Dragon Shadow

by Alicia Wolfe

  To change the subject, I said, “Is this castle really from the Fae Lands? I mean, did you, like, relocate it here?”

  He tilted his head, and a sort of sadness overcame him. I was sorry to have asked.

  “I mean, don’t tell me if you don’t want to,” I hastened to add.

  “No, no, it’s fine. This is my family castle. It’s where those of my line have ruled from for thousands of years.”

  “Ruled?” I said. “But I thought Calista was the Queen.”

  “Once my kin were kings. We ruled a great kingdom in the Fae Lands, and only much later did we bend the knee and allow our kingdom to become part of Queen Calista’s empire.”

  “This place…it looks like it’s seen war.”

  A sigh escaped his lips. Again, I could see sadness in him. “It has. A great deal of it. The castle was located on the northern edge of the Realm of Nine Thrones—although now there’s only one throne, really—right up against the Gilgorst Forest.”

  “Doesn’t exactly sound like a vacation spot.”

  “It’s not. The eternal foe of the Fae of the Nine Thrones is the Dark One, Vorkoth, who has tried to sweep our world in shadow for thousands of years. He and his foul hordes reside in the far north, locked away in his mountainous realm of Ongar. The only way south into the Nine Thrones is…”

  I was starting to see it now. “Through Gilgorst Forest.”

  He smiled, relieved. “That’s right.” The smile faded. “It’s a dark and cursed forest. Periodically, his goblin hordes will boil out of it and try to overrun the Nine Thrones. Well, my family and the kingdom it rules—or ruled—has been the bulwark against the dark tide. We’ve kept the Thrones safe for many, many years. This castle was the seat of our power, the great bastion of the city of Corwyn. My city. My home.”

  I could hear the love for the place in his voice. Unconsciously, I reached out and grabbed his hand, silently encouraging him to go on.

  Fortified, he said, “My father fell fighting with the legions of Vorkoth, and the crown of Highgard—that’s what my kingdom was called—came to me. My brother Nevos, whom I loved deeply, said the crown should have come to him because he was the oldest. He was right, too, at least according to our traditions. But Father had seen something in him that made him appoint me as the heir instead. At the time…well, I was sympathetic to Nevos, but I respected Father’s wishes, and I accepted the crown.”

  “That must have been hard,” I said. “Brother against brother.”

  A dark look crossed his face. “It’s worse than you know, Jade.”

  His sudden seriousness chilled me. Breathless, I asked, “What happened?”

  “He…” Davril cleared his throat and seemed to be summoning his strength. I could tell this was costing him, both spiritually and physically. He was still weak from the venom. “Nevos betrayed me. Behind my back, he colluded with agents of the enemy. With agents of Vorkoth.”

  “My God!”

  Davril nodded gravely, and sort of grimaced. Pain was evident in him, not a physical discomfort but the agony of a bitter memory. A most bitter memory indeed. Suddenly I realized just how much he was sharing with me, answering all these questions I’d had about him, and something moved in me. He was opening himself up to me in a way I never would have been able to imagine.

  Feeling my eyes sting, both at Nevos’s betrayal and Davril’s willingness to share, I said, “What happened?”

  “I’ll probably never know, not exactly, Jade. Nevos kept his dealings very secretive, and it was only much later that I could begin to put things together. I had ruled Highgard for fifty years—a long time to your kind but only a brief flash to mine—when I was roused in the middle of the night. The enemy was attacking. Corwyn is a walled city, and this castle, Wyngard, is perched along the northern arc of the wall, the part facing the forest. The great gate, the gate from which our troops would pour from in order to join battle, stood open.”

  “Nevos!”

  Davril passed a hand across his face with the hand I wasn’t gripping—and I was gripping it tighter than ever. “Somehow, he conspired with the enemy and had the gates opened just when the hordes of Vorkoth struck. They burst out of the haunted forest and streamed right through the gateway. I threw on my armor, grabbed my sword and fought them, meanwhile calling for my generals and troops to muster. They fought, and fought hard, but it was too late. The enemy was already inside the walls.” Davril gazed off, and I knew he was seeing something far, far away, something that ate at him. I would have done anything in that moment to ease his pain, if only a little.

