Shadow Fire

by Wheaton, Kimber Leigh

  "You can let her go now."

  Taranis releases me, and I bristle when I notice both men eyeing me like I'm a skittish mare. Ignoring them, I walk up to the open door and pass through. This time there's no tunnel, and I breathe a tiny sigh of relief. The small room is circular, the walls smooth, unmarred stone. In the center of the room stands a pedestal. Atop the pedestal rests the object of my quest, an exquisite marble statue. It's smaller than I imagined, only about twelve inches tall. I start toward it but Zane grabs my arm holding me back.

  "Careful," he whispers, "There may be hidden traps."

  "So what do we do then?" I ask, glancing around the room.

  Zane and Taranis circle the perimeter of the room opposite each other. When they meet on the other side of the room, they stalk toward the pedestal in the center. Zane motions me forward and I swallow hard before approaching the dais. I reach out, running shaking fingers along the Goddess Statue. Nothing happens. Emboldened, I take a deep breath, grasping the statue and jerking it from its resting place.

  The statue weighs next to nothing, the white marble warm to the touch. Since when is marble warm and lightweight?

  As I examine the roughly carved statue, my apprehension soars. This is made of wood not marble! This thing in my hands doesn't match the description drilled into my head by the elders. Turning to face Zane and Taranis, I stare at them with confusion in my eyes.

  "Wow. I was expecting the ceiling to cave in or something," Taranis says, glaring at the statue cradled in my arms. "Maybe you should put that thing away," he suggests. I stare at both men unmoving.

  "This isn't it," I whisper, my voice choked with grief.

  "What do you mean?" Zane asks. Holding the statue out to him, I motion for him to take it. "I can't touch it; last time I checked I wasn't a maiden or pure for that matter."

  "Just take it, Zane," I say in a dead voice. He reaches out, removing it from my hands with extreme care. "See, it's a fake."

  "There isn't an ounce of magic in this thing," Zane says, spitting the last word in his heightened rage. "It's also carved from pine, not marble. The white is just paint," he adds, picking some paint off with his fingernail. "You're right. This is a fraud."

  "Now what?" Taranis asks, his forlorn baby blue eyes staring at the offending object.

  "We need to get out of here and back to the ship," Zane says, hurling the false icon to the ground. "We need to find Loki or Hosea and figure out where the blasted statue really is."

  "I won't even bother asking who they are," Taranis says, his voice sounding dejected.

  "Wait," I call out when Taranis and Zane start walking away. "I'm sure Delistaire's waiting outside. He thinks the Goddess Statue is in here just like we did. We need a plan to defeat him."

  "I thought you'd just hit him with a light spear and poof," Taranis replies.

  "Nothing's ever that easy," I say, shaking my head in disbelief at his artlessness. "Well, Zane, you know him best. What's our strategy?"

  "He'll have a shield up. We need to batter it until it collapses," Zane says, his brow furrowed in thought. "Ashlyn, you'll keep a light shield around you until I say otherwise." He glances at me, and I nod my understanding. "Taranis hit him with wind or water attacks. Stay away from lightning; he's aligned with that element. See if you can break his shield with a battery of smaller attacks." Taranis's blue eyes are fierce as he nods his agreement.

  "We need to destroy the pendant before we leave," I remind Zane.

  "We might still need it," Zane replies, closing his eyes. "As much as I'd like to free my mother, can we really take the chance?"

  "She used the pendant to seal these ruins," I say, gazing at him. "Don't you think she would've said something if she knew the statue wasn't really here? We already broke her barrier, the pendant's useless now."

  Zane nods to Taranis, and the rogue pins my arms to my side once more. The pouch is ripped open, the pendant dumped to the ground. Drawing his dagger, Zane strikes the crystal with the hilt several times before it shatters into tiny shards. A pink light erupts from the crystal, flaring brightly before blinking out. For one awful moment I feel as though my heart has been crushed as well, and then the sickening pressure fades.

  "Rest in peace, Mother," Zane whispers. Taranis releases me, and I rush to Zane's side. His smile is melancholy when I kneel beside him, brushing a kiss against his temple.

  "Let's go send that dastardly sorcerer to the netherworld," Taranis says.

