Ula (Born of Shadows Book 1)

by J. R. Erickson

  The dagger continued to burn, merging with her skin, and she started to cry out as the fire moved up her hand into her wrist. Sebastian grasped the dagger and ripped it free, leaving a welt of raw flesh on her palm.

  Behind her, another arrow whizzed by. It caught Tane in the leg, and he screamed for Vesta, who ran to him, looking shocked and scared. She grabbed the arrow and pulled it free, screaming and howling like a wounded animal.

  Across the clearing, a man dropped from a tree. His blond hair was disheveled, but his blue eyes seemed to laugh at the spectacle before him. He reached behind him, pulled another arrow and let it fly. It missed the fleeing Tobias, barely. The man cursed, immediately reaching for another. The leather strap that held his arrows swung violently as he raced into the forest behind Tobias.

  "Go!" Sebastian screamed in her ear.

  She hesitated. Hadn’t help arrived? But Sebastian took hold of her wrist and pulled her blindly. They left the moonlight and dived into the shadows of the trees. She felt pickers rake across her clothing. Her lungs were strained, and she desperately wanted to glance behind her, but Sebastian made no allowances. She could hear his labored breathing, but he fought through it. At the beach edge, Abby began to turn towards Sydney’s house, but Sebastian tugged her roughly in the other direction. They sprinted down the beach, and then he turned back into the woods, moving quickly to a destination that she could not see. They emerged in a small clearing, and she stared at a sleek navy-blue car parked along the wooded edge.

  It was not the car that Sebastian had returned in earlier that night, but he bent down, pulling the keys from a magnetic lockbox shoved under the back fender. He unlocked it and opened the passenger door, gently pressing Abby's head down as she slid inside. He climbed in and started the engine – it was surprisingly quiet.

  Abby shot a fearful glance toward the window, expecting cloaked figures to surround them, but no one came. He drove from the forest, and the car bounced over divots, its low body protesting the roots that grasped its undercarriage. Abby worried that they might bottom out and get trapped in the woods. Black trees flashed by, and she thought she saw the pale face of Vesta staring at her from the darkness, but then they hit the road with an audible bump and the tires caught pavement, rocketing them forward.

  Abby did not question Sebastian as he maneuvered the car onto the freeway, pushing the speedometer past 100. His eyes stayed fixed on the road, his tense face ready for any possible disruption.

  "What just happened?" Abby whispered, frightened by Sebastian's haunted features. He looked angry and exhausted, his mouth drooping in a grimace.

  "It's okay," he said aloud, perhaps for himself as much as her.

  She looked at the raw skin of her hand where a glossy heat radiated.

  “Should we have stayed? I mean he saved us. Right? Or was he one of them?” she stammered, twisting in her seat nervously. She didn’t even know what one of them was.

  "They weren't human," she added, remembering.

  "No," Sebastian agreed, his eyes straight ahead, the white line a blur, as they fled into the night.

  “But what about the man with the arrows? Do you know him? Was he human?”

  Sebastian did not look at her and she saw something flash over his face, relief.

  A million thoughts rocketed around her head, all encased in a giant aching ball of migraine that had not yet hit full speed. Sebastian leaned forward and opened a small console. Several bottles of pills and a swathe of gauze tumbled out. He lifted a bottle and opened it quickly with his teeth, knocking two gray pills into his hand.

  "Here," he said gently, handing her the pills. "They'll help with the pain and a nap."

  She stared at the pills, strung between her desire for answers and the throbbing in every inch of her body. What if she took the pills and they were attacked? How would she defend herself?

  As if reading her mind, he turned to her, his eyes locking with hers before he turned back to the road. "You're okay, now. I promise."

  She took the pills dry and cast a final glance out the window. She thought she saw the man with the arrows sprinting along in the woods, but could not be sure. She shook her head and leaned back against the cool leather seat. The outside world rushed by, the highway void of late night traffic. The trees rose up like ghostly observers on either side of the car, or maybe something worse, much worse. The pills worked quickly, her head grew light and an impenetrable sleep descended.

