The Ajoiner Realm (Defenders of Radiance Book 1)

by Rebekah Carroll

  She can’t be. She has to be alive.

  Warren sat down across from him. Blood dripped from his hand.

  “We’ll bring her back. I promise.”

  Cassidy didn’t respond. Fear pumped through his veins.

  She has to be alive.

  Warren left Cassidy there. She has to be alive.

  Warren let his mind drift alongside his steps, twisting and turning in time with the road. Emron had returned a few hours ago. Cassidy insisted on leaving right away, but the sun had set by then, and Emron needed a few hours of sleep since he’d traveled overnight to get back early. If there was any chance at tracking Vallerie in the dark, Warren would have asked Emron to tough it out a little longer. Warren rubbed his nose, surprised it wasn’t broken. He deserved what he’d gotten. He hated that he could do nothing to help Vallerie sooner, and prayed they wouldn’t be too late.

  His aimless trekking led him to the docks. He had no interest in walking onto the pier, not after what had happened when he first arrived. Instead, he started down the street and admired the stonework on the houses he passed. He breathed in the cool, humid air. Though there were no chirping crickets, the soft splash of the waterfall entrance was calming.

  After passing four homes, Warren stopped. Someone had smashed the fifth home’s lock into tiny pieces, and the door stood ajar. He glanced around, but no one was in sight. Someone could be hurt inside. He slid into the house. The walls were ripped bare, the belongings broken on the floor. As he looked around, dread settled into his stomach. A blood-curdling shriek from upstairs pierced the quiet.

  He charged through the halls, searching for the source of the scream in a bedroom. Blood covered the floor, and Warren’s gaze landed on a woman. His heart thudded.

  Lillian.

  Standing over her was the very image of fear: A kellnox, larger than any he had ever seen, with eyes that glowed red. It bore no head wound.

  It turned to Warren. Red spheres narrowed. Then it turned back to Lillian and raised a black spike. Warren had neither weapon nor armor, but it didn’t matter. He barreled into the kellnox, tackling it to the ground. His vision reddened, and he lost all control.

  Anxiety over his wife kept Cassidy awake. He tried to settle his nerves with a book on the city’s history, hoping its contents would bore him enough to put him to sleep. As his eyes drooped footsteps roused him. Cassidy peeked from his room in time to catch Warren leaving the house.

  Sleep must be in short supply. Cassidy’s jaw tightened. What do I care? Settling back into bed, he picked up the book again. Warren should be worried, his order to wait could condemn Vallerie. Cassidy flipped over a half-read page. Warren did have a point, though. They needed Onyx and Emron’s extra strength. But sitting around waiting? Was that really the best option?

  No matter how Cassidy tried to argue it, he came to the same conclusion Warren had. Insufferable know-it-all.

  By then, Cassidy realized he’d been staring at the page he’d turned to for several minutes. His body screamed with restlessness. He mumbled a curse under his breath and snatched his crutch to hobble after Warren.

  He reached at the docks expecting to see Warren on the pier, staring across the lake, but he saw no one. Fortunately for him, Warren had stepped in a puddle down the street and tracked the water with him, leading Cassidy to a chilling scene.

  He had no idea whose house he had arrived at, but judging by the broken door, they were in trouble. After scanning for guards, Cassidy slid inside. A fight raged in an upper level of the house, and he ran up the stairs toward the battle cries. Inside a bedroom, bloodied and enraged, Warren pounded his fist into an oversized kellnox with red eyes. Why wasn’t it fighting back?

  “Warren!” Cassidy barked, jerking him off the beast. “That’s enough!”

  The kellnox leapt through the window and into the night the moment it was free. Warren whipped around and caught Cassidy by the throat, a darkness filled his eyes.

  He wheezed, trying to pull air into his lungs. Nothing. Flailing backward, Cassidy pulled Warren off balance, then threw his knee into Warren’s stomach, breaking his grip. Coughing air into his lungs, he rubbed his throat.

  “I can...beat you up later...just snap out of it,” Cassidy coughed.

