Carth tried to shake it away but couldn’t.
Drifting along the streets, she remained hidden in the shadows, a part of them and separate at the same time.
As she went, she heard a soft scream.
Carth raced forward, drawing on shadows to give her strength.
The sound had been distant, and could be nothing more than imagined, but she believed it was there. The streets flew by and she hurried toward where she had noticed the sound. It had to be real.
Near a small square, she found a woman lying on the street. She had dark hair and freckles on her cheeks.
It was a woman Carth knew, one she had rescued before. Gabby.
She hesitated before heading over to her, looking around for signs of another, but there wasn’t anything that caught her attention.
Carth raced toward Gabby, but could tell that she wasn’t moving.
A small cut on her arm was the only injury. Carth didn’t need to test the knife lying on the ground near her to know that it was poisoned, much like she didn’t need to study Gabby to know what had happened. Carth had experienced the effects of the poison often enough to know what would have happened to her.
Helpless rage built within her. How would she protect these women? This attacker was skilled—and now had become deadly.
Scooping Gabby up, she carried her toward the hospital, knowing there was nothing that could be done. Tears streamed from her eyes as she pulled on the shadows, shrouding herself.
11
Carth stalked openly through the city, holding on to an edge of the shadows, and a hint of the flame. She didn’t bother to hide herself, wanting to draw attention to the fact that she was here, wanting to draw attention to herself, thinking that if nothing else, she would draw this other out.
Now that there had been another attack—the first in several days—Carth felt renewed urgency to discover why, and to see if there was anything she could do.
She made a circuit of the places where her binders had traveled, stopping at each of the places where women had been harmed first, and then killed. There had been innocents, those who had no ties to Carth, and then they’d lost those who had come to her. First Rebecca, and now they’d lost Gabby. Both women had come to Carth wanting something different, though both had come for different reasons. Gabby had been one Carth had rescued from the caravan of slavers.
She had suffered enough. Why should she have to suffer again? Why should she have to die like this?
A slice across the arm. The cut wasn’t very deep, and it hadn’t bled very much, nothing like the brutal horror of what had happened to Rebecca, but the effect was just the same. Gabby had suffocated, the same poison coursing through her. Carth no longer doubted that it was terad, but even if it wasn’t, she suspected that her ability with shadows and flame would allow her to burn off whatever poison was used, much like she had burned off the powders in the air when she’d fought Hoga. And now she was determined to find the assassin and discover what had happened.
There came a steady pressure, one that built slowly, growing increasingly strong the farther she went away from the docks, and Carth realized that she was heading in the right direction. Whoever was out there, whatever power was out there that could detect her, prowled nearby.
Carth didn’t attempt to move quietly this time. What was the purpose? This person knew she was out there, and likely could detect what she was doing, and did nothing to hide themselves.
She hurried towards the sensation, letting it consume her. She reached out with the connection to the flame, focusing mostly on that, only drawing a hint of her shadow ability. Using it this way, she could trace a heat signature that seemed to pulse. There was no sense of flickering, nothing that made her think this was one of the Hjan. Which made it all the worse. At least with the Hjan, she had a truce of sorts, the accords that kept her—and those she claimed—safe. Whoever this was had no regard for the accords.
Carth gathered the shadows to her and then jumped. As she leaped, she used the power of the shadows to carry her up into the air, up to the rooftop, where she could stalk across the roofline, looking down at everything below her, using that to help her find who might be out there.
Carth hesitated at the corner, feeling the pressure of the strange power flowing around her. She didn’t know why she detected it so strongly here but continued to stride forward, ignoring the fact that she was moving so openly. Rebecca and Gabby’s attacker was out here. She didn’t know where, but she knew they were here.
Following the sense of power brought her farther and farther from the docks. She jumped from rooftop to rooftop, scanning the street below her, searching for any sign that this person might be there.
In the distance, she detected a flutter of movement, one that seemed to come from all around. She froze.
What was it that she detected?
Carth moved slowly, making her way to the next rooftop, and as she did, she picked up a sense of movement.
Far below her, she saw a strange twisting of the shadows.
Carth’s breath caught. The only thing that would cause the shadows to twist like that was somebody who was shadow born. Maybe shadow blessed, but they’d have to be talented.
Was it Lindy?
Carth jumped from the roof.
As she did, there was the movement, pressure against her, and she raced forward. Whatever power it was that she detected was making its way towards the shadow blessed. Carth suspected Lindy was out there, but why would she have been hunting through the city herself? Lindy was skilled with using the shadows to conceal herself, and she had gained some skill with her knives, but she shouldn’t be out here by herself.
The shadows retreated.
Carth almost hesitated. For the shadows to retreat like that, it meant that either Lindy had called them back, or…
Her mind raced through the possibilities of the worse things that could have happened. There were dozens of things that could have happened to Lindy.
Carth hurried forward, hopeful that none of it was true.
