Shadow City

by Diana Pharaoh Francis

  Just then, Tyler pushed through the whirling wind. It whined, flinging stinging bits of rock and debris through the air. Gritty blood made a spider-web pattern over his cheeks and forehead. A moment later, Alexander joined him. Like Tyler, he was caked with blood and dirt.

  “Found her,” Tyler said, coughing and spitting out the dust.

  “She will not stay still for long. She is distinctly unhappy,” Alexander said.

  “That’s all right. We don’t plan to make her wait.” Max laid the plan out tersely for them. “Now, Tyler and Alexander, it’s up to you to figure out where the ambush should happen and then establish positions. After that, Giselle and Ilanion start clearing the air, and we get down to business. Timing is everything. One last thing: if we don’t kill her, fall back, and we’ll figure out another plan. And try not to die.”

  She turned to follow Tyler and Alexander. The two Blades put their heads together for a few moments and then set off. Everyone stuck close, with Ilanion and Giselle sandwiched in the middle. The earthworms squirmed down into the dirt and vanished from sight, and the gargoyles hunkered down to wait for the air to clear.

  The wind was growing stronger. Bigger pieces of debris were beginning to swirl in the murk. Something thumped against Max’s shoulder, cutting deep. Spike pressed against her leg and miraculously didn’t poke holes into her.

  Their progress was slow. The wind pounded harder, the coil tightening the closer they came to Asherah. Max pulled the collar of her shirt up to cover her nose and mouth, squinting to keep the grit out of her eyes.

  “Where are you, Ilanion? Are you afraid? I will crush you. I will eat your heart and drink your blood. I will hang your wings on my walls and feed your bones to my pets.”

  Asherah’s voice spun around them like liquid gold. It was seductive and tempting, like a siren’s song. Ilanion’s body tensed against the summons, his wings clamping tight against his body.

  They stopped, and Alexander disappeared into the murk. A few minutes later, he returned, putting a hand on Max’s arm. He tugged. She followed, along with Drida, Thor, and Oz.

  He led them over a tumbled mass of stone and twisted metal. Just beyond it was a long side of a building that was still intact. It was propped on the rubble and offered cover underneath. Before Alexander turned to leave, he splayed a hand on Max’s hip and pulled her hard against him. As she had done, he had pulled his shirt up to cover his nose and mouth. He nuzzled close to her ear, his body hot and hard against hers.

  “Make this quick,” he told her. “And do not die. I have plans for you when we get back to Horngate. They will not be nearly as pleasant if you are a corpse.” He pulled his shirt down and pulled hers down and gave her a hard kiss, his tongue sliding against hers in a caress that made her toes curl. He pulled back way too soon, waving as he faded into the maelstrom.

  She grinned as she pulled her shirt over her mouth again. He was having fun. And even though Scooter’s life and her own hung in the balance, a wild joy was fizzing through her veins.

  “It’s kissing time?” Thor asked. “Can I get me some sugar?”

  “Sure,” Max said. “You and Oz make a cute couple. Can I watch? It would be so hot.”

  She laughed when Thor blinked in surprise and then blushed. Oz slung an arm over the other man’s shoulder and kissed his cheek, winking at Max. Thor turned and stared at Oz in slack-jawed shock. Max couldn’t blame him. Oz didn’t show his mischievous side very often.

  “Does this mean you have plans for me, too?” Thor asked with a wicked look as he got into the game. He ran a suggestive hand down Oz’s back to cup his ass.

  “Such plans,” Oz said dramatically as he pulled Thor against him and dipped him over his arm in classic romantic-movie style. “I shall woo you within an inch of your life.”

  “Woo?” Max repeated. “Is that another word for sex?” She shoved at the two men. “Take it under cover before Asherah gets an eyeful of you goofballs.”

  “Till later, then, my sweet candy-muffin gumdrop,” Thor said while batting his eyelashes at Oz. “I don’t know what I’ll do if you are hurt. My heart will break into a thousand million pieces.”

  “My darling sugar-pudding custard pie, I will never let that happen. Let us cuddle together until the wicked witch crashes our party and we must gird ourselves for battle.” Oz took Thor’s hand and pulled him under the shelter of the fallen building.

  Max rolled her eyes, smiling. Idiots.

