Darien shook out his arms and then laid them back at his sides. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His breaths were measured as he tried to enter one of his dreams.
“Be careful, Darien,” he heard her whisper as he dropped into his dream.
He started out in the clearing that he’d come to associate with the entrance to his dreams. The sky overhead was a crystal clear blue, and the sun was bright. It warmed his skin and he breathed the fresh air deeply, letting it fill his very essence. All of his wounds were gone here and he felt reborn. Darien walked forward under the trees with a determined stride. The sound of birdsong accompanied him as he rustled through the underbrush. His eyes remained fixed in front of him as he trod on, not caring about the path he carved. His gaze was fixed ahead as he passed by wild creatures. They got out of his way but did not run from him.
Up ahead, Darien saw the trees thinning. He marched on until he broke through the tree line and stood in a circular chamber. With the space of a single step, he went from being in the forest to surrounded by stone. It was the temple room with the stone altar. The tablet was replicated in painstaking detail. Figures appeared in the dream as he remembered them—some indistinct where he had forgotten the details. He caught his breath when he saw himself ushered up to the table by the man with the taser.
He stood against the wall and watched the events play out like a movie. Darien’s chest tingled as he saw himself receive the second marking. His fingers reached up and scratched his chest. When his body was dragged off, the room became still as if stuck in time. Darien heard movement behind him and his chest burned. His quarry had arrived, much sooner than he anticipated. Darien reached out with his mind and willed the latch in the door to slide shut. He imagined the solid clack was putting the final pin into the cage. As long as that door remained locked, they would not be able to escape. With a thought, the door disappeared from view and the walls became flat stone.
Darien turned around to face his prey. He saw Sasha stalking forward on her large paws. Inky stood next to her, keeping pace.
Sasha let out a low growl. “What’re you doing, cub?”
Now that the cage was in place, Darien saw no reason to hold his cards against his chest. “I thought it’s time for the hunters to become the hunted. Wouldn’t you agree? How does it feel to be trapped in a cage?”
Sasha narrowed her eyes. Inky closed her eyes and swayed back and forth. After a second her eyes flew open and she howled in rage.
“Damn you! How did you do this?”
“It’s my dream, or don’t you remember? You said yourself that I learn quickly. I’m here to get these markings off my chest.”
Sasha chuckled. “You don’t seem to realize. Those marks are permanent. There’s no way to get rid of them.”
It was Darien’s turn to smile. “That’s what you’d like me to believe. But I know the truth. If I kill the one who put them here, they’ll disappear. And I’ll be free from the Shadows for the rest of my life.”
The panther looked back at the human and they exchanged a communicative glance. Darien tensed his legs, ready to jump away if necessary. The two Shadows turned back to Darien and Inky spoke. “You’ve erred, Darien. In locking us here, you locked yourself physically as well. We can finish the ritual here, and you’ll become one of us.”
Sasha leaped forward with her claws extended and let out a growl. Darien watched her charge and jumped to the side at the last moment, avoiding her attack. She landed behind him and spun on her paws. Darien held up his hand, palm facing her, and the stone table flew through the air to collide into Sasha’s body. The impact slammed her into the wall and the table continued to push, pinning her in place. She hissed and howled in pain and frustration as she attempted to get free, but to no avail. Darien turned around to face the woman.
“Now that your pet’s out of the way, it’s time we got down to business.”
“I’m impressed. But you have a lot to learn.” Inky’s voice was cold. She narrowed her eyes and dropped her head a small amount to glare at Darien.
Darien advanced, but Inky did not retreat. Darien closed the distance and punched out, trying to strike what looked like her head. His fist struck something as hard as steel as it connected with the shadow. Pain jolted up his wrist all the way to his shoulder. Inky chuckled, and lifted a finger. Dark shadows shot forward from her fingertip, piercing his shoulder like a spear. He jerked away, putting his hand up to the wound. It felt cold and when he looked at it, he saw that the blood around the hole crystallized.
“I told you that you made a grave mistake.”
Darien stepped back from Inky and glanced over at Sasha. She had shifted into her human form but was still unable to squirm out from behind the table pressed against her. The solid stone weighed more than a ton and part of his will continued to add to the weight of the tablet.
He turned back to face Inky. She remained in the same place, turning to square her shoulders in Darien’s direction. She appeared to be waiting, looking at Darien as if he were nothing more than a toy to play with. Anger rose in him and he tried to press it down. Darien reached out with his mind, and the two legs of the altar flew through the air. The first one bounced off her shadowy form and crashed against the pillar to shatter in a cloud of dust. The other leg stopped in mid-air when she raised a hand. She flicked her wrist, and the stone tumbled back at Darien.
He dove down to the ground, flattening himself against the floor. The missile flew over his body and connected with the wall behind him. Darien scrambled onto his hands and knees.
Inky sounded amused when she talked down to him. “So much for your grand plan. You should learn your place and recognize your betters. You can’t defeat me. I’m much better at playing this game than you are.”
The altar stopped pressing up against Sasha and hurtled through the air. It landed on Darien before he had a chance to get away. He felt bones crack under the pressure and had to fight against the urge to howl in pain. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. When he sucked in air, his lungs burned and he could do little more than gasp.