  Chapter 15

  Sebastian gripped the wheel and willed his hands to stop shaking. He felt sick to his stomach and sipped from a bottle of water that had grown hot during the day. Abby snored beside him, and he fought his tiredness, knowing that sleep was not an option.

  He knew the way to Lake Superior. He had read Claire’s account of the Coven of Ula and the secret island a hundred times in the previous two years. He had even considered trying to reach it, but knew that as a normal man he would never make it. Now he had Abby, a witch, and she would have to guide them there, even if she didn’t know it.

  He replayed the scene in the woods over and over - a bad record that he couldn’t take off. How had he lost control so completely? They had nearly died, and if the stranger had not arrived, they probably would have. The stranger, the blond man with the arrows, bothered Sebastian. He wanted to be the one. He wanted to save Abby and avenge Claire. But how could he resent the man who injured Tobias and allowed them to see another dawn? He couldn’t, but he did, and he hated the bitterness that tasted of bile on his tongue. He kept expecting the man to swoop down and land on the hood of his car and laugh at the weak human who tried to defeat a Vepar.

  Shame clouded his judgment and chased any lingering fear into the shadows. He would go to the island with Abby, and he would demand that they teach him as well. He would still avenge Claire.

  * * * *

  Abby woke gradually, her head leaning heavily on Sebastian's shoulder, his hand tenderly clasping her own. A thin line of drool had pooled on his shirt and she tried to nonchalantly wipe it away.

  "How did you sleep?" He yawned and stretched his legs in front of him.

  She stared out the windshield at a vast body of water. The smooth surface reflected the moon in its glassy face. The dashboard clock blinked three am.

  "I feel better." She spoke sluggishly and reached a hand to her forehead that no longer throbbed. Gusts of heat from the vents blew over her stomach, chilling her bare skin. She stared at the blood caked on her ripped shirt.

  "I dressed it," he told her quietly, nodding his head toward the small white bandage wrapped around her hand.

  "Thank you." She had questions, loads of them, but nothing wanted to come out.

  "What's happening, Sebastian?" She watched his face closely, but he did not react. He sighed and rubbed his thumb and forefinger across the bridge of his nose.

  "I know and I don't know," he murmured, turning his face to the glowing water. "I, I didn't know about you."

  "What does that mean? What about me?" She could not keep the edge from her voice.

  "I want to tell you.” He pulled one of her hands into his own. "But I’m afraid that I shouldn’t be the one. I know this makes no sense and you absolutely deserve to know the truth, but please trust me."

  Again, he'd told her nothing, but the jolt of electricity that shot through her hand at his touch washed some of the frustration away. She felt so thankful to be with him, to not be alone and to be alive. What had happened in the woods felt unreal, like a dream.

  "Okay," she nodded. "I will trust you and I will let this unfold, so long as you promise that we’re not going to run into those guys again.”

  He laughed and blew a puff of air over his lips.

  “Absolutely fucking crazy.”

  “Yeah,” she said, remembering, and then trying to forget.

  “We’re not going to run into them. I think I can guarantee you that. So long as this works anyway.”

  “What?”

  "This." He
spread his hands toward the lake and she squinted through the darkness. Was he kidding?

  "I'm sorry, I don't see anything." She stared across the water. In her past life, the water at night had always seemed enchanting, like a treasure box at her disposal. But tonight it looked sinister, deep and black, with the moon's bright light as its facade.

  "There's a place in this lake that is hidden." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Only certain people can find it, and I think that you may be one of them. Actually, I’m sure that you are, and if we go there, we will find help.”

  "What if you’re wrong? What if I’m not one of the people that can find it?" His hesitation frightened her. "Then what, Sebastian?"

  She felt foolish for even asking. Why should she be able to find something that he couldn’t?

  He threw his hands in the air and shook his head. "I don't know. I would love to tell you that I have some brilliant plan, but I don't. I sort of expected to be dead right now."