She caught a flicker of a cloak and unsheathed her A’ras-forged knife. Carth called upon the shadows, drawing them around her, and lunged forward. She swept out with the knife, pressing the power of the flame through it, holding on to the darkness as she did.
She caught sight of something.
No, it was someone.
A man, with a long face and bright green eyes that stared back at her. He had short brown hair and a muscular build. He flicked something at her, and she twisted, though it grazed her shoulder.
Pain burned.
Poison.
Carth surged the shadows and the flame through her, using that connection to cleanse herself of the poison, burning it away.
She flipped her knife in his direction, sending it streaking towards him on the power of the flame. The man ducked, rolling away from her knife. She swore softly as it whistled past him, missing.
Carth rolled with him, throwing herself forward. If she had been uncertain at all that this was the man who’d attacked the others, that doubt had been answered by the poison on the knife.
She jumped, throwing herself up and into the air. When she landed, she spun, facing him from the opposite direction.
He twisted, dropping to the ground almost as soon as she attacked. He was a skilled fighter, anticipating her moves. His fighting style was nothing like any she’d ever seen before. It was all fluid movements, quick and powerful, enough that he could avoid her attacks.
As she kicked at him, and he rolled, she asked, “Why are you harming these women?”
The man jumped to the side just as she swung her knife at him. She barely missed him.
“Just a job.”
“What was the job?” Carth asked.
The man flashed a wolfish grin. “Does it matter? It’s been done.”
Carth punched, swinging her arm around, and grazed him on the shoulder. It was only the barest contact, but it sent him spinning, spiraling
away.
He dropped, her next punch sailing over his head.
“What was the job?” Carth repeated.
“A threat in the city I was hired to remove.”
“Who?”
The man shrugged. As he did, he rolled out of reach. He was quick, fast enough that Carth could continue to attack him, but she would have to use the shadows in order do so. He seemed to know her fighting style, and could counter her movements and react more quickly than most fighters she had ever encountered.
“The job is done,” the man said.
“Who? Who were you hired to kill?”
The man backed away from her, reaching one of the neighboring buildings. He grabbed one of the overhangs and flipped himself up, crouching there. He stared at Carth, his dark green eyes reflecting the night back at her. They reminded of Carth of another man with dark green eyes, the leader of the Hjan, a man she had learned to fear.
His name flashed through her mind: Danis.
Was he like Danis? Should she fear this man? He watched her, the expression on his face one of casual interest, not one of fear. This was not a man concerned about what Carth might do to him. He did not worry that she might harm him, and after fighting with him, she wasn’t sure if he had any need to be worried about her. He was surprisingly skilled.
Carth gathered the shadows, preparing to attack him, when she heard a soft moaning behind her. She spun. As she did, a knife struck her in the back, sinking into her shoulder blade.
Had she not turned, the knife would have hit her in the chest, likely in her heart.
Carth staggered off to the side, reaching for the blade and dislodging it. She sent a combination of the shadows and the flame through the wound, pushing back the pain from the attack, burning off the poison that threatened to overwhelm her.
Carth glanced up, but the man had disappeared.
She held on to the knife, not fearing the poison on the blade as Evie had, worried only about the soft whimpering. She staggered down the street, pain throbbing through her shoulder and threatening to overwhelm her, sharper than any she’d experienced before. She reached a body lying sprawled on the ground, whimpering softly.
Carth’s breath caught.
Lindy.
12
Carth stumbled towards Lindy. The poison that was running through her system was more potent than she’d experienced before. She had tested terad, but this didn’t feel quite like terad. She searched through the shadows, sending through that connection to the flame as well, trying to draw upon their strength so that she could burn it off of her and not succumb to its effects.
She staggered to her knees next to Lindy.
The other woman stared up at the sky, eyes wide. Carth checked her neck, found she was barely breathing.
“Where is the narcass?” Carth asked.
Lindy couldn’t answer.
Carth whispered Lindy’s name. Even that was difficult. She could feel the effects of the poison fading, but it was happening slowly—too slowly. Lindy didn’t move. Carth imagined her suffocating, much like Gabby had suffocated.
Carth searched Lindy, peeling back her cloak, looking for signs of injury. Her eyes scanned the street until she found a knife lying not far from the other woman. Blood stained the tip, and it pooled in a trail to her flank. Carth rolled Lindy, looking at the wound. It was deeper than Gabby’s had been, cutting through the flesh, leaving a gaping wound. If poison, the wound would have given plenty of area for the poison to absorb. Carth slipped her hand through Lindy’s cloak, looking in the pockets, then moved on to her pants. She searched for narcass leaves, but there were none.
Carth lowered her head to Lindy’s chest, listening, afraid that her heart had stopped, or that she had ceased breathing altogether.
Her heart still beat, though it was slow. Breaths were taken, but they too were slower.
She debated where to go. She could bring Lindy back to the Goth Spald, where Carth knew there would be narcass leaves, but it would take longer. Alternatively, she could race to Alex’s shop and pray that the woman had more leaves. Pray that there was some other way to help Lindy.
