Shadow Lands

by K. F. Breene

  Another low-level blast shook Sanders to the core. Vibrated his body and made him want to curl up and die.

  “They’ve come!” Sonson yelled. “They’ve come!

  * * *

  “I don’t feel S’am,” Marc yelled with his heart in his throat. “I don’t feel S’am!”

  “You won’t feel her,” Leilius said, jogging out of nowhere with dripping knives. “You’ll just see people die.”

  Another blast rumbled through Marc’s core as an earth-shaking boom rolled overhead. Lightning cracked, striking a tree in the distance before the rain poured down in a torrent.

  Water splashed his face and dripped in his eyes, momentarily confusing him. Another blast of thunder rolled through, but Marc couldn’t tell if it was the Captain or God’s hand above them.

  Either of them would be just as destructive.

  * * *

  “Direct it there, Cayan!” Shanti yelled, pointing to the thickest cluster of Graygual. “We are too spread out for Burson to shield.”

  Cayan hit the line of stunned Graygual like a falling star. Sword moving so fast it blurred, he cut through the enemy as if they were nothing.

  Shanti joined him a moment later, whipping her power out around her, reaching into the middle of the crowd and picking out the Inkna. There weren’t many left, and each was already under attack by the Shadow. Shanti slashed and cut those in front of her, working with Cayan in perfect harmony, feeling their Gift move and bend like a living thing around them.

  Thunder rolled overhead. Lightning cracked. The energy in the air swirled and pulsed, beating into Shanti and Cayan, infusing their bodies like the lights in the trials. Beating more power into them. Sparking a hotter fire.

  Shanti struck five minds to the east, watchful and intent. They winked out. She didn’t hear the screams.

  A blade came at her head. Cayan lunged forward and dispensed the Graygual before pushing into the fray. “We need to connect with the Shadow! We can’t keep this up on our own,” Cayan called, another blast of his subsonic power rolling out before him.

  They hurried forward, tearing down the enemy while the blast of power confused them. The Graygual may have trained with Inkna, but they’d never trained with a power like this. No one had.

  Another blast of power rolled forward, pushed higher and harder with an answering roar from the skies above. Another flash of lightning cracked. Shanti’s power surged with the electric energy in the air, crackling with life, looking for prey. She found five more, widened to ten, and tore into soft brain matter. Then five more. Ten.

  “There are too many. We’re sieged!” Cayan rumbled, slashing through men.

  This time Shanti sought out the familiar mind of Sonson, finding him not far away. She licked at his conscious with need, hoping he understood the appeal for aid.

  Swords swung and fell, steel flashing. Rain pelted her face. She nudged Cayan and worked right, towards Sonson. Trying to unite with friendlies. Trying to slog through the endless sea of black.

  * * *

  “I feel her—them,” Portolmous said through gritted teeth, feeling the strain of his exertion.

  “She needs help,” Sonson said in a series of grunts, fighting back a Graygual with five stripes across his breast. “We don’t have much more time, brother. The enemy is getting better.”

  Sonson was right. The further they worked into the mass of black, the better the class of soldier they met and the more tired Portolmous and his men became. The Battle Lord of these Grayguals was no novice and he had no concern for preserving his forces.

  “Work toward her—them,” Portolmous yelled. “Unleash Yari!”

  “You got a read on the Captain?” came the gruff commander’s voice as he ran through like a rabid dog. He jumped at a crowd of men, breaking them up with his body before getting to work on ruthlessly hacking and cutting through them. Despite his brutal style, he was exceptional in a way Portolmous had never witnessed. His energy, viciousness, and relentless forward motion confused the enemy. His grimace shot fear into their hearts and he killed in perfect economy.

  “Yes, head right,” Portolmous yelled above the din as he felt Sonson send the mental call to their brothers-in-arms.

  A huge roar rent the battlefield, then another.

  “What the hell was that?” Sanders growled as he dodged to the side in seeming chaos and took down two more Graygual. His men surged in behind him, helping him cut a path to the hopeful-Chosen.

