City of Burning Shadows (Apocrypha: The Dying World)

by Barbara J. Webb

  The shadows wrapped around him, dragged him backwards off his chair. He tried to scream—I saw his mouth open—but a stream of darkness rushed into the open orifice and he made no sound. He thrashed on the ground. No more than a few seconds, but it seemed an eternity. And all I could do was watch.

  I wished to Kaifail I hadn’t.

  For a long time he lay still, covered by the shadow. He’d stopped breathing. No question in my mind he was dead. When the shadow around him started to diminish, I thought it was fading away as inexplicably as it had arrived.

  Until I realized, it wasn’t fading away. It was flowing into Eddis. Seeping in through his mouth, his nose, his eyes. Soaking into his body. Until it was gone.

  I thought I’d seen the worst of it.

  And then Eddis blinked.

  And looked at me.

  I jerked awake, jumped to my feet, opening my eyes to chaos. Roaring columns of flames surrounded me—the candles gone wild.

  “Ash!” Human again, Iris paced back and forth outside the circle.

  “I’m fine. Stay back.”

  The circle was a mess. My NetPad was a melted puddle of plastic and circuits. The inset patterns had done their work—they’d shunted the magic backlash away from me—but they hadn’t survived the experience. The whole working circle had scorched and cracked.

  The fire guttered and died, leaving a ring of smeary black wax. I stepped out of the circle, next to Iris, and surveyed the damage.

  “What happened?” Iris pulled at my sleeve, brushed my hand. Brief, fluttery touches of concern.

  “I saw him die. Gods, Iris, I saw Eddis die.”

  “Seana’s husband? But he’s still—” She broke off, concern drawing her brows together.

  We were out of our depth and I knew it. But one thing I had to do—and fast—was warn Seana of the monster in her house.

  I pulled out my wireless. She answered immediately. “Ash, where are you?”

  I couldn’t think of a good way to break the news, so I settled for fast. “Eddis is dead.”

  Silence on her end. Then, “How did you know?”

  “Wait, what?” Too much happening too fast for my brain to parse her question. “Say that again?”

  Seana’s voice was calm, without a trace of upset. Even knowing this was the Jansynian way, I found it chilling as she explained what happened. “We were sharing a late dinner in our apartment. Nothing unusual. When he started to convulse, then fell over. Before the paramedics could get here, he was dead.”

  “When? How long ago?”

  “Minutes,” she said.

  I had to stay calm, had to think. The shadow-creature that had been inside Eddis—had my magic driven it off somehow? Was it still—“Seana, listen to me. You’re in danger. There’s a thing…a monster…” How could I explain it? “Stay in a well-lit area. Wait for me. I’m on my way.”

  I hung up. Iris was watching. I’d left the workroom an awful mess, but I wasn’t going to take the time to clean it up. I did take a careful step back into the circle to grab the data stick. The plastic had melted away, but the information might still be retrievable. “Let’s get out of here.”

  #

  I wished the wards could tell the difference between people coming and going, but exiting the grounds was just as nausea-inducing as entering. More, given I’d spent the last few hours sensitizing myself to magic. The vertigo was intense. I had to stop and rest several times, leaning over with my hands on my knees to support me. I kept my feet most of the way, managed not to collapse until I reached the edge of the grounds. Iris stood over me as I fell to my knees, gasping, hoping if I breathed deep enough the world would stop spinning.

  Which meant she was paying attention to me and I was paying attention to the withered husks of grass between my fingers and neither of us noticed the shadowy figures moving in to circle us.

  Until one of them spoke. “Told ya, boss. Told ya I saw scavengers in your territory.”

  Because the night wasn’t already bad enough. Without lifting my head I glanced around, counted seven sets of feet. Four pairs were human, clad in frayed sandals and a pair of boots. Two sets belonged to lizards—clawed, armored, and muscular. And the last pair, also clawed, but delicate, arching, and feathered.

  One of the men had spoken, but it was the bird our would-be-brigands looked to. Iris’s leg, pressed against my shoulder, tensed. I raised my head, but didn’t try to stand. Not yet. “We’re not scavengers.”

