Shadow Reign (Shadow Puppeteer Book 2) (21 page)

“Rose,” Kelaino growled.

There was only one way to stop this. My fingertips prickled as my shadow leeched from my body. It was a foreign. I felt like the puppet, not the master.

The coldness pushed through me until the very last bit of my heat fogged from my lips. There was no heat in the breathe that followed. I was still breathing; still alive in a sense. The spirit world opened before my eyes. The meshed sounds came through a great deal of fog. Both my physical heart and shadow heart drummed in my chest.

Rose ripped from the vampires and lunged at me. I flicked my fingers and my shadow whipped outward. The point of impact vibrated up the ropey blackness and with it, Rose’s heat. Her eyes grew wide with shock. I counted the seconds with my heartbeats as frost paled her skin. Her dark brown eyes turned blue and her jaw shuddered. Her anger came with her heat, filling every part of me until there was only a husk on the other end.

Desperation was a mere whisper in the back of my head. There was still room within my body and I needed to fill that with my shadow. My shade moved very slowly from Rose’s body, heavy with her essence. My veins ached as it squeezed back into me. That very last bit brought warmth and pain.

I grasped my stomach, trying to squeeze the ache. All I got was more blood. Her horns left a nice size hole. I hoped the werewolf in me could heal it.

Despite the ringing in my ears, the room fell utterly silent. Fire burned in my gut around the wounds making me lightheaded, but I refused to faint. I came too far to go out like this.

“Rex and Pandora’s Box.”

My voice was raspy, but in the hush, I knew she heard me. The worst part of all this was how different I felt. There was something new inside me and I wasn’t sure how to handle it.

“I’m your earthly mother, I am your creator. You came to me as a spirit for this task and I found an innocent to contribute to your making. I have done everything I could to make this possible and you still don’t trust me,” she said.

If I believed her, and something inside me did, this wasn’t the family reunion I wanted. Somewhere out there, my father was a werewolf and there was a good chance I just met the relatives on my dad’s side.

It hurt to stand up straight, but I refused to hunker in her presence. “Your actions aren’t much to go on when it comes to trust.”

She only smiled and kept her distance, not trusting me either. “Water beneath the bridge and now that I found you, I can use the girls for something much better. There’s so much planning to do. We need to get rid of World Congress in order for you to truly take over. That’s not going to be easy, but we can rise—”

“You’re going to release the girls and Rex.”

She leaned forward in her chair. It could be the lighting, but the illusion was gone. What sat in the chair was a hideous creature with a female face and bird body. Her long face and oily hair made her a nightmare.

“You preserved your dark spirit, Hecate, and got it back tonight. This isn’t very
dark
of you.”

Dark? She had no idea how utterly chilled I was or the fact that I now welcomed the spirits that rumbled in my chest and stomach. They wanted the warmth of flesh, craved it, and I did too. I was so aware of Rex. His skin was burning hot. I wanted to bask in that heat, be it primal lust or be it my teeth shredding his skin.

I squeezed my eyes shut to calm that feeling and when I opened them, she was studying me.

“With as old as your spirit is, you act like a willful child. I don’t want to use force, but I will,” she threatened.

“Maybe I changed my mind.” I could do that right? It was
my
decision.

“My child, once you’re whole, your fate is sealed. The calling will be too great and you’ll do what you were intended to do.”

Rex jerked from the floor and was immediately wrestled back down. His scent filled the air and it did something to me. It pushed past my barriers and stirred my desire and hope.

Kelaino watched me closely before letting her hand drop over the side of the armrest. “Kill him.”

Anger cleared the haze brought on by dizziness. I stepped up to the dais and the sith with the pillow and prism in hand didn’t step away. She was brave to be this close to me.

“Kill him and I’ll make sure you all go back to the very place you fear,” I warned.

The vampires had Rex pressed so hard against the floor, I waited for his bones to snap.

Kelaino smiled. “To do that, you’d have to accept your calling. Without that piece of you, you won’t be able to do anything.”

My attention went to the sith with the prism on top of the pillow. Kelaino wanted me to open Pandora’s Box. Rex groaned as one vampire put more pressure on his head.

