Page 28 of Mother of Death and Dawn

“A key,” Luia said, at last. “A key that leads to manifestations of magic even more powerful than you.”

More powerful than me? I wanted to correct her—perhaps once I was powerful, but now I am nothing.

“Was she alone?” Meajqa asked, in an odd, flat tone. The messenger seemed unsure if he should answer.

“No. Your father helped her escape.”

Meajqa’s lips went thin. He went to the window, his back to the rest of the room, and said nothing more.

Luia turned to Caduan. “It is one thing for the rebels to have it. That’s bad enough. But if the Arans capture Vytezic and come into possession of it…”

“I may be able to track the key. Imperfectly, but… there must be…” Caduan’s voice trailed off, as if it couldn’t keep up with his thoughts.

The words were on the tip of my tongue—I could find it.I hadfeltTisaanah, after all. I knew that I could follow the thread that connected me to her, if I wanted to.

But I said nothing.

Caduan turned to the messenger. “Send word to General Sai’Ess. I will get them information about the key’s location as soon as possible. Tell them to do whatever they must to get it back.”

“And the Arans?” Luia motioned to the dead body on the table.

Caduan flinched, the motion there and gone in less than a second.

“I will send shades.”

“We don’t have more.”

“I can make more.”

“My King—”

Caduan was already striding across the room. “You can protest later. I have work to do.”

CHAPTERNINE

MAX

Vivian was no longer human, just a mangled mass of meat and black leather.

The thing that held her was a twisted nightmare of flesh and shadow, every part of it wrong in some skin-crawling way. Its fingers were too long and too human, with too many joints that bent in too many different directions. It was tall enough to cast a shadow over us. Most horrifyingly, it hadno face—what should have been features was instead a blur of nothingness.

It was the kind of horrifying that sent every primal animal intuition in me screaming,Either kill that thing IMMEDIATELY or get as far away from it as you possibly can.

Chaos erupted around us—soldiers springing into action as more of those things appeared across the cliff line, walking out of nothingness. They were everywhere at once.

The creature dropped Vivian and went for me.

I barely evaded the creature’s grasp. The restraints binding my ankles shortened what needed to be a long stride. I stumbled. Hit the ground hard. Rolled.

A sickening crunch filled my ears. Excruciating pain tore through my foot.

Fuck.

Clawed fingers locked around my ankle. The creature leaned over me and a burning smell filled my nostrils. Its face, a strange void of shadow, lowered close to mine. That darkness gave way to a hundred other images—a little girl’s face, surrounded by fire. A teenage boy wearing broken glasses.

I needed to look away. I knew that I needed to look away, but I couldn’t, I—

A voice that was everywhere and nowhere at once whispered,I know you. I know you. I know you.

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