“Still think you have a chance? We can do the ritual with the table on you if you prefer.”
Darien closed his eyes and sweat dotted his brow. He inhaled as much as he could with the slab pressing down. With a roar of defiance, his eyes flashed open. The piece of stone shattered, scattering shards in every direction. A chunk struck Sasha off the side of the head, and she collapsed.
The ground shook as Inky raised both of her hands. The entire chamber quaked, and large clouds of dust fell from the ceiling. With a shatter, the glass of the dome broke into thousands of pieces. They shot down, miniature daggers lunging forward with lethal intent. Running to the side, Darien dove out of their path.
In the air, he became a mountain cat. As soon as his legs touched the ground, he leaped again, trying to put some distance between him and the falling shards. He was against the wall when he felt a burning tear in his shoulder. Another shard carved a gash on his face. The entire cloud turned and hurtled towards him. He fled around the perimeter of the chamber, the deadly missiles flying close behind.
With a desperate leap, Darien dove at Inky. She stepped to the side, evading him. The glass cloud came within inches, bending around her. He lurched to the side, still stumbling from his awkward landing. He managed to avoid being shred to pieces, but was bleeding from several shallow scratches.
The glass changed direction again, veering around one of the pillars to come at Darien from a different angle. He ran away from them as fast as he could, but he was limping from a shard embedded in his back thigh.
“Give up. You can’t run forever.” Her voice was high pitched and excited. She smiled as she watched Darien run.
Darien looked over his shoulder and saw his death behind him. He slid against the wall and turned to face it, watching the miniature missiles streaking towards him with alarming speed. Darien hung his head and closed his eyes. The first blade was about to
pierce his skin when the mountain lion disappeared to be replaced by a field mouse. It scurried forward to get out of the glass rain that fell when the dome fragments shattered against the wall.
Darien shifted again, resuming his human form. He reached down and pulled out the piece of glass in his leg. He hurled it to the ground, making it shatter.
“If I can’t finish the ritual, I will kill you.” All traces of her previous elation were gone. He did not doubt her promise.
“Keep trying. Looks like you’ve been failing for a while now.”
Inky shot an arm out and lightning arced down from the clouded sky in response. The bolt struck Darien in his torso. He fell to the ground with his jaw clenched as the electricity coursed through his muscles. He shook as another arc slammed into him. He screamed out in wordless pain. The bolts stopped, and smoke rose from Darien’s body where they connected. His skin was blackened, and he was barely able to stop convulsing. When he could, he staggered up to his feet, knees shaking. The storm overhead rolled with thunder again.
A third flash of light filled the chamber and Darien fell back to the ground, his back arching at an impossible angle. His feet kicked at the stone and tears welled up in his eyes. With a growl, he forced his muscles under control and staggered to his hands and knees. He took a few crawling steps before pushing himself up to his feet. His teeth clenched so tight he felt like they would shatter.
Inky grinned and lifted her arm again. Another jagged bolt shot down from the sky, but it bounced harmlessly off to the side. More lightning flashed down, but each one was deflected by an invisible field and scorched the stone floor. Darien smiled as the storm raged around him. He willed the storm to disperse, showing a bright sky with a warming sun. The sun filled the center of the room in a bright shaft of light.
Inky lunged forward with her fingers pointed like claws. The tips widened and took on the shape of hunting arrows. Darien rolled his shoulder back and to the side, dodging the blow. She continued to attack in a frenzied rage and all he could do was retreat.
Darien back-pedaled, trying to stay out of range. He fell onto the floor in the center of the room. Inky lunged forward and Darien could only watch as the claws came closer to his chest. As soon as they entered the sunlight, they smoked and Inky let out an unearthly howl that sent a chill down his spine. He caught a glimpse of pale skin as the sun burned away the shadows around her hand. She jerked her hand back, holding it close to her chest as the shadows grew back over her fingers.
Darien summoned a mirror, willing one to exist in his hands. He angled it so the beam of light bounced off the surface and struck Inky in the chest. She screamed and ducked around a pillar, getting away from the ray. Overhead thunder cracked and the clouds rolled back in. They were thick and dark, blocking out the sun. Soon the entire chamber became dark as moonless night.
“What will you do now, youngling?”
The voice echoed from all around him, and Darien felt something cold cut deep in his arm. He turned, but Inky was no longer there. She slashed across his back, spreading the chill as she sliced his skin. He tried to scramble away in the darkness but tripped over a large piece of stone in the middle of the floor. His body collided with the ground, knocking the wind out of him. The attacks continued to come from every side.
“You’ve lost!” she howled in triumph.
Darien closed his eyes and tried to block out the pain. The coldness made his body numb, and it helped him ignore the fresh wounds. He summoned the flame in his mind, only dimly aware as his body rocked from side to side from the impact of the attacks. He reached out past the storm, starting a wind from far away. By the time it reached the storm, it was strong enough to pick up the gravel and hurl it through the air.