“Okay, stop. I’ll do it.”

Kelaino waved at her creatures. They stopped putting pressure on him for the moment. Fresh blood on Rex’s forehead caught the light and everyone’s attention. Their noses tilted, sniffing between him and me. I held as tightly as I could to my stomach, but the pain returned, making it difficult to concentrate.

If Rex managed to survive them, he wouldn’t be able to survive me. Those spirits were hungry for warmth and once they took over, I’d rip through anything with a heartbeat. I couldn’t stand the silence. Everyone was waiting, but nothing was happening.

I couldn’t believe I agreed to this. “What do I need to do?”

At the offer, a cold wind brushed over my shoulders. The creatures around me and even Kelaino didn’t seem to notice.

“Open the prism,” Kelaino said.

O
pen the prism
, as if it were that simple. Khaos said pandemonium would follow and I believed her. There was no telling what was inside that tiny obsidian box. It sparkled with the will-o-wasp light; as dangerous as the graveyard I took it from.

What was Khaos’ game? I already knew what Kelaino wanted. If only there was a way to wake Hades.

Kelaino flicked her fingers at the mixed group of Callicantzaros’ and Baobhan sith leaning over Rex. They pressed him hard into the ground and a bone snapped. Even with my shields up, I felt the pain that raced through him. It left me sick. Rex tried to fight them, but it had no effect.

“I said I’d open it,” I growled.

“Just making sure we have a mutual understanding. I heard you can bring the soul back into a body, but do you think your dog would appreciate coming back after we’re done with him?”

Rex went still. I wished I could read his mind. It wasn’t like we needed a reminder of that night. It was a blood bath that left me, for the most part, dead.

“I get your point loud and clear.”

Open the prism or Rex dies. I open this prism and the world could be subjected to something far worse than World Congress or the Reincarta.

My fingers brushed Draken’s transmitter solid in my pocket. It would serve as a distraction, but we were in such a delicate situation. The vampires could mangle Rex’s body beyond repair. At that point, bringing him back would only be torture. Letting him die would torment me.

The sith closed the distance between us with the prism on the pillow. Even her emerald eyes smiled as they sparkled in the limited light. Her pink tongue darted over her lips, a small gesture Kelaino didn’t catch, but I knew the implication. If she wanted more blood, she’d have to kill me to get it.

The obsidian was impenetrable, catching the light and sparkling in hues of deep purple. It matched the light I saw as my shields. That should bring me comfort, but it didn’t. This prism belonged to me. It always did, which meant Rose couldn’t get it to open.

The thought of Rose made me very aware of her essence. I trapped her energy, but not her spirit. I was grateful for that. Two spirits in one body would drive me nuts. It was better that she was a restless soul, than a returning problem.

“How do I open this?” That was a good question, because I didn’t even want to touch it.

Rex grunted, trying to break away from the vampires who roughly tugged him back to the ground. It wasn’t his turn to be the hero, though I heard his protest. I hoped I could control the outcome.

She tapped her deadly nails against the stone armchair. “If you’re Hecate, it will respond to you.”

And if I wasn’t Hecate, I’d be killed like Rose.

Time was such a delicate thing, thudding away with every heartbeat. Kelaino huffed impatiently. She knew what stood in the balance, but it didn’t matter to her. What I became after touching the prism was what she cared about.

“If this works, what do you get out of it? If I destroy everything, aren’t you afraid I’ll destroy you and your followers?”

The creatures in the room hissed. Oh yeah, I wasn’t making friends past the sith and her little pillow holding a world of destruction. She didn’t mind my threat. In fact, her smile broadened. Rex grunted as more pressure was placed on him. There wouldn’t be a way to protect him if I couldn’t control what was inside Pandora’s Box.

Kelaino failed at humble. “Hecate knows the bargain. She wouldn’t betray her word to us mere followers.”

“You better hope so.”

The tips of my fingers tingled when I reached for the prism. The reflecting light curved at an angle, meeting my hand. It was unnatural, yet it didn’t make me panic. As anxious as I should be, I found that I was more curious.

