I used my hands to feel around me, finding the slimy cave wall and forcing myself forward despite my terror. My heartbeat thudded so loudly, nothing could be heard over it.
I tripped, barely catching my fall. My palms seared in pain, but I pushed myself up. My hand pushed against the unmistakable form of a skull, my fingers sliding in the smooth bone of eye socket. I heaved, scrambling to my feet, brushing my hands onto myself, unable to escape the smell of death. I screamed. The echo reverberated as my feet pumped under me, hands outstretched, unsure if I was moving forward or backward. Or if it mattered. I would die in these catacombs, just like everyone else. And so I ran.
A light ahead of me gave me a glimmer of hope, my pace slowing as a force enveloped me. Like my entire body had been submerged in water. The air was thick, complete and utter silence, even the sound of my heart gone. Only the light egged me forward, the dancing of a flame assuring me I was moving in the right direction.
And then the feeling evaporated, gone as quickly as it had come.
The sound of voices carried to me, so distant I could not hear the words. Like a market on a busy day. I pressed myself against the cave wall, edging my way toward the light.
I emerged, two tall buildings attached to the cave wall on either side of me. The long alley ahead led to a street, where people hustled by, unaware of my presence. Lanterns lit the road, but the alley remained in the shadows.
Was this possible? Had I knocked myself out and was dreaming? Or had I died when I fell down the Pits? Taking in the the musky smell and damp air, I stood in astonishment at what hid beneath the world above.
A thud made me turn, back to the darkness of the catacomb I had escaped. Movement in the Shadow caused me to jump, and I slammed into something, both hard and soft. Flesh and muscle of a person. I spun around, gasping, three shadows blocking the way out of the alley.
“Well, well, well, look what we have here,” a voice hissed in my ear.
“Oh, no, not so safe when you're the one being sneaked up on, are you?”
A cackle echoed off the buildings. “I've never seen one so small.” One of the shadows approached me and I backed away, moving in a circle until the light shone upon them. The flame dancing on their faces. Stalkers.
Black hair and hollow faces, eyes like the pit of darkness I had fallen into. “It's not safe, straying so far from home...and within your enemy's territory.”
Another echoing laugh rang through the cave. “What a dumb thing it is. To come all alone, unarmed. I almost pity it.”
“Almost.”
The shadowy forms surrounded me and I screamed. “Please, no! I'll leave right away!” An icy hand grabbed my arm and I shivered, a tear escaping.
The Stalkers crowded around me, and I screamed again. Panic quieted me, or maybe my throat closed. Clammy hands touched me, my body and face felt vile, leaving their dirty residue on me. I swung fruitlessly, unable to escape so many. They pulled at me, hungry animals, fighting for a meal.
They pushed me through a small opening behind one of the buildings. I yelled for help as they tried to hide me away, but no Stalker would help me even if they heard. A slimy hand clamped over my mouth.
When they released me, we were far from the town. I scurried from them, the motion of light on water caused me to hesitate. But the three continued forward, and I felt the chill of the water creep into my thin shoes, lapping against my heels.
“Push her in, its no more than she deserves, after what they've done to our people.” They crowded around me, and I felt the water rise above my ankles.
“Don't make me hurt you!” I said, with a sudden surge of confidence. Hoping my hair would save me.
“You Reds talk tall tales. You may stitch yourselves up fast, but after long enough torture, you run out of energy.” I froze. They had tortured and killed us before.
“What is going on here?” A woman's voice interrupted them. Her form was smaller than even a runt. Her shoes clicked on the wood of a dock, a tall silhouette of a man at her side. The light of a torch flickered behind them.
“A Red got in somehow,” one answered, the candy tone of comedy removed from the voice. No longer the cackling taunts. The Stalkers remained in front of me, blocking me at the edge of the water.
“And what are you doing with it?” The man asked.
“Just having some fun.”
“The Prince is to be notified of all intruders, as you well know,” the woman said.
“Yes, Lady Gwenivere, we were going to. But why not play with her first? Have you ever seen such a cute Red?” The Stalker rambled on.