  ****

  Racing out of the ruins, I'm stopped in my tracks by the oppressive dark aura now hanging over the once peaceful clearing. The protective light barrier must've dissipated when Zane broke the one inside. I breathe out a relieved sigh when I see Freya and Shadow waiting by the entrance. Zane stiffens beside me, and I follow his gaze beyond the ruins. Delistaire is waiting in the clearing, undisguised glee on his face, the dark power seeping from him in waves. My body feels heavy from the dark aura, an almost physical weight on my heart and soul.

  "Shield now," Zane orders.

  My pink bubble appears around me, and the world once again takes on a pinkish hue. The heaviness dissipates beneath the glow of my shield.

  "Remember what we discussed. I'll go distract him. He always did like to gloat," Zane says in a low murmur. Taranis nods and I'm surprised when he mounts Freya.

  "Sorry, girl," Taranis apologizes to the griffin. "I know you're still injured, but I really need the ride."

  She snorts and takes to the sky, stirring up the air around us with her flapping wings. Zane steps away from me and walks out to confront Delistaire. Shadow moves to my side, hackles raised, low growls emanating from his throat.

  "Well, well, son," Delistaire says, his lips curled in a delighted sneer. "Looks like you somehow managed to survive Palma. How many innocent people did you slaughter in your escape?"

  "None," Zane replies, "unlike you I don't harm innocents."

  "Impossible," Delistaire snickers.

  Taranis hits the sorcerer's shield with a wind attack while he's distracted. Delistaire turns and sends a lightning bolt at the griffin. Freya banks to the side avoiding the attack.

  "Foolish mage, you're merely an annoying gnat. Such weak attacks cannot harm me."

  Taranis sends a flurry of wind blades at the sorcerer, while Zane attacks with a tempest of swirling water. For a moment, I can't see the sorcerer as the magic attacks surround him. When the magic disperses, Delistaire appears unaffected by the attacks.

  "Something isn't right," the sorcerer murmurs. "I don't feel the power of the Goddess Statue." His menacing red eyes turn to me. "Where is it?"

  "It wasn't in the ruins," I reply, raising my chin and smirking at the glowering sorcerer. "It seems your wife was one step ahead of you." I laugh in his face, making him scream in rage.

  "You will suffer a slow and painful death, little light mage," Delistaire says, his lip curling into a snarl. "I'll chain you up in my dungeon and drag it out for months. I bet you'll look beautiful begging for an end to your suffering."

  Zane and Taranis once again throw double attacks at the sorcerer. When the wind and water dissipate, Delistaire is still on his feet, his face dark red, seething with rage.

  "Is that really the best you can do?" Delistaire mocks. "I was more powerful when I was still in my crib."

  He sends another lightning attack at Taranis, and Freya barely manages to avoid this one. Zane continues circling his father, his face contorted in rage.

  "Fire tempest!" Zane shouts, slicing his arm through the air toward his father.

  "Tornado!" Taranis yells from atop Freya.

  A vicious storm of fire and wind surrounds the sorcerer. His shield is battered over and over by the ferocity of the combined attacks. Before my view is obscured, I watch the evil sorcerer collapse to one knee.

  Realizing Delistaire is weakened, I lower my shield and gather my energy. My magic continues to build as I stalk toward the injured sorcerer. Chambering my right hand against my side,
I focus every ounce of light energy I have into my arm.

  "Prism spear!" I shout, thrusting my arm toward Delistaire.

  A rainbow of light gathers into an enormous spear, racing straight at the startled sorcerer. The clearing explodes in a blinding flash of light. When my vision returns, Delistaire is gone. Only the scorched ground where he stood offers testament that the sorcerer was ever there at all.

  "Where'd he go?" I shout, searching the surrounding clearing for a trace of the fallen sorcerer.

  "He teleported away," Zane says with a loud groan. "Once he realized we didn't have the Goddess Statue, he was as good as gone."

  Taranis lands beside us and jumps down from Freya's back.

  "I couldn't catch any sign of him from the air," Taranis says, stroking Freya's neck.

  "No! We were so close to destroying that dastard," Zane says, his eyes downcast.

