“Good luck, Jala.” Shade whispered as he turned his full attention to the stretch of rock strewn shoreline that was growing larger by the second. He did his best to guide the Spell Hawk toward the narrow stretch of sand, but he had sacrificed most of the control of his ship in his final attack against the dragon. He felt Grim’s hand seize his wrist and smiled sadly as he met the Priest’s eyes briefly before dumping the remainder of his power into his last attempt to save his friends.
The ship screamed in protest and twisted in the air a breath before it slammed into the sand. Blood filled Shade’s mouth as his teeth slammed together with the impact. The ship skidded sideways throwing sand into a blinding wave that nearly obscured the black rocks looming ahead of them. In the last moments of flight Shade had realized there was no avoiding the rocks and so he had poured every ounce of his power into turning the ship. It would be his side that suffered the brunt of impact and if Fortune was still smiling Charm was on the same side of the ship as Grim and they would both have a chance at living.
* * *
Shards of dull grey metal littered the rock strewn shore barely beyond the reach of the grasping waves. Kneeling Exodus plucked one of the smaller pieces from the sand and turned it over in her delicate fingers as she somberly considered the remains of the Spell hawk that lay crumpled against the rocks. She had poured her strength into the ship the moment Shade had broken away from the dragon, and he had spent the breath of mobility she had given the battered ship to bring down the dragon that had ended his fight. She had tried to grant Shade another chance at life in the only way she knew how given the circumstances, and he had taken her gift and thrown it back in her face.
With a heavy sigh Exodus tucked the metal shard into one of the pouches lining her belt and carefully picked her way across the rocks to the ship. With a heavy heart she slid through one of the gaping sides of the ship fully expecting to find mangled corpses inside. It seemed too much to hope that anyone had survived the devastating crash.
Her eyes lit on Charm first and hope bloomed in her as she noticed the faint rise of his chest, before movement in the front of the ship drew her attention to Grim who was lying half sprawled in the floor struggling to rise. Blood soaked his left side and Exodus felt a moment’s panic as she realized that it couldn’t be his blood. Grim had no visible wounds large enough to account for that much.
Her eyes moved instantly to the crushed left side of the ship, but she couldn’t see Shade from where she stood. Moving silently through the debris Exodus advanced and had to stifle a cry as she spotted a pale hand dangling from the pilot’s seat with a steady stream of blood flowing down it to pool on the floor. Her panic rose as she drew close enough to see Shade fully and her eyes lingered on the jagged length of metal that protruding from his stomach pinning him to his seat. The left side of his face was blood soaked from a deep gash across his brow and from what she could tell his arm was entirely crushed.
Her heart sank in her chest as she took another step closer then froze as she noticed the blood bubbling on his lips. Moving swiftly she crossed to Shade’s side taking care to avoid Grim’s feeble attempts to rise. The Shifter was barely conscious and she doubted Grim even knew she was on the ship, but he wasn’t her concern at the present. Shade was, and if the blood was bubbling on his mouth it meant he was still breathing. Desperately she pressed her fingers against the side of his throat and felt her spirits soar as she caught the faint erratic beat of his pulse.
“Nix bring me a body quickly. I don’t care what it looks like or who it is as long as it’s human.” Exodus commanded sending the mental thought to her servant like a thunderclap that couldn’t be ignored.
Her mind raced as Exodus quickly sketched out her plan and she smiled at the sheer genius of it. Nimbly she dipped her fingers into her pouch and drew out a slender white vial. She frowned as she considered the dust inside then glanced down at Grim and sighed. The powder was expensive, but there was no help for it. What she was doing had to be done in utmost secrecy with no witnesses beyond herself and Nix. Quickly she unscrewed the cap from the vial and dumped a small portion into her hand and impatiently waited for Grim to attempt to struggle blindly to his feet once more before she threw the powder in his face. His body sagged as the Dreamdust worked its magic and she moved hastily back to Charm to dust him lightly as well. Judging by the knot on the side of the rogue’s head she doubted he would have woken regardless, but figured it was better safe than sorry.