“Even the cute ones are dangerous. You never know what a Red is capable of,” said the man. The small woman called Gwenivere stepped forward as the others backed away. In the dim light, I let out a sigh.
A beautiful young woman stood in front of me. Even in the dim light, I could see a glint of purple in her hair, glimmering in the light. She wore an impractically long baby-blue dress, its hem sweeping the ground. If she were to get into a scuffle, she was sure to trip on it. A navy blue cloak hung around her neck, hood dangling behind her. Relief filled me at the sight of her lavender hair. At least it wasn't another Stalker. Her bright smile felt out of place in the dreary cave.
“Thank you,” I breathed to the woman as the others retreated, back into the shadows of the alley.
She laughed. “Don't thank me. Goddess knows, the Prince never finds mercy for Reds.”
Perhaps I should have feared her more. Though not allies with the Shadow, her hair revealed her to be from Lythe, the Kingdom of Dreams. Little was known, but it was said they were deceivers. They could read minds and alter thoughts. Their ability to see the future kept enemies far at bay from their isolated mountains.
My eyes widened. “The Prince of Darkness? No!”
The man stepped out from the shadows, a long, skinny sword pointed in my direction. Dark locks of hair revealed him as a Stalker. Muscles bulged out from under his black scale armor. A sheath hung at his hip. Despite his black hair, he was incredibly handsome, with perfectly proportioned features. A ruse to mislead his victims, no doubt.
Something fidgeted on his shoulder, almost invisible in the low lighting. A scruffy black bird clung tightly, glaring at me with its beady black eyes.
“The Prince of Darkness? Don't let him hear you say that. It's hard enough to control his ego,” she said.
Based on her company, this woman was no ally. Even if she had suspended my inevitable death, she planned to take me to the most feared Stalker in the lands. I'd take three wimpy Stalkers over a man even the Doctor feared.
She reached out for me, touching my hand, as though to calm me. The moment our skin touched, I felt a current run through me, tingling my ears. She gasped, almost pushing me away from her and back into the water.
“Who are you?” she demanded. “Why have you come to this place?” She shook her head, speaking to herself in unheard whispers.
“What did you see, Gwen?” The man asked.
She hesitated, glancing in my direction once more, curiosity alight in her eyes. “Not now, Zander, we must take her to Demetri, and he'll sort this out.” She reached out for me, and I stepped back, still ankle-deep in the water.
“Where are you taking me? Let me go home.”
“If you wish, we can leave you here. But I doubt you'll survive long...considering we rescued you two minutes ago,” Zander said, his sword aimed at my heart.
Gwen glared his direction, “Put that away and call Thana.” To me, she said, “You won't find your way back to Krev down here. Come with us.” The man whispered to the bird on his shoulder. The bird lurched upward, circling around a growing cloud of Shadow. The Shadow swallowed the bird whole, leaving nothing behind but a dispersing puff of smoke.
She grabbed my arm gently once more, guiding me out of the water. And I obliged, knowing the moment she was gone, I would be on my own again with the other Stalkers. No doubt they were hiding somewhere nearby, watchi
ng.
She led me to the dock where she'd come from, the torch flickering on the three of us. The wooden dock marked the water's edge. In the distance, buildings clung to the cave walls, rising high up. Windows reflected a silvery-blue light, lighting up the cave. Its source hid in the fog above. Wasn't I underground? Where did the light come from? The cave rose so high, I couldn't see the ceiling, and I was almost certain that those were clouds up there. The twilight glow bounced off the river, stifled by a series of torches along the bank.
I could see Gwen's bright purple hair clearly in the light. The large man, Zander, stood in front of her, blocking me from getting a clear view. His piercing eyes told me it was because he was protecting her from me. I kept my eye on him, too. The black bird glided downward and landed on his shoulder once more. This time, it looked past me to the water.
Fire danced on a ghostly boat that approached the dock. Water rippled against the shores. It was fairly large, with a torch on the front of it, lighting up a monstrous wooden creature at the helm. A small cabin sat at the back of the boat, the bronze of the door glinting in the light.
