Born of Shadow (Shadow Walkers Book 1)

by Richard Murray

  With blood streaming down my face and from the cut on my waist, I was in no condition to fight anyone. A quick look over the balcony ruled out any chance of escape. The street below had several police cars parked across it and plenty of officers rushing inside.

  “Should we go for the others?” Evie asked and I shook my head.

  “They’ll fight better without us getting in the way.”

  “What do we do then?”

  “We go up,” I said as I looked to the red brick wall that made up the sides of the enclosed balcony. Several feet above us was the ceiling and above that, the roof. All we had to do was climb onto the flimsy iron railing, balance there as we grasped the stone lintel and pull ourselves up. Easy!

  “Can you drop the shadow thing?” Evie asked. “It’s hard to see you and creeping me out.”

  The shadows! I hadn’t really considered how I looked as they covered my body and judging from her expression it wasn’t a comforting sight. What it was though, was a tool I could use. If those shadows were solid enough to strike my enemies, then perhaps…

  I held up one hand before me and concentrated. The shadows there rose upwards, forming the crude shape of a clawed hand several times the size of my own. If I closed my eyes, and really tried, I was pretty sure I could imagine it was my own hand.

  With time running out as more men approached I thrust my hand upwards, the shadowed hand rising up past the balcony ceiling, over the lintel and decorated stonework to the raised lip of the roof above. I closed my hand and felt the shadowed version do the same on the rough stone blocks that made up the raised lip.

  “Do you trust me?” I asked Evie as I opened my eyes and looked into her own, seeing the fear there. She nodded once and I grunted as I willed the shadow to return to me while focusing on holding the stone.

  Fortunately, the stone lip was secure enough that it didn’t budge as I wrapped my free arm around Evie and was pulled upwards, swinging out for a brief moment over the open air, then past the balcony ceiling and up towards the roof.

  Evie reached up her arms to grasp hold of the stone as we reached the top as I realised I had no way of pulling us over without letting go of either her or the stone I held onto. She took a firm grip and pulled herself up, out of my arms, and over the edge before reaching down to grasp my free arm.

  “Were they vampires?” she asked as I dropped down beside her on the flat roof of the hotel.

  “Human. I think.”

  “The one I stabbed…”

  “Yeah, can’t think about that,” I said as I pushed myself up. My shadows were fading along with my anger as exhaustion and fear gained once more. “We need to go.”

  “The police will help us though won’t they?” she asked and I shrugged.

  “Doubt it. They wanted to speak to me about the death at the supermarket and then didn’t. Which would suggest someone wanted them to stop. It wasn’t us so we can’t trust they’re on our side and not in the pay of the vamps.”

  “Could it be these families they were speaking of?”

  “No idea, but unless we get away from here, we won’t have a chance to find out.”

  A quick look over the roof revealed enough for me to know we were pretty much screwed. It would be foolish to think we hadn’t been noticed climbing up here and even if we hadn’t, it wouldn’t take long for our attackers to figure it out. Which meant they would come up looking for us and likely sooner rather than later.

  The hotel Radisson was vaguely rectangular and ran east to west. To the north was a too wide street full of police and no way down. To the south, an even wider open area before the Manchester Central Convention Complex. West was the end of the hotel building and the Great Northern Square which left us the east as the only possible way out.

  Which sucked quite a bit because while there was another flat-topped building there it was one floor shorter than the hotel and a good fifteen feet distant. Too far to jump and beyond the reach of my shadows which, to the best of my knowledge could only reach about four feet or so beyond me. Just great!

  “Any ideas?” Evie asked.

  She hugged herself as she stood behind me, hands rubbing at her upper arms and such a look misery and fear on her face that I just wanted to hold her. I didn’t think that this was what she’d expected when she’d agreed to sign up with Marie.

  “One, but you won’t like it,” I said.

  Voices sounded from the balcony below and she looked at me helplessly and spread her hands. “Do I have a choice?”

  “No.”

  The anger was gone, replaced by fear but that wasn’t the only means of reaching my power. I closed my eyes and conjured up the memory of that night, all those years ago. The memory that haunted my sleep and brought endless nightmares throughout the years.

  A tall man with dark hair and a slim face, brooding expression and hook nose. Sallow skin and eyes full of malevolence. He’d haunted my dreams for too many years and the only emotion I felt for him that was greater than fear was hatred.

  With that hate came my power and a shadowy veil once more swept over me, cool and safe. I glanced to Evie who blanched as she saw the shadows.

  “I’ll never get used to that.”

  “Sorry,” I said as I grabbed her hand and jogged across to the eastern end of the roof. She followed along without protest though that may well have been due to the increased volume of the voices below us.

  The gap, up close, was even more intimidating. Pavement on either side of a narrow road was below us and still far too wide for any human to jump. I pulled Evie close and wrapped my arms around her waist.

  Our faces were centimetres apart, so close I could feel her breath on my skin as the intoxicating smell of her filled my senses. Her arms slipped through mine and she tightened them around my back as she stared into my eyes and all I could see there was trust and something else, something I didn’t dare to hope for.