  Warren stepped toward him. How far would Warren take the fight? It was clear he meant to kill him. Cassidy straightened and moved to a fighting stance. How far would he have to go to save his own life?

  23

  assidy?” Warren said, a vague recognition crossing his mind. Where am I? How did I get here?

  Everything came flooding back. Lillian. Warren turned and saw her lying with death-like stillness, her round blue eyes staring at the ceiling still filled with horror. Warren put a hand on her shoulder and closed his eyes, wishing he’d saved her. Suddenly, a strange sensation ripped through him, lurching forward, yet his body didn’t move.

  Warren opened his eyes and found himself in a plane of darkness, wind biting and perilous black sand shifting under his feet like the waves of the sea. He turned and turned again, surrounded by black mounds of sand and a stormy sky. Then a tiny glowing shape appeared in the distance. Warren started after it, fighting against the freezing wind and sand particles gnawing at his skin. As Warren progressed, the shining figure became clear. Lillian curled into a tight ball on the ground. His feet slid deeper into the sand, the wind pushing him, causing him to slip farther backward.

  Warren forced one foot in front of the other. Sand blasted his face, ice formed on his exposed skin, causing it to burn. He threw himself to the ground and looked up. Only feet from him, was Lillian. He would save her even if he died. With slow kicks, Warren dragged himself across the ground to Lillian, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. Then he slipped off somewhere far away.

  When Warren opened his eyes, he stood next to Lillian’s body as if no time had passed. He stared at her face, pleading with her to smile, blink, twitch...anything, but she didn’t. Warren bowed his head and closed his eyes. I’ve failed again.

  Lillian inhaled.

  “Lillian?” Warren said.

  “Warren wha—what are you doing here?”

  “Are you all right?” Warren helped her sit upright.

  “What happened?” Lillian put a hand to her temple. Her gaze drifted to the ground. Her hand flew to her mouth.

  Before she screamed, Warren grabbed her elbows and moved in front of her.

  “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

  Lillian covered her mouth, then gagged. Warren shifted as she threw up on his feet. His nose crinkled, but he stayed close to her.

  “Are you hurt?” Warren asked when she had finished.

  She didn’t meet his gaze.

  “Lillian?” Warren’s heart pounded.

  Lillian shook her head as she stared at her lap.

  Warren turned back to Cassidy, who didn’t offer any advice. When Warren returned his gaze to Lillian, tears ran down her cheeks and her arms quivered in his hands.

  “You should stay with a relative for a while. Do you have any family you can stay with for a few days?”

  A tear splashed in her lap. She shook her head.

  Warren didn’t know what to do. Lillian couldn’t stay here. Whatever that kellnox was doing, it might come back. She needed to stay somewhere out of the way—somewhere safe. Warren glanced at Cassidy, who nodded in agreement. He looked back at Lillian.

  “Hey,” Warren said, crouching to look into her face.

  Lillian continued to stare at her lap, but Warren waited. Slowly, her gaze shifted to meet his.

  “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

  Warren stood up, sliding his hands over her arms and into her hands as he helped her stand. Lillian tucked her hair behind her ear and followed Warren out of her room.

  “Here,” Warren said, handing Lillian a blanket as she sat. She took it with trembling fingers. He had led her to an abandoned house; her body refused to stop shaking the entire journey. Images of that shad
owy thing flashed in her mind. She shoved them back out and forced the bile in her stomach to stay down.

  Lillian smiled weakly but said nothing. Behind Warren was the lean man with a hurt leg named Cassidy and a looming giant named Emron.

  “Are you okay sleeping out here?”

  Lillian nodded. She didn’t want to be alone, but she couldn’t ask him to stay. He obviously had other plans.

  “Anything else I can get you?”

  Lillian shook her head. She clutched the soft blanket to her chest, feeling like a child after having a nightmare.

  “Do you think you can tell us about what happened?”

  Her stomach churned. She’d just gotten home from a late shift at the library, when she saw that thing in her house. Hot tears streamed down her face, and she whimpered thinking about it. She’d tried to escape. It had gotten to her.