  Then memory intruded, and her smile faded, her humor souring. For just a minute, everything had felt normal and right. But it wasn’t. Niko was gone, and so were the angels. She blinked as tears burned in her eyes. She bit her tongue, swallowing her grief back down. She couldn’t afford the distraction right now. But she couldn’t get rid of the ache in her chest that seemed to drill down into her soul.

  She crawled under the wall slab and settled down beside the others to wait. Suddenly, she was in the mood to kill.

  THE MINUTES STRETCHED. ONE. TWO. FIVE. TEN.

  The wind continued to intensify, scouring the ground and picking up the rubble. Wood and rocks thundered against the fallen wall sheltering them. The wall lifted slightly and slid a few inches.

  Then Max noticed that the air was starting to clear. The wind still spun hard, but the dirt was filtering out. Although she couldn’t see Asherah yet, she was able to see more of their battleground.

  “Thor and Oz, go dig down and cover yourself on the ground,” she said, pointing to where she wanted them. “We want her to pass you on the way to me. I’ll lasso her, and you kill her. I don’t want her to see you coming.”

  The two men crawled out and dug shallow trenches, covering themselves with dirt and rock until they were practically invisible. Even if Asherah had a good sense of smell, she wouldn’t be able to pinpoint them.

  Now, for everything else to fall into place.

  As the air cleared, Max scanned the battlefield. Asherah stood on a hill of crumbled masonry and dirt. She was surrounded by the remains of several buildings. It looked like half a dozen bombs had gone off. Ilanion and Giselle were off to the left and right, with Alexander and Tyler closer in, their Grims stalking at their sides.

  Max glanced down, realizing that Spike had disappeared. Where had the Calopus gone? Max searched across the field of rubble, but there was no sign of the beast. Then Asherah took her attention.

  “Who are your friends, Ilanion?” Asherah asked, casting a scathing look at Giselle and then at Alexander and Tyler. She didn’t pay any attention to the Grims. “I thought you’d bring someone more worthy of my effort.”

  The eagle mage laughed. “You are alone, your minions dead. I wonder if you are worth our effort.”

  Asherah’s face blotched greenish-purple, and her eyes bugged. She was pissed. Max’s lips curved in a sharp smile. Angry witches made mistakes.

  The wind died, and the silence was almost painful. At the same moment, a hail of arrows bounced down around her. Several more followed. With every wave, the witch twitched and fumed, her hands clenching and unclenching.

  When the arrows stopped, she pointed at Ilanion. “I will destroy your little friends, and when I’m done, I will make you suffer. You will beg me for death. I will—”

  She squawked as Alexander darted forward and slammed her shields with a metal pole he’d picked up out of the rubble. She staggered and whirled. One of her arms drove forward, and she let loose a bolt of orange magic. Alexander dodged the strike and gave her a small bow, designed to infuriate her more. Max grinned.

  Asherah blasted at him again, all four arms lobbing the fiery darts. Alexander gave a ringing laugh and danced aside. He was too fast for her to hit.

  Magic flared around Asherah in a column of pink and orange flames. She tossed a ball of light high up into the air, and it spread out like a net. It fell down as if anchored by weights. Max sucked in a breath. Alexander couldn’t get out from under it.

  But then Beyul jumped up and grasped the net in his tee
th. The Grim yanked it down and shook it fiercely before turning to growl at Asherah, his green eyes glowing brightly. Before she could react, Tyler leaped up behind her and smashed her shields with a length of wood. He leaped away, and Ilanion and Giselle each sent a slow wave of magic rolling across the ground at her. The black and yellow waves merged and washed up around Asherah’s mound. They climbed higher. Their magic met Asherah’s shields with an explosion. Rocks and wood flew through the air. Max dodged under the wall and peered out again.

  Not giving Asherah time to react, Ilanion rose into the air and smashed at her shields with lances of magic, while Giselle sent burrowing threads to tear apart Asherah’s mound. As her footing gave way, the witch staggered and fell. She screamed her fury. She sent a blast at Ilanion and struck him dead-on. Despite his shields, he slammed against a building and dropped to the ground in a heap.

