A Whisper of Darkness

by Troy A Hill

  That was enough for me. Penda and Ludló had good men. Had being the key word. We had left too many dead on the trail tonight. Good men cut down by monsters we didn’t understand.

  The path into the cave was narrow and craggy. Several spots had flattened edges, the roughest of the stone smoothed by human hands and tools. This didn’t bear the marks of a worked mine. More like a cave for adventuring and exploration. Perhaps a thief’s hideout.

  “Ow! That’s the only one I’ll give you, priest,” the guard called. “The next one earns you a thump of your own.”

  We moved slowly, and I had time to send my thoughts out. Before me I could sense a human, and yes… a wrinkle. This one didn’t blink out as my thoughts touched it. They were close. I rounded a bend, and the passage opened out into a wider cavern with a ceiling a dozen feet above. The room was perhaps a dozen paces long and almost that same width. Several columns of stone stood about the cavern.

  Beyond the last pillar, two forms crouched. One stood as the glow of my swords lit the void.

  Behind me, Penda snarled.

  “Beast!” he bellowed and charged. “You’ll kill no more tonight!”

  Dunstan leapt in front of him, protecting the shifter.

  “No, Your Grace,” he cried. “She wasn’t in control!”

  41

  Long Shadows

  The shifter dropped to her knees and clasped her paws in front of her.

  Merda! Everything about this scene seemed wrong. The shifter had been killing our party. It had killed Baldwin before he became the unholy monster.

  Why was the shifter here, waiting, and why hadn’t it killed Dunstan? He was too young to be directly involved in any shenanigans. I hoped.

  With a sword in each hand, I couldn’t grab the king as he rushed by, so I pulled speed from my demon to get ahead of him.

  Dunstan reached him first. Penda dropped a shoulder and smacked his shield into the young guard, shoving him aside.

  “Penda!” I stood in front of him. The shifter kneeled a pace behind me.

  “Get out of my way,” he growled. “I want that creature dead.”

  “I’m sorry, Your Grace,” the shifter said behind me. Her half-wolf form kept her words rough and deep. That half-snout wasn’t ideal for making human sounds, but somehow she managed. And her voice had a distinctive female pitch. “I deserve death, and will submit to your judgement.”

  “No, she didn’t mean to!” Dunstan righted himself. He stayed a step away. “The death, the cloud made her kill.”

  “Let’s hear her out,” I whispered. “If she meant to kill, Dunstan would be dead, and we’d be in a fight for our lives here.”

  He held my gaze for a moment, then gave a nod.

  “Surround the beast,” Penda said. “And the lad. You.” He levelled his sword at Dunstan. “Keep your blade sheathed and stand next to her. Your fate depends on what she tells us.”

  I turned and looked at the shifter. Everything seemed to fall into place for me except for one fact. That one I couldn’t puzzle out.

  “Why aren’t you a bear, Wassa?”

  “Wassa?” Ludló gasped. “She’s dead.”

  “I might as well be dead, milord,” the shifter said. “When the Witch Hunter’s shifter almost killed me, I wanted to die. He hurt me so.” She wrapped her hairy arms around her chest. “He brought in a wolf he had captured, still alive. Barely. He’d turn his hand to claws and slash me, then slash the wolf and let its blood run into my wounds.” She shivered. Dunstan leaned into her so their shoulders touched.

  “You healed fast, didn’t you?” I said.

  “Any time he cut me, my wounds healed within a minute. Only when he used silver did the wounds stay.”

  “The wolf blood gave you the form of a wolf,” I said.

  “When I first changed, the wizards watched. And the other shifter…” She shuddered again. “At first I took bear form. Once I killed and had control of myself…” She shuddered again and looked at Penda.

  “I am sorry, Your Grace,” she whispered. “They made me into this beast. I had to kill. They led me to a farm. I tried…” She choked back a sob. “I tried to charge the sheep and hogs, but…”

  “That other shifter made you go for the humans,” I said.

  Wassa sniffled, nodding. “After that, the wizards came in. They put a metal collar on me. One of the Cymry torcs. Through that, he could make me change whenever he wanted.”