  The Oulirian looked down at me, feathered arms folded across its barrel chest. Her? His? In the dark, I couldn’t make out the colors of the beads and ribbons woven through its wings that would tell me its gender. To guess wrong would be dangerous.

  I didn’t like the fact the bird was in charge of four burly men and two burlier lizards. And that of all of them, the bird was the only one unarmed. This was obviously a gang that valued strength, but Oulirians weren’t strong. Mostly feathers and hollow bones in the shape of a man. Either of the two lizards should have been able to break this bird in half. Which meant it brought something else to the table. Something the rest of them didn’t have.

  Like me, like Iris, the Oulirian was gifted.

  “What did you take?” The Oulirian asked in its strange warbling voice. They didn’t have beaks—not exactly—but the sharp ridges around their lips weren’t flexible and didn’t move as they talked. The words came from deep in its throat, while its mouth stayed eerily still.

  “Nothing,” Iris snapped. I lay my hand on her calf, trying to calm her. We had to stay calm. Couldn’t afford to panic. Not now. Not now.

  “You were in there an awful long time for nothing,” said the man to the bird’s right. The same who had spoken before.

  The Oulirian waved a graceful, clawed hand, silencing its man. At the same time, I felt the hairs all over my body standing up. Gods, this was bad.

  “Easy this will be.” It raised its hand and the air around me sparked. Motes of electricity danced and streaked to surround its hand, combining into crackling bolts of energy. “Share.” A bolt of lightning shot out from its fist, shattering one of the stones within Kaifail’s courtyard. “Or suffer.”

  “Share what?” I tried to sound annoyed, rather than terrified. “There’s nothing in there. Nothing of value.”

  “Then why all the magic?” That from one of the lizards. “Why all the work to protect something that’s got no value?”

  “On your feet.” The Oulirian punctuated the order with another bolt of lightning—this time, close enough I could smell the singed air.

  Iris grabbed my arm to help, and in doing so, pulled my shirt askew. In the dark, it shouldn’t have mattered. Turned out the bird could see far better than I could. “Priest!” it shrieked. Wind swirled around us as it spread its wings and launched into the air. “Kill them! Kill them both!”

  That was enough for Iris. Faster than a blink, the woman beside me was gone, replaced by a towering, snarling bear.

  “Shifter!” the Oulirian hissed.

  One of the men was in reach of Iris and took a blow to the head that sent him flying. When he hit the ground, he didn’t move again. But that trick would only work once. The other five all stepped back. The lizards had their swords out, and while bear-Iris had the advantage of height when she reared up, they had mass. And the horns and plates that protected their bodies.

  The men all had guns, and we had about half a second before they remembered to use them. And I couldn’t forget the Oulirian up above us, whipping the air into a storm of dust, with lightning at its beck and call. The only thing our side had going for it was the fact they were all looking at Iris right now. Ignoring me.

  I grabbed for the first idea that popped into my head—the same patterns I’d used last night against the Jansynians. Only quicker and dirtier. The Oulirian flapping around in the air above our heads, generating all kinds of kinetic energy, while his guys on the ground were taking aim at Iris. A link between them established in my mind set
the men swearing and dodging invisible blows. It caused trouble for the Oulirian, too, as it had to work harder to keep the sky. Beating its wings faster and harder. Increasing the assault on the men.

  The Oulirian knew exactly what I was doing. “Kill the priest!” it screeched.

  One of the lizards came at me, but Iris grabbed him by the shoulders, digging her claws into the cracks between shoulder and back plates. He pushed back, drove an elbow-spike into her flank and she roared at the sudden pain of it. In the darkness, I couldn’t see if he’d drawn blood. He flipped his sword around in his other hand to run her through, but she shoved him away.

