As she played out the odds, she decided that the likelihood seemed impossible.
35
“You should go,” she said to the others.
They responded about as Carth had expected them to, which was in outrage.
“We all go or none of us will go,” Alayna said.
Carth looked over at Jenna, surrounded by the darkness and the thick shrubbery of the compound’s grounds. The hauntedness to her eyes was fitting. “Then we all go.”
“I think it’s too late,” Talia said.
With the words, Carth realized she was right. The swordsmen landed near them, surrounding each of the four of them. With their dark clothing, they blended into the night, even with Carth’s connection to the shadows and her enhancement. The strangeness around them, the way that they seemed to bend the light around them, was the only way that Carth was able to know that they were there.
Two fell before they moved. Knives protruded from their chests.
Talia retrieved the knives, spinning to prepare for another attack.
Carth slipped another vial of the enhancement from her pocket and quickly downed it.
If she was going to face men with fighting ability that exceeded her own, she would take every advantage. When it came to fighting for her life, there was no such thing as cheating.
It was Boiyn’s last legacy.
As she attacked, she counted in her head, waiting for the elixir to take effect.
She battled three, pulling them away from the others. That would leave seven for the other three to face. Six, she realized as another fell, a knife through him.
Maybe they were better prepared than she had realized.
Carth didn’t want to risk taking too long. She surged the shadows, the same as she had before. As had happened the last time, darkness enveloped her arms, extending through her, and she used that to strike at the nearest man. She still held the curved sword she had claimed from the other fallen swordsman, and as she attacked, she sent the shadows along the blade, thinking to strengthen it along with herself.
The swordsmen took up positions around her, flanking her on each side.
They danced from place to place, a connection between them allowing them to seem to know where the others would be. As they fought, they forced Carth back, and soon she was fighting with a shrub behind her.
Carth combined shadows and flame and exploded it outward.
The effect was not as successful this time as it had been before. The men were somehow able to allow the explosion to wash over them, ignoring the effect of her magic.
Carth jumped, spinning in the air as she did and landing with her sword swinging around in a sharp arc. The blade was well-balanced, and she managed to push the men back.
But she didn’t strike any of them.
Carth feared for her friends. How would they be faring against swordsmen like these?
It was possible they were doing as well as Carth, especially as they had their enhancements, though she feared for their safety, considering the numbers were not on their side.
What other enhancements had Boiyn crafted for her?
There was one that made her faster. Could she use that now?
There would be consequences. He had warned that taking it would leave her feeling weakened, that she could only borrow from her existing stores, which ran the risk of leaving her in no shape to handle another attack, but if it got her through this, then it might be worth it.
She grabbed her bag and pulled out the elixir. Doing so required her to continue to spin around the other swordsmen, moving away so that they didn’t attack her, and when she finally managed to get the elixir, she quickly drank it.
The count started in her head, the same as it had before.
She reached sixty, but still there had been no change.
It was one thing to be able to use the shadows to strengthen herself and make her impenetrable, but if she didn’t have the numbers—or the speed—it mattered very little.
One of the men kicked her, sending her flying backward.
Carth gasped for air. She rolled and came to her feet more rapidly than she had expected. She spun around and realized the enhancement had taken hold.
Carth ran at the nearest swordsman.
He couldn’t bring his sword up in time and Carth slashed at him, catching him across his belly. She spun, turning to the next, catching him across the legs, and then to the last man, slamming her fist into his forehead and driving him backward. Enhanced with the shadows and with the elixir, she nearly caved his head in.
Carth turned, looking to see what had happened to her friends. The others were still battling. Five of the swordsmen remained.
Carth ran at them. She didn’t know how long the enhancement would last—especially as she drew upon her own magic, which could weaken it—and wanted to take advantage of it as long she could.
She streaked toward them.
She collided with the first swordsman, sending him flying backward. She spun on the next, bringing her sword across his thighs. By the time she reached the third man, the elixir was already wearing off. Everything seemed to slow. Her strength seemed to wane.
She barely managed to block an attack.
Had she made a mistake? Or should she have attacked faster?
A wave of weakness washed over her and she pulled on the shadows, tearing them for strength.
Slowly—far too slowly for her liking—she felt the shadows lend her strength. She deflected the attack but didn’t have enough to oppose this man for long. He was skilled, as skilled as each of the other swordsmen had been, and she was forced back.
Her feet tangled.
Carth fell. She spun the blade around as she did and managed to catch him across the arm. The sword bit into his flesh but barely seemed to slow him.