“May I ask why you are wasting Dreamdust on unconscious men and why exactly you needed this?” Nix asked as he dropped a limp body to the ground before her.
“Help me get Shade out of his seat.” Exodus commanded without bothering to answer either of his questions. She didn’t have time to explain if she was going to save Shade’s life. “Sorry Rose. She murmured as she tossed a handful of dust into Shade’s face and used her power to steal a portion of Rose’s talent with healing. There were times when it truly paid to be the Aspect of thieves she mused with an impish grin. Other Aspects were limited with their powers, but her gift for borrowing made her talents endless.
“I think he will die if we try to remove that. Maybe we should get help.” Nix’s voice was filled with caution as he pointed at the jagged metal and tried to pull Exodus back.
“No one but us can know about this.” Exodus hissed as she used the stolen gift of healing on Shade and pried the metal from his gut. An incoherent groan rose from the man as she half drug Shade from his seat. “Help me damn it!” she snapped at Nix and he quickly sprang to obey.
Awkwardly they maneuvered Shade back to the rear of the ship and lowered him gently to the floor beside the corpse. Exodus glanced between the two bodies and realized glumly that the dead man was actually in better condition than Shade with the exception that Shade was still somehow managing to breathe.
“I’d likely be more help if I knew what we were doing.” Nix observed dryly then frowned as he noticed Exodus hurriedly unbuttoning Shades bloody shirt. “Have you developed some fetishes that I don’t want to know about?” he asked cautiously.
Exodus paused in her work long enough to give him a withering glare then motioned toward the dead man he had brought at her request. “Strip him.” She commanded before returning to her own task of removing Shade’s clothes.
“This man died in the prison riots. He was a prisoner for the Aspects only know how long. I do not think there is enough gold in the entire city of Sanctuary to get me to strip him.” Nix informed her haughtily.
“I will assign you to protect Fidelity for the next three moons if you do not do as I ask right this moment. You have your choice, take five minutes to strip a filthy dead man or listen to Fidelity croon love songs for a season.” Exodus returned distractedly as she pulled Shade’s shirt off and tossed it to the side. She smiled at Nix’s angry curse and glanced over to see him scowling like a demon but following her orders nonetheless.
Within minutes she had Shade freed of his clothing and frowned as she examined the extensive damage to his body. His regeneration was trying to heal him, but if his limbs weren’t straightened soon he would be crippled in most of his left side.
Grabbing Shade’s torn bloody clothes she threw them at Nix and pointed at the naked dead man at his feet. “Now dress him in Shade’s clothes.” Exodus commanded as she dropped to her knee beside Shade and gently touched the side of his head.
“Why?” Nix demanded and Exodus could hear the stubbornness in his voice. With a sigh she met Nix’s eyes and realized she was going to have to explain what she was doing or Nix would argue through the entire process.
“Because in order for Shade Morcaillo to live. He must die.” Exodus informed him calmly and smiled at the confusion that lit Nix’s handsome face. “He has too many enemies and too many crimes to his name. This crash provides the perfect opportunity. I will hide him where no one will ever find him, right under their noses. No one knew he had company on this ship, and even if Grim would leav
e a helpless stranger to fend for themselves, Charm wouldn’t.”
“Are you certain this is what Finn meant?” Nix asked with obvious hesitation. The expression on his face was doubtful as he stared down at Shade’s broken body then glanced back to her.
“Finn said to ensure he lived no matter what. This is the only way I can do that.” Exodus said firmly then turned her attention back to Shade. With a deep breath she pressed her fingers tighter against his skull and pulled on the power of her Aspect once more to steal the gift of mind magic from Jin Han’shy. She smirked as she imagined the High Lord’s reaction to his sudden loss of power, but figured it served him right for refusing to use it to help others.