  “I saw my brother, Jade,” Davril said, his voice raw. “I saw Nevos. He was leading an army of Vorkoth’s goblins…against his own people.”

  Davril’s eyes glimmered with unshed tears, and my heart wrenched. I knew then that I felt something for him, something powerful.

  “What did you do?”

  “I tried to reach him, to fight him. The goblins were too many, though, and I had to safeguard the city. I had to protect my people.” Air hissed from between his teeth. “To my great shame, I had to evacuate the city. Even with the goblin hordes assailing us, I had to lead my people to Yasli, a more southerly town, but one with a strong wall protecting it. Once there, my people were protected. It…it was only the beginning, though.”

  “Don’t tell me…”

  “That’s right. The reason the Fae came to your world…at least some of them. Many are still trapped in the Fae Lands, subject to the ravages of Vorkoth. At any rate, Nevos’s treachery gave Vorkoth what he needed, the wedge with which to pry open the Nine Thrones. Once the breach was made, the Shadow poured in, blighting the land and killing countless Fae. The nine kings and queens rallied to the greatest kingdom in the Nine Realms, Gavala, where Queen Calista ruled. Gathering us all under one banner, one kingdom, she drove against the Shadow, and it was a long and terrible war. At last, however, we were flung back, and Calista knew we had to escape. She sent different peoples to different worlds. Those highest in her court, like me, and our most immediate vassals, came to your world just before the gateways were destroyed, sealing Vorkoth in the Fae Lands.”

  I absorbed this in silence for a moment, feeling my heart beat. “And this castle?”

  “Just before we left, Queen Calista cast a spell to summon our castles, most of which were overrun by Vorkoth…and my brother. She knew the thought of them occupied by the enemy was a huge blow to us and that we would do anything to save our family seats from dishonor. I wish Nevos would have been inside the castle when she transported it, but alas, he wasn’t. I was only able to kill a few goblins instead. At least I was able to liberate some of the captives they’d been torturing.”

  “How awful!”

  His chest rose and fell as he gave a deep sigh, and I realized I was biting my lip. I made myself stop. Don’t fall for him, I told myself angrily. Don’t you dare. But it was hard. I mean, really hard. This noble knight had just opened his soul to me, shared with me his own personal tragedy and disgrace, and not only had he shared his own secrets but he’d told me the secrets of the Fae Lords, as well. Now I knew why they’d come to our world, and it was something that I knew very few were aware of. Hell, he’d shared with me something that could even be used against his people. The depth of his honesty and trust staggered me.

  Could he…? I almost couldn’t bear to complete the thought. But there it was, and there was no escaping it—could he be feeling about me the same way I was toward him?

  Now it was his turn to squeeze my hand. His flesh was hot, but not with fever, and his grip was firm. I almost melted under his touch. Suddenly, I wished it wasn’t just our hands touching.

  His blue eyes speared into me. “I want to know about you, Jade. You promised you would tell me. Well, now is the time.”

  Slowly, I nodded. He deserved that much. More than that much.

  “I’m not sure where to begin,” I said.

  “Just start at the beginning.”

 
I hesitated. “Are you sure? It might take a few minutes.”

  A small smile touched his lips. “I have time.”

  I swallowed. Nodded. “Well, uh, as you know, I’m part dragon shifter. Really, like, a small part. It was my grandmother who was a full dragon shifter. My grandfather was human, and he never Turned. And none of their kids were shifters, either. But one of their kids had me. By that time, the blood was thin, diluted, and I could never shift completely. But I could make wings pop out on my back, and I could…well, I could breathe fire.”

  Davril’s expression was fierce, and I had to remember he had some beef against dragons. He still had at least one secret left, it seemed. “What happened?” he said.

  “My father and mother were horrified, especially after I set the kitchen on fire one day. I was just trying to toast bread with my breath.” I smiled sheepishly. “It got toasted, all right.”