The boat stopped at the dock, and Zander pushed me into it. I clung to the wet planks to keep from dipping into the murky waters.
“Thana, we need to head back. Look what we came across in town.” Zander jerked his head toward me, as though I were a massive inconvenience as he helped Gwen aboard.
Thana was a mysterious woman, wearing a tattered robe, with the shadow of a hood covering her face. She pushed the hood back with gloved hands, revealing her bone-thin face. Her bald head made it impossible to tell her allegiances. There was a small bench on either side of the boat, and I took a seat.
As she pushed us away from the shore, my heart thudded. She led us out into the center of the wide river.
“More than the current can kill you. I advise against jumping in.” The woman's voice was like ice. Her eyes met mine, and I refused to hold her gaze, petrified. “Though, perhaps that is better than your fate,” she muttered, almost to herself.
“I just want to go home,” I affirmed, my eyes on Gwen.
A hallow laugh from Thana. “Then maybe you shouldn't have come in.”
“I was pulled...” I began to explain, but it had felt like weeks had passed since I had fallen in only shortly before. My heart hurt from constant panic, searching for any opportunity of an escape.
“You'll be safer across the river,” Thana said. Once again, she seemed to speak to herself. The sharpness of her voice reminded me of my mother. The bald woman occupied my attention. She jerked her hand randomly and I flinched. Raising her lack of eyebrows, she used the long stick to push the boat once more. I had never been on the water before. The lack of water in the desert never allowed such an excursion. Especially for a princess who needed to remain hidden.
The waters were murky, even with the bluish light radiating from above. The only sounds were unknown squawks and guttural warnings from creatures I didn't want to see. I felt the eyes of the Shadow on me, and I knew many creatures hid there, maybe worse than Stalkers.
“This River holds many secrets,” Thana said suddenly. I looked to her, thankful for a break from the silence, and the thought of the many eyes on me. Gwen and Zander remained silent, used to the babbling. “Some say it is a river of Death.” Thana let the thought hang in the air for a moment, turning to meet my eyes with a lingering gaze.
5
The boat hit the beach with a jolt. Fog hung over the water, and the mysterious pale blue light fell onto a city in the distance. The river split off in several directions, filled with boats, some almost as large as ships. Off the banks of the canals, thin cobblestone streets ran between tightly packed tall buildings.
A Gothic Keep cast a shadow over the city, a rib cage archway around the entrance. Huge towers rose up into rough points like stalagmite, so high they pierced the clouds. Canals circled the castle like a moat. Only a narrow bridge of land connected to the castle, with a fifty foot drop to the water below.
As soon as I hopped down from the boat, Zander grabbed my elbow, applying more pressure than I thought necessary. Thana remained on the boat as Gwen led the way to the fortress. We crossed the snaking terrain, in some spots less than a few feet wide. The sharp points of the Keep jutted upwards like swords. My heart clenched as I remembered our destination. The Prince of Darkness.
We walked under the archway, but it was not bones above me. It was claws. What creature could be so large? I looked for the glint of eyeballs hiding somewhere in the Shadow as a chill ran down my spine.
“I'm keeping an eye on you,” Zander growled when Gwen stepped out of earshot.
“Please, show me the way out and I promise to never return.” I said, more calmly than I felt. “What use am I to you? Why are you holding me prisoner?” I stopped midstep, looking back toward Thana's boat, the chill lingering.
“Believe me, you don't want to go back there. You're much safer with us.” Zander said, his bird's beady eyes met mine. I shivered. My head filled with tales of thieves, assassins, murderers, and tricksters. But the more I looked at the palace around me, the more I realized I was in a Kingdom lost long ago. The only issue was we didn't know where they came from. Where they rested when they weren't stealing away quietly in the night. A collapsing kingdom beneath our very feet. How many from Krev had seen what I had seen today? Was I the first?
It was no matter, I wouldn't make it out alive. The Stalkers would keep this information safe, as they had for the past centuries.