  Merda! Double Merda! I knew what being controlled like that was like. Wassa had her head bent and sucked back a sniffle. I wasn’t sure wolves could cry, even though I wanted to. No woman, or man, for that matter, should have to endure even one second under the mental control of someone else.

  “The old wizard forced me into wolf form. He made me change forms and go scout for them.”

  “Where?” I asked.

  “In Cymru lands,” she said. “An abbey, and a hill fort. I watched you, milady, and others.”

  That made sense. Bechard and Lecerf had a knack for arriving at the exact wrong moments.

  “Why are you here now?” Penda asked. “Those wizards are dead. Lady Mair killed them.”

  “The collar, Your Grace,” she said and raised a clawed hand to her throat.

  I noticed a thin ridge under her skin. The torc.

  “It is still there,” she said. “The is last form they forced me into. He told me to hide by the abbey and run in when called. The wizard locked me in this form. When he died, the collar’s magic wouldn’t let me change back.”

  The poor girl. Not only had she been a puppet for Lecerf and his mad schemes, she was stuck this way forever.

  “My sister may be able to help with the collar,” I said and gave her a smile. “Tell us why you’ve been attacking. Something else is using you, isn’t it?”

  “The death cloud,” Dunstan said.

  Wassa’s eyes stayed on me. “I stayed in caves between Tamworth and Penllyn,” she said, “I couldn’t be around people, but I needed to, wanted to talk to anyone again. Sometimes I’d sneak back to Tamworth at night. I wanted to return and be human again. This damned collar wouldn’t let me change…” She buried her face in her hands.

  Dunstan leaned into her, cradling her in his arms.

  “I saw you ride in that day,” she whispered to me, “and hoped you would help me. I even approached your window, hoping you’d look out and we might talk. I smelled Thea… but then I thought she might see me like this. So I ran.”

  “What about the cloud?” I had a sick feeling in my stomach about this answer.

  “It found me that first night,” she said. “It grabbed me. The cloud was cold. So cold, and I felt my life leaking out…” She glanced at Dunstan. “Then it sensed the collar. It shoved itself into my body through that damned metal. Dunstan came by, and the cloud fled. He wasn’t scared, despite what the wizard did to me. He listened to how I wanted to find Your Ladyship alone so no one else would see me and ask for help. You would understand. You would help me.”

  “How did you know the lad?” Penda asked. “What is his involvement in this?”

  “When Lord Cenric brought him last year, before the wizards had arrived,” she said with a glance at him, “Lord Chamberlain sent me to lie with Dunstan. To teach him about the bed and women.”

  “I had passed my rights of manhood,” Dunstan said. “Father brought me with him on a trip to Tamworth. Wassa was kind and understanding with me that night.” He blushed but kept his eyes on Penda.

  “And the cloud had touched you, too,” I said to get him back on the subject.

  “It called to me, that night Baldwin died,” he said. “I was drawn to that part of the fort. Only I didn’t understand why. I found Wassa along the way. Only I didn’t know the cloud had found her. Otherwise I would have warned you. I thought Wassa would hide. I couldn’t ask His Grace about her. She wanted help before anyone saw her.” He looked at Talian. “That’s why I followed you. I wanted to get you to set a meeting between Her
Ladyship and Wassa. Lady Mair would help her, the way she helps everyone else.”

  “All you had to do was ask,” Talian said. “I help my friends.”

  I turned towards Penda. “Have your fears been allayed, Your Grace?”

  “I have much to ponder,” he said. “You’re sure Lady Gwen can help her?”

  “One of my sisters can,” I said. I didn’t want to mention Seren with Father Adda this close. He and our last guard had taken stations behind us, watching the entry. Every few seconds, Adda glanced over his shoulder at us. He shivered whenever his eyes fell on Wassa in her hybrid form.

  A gasp echoed beside me.

  “Lady Mair!” Talian cried.

  I let the magic of the goddess reignite my blades and caught the first strike of Wassa’s claws at me. As I turned, I saw her eyes, jet black all the way through. This wasn’t Wassa any longer. The cloud of death had taken her body again.

