Page 11 of Shadows of Air and Earth
She arched her brow, humming, "Maybe when this is all over you can determine that for yourself."
I stiffened. What the ever living fae fuck did that mean?
Leaning back against the booth, Remnant Dark’s keen stare watched us both, the shadows settling in her lap in crumbling layers, a blanket of darkness. Timid like a kitten, it was an illusion of their monstrous abilities.
Xi shifted uncomfortably next to me and so did I. There was something wholly unhinged about her lethal shadows acting like a tenderhearted pet. I glanced towards Xi, her one uncovered eye already regarding me. One look, a thousand words. This was how it had always been between us and I knew her answer, just like I had known mine.
My mouth opened to give it to the waiting general but a sharp cry stopped me short and in a flash of shadow the general was gone, leaving behind an empty seat.
More screams joined the first and I realized that they were screams of terror, coming from outside.
Xi and I stood immediately with alarm. "Great," she spat, "of course something would happen now. Six months, six months of nothing, not a single sign of unrest and now the moment she comes here…”
Grabbing her arm I pulled her along with me, our strides falling harmoniously together, an easy feat as we were equals in height. "You hate everything you're not prepared for Xi, let’s check out what all the commotion is."
"I'll tell you what it is, Riley Dragoon," she said, flinging her free hand wildly as we stepped through the doorway. "It's fucking trouble and now is our chance to make a goddess damn break for it. Instead we are heading straight into the thick of it!"
Ignoring her, I stepped into the quaint street lined with white flowers and soft moss. Blinking against the bright sun, I grabbed a gentle earth fae rushing by me amongst a sea of others, her face full of terror, her body shaking. "Juni, what is it?"
Wild light green eyes, so pale they were almost white darted back behind me. "They have come! The queen's forces have come to Croi! They have already started burning down the town." She tugged on her arm and I released her quickly, seeing the utter fear behind her eyes. "Please, I must go!" With a flourish of silk finery she twirled away from me without even awaiting my response.
"Why the fuck is no one trying to stop them?" I growled low, turning to see smoke in the cobalt skies of Faerie, my teeth grinding at the sight. The air stirred and I used it to thrust a path through the terrified mob, setting a running pace down the moss lined street with Xi keeping pace easily at my side.
"You know why Riley. They are terrified with what happened last time a town resisted,” she hissed as we ran. “They are still hanging on the city walls."
I grunted, the image of their lifeless bodies still clear in my mind. "We are fucking elementals. We are what make this world balanced."
Xi yanked her hair over her face, her other arm swinging with her long running stride. "Theyare elementals too Ri…the most powerful ones, recruited by Her Majesty and…"
I gave her a sharp look, pushing our speed. "You think Remnant Dark brought them here."
She pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing at the thickened smoke. "Part of me does or wants to. It's hard to believe she is not as evil as that bitch and yet, I don't think she is thetrueevil in this world Ri, I think…I think she is the invisible shield holding it back.”
I gave her another keen glance, not expecting Xi to see past her loathing and fear. She was usually a stubborn fae, like the earth, and I loved her for it but perhaps Remnant Dark was the catalyst she needed to pull something out of her I never could.
Peace.
“Shit,” she huffed when the flames appeared, several buildings on fire, ash falling like black snow around us. I sensed that there were no other fae here, all had fled.
All except forone.
In front of us, a lone shadow fae stood against a tremendous wall of flames that spanned several streets of our little town, incinerating the buildings in its wake with violent, swirling fire. This wasn’t just an attack to keep the elemental fae of the plains in line. It was a fucking cleansing.
"They have firestone," Xi breathed as we slowed our pace, walking towards the general who was staring at the wall of flames with trepidation on her smooth porcelain face. The heatfrom the fire alone was almost intolerable from here. How the general, whose shadows despised any light, was standing mere feet from it was simply astonishing.
My hand brushed against Xi’s as we approached, my breathing slightly labored and coming out in a rush, "You must leave, if you go now, they will never know you were here."
She shook her head, "I can sense them beyond the wall, their power combined with the firestone…it's too dangerous. It’s unmatched. Besides, it's too late to turn back now.”
Dropping my hand away from her I fisted it at my side, the air swirling agitatedly around my arms. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” I whispered only for her ears.
Sensing us, Remnant Dark looked over her shoulder, her tied back hair blowing wildly in the wind. "Welcome to the fun! Let us get this over with shall we?" Green eyes sparkled while the wall of flames intensified behind her, stretching far into the sky, staining it with smoke and ash. Turning back around, she shifted her stance, widening her legs and raising her arms. "Time to play, my loves," she cooed.
I watched with a mixture of awe and absolute raw fear when the darkness gathered around her, as if it rose from the very bowels of the underworlds of Sheol. Thick, black, rushing shadows whorling higher and higher, not at all hesitant or fearful of the flames licking at their tendrils.
"Be prepared. The shadows will smother these flames but that does not mean what is on the other side isn't equally as dangerous." She glanced back at Xi, "Especially for you."
Xi stiffened beside me and I used my power to caress her bare skin just above the gauntlets she wore. Rock was such an unforgiving element, her manipulation of the stubborn earth often left its mark on her skin, gauntlets deterred this to a degree.
