I Walked with Shadows (Sightless Book 1)

by K. C. M.

  Somewhere, not so very far away, she heard the sound of branches moving, scraping along as someone or something pushed among them. Holly’s head snapped towards the noise. She slowed her breathing and concentrated hard. Her hand grew sweaty on the dagger.

  Off to her left, there was a sudden hoarse shriek.

  She started and nearly bolted, but Connor had told her not to move.

  Her legs ached from tension. She wouldn’t move if she could help it, but even the assassin would understand that she had to move if she was attacked.

  Closer, the sounds of movement were closer now. They were also faster.

  Even though it did no good, her eyes opened, trying desperately to see what it was that was coming for her.

  “Holly.” A shadow that was somehow blacker than the surrounding darkness appeared.

  She clenched her teeth to keep from crying out. A dragging, deep breath and then she could whisper, “Here.”

  “I know.” He sounded amused. She jumped when she felt his hand on her arm. “We have to go now. You can’t tell, but it will be morning soon.” His hand slid down her arm and he freed the small knife from her hand. She couldn’t see, but she felt him bend and slip the knife back inside her boot.

  She frowned. “I’m not helpless.”

  He lifted her easily. “Of course not. You’re my student.”

  She let his arrogance pass and wrapped her arms around his neck even though she wished she could walk on her own. “What happened back there?”

  “The werebeast is gaining on us faster than I thought it would.”

  “I…I thought I heard it. How close is it?”

  He was quiet, but she knew it was because he was contemplating an answer rather than simply refusing to answer. “Too close.” He finally said softly. “Once we’re out of the woods, we’ll run.”

  With a start, she realized that she had no idea where he was taking her. “Where are we going?”

  “There’s a mining town about three days away. We’ll head towards there for now.”

  “And then?”

  “We’ll figure it out as we go.”

  Nerves and curiosity warred, resulting in her voice sounding like babbling. “Have you always been on the run?”

  “No.” She thought he would stop there, but just as she was opening her mouth to ask another question, he continued in a very quiet voice. “But I prefer being on the run to the life I had before this.”

  Holly stilled, falling silent as she thought this over. After a long moment, she said. “I never realized it, but I think I must be a madcap, because I prefer being on the run to working at that inn.”

  For the first, he actually asked her a question. “Was it very awful?”

  She thought a moment. “No, not awful…but, stifling. And at times I hated it very much. I suppose there were moments that were awful. Visitors who yelled and trashed their rooms. Men who…well, it doesn’t matter now. I’m just surprised by how happy I am to be away.”

  “You don’t know yourself very well.”

  She stiffened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I just mean that you shouldn’t be so surprised. You jumped out of a window to escape death. You convinced a group of obstinate soldiers that there really was an assassin in their midst. You survived in the forest by yourself, defeated a gnome, and have put up with a dark elf as your traveling companion. You’re nature isn’t that of someone who simply accepts life. You’re nature is stronger than that.”

  She squinted in the dark. “I think it’s getting lighter!”

  He made a disgruntled noise.

  She smacked his shoulder lightly. “People generally like light, you know. And you know a lot about me considering we only met a couple weeks ago.”

  “I’m trained to be observant.” He pointed out.

  “Aren’t you just a lucky bugger? Can I walk now?” She squirmed and he set her down, now that she could squint and see the outlines of things.

  And that was precisely when something knocked into Connor, driving him forward on top of Holly. She tried to save herself from falling, but the ground was inevitable.

  All breath fled her lungs.

  Before she had time to fully register what had happened, Connor had rolled to the side.

  Instinctively, she tried to look back.

  Connor’s arm shot up, blocking her view. Something clashed hard against the knife in his hand. The clash was accompanied by a high, earsplitting slide of claw on sharp steel.

  She scrambled, trying to reach down for the knife in her boot.

  Her body was pressed into the ground, as Connor rolled, half onto her, making it to his feet.

  The glance over her shoulder revealed the impression of something large, dark, and with several pointy ends.

  Connor’s movements were fast.

  Far too fast for her to see clearly what happened.

  He advanced on the creature.

  A long arm that ended in wicked claws slashed, catching Connor’s shoulder.

  Holly drew her knife and held it in shaking hands.

  A blur of black shadow as Connor twisted, kicking out. The dim, barely noticeable light caught on the edge of his knife as he slashed.

  A horrid, animalistic shriek exploded her ears.

  Connor was in front of her, his green eyes dark.

  He grasped her shirt. She was pulled to her feet with such force that she heard the rasp of material ripping.