A mechanism inside the prism clicked and the three sides began to peel back like a flower in bloom. The light that I thought was reflecting from the will-o-wasps was internal. There was a glitter pulse to the energy that edged upward than started to circle around me. I recognized the energy like I’d recognize my own handwriting. It belonged to me.

Kelaino rose from her chair. “Yes, I knew it. I knew you were the one.”

I wish I could be excited. I wasn’t sure how to feel with the light circling around me ready to open a death door. If this light belonged to Hecate, what did that mean for me? Was I a long lost god that escaped imprisonment? It was too complicated to believe.

It was too late to put it back in the tiny box. The light darted downward, slamming into my chest. It felt like an elephant was trying to crawl through my ribs and into my body. When the light faded, I was breathless. It was just light, yet my bones ached as if I had the flu.

“Hecate?” Kelaino asked.

The room bowed, but I didn’t move. Every breath I drew into my lungs, rattled. If I was a god, was I supposed to feel like the same beaten down girl I was just hours ago? My torso still bled where Rose tried to gut me. I stood, forcing my shoulders back and tried to determine how best to answer that hesitant question. Kelaino frowned and I realized I waited too long.

“I don’t understand. The goddess should be with us,” Kelaino raved.

The creatures quickly stood, losing their earlier respect. This could turn ugly real fast. The disk in my pocket pressed against my side as a reminder that Draken was a click away. With numb fingers, I clumsily fumbled in my pocket for the disk he gave me.

Fire burned in her eyes as she took the steps down the dais. I was loaded with weapons, but she didn’t seem worried I’d pull one on her. The energy still buzzed along my skin and a word came to mind;
harpy
. That’s what she was.

“It opened for you, but you’re not the one.” She squinted at me. Dissatisfied, she turned to walk back up the dais. “Kill them both.”

The order should’ve shocked me. The death threats left me numb.

She was wrong. That energy was definitely something and it responded to me. I planned to live long enough to see what it meant.

I stabled my hold on the disk and pressed the center. The air wavered and gas cans flew from the invisible door. The creatures scattered, giving Rex room to lunge off the floor. I held the disk until Draken stepped through in his battle gear.

I shoved the transmitter into his hand. “Here, it’s your deal.”

The movement of the disk didn’t interfere with the number of men pressing through the invisible door, weapons ready. The creatures didn’t try to run. The battle was on and somewhere within the clash of weapons and the screeches of anger, I heard Khaos laughing.

This couldn’t be what she meant. It’d be too simple. The pandemonium was insubstantial.

A quick glance around the room and I couldn’t spot Rex. Panic made my heart race. I stepped away from Draken, determined to find him and Draken pulled me back with his now free hand. The disk was gone. I guess everyone was here at the party.

“You’ve changed.”

That statement made me uncomfortable. A Free-String Walker wouldn’t notice. They were spirits limited by their puppet bodies, but I already knew Draken wasn’t what he said he was.

Draken was jumped by a sith before I could answer. He had her on the ground in seconds and I didn’t wait to see the outcome. Despite my feelings for Rex, I found myself looking for Kelaino. There were four tunnels that lead into this room, but my best bet was going through the tunnel just behind her throne.

The minute I was away from the will-o-wasps, the darkness closed in. With indecision, I fingered the patch over my eye, but there wasn’t time to waste. I couldn’t risk my safety, knowing Kelaino could be waiting in the dark for me.

I pulled the patch off and the world became a mix of colors within the rocks. The minerals were as shiny as the stars in the night sky. To my surprise, Kelaino wasn’t in here. I followed along the path with my weapons drawn and tried to ignore the stitch in my side that pulsed and still bled. It fueled my anger.

Human weapons wouldn’t kill Kelaino. Why I knew that, I wasn’t sure. Maybe it was part of the light that seeped into my conscious. It definitely meant something and I needed to find out what.

Kelaino’s rotten stench led me down one tunnel and up the next. I was so far removed from the action that the cave took on an eerie silence. It felt like she was leading me on a wild goose chase until I came upon an area I’d forever have nightmares about. I eased slowly into the ritual cavern, surprised that my right eye wasn’t sensitive to the lanterns.

She stood by the obsidian mirrors, looking like a drowned rat. Her pale, sharp features were made uglier by her scorning eyes.