  “It’s all right.” Warren held her by the arms again. “You’re safe here.”

  Lillian slowed her breathing. She didn’t even know this man, and yet his touch made her feel safe.

  “I need to talk with my friends for a minute. Will you be all right here?” Warren asked.

  Lillian nodded, brushing tears from her face. Warren rose and

  cast a glance at the two men. The only part of her that felt warm were the spots on her arms where Warren had held her. As he let her go, coldness swept over those places too.

  Come back.

  A desperate part of her almost called out to him, but she bit her tongue and slid deeper into the couch.

  A moment later, a soft conversation started in the hallway. Lillian couldn’t see the men, and from the couch, she couldn’t make out what they were saying either. Lillian knew they had moved away so she wouldn’t hear, but she wanted to know what they were discussing. Biting her lip, she slipped off the couch and moved closer to the hall.

  “We can’t stay here and babysit.” The deep voice must have belonged to Emron.

  Guilt slapped Lillian. She was a burden.

  “We aren’t babysitting,” Warren stated.

  Of course they don’t want me here. I’m not wanted anywhere. Lillian held her breath to keep herself from sobbing.

  “What about Vallerie? She could be hurt or worse while we take care of this woman,” Cassidy said.

  “We’ll do our best until we need to leave. Morning should bring some comfort. She’s been the single greatest help to our team in this city. I know getting her through the night isn’t much, but it’s the least we can do for her.”

  The tears Lillian had been suppressing flowed from her eyes. She did her best to breathe as evenly as possible, but the breaths still came in and out in bursts. Why care about her?

  She’d failed the healer’s test. She had no friends. No family. All she could do well was catalog books. Lillian felt selfish, but she lingered. Burden or not, Warren expected her to stay. She didn’t want to hurt him by leaving.

  “Warren, I need to ask you about something,” Cassidy said.

  “What?”

  “When I found you, you were fighting a kellnox, but it looked…”

  “Wrong,” Warren finished.

  Lillian tugged at her hair.

  “Wrong how?” Emron asked.

  “There’s something else out there. Worse than the kellnox we’ve fought before. The one we saw had red eyes and didn’t have a head wound. And it seemed intelligent, like it knew exactly what it was doing. It hunted Lillian down and was doing something to her.” Warren paused. “Haven’t either of you wondered where the kellnox come from?”

  “They’re people corrupted by the Darkness,” Cassidy said.

  “Yes, but how does that happen?”

  A sobering silence filled the house.

  “You think that thing is what’s corrupting people?” Emron asked.

  “It’s just a theory.”

  “Then we have to find it and kill it,” Cassidy said, walking farther down the hall.

  “We can’t leave Lillian alone. It might come after her again,” Warren said.

  “Emron and I will go,” Cassidy said.

  “You should stay. Your leg isn’t healed yet,” Warren disagreed.

  “My bow would be better out of this shack; besides she trusts you,” Cassidy counterpointed.

  Lillian’s face flushed. She didn’t want to be selfish, but if anyone stayed, Warren was her first choice. She was sure the others could protect her, but Warren made her feel safe.

  “He’s right. I’ll keep the runt out of trouble,” Emron grunted.

  At length, Warren yielded. “Be safe out there.”

  Lillian skirted the room back to the couch as the men began moving. She lay down, facing the back of the couch. As footsteps approached her, she closed her eyes.

  She didn’t know when, or even how, but eventually she fell asleep and found herself consumed in an awful nightmarish state.

  Ominous shadows swirled around her, her stomach churning as if something were inside, trying to take control—something dark and slippery.

  Lillian gasped, struggling to remember anything, but nothing came. Darkness filled her memory. Her breathing quickened and caught in her throat. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she grabbed fistfuls of hair at the top of her scalp. She curled into a ball, trying to get a grip on her emotions, but she was slipping into an eternal torment. She willed herself to scream, to move, to run, but every part of her remained paralyzed. Anyone, please, help me! Lillian cried in her mind, knowing she couldn’t do this on her own. The next thing she knew, someone had her by the shoulders, shaking her, calling out her name.