  “Run!” His voice was low and rough, a reflection of the violence he could inflict.

  He shoved Holly.

  Her feet didn’t feel like they were working right, but somehow she was heading towards the faraway pinpricks of light.

  The trees were thinning.

  Something was breathing hard and heavy behind her.

  She stumbled and Connor’s hand was gripping her arm, hauling her forward.

  And light.

  Light was ahead of them. It spilled around them. It illuminated the edges of the forest.

  Her legs burned, her lungs burned, her mind burned with a vividness she’d never felt before.

  Connor yanked her ahead of him and then shoved her. The force propelled her forward.

  She was on a rocky slope.

  A glance over her shoulder and she saw Connor was no longer right behind her.

  A harsh, sobbing breath later, and her frantic eyes found him.

  He was in the shadows of the forest. He moved so fast he was more night wind than man.

  And that…thing.

  Werebeast took a whole other meaning.

  Giant, vicious antlers sprouted from a large, sharply angled wolf face. Vicious, snapping jaws nearly took off Connor’s hands with ease. It stood on two strong haunches. Its arms were unnaturally long, the wicked claws of its four fingers cutting the very earth as it moved.

  Only now, those long arms were attempting to wrap around the assassin.

  He wove among the limbs of the violent creature with astonishing speed.

  Then it happened.

  The creature threw back its wild head and screamed.

  It sank to its knees, defeated.

  It hadn’t even finished collapsing all the way before Connor had reached Holly, grasping her arm and dragging her onward.

  “We need to keep moving.”

  Holly’s face was white as snow. She’d been staring at him, her gaze a physical force as they’d crossed the first foothill.

  He ignored her stare.

  He was too preoccupied focusing on what the few, rare shadows on the near barren hills could tell him.

  He’d been so stupid.

  Despite knowing the werebeast was closing in on them, he’d allowed himself to be distracted by talking to her.

  Then, in an effort to protect her that he wasn’t even sure he understood, he’d thrown his body over hers. The beast had slashed his shoulder.

  There was no time to take care of it now, though.

  This werebeast hadn’t t
raveled alone. There was at least one more nearby. Connor didn’t relish the thought of running into another one so soon.

  The one thing even more horrifying was the thought of what was following behind the werebeasts.

  He held out his hand to Holly as she started to get up. She paused, staring at his hand. He fought the ridiculous urge to withdraw and hide his hand. Then she took his hand, her gaze once more going to his.

  He jerked his gaze away, but kept hold of her hand even after she’d regained her feet. “We’ll run down the face of the hill here and try to make that mountain there before stopping for the night.”

  “Is it safe to stop for the night?” She asked.

  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. It was her first question since the attack. “No, but we both need the rest.”

  He tugged her hand and they took off. He took long, easy strides. Her legs were much shorter and her gait frantic as she tried to keep up.

  At the bottom of the hill, he realized he was in trouble. His limbs were shaking and he’d slowed significantly.

  He paused, bending over to catch his breath.

  “Are you alright?” Her hands reached for him, steadying him, grounding him.

  Why the devil had he brought her with him?

  Had it really been worth life?

  But he already knew the answer. Weeks of traveling with her had solidified the answer.

  “There’s a village on the other side of the mountain,” He rasped, rousing himself enough to point. “Ask for a man named Gallagher. Tell him you’re under…Caranthir’s blessing.”

  Connor didn’t feel his limbs weaken, but suddenly Holly’s face was above him.

  “Don’t tell him…what has happened…to me…”

  Her face wavered in and out of focus.

  It was so hard to breathe.

  The poison had infiltrated his blood.

  It had traveled his body like some explorer in a new land, leaving no sight unseen.

  His lungs felt like they’d been stuffed with sharp, heavy rocks.

  Holly’s mouth moved, but the only sound he could hear was the uneven pounding in his own head.

  Then he couldn’t see. His conscience slid away from him until he rested in an ocean of black obsidian. Sharp, yet depthless, he was soon lost as wave upon wave broke over him.

  10 An Unexpected Alliance

  Holly couldn’t breathe.

  It wasn’t from the sudden, biting chill in the higher air.

  It was fear…and also the fact that she’d tried to catch Connor as he fell, only to have him collapse on top of her.

  Tarnation, he was heavy.

  But she didn’t really care. Her hands scrambled on his neck. The beat of his pulse was erratic. His skin was burning up with heat. If he’d been awake and healthy, she would have teased him and probably pressed her cold fingers against his skin for warmth.