  Asherah leaped down off her mound, a few feet closer to where Max was hiding. Alexander and Tyler dashed at her again. She lashed out, but the Grims were there. They snarled and leaped at her. They knocked her down and Tyler’s Grim snapped savagely at her face.

  The four-armed witch rolled away, and the Grims let her. Max winced. She was pretty sure the two beasts could take the bitch down all by themselves, but for whatever reason, they were holding back.

  Asherah’s roll had brought her a few feet closer. Max nodded to Drida, and he slammed his fist into the ground. Instantly, the dirt under the witch softened, and she sank. She struggled against the sudden quicksand, and magic enveloped her body in a sunset-colored cocoon. She floated up into the air, and both Alexander and Tyler smashed at her. She jolted forward like a tennis ball in Jell-O. Now she was between Oz and Thor.

  Asherah dropped to her feet, and Max could feel her pulling power into herself. Her face had gone plum-colored, and her body was shaking with anger. Uh-oh. The bitch was going nuclear. Team Horngate was out of time.

  Max crawled out from under the wall and stood, unwinding the chain from her waist just as sticky bolts of black magic struck Asherah’s shields. Giselle’s spell clung and spread across the sheath encasing the four-armed witch. Asherah screamed fury as the gummy black shroud enclosed her entirely. That was Max’s cue.

  She leaped forward. “Now!” she shouted, and whipped the chain around Asherah and yanked it tight. Instantly, the shields disappeared. Thor and Oz erupted from their trenches and slashed at her with their knives, Thor in the throat, Oz in the chest.

  Too late.

  The knives bounced away from newly formed shields. Asherah smiled, and power pulsed through her.

  “No one touches me and lives,” she said softly, her pointed white teeth gleaming between her pink lips. Two arms closed around Max, holding her tightly in place, while the other two arms rose, the talons curving to rake the flesh from Max’s bones.

  Max tensed. This was going to hurt. But she felt something that Asherah didn’t. She was inside the witch’s shields. Maybe it was because of her ability to open any lock. Maybe Asherah was too arrogant or too careless. Pissed-off witches made mistakes, and this one was a doozy. Whatever it was, Max had one shot left to kill the bitch.

  She was aware of Alexander, Thor, Tyler, and Oz hammering at Asherah with pipes and boards. Then Spike leaped in from nowhere, chomping on one of Asherah’s upraised forearms. Blood spurted, and she shrieked, yanking her arm wildly. Spike growled ferociously and didn’t let go.

  The magic inside the witch pulsed and hit critical mass. Her skin went so hot Max’s shirt burst into fire. Asherah’s eyes flamed orange, and she snatched Max’s throat in her one free hand. She clenched, her talons puncturing Max’s trachea.

  All of it happened in seconds. It was do or die. Just as Asherah’s magic exploded in a nuclear blast, Max grabbed the witch’s head and twisted. She heard the crack of bone and the pull of sinew. Then the witch’s hand tore free, and Max was spinning into the air, choking as her throat filled with her own blood.

  She bounced off a wall and fell flat on a mound of chunked stone. Momentary pain ripped through her, and then her head cracked on something, and everything went black.

  SHE DIDN’T KNOW HOW LONG SHE’D BEEN OUT BEFORE she woke. Dust clogged the air again, and everything was quiet. She tried to move, but she was wedged in some kind of crevice. She heard people calling her name.

  “Here,” she said, and choked. Her mouth was dry and full of dirt and blood. She coughed and spat and tried again. “Here!” she called more loudly. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

  Footsteps crunched, and rocks spun and rolled.

  “Hang on!” Tyler called, and she heard digging. Finally, he grabbed her arm and dragged her out from under a layer of dirt and gravel.

  Tyler hugged her tightly. “You scared the shit out of me,” he said hoarsely. His face was wet.

  “Are you crying?”

  “Yes. You’d better never make me do it again.”

  Before she could answer, Oz snatched her, and then Alexander did. They carried her down and set her on her feet. She sagged. Her body was broken, and her healing spells were slow. Pain netted her, but she was mostly numb to it. Spike nudged up against her with a whimper.

  “Where’s Asherah?”

  “It’s over,” Ilanion said. He limped over, with his arm around Giselle. It was impossible to tell which one was supporting the other. Both were filthy. Ilanion bore burns and cuts over his exposed skin, and one of his wings hung in bloody ribbons. His face was white, and his helm was gone. Giselle was hashed with cuts, and her nails were torn and bleeding. There was a gash in her forehead and up into her scalp.