  "It'll be okay, Zane," I whisper, running my hands up and down his arms to soothe him. "We'll find the Goddess Statue, and your father will come to us again. He won't know what hit him when I'm through with him. He'll beg for mercy, but he won't find any from me or from the Goddess."

  "You can be quite vindictive, my little valkyrie," Zane says, hope lighting his eyes. "I rather like it."

  "I think Freya's feeling better enough to ferry us over the jungle," Taranis comments after he removes the griffin's bandage. "You're just about healed, my exquisite queen," he says, running his hand along her flank before climbing up on her back. "Zane, boost Shadow up to me." When Shadow races to Freya's side, Zane picks him up and lifts him up to Taranis. "I'll send Freya back for you," Taranis says before Freya takes off into the air. We watch them disappear into the distance, soaring high over the jungle.

  "Well, it looks like we have some alone time," Zane purrs in my ear.

  Grabbing my arm, he yanks me against his chest before capturing my lips with his. He removes the tie from my hair, loosening the braid with his fingers so it pools around me in a fiery mass. With a tiny moan, I part my lips under his, and he thrusts his tongue into my mouth. I lick at his tongue until he pulls it back, allowing me to control the kiss. He shudders in my arms as I explore his mouth with my tongue, my hands entwined in his hair to hold him to me.

  I pull away from him, taking his lower lip between my teeth in a gentle nip, earning a deep moan from the auburn-haired male. His arms tighten around me crushing my body to his. He bends me backward and captures my lips yet again, cradling my head in his hand. This time I'm the one whimpering under his careful ministrations. His lips move down my neck alternating between kisses and gentle nips. My body floods with warmth and something tightens deep within my stomach. He holds me against his body with one hand while running the other down my side as I moan deep in my throat. Just when I think I'll pass out from the pleasure, a shriek pierces the air, and Freya lands beside us.

  "Looks like our brief interlude is over," Zane murmurs, his voice catching on the words.

  He clears his throat a few times, and boosts me up onto Freya's back. Climbing up behind me, he takes my pack so I can lean back into his arms.

  "Take it easy, Freya, so I can snuggle with my little valkyrie."

  Freya snorts at his words before leaping into the air. Soaring high over the dense jungle is preferable to our hike through it yesterday. The view is amazing, the canopy of trees so dense it's impossible to see past it. I shudder a bit when I spy a swarm of mantids nearby, but they seem eager to avoid the griffin, flying off in the opposite direction.

  Zane starts nuzzling and kissing my neck making me squirm in his embrace. All thoughts of the jungle below vanish as I lean my head back against his shoulder, baring my neck to his eager lips. He continues to run light kisses up and down my neck before he nips the skin right below my jaw. Freya begins a slow descent to the plains below. Zane pulls back a bit, and I stare up at him with glazed eyes. When we land, Taranis steps up to help me down. My knees buckle and I end up hanging from his shoulders. The rogue helps me regain my balance while Zane jumps down from Freya.

  "We'll have to walk for a while and let Freya rest," Taranis says, smirking when I grab his arms to steady myself. "We should be able to make it back to the bridge by nightfall."

  Zane hands my bag back to me, and I pull it on over my arms, following my companions while staring at the dusty ground. Depression begins to set in, my mind acknowledging the hopelessness of the situation. After everything we went through, the statue was a fake. Oh, how I wish a monster would appear and swallow me whole! My chest burns, the uncomfortable heat running up my neck to my face. I clench my fists, digging my nails into my palm in a desperate attempt to control the overwhelming grief.

  We were so close… so close to nothing. And yet, I made it farther than any Chosen ever has before. When I glance up at the two stalwart males on either side of me, I feel guilty. Four other Chosen were sent with priests to retrieve something they had no chance of finding. At least I have Zane and Taranis helping m… wait a minute! With a cry, I stop and fall to my knees, rummaging through my pack. When I find the map wadded at the bottom, I pull it out to examine it.

  "This map is a copy of the original map supplied to our elders by an itinerant monk twenty years ago," I say, shaking the offending object. "It's supposed to be a map of the Breven Ruins, but it looks nothing like what we saw there. I should know, I studied it before leaving Verdane." Zane takes the map from my hand and studies it while I stuff everything back in my bag.

