The Shadow Chaser (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 1)

by Dylan Birtolo

  The three Shadows advanced, looking from one to the other and watching Darien as he shifted his attention between them. With a roar of rage, the lion leaped forward, his massive claws extended before him. Darien uncoiled his legs and jumped straight up. The lion landed on the ground grasping air. Darien dug his claws into the back of the large cat and raked as he dove off. Large scratches ripped through the lion’s skin.

  Darien soared at the living Doberman. It pushed off the ground to meet Darien in mid-air. The wolf twisted his body around to avoid the sharp jaws of the dog. It still managed to tear out a chunk of skin near Darien’s midsection. The wound left a trail of blood across the floor. His feet were just above the ground when the panther collided into his side, knocking him down and forcing him to tumble with Sasha. She dug her claws into his skin, refusing to let go. Darien tried to snap at her but could only grab small pieces of skin and cause superficial wounds.

  Darien howled in pain as the dog rejoined the fray and clamped onto his hind leg. The wolf faded into nothingness and was replaced by a large polar bear. He smacked the dog across the head so hard that its neck snapped and it slid across the ground. Darien tried to swipe at Sasha, but the lithe panther jumped back out of his reach. Darien stood on his back legs and bellowed out a challenge. The lion and panther stalked around the enraged creature.

  The entire room shook as the bear leaned forward and slammed his paws into one of the pillars. Small clouds of dust drifted down, landing around Darien’s shoulders and stinging his eyes. The two large cats glanced at each other. The bear slammed the pillar again, and cracks formed along the length of it. Both cats jumped forward. The lion landed first, catching Darien before he had a chance to recover. It latched onto his thick arm with its jaw and raked with its back legs. Sasha landed on Darien’s back and bit into his neck.

  Another bellow echoed off the stone walls, and the bear reached over his back. He grabbed Sasha’s head between his paws and threw her over his shoulder. She twisted her body so she landed on her feet rather than crashing into the wall. Darien pulled his arm in front of his face and bit down on the lion’s nose. The cat let go with a yowl and landed on its back with blood pouring out. Darien rose up on his back legs to his full height and fell on the dazed animal with his front paws. Several bones cracked with the impact.

  Sasha jumped onto Darien’s back again and bit him on the neck where it met his head. She shook her head back and forth, making Darien stumble in pain. He reached back with one paw, but Sasha let go and leapt away. He turned to face her, but she was too fast. By the time he turned around, she skirted around him and pounced on his back again, digging deep scratches through his thick hide. She was gone before he could swat her away.

  The pain cut through his rage and he stumbled, forced to go on all fours. Sasha attacked again, this time scoring a hit just above his hip. His leg collapsed, unable to bear his weight. He began to pant. The energy he gained from the blood rage and adrenaline abandoned him. His wounds burned and his muscles ached. His body shimmered again and the bear was replaced with his human form. He lay on the stones. They felt cold and wet underneath him. His eyes fluttered as he struggled to remain conscious.

  Sasha watched Darien for a moment and began cleaning her fur. She washed it, taking care to lick her wounds clean. The human woman in the room walked over and checked the bodies. She dragged both dogs and the human corpse out of the room. The lion still breathed, but his ribs pointed at an odd angle towards his inner organs.

  “I think his lungs might be punctured,” the woman said.

  Sasha walked forward and sniffed the lion. He let out a soft whine. She bit through his neck behind the ears. His eyes unfocused, and his breathing stopped. The woman’s face was impassive as she grabbed the corpse and dragged it out like she was taking out the trash. Sasha shifted into her human form and stood over Darien, looking down at him.

  “I told you it’s hopeless, that you’ve lost.”

  Darien struggled to regain his composure. His eyes stopped fluttering and stayed open. That was the extent of the control he could exert over his muscles. “I’ll see you in hell.”