  “What now?” she whispered.

  “Hold tight,” I replied as I freed one hand and held it out behind me, hand pointed down at the roof surface.

  My eyes closed as I concentrated on what I hoped I could do and I felt it, the shadows moving across my skin, leaving me exposed everywhere but my free hand where they gathered, growing ever darker as they compressed in that one place.

  I held my breath as I gathered together all of my strength, arm trembling with the need for it to be released. As I exhaled I let loose, the shadow tendrils surging out with such force that they cracked the ceiling and propelled us upwards and outwards, into the air to sail out over the narrow road.

  Chapter 18

  Consciousness returned far too slowly and as I opened my eyes, my vision refused to focus for several long seconds.

  We’d made it across the gap at least, was my first realisation and the second was that every damn part of my body ached. I reached for the shadows but they had gone.

  “You alive?” Evie asked from somewhere nearby and I groaned in answer. It was too painful to try and move my head.

  A hand grabbed my own and pulled me upright which brought fresh waves of pain rushing through me along with the urge to throw up as darkness clouded my vision.

  “Damn! Enough already,” I said.

  “We have to move,” she replied and I turned my head enough to note her worried expression as she looked over to the hotel roof. “They’ve seen us.”

  “Great,” I muttered as I pushed myself oh so slowly to my feet. Wobbling for a moment and grateful for Evie’s steadying arm around my waist.

  “Come on, there’s a fire escape just below the roof over here.”

  She half led, half carried me across the flat roof to the far side where seven or eight feet below the roof lintel was the black steel framed stairs of the fire escape. She was being overly optimistic if she thought I could climb down to them.

  One look at her though showed me that that was exactly what she intended and I stifled another groan a
s I dropped down to the rooftop and swung my legs over the side.

  I’d like to be able to say I dropped gracefully to the fire escape but it was closer to dropping like a sack of potatoes. I hit the steel platform with a grunt and only barely avoided tumbling down the stairs.

  Evie, with considerably more grace, dropped lightly beside me though she swayed and had to grab the railing for balance.

  “Almost there,” she said as she pulled me to my feet, once again throwing an arm around my waist to help take my weight.

  With slow, faltering steps, we made our way down the fire escape into an alley filled with refuse and general garbage from the shops the building contained. It stank to high heaven and more than one person had used the alley as a bathroom. Fairly recently too by the smell.

  I was slowing her down but she held onto me for dear life as she practically dragged me along the alley and we paused at the end to peer around the corner. Directly opposite was the Convention Complex and a quick look to either side showed the way was clear. I guessed our attackers were either detained by the police or if working with them, still having to leave through the front entrance and make their way around. Since we’d taken a shortcut, we’d gained a little time.

  The plaza before the complex was bustling with people, most of whom were dressed in suits or business attire. In jeans and t-shirts we stuck out more than a little but I hoped there were enough people to lose ourselves amongst them anyway.

  We received a few funny looks from the crowd but no one tried to stop us as we slipped inside and waited, breathlessly by the doors as we scanned the crowd for signs of those who’d attacked us.

  “I think it’s clear,” Evie said and I nodded. “Come on, toilets this way. We can get you cleaned up a bit.”

  “Do I look that bad?” I asked and her smile faltered.

  “You look like you’ve been hit by a truck.”

  “Great.”

  A short walk across the open floor before the reception desks and we ducked into the ladies rooms. One woman in a pantsuit sniffed at our appearance and went back to applying her makeup but otherwise left us alone.

  One look in the mirror was enough for me to turn my face away as Evie leant me against the sinks and reached for the paper towel dispenser. Taking several as she waved one hand beneath the tap to start it running.

  Carefully and with a gentler touch than I’d expected, she set about cleaning the worst of the blood from the clearly broken nose, from my face. It hurt like hell and I bit my lip more than once to keep from crying out.

  “Do you have your phone?” she asked as she wiped at my neck.

  “No. You?”

  “Dammit, no.”

  “Then we’ve no way to find out if the others got away,” I said with a sideways glance at the pant-suited woman. “No way to let Marie know what’s happening either.”

  “It all went to hell pretty quick, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, that’s as clean as you’re getting just now,” Evie said as she balled up the soiled paper towels and tossed them into the bin. “What now?”

  “No idea,” I said. “Need to make sure we can get back without anyone following us.”

  “What about the car?”

  “Too risky.” I lowered my voice and leaned close. Partly to avoid the woman overhearing but also, to be close to Evie. “I could probably find my way back to Marie’s house but would be safer to try to get back to Jo and Patrik’s.”

  “Time to go then,” she said.

  We waited by the door as Evie stuck her head out and gave the all clear. No police, no one obviously looking for us and no commotion. It was as close to safe as it would get.

  My t-shirt was, fortunately, black, so it wouldn’t be as obvious from a distance that the front of it was soaked in my blood. The cut on my side was pretty clear though, so I stuck close to Evie and made sure she walked on that side to cover it as best we could. It was fortunately quite shallow and though it was still bleeding, it wasn’t debilitating. Yet.