  “Help,” Sonson answered, rallying his team, combining forces with Sanders. “Hurry—the hopeful-Chosen is losing traction!”

  * * *

  An ear-splitting roar shook Shanti’s bones. She knew that sound. She knew the giant animal that made it and the destructive force it was capable of.

  “They’re using the beasts,” she said to Cayan, words getting lost in the next roar.

  She felt an officer’s mind gush fear before it winked out. The beast was coming down from the north-east, closer to the ocean.

  A push of Graygual came from the left. The tide of black eddied toward them as people backed away from something. Xavier burst through, covered in blood and moving like a man twice his experience level. His sword rose and fell. Gracas was right beside him, his hands moving so fast the enemy couldn’t keep up.

  The people in front of her started to fall. Backing away from the Honor Guard, and then shoved north by her and Cayan, they finally sank to the ground or flew out of the way as a wall of reddish-orange leather came through, led by two in shiny blue. A growl and a screaming Graygual announced Sanders’ arrival.

  Like the wind parting the clouds, a clearing opened up through the Graygual as they all joined. Shanti couldn’t help a smile of relief as her eyes met Sonson’s. “Good to have you.”

  He matched her smile. “You made it.”

  The Graygual pressed in on them once again, allowing them no time to rest.

  Chapter Twenty

  They pushed through the Graygual, aiming for whoever had begun this assault. Cayan’s Gift rolled out in waves, dropping those close, making those further away falter. Shanti continued to work at the minds of only the sharpest on that field, taking them down quickly and efficiently.

  Under their combined force, Graygual dropped like rain. The lesser tried to run, not getting far before being cut down by Sonson’s extended force. Those with better skill provided opposition before succumbing to their fate.

  Then Shanti saw him. Up on a small hilltop out of her range, standing beside a tree with his Inner Circle gathered tightly around him—Xandre.

  “He’s here!” Shanti yelled as a torrid of emotions assaulted her. Fear, shock, surprise, rage, and finally, Wrath.

  Like a conduit of energy, she pulled the lightning out of the sky. She stirred Cayan, making him snatch up the thunder. Electrical current fired through her body and pushed her Gift to new heights. All she could focus on was that balding man. On his death.

  “Get me to that hill!” she yelled. Her voice whipped from her mouth and carried. A beast roared in the distance. Lightning flashed.

  Shadow surged forward, answering her call. Responding to her power. She felt Rohnan fall in behind her, his single-minded focus adding to hers. His rage increasing the velocity.

  The man on the hill turned, facing directly at her, at the sphere of death opening up around her and at the unyielding fall of the Graygual as she and her army ran through the battlefield.

  “Cayan, let’s unleash our full power,” Shanti said as a calm descended on her. As the rage blistered so hot, it stabilized into sharp intent. “Clear the way.”

  The subsonic blast of power turned into a massive flood unlike anything anyone had ever seen. It grew and boiled to colossal heights before rolling forward. Screams; terrified, agony-filled screams, drowned out the battlefield. Like a tidal wave, the power rolled before them. Graygual fell. Bodies sank, writhing. Limbs twisted, faces screwed up in pain, as they died.

  The power washed toward the h
ill with the Shadow and Cayan’s men racing the death to get to Xandre.

  And there he stood. She just knew he was focused solely on her. He watched her advancing—his prize. The one thing he’d wanted since she’d beaten him when she had been so young. More powerful now than anything out of history.

  More out of reach.

  He took one step toward her, and she thought he would engage in the battle. She almost thought he would run down to meet her advance.

  But then he turned toward the sea. And started running.

  “No!” Shanti screamed. “He’s trying to escape!”

  Her pace picked up. Her sword swung faster than it ever had before. She cut through unresisting people as if they were already dead and just needed to be knocked down. Cayan could barely keep up with her. No one could, except one.

  Rohnan took Cayan’s place at the front, his urgency matching her own. Together they acted like fire to brush, clearing a path to the sea. Following that disgusting tyrant who had ruined their lives.

