Fallen Shroud: An Urban Fantasy Novel: (Twisted Curse Series Book 1)

by D. J. Dalton

  “Let’s go.” He led her into the lab.

  When the frigid air touched her skin, a chill quaked through her body. A sickly metal smell drifted through the air. After scanning the room, she spotted a platform in the corner. Then her eyes locked on the table, noticing its covering displayed the Dark Guild’s symbol. She’d seen that symbol before, both at Dan’s house and the motel with the cursed wolf.

  “The woman wasn’t lying. This is a Dark Guild base.” Her eyes drifted to the shifter cage. Then she gasped, recognizing the person inside.

  “Nadria!” she yelled. After letting go of Quinlin’s hand and sprinting onto the platform, she banged on the cage and tugged at the lock. “Is there a key?”

  “Use one of your creatures to open it.”

  Of course, why hadn’t she thought of that? She closed her eyes, imagining the flotation tank. While letting her body relax, she felt the pulse start in her solar plexus, then move up her neck to her eyes. As she opened her eyes, light burst from her body, and Three appeared.

  Quinlin stepped closer to the platform. She heard him take in a deep breath. “Fascinating. Is this the one that killed the cursed wolf?”

  “Yes.” She looked at Three. “I need you to get Nadria out of the cage.”

  Three took the lock in its hand then twisted, snapping the padlock in half. Then she heard a commanding voice.

  “Stop destroying the equipment.”

  Keren looked up, seeing a young arcanum with auburn hair wearing a neat pinstriped suit standing in the center of the room. He held his palm pressed to the side of her mom’s head. They had her mouth gagged and her hands tied behind her back. Her red, puffy eyes showed she’d been crying. Keren gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. Ugly purple bruises lined her mom’s neck. She wanted to gouge the arcanum’s eyes out.

  “What have you done to my mom?”

  After taking a quick glance back at Three, she tried estimating how fast it could get to her mom.

  “Put that creature away and release your magic. You can’t reach me before I blow her brains out.”

  Keren looked at Quinlin. He raised his eyebrows while nodding his head. If she hadn’t known better, she thought he almost looked happy.

  “You had better do as he asks,” he said.

  She frowned as a knot tightened in her stomach. Then she released her magic. Three turned to mist, dissipating into the air.

  “Very good. Now, step off the platform and join Mr. Turner.”

  Keren narrowed her eyes, tilting her head to the side. This arcanum knew Quinlin’s name. With uncertainty, Keren did as she was told, stepping off the platform to stand next to Quinlin. He took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

  “I want you to come with me. I care about you, Keren.”

  Keren frowned, pulling her chin back while leaning away from Quinlin. An arcanum stood in front of them threatening to kill her mom, and he decides now was the time to profess his feelings? He leaned in as if to tell her a secret.

  “We’d make perfect partners.”

  With a broad smile, Quinlin’s dimples materialized, and the edges of his eyes wrinkled. Keren shook her head, stammering with her response.

  “I, I don’t know what you mean.”

  He turned to face her, gesturing widely with his free hand. “Don’t you see? This is the future of elemental magic. I want you to be part of it. You and your magnificent creatures. Don’t you want to be with sorcerers like yourself?”

  A wave of nausea passed over her as she tried to organize her thoughts. After yanking her hand away from Quinlin, she staggered back.

  “Are you saying you’re an arcanum?”

  The young arcanum laughed, drawing Keren’s attention. Her mom’s eyes widened, and she nodded her head.

  Quinlin ran to the platform, picking up the grimoire, Book of Shadows, and Amplification Disk, bringing them back to Keren.

  “With these, I created the cursed creatures.” He held up the disc, twisting its chain back and forth in his fingertips so it spun before her eyes.

  “See, I have an artifact, too. This is the Amplification Disk. And soon I’ll have many more. This one amplifies spells, allowing them to maintain themselves for as long as the disk exists.” He twirled it while he stared at it.

  “Since it’s made of an unknown indestructible metal, that’s just another way of saying my cursed creatures will live forever.”

  He slipped the chain over his head, letting the artifact dangle around his neck. “And these,” he held up the books, “document my father’s work.”