  Her mind skittered for a moment, her thoughts frantic with sudden fear. A part of her tried to avoid the horror, desperately scrambling for a joke, for humor…but something was wrong.

  A deep breath and she calmed a little, her thoughts slowing.

  First, she had to get out from underneath him.

  She pushed on his shoulder and slithered and shimmied. She got her torso out and then freed her legs. With a hard shove, she got him onto his back. How had she not noticed how heavy he was earlier that day?

  His face had leached of all color, his lips a strange hue of mixed violet blue. How could he look frozen, but feel hot?

  What had happened to him? Why had he collapsed? Was he ill?

  As her hands slid over him, checking, she suddenly came across a sticky, wet patch.

  With a hard jerk, she yanked his shirt free and shoved it up, revealing the hard, deep lines of his stomach.

  She gagged.

  Not because he wasn’t handsome. In any other circumstance she surely would have blushed.

  But right now, three cuts were etched deep into his body, bleeding slowly. The skin around the cuts was dark purple and swollen. His blood was so dark, it appeared black. Was that natural? She wasn’t sure. What color of blood did Dark Elves have? She’d never noticed him bleeding before.

  Her breathing quickened.

  The only other time she’d ever felt such fear was when she thought she was going to die.

  She’d seen the pouches on his belt. She scrambled through them, but quickly realized that even though there were plants and powders, she had no idea what ones were used for healing. Why hadn’t she thought to ask? Why hadn’t she asked him to teach her about healing instead of fighting?

  Clutching his belt in her hands, she leaned over him. “Connor…Connor!” She caught his shoulders and shook him. If he would just wake and tell her what to do, she’d do it without hesitation.

  When he didn’t stir, she scanned the surrounding hills.

  He’d said something about a village on the other side of the mountains, but she’d never get there in time for help.

  “Saragon!” She cried out loudly.

  There was no answer.

  Holly started to scramble up the other hill, thinking she might get a better view or that her voice might carry better. Once there, she screamed the horse’s name. “Saragon!”

  Nothing.

  Even the wind had abandoned her, deserted her, leaving her to try to save the assassin on her own.

  She threw one last glance over her shoulder, hoping the giant horse would appear.

  Partway down the slope, within a thicket of twisting trees, something gleamed.

  She could have sworn that for a second she saw something, someone…a face.

  Holly glanced between the trees and the body of the assassin.

  In one hand she gripped his belt with the pouches and in the other she drew her dagger.

  She ran for the trees.

  “Help!”

  This little patch of woods was different from the others. The trees were smaller, perhaps only rising ten or twenty feet above her. Their branches twisted about wildly and the leaves were small and clumped. More predominant than the leaves was the moss. Like green, feathery cobwebs, it draped over everything within.

  Just as fascinating, was the abundance of boulders. As if some great building had once stood there, but had long ago collapsed. The stones were huge and had tumbled haphazardly upon each other. They might have simply been bulky ground, for the trees sprang up from cracks and crevasses between them and the moss that covered them was so green it could have been mistaken as grass.

  Holly was hurrying so that she missed a step.

  She fell. Her shin shot through with pain and her palms stung as she caught herself. Her vision blurred before righting itself. She pushed up, looking around. Within the midst of the forest, the stones had been cleared away and she was in a noticeable circle. She had the strangest sense of déjà vu.

  Something flickered to her left, but when she looked it was gone.

  She caught her breath and cried out, hoping the shadowy figure was friendly, “Please, help me!”

  “Life is just all about you, isn’t it?”

  Holly started and whirled.

  A small, delicate woman stood behind her, frowning ferociously. Or was she a girl? Her red hair curled so ferociously around her face that it added a few inches, yet she still was a good deal shorter than Holly. The…girl…didn’t seem to know her height was far below average. She stood with the kind of confidence and grace that a person only attains from living life.

  Holly instinctively felt cowed by the other’s presence.

  “Well?” The girl’s light green eyes swept down over Holly’s dirty clothes. “Do you think that no one has a life outside of yours?”

  Holly swallowed and focused on her fear and panic in order to overcome the power of the girl’s presence. “No. It’s not about me at all. My friend is hurt. He was attacked by a werebeast. I think he is dying.”

  The girl laughed.

  It tingled
through the air and embedded itself in Holly’s ears like it was a living thing. She couldn’t stop from shivering.

  “A werebeast? I’ve heard humans are misled creatures, but certainly even a child couldn’t believe a werebeast would come here.” She shook her head and her look was so full of pity and disdain that Holly flushed.