  One side of Davril’s mouth curled up. “Go on.”

  “Anyway, I grew up trying to keep it a secret. And trying not to scorch Judith Eans’s hair when she called me Baby No-Breasts. Or sometimes No Bump.”

  “Ouch. Well, you showed her eventually.”

  I felt my cheeks grow hotter. I was painfully aware my breasts weren’t anything to write home about. But I couldn’t help but be a little pleased that he’d noticed them, anyway. “Well, all the while, my grandmother had a terrible enemy. She loved me more than any of her other grandkids, even Ruby, and she took me deep into her confidence. She told me all about this evil mage named Walsh and how he’d made war upon her and our line for hundreds of years.”

  “He’s immortal?”

  I winced. “Kind of. See, he uses his powers to steal the…” I swallowed. What I was about to say was key. Starting over, I said, “He uses his powers to steal the fire from dragons. When that happens, it’s like he takes their souls. He breaks them somehow. In here.” I tapped my chest. “They can never shift again. But he can use that fire to lengthen his own life.”

  “Like a vampire.”

  “Yes. Something like that. Well, he had a grudge against my grandmother’s clan—my clan—because of some battle long ago. I don’t know the full story. My grandmother told me all this when I was very young. Growing up, I would always keep my eyes open for some sinister figure with a magic ring lurking around the playgrounds and malls.”

  Davril swore under his breath, a strange Fae swear. “He was your boogeyman.”

  “Exactly.” I nodded, satisfied that he got it. “Well, when I was about sixteen and just learning to control my powers, Walsh found me. I was coming home from a date—shit, my second-ever date, with Jimmy Gottlieb; he was so cute in that blue blazer; Ruby adored him—to find Walsh waiting for me outside my parents’ house. I was coming up the walkway to the front door—alone, Jimmy had gone—when Walsh just sort of…materialized. I don’t know if he was hiding behind a bush or using his powers to cloak himself, but he just appeared. Instantly, I knew who he must be. He was dressed elegantly, and his left hand was laden down with fancy rings, all with gleaming jewels in them. It was night, but the outside lights were on—my parents had left them on for me—so I could see everything.”

  Davril must have been able to see the memory of my fear on my face—I could feel moisture gather at the corners of my eyes—as he reached out and held my hand.

  “Go on,” he prompted gently. “What happened next?”

  I nodded, gathering my strength, and said, “He held up his hand and spoke a word—a single word. That’s all it took. I knew what he was trying to do and started to shift. My wings popped out on my back, totally shredding the cute dress I’d bought just for the date, and I began to gather my fire inside my chest. If I could just reduce him to a cinder before he could cast that spell…” I let out a ragged breath. “But of course he was too fast, too powerful. The air blurred around his hand, and the blur moved forward and grew larger. It folded around me and tightened. Like it was strangling me. At first I thought I couldn’t breathe, but then I realized it wasn’t my breath he was stealing.”

  “It was your fire.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. He drew it out of me, and as he did, one of his rings began to glow—a dark gem in a gold band. I let out a scream and crumpled to the ground. My parents and Ruby burst out of the house and saw Walsh there, all triumphant and evil with me weeping on the ground, my wings gone, my fire gone…half of me gone…and my dad went nuts. He leapt at Walsh, fists flying. Walsh could have simply vanished, or he could have frozen my dad in time or something, but he was—is—an utterly evil bastard. He used my own fire, which still glowed in that gem on his finger, to kill my dad. I saw the ring glow bright, and then the brightness came over my dad. Flames consumed him in a heartbeat. Only then did Walsh mutter a spell and flicker out of existence.”

  Rage boiled inside Davril, the emotion playing on his usually stoic face. In a tight voice, he said, “I’m so sorry that he stole your fire and killed your dad, Jade.”

  I nodded, feeling my chin trembling, and tears streamed from my eyes despite my best efforts. My hand squeezed Davril’s so tight it was painful, but he only gripped mine more firmly in return, letting me know he could take it, that he was there for me.