  Sasha kicked him in the ribs. He whimpered in pain and curled into a fetal position. She reached down and put one arm under his neck and the other under both legs. With a heave, she hoisted Darien up to the altar. She was stronger than he expected. She dropped him on the slab and he tried to gasp as the wind was knocked out of him. Sasha took his wrists and pushed them down into clamps at the top of the stone tablet. He tried to resist, but his arms protested with pain. She moved to his feet and locked in each ankle. He didn’t have enough give to lift his back from the cold stone.

  The three living Shadows walked over to the captive, forming a triangle around him. They began chanting in unison, and Darien saw the dome overhead illuminated with frequent flashes of lightning from the storm beyond. The mark on his chest burned colder than ever.

  The storm raged above the dome. Jagged bolts forked across the sky and cracked the air loud enough to make the glass rattle. With the resounding clanking of gears, the dome overhead split into eight pie-shaped pieces that retracted into the ceiling. Soon, the hole was open and rain fell down to the floor. Darien felt the cold drops cascade over his body, soaking his clothes. He jerked his body, trying to pull his arms and legs out of the shackles attached to the table.

  Sasha walked up to him and traced the edge of his face with one of her long skinny fingers. “Did you really think you could resist us? That you had a chance?”

  Darien spat in her face and she wiped her face clean. She looked at her hand for a few seconds, as if studying his insult. She smacked him hard and his other cheek struck the stone altar. He didn’t turn his head back.

  “Do you really think I’ll become one of you?”

  “If you don’t, you’ll die. We’ll find out soon enough. I look forward to it either way.”

  With those final words, Sasha turned around and resumed her place in the triangle. The chanting around him began again. As the words were uttered, the storm clouds rolled in response like steam over a boiling kettle. As the Shadows increased the speed and intensity of their chanting, the storm rose to match.

  A bolt of lightning struck the floor of the ritual chamber, inches from the stone tablet. The Shadows screamed out the chant, entering a passionate frenzy. Thunder echoed without pause, shaking the room like an earthquake. Clouds of dust fell to the ground from the pillar Darien cracked. Another flash blinded Darien as lightning struck the altar near his legs. His pants blackened, singed from the close proximity of electricity.

  The blast terrified Darien and he renewed his efforts, straining his arms against the bonds and tightening his legs. The cuffs bit into his wrists and ankles, but he continued to struggle, trying to at least twist so that his chest was not facing the open sky. The chanting reached its peak, and a third bolt arced down from above. It struck Darien in the center of his torso and he screamed in pain as every muscle in his body convulsed.

  When the current ran its course, Darien lay on the table panting with tears streaming down his cheek. A small cloud of black smoke rose from his chest where the lightning bolt struck him. The clothing was burnt away, leaving his chest exposed. A second marking glowed bright white and faded to blackness as the Shadows broke off their incantation and watched. It was located right next to the first rune and burned with the same cold fire.

  “It worked. We’ve completed the second phase.” Inky spoke to the other two Shadows. Her voice sounded distant and Darien had trouble deciphering the words.

  “Good.” Sasha looked ready to collapse, but her eyes were bright and her grin was wide. “It won’t be long now.”

  “When should we begin the ritual for the third marking?”

  “In two hours. Take him back to his cell.”

  Sasha undid the clamps holding Darien in place on the stone and picked him up by his shoulders. The other woman came over and picked up his ankles. They carried his
body out of the chamber, stepped over the dead bodies, and dumped him on the ground of his cell. The door slammed shut with a solid bang, and once again Darien was trapped in the room of complete darkness.

  Chapter 22

  For the first few minutes, Darien could do nothing but lay in pain where the Shadows had tossed him. After some time, his shoulder burned, protesting being forced into an odd angle. Darien shifted his body, letting his shoulder drop to the ground and rolled onto his chest. The pressure against his chest reminded him of the fresh mark blazoned on his skin. That awareness pulled him back from the refreshing oblivion of unconsciousness. He needed to get out somehow, and he was running out of time.

