Shadow Reign (Shadow Puppeteer Book 2) (12 page)

Rose stood above me, admiring her handwork. “Looks like someone else will finish the job.”

I caught the handle and managed to get it to rise a little bit. It was at an awkward angle and with my muddy hands, I wasn’t getting it released. The ground vibrated as they neared and Rose took off through the trees.

The vile of blood was still in my pouch. I could open another death door, though it would mean leaving without the prism. My watched beep and though Rex’s heartbeat brought comfort, it also brought guilt. There wasn’t another way to save him. He was the last person on earth I had as a friend. I needed that prism.

I braced myself, grabbed the blade and yanked hard. The muscle gave and it pulled out with a sickening gush of warmth. I dropped the blade and tried to stand, feeling the torn muscle pull with the movement. My first step in the direction Rose went sent another gush of blood and aches.

The forest creatures hooted and screamed, bursting through the brush with pointed sticks. They were far scarier up close. It wasn’t dry mud that left their skin that weird gray color. Their teeth were sharp, their noses flat and their eyes completely black. They tossed their heads side to side, as if they were having a hard time keeping me in their line of vision. Finally one lifted its head and sniffed the air. I really hated when creatures did that. It made the hairs rise on my arms.

My shadow heart didn’t beat, even with Amber and other shadows near. They left the surface of my skin numb. It felt like I was a dry sponge and they squeezed me for water. The pressure was deep, leeching something keen of my soul as they drew energy. That shouldn’t be possible. That wasn’t something about the spirits that I knew, though everything here in this world felt wrong.

The pressure drew deep, leeching to the surface something fluttery and important to me. I felt separated and in those mere seconds, I knew what it was that was being pulled from me. I panicked, but there was nothing to hold onto. I was never taught this.

The spirits wrapped themselves around my strongest emotion, anger. It tasted like burning iron. I could smell the metallic heat rising from it. It was driving the spirits and it was driving me. The first of the creatures threw its spear with deadly accuracy and the air that pulsed around me made it veer to the side.

The force protecting me was the same force pulling my spirit from my body. My mind felt captive in the shell of my body as my shadow hung off my fingertips, oily black with rivets of plum purple dripping like fluid but not falling from the fabric of my spirit. I was acutely aware of how empty I was and how the air made my skin tingle.

The creatures clicked their tongues at each other, communicating. I couldn’t give them the advantage of working out a plan. I didn’t know my limitations, which meant I needed to strike first and hard. The hunger for blood was so strong, my hands moved on their accord, flinging my shadow out.

My shadow stretched the distance between us, striking them as straight as a blade. Their energy crawled through my darkness, tinting it shades of blue and pink. I could taste it. I could breathe it. Everything was connected to the spirit of the world. The energy went from wispy and light to heavy and I followed the pulsing lines back to their source. The direction I needed to head was right behind me and fairly close.

The knowledge was important, but at the moment, it didn’t matter. With my spirit outside of me, my body became the puppet and the shadows that filled the empty spot in my chest became my handler. I was hungry for violence. I craved the flesh on their bodies.

I twisted my fingers and threw my shadow outward. It danced between victims, cutting them down with precision. Blood splattered over my arms, staining my skin. Their metaphysical influence laced with mine, making me stronger.

Despite how many bodies piled along the river bank, more creatures kept coming. My skin and clothes were soaked with blood. I should’ve been exhausted, but their vigor fed into me. Their experiences were becoming mine. Their hungry spirits were making me restless. I craved something I’d never thought of as a food source. I craved chakras. Now I understood how so many girls died here; how everything that crosses over, dies here.

The creatures stopped blindly approaching. Now they stood in the brush watching me. This was the first sign of intelligence I’d seen. Guilt should make my heart heavy. It didn’t.

I had to reign in this need for death before I wiped out their race. I wasn’t into genocide, not after what World Congress and the Reincarta did to the werewolves. It was hard. My feet moved forward, following the retreating survivors. I had to pull myself together or I’d finish them off.

I couldn’t push that desire down. If the world mourned the loss of these beings, I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t feel anything beyond my own hunger and desire to end their lives.