  I didn’t waste any of the time she’d bought me. I dug my finger into the dead husks of grass, into the sandy dirt beneath, and turned a circle around myself. The rough circle became the physical anchor of a different twist to the magic I’d already done. A barrier that would turn kinetic motion aside. Just in time as the second lizard rushed at me, sword forward. My barrier flung him sideways. Same for the bullets that crashed in my direction from the men, now free of my original pattern.

  They learned fast, these guys, and shifted their aim to Iris. She roared again as they pelted her with gunfire.

  I’d run out of clever ideas. We were pretty much fucked.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Secrets

  Rescue arrived in an unexpected form.

  Gunfire added to gunfire and I didn’t know it came from outside until I saw one of our attackers yell and clutch his shoulder. Then another did the same.

  The Oulirian spun in the air, casting about for the new threat. I couldn’t see anyone or anything in the shadowy street, and I didn’t want to waste time looking.

  Iris pounced on one of the lizards. His sword impaled her shoulder, but the inertia of her jump was enough to knock him to the pavement. She brought one massive paw down against his head and he went limp.

  This was too much for the thugs. The bird shot straight up and was quickly out of sight. With their leader fled, the rest lost heart. The four who could still run, did.

  Iris shifted back to herself. I could see blood all down her chest, dripping down her leg, but in the dark, I couldn’t tell how badly she was hurt. “Iris, are you—”

  “Shh.” She stood at alert, head cocked, her gaze darting up and down the street. “Who’s there?” she called out.

  The man who stepped from the shadows was too pale to have been from Miroc. But he looked familiar and, after a moment’s thought, I knew why. I’d seen his face on the mural mere hours ago. “Iris, be careful.”

  The man—the Favored Son—looked over at me with a little smile. “I just saved your life, Joshua Drake. You have nothing to fear from me.”

  I dredged his name from the back corner of my mind. Syed. From the list I’d memorized in primary school. Every kid had to learn the names of all the Favored Children. The same face on the mural, because Syed had been Favored Son of the Silent One at the time that had been painted. He’d been Favored Son of the Silent One when I was a kid. As far as I knew, he’d been Favored Son of the Silent One since the first ape learned to walk upright.

  The only problem was, all the Favored Children were dead. What horrible compounded nightmare were we living in that this man was still alive? That alone of all the Favored Children, he’d escaped assassination?

  And what was he doing here, on the streets of Miroc in the middle of the night?

  Iris looked back and forth between us, dazed. As I stepped closer, I could see her hands shaking. How bad was she hurt? “Ash,” her voice wavered on the word, “do you know this man?”

  “Don’t you recognize him?” He’d been down at the far end of the mural, away from her god. Maybe Iris hadn’t seen.

  Syed looked at her, shook his head with only the barest motion. Iris looked away and limped over towards one of the unconscious men still lying in the street. “Should we do something about these bodies?”

  I didn’t like the floaty sound of her voice. “I think they can wait.”

  Syed spoke again. “Leave her be, Joshua. She’s forgotten us for now.”

  “What?” I backed away as he approached me. For no reason I could say, I panicked at the thought of him touching me. “What did you do to her?”

  “Nothing that will hurt her. We need to talk, you and I. I need to know what you did inside the temple.”

  “Undo…whatever.” I waved towards Iris. “I’m not telling you anything until you make her better.”

  He sighed. “You insist on making this difficult.”

  A dizzy grayness washed over my mind. I backed another step away. “Stop it.” My fists clenched as I fought for focus. Just like inside, when I’d been trying to see through the altered video, only Syed made the whole world slippery. My thoughts tried to skip away in different directions, but I kept my eyes locked on him and my mind clear. I concentrated, pushed deeper, anchored myself in my body on this street in this moment.

  That was when I saw it. The darkness behind his eyes. The shadow that moved over his face.

  The shadow assassin that had been in Eddis was here. Standing before me. Was in Syed. No, it was Syed.

  “Iris!” I imbued her name with the same focus, a sense of her. It worked. She turned towards me, blinking and confused.

  “Ash? Are you here?”

  Syed was gone. I hadn’t seen him slip away, wasn’t sure when it had happened. But I remembered he’d been here. And any moment he could return. “Come on. We have to go. We have to go now.”