  Clawed hands darted out, shifter fast. I dodged one and scored a minor scrape along its arm. Its other hand caught my left wrist and twisted hard. I needed to twist into Penda or the creature would break my arm. It would heal. My demon, however, sang with thirst, and I didn’t want to take any more damage to provoke it.

  That damn cloud knew how to fight. I dropped Osmund’s blade. The creature stopped twisting once I dropped my second blade. With my other sword, I angled a strike in at its chest. Penda had his blade and shield up, stepping into measure. He was no slacker. Give him a fight and the Mercian king charged right in.

  The creature was smart. It spun and kicked me hard into Penda. We both went down. Talian’s silver sword sliced through the air. The cloud used Wassa’s claws to smack the blade out of line. Talian’s small shield blocked one blow. Penda and I tumbled. Shit! I needed to get upright, and fast. Talian couldn’t keep up with that creature. I twisted off of Penda and got my feet under me. Too late.

  The creature swiped hard with a blow and caught my friend across the chest. Talian sucked air, a cry of pain forming. A second slash caught him across the belly. No! Shifter wounds. If he didn’t bleed out here, he’d probably be cursed with the affliction. Damn that cloud! Not Talian.

  “GWEN! SEREN! HELP!” I screamed in my thoughts. Only they had the power to heal. The power to stop the shifter curse from taking Talian. “Talian… the shifter. Oh SHIT!”

  “NO!” Dustan screamed and leapt at the creature. He didn’t even have a blade out. The shifter spun and swung with a clawed hand, fingers straight and pointed. Its hand pierced him straight through and erupted in a spray of blood from Dunstan’s back. My demon began her song again, smelling the blood from Talian and Dunstan.

  “Bastard!” I cried, paying no heed that Wassa was female. It was that damn cloud that was controlling her. Dunstan clutched at the arm in his chest, then slumped. The bloody froth of his last breath wheezed out of him as the creature tossed his dead body aside. The black eyes found me again.

  I was beyond mad. The power of the goddess poured through my black-and-gold cord to the Otherworld. I pulled every ounce of it I could. Gwen had once told Seren to imagine the magic as a waterfall and to fill a magical bucket and let the rest flow past.

  The power was there for me. The white magic of the goddess of Britannia crackled from my blades. I darted in and slapped Soul at the creature with a side blow, and the blow hit Wassa’s body, flat side towards her. The energy of the goddess crackled against her flesh. I tried to shove more of the power into the shifter’s body. Find the cloud. I wanted it out of her. Wassa’s eyes flickered normal just for a second, and she sucked a lungful of air. Then the black returned.

  I slammed another blow with my other blade, then with Soul. Again and again. Faster. Don’t harm Wassa. Drive the entity out of her.

  The damnable creature who controlled her was fast, and so was Wassa’s hybrid form. First it caught my right wrist, then my left a beat later, and twisted. Trying to break my wrists. I dropped my blades and grabbed Wassa’s arms. The energy was still there. I was drinking from the waterfall. I shoved the energy through my hands into the shifter’s flesh.

  Find that damn creature of death. Find the darkness. Sparks flew. Wassa’s fingers relaxed, and the creature broke away. Still in her. The damned thing was hiding in that cursed collar.

  I charged a half step and kept pushing Wassa’s body until we hit the back wall of the cave. All the while I shoved the white fire into Wassa, seeking that darkness. When the energy hit it, I slammed it hard. The waterfall of energy no longer rushed past me. I swallowed it all and shoved it at the creature. Every drop I could get.

  Wassa’s eyes shifted back to their wolf yellow.

  Her shadow lengthened. No, the darkness was fleeing from her body.

  “Thank you,” she whispered and collapsed.

  My vision swam. Dots of light flashed across my vision. I collapsed and fell over Wassa’s body. I heard her heart beating, slow and steady. Somewhere, my demon was singing.

  Even though Wassa’s shifter body was warm, my feet were chilled in that damn cave. A fire would be nice to warm my feet. I blacked out.

  That never happens.

  42

  Light in the Darkness

  “Dearest,” Gwen whispered in my mind. “Wake up.”

  I tried. There seemed to be a blanket of sleep weighing me down. A wet blanket that was slick and heavy. I didn’t want to move or to fight it.