Leaning forward she used Jin’s gifts to dominate Shade’s mind and his body began to shift at her command. It took all of her focus to manipulate the Changeling’s body and she marveled at how much work was involved even in something as minor as darkening skin. Several long minutes past before she slumped back from the prone figure before her, and she smiled in delight at her handiwork.
“Are you certain this is what Finn meant?” Nix demanded again in a voice that was several tones higher than his normal voice.
Glancing up Exodus met Nix’s wide eyed stare and smiled widely before gazing down at the woman on the floor before her. She ran a finger lightly across the bronze cheek then idly twirled a strand of the long mahogany hair around her finger. “Would you ever guess who she truly is?” Exodus asked quietly as she admired her work. The woman was a work of art with high cheekbones and full lips not to mention the figure that curved in a way that could not be ignored. Men would fall over themselves to help Shade in his new form. There would be no lacking of protection for him either. Men would die for a beautiful woman. Jala Merrodin was a prime example of that fact.
“Just a few minor touches left to do.” Exodus murmured as she drew on her Aspect once more to borrow memories from a scattering of people in the city above. Hastily she crafted them together into a patchwork of memories and planted them carefully in Shade’s mind. He was horrible with keeping secrets, and Exodus knew if she didn’t hide the truth from him as well he would waste the effort she was putting out on his behalf.
It was a simple matter to store his true memories in the back of his mind and arrange for them to slowly trickle back to him over time. She wouldn’t steal his identity from him indefinitely. That would make Finn’s request to save Shade a moot point. Perhaps though in the time it took for all of his memories to return Shade would learn how to keep a secret from his friends. If he was going to survive he would have to. With Myth hunting him letting even a hint of his true identity slip could be fatal.
“I sincerely hope you are sure about this, because I most certainly am not.” Nix sighed as he returned to dressing the dead man with only occasional glances toward the beautiful naked woman that lay inches away.
Exodus smiled widely at him and nodded. “It will work perfectly just you wait and see.” She murmured.
* * *
Pain throbbed through her skull as she slowly sat up and spat sand from her mouth. Blearily she gazed around at the rock strewn beach trying to remember why she wasn’t in the city. Her hand rose to press gently against the throbbing pain in her skull as her eyes landed on jagged piece of metal before her then followed the deep gouge in the sand to rest on the remains of a battered Spell Hawk crumpled against a jut of black rocks.
Scattered memories flittered through her mind and her eyes widened as she remembered watching the Spell Hawk plummeting from the sky. “Shade.” She gasped the name and felt her pulse race. Memories of the man filled her as she scrambled toward the ship stumbling over the skirt of her sodden dress in her haste. Frantically pushed her way inside through a gash in the hull and scanned the remains of the ship. Shade was a friend from the Academy. Shade was important. She had seen his ship fall and had tried to reach him but fallen on the rocks. The thoughts circled through her skull refusing to be pushed aside as she moved clumsily toward the front of the ship. The dress caught at her legs once more and she had to resist the urge to rip it free. It was cumbersome and pointless, and she couldn’t remember why she hadn’t simply worn trousers today.
She stumbled to a halt and all annoyance faded as she stared down at the broken corpse in the pilot’s seat. Her heart lurched painfully. “Shade.” She whispered the name as her knees gave beneath her dropping her roughly to the blood slick floor.
Despair filled her more deeply than she could ever remember feeling before as the stinging burn of tears filled her eyes and the first sob tore from her lips. She couldn’t explain the complete devastation she felt. Shade had been a friend, but the agony tearing through her was worse than the loss of a lover. It struck deeper even than the death of a beloved parent. Her mind couldn’t settle on any rational reason why seeing Shade’s blankly staring blue eyes made her want to die beside him, but it did.
Leaning forward she rested her head against Shade’s cold leg ignoring the blood that smeared along her face as she shook with violent sobs. It was as if just seeing Shade’s life end had somehow ended her own and she wasn’t sure how she could summon the strength to continue.