  She continued to stand there, shaking all over. How much blood had she lost? Or was this some lingering affect of whatever Syed had done. “Iris?”

  She dropped to her knees, tried to stand again, then collapsed completely. “Iris!” I shook her shoulders. My hands came away slick with blood, but she didn’t stir. I was alone on the night-black streets of Miroc with an unconscious friend, and somewhere out in the shadows, the monster that stalked us.

  #

  No way could I drag Iris back into the church. I wasn’t even sure if, in her condition, bringing her back through the ward would be safe. Trying to watch every direction at once, I fumbled for my wireless and dialed Amelia.

  Kaifail was smiling. Amelia answered on the first beep. I didn’t wait for her hello. “We’re in trouble. Iris is hurt. We got attacked coming out of the church.”

  Her voice was calm as she cut straight to the pertinent questions. “Where are you? Are you in danger?”

  “On the street right in front of the theater. Probably.”

  “Vivian’s on her way. If you have to move, call me back.” The line went dead.

  I stayed crouched next to Iris. All around, the street was quiet, but I couldn’t trust that we were alone. From now on, I was going to start packing a flashlight.

  Belatedly, I remembered Copper’s gun, buried in my bag. In easier reach was one of the pistols dropped by our attackers. They hadn’t stopped to collect their things before they fled. I fumbled the closest one into a comfortable grip and pointed it forward, out into the darkness. I could only hope I looked like I knew what I was doing.

  Was Syed still out there, lurking in the shadows? Had he sent that thing inside him back out into the night? Would I see it coming? Every strip of darkness was suspicious. In the corner of my eye, every shadow seemed to be moving.

  Every breath of warm air that blew across my face made me startle. Just the breeze—probably. The sounds of distant traffic that had been too faint to notice during the fight now pounded against my ears—did it cover breathing, the low scrape of stealthy footsteps?

  I didn’t know how long I sat there, struggling to stay calm against the certainty that any moment some deeper darkness would fall over my eyes and that would be the end. Every second stretched and warped into an eternity. If the heat death of the universe arrived before Vivian, I would not have been surprised.

  The world didn’t end and my brain wasn’t eaten. Screeching tires and engine noise, followed by a was
h of headlights announced my salvation. Vivian drove up in a cloud of dust and sand and I’d never been happier to see anyone.

  Vivian pulled around next to Iris and me. In the glare of light, I could see the mess we made. So much blood. Was all of it Iris’s? How much could a body lose? She was still breathing, but other than that, I had no idea what shape she was in.

  Vivian came out of the car, gun drawn. “Are you hurt?” she asked, looking all around.

  “Not me, but Iris needs help.”

  “In the car. Now. Amelia’s calling a doctor.”

  Between the two of us, we got Iris into the back seat without slinging her around too much. I got in with her, rested her head on my lap, and took hold of her shoulders. We left the bodies of our attackers lying in the alley.

  “Hold on, Iris.” She probably couldn’t hear me, but I didn’t know what else to do as Vivian wound us through the Miroc streets.

  But not downtown. Vivian sped up a ramp onto an elevated road that led to a side of Miroc I’d never visited. That I’d never been invited to. “Where are we going?”

  Vivian kept her eyes on the road. “Amelia’s place.”

  We passed withered husks of parks and half-empty shopping centers. Boarded-up cafes and broken-down ball courts. But for all that, the signs of decay were less here than in the rest of the city, and as we moved into the residential area, they all but disappeared.

  Our road dropped back down to ground level and we approached a tall iron gate across the road. Vivian pulled a card out of a driver-side compartment and showed it to the man who sat in a booth outside the gate. He scanned it with his wireless, nodded, and the gates swung open. As we drove through, I saw the armed men milling about on the inside.

  Not much further, Vivian drove onto a driveway that serpentined through a long-dead lawn. At the end was a compact but elegant two-story house with several other cars in the circle drive in front of the door and what looked like every single light on.

  Good. I wasn’t eager to stand around in the dark right now.