His sword streaked toward her face. Carth rolled, using everything that she could to generate the strength needed to move herself out of the way, and barely managed.
She looked up, trying to push the shadows through her but failing. The man swung his sword toward her again, and then it halted. Blood blossomed around a wound in his chest, a blade protruding from it.
Alayna leaned forward and helped her to her feet. “That was interesting,” she said.
Carth steadied her breathing. “I don’t know that interesting would be the way I would put it.”
“An enhancement?” Alayna asked.
“I didn’t think I had much of a choice. I was outnumbered and needed whatever advantage I could have.”
“How?”
“It was something Boiyn left for me,” Carth said.
She released her connection to the shadows into the flame. It would take time for her strength to recover, but it would recover.
They started away from the compound. Carth didn’t know where to go. Where would be safe? The only place that came to mind was Alistan Rhain’s home, but would he help her again?
They made their way through the streets and Carth kept the shadows swirled around them, attempting to conceal them. It would do nothing to obscure the night from Talia, but it did make it more difficult for Jenna and Alayna to navigate. Carth guided them, and when they reached Alistan’s home, she gathered the shadows and jumped, bringing her two friends with her.
At the door, she hesitated before knocking.
She raised her hand but the door opened even before she had a chance to knock. Durand greeted her.
“Is it done?”
Carth nodded. “I rescued my friends. Did your people do their part?”
Durand nodded. “They did. She is captured.”
Carth allowed herself a moment to breathe out, finally relaxing. Could she finally have stopped Linsay? All it took was losing a friend—two friends—and attempting to play a very different game than she ever had before. And for what? For revenge on Carth? Or was there something more?
Now that Linsay had been neutralized, she would have time to understand. The only problem was that s
he wasn’t sure that she could understand. Linsay—the Collector—was playing a different game than she ever did. It was one that was more ruthless than any she ever played, and for a while, she had feared that she would have to be equally ruthless.
“Carth?” Alayna asked.
She released the shadows and looked over at her friend. Alayna’s green eyes seemed darker and Carth wondered what she Saw when she looked at her. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not. And you shouldn’t be. Not after what we’ve gone through.”
Carth sighed. “I want to be. I think I will in time.”
“What now?”
“Now I think it’s time for us to return.”
“What about Linsay?”
“That’s something I still have to deal with,” Carth said.
She hadn’t decided what she would do, and she wasn’t sure what the constables would even allow her to do. Hopefully, they would keep Linsay, but she wondered if they could do so indefinitely. If they couldn’t, Carth would have to take a more active role—or make a more definitive action.
Carth shook her head. No. She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t become as ruthless as Linsay had proven to be. She wouldn’t become the Collector.
She was Carth. And that was enough.
Epilogue
Carth entered the cave slowly and carefully, practically feeling Peter’s eyes on her back. He had allowed her to remain free—for now—though she wasn’t sure how long he would continue to leave her so. That was more than she had expected, especially when she had agreed to subject herself to his discipline. And she’d meant it.
There was no light near the back of the cavern, though as she went, she realized that she didn’t need it. Even without casting aside the shadows, she managed to push them back.
Or did she?
Had something happened to her through the fact that she had entered the chamber twice? Had she been influenced by that power?
“You’re so careful,” Linsay said as she approached. She sat near the back of the cave, staring intently at Carth. Her eyes wore a deep anger and she had a hard set to her jaw that suggested that she was determined to find a way to escape. Carth wouldn’t put it past her to succeed—and if she did, Carth would be ready, prepared to counter. Hopefully she would have enough of a warning if it came to that.
“I’m careful because I need to be.”
“I’m impressed that you managed to place me here. It was a move I wasn’t expecting.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“How did you know?”
“Boiyn.” When Linsay frowned at her, Carth stepped closer. She didn’t fear Linsay would attack. She wasn’t a fighter but a strategist. That was where Carth had the advantage. She was both. “When he beat you, it was his move that I thought of. A willing sacrifice that would potentially grant you more power… or take it from you.”
“Talia?”
Carth nodded.
“She won’t help you for long. She will make certain that I get free. When I do—”
“You might get free, but I doubt that Talia will be the reason. You’ve harmed her long enough.”
“Harmed? She’s my sister.”
“So were Jenna and Alayna.”
Linsay smiled. “Yes. And now that I’m here, they will suffer a painful death. Are you prepared for that? I know how much you care about all your poor helpless girls.” Linsay sneered at her. “So helpless, much like myself. That’s why you just had to do what you could to save me. I am so very thankful that I had someone like you who was willing to come and rescue me. What would I have done?”