  The room spun around Keren. She frowned, stumbling back. “You attacked my mom.” She shook her head. “It’s been you all the time. You’ve been lying to me.”

  “Not everything was a lie.” He pointed to her mom. “This woman, who had been a member of the Dark Guild, killed my father and stole his Book of Shadows.” His voice softened. “But I’ll spare her life, on the condition you become my life partner and bring your magnificent creatures to the Dark Guild.”

  Keren couldn’t breathe, and her vision blurred. She rested her hands on her knees, trying to stay upright as the world spun around her.

  Just then, Briggs and Ordell walked into the room.

  “Nadria!” Ordell ran onto the platform, scooping up Nadria into his arms.

  “What’s going on?” Briggs took a step forward.

  “Stop.” Quinlin raised his arm, pointing his palm at Ordell and Nadria. “One move, and all three die.”

  Keren straightened, squaring her shoulders to Quinlin. Every muscle in her body tensed. She’d been a fool. Everything he’d ever said or did had been a lie. It felt like a fist tightened around her heart. She had put her friends and family in grave danger by insisting on his company. After spitting at his feet, she spoke in a scathing tone.

  “You disgust me.”

  Quinlin let out a heavy sigh, tilting his head to the side. “I see you need more time to think.” Then he spoke over his shoulder. “Lieutenant, it’s time to go.”

  When both Keren and Briggs jerked as if to rush them, the lieutenant wrapped his fingers around the side of her mom’s face.

  “Don’t follow us, or she dies.”

  Flashes of arcanum energy-blast carnage ran through her mind. Her pulse raced, thinking that might happen to her mom. Then Keren reached her hand out, catching Briggs’ broad arm. She felt his muscles twitching. Since she couldn’t bring herself to speak, she just looked at him as tears streamed down her face.

  Quinlin and his lieutenant ran from the room, dragging Keren’s mom with them.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Briggs

  Without taking his eyes off Keren, Briggs spoke in a tired, dejected voice.

  “Tabitha, there are two men exiting the wax museum. They have a prisoner. Do not engage.”

  “Affirmative. I see them. They’re running to the last of the museum’s delivery trucks.”

  “What’s the strike team’s status?”

  “The arcanums’ strength is running out. It’s only time before the last group of four is in custody or dead. So far, all of them have fought until the casting killed them. Faraday and four pack members made it out alive.” Tabitha paused, then Briggs heard her swear. “How did they know about the strike?”

  Keren’s sunken cheeks and pale face broke his heart. Her lips were drawn downward while the bottom one quivered. She was the strongest person he knew, but Quinlin’s treachery seemed to have shattered her.

  “I think we had a mole.” He took a deep breath. “Come inside the museum. We’re clear.”

  “10-4, on my way.”

  Briggs picked up his radio. “I need medical assistance at ICON Park, multiple wounded, multiple casualties.”

  Tabitha limped into the lab with a make-shift bandage around her thigh. It was soaked in blood. She stopped mid-stride after spotting Ordell and Nadria.

  “Oh, my god.”

  She hobbled over to them, then checked Nadria’s vital signs.
Ordell knelt at her side, rocking back and forth.

  “Is she going to be OK?”

  “Her pulse is good.” Tabitha poked at the forehead wound. “She’s taken a nasty hit to the head. She might have a concussion.” Then she pulled Nadria’s eye open. “And it looks like they’ve drugged her.”

  Ordell let out a cry, flinging himself on Nadria’s stomach. He sobbed into his arm.

  “Please be OK. You have to be OK.”

  Briggs took Keren’s hand from his arm. “You should sit down.” She let him guide her to the platform. Tabitha helped him sit her on the platform while Keren stared out into space, not seeming to know what was going on.

  “What happened to her?” asked Tabitha as she took off Keren’s bump cap and ran her hand over her head.

  “I don’t know the entire story. I came in, and Quinlin, who turned out to be an arcanum, had kidnapped Ms. Stewart and threatened to kill her if we followed him.”

  “Who’s Quinlin?”

  Briggs clenched his teeth, thinking about Keren with Quinlin. He wondered how far that relationship had gone. Had she fallen in love with him?

