A Valley of Darkness

by Bella Forrest

  I was still shaking from my encounter with Caspian. He’d asked me not to tell my team that he’d been the one to help us against the daemons, twice. I was tempted to do the very opposite. These were my people; I trusted them with my life. But then I remembered Caspian mentioning the many lives that depended on his concealed identity. I couldn’t help but consider those people. I knew nothing about them. I didn’t even know who they were. However, an innocent life was an innocent life. Surely, Caspian had good reasons for doing all that with a mask on.

  I decided I’d keep it to myself for a little while longer. Maybe a day, at most, until we found out more. Whatever this city was hiding, Caspian knew something. I was determined to get it out of him sooner or later.

  “I’m sorry we couldn’t find the prison.” Avril sighed. “But I’m more than happy to try again tomorrow.”

  Jax nodded slowly.

  “It’s okay, tomorrow’s another day,” he replied. “Early morning might actually be better, with most Exiled Maras still sleeping.”

  “I’m still surprised the protection spell didn’t work,” Patrik muttered, visibly dismayed. “I know I’ve never performed it before, but still… It had all the ingredients and power it needed to charge up and stop the hostiles from coming in. I focused and visualized the red eyes. The image was quite clear in my head when I cast the spell…”

  “Maybe that’s why it didn’t work,” Hansa murmured softly against Jax’s chest. “Maybe you needed a full portrait of the beasts…”

  “Yes, probably.” Patrik nodded slowly.

  A loud thud outside startled us, mainly because it was followed by a familiar growl. Avril opened the door, and we rushed outside, leaving Jax and Hansa behind. We all stilled in front of Blaze in dragon form, his jaws open and bloody, and Caia slipping off him, not too steady on her legs.

  Avril rushed to help her stand. Caia looked wretched, covered in dust, tears streaming down her cheeks. The Correction Officers stationed outside had already backed off, watching from the top of the stairs, clearly uncomfortable in the presence of a fire dragon. It was the only part of the night that gave me a sliver of satisfaction—knowing they could see Blaze in his full form. Now they probably understood that we were not to be played with.

  “They took her,” Caia cried out, dropping her backpack at her feet, and I reached her side. “A daemon took Fiona…”

  The revelation floored me. My heart stopped beating, then kicked itself back on in a frenzy.

  Blaze spat something on the cobblestone. I gasped, realizing he’d captured a daemon. Blood pooled underneath the invisible mass he’d just discarded from his jaws.

  “Holy mother of…” My voice trailed off as Blaze returned to his normal form, tall, muscled, and… jaw-droppingly naked.

  He swiftly pulled a pair of pants from the backpack that Caia had dropped and slipped into them, and then Heron helped him carry the beast inside the infirmary. Avril and I followed with Caia. If I’d gathered new questions after my encounter with Caspian, this development threw in a bunch more, further contributing to my angst and determination to find out what the hell was going on in this city.

  Harper

  (Daughter of Hazel & Tejus)

  Patrik and Scarlett did their best to perform an autopsy on the invisible daemon. Blaze and Heron had plopped the beast onto a spare table, but the Druid wasn’t even sure where to start his analysis, given his inability to see his subject.

  While they tried to figure the creature out, we helped Caia regain her composure. She gulped down a glass of water and told us everything that had happened, between hiccups and sobs. Blaze helped fill in any blanks whenever Caia faltered due to her emotional distress. My heart broke for her. She’d watched Fiona get snatched, and I could only imagine how traumatic that had been.

  After Jax debriefed Caia, I moved closer to her and gently squeezed her shoulder. I didn’t have a solution for our problem, but I was positive we’d bring down fire and death on anyone who stood between us and Fiona.

  “At least you found the prison.” Hansa sighed, too tired to express the rage I knew was building up inside her. I felt the same.

  “The daemon took Fiona,” Caia mumbled.

  “We’ll get her back,” Jax reassured her.

  “We should’ve gone after her!” Caia shot back, giving Blaze a brief glare. She was mad at his decision to come back to the infirmary.