My willful spirit nearly dragged me through the mud, but I was stronger. I planted my feet and concentrated on pulling my shadow back into my body. It hung on the tips of my fingers, pulling in the direction the tribe ran. If I gave it the smallest window of opportunity, it would follow. I’d kill this tribe. I couldn’t live knowing I signal handedly wiped out a group of people.

My shadow wasn’t responding to the pull, so I tried something just as drastic. My shields were a wall and they’d either cut my spirit loose or pull it back. It was the only option I had. I concentrated on the lines of light that protected me.

It was slow at first, like weaving. With each strand that fell into place, the numbness in my fingers and arms lifted. The higher the strands grew, the more I began to feel like myself. Even the shadows that resided in my chest started to clear as more of my own shadow came back into my body.

When the last piece of my shield slid into place, my shadow snapped back into my body. The force sent me to the ground, vomiting. The energy that I gained from the creatures suddenly left me and blackness swam up to greet me.

I
woke to sweat tickling my skin. The trees overhead didn’t immediately register, but the fog quickly cleared when a sharp intake of breath lead to a stabbing pain in my stomach. Great. I healed from everything, but Rose’s stab wound.

It took two tries before I managed to sit up. I was covered in mud and blood from my victims, so it was too late to worry about an infection. The heat made short work of the dead, making the area reek. I was responsible for the mass destruction and that made me want to vomit. I nearly lost myself to the shadows. I did exactly what Zephyr warned me against. I let them take over.

I shivered to my core, but something within me felt satisfied. I’ve been pushed around since I was a little girl, now I was shoving back, but the price was high. I wanted to feel guilt. I wanted to feel anything but the sick desire to do it again. Hecate help me, but I wanted to go further with this.

I was changing. What was I becoming? I didn’t believe Kelaino resurrected a goddess, but what if she had? What if it was me?

The band on my wrist beeped and my heart went out to Rex. It was an emotion I found relief in. Somewhere inside me I was still human. The problem was that it was really buried deep.

I swallowed and tried to push the desire down, but the lump in my throat was more than sickness. I really caused this. Even the shadow cast by the overlapping branches couldn’t soften the spill of blood. My feet were heavy. It felt like I was learning to walk for the first time. Only the steady light on the watch face kept me moving. It was my only lifeline to Rex.

Even with my shields back in place, I’d become part of this world. I could still feel the largest source of power, a beacon pulling me to its center. If I followed it, I’d find the Prism of Shadow, I was sure of it. I just needed to stay on my feet. My mouth was dry and my head and stomach ached, but I had to keep moving. If I stopped now, I wouldn’t have the will to continue.

I didn’t doubt what Rose said about no one returning with a map, though someone coached her, because there were signs that she was heading in the right direction. To conserve energy, I barely bothered brushing the leaves away. It was stupid walking so blindly forward after my last run in with the locals.

Even with the world quiet, I pulled my blade. Running into Rose was inevitable. I knew she was still alive, because that battle was between us. It was stupid of her to think someone else would finish me off.

The desire to kill hit me hard. I sheathed my blade and gripped the tree, trying to ride out the darkness that edged the sides of my vision. Both my hearts pounded. The shadow heart wasn’t physical, but I felt it just the same. It made the open flesh around my wound pulse.

It was too soon to kill. I didn’t have control over my spirit yet. I’d have to find another way to deal with Rose.

The monitor on my wrist beeped, giving me something bigger to focus on. Rex was starting to become more of a rock than I ever expected. Luckily, the watch wasn’t constantly beeping. That would make it difficult sneaking around.

I pulled myself together enough to move through the brush. The source was deceiving. I thought my destination was closer. It was hard to focus on anything beyond my discomfort and the fact that the sunlight and heat never changed.

As if he heard my thoughts, my watch gave a small frantic beep. Rex’s heart rate was elevated.

“Damnit!”

Kelaino was telling me to hurry up. Maybe it was the way the wind blew through the narrow crevice in the trees or possibly the howling cries of another tribe. My temples started to pulse.