  The Graygual turned and ran. Some ran away, some ran east to follow their leader. They were retreating, taking Xandre with them in a tide of fear.

  “Catch him!” Shanti cried desperately, sprinting. She stabbed a Graygual in the back and ripped him to the side. “Don’t let him get away!”

  A huge animal burst through from the left. Its jaws tore through a neck. It shook its furry head before seeing the movement, then it joined the fray, chasing the Graygual to the sea.

  Cayan’s Gift boomed out, knocking people down. But there were too many blocking the way between Shanti and her vengeance.

  “Please,” she begged the Elders.

  “We must go faster!” Rohnan yelled frantically, his staff whirling.

  Shanti and Rohnan cut down men and tore through, running for all they were worth. Running for their people.

  A hole opened up. Shanti barreled through it, landing on the soft mud of the shore, looking around with wild eyes.

  A sob escaped her as she looked out across the water.

  Xandre stood on the back of a sleek ship. The sails streamed down. The crisp fabric sounded a crack as they immediately filled with wind. The ship was already on the move.

  Away from her.

  “No!” She looked around frantically, but all she saw were enemy ships. There was no way to follow him, because even if she ran across the island to the nearest port, she’d have to fight her way there. By then he would be out of reach.

  She would never catch him, and even if she could reach him with her Gift, as strained as it was after the battle, he’d have Inkna protecting him. There was no way.

  “No,” she sighed, deflated.

  She stumbled into the water, right beside Rohnan, staring at that man.

  He stared back.

  A soft smile spread across his face. His hand rose, offering her a slow wave as the ship gained speed and took him away from the island.

  Fighting still raged around her, but she was almost blind to it. She didn’t care. She watched with a sinking heart as her one true enemy stood at the back of the ship, surrounded by his Inner Circle, smiling at her like an old friend as he drifted out into the ocean.

  A tear fell before she felt Cayan’s arms wrap around her and carry her away to safety.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  In the aftermath, after all the remaining Graygual had been cut down, Shanti sat on a small berm with Rohnan. Tears still swam in her eyes and dribbled down her cheeks. She’d been so close. She’d seen him. And he’d gotten away.

  “There was no way you could have got to him, mesasha,” Cayan said, taking a seat by her side. He was covered in blood, with enough gashes to match her own. If he was like her, though, he wouldn’t feel any of them. “He planned this all perfectly. He confronted his worst case scenario, I am sure, and knew exactly when the battle was lost.”

  “He was right there, Cayan!” Shanti clutched at the air with bloody hands. “We could’ve ended this whole war if I could’ve just reached him.”

  “He’s too smart for that, Chosen,” Rohnan said, tears in his voice to match his eyes. “But we did get close. Next time, we will finish the job.”

  Shanti sighed and bowed, letting her head hang between her knees. “What about the battle? Who is accounted for?”

  Cayan stiffened. In an even voice that said he was suppressing emotion, he said, “Etherlan didn’t make it. Neither did Tepson. Tomous took a bad wound—Marc is looking after him now. Ruisa and Gracas both have broken bones, but Marc assures me that he knows how to set them, and thinks they’ll both be fine. The rest are exhausted and battered, but alive. Thankfully alive.”

  “All the boys?” Shanti asked with a tight throat.

  “All the boys. And the girl. They all made it.”

  Shanti felt a moment of relief before the sorrow of losing Etherlan and Tepson consumed her. She didn’t know them that well, but they had been part of their team. An important part.

  “More to add to the butcher’s bill,” she said in a shaking voice.

  Cayan didn’t answer. She felt his sorrow well up, and then the guilt.

  Blinking away the tears, Shanti stood. She met Cayan’s gaze. “Let’s not lose the cubs.”

  Rohnan rose with them, aching sorrow drifting from him, feeling the loss of their friends and family all over again.

  They climbed the hill slowly, each lost to their own thoughts, before they found the tree. Shanti sat down and took out one of the cubs. She held it tight, feeling the warm little body against her heart. She dug her face into the squirming little thing and cried. She cried for the lost, she cried for her people, and she cried in gratitude for being alive.