  “I wanted to go after her, but I didn’t want to risk your life in the process,” Blaze said, a muscle twitching in his jaw as he stared at the invisible creature on the table. “I didn’t want to break the team down any further, either, and I didn’t even know how many of them there were. What if we were flying into a nest of thousands? I also hoped we could at least analyze a daemon corpse before charging after Fiona.”

  “I agree—it would have been unwise to go by yourselves, even if one of you is a fire dragon,” Jax said. “If you don’t know your enemy, you don’t know their numbers or which weapons are effective. Most importantly, I’m not sure how even a fire dragon would fare against what could be a massive army of daemons—it would have only taken one smart one to figure out how to slash Blaze in the eyes.”

  “It’s also good that you brought the dead daemon here,” Patrik interjected, pouring black dust into the palm of his hand from a small leather pouch. “Because now we can try to find out what makes this monster tick.”

  “When are we going after Fiona?” Caia wasn’t able to focus on the daemon, not that I could blame her. I felt sick to my stomach just looking at the table, with blood dripping from its edges. One of them had our friend—our partner.

  “I’m hoping an hour, two hours at most,” Jax replied, then nodded at Patrik. “Depending on how fast you can get useful information out of an invisible corpse.”

  “What about the prison?” Blaze asked, stealing a glance at Caia.

  “Lord Kifo will have some explaining to do,” Jax replied. “But Fiona’s our priority right now.”

  “Hold on,” Hansa said, and sat up, her bare feet touching the floor. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around what the daemons were doing down there. You said the Imen referred to them as ‘soul eaters’, right, Caia?”

  “Yeah, and I could see what they were doing, clear as day,” she replied. “I mean, I think that’s what they were doing. It was the only thing that made sense at that point.”

  “They weren’t killing them yet, though—at least, I don’t think they were,” Blaze added. “But the Imen were definitely in pain, weak, and pale… Maybe ‘soul eating’ doesn’t kill right away.”

  “This is getting more and more complicated.” Hansa shook her head. “I don’t think just going into the Valley of Screams is going to work. We need more manpower here!”

  “One of us could go back to Calliope using the swamp witches’ travel spell,” Scarlett suggested.

  “True, but the clock is ticking, and it takes what, six or seven hours per trip?” I frowned. “That’ll be twelve hours we can’t yet afford to lose reaching out to Calliope—and we also can’t afford to spare any one of us right now. We’re a small team as it is. I think we need to go after Fiona first, then send one of us back to Calliope. The daemons won’t kill her yet, based on their patterns and what you saw in the prison. They’ll probably cage her like they did with Minah… and maybe feed off her soul.” I shuddered. That sentence didn’t end up sounding as comforting as I’d intended.

  “Harper has a point,” Jax replied, clearing his throat. “We’re better off asking Lord Kifo for additional fighters. He has plenty of Correction Officers, from what I’ve seen today. Surely he can spare a couple dozen or more to support our entire team for a retrieval mission in the Valley of Screams.”

  “Do you think he’ll want to help?” Blaze raised an eyebrow. “You know, given the shady prison situation we’ve uncovered…”

  “I can talk to him,” I offered. “Like Jax said, Fiona’s our priority. I can go get him now, and we c
an hash things out with the guy.”

  It was easier this way. I was sure I’d get Caspian on board if I put him in front of my whole team. I had leverage on him, after all. He needed his identity beneath the savior’s mask to be kept a secret, and I needed a small army to get Fiona back.

  Call it blackmail.

  Patrik muttered something under his breath and blew black dust over the beast. The particles burst into flames as they touched the daemon, but it didn’t have any effect on its invisible cloaking. He was trying to find ways to reveal the creature.

  “That would actually be sensible.” Jax gave me a brief nod.

  I was secretly thrilled to go after Caspian again and torment him a little. He deserved it, and a hell of a lot more, but I figured I’d start with blackmail and work my way up.