“You won’t hurt them.”
“Like I didn’t hurt Boiyn? Like I didn’t hurt those in the kitchen? It’s a shame that Jenna was supposed to take the blame for them, and now she’ll be nothing more than another victim.”
“No. She won’t.”
“There’s nothing you can do to find them. I won’t share how to find them, and without me—”
“Talia shared what she knew.”
Linsay paused only a moment. “Good luck reaching them. I have a few surprises for you when you try.”
“I’ve already reached them. They’re safe.”
“Even you wouldn’t be able to reach them.”
“No? That’s where I think you’ve made another mistake, Linsay. You underestimate my ability to fight. And you think that I would have hesitated to use the enhancements that Boiyn had left for me.”
Linsay watched her as if trying to determine whether Carth was telling the truth or not, before smiling widely. “I made certain there were no enhancements remaining.”
Carth leaned toward her, flashing a wide smile. “And Boiyn beat you again.”
She stared at Carth before asking, “How?”
“The Tsatsun pieces. He had placed vials within them.” Carth still didn’t know why, or when he had decided that he would need to, but when she had seen it, she had known Boiyn had anticipated something happening. Why hadn’t he stopped her? Why had he been a willing sacrifice?
Had he become so skilled with Tsatsun that he realized what would happen that far in advance? Not having him was such a loss.
“Even with enhancements, you wouldn’t have survived what I had in place.”
“The balloon?” Carth smiled when Linsay froze, her expression saying everything. “I admit I was surprised by it, and it took a little effort to stop them, but we survived.”
“We?”
Carth smiled. “By the time your mysterious package appeared, I had already rescued Jenna and Alayna. Combined with my other helper…”
“Talia,” Linsay said softly.
“Talia,” Carth agreed.
“So you’ve won. That’s what you’ve come here to tell me.”
“I don’t know that this was a victory.” Carth took a deep breath, searching for the necessary words. “Why? Why did you want to destroy me so badly that you were willing to sacrifice so many innocents?”
“No one is innocent, Carthenne Rel. Especially you.”
Carth waited, hoping that Linsay would say something more, but she didn’t. “The constabulary has decided to hold you here until the tribunal reaches a decision. I have it on good authority that the tribunal will vote to keep you here indefinitely.”
“They won’t be able to keep me here indefinitely.”
“No. Probably not. Which is why I have offered to hold you myself.”
Linsay snorted. “After everything we’ve been through, you actually believe that you can hold me?”
“I think the better question is whether I can do so without killing you.” She let the words hang for a moment. “Or whether Alayna or Jenna will exact their revenge.” Carth leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I doubt the tribunal will agree to release you into my custody, but if they do, I promise that you will not find it pleasant.”
“Do you think I found any of the time I spent with you pleasant?”
“More than you care to admit. You will regret what you did to Boiyn, if you don’t already. And you will suffer for it one way or another.”
Carth stood and started away.
“Carth,” Linsay said.
Carth paused and looked at Linsay.
“Understand this. I will get out of here. And I will destroy you.”
Carth shook her head. “You’ve already failed. You just don’t see the moves yet.”
Grab book 3 of The Collector Chronicles: Shadow Trapped.
Carth won the last round, but the game is only beginning.
When the Collector escapes from the prison on Keyall, Carth prepares a daring plan to recapture her, but knows the Collector has already planned for any move she might make.
Discovering what she’s truly after will require an uneasy alliance and leads to a discovery that sends Carth looking into her past to learn how to survive the present.
Author’s Note
Dear Reader,
THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading Shado
w Hunted. I hope you enjoyed it. If you would be so kind as to take a moment to leave a review on Amazon or elsewhere, I would be very grateful.
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D.K. Holmberg
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Also by D.K. Holmberg
The Collector Chronicles
Shadow Hunted
Shadow Games
Shadow Trapped
The Shadow Accords
Shadow Blessed
Shadow Cursed
Shadow Born
Shadow Lost
Shadow Cross
Shadow Found
The Dark Ability
The Dark Ability
The Heartstone Blade
The Tower of Venass
Blood of the Watcher
The Shadowsteel Forge
The Guild Secret
Rise of the Elder
The Sighted Assassin
The Binders Game
The Forgotten
Assassin’s End
The Teralin Sword
Soldier Son
Soldier Sword
Soldier Sworn
Soldier Saved
Soldier Scarred
Shadow Games (The Collector Chronicles Book 2) Page 24