“Shade! Damn it no!” A man’s voice rasped behind her and she barely managed to slip out of his way as he dove for Shade’s body and frantically searched at the neck for a pulse.
With tears streaking down her face and sobs tightening her throat she slid further back from the man and watched as he frantically sought for any sign of life. She knew it was a useless endeavor. She had felt the cold clamminess of Shade’s skin. He was dead, and there was no bringing him back. Another wave of despair coursed through her at the thought and it was all she could do to keep from curling into a ball of the floor.
The dark haired man fell back away from the seat with a look of devastation on his face that mirrored her own. She studied him through her blurry eyes silently noting his pale grey eyes and the white tips on his hair. Caleb Faulklin. The name rose from her memories with the barest details of the man. He was from Arovan and had been Micah Arovan’s guard, but she had no idea why he was here with Shade. His eyes shifted to her and she looked away quickly and huddled against the wall ashamed of the way she had been staring. Her mind was grasping for anything to cling to aside from Shade’s death, but even in her grief stricken state she knew she had been unbearably rude to watch Caleb so closely as he struggled to control his own pain.
“Who are you?” Caleb demanded in a hoarse voice.
She stared back at him but knew her throat was too tight to even attempt speaking. Silently she shook her head before leaning back against the wall of the ship as the sobs rose in her chest once more.
“Who are you?” Caleb repeated louder with anger clear in his voice. He lunged toward her and grabbed her wrist then froze as if he had been struck. His pale grey eyes widened as he stared down at a thin leather strip on his wrist and then slowly looked back to her. His mouth parted slightly and the sudden desperation in his eyes made her mouth go dry. Scrambling he moved closer to her and placed a hand on either side of her face forcing her to meet his eyes. “Do you know me?” Caleb asked with so much emphasis on the word know that she could only stare at him in confusion. “Just nod you don’t have to talk yet, but answer me please. Do you know me?” There was a pleading note to his voice that she couldn’t ignore.
“Caleb Faulklin.” She replied in a broken whisper and the desperation in his eyes turned to grief as he slowly lowered his hands from her face and fell back against the wall opposite her. She stared at him and for a time her grief was lost in her confusion. Shaking her head slowly she brushed a strand of hair from her face then froze as she noticed Caleb’s gaze locked on her hand. Frowning she slowly lowered her hand to stare down at the slightly crooked little finger on her hand. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to remember how she had broken the finger. It had been crushed and hadn’t healed right, she remembered that much.
She glanced up to see Caleb stari
ng down at the leather bracelet once more with a pensive look on his face. He sat in silence for a long moment then slowly rose to his feet. His face was blank of all expression as he leaned over and firmly took her wrist. Still silent he led her toward the back of the ship and knelt beside a nearly naked man who was so battered she didn’t see how he could possibly be alive. Her gaze dropped to her wrist where Caleb still held her. His grip wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t gentle either. She doubted she could twist free from him even on her best day, and between the numbness of her mind and the throbbing in her head today certainly wasn’t her best day.
“Charm. Wake up.” Caleb said gently as he shook the battered man. The man groaned and rolled to his side revealing horribly mangled wings that drooped pathetically from his back.
“Charm I need you to wake up. We need to go and you are the only one that has the magic to get us out of here.” Caleb said more urgently as he shook the man once again with more force.
Groggily Charm rose to a sitting position and looked blankly around the ship in confusion. “We lived?” he mumbled, the words barely coherent.
“You and I did. Shade didn’t.” Caleb replied hoarsely and she saw Charm’s face crumple in response to Caleb’s words. “I need you to put the ship in a storage gem and take us to Delvay, now.”
“Who is she?” Charm struggled to form the words despite his missing tongue as he gazed up at her then looked to Caleb in confusion. “What about the city?” he mumbled. Struggling he rose to his feet and peered into the front of the ship. His eyes filled with tears as his gaze found Shade and he turned back to Caleb still waiting for his answers.
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