  “A nurses’ aide at the hospital. Apparently, he’d been sneaking Keren in to see her mom. I don’t think she knew he was sorcerer let alone an arcanum.”

  “Hey,” Tabitha rubbed Keren’s back, “we’re tracking those delivery trucks. They can’t hide from us.”

  Briggs paced the room. After this disastrous strike, the Dark Guild is more powerful than ever. Somehow, he had to rescue Keren’s mom.

  “What are we doing to stop them?”

  Tabitha raised her eyebrows. “Nothing. Anyone gets near and the cursed creatures will attack. It seems the arcanum has limitless energy when it comes to controlling the creatures. We have no defense against them.” She shot a look at Keren. “We’re simply following them so we know where they’re holding up next.”

  Faraday walked in. He sniffed the air, then grimaced. “I smell death.”

  While circling the room, he came to the cages stacked along the wall. As he let out a deep, guttural growl, he snapped his teeth. “Have you seen this?”

  Tabitha and Briggs walked over to Faraday. Tabitha gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. Briggs ran his fingers through his hair as he stared at the shriveled, shrunken-skin bodies of shifters. Both of them closed their eyes, turning away from the gruesome scene.

  “My god,” said Tabitha, scrubbing her hands down her face. “What did they do to them?”

  “They murdered them,” growled Faraday. He pointed a finger at Keren. “She was supposed to kill the creatures. Instead we lost over 90% of our warriors.”

  Briggs stepped nose-to-nose with Faraday. “It’s not Keren’s fault. She did the best she could.”

  “Then we’re all doomed.” Faraday stormed out of the lab.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Keren

  While lost in her thoughts, Keren replayed her time with Quinlin. There had to be clues she had overlooked. One had never liked him. She also remembered how Quinlin and Nadria hadn’t gotten along. Then when her mom had escaped from the hospital, the look on his face when he picked her up, that was disgust. The clues flashed in front of her like neon signs, but she hadn’t paid attention, so her friends and family paid the price.

  Her limbs felt heavy, and every inch of her body ached. If she went back to the beginning of this mess when she postponed the house re-protect, that selfish act allowed Quinlin to find the Book of Shadows. So, she had really murdered anyone killed by those cursed creatures. She had ruined the lives of their families. Children would grow up without a parent because of her stupid mistake.

  While picturing the twirling Amplification Disk, Quinlin’s words echoed in her head. ‘And soon I’ll have many more.’ Then it struck her, and the real world came crashing in. Nadria and Ordell were on the platform next to her. Briggs and Tabitha stood talking a few feet away. She propelled herself off the platform.

  “I know where Quinlin’s going.”

  Keren hadn’t expected the weakness of her legs. As she landed, her knees buckled. Briggs and Tabitha ran over to steady her from falling.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Tabitha. Her worried eyes stared into Keren’s.

  Keren grabbed Tabitha’s arms. “The artifacts. Quinlin is going after the artifacts in the Magic Underground.”

  Tabitha smiled at her. “No, Keren, humans can’t go to the underground, and they don’t know about the artifacts.”

  Keren squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. No, she was certain that’s where Quinlin planned to attack. She turned to Briggs, putting her hands on his chest.

  “I was in the Magic Underground. Azalea showed me how to pass through the magic barrier. And I was in The Repository.”

  Briggs frowned. “But how would Quinlin know?”

  Keren hung her head, her cheeks burning as her body trembled. “Because I told him.”

  Tabitha put her hand on Keren’s shoulder. “You’re sure?”

  She nodded, then rested her forehead on Briggs’ chest. She felt nauseous. Azalea and the council had trusted her with their secrets. Now, Quinlin and the cursed creatures were on their way to destroy them and steal the artifacts. A chill ran down her spine. With those artifacts, Quinlin would be unstoppable.

  She pressed her lips together, counting each heart-beat as it pounded in her chest. She couldn’t be responsible for more destruction and death. As she pushed away from Briggs, a surge of energy ran through her body. The fatigue had to be pushed aside. She had to win the war.

  “Where are the delivery trucks?”

  To her surprise, Faraday’s voice came over the earpiece.

  “They just got onto I-4 east.”