  Patrik tried another spell with the same black dust, which turned into water as it came in contact with the invisible skin. We all stilled as the water trickled down the creature’s back and revealed a small stretch of tanned skin. The Druid gaped at us for a second, then grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it all over the daemon.

  We all gathered around the table, watching as Patrik rinsed the creature, its invisibility texture fading away and revealing its real skin. I couldn’t stop myself from gasping at the sight of it.

  It was extremely tall, at least one head over Jax and Heron. And… judging by its physical features, it was actually a he.

  “He’s naked,” Heron croaked.

  “Well, almost,” Blaze muttered, his dark eyebrows raised.

  The daemon had deep and wide holes in his torso and lower abdomen from where Blaze’s teeth had gouged him. The wounds had been fatal. But I had to admit that he looked absolutely nothing like what I’d expected… Not only was he tall, he was also very well built, with a heavy muscle mass, and toned to perfection. He’d clearly been designed for war and combat.

  As Blaze had pointed out, he wore a short chainmail loincloth mounted on a black leather belt as his only item of clothing, and his limbs—arms and legs like the rest of us—were in good proportion with the rest of his body. Enormous claws protruded from his fingers, hard and sharp enough to match the damage we’d seen them inflict on me, Hansa, and others. Patrik pressed the tips of his fingers, to further inspect his hands, and the claws swiftly retracted, vanishing between regular nails.

  “Oh… retractable claws.” The Druid cocked his head to one side. “What other secrets are you hiding, daemon?”

  He moved closer to the creature’s head, where two smooth horns curled out from the back and extended forward, their tips sharp. They partially reminded me of the alpine ibex on Earth, in terms of angle and shape—they weren’t too long or thick, but could easily serve as weapons.

  “Look at his mouth,” Patrik muttered, and pressed down on the daemon’s chin, opening his mouth. Two large white fangs extended from the upper jaw, significantly longer than vampire fangs.

  “Are they retractable?” I asked, then put my hand out. I pressed on his gums, and the fangs retreated beneath, leaving small but equally sharp canines on display. “Yup, retractable.”

  A minute passed as we all stared at the face of our enemy.

  His face was humanoid and… surprisingly handsome, with a five o’clock shadow framing a jaw that could cut diamonds. He had long black hair, and his lips were large and full. I found myself wishing I could look him in the eyes—I wondered if they were red all the time.

  I shivered as my gaze traveled back down his formidable body.

  Ropes of muscle covering him from head to toe. Retractable claws and fangs that could rip into any throat, easily…

  What had we stumbled upon here?

  “At least we know what the enemy looks like,” Jax sighed, resting his hands on his hips.

  “And we know they feed on… souls, I guess,” Hansa added.

  “And they’re extremely fast. Terribly strong. And those claws can do some serious damage,” I said.

  “Along with their fangs and horns,” Avril interjected.

  “And one of them has Fiona.” Caia shuddered.

  “We’ll get her back,” Blaze said firmly, moving to Caia’s side and putting an arm around her shoulders.

  “Harper.” Jax spoke up. “I think it’s time you pay Lord Kifo a visit. Now that we’ve seen the beast, we must leave as soon as possible.”

  He looked at me, his jade eyes nearly glowing with resolve and determination.

  I nodded and drew in a deep breath, taking a moment to feed off both of those emotions before heading off. Based on that creature stretched out on the table in front of us, I was going to need them.

  We were in for a heap of trouble.

  Serena

  I peeled my eyes open, welcoming the milky white moonlight on my face and relishing Draven’s soul tangled with mine, as always. I couldn’t get enough of the novelty of it all—our beings fused forever, our hearts attuned to perfection.

  His love for me blossomed in my chest as I lifted my head from the pillow and found his grayish gaze on me, his fingers playing with a lock of my hair. He was leaning over the bed, watching me intently. We kissed, softly and deeply, and the world disappeared for a minute. It was like that every time our lips touched.

  “Good evening, goddess.” He gave me a lazy smile.

