight statue. “Asteroth, pull all your remaining magic into the main concerns of the castle to conserve your power. The light crystals should protect the building itself, at least temporarily.”