Page 21 of When Storms Ruin

To be honest, I had completely forgotten we needed a guide to get us to the other side.

“I know the way,” Liss replied around her last mouthful of pancakes. “Grab your bags and we will go find your troublemakers.”

“They’re notmytroublemakers,” I replied, my voice coming out sharper than I intended.

Liss gave me an understanding half-smile before nodding and trailing off to grab her pack.

Tess packed us a light overnight bag, and we met up with Nik and Puck in Dragon’s Hollow. We found them huddled together, right down the street from Alastir’s. They appeared awfully suspicious, but I decided not to mention it. If I could get through this day with one less argument, I would be all the happier.

Liss led the way towards The Shadow, and we followed closely behind. I was half expecting her to turn into a little black cat as Saanvi had, but her entirely human form led us down the steep staircase into a narrow alleyway.

This was a different route than we had taken our first time through The Shadow, and I was hoping it was equally fast. I doubted any of Donika’s Nightshade soldiers would be searching for us down here, but in The Shadow, there were other dangers we needed to be worried about.

We wound through the dark, empty streets in the darkness provided by the tarps and sheet coverings hanging above. They obscured the sun from setting its rays upon The Shadow. A few people walked the streets among us, and we cast our eyes downward, avoiding their gazes. We passed one particularly unruly pub which was filled with shouts and the clinking of glasses, and curiosity almost got the better of me. I felt Tess close on my heels and I pushed onward, my eyes downcast.

Liss glanced over her shoulder to ensure we were still following close, then picked up the pace down another dark alleyway. I dreaded having to pass through The Shadow again tomorrow on our way back. The energy here was dark and palpable, raising the gooseflesh on my skin and the hair onthe back of my neck. A loud pop sent us down the alley faster, not turning back to see what the commotion was about.

As we were about to turn the corner to the staircase that would lead us up, I saw a familiar figure out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, and as I did, the figure disappeared. I stopped in my tracks, a trickle of anxiety racing up my spine.

I could haveswornI had seen Tyr at the end of this short stretch of road, disappearing towards a pub at the end of the street.

“What are you doing?” Tess hissed, “keep moving!”

“I thought I saw Tyr, right there,” I told her, pointing towards the end of the road where the cobblestone met the cinderblock wall that encased The Shadow.

“Where?” she asked, “I don’t see anything.”

“He wasrightthere,” I insisted.

The only way he could have disappeared is if he ducked into the pub entrance at the end of the alley.

“What is going on ladies?” Puck whispered, wrapping his arms around us both to shield us.

We had drawn the eyes of a few passersby, but I turned towards him, shirking his arm off my shoulder.

“I saw Tyr. I know I did,” I told him resolutely, indicating the spot down the alley where his form had disappeared.

“That’s all well and good, love, but we have to be on the move. EvenifTyr was in The Shadow, we aren’t exactly in the place for a confrontation right now, are we? Besides, we don’t want him reporting back to Donika…again. Look at the mess that got us in.”

I gave Puck a cross look, but realized he was right. Even if Ihadseen Tyr, what would we do with him? We couldn’t detain him, and I wasn’t about to kill him. He would simply go running back to Donika…again. I nodded at Puck, allowing him to push us onwards, towards the staircase that would lead us up. We needed to get back to the other realm and meet up at the safe house tomorrow without being seen. Confronting Tyr wasn’t exactly keeping a low profile.

We followed the staircase up and Liss and Nik were impatiently waiting at the top, arms crossed.

“Care to fill us in on what took you so long?” Nik asked, his gaze searing into Puck. “I trusted you to bring up the rear.”

“Relax, brother. Diana only thought she caught a glimpse of our boy Tyr, that’s all.”

“Shewhat?” he asked through his teeth, his voice taught. “What did you see?”

He turned towards me, his eyes heated. The expression on his face told me he had half a mind to climb back down into The Shadow and set the pub on fire, innocents be damned.

“I thought I saw Tyr, but it was out of the corner of my eye. When I turned to see, he was gone.”

“I’ll deal with Tyr, you guys go on ahead,” Nik replied, moving towards the staircase again.

“No chance,” Puck said, placing his hand against Nik’s chest as he moved to pass. “We still have quite a way to go before Siraleth, remember? And what do you plan to do, kill everyone in that pub?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

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