  “Wake up,” Gwen said again. No, not in my mind. She was there. Holding me across her lap. Emlyn and Penda stood above her, looking at me.

  “She lives,” Penda said and gave me a smile. “You weren’t breathing. You had us worried.”

  “How long was I out?” I asked. With Gwen there, I wanted to curl myself around her and feel her warmth against me. We had an audience, though.

  “Talian!” I said, the memory coming back. I tried to rise. My head spun and lights danced across my vision. A sharp pain slapped me hard in the back of my head. I whimpered.

  “I’d give you willow bark,” Gwen sent, “however, we both know how that would turn out. No quick movements for a while. I’ve never seen anyone channel that much of The Lady’s power.”

  “Other than you, Seren, and I, who else have you seen channel the power?”

  “No one, silly girl,” Gwen sent.

  “Talian,” I croaked and opened my eyes. “How is he?”

  “Alive,” Gwen said. “Seren got here when you opened the channel to the Otherworld. It pulled us both along. Seren was already in the mists. A portal opened right in front of Afon and I. We could see you and the shifter with black eyes on the other side, so I grabbed him and we came out here.”

  “So, Seren healed Talian?” I asked. “Wait… I opened a portal?”

  “Yes, dearest, to both,” Gwen said. “Once I knew you would be fine, I helped clear the curse from his flesh. He sleeps now. We must make a litter and carry him back to Caer Penllyn. His recovery should be much faster than Bleddyn’s.”

  “What about a portal?” I sent. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted others to hear.

  “You pulled in so much energy,” Seren replied, “it’s no wonder that a portal formed. You were like one of the twister clouds that pulls everything towards it. Gwen and I, being the opposite poles of our triangle, were sucked along.”

  “Oh,” I replied. I didn’t have enough blood in me to blush. I glanced down at my forearms. The wounds the possessed shifter had caused looked like minor human scrapes. They were deep enough to cause bleeding on normal flesh. I didn’t bleed unless I had recently fed. My demon, my magic, used any blood in my body to heal the damage. She wasn’t screaming for blood. Perhaps some of the power I channelled had sated her for a while?

  I got myself upright and sitting. Most of the spots in my vision had quieted. A few of Gwen’s light balls drifted about the cave. Only Father Adda still held his torch. The other men all had a sword or silver seax in hand. Emlyn sheathed his silvered swords and offered me a hand. I held out both of mine.<
br />
  “Slowly,” I whispered. He was gentle and pulled me to my feet. I closed my eyes and waited for the spots to die down. At least the pain was mostly gone.

  I looked at Penda. He smiled, but there was a hard edge to his eyes.

  “I’m not what you expected?”

  “More than I expected,” he said and bowed towards me. “You, milady, are welcome in Mercia any time you please. Let no one tell you to surrender your weapons. I’m not sure there is a man alive who can take them from you anyway.”

  “Thank you, my friend,” I said. “We’ve certainly had each other’s back on this trip.”

  “We have indeed, Mair,” he said. “You’ve had Mercia’s back the entire trip. I doubt we have done much to repay that.”

  “Lady Mair,” Afon said. He and Igil approached from the far side of the cavern. “So glad you didn’t die by whatever that was…”

  “Thank you for coming, Afon,” I said.

  “Not that I had much choice with Lady Gwen pulling me along,” he said and grinned at her.

  “Your Grace,” Igil the guard said to Penda, “the passage at the back opens into another chamber. A bit of rockfall to climb over to get back there.”

  “This will hurt,” Seren said.

  I turned my attention to where she knelt behind Wassa. The shifter sat on her haunches.

  “Just do it, please,” Wassa’s guttural half-wolf mouth said, slurring the words.

  Seren’s hands glowed and traced a ring around Wassa’s fur-covered neck. A bloodied silver torc ripped through her skin. The shifter moaned, then wailed. She collapsed onto her hands. Her shift was slow, but her human form emerged. Curly black hair, brown eyes, and dark-tan skin returned to her form.

  She pushed herself upright and held her human hands out in front of her. Tears leaked from her eyes as she reached to her face. Hands shaking, she turned to Seren.