That was what Carth decided to do.
Scooping her up, she almost stumbled. Fatigue washed over her. The effort of fending off the poisoning was nearly too much for her. Carth held on to the shadows, drawing strength from them as she did. She managed to hold on to Lindy, keeping her in her arms.
Lindy moaned softly.
Carth’s heart raced. She hurried forward, terrified that she wouldn’t be strong enough, that she wouldn’t be fast enough.
She jumped through the streets. Lindy was limp in her arms. Carth wanted to pause, to take a break to see if she still breathed, if her heart still beat, but she didn’t dare.
Carth found the street where Alex’s shop would be and hurried along it. With each step, she moved more slowly. Soon she was barely able to lift her legs.
Carth drew upon the shadows, but even that strength began to fade from her.
She wondered briefly why she should be so weak before wondering if perhaps she hadn’t fully burned off the poisoning before expending her energy on carrying Lindy.
In the distance, she saw the faded yellow door marking Alex’s store. She stumbled towards it, as quickly as she could with as weak as she was. She found it difficult to lift her legs, each step challenging.
It seemed a battle of will for her to reach the door. It was close, but tantalizingly far away as well. Her mouth began to grow dry. Her arms began to quiver, and she fought against the need to lay Lindy down. She wouldn’t set her friend down until she was someplace where she could help her.
Slowly—too slowly—she reached the door.
Carth leaned against it. With one booted foot, she kicked at it.
It was late, and she worried that she might startle Alex too much, but what choice did she have? When nobody answered the door, Carth kicked again.
Finally, she heard footsteps on the other side. The door opened, and Carth stumbled inside. Alex looked up at her, her eyes wide, frightened expression upon her face.
Carth fell to the floor, finally releasing Lindy so that she rolled to the side, her head lolling over, striking the stone.
“What happened?” Alex asked.
“Attack. Don’t know. Who. Poison.”
“You knew there was poison on those blades. I warned you to give me a chance to find out what poison it was. I thought it was terad, but it’s possible that it wasn’t.”
“Not. Terad.”
“No, I can tell you now that it wasn’t terad.”
Carth’s head sunk to the floor. “I. Expended too much. Can’t. Burn it off.”
Carth closed her eyes, unable to move. In some ways, it was like the terad, the effect of the poison racing through her, limiting her ability to function. In others, this was nothing like it. With terad, she was certain the effect would wear off fairly quickly. This had been going on for half an hour. Or longer. Long enough that she began to wonder whether it would wear off at all.
She felt her lungs begin to burn. She felt hands on her, but only vaguely. Reaching Alex’s shop had been her goal. Now that she was here, she had no other goal. This was what she had wanted, what she had needed.
She heard distant voices.
“You should be dead.”
That rung most clearly in her mind. Carth knew it was true. She should be dead. She had made a mistake thinking that she knew what she needed to do, but hadn’t given the people that she worked with a chance to discover what exactly they were up against. Alex had warned her she wasn’t certain, and Carth had pressed forward anyway. Because of that, she might die. Lindy might die.
Distantly, Carth was aware of something shoved into her mouth. A finger rammed deeper into her throat, shoving what Carth presumed to be narcass down into her throat.
“Last one,” she heard.
“You know what she’ll—”
“We need her.”
Slowly
, a wave of relaxation began to roll through her. She detected it as her chest loosening, as if the pain that was there had finally begun to ease. From there, her throat no longer seemed quite as swollen. Carth pulled on the shadows, drawing strength from them, adding to the narcass.
As the effect of the poison faded, she let herself relax, and her breathing became easier.
She opened her eyes. Alex crouched over her, worry written into the wrinkles on her face. Evie was there as well.
“Lindy.” It was all Carth could do to say Lindy’s name. But she needed to know what had happened to her friend, and whether they had been able to save her as well.
“We only had one narcass leaf remaining,” Alex said.
Carth licked her lips. They seemed suddenly dry, almost painfully so. “One?” What did that mean, that they only had one leaf remaining?
Alex nodded. “I’m sorry, Carth.”
Carth pulled on the shadows, sitting up. She was still in Alex’s shop, unmoved from where she had ended up after stumbling in. The stone was cold, but Carth understood why they hadn’t moved her. Doing so would have wasted time, something that was precious to them.
Lying next to her, unmoving, was Lindy. Carth didn’t need to check her neck for a pulse or lay her head on her chest to listen for her breathing to know that she would find neither.
She scooted towards her friend, tears coming unbidden to her. “Lindy?”
The woman’s arms were cold. Muscles were stiff, the rigor of death already claiming her.
“We only had one. I’m so sorry, Carth.”
Carth didn’t have the energy to tell them that they should have used it on Lindy. She didn’t have the energy to let them know that she likely would’ve been fine, that she could have burned off the effects of the poison, and that using both of shadows and the flame, she would’ve survived.
How were they to know? How were they to know that she because of her, Lindy was now dead?
Shadow Found (The Shadow Accords Book 6) Page 7