  With a groan, he pushed himself up off the stones and swung his legs around so that he could rest in a sitting position. He crossed his legs and straightened his back, just like he did back in the abandoned mine with Richard and Susan. Thinking of her brought a spark to his mind and sent a wave of emotions through his body. He held onto that spark and pictured it becoming the fire. He fed everything into the fire, like Richard taught him to. Darien forced himself to calm down, to distance himself from his pain, to reach a place of stillness, and then reach out.

  He was in the clearing, but it felt less substantial. The trees looked like transparent entities on a strip of film. The entire world seemed like a mirage and it was difficult to feel or smell anything. The sounds that came to his ears were garbled, like the static of a bad connection. The sky overhead was red, with the cloud edges looking purple in the odd lighting. They were wisps of dark blue ribbons floating on a bloody sea. Neither the sun nor the moon could be seen, and it was impossible to tell where the light was coming from.

  Darien cupped his hands around his mouth and called out. “Richard! Susan! I need your help! Where are you?”

  There was no response. Darien sat down and waited for either of them to appear. After a few minutes, he stood up and called out in vain again. He collapsed to the ground with a resigned sigh and looked at the sky. He didn’t even know why he tried calling to Susan. She wasn’t a shifter. But he had hoped…

  There was one last chance. He stood up and brought his hands up to his lips. “Alyssa! I need you!”

  Within a few moments, Darien saw a blond woman walking out of the trees from one side of the clearing. She looked around with a confused stare, her pale hair shining orange. She caught sight of Darien and ran to him, hands outstretched. She tried to hold his hands, but passed right through the air.

  “Darien, are you okay?”

  “Alyssa, I need your help.”

  “What’s going on? What did you bring me here for? And why can I see right through you?”

  “I don’t have time. The Shadows caught me. They’re holding me somewhere, and trying to complete their ritual. They just burned the second marking on my chest. In two hours they’re gonna do the third. I don’t know if I can escape on my own.”

  Alyssa began to pace. “Do you have any clue where you are?”

  “No. I have to be in the city somewhere, and there’s a large dome open to the sky. I’m guessing under where the storm is fiercest. Their ritual makes the storm stronger, and the lightning’s how I got burned.”

  Alyssa interrupted him. “I know about the ritual. I’ll start looking and will do what I can. We’ll search for you. Try and stall them as long as possible.”

  “Don’t take too long.” Darien felt himself fading away. “I can’t hold on any more, Alyssa. Please hurry.”

  Darien’s eyes shot open as he jerked back to the real world. He took several gasps through clenched teeth as the pain from his wounds and the marking broke through his meditative state and assaulted him with their full ferocity. He tried to move around, but the gash in his side reopened and a warm wetness flowed down his side. He bit his lip hard. He held his hand to his side, pressing the wet fabric against the wound, hoping it would staunch the flow of blood.

  When he was feeling more stable, Darien forced himself to get to his feet and walk around. It kept the blood flowing through his legs and helped to block out the chill seeping into his bones. He took small steps, not wanting to aggravate his injuries. He froze when he heard footsteps coming down the hall.

  Darien eased to the ground and lay on his back, closing his eyes. He tried to keep his body relaxed and his breathing deep as the door opened. He felt the light against his eyelids, but kept them closed. It sounded like two people walked into his cell. He felt them pick him up by his shoulders and ankles. Darien stayed limp in their grasp. He saved what little energy he had, letting them exert themselves. When they reached the temple chamber, they laid him down on the slab and locked him into place. Darien remained still, trying to make his mind and body both relaxed and void.

  “Is he awake?” He recognized Inky’s voice, but tried to ignore it.

  “No, he’s unconscious.”

  “We shall begin.”

  The chanting started, and the storm answered the call. Darien heard the thunder and saw bright flashes of light above, even through his eyelids. He cracked open his eyes and shifted his head so that he could see the three Shadows. They had their eyes closed and heads tilted up as they focused on their chanting. Darien focused his own thoughts, willing himself to a state of serenity.