Guards flanked the door, glancing at Gwen and giving a nod to Zander before opening one of the massive doors. We walked into the dark hallway, the tall doors shutting with a thud, locking me to my doom. Would the Prince of Darkness kill me as he had so many others?
Only small torches gave light through the wide hallway. I glanced back, not wanting to go further. Gwen went in, and Zander nudged my back in a less than polite way.
At the end of the hallway, Gwen knocked on a set a doors that I wouldn't have seen if not for her. Before my eyes could fully adjust, the doors opened and we walked into the room. Heavy black velvet tapestries hung all around, silvery depictions inscribed on the fabric. A latticed glass dome on the ceiling allowed blue light to filter onto the center of the room.
Beneath the light, the throne lit up. Sharp points like claws wrapped around the top of the throne. And within the gigantic throne itself sat him, the most feared man in the world.
The Prince of Darkness.
His messy black hair covered his eyes, no crown upon his head. His armor was made of the same scales as Zander's. A jewel within the hilt of a sword glowed at his side, as though it provided its own light source. Shadow wrapped around him like smoke. Even from the distance, I could see his young face, but it did not deceive me. He was immortal.
“What in Goddess' name is this?” The Prince of Darkness' voice was a bored drawl. He addressed me with his half-closed eyes, leaning back lazily in his throne.
“A Red, your Highness,” Gwen said as the Prince stood. The beam of light from the ceiling illuminated a circle all around him, but the Shadow curling around him scared away any light from directly hitting him.
I kept my chin high. I may be powerless, but they didn't know that. And I was still from Krev. There was pride in that. My eyes narrowed at the Prince's unwavering gaze, a flicker of a smile crossing his face.
“Are you sure, Gwen? It's quite small for a Red.”
The room echoed with cackles of laughter. I hoped the dim lighting would cover my blooming embarrassment. I had been so occupied with staring at the Prince, I had not noticed the other people hiding in the Shadow's eclipse. Something a trained soldier would never forget to do. No matter where I went, I could not escape it. I was only a runt.
Zander still held my arm, or I would have ran out of there in humiliation. My courage faltered so quickly, I wondered if I really was a coward.
“She was at the edge of northern Asphodel. Must have
been a Tide,” Zander said.
The Prince of Darkness walked toward us. I found myself inching closer to Gwen, the only other one without black hair. “Perhaps you should have left the Red to fend for itself, then I wouldn't have to deal with this.” The Prince looked in my eyes, but he did not speak to me. As though I were merely a stray horse.
Zander laughed, “That's what I told Gwen. You know how stubborn she is.”
I jabbed my elbow at Zander, knowing I needed to make a run for it. I had walked into the mouth of a beast. The unexpected attack gave me an advantage, and I sprinted to the exit, leading into the dark hallway. My mind landed on the guard outside the massive door. And on where I would get the strength to open it, let alone fight someone in a suit of armor with no weapon.
But before I even made it out of the throne room, an air of black smoke surrounded me. The Prince of Darkness blocked my way. Shadow slithered off him like snakes, crawling back into the dark. I screamed, almost slamming into him before stepping back. A sweet scent of spice entered my nose. He towered over me, messy black hair covered his eyes, only a glimpse of the black abyss.
“Where are you going to go, little Red?” The Prince grinned, grabbing my arm to hold me in place.
I looked him in the eyes, seeing that despite his legendary immortality, he looked only a few years older than me. But there had been stories of the Prince of Darkness from generations before, since the fall of the Shadow Kingdom. In horror, I remembered the stories of how many from Krev he had killed in almost a five-hundred Tides. My heart thudded in fear, realizing there was no escape in the unfamiliar terrain.
“Please, let me go—”
“A Red, begging?” The room erupted in laughter once more, everyone crowding around to see the show. The Prince's voice continued, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Where is your sword? Your shield?” He lifted my arm, as though I could hide it beneath my thin attire. “Why, if not for the color of your hair, I would not think you a Red at all.”
Shadow and Starlight Page 3