  “Excuse me?”

  “Abby.” He turned in his seat. “I have been trying to kill that thing for two years. I had planned to finish him last night and…”

  He pursed his lips and looked at the ceiling of the car angrily.

  “And he got away again. It’s like I’m chasing a phantom, like I’m insane.”

  “Yes, but he’s not a phantom, Sebastian. I can attest to that.”

  Sebastian nodded, but said nothing.

  Again, a trace of homesickness afflicted her. Never in her life had she felt so confused, petrified, and yet strangely exhilarated. Old Abby bellowed, “Run, get home to mom and dad and Nick. Get therapy, take up pottery, anything to squash these dangerous desires.” But old Abby was calling from a far off place and her voice grew softer the longer that she watched Sebastian. He was her connection to something greater, something that she was part of, whether she wanted to be or not.

  "What do we do now?" She clapped her hands, startling them both into nervous laughter.

  "We row." He stepped out of the car and walked to the edge of the water, disappearing into a cluster of bushes. Appearing a moment later, he dragged a small rowboat, the oars sticking like swords into the night air.

  She stepped from the car, welcoming the smooth breeze that poured off the water. Sebastian bent over the boat and flicked away cobwebs. He returned to the car and pulled out a small duffel bag and two towels that he spread over the boat's seats. He loaded the cardboard boxes from Sydney’s house beneath the benches and then faced the lake for several long minutes. She noticed, for the first time, that he was dressed entirely in black, as if he'd known that he would be on the run that evening. She glanced down at her own torn tank and dirt speckled pants. A clump of burs stuck angrily in her shoelaces.

  "Oh, I forgot." Sebastian smiled, turning to his bag. "I have clothes for you.” He returned to the trunk and pulled out a paper grocery bag with black shorts, a black tank top and charcoal slip-ons.

  She held them up to the light, but did not recognize them from Sydney's closet.

  "I bought them today.”

  “Why?”

  “I saw Tobias and thought…well, not this, but something.”

  “You saw him where?”

  “In the woods with Alva.”

  Surprised, she looked at him sharply, but did not confess to seeing them also.

  She slipped behind the car and pulled them on, discarding her old clothes in the woods. He followed her in and picked them up, swiftly digging a small hole in the dirt and burying them.

  “Worried about bears?” she joked, watching his serious features soften slightly.

  “Bears would be a treat,” he mumbled, returning to the boat and sliding it over a bed of algae-covered rocks. “Here, get in now so your feet don’t get wet.”

  She climbed into the boat, lowering herself in the middle as it wobbled. She stifled a nervous giggle and clutched the sides when it attempted to rock her out. He pushed it further and then jumped into the back, forcing her to the front bench. They were still too shallow to do any decent rowing so he skimmed the oars over the surface and they glided deeper into the lake.

  “So, where are we anyway?” she asked, dipping her fingers into the frigid water.

  “Lake Superior. Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

  It was. In the moonlight, Abby could see the lake bed. She watched the plot of rocks give way to long ridges of sand. She felt sure that her water dream had taken place right here, in Lake Superior.

  She turned in her seat to watch Sebastian from the corner of her eye. His muscular arms flexed as he pulled the oars toward his body, bending forward and then rocking back with each stroke. He was quiet.

  He steered them into the lake and then followed the shoreline. They moved around a point of thick maple and ash trees, their plump leaves like thousands of tiny hands. As she watched, a jutting ridge of sandstone cliffs slid into view, their eroding layers threatening to crumble into the water below. At the top of the mass, a wide rock, shaped strangely like a prickly heart, rested on the cliff face.

  "That is incredible," she whispered, sliding forward on her bench for a closer look. The moon painted the jutting edges in white marble, and shadows dug deep into the cliff frame like miniature caves. "Is that where we're going?"

  She wondered if the caves from her dreams lay in those cliffs.