  "This isn't a map of the Breven Ruins," Zane says as he continues to stare at the map.

  "I know," I snap back, "I just said that!"

  "These runes in the corner are the ancient symbol of Azzard," Zane says, his voice filled with reverence. "Azzard was an ancient city of powerful wizards. My father believes we're descended from them. The Azzard Ruins are located somewhere in the desert in southern Meliar."

  "This is a map of the Azzard Ruins?" I ask in a state of angry confusion. "Why would that horrible monk give the elders a map of Azzard after saying the statue was in the Breven Ruins?"

  "I don't know, Love," Zane says, pulling my seething form into his embrace. "But at least we know where to head next. Though, we'll need Loki or Hosea to help navigate the desert. I've heard there's only one true path to the ruins, and it's guarded by four powerful sentinels."

  Folding the map back up, he places it inside his bag. He takes my hand in his, half dragging me along the meandering trail. My mind is racing, wishing I could get my hands around the throat of that vagabond. He has a lot to answer for. Though, I doubt I'll ever find him after twenty years.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Unexpected Circumstance

  When the bridge leading to the boggy marsh comes into view, the sun is already beginning its descent over the distant ocean. For several hours of our journey I had more adrenaline-fueled fury than I knew what to do with. My mind raged at the futility of the quest. How could our elders send innocent girls off on a quest without verifying the information? Perhaps I'm the idiot for being surprised by this. When my mind calmed, my energy began to wane. Now that the bridge is in sight, I pick our campsite by sitting on the ground and refusing to move.

  "Ashlyn, we'll save time if we locate our previous campsite," Zane says, kneeling on the ground next to me. "The grass is already cleared, and I left the stones we used for the fire pit in a circle."

  "Fine, Zane, let me know when you find it."

  He rises and walks off to join Taranis in the search for our prior campsite. Shadow pads over, curling up next to me.

  "Shadow, I'm devastated," I murmur to the wolf. He cocks his head, staring at me with sad blue eyes. "I feel like this whole quest is futile. We made it so far and yet we're right back at the beginning, traveling to some distant ruin hoping the statue will be there." Pausing, I lie down on top of the ebony wolf and bury my face in his fur. "What if it isn't in the Azzard Ruins either? Will I spend the rest of my life looking for the blasted thing?"

  "You'
re being a bit melodramatic, don't you think?" a male voice says, followed by a deep chuckle. Leaping from Shadow's back, I turn to face the source of the voice, dagger in my hand.

  "Good reflexes, little huntress," Loki says laughing. With a relieved sigh, I sheathe my dagger and glare at him.

  "How did you manage to sneak up on us?" I ask, angry with myself for failing to notice his approach. "I don't think Shadow heard you either."

  "I'm a demigod, Ashlyn," he replies, tossing his long white hair. "I can teleport." Once my shock at his sudden appearance wears off, I fall into his arms in despair.

  "The statue wasn't in the Breven Ruins," I tell him as my gut wrenches from my bitter frustration. "Then Delistaire disappeared right before I could kill him, the pathetic coward teleported away."

  Loki sits on the ground and pulls me onto his lap, cradling me in his arms.

  "Everything will be okay, little huntress," Loki coos, holding me against his chest while stroking my hair. "I know where the Goddess Statue is. I'll tell you all about my adventures these last few weeks since we parted. It looks like Zane and Taranis are coming back this way." Loki pauses and eyes me with a raised eyebrow. "I can't wait to hear how you managed to hook up with that pirate."

  "You know Taranis?" I ask.

  "Just in passing. I checked him out when I heard he was filling positions on his pirate ship with innocent orphan boys," Loki says with a snort of laughter. "I go to Palma all ready to tear the man to shreds, only to find out he's the most pathetic excuse for a pirate I've ever met."

  "What do you mean?" I ask, my ire rising. I feel the need to defend my friend.

  "You misunderstand me, little one. I meant he's no more a criminal than you or Zane," Loki replies, watching said pirate approach. "He takes those boys in and teaches them a pliable trade as sea hands, fishermen and mercenaries. The only thing shady about him is his social life. And even there, I think the rumors eclipse the truth."

  "Loki, it's good to see you again," Zane says. "I hope you have good news for us since we're sorely in need of it."