I hated how soggy the insides of my shoes were. Blood or water, I didn’t really want to know until I was getting undressed to take a shower. No mere bar of soap could make me feel normal again. I needed something solid to scrape this feeling off me. I felt so empty inside.

Everyone I tried to protect kept dying. The only person not dying was me and not for the lack of people trying. It gave a girl a false sense of security.

The air carried a stench, but I wasn’t sure if that was me or something else in the forest. The dark foliage blocked a great deal of what was out there, though I heard the steady thump of drums easily enough. I had to press onward, one foot in front of the other. My muscles were stiff and my skin felt stretched with the dry blood.

It wasn’t just the heat slowing me down. My side began to hurt more. I grasped it, feeling the wetness in my shirt. I really liked this shirt too.

I had to get rid of Rose without the spirits feeding on my anger. She would be a thorn in my side until I could figure out how to make that happen. There wasn’t time to think about it with the drums getting louder. My chest tightened. The spirits let me know they were still with me and that the tribe was closing in.

The muddy bank became rock that abruptly ended with the water drizzling over the side of a cliff. Interwoven vines connected the gap between the cliff and the mountain ridge. That’s where the source came from and there was no other visible way across. I needed that prism now, so this nightmare could finally end.

An arrow slammed into the stone next to my foot and shattered. It was time to move. My side pinched when I reached up for the thick vine. Due to the way it tangled and looped unlike a regular bridge, I was going to have to climb my way across. Blood loss and the shadows hedging the edges of my mind made it difficult enough without the heat wave that came from the flowing red lava below me. Just don’t fall, got it.

More arrows flew from the brush. Their energy wasn’t the same as the last tribe, but they kept their distance just the same. My weight made the vines rock. The harder my pulse thumped the worst my side cramped.

The next set of arrows was on fire, catching the vines just behind me. I attempted to hurry the pace, catching a vine that snapped under the weight of my body. All pain was forgotten as I struggled to find a grasp. Even when I found the safety, I couldn’t catch my breath.

The odds were stacked against me. The fire arrows weren’t touching me, but the dryer portion of the vines was burning and eventually my weight would quickly drop this bridge. I had to get to the other side.

Despite the flying arrows and the heat that burnt the hairs on my skin, I climbed as fast as I could. It meant pushing past the pain, even when my stomach cramped so badly that I knew I was in trouble. Wings would be handy about now.

Hand over hand; I ignored the stiffness in my fingers as I grabbed the vines. Three more feet and I’d be at the side of the mountain. A vine snapped and the whole bridge sunk, nearly throwing me off balance. The arrows were coming in mass now. The vines gave another jerk. The bridge was going to break any minute now.

The vines weren’t going to hold a second longer. I didn’t have leverage for the jump, but I hunkered down, ready to try. My bravery wasn’t there. Failure was a huge reality. I was going to die if I held on and there was a possibility I wasn’t going to make the jump.

I couldn’t think. I just had to do it. My stomach bottomed out as I leaped from my position, feeling how lose my leverage quickly became. My open palms slammed hard on the cliff edge, but my bloody skin made the rock too slick to hold onto. I was sliding fast when a hand caught my wrist.

Despite the way the sun glared off the obsidian rock, I caught Amber’s face. She heaved, and I struggled to find my footing in the rock to help her. My torso burned from the exertion, but finally I found footing and with her help, got onto the cliff lip. Only when ground was under me, did I find the ability to drag air into my lungs. Exhaustion fell over me as I hugged the ground and glanced over at Amber, but it was Rose sitting beside me.

She shook her head violently, clearing whatever took her over. “Dammit, what did you do to me?”

I pulled myself from the ground and swayed from the effort. My muscles were mush and my achy fingers wouldn’t bend. Luckily, Rose wasn’t grabbing for her blade either.

“I think you found your heart,” I murmured.

“I don’t have time for your witchery,” Rose snapped.

She stood and swayed, catching herself against the wall. After my situation with the obsidian mirrors back at the cave, I didn’t want to touch anything. My voice of reason said if something was going to happen, it would have happened while I was climbing the mountain wall. Still, I didn’t want to touch it.