  “Where is she?” Max asked.

  They led her to where Asherah lay half buried. She looked startled. Max nudged her with a foot. “Told you I was going to kill you,” she said. She looked at Ilanion. “So we’re done? The challenge is over?”

  “Yes. The bells rang. The judge has ruled. We won,” he said.

  “Then we should go get to work on Scooter.”

  They spoke little as they limped back to their starting point. The judge was gone, as was the pillar. Scooter, the box of silk, his horn, and his heart were all on the ground. The air barge waited nearby.

  Max went to Scooter. He was still breathing, but just barely. She looked at Ilanion and Giselle. “Can you heal him?”

  They both could hardly stand. Oz had taken over helping Giselle walk. She refused to be carried. Ilanion swayed.

  “Of course,” they said in unison.

  “We should do it here and now. The coliseum will remain standing until we leave. No one will bother us here,” Ilanion said. “He doesn’t have much time left.”

  Max heard the words he didn’t speak. If he can handle the healing.

  “Do it,” she said, and lowered herself to the ground. Spike came to lie beside her, propping its head in her lap. She was really going to have to figure out if the Calopus was a boy or a girl.

  Alexander sat behind her and pulled her against him. She leaned back gratefully. Her belly hurt. Or, rather, it hurt more than everything else, but the numbness was wearing off and her body was turning into one big mass of agony.

  Tyler and Oz came to sit, too. They laid Thor on the ground. He was healing, but it was going to be a while before he woke up. He needed food soon. A sugar IV would help him a lot. Max had brought a med kit with her, but it was back at Ilanion’s compound. That would have to be soon enough.

  They watched as Ilanion removed the bandages from Scooter’s wasted body. The wounds were putrid, the edges black and green. The hole in his chest was the size of Max’s fist. She couldn’t believe he was still breathing.

  Next, the eagle mage took the silk from the tiny box and shook it out. It glistened like diamonds and fire. He laid it over Scooter’s body. Then he had Giselle hold the horn to Scooter’s forehead. Last, Ilanion cracked open the box holding the heart and lifted it out. It was still encased inside the diamond. He inserted it through the hole in Scooter’s chest and nodded to Gise
lle. She let go. The horn remained in place.

  Ilanion splayed his hands on Scooter’s stomach and chest. Giselle put her hands on top of his. They both began to chant. Black and gold ribbons of magic snaked around the dying Scooter.

  Nothing happened. Minutes ticked past. Then an hour. Then two. Long before then, Max drifted to sleep, soothed by Alexander’s warmth and the steady beating of his heart.

  She didn’t have any idea how much time had passed before he shook her gently awake.

  “Max. It is done.”

  She blinked her dry eyes and stared. Scooter knelt in front of her. A tiny horn protruded from his forehead, and his silk traced a brilliant diamond pattern through his scales, which gleamed brightly. His hair was silky black once again, and his eyes were back to their blue-flecked obsidian.

  “You’re whole,” she said, and rolled her eyes at herself. Talk about stating the obvious.

  “Thanks to you. You didn’t give up.” He took her hand. His body resonated with life and magic. Healing energy poured through her, and her pain evaporated as strength and vigor returned.

  “Oh, wow. I always forget how good it feels not to hurt,” she said.

  “I forget how good it is to be alive,” Thor said. He was standing behind Scooter with Giselle and Ilanion, both of whom had also been healed.

  “Ain’t it grand?” Tyler said, and then fell silent.

  Niko.

  Max sighed and stood. It was time to go home. Now that she was healed, she just might be able to manage it.

  “Will I see you again?” she asked Scooter, realizing suddenly that he had no reason to stay near Horngate or even on Earth any longer.

  He smiled, and his expression was full of secrets. “You will,” he said.

  “Why does that sound vaguely like a threat?” she said with a rueful grin.

  “You’ll see me, too,” Ilanion said. “Come visit anytime, and I want to come see this Horngate for myself.” He pulled her close and kissed her cheek. “Thank you,” he said softly. “I let the Korvad go on for too long. If not for you, I might never have fought them.”