  "No, but I wanted you to see it," he told her as they drifted. "I came here once and found those cliffs. They were like nothing I had ever seen and I had this huge desire to share it with someone, to turn in the boat and say, “Wow, look at those.” But I was alone and now you're here with me, so…"

  "Thank you." She rotated in her seat, her feet brushing his, their knees nearly touching.

  She could almost imagine that the previous few days were merely a bad dream. She was just a girl rowing across a moonlit lake with a guy. But then they weren’t young lovers on a rowboat ride. They were barely more than strangers, bonded by near death, and trapped in the same web of reality.

  "What are you thinking?" he asked her, his face searching.

  "I'm thinking that this is like a dream." She beckoned to the surrounding night.

  He nodded, but his features turned grave as he watched the dark woods fringing the beach. He lifted the oars back up and pointed the bow towards the center of the lake, his breath slow and steady, as he found his rhythm.

  If Abby had not napped in the car, she knew that the placid rocking would have lulled her to sleep. Behind them, the dramatic cliffs shrunk in size until they were barely a white speck in the distance. When the shoreline disappeared completely, Abby finally felt safe.

  The water was cold, numbing her fingers as she dragged them over the boat's edge. Despite the arctic chill, she longed to jump in, a bit of cold-water therapy for her bruised and beaten body. Running through woods, tangling and disentangling from multiple bushes, being suffocated, burned, choked and tethered did not exactly do a body good. She reached down and stroked her ankle that should have been swollen, but wasn't; in fact, it didn't hurt at all. She was tempted to tell Sebastian. He knew things that she did not and appeared to be taking them in his stride.

  The boat slowed, the bottom scraping on shallow sand and rock, despite their location deep in the lake.

  "What's happening?" she asked, spinning around and searching the dark sky.

  "Sunken island, no worries," he told her, shoving the oar into the sand to prove that they were on solid ground, not stranded on the back of a giant sea monster.

  "I'm going to walk us across, I need to stretch my legs." He hopped from the boat, holding it steady so she didn't pitch over the edge. He released a puff of pained air as he moved forward, the water passing to his waist and spreading out in ripples.

  He looked surprised when she leapt into the cold water, fully submerging before bursting back to the surface. She came up heaving, the water like melted snow.

  He laughed and dipped beneath the surface, shaking his black curls at her. Th
ey stood, their shirts a cold second skin, while the moon cast an opal of light upon them.

  "Hurts so good." He leaned back in the water, paddling lightly and facing the sky.

  She sank down and gasped when the cold water reached her neck. It was worth the sparkling view overhead. She moved her arms in giant circles beneath the water, slowly adjusting to the temperature. Their fingers grazed, and he reached, clasping her hand for a moment before letting go. She allowed the wave of tremors to pass through her, but stayed riveted to the sky, for a moment becoming a creature of the night.

  Sebastian planted his feet beneath him and grabbed the boat by the bow, not wanting to risk it drifting away. They walked it across the sunken island until the lake bed began to recede beneath them.

  He dipped below the water a final time and then stood slowly, water dripping down his face and pooling on his shoulders. She knew that he was waiting for her, allowing a few more precious moments to pass before they continued their journey. She stood, grasping her short hair and wringing it into the lake as she waded back to him.

  “Quite a cut,” he joked. “You might have waited for me and a mirror.”

  She splashed him.

  “I wanted to save ten bucks and cut it myself.”

  “Yes, well, you succeeded.”

  She grinned, and when he kissed her, it took her by surprise. His lips were cold, like pockets of ice. She wrapped her arms around his neck, the kiss passing from her mouth to every living cell in her body, like poison, or a remedy, or both.

  When he pulled away, she felt the heat sucked out and staggered back before he grasped her arms firmly and steadied her. He lifted her into the boat easily, his hands beneath her armpits and she slid back onto the seat, shivering despite the warmth of the night. He climbed in behind her and searched through his bag, hauling out a baggie of trail mix and a bottle of sparkling water.

  "Not exactly a gourmet picnic." He held them up.

  She smiled back at him, feeling shy. Had they really just kissed?