The wind pushed the clouds aside and the sun burst through in a sudden flash, bathing the entire chamber with a purifying vengeance. The blinding glare extinguished all the shadows, even those behind the pillars. Inky writhed in pain as smoke rose from her entire body. She shrunk before his eyes, shivering as her shadow armor was stripped away to leave a young woman lying on the ground. Darien hesitated as he saw her without her concealment. As if sensing his doubt, the marks on his chest flared, and he thought of what she had done to him and his friends. And what she was willing to do to Susan.
Darien clenched his jaw and thrust a hand at the nearest pillar. It cracked and rumbled as it came loose, collapsing on top of Inky. She didn’t scream as it crushed her. Darien collapsed to the ground, the awareness of his wounds flooding back and almost overpowering him.
He mentally willed the door to open, and, when it did, he floated out of the dream world.
Susan jumped as Darien gasped and sat upright in bed. His eyes were wide and he panted, trying to steady himself. He looked down at his body, expecting to see gaping wounds. His pulse pounding in his temples slowed when he saw that he was whole. He propped one hand up behind him to support his body. Susan sat by his side, her weapon leaning against the wall.
“Are you all right? Please, Darien, tell me you’re all right.”
“I’m all right,” he said once he had his breathing under control. He placed his arms around her and she helped to support him.
“What happened?”
“Somehow, I won. I defeated Inky, and now she’s gone forever.”
“And you’re free?” Susan looked up at him, hope in her eyes.
Darien reached down and lifted up his shirt. Two black marks still decorated his chest. “Sasha,” he growled the name as though it was a curse.
Chapter 25
“What about her?”
“It was her all along,” Darien muttered. “It wasn’t Inky leading the ritual. It was Sasha. If it was Inky, these markings would be gone. They were the only two that were always around every time the markings burned. I’d assumed it was the one that was giving orders, but it was Sasha the whole time.”
“Wasn’t she in your dream, too?”
Darien got up and kicked the edge of the bed. “I left her in the corner. I was exhausted after my fight with Inky. I just needed to get out of there. She’s probably awake and on her own by now. Damn it!”
Susan stood up and walked over to him, running her palm against his back. She moved on to his shoulders, massaging them. She dug in with her fingers, working on the knots. It brought a small amount of pain, but it helped him to relax. As he did, he realized that he had caught a glimpse into Sasha’s mind, and he knew where she was. She was still at the Shadow compound.
He took a deep breath. “We need to go. I know where Sasha is, but I don’t know how long she’ll stay there. I need to end this, once and for all.”
He jerked the door open and marched to the front office. He dropped off the key, ignoring the glances the owner cast his way. By the time he got back to the truck, Susan was sitting in the passenger’s seat with the gun case against her legs. He climbed up behind the wheel and slammed the door shut. The truck seemed to reflect Darien’s mood when it roared to life.
“Do you know if she’s alone?” Susan asked.
“I don’t, but that’s where you’ll help me. We’ll both get on the roof of the ritual chamber. I’ll need you to stand watch with your rifle and shoot anyone who comes in the door. I’ll handle Sasha.”
“Why don’t I just pick Sasha off at a safe distance?”
“No. This is something I want to do on my own—something I need to do. I plan on ending it one way or another by myself. Only one of us will leave that room alive. I want you to make sure that none of her allies interfere.”
Susan didn’t argue with him as they drove back to the compound. When they reached their destination, Darien parked the truck in a public lot. He got out and looked up at the twenty-story building. It looked like an apartment complex, made of brown and red bricks. Several windows looked out over the street, but they were empty and dark. It was past midnight, and the city seemed quiet.
The two of them walked down a side street where a fire escape climbed th
e side of the building. Darien gave Susan a boost so that she could reach up and grab the ladder. Once she scrambled to the top, she freed it and it rattled down until it clanged against the pavement. Darien and Susan froze, straining to hear any response to the sudden noise. Several streets away, a dog barked and another answered in response. Otherwise, all was quiet.
Darien climbed up the ladder, carrying Susan’s case. They made their way up the metal stairs, easing their weight with each step and making their way to the roof. When they reached the top, Darien went up the last ladder first, pausing before he climbed over the edge. He inched up, standing on his toes to peer onto the roof. It was abandoned and the glass for the dome was still retracted. Darien climbed up and waved for Susan to follow him.
He paused for Susan to ready her weapon, and then the two of them walked to the edge of the dome opening. The chamber appeared empty. The floodlights still rested around the perimeter of the room, casting deep shadows throughout the entire chamber. The stone altar was still stained with Darien’s blood and scorch marks where the lightning struck. There was no sign of Sasha.
“Are you sure she’s down there?”
“She will be.” Darien pointed to the only door. “That’s the only entrance and exit. You have to make sure that no one comes through that door besides Sasha. Remember that anyone who’d come into that room is a Shadow. This is their hideout.
“And be careful. If you have to shoot, they might send Shadows up here after you. Keep an eye out and don’t be too focused on what’s happening down there. I don’t want you in any danger.”
“You worry about yourself. I’ll be fine.”
Darien perched on the edge and looked back to stare Susan in the eyes. “Don’t get involved, even if it looks like I’m losing. I need to win or lose this on my own. I’m sorry Susan, but I need to do this. Do you understand?”
The Shadow Chaser (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 1) Page 21