  “We have to warn the Magic Council.” Keren scrubbed her hands over her face. It was too early for the shops to be open. Anyone else she knew that could enter the underground was here at ICON Park, and they wouldn’t make it to Church Street Station before Quinlin.

  Her head pounded as her mind flipped through all possibilities. Then she spun to face Briggs.

  “Give me your phone.” She held out her hand. Her eyes wild with desperation.

  Briggs pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Who are you going to call?” He looked at her suspiciously.

  She snatched it from his hand, flipping to a number she knew Briggs had saved. It rang twice. Then he answered the call.

  “Hello? Papa Murphy? It’s me, Keren. This is an emergency. There’s something I need you to do.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Keren

  Keren jumped out of Briggs’ Land Rover as it screeched to a halt at Church Street Station. She breathed a sigh of relief seeing a stronghold defense set up outside of Perfect Potions. Papa Murphy had made it in time to warn the Magic Council.

  Three groups of four arcanum bombarded Perfect Potions with energy blasts. Two groups were on the ground, while one group had positioned themselves on the rooftop of the building across the street. The arcanum groups maneuvered similarly to the ones at the wax museum, one or two shielding the group while the others battered the storefront with rapid-fire energy blasts.

  While three fox shifters’ water jets intercepted some of the energy blasts, diverting them from their target, others exploded on invisible protection spells cast by fairies. Four bear shifters used earth magic to attack the groups of arcanum, forcing more of them to shield them from the onslaught of roots and branches rather than attack. A half-dozen wolf shifters patrolled the balcony in front of Perfect Potions, strategically shooting fireballs as they identified opportunities to strike.

  Keren squinted as she scanned the buildings, looking for Quinlin. He had taken her mom hostage and threatened to kill her. Briggs made a promise to save her before Quinlin followed through with his threat. If anyone could save her mom, it was Briggs.

  Her eye caught a raven circling over the battle at Perfect Potions. Ordell had ridden over with her, deciding
to help after he saw medics tending to Nadria. She frowned. Could that be Papa Murphy?

  The snapping of disjointed limbs drew her attention. Her jaw dropped as five cursed creatures and their handlers turned onto Church Street from the railroad tracks. As they lumbered down the street, her throat tightened, realizing they were all headed toward Perfect Potions.

  Briggs, Ordell, and Tabitha ran up next to her as two more police cars raced into the parking lot. Briggs gave a rundown of the situation.

  “We have visuals on five cursed creatures, three fire, and two earth. Making a quick estimate, I’d say we have at least thirty arcanum. Three with each creature and visuals of three groups of four, like the setup at ICON Park.”

  Faraday and the four surviving warrior pack members trotted up to stand next to Tabitha. Their torn clothing exposed burned skin and bleeding gashes from the battle at ICON Park. Faraday’s eyes scanned the area.

  “They could be hidden in or on top of the buildings.” He looked at Briggs. “We’re outnumbered against the arcanum. And we’re dead against the cursed creatures.”

  Keren winced, crossing her arms over her chest. After her performance at ICON Park, she didn’t blame Faraday for discounting her magic. Her creatures were powerful enough to kill the cursed creatures, but she had failed to use them effectively. So now here they were, at Church Street Station, defending Azalea’s artifact archive and the magical races that lived in the underground. Then she heard Briggs’ voice.

  “I’m calling in another inquisitor squad for backup against the arcanum. If we can get to the handlers, we’ll stop the creatures.”

  “A temporary solution,” replied Faraday. “Shifter magic cannot destroy the cursed creatures. It’s only a matter of time before more arcanum show up.”

  “Buying time is the best we can do,” said Tabitha. “Faraday, you and your team are helping to defend the Perfect Potion.” Then she turned, winking at Keren. “While Keren takes care of the cursed creatures.”

  As Keren tightened her fists, she gave Tabitha a nod. Faraday and the other warriors might not have confidence in her abilities and, although their criticism stung, their opinions were irrelevant. Tabitha and Briggs believed in her, and that gave her the strength to believe in herself. This time, she wouldn’t stop until she destroyed the cursed creatures. Tabitha put her hand on Keren’s back.