  Lillian opened her eyes and saw Warren, his eyes wide with fear.

  “What’s wrong,” he asked, still holding tight to her shoulders.

  “I...I…” Lillian trembled as waves of fear continued washing over her, the nightmare racking her body from within.

  “Lillian,” Warren pleaded.

  Lillian looked at Warren. He was wearing armor now. Had he stayed up watching over her?

  “I’m sorry, I...I was dreaming,” Lillian apologized.

  “What about?”

  His grip lightened, and the Darkness grew.

  “No!” Lillian screamed, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to block out the unnatural darkness.

  “Lillian! Lillian, it’s okay,” Warren said, struggling to keep ahold of her. “It’s okay, no one’s going to hurt you here.”

  Lillian took several raspy breaths but kept her eyes closed. Slowly, she opened them. Warren’s steel blue eyes banished her fear, and for a moment, she felt safe.

  “It’s all right, you’re safe here,” Warren said. He glanced to her arms, his brow furrowed. “You’re freezing.”

  Lillian hadn’t noticed until he said something, but she was shivering.

  What’s happening? The air temperature felt fine. Why is my body cold?

  Warren moved to a room in the hall and came back with a bundle of blankets.

  “Here.” He laid them over her gently.

  “Thank you,” Lillian whispered.

  “Of course.” Warren smiled. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  Lillian shook her head.

  “I’ll be right here if you need me.” Warren sat down in a chair he must have moved from the kitchen to near the fireplace.

  He had been watching over her. It both embarrassed and pleased her to know that he was only a few feet away. A bit of warmth returned to her heart as she thought about how caring he was of a stranger.

  24

  L illian traced the exhaustion lines on his face with her gaze as Warren handed a glass of water to her. Faint scars seemed to yawn wearily. How long has he been living like this?

  “Thank you,” Lillian said, turning her attention away from him before she stared too long.

  A pounding at the door interrupted their morning. Warren moved toward it, but four city guards wearing scowls as hard as iron and gleaming breastplates marked with the city symbol of a waterl
ily barged in. Lillian shrank in her chair.

  “Lillian Lithgrow, the Dsyniict Council has summoned you,” the lead guard said.

  Lillian’s eyes widened. Me?

  “What for?” Warren growled, stepping between the guards and Lillian.

  What is he doing?

  Why put himself in danger, she wasn’t worth protecting. Still, she shrank behind Warren, praying there had been a misunderstanding. When the council summoned a person it never boded well.

  “Evidence of necrosing magic and blood was discovered at her house. Stand aside.”

  That slippery dark feeling carved through her gut. The memory of the evening crashed into her. Tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to defend herself, but the words became lost between her mind and her mouth.

  “She was attacked last night.”

  Cassidy and Emron moved in next to Warren. What were they thinking? Neither Warren nor his companions had armor or weapons, but they didn’t flinch.

  The guards drew their blades. Lillian gripped the table, trying to suppress the wretched feeling inside of her.

  “We are to bring the woman to the council for judgment.”

  “Then I will defend her,” Warren said.

  Lillian’s heart pounded.

  Warren drew his shoulders back, which made him seem tall and strong. She almost allowed his defense of her to be comforting, but she knew it wouldn’t save her.

  The guards were silent for a moment. Then the lead guard nodded.

  Warren turned to Lillian. All she could do was stare at him. He offered her a gentle smile. Goosebumps pricked her skin. For a minute, she forgot she was about to be tried for a crime she didn’t commit and that she couldn’t prove her innocence. The slippery feeling froze as she took in that smile.

  “It’ll be all right,” Warren promised, extending his hand to her.

  “Lillian Lithgow,” a raspy man’s voice said.

  “Yes?” Lillian squeaked. She stood on an elegant seal next to Warren.

  A collection of hooded figures towered upon stands with expressionless masks over their faces.