  “My mom, Ruby and I were all devastated,” I said. “My mom especially mourned for a long time. We were somehow separated, though. The tragedy should have brought us together, my mom and I, but it only drove us apart. I was in my own little world, a sphere of pain and isolation, and my mom was in her own place, too. It was like the pain built walls around us. Ruby helped, but she was going through her own ordeal, trying to learn the ways of magic even as her body matured and her mom and sister grew remote. I would’ve turned to my grandmother, but she had set off on a mission of revenge to kill Walsh for slaying her son and stealing my fire. She never did return, and I learned later that he killed her, too.”

  “Damn.”

  I sniffed wetly. “I’d had big plans. College. A career. A huge life I’d planned for myself. But after that…I just didn’t have the heart for it. I started wearing dark clothes, listening to death metal. I guess I kind of went goth. And all the while, hate festered in me, and I knew I had to give it some release. I had to strike back somehow, if you know what I mean.”

  “I understand,” Davril said.

  “I hated Walsh for abusing his magical abilities like he did. So when I learned of a shifter who was using a magic amulet to make himself stronger and using that against others, I made it my business to steal that amulet. Later, I learned about a mage doing nasty things with a seeing stone. And so on. One thing led to another. I learned there were a lot of bad guys in New York, so I went there. Here. There’s a whole magical community here, and, of course, where there’s enough people, some of them will be assholes. I made it my business to take them down a peg. To take away anything they were using against others, like Walsh used his ring against my dad and me. I turned it into a career of sorts, selling the magical items to fences in the community—under the condition they wouldn’t sell them to bad guys. And I made damn sure they didn’t. Eventually, Ruby arrived. She said she couldn’t let me go through this alone and would help me however I could. It’s a shame, because her specialty was always healing magic. For me, though, she learned to use her arts for crime.” Old guilt tore at me.

  “And Walsh?” Davril said. “What about him?”

  I wiped at my eyes impatiently. “He was always my endgame, my ultimate target. All those jobs I pulled before were just practice. Building up my skills to one day break into his lair and steal…it.”

  Davril snapped his fingers. “The ring!”

  “He would feed on a dragon’s fire for decades. He could make one dragon’s fire last him for half a century. So I knew mine would still be there. Just waiting. Someday, I’ll have it, that ring, and then I’ll be whole again.”

  Davril stared at me for so long I thought I had a booger coming out of my nose, but then he wrenched his gaze away, as if with great
effort. I knew then he was feeling something for me, something powerful, and he was trying to will himself from feeling that.

  Just like I was with him.

  Despite our best efforts, we were growing closer.

  “So,” I said. “What now?”

  A long silence stretched. Outside, clouds drifted against the sun, casting strange shadows, and I felt unmoored, unattached to my previous life. I was living a different one now, someone else’s, a life of lords and ladies, of Fae magic and terrible enemies.

  Davril seemed to think about it. “You mean…about Mistress Angela?”

  I hadn’t been sure what I’d meant. Part of me wanted to talk about that girliest of all things—us—but another part of me knew he was right. It probably made more sense to discuss the more pressing matters at hand. I still had a sister to save and a friend to avenge.

  “Sure,” I said. “That. Wait!” I held up a hand, just realizing. “Do you think…I mean, do you think she is somehow connected with this Vorkoth—this Shadow from the Fae Lands?”

  Davril’s brows drew together. “That is Queen Calista’s fear, yes. There have been signs, portents, and magical energies detected recently that can only have come from the Dark One’s followers. We don’t know if he’s found a way to cross over into this world or if he was able to send some of his thralls here before the gateways closed, but either way, it presents a dire threat to my kind…and yours.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, feeling a stir of dread coil around my gut.

  Davril appeared very sober and grim. “The Shadow won’t be content just to destroy the Fae, Jade. He’ll destroy humanity, too.”

  Chapter 15

  I stared at Davril, shock and horror flooding through me. “Destroy humanity?”

  Davril nodded. “I’m so sorry, Jade. I should have told you earlier.”

  I pulled my hand away from his, not out of anger with him but because us seemed suddenly very small indeed. “Why would he want to destroy humanity?”