  He drowned out the sound of the chanting and ignored the drops of rain as they fell on and around him. He took a deep breath, willing all of his concerns to leave his body with his exhale. He pictured a robin, imagining every feather. He felt it when his body changed and the shackles no longer bound him. He chirped in his excitement, leaping into the air and flapping as hard as he could and trying to dodge the raindrops.

  “Get him!” Sasha jumped up and tried to grab him. He swooped away from her and climbed as fast as he could, trying to get out of range.

  The other woman took two steps and jumped off the edge of the altar. At the apex of her jump, she shifted into an owl. With two pumps of her large wings, she caught up to the fleeing robin. Darien dove to avoid the clutching talons of the horned owl.

  Sasha and Inky ran to a crank imbedded in the wall and turned it. The pieces of glass in the dome slid out of their sheaths and began to close. Darien swooped up, attempting to gain altitude and reach his freedom. The owl screeched and dove at him once again. He twisted to the side and angled down to dodge. Using the momentum, Darien twisted his tail feathers and soared up. He passed by the owl as she tried to stop and reverse direction.

  The fresh air smelled sweet to Darien as he neared the opening. The glass teeth of the dome were close to touching. He shifted his course to steer through the center of the dome, where the pies would touch last. The rain assaulted him, forcing his body into twists and rolls he had no intention of taking. He reached the top just as the teeth closed shut, blocking off his chance of freedom. Darien swerved, skimming his back against the top of the dome. He chirped as the friction irritated the wounds on his back.

  Too late, he noticed that the owl had caught up to him. She reached out and pecked at the robin, grabbing him in her beak right at the base of the neck. She soared to the ground, with her prey immobile in her grasp. When she was about ten feet from the ground, the robin faded. Darien took on his human form and grabbed at the owl as he fell to the floor. She squirmed away and flapped down to a gentle landing.

  Darien crashed against the stone floor with a grunt of pain. He lay on the ground moaning and could only open his eyes a crack. He put the flat of his feet against the floor and tried to slide across it by pushing through his legs. Sasha walked over and stood over Darien. She looked at him with a mixture of contempt and respect.

  “I’m impressed, Darien, seven shifts in one day. I didn’t think that was possible, even for you. It’s a good thing you’re still a slave to your emotions. Otherwise, you’d be very dangerous. Now, you’ll be a very valuable asset.”

  The owl fluffed her feathers and shifted back into her human shape. She walked to her designated position and waited. Sasha looked down a
t Darien.

  “Do you have any more shifts before you collapse?”

  “If it meant I’d get another shot at you, I’d find the strength.”

  Sasha grinned and dragged Darien to the edge of the altar by his feet. His back burned as the slashes reopened. She slid one arm underneath his knees and the other behind his shoulders. With a grunt, she lifted him and dropped him on the slab. His head cracked against the stone, stunning him. Sasha used the moment to lock down his arms. Darien kicked at her when he recovered, trying to shove her away. She grabbed one of his flailing limbs and locked it against her body. His struggles were feeble compared to her grasp. The other woman walked over and eased his ankle into the latch. She closed it shut, locking that leg into place.

  His other foot shot out, connecting with the woman leaning over to lock the cuff. Her head rolled back, and her nose bled where Darien’s heel struck it. She snapped her gaze at Darien and rushed towards him snarling. Sasha held up a hand and pressed the back of it against the woman’s chest. She stopped and relaxed. She helped Sasha lock Darien’s other leg and then spat on his chest as she walked back to her spot.

  The dome overhead opened again with a rattle as Inky turned the crank. Rain poured through, landing on Darien’s body, mixing with his sweat and blood. The storm raged on, uncaring of the events transpiring below. When Sasha took her spot, the chanting resumed.

  Darien pulled at the restraints, but he lacked the strength to even make them chafe. He closed his eyes and focused. He tried to force his body to change another time and creased his eyebrows together in effort. No matter how much he focused, he couldn’t clear his mind. Thinking of an animal did nothing while his mind was cluttered.

  A flash of lightning struck the floor near one of pillars, followed by another. The bolts crept closer with each strike. Darien bit his lip as he tried to gain the strength to resist what was about to come.