  I sat up and stretched my arms, welcoming the night’s breeze through the large bedroom windows, as it fluttered through the white veils of our canopy bed and the silk of my camisole. He slipped out of his shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Upon a second glance, I noticed he looked tired, but superb as ever, his broad chest stirring butterflies in my stomach. Ninety-eight black band tattoos covered his arms. Two more and he’d officially be named for the position he’d already held for three months: Master Druid of Calliope.

  “I dozed off.” I smiled back. “What time is it?”

  I rubbed my face with my palms, then glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was just after midnight. Six hours had passed since our GASP meeting, and since Draven had heard back from Hansa after we’d seen them leave for Neraka this morning.

  It had been a long day. I’d gone into a brief training session with Phoenix, while Jovi and Anjani had tried to spend as much time together as possible. The newlyweds had postponed their honeymoon until after we got our team back from Neraka, so whatever moment they could get alone in the meantime, they didn’t hesitate to vanish.

  “Do you think they’re okay out there?” I asked, as Draven sat on the bed and brought his face closer to mine. He frowned slightly, sensing my concern over Harper and the rest of the GASP recon team. It was my sister’s first time on a mission so far away from home, and I couldn’t help but worry.

  “It’s time I check in with them, anyway.” He gave me a soft smile, his emotions pouring out of him in shades of amber and lime, in a bid to reassure me. I nodded slowly, and he closed his eyes. “Telluris Hansa.”

  Several moments went by, and his brow furrowed. I felt a little pang in my stomach, and his hand instinctively came over mine. Draven was extremely adept at recognizing and reacting to my emotions. He didn’t like me experiencing anything negative, and whatever he could soothe in me, he did.

  “Telluris Hansa,” he called out again. His forehead smoothed, and he looked at me, his eyes twinkling. It seemed she’d picked up. “Hey, Hansa… Everything okay there?”

  I watched quietly for changes in his expression—the slightest twitch, the faintest shadow passing over his face.

  “That’s good. At least you get good beds to sleep on.” His lips stretched into a smile as he listened to Hansa. “How’s the team? How is Harper?”

  My heart started beating a little faster, but mellowed when Draven squeezed my hand and winked at me.

  “So you’re spending the night at the inn, and you’ll do more interviews tomorrow morning… How are the Exiled Maras treating you?”

  I inched forward, tuning in to the subtle changes in his emotional spectrum. He
didn’t think I’d noticed, but I caught the sliver of dark gray doubt.

  “Okay, let’s catch up again at dawn,” he said, “and I’ll brief GASP afterward. Just stay safe, all of you, and reach out if you sense any kind of serious trouble, okay? Thanks, Hansa… We’ll speak soon.”

  He exhaled, then focused on me.

  “They’re all just fine, Serena,” he said, his hold on my hand loosening. “There’s nothing to worry about at this point. They’re settled at an inn in the city. Everything looks normal. Everyone is treating them with nothing but respect. Hansa says the Exiled Maras are even peacefully coexisting with an indigenous species called Imen. Based on how she described them, they remind me of humans from your world.”

  “And Harper?” I asked, still mildly nervous.

  “She’s doing well.” He smiled. “Thoroughly enjoying the adventure, apparently, though it’s been fairly low stress so far.”

  “Okay…”

  I still wondered about the doubt I’d sensed in him earlier. As if he’d read my mind, Draven brought his hand up, caressing my cheek.

  “I know you felt something in me, but it’s not something I can explain,” he said, his voice low. “It’s this underlying feeling. I can’t put my finger on it, but it keeps me on edge where Neraka is involved. And I don’t like how I can’t actually… feel Hansa, or the others, for that matter, but I blame it on the asteroid belt they have there. It’s also most likely why Telluris doesn’t work as smoothly as it does here on Calliope. It’s nothing you should worry about, Serena. It comes with the unknown territory that is Neraka. It’s a different galaxy altogether—we’re adjusting and learning new things about it as we go along.”

  I sighed, and he pulled me closer, gently wrapping his arms around me and filling me with his exquisite warmth.

  “They’re okay, my love,” he murmured, his lips hot against my ear. “We’ll catch up with them again in the morning.”