Page 63 of Shadows Ascend
And so I fought—a new foe on a battlefield that was not mine in the making but it seemed I was to participate just the same.
My brow raised when one of the beasts deflected my shadows with its heavy ax, showing a bit more fortitude, learning from itsslain kin.
Tilting my head, I studied the creature towering over me, its focus so intent that I could see its nostrils flare with sickening desire.
I wrinkled my nose.Gross.
Half man, half bull, it stared at me like a prized possession. Triumph flickered in its yellow eyes while curling horns tilted in my direction, as if it had already won this fight, and I would play that to my advantage.
"Get Riella out of here,"I commanded Emon through our bond, the monster bowing its head and charging me. Summoning my shadows, I gathered them into a sharpened blade, fitting perfectly in my hand for a kill.
"Not without you, little umbra,"Emon snarled in my mind."Incoming!"
Grinning, I spunaway from the charging creature, leaping upwards, throwing my leg over my speeding soulmate who raced his way through the frenzied battle. Sliding quickly over the top of his powerful panther body, the momentum caused me to slip over to the other side, heading face first into thick black grasses seeping with blood.
"Mother!" screamed Riella, catching me with a shadow arm that looped around my waist and hauled me back up behind her.
I blinked at my sudden upright position while Riella stared down at her arm that was whole again. "I became shadow!" her tiny voice was full of disbelief.
"Yes you did, well done, my beautiful brave little girl!" I gasped into her hair, hugging her close, shielding her with my body from the violence and chaos we were surrounded by. "We will have to discuss it more later," I breathed, kissing her cheek before I sent an explosion of shadows outward, opening a path for Emon to race through.
“Above!” I screamed just before a blaze of fire poured down from the skies. Emon’s powerful panther form cut to the side, the blaze just inches from us and searing hot against our skin.
Riella whimpered and I grit my teeth, glaring at the inferno that continued to pour down, its fire rippling beneath Emon’s massive paws, lighting up the entire valley.
“The fire is coraling them but I cannot distinguish its source,”Emon snarled in my mind.
My head snapped up and I smiled with realization—clever shifter.“We need to get into the skies.”
"Plan on doing a bit of sightseeing?"he chuckled through our bond, sliding along the grass to slice out with his claws taking down several monsters along the way and forcing Riella and I to hang on even tighter.
I smiled tightly, rising up over Riella, and carving my hand upwards. The shadows splitting through the creatures like a guillotine of darkness.“I plan on making a new friend of course.”
“Little umbra,”he grumbled along our bond, “we are not bringing home one of these disgusting creatures. Your attraction to beasts is unhealthy if these are your interests. Even your gnomes are pushing the line.”Lunging, he released a roar, teeth tearing out the side of one of the monsters to fully emphasize his protest.
I snickered, drawing large masses of shadow to me and breathing deeply, I squeezed Riella. “Hold tightly, little one. We are going to get out of here.”
Her head bobbed against my chest and pulled her hand up where her spear was still held tightly in her tiny fisted grip.
“Keep it ready,” I whispered, kissing the top of her head.“It’s time to ascend, shifter.”
Emon purred along our bond, “I will follow any path you take me down, Remnant Dark. Besides, a sky that breathes fire is still better than being submerged in The Under.”
I grinned, throwing out the shadows like discs in front of us.“Then let us see if you can fly, shifter king,”I teased and held my breath as Emon launched himself onto the platform, mere feet above the wild frenzy below. Then he leapt to another and another, following the shadows ascending into the deep red sky with trust and confident agility.
I inhaled. He was spectacular.
“So are you, little umbra,”he purred, hearing my inward thoughts as we rose from the ashes and blood.
I smiled, breathing in fresh air untainted by the rotting carnage below and brushed back my hair when I heard the large swoop of wings and sensed a massive shadow hovering above us.
“Remnant…please tell me the sun just went behind the clouds, and that is not the smell of what I think it is,” Emon growled.
“There is no sun here, Emon. Get ready to dodge, shifter,” I called back to him.
“Fuck,”he snarled, just as flames shot out in front of us, burning the next shadow step. Instinct had Emon veering sidewaysin a powerful blind leap without a shadow in place and my heart skipped at the incredible sense of trust he had in me as we all momentarily flew across the Vagari skies. Right when he started to fall—I laid down more shadow, his feet silent as they hit our new path.
A burst of laughter exploded from our daughter. “That was so much fun faedere! Do it again.”