  The complex had several entrances and over on the far side of the reception hall was a set of stairs that led down to an underground car park. We headed that way, through the door and down two flights of stairs.

  It felt infinitely safer down amongst the shadowed recess of the car park. The bustle and noise of the people upstairs was gone and only the sound of the occasional car coming or going was audible.

  I tried to keep up with Evie as best I could but it was clear from the outset that I was flagging. My strength all but gone. She saw it too and as we approached one of the exits she steered me between two parked cars and lowered me to the ground.

  “What’re you doing?”

  “There’s a couple of those suited guys by the exit,” she said and pulled me down as I strained to look. “Careful. They’re at the top of the ramp and keeping watch.”

  “Great! What now?”

  “I’m going to draw them away,” she said and I shook my head hard enough to sending pain pulsing through my skull from my broken nose. “I am! You’re in no shape to do much else. I can have them chase me as I head back up to the main floor. They can’t do much there and as soon as we’re out of sight, you get out of here and set off down the road. Find a place called the ‘Rain Bar’ just past the bridge, near the canal and I’ll catch up with you there.”

  “Too risky,” I said as I gripped her hand tight.

  “No choice,” she replied with a wan smile. She hesitated a brief moment before she leaned in, her lips meeting mine, soft yet firm and full of passion. Then she pulled back, her smile widening. “Wanted to do that for ages. See you soon.”

  Then she was up and away before I could respond. A short dash to the ramp that led up and out of the car park. She stood for a moment, peering up at the two men she’d seen up there and then turned and ran back the way we’d come. She didn’t look my way.

  A dozen seconds later two men in dark suits ran past where I sat on the ground and I listened to the slap of their feet on the concrete fade away into the distance before I pulled myself up against the side of the car and made my all too slow way up the ramp.

  I kept one hand pressed against the cut on my waist as I walked along the busy road, doing everything I could to stay upright and looking as ‘normal’ as possible. The road curved around the Bridgewater Hall, a modern building that hosted musical performances of all kinds. It was useful to me as it hid me from view of anyone at the complex I’d just left.

  The going was slow and I looked back often, hoping to see Evie running to catch up with me. Even though I kept telling myself she knew the area well enough she’d come another way so as not to bring anyone following straight to me. Still, I looked and hoped.

  By some miracle, I made it to the bar without anything more than the occasional curious look from a passer-by and rather than go inside, I slipped round the back and settled onto a battered wooden bench beside the canal.

  My hope was that she’d find me sooner rather than later but as the minutes went by, worry began to gnaw at me. Fifteen minutes turned to thirty and then to an hour and she hadn’t turned up. My worry became panic.

  As the shadows lengthened, the day drawing to a close, I sat and shivered on my bench by the canal. Afraid to move, to leave that place in case she turned up just after I had gone and found me missing. In my heart, I knew something had happened and hope slowly died.

  “You’re bleeding,” a voice said and I didn’t bother to look as I replied.

  “Go away.”

  “If you stay here, you won’t survive the night,” the voice said. It was quiet and confident. The voice of a man who was used to being listened to. And obeyed.

  “Leave me alone.”

  “As you wish young lady,” the voice replied. “But your friend needs you and your death here will not help her.”

  I twisted towards the voice, heart hammering in my chest and a question on my lips that died
as soon as I saw him. His was a face I’d never be able to forget. Dark, brooding eyes and hook nose giving him the appearance of a vulture watching prey.

  “Sephtis,” I said and trembled. My stomach lurched as I stared at him, mouth hanging open. I’m going to die!

  He gave a shallow bow, a thin smile appearing on his sallow face. “I prefer Seth these days.”

  “You killed my mum and dad…” I couldn’t think of anything else to say, though I did have a question. “Are you going to kill me too?”

  “Not yet,” he said as his smile widened. His eyes gleamed as he stared at me and I screamed for my power to surface, for the hate to come, but it had been too much that day. I was spent.

  “Why are you here?”

  “You killed the man I set to watch you which has inconvenienced me somewhat.” His head tilted to the side as he watched me as though he were studying some new specimen that had done something unexpected. “And you’ve also raised the ire of a powerful enemy.”

  “Anahella?”

  “Indeed.”

  “Where’s Evie?”

  “She almost escaped those men, but they caught her,” he said simply. “I do not believe that they will have been gentle, but she does live. For now.”

  “For now?”

  “You very foolishly walked into a trap,” he said with a slight shake of the head. “She was so very irked with your attack at her club. She intends to punish you.”

  “Where’s Evie?”

  He picked a speck of dust off of the lapel of his suit jacket and took a moment to straighten his crimson silk tie. When his lips parted to reveal pointed and incredibly sharp incisors, I flinched away.

  “Have no fear young lady.” His voice was full of humour that made my anger finally flare but still my powers were beyond my reach. “I have no intention of killing you today.”

  “Then why are you here? To taunt me?”

  “Not at all.” He reached into a pocket inside his jacket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He paused for a moment before extending it towards me. “Take it. It won’t bite.”