  * * *

  A couple of hours later, after the pain and loss had subsided a little, and the three of them descended the hill again, Sonson, an aging woman with a regal stance and a full dose of power, and a man who looked uncommonly like Rohnan, waited for them. Their eyes were hollow, and sorrow radiated out of them, but they did not show her their emotion. Their faces were grim and set.

  The woman stepped forward. “I am Emery, the Shadow Lord. I lead these people.”

  Shanti couldn’t summon up the surprise she might’ve felt on a different day. “A woman.”

  Emery nodded. “A woman like you, forced to step into the role of leader.”

  “Yes, though you have done a better job of protecting your people.”

  Emery looked at her for a moment, her gray eyes soft, before turning to the men in blue beside her. “These are my sons. You’ve met Sonson.”

  “Yes,” Shanti said in a flat voice. She was emotionally spent and hoped they understood.

  “And this is Portolmous.” The man who looked like Rohnan stepped forward with an outstretched hand. She shook it before he stepped back.

  Emery looked at Cayan and Rohnan in turn. She said, “I have met Rohnan.”

  “Right, sorry,” Shanti said as fatigue tugged at her. She put her hand on Cayan’s arm. “This is Cayan. He was with me in the trials.”

  “Yes. You two have Joined. I can feel it.” Emery’s gaze dipped to Cayan’s neck. “Such a rare thing to find someone who is your power’s perfect mate. There is only one, after all. The fates are at work here.” She turned back to Shanti. “You have the ring that goes back generations, linking our people.”

  Shanti touched her throat. “Yes. It was given to me by my father, who received it from his father. I am the first woman to wear it.”

  “Which is why it hangs heavy around your neck. Fitting. I am the first woman to solely lead my people. I do not have a ring, but the same weight hangs heavy around me.” Emery nodded toward Cayan. “And he has another remnant of days past…”

  Cayan’s brow crinkled as he looked at Shanti. Shanti said, “The necklace, you mean?”

  “Yes.” Emery smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes. “He wears a piece of our distant kin, as do you. That is fitting, since the Chosen is said to wear something from our common ance
stors. Now. Tell me. Do you have anything else?”

  Shanti sighed as the last of her adrenaline trickled away. She shook her head. “No. I have people to look after. If you plan to kill us, can you do it tomorrow? I’ve had enough for the day.”

  Disappointment drooped Emery’s expression. Emery nodded. “We will meet tomorrow.”

  Shanti should’ve been scared. Or worried. Or any number of things. Instead, she was just tired.

  She shouldered her pack as Marc walked up on shaky legs and with uneasy steps. “S’am, I need to get Tomous back to the city, but I thought I would check on you first.”

  Shanti hugged him. He didn’t bother to put his arms up to her. He just leaned against her. When she backed away, he blinked. “I’m tired, S’am,” he said, his mouth turning down at the corners and wobbling. Emotion worked into his expression. He wasn’t as good at hiding it as the older men. He hadn’t had the practice.

  “I know,” she said, reaching up to cup his cheek. “We’re done now, though.”

  He nodded and glanced at Cayan. His gaze took in Cayan’s gashes, but seeing they weren’t serious, he shrugged and slouched off.

  Shanti watched him go before appealing to Sonson. “You have that beast, so I… well Cayan, thought you might be able to help us with these.”

  Shanti put her pack on the ground carefully and extracted the cub. It growled before wiggling into her hands and trying to snuggle in closer. Cayan extracted his, holding one in each hand.

  Shanti didn’t hold it out—she craved the warmth and innocence of its little body. Instead, she nodded at it. “We killed the parents. Cayan didn’t want to leave them to die, but we don’t have any milk for them.”

  A smile creased Sonson’s face as he stepped forward to pet the little black fur ball. “This counts. This absolutely counts.”

  From five paces away, Burson laughed and clapped his dirty, battle-stained hands. “Our future has stretched years. Wonderful!”