Page 37 of Shadows of Air and Earth
I frowned, glancing out at the empty street. "That sound…it was an original beast?" Quickly, I attempted to recall the stories my mother and father had once told me of the monsters that used to terrorize these lands during the times when the ancient fae were first created.
Remnant nodded.
"What are we talking here?" Xi tugged on her hair. "Slaugh, manticore, cyclops, leviathan—"
I frowned. Outside the air stirred again, this time a crow joining the hiss, and I felt my blood turn cold remembering one very specific story about a half rooster, half snake-like creature…"Basilisk," I breathed.
Remnant’s sharp gaze shot through me as she nodded. "Yes, a creature that hunts by sound and scent and is very muchnocturnal."
I glanced out the window towards the clear cobalt sky, beams of light glittering down on the marbled streets. "It's full daylight outside," I said, pointing out the obvious.
Xi frowned, tilting her head in thought at the general. "You think there is something wrong with it, like the trolls in the cave," she breathed. "And like those trolls, you're going out there to…helpit."
Wrinkled lines formed between Remnant's dark brows, her pale beauty still prominent even as her lips pressed into a thin line.
A slow breath, like an exasperated sigh I did not know I was holding, escaped me. "Fuck, this isn't exactly troll bowling, Rem. They were not monsters of origin. You know just as much as we do why they are locked away by two goddess damn seals.”
Being this close to her, there was no missing the flickering glow of excitement in Remnant Dark's eyes.
"Fuck," Xi reiterated my last words, seeing it just as I had. "This is a bad idea Rem, we don't know how to fight that kindof monster, they are legends only, let alone knowing what its goddess damn problem is."
Her shadows brushed against us and I felt them anchor both our feet to the floor. Looking down at them I growled before narrowing my eyes on my new friend. “This better not mean what I think it does, Remnant Dark.”
She gave me a small sad smile and my chest tightened. “There will be no we, just me. You two have a much bigger task, you must find the seal to Hell, it is within this town."
"I'm sorry, what?" Xi gasped.
“I concur, terrella.” Narrowing my eyes on the shadow fae, I folded my arms across my chest, “There is no way you think a seal to Hell is more important than you facing down a fucking basilisk, Rem.”
Remnant grinned, looking from Xi to me, amusement twinkling in her eyes. It was the same look she held within the Saltu, when the feral gnomes chased us, and when fighting off those psychotic anthousai cunts. Did no peril ever affect her? And how in the Sheol had she survived this long without someone watching her back? She practically searched for danger…a hazard that made it even more miraculous that she was still alive.
"Fine," I murmured slowly to her, "but the moment something goes wrong we are coming out there to help."
Xi’s white silky hair swung forward agreeing with me, her hand falling on Remnant’s shoulder. "Be careful, Rem," she whispered.
Her brows rose at the worry in Xi's voice and I smiled inwardly—Remnant Dark had won over Xi Lanora Chin. The most stubborn of us all and like the earth that coveted the most precious stone deep in its core, Xi coveted friendships the same way. Fiercely protected for the rarity that we were to her.
A pale hand reached up and covered Xi’s, squeezing it gently. "Find the seal," Remnant whispered to us both and then winced when another loud screech mixed with an enormous hiss shook the walls and sent chills of instinctual warning through us all. Swiftly rising away from Xi’s affection, the shadow fae made for the door with confident steps, only to turn back with a wink. "Duty calls, oh and by the way," she whispered, "don't look the basilisk in the eyes if it comes for you."
"I don't like that tone," Xi hissed back.
"Shit, please tell me you are not indicating the legends are true?" I whistled quietly.
The glow in her eyes dimmed and she tilted her head behind us. "Unfortunately for this town, the legends are very true, Riley Dragoon." Shadows swarmed around her, releasing their anchors on our person and then she was gone. Only air swirled where she had once stood, just like the first time she left us to fight a battle on her own.
In unison, Xi and I slowly turned towards the direction Remnant had pointed.
"Fuck the goddess to Sheol and back," I swore in sadness and a bit of fear. I was fae enough to admit that at least, since not even a few paces behind us twenty fae stood, petrified in stone with terror etched on every single one of their faces.
"And fuck the death god himself. Sweet goddess Ri, we can’t leave her to fight that thing alone,” Xi whispered, striding for the door with determination, ignoring the blast of another angry screech that rattled the entombed fae behind us.
I lunged after her. “I agree, terrella, we look for the seal and make sure our General lives to see another day.”
Xi nodded, her lips pressing grimly together. “Our General. Yes that sounds about right. She is ours now.” A storming, single grey eye shot over her strong shoulder, her tone mimicking thesame one Remnant had parted us with. “Time to have some shadow fae version of fun.”
Chapter 26
“To your right!” Ri’sair whispered along my ear and I ground my teeth to focus on my power and not the hot shiver his breath created.
