Page 4 of Shadows of Air and Earth
I shivered. That was the worst night of my life. Samhain…when the veil between the spirit world and the real one thinned. During this time, the fae celebrated. We drank with lost souls, danced with loved ones, and fell into our deepestdesires through the unlimited illusion of the spirit realm. Except that wasn’t what happened when Xi and I had made the long pilgrimage to the sacred lands. What happened had been goddess damn carnage.
Instead of the veil thinning the worlds collided, melding into one, and the spirits took over—possessing thousands of fae gathering for revelry. With sterility plaguing our people, many had joined together for an excuse to celebrate life when we could no longer experience the joy of it ourselves through future progeny. But instead of drunken debauchery and sloppy seduction, there was blood and death. The spirit realm turned fae against fae, friends into foes, brethren into enemies.
I had almost lost Xi that night.
Shuddering, I studied the animated half of her face, and ignored the image of her soaked in blood, her throat sliced open from the end of a scythe and the damning choice I had made to save her.
She remembered only the final end of that day. Never knowing the way I had scooped her up in my arms, my hand slick with her blood, while I did the one thing I had never done before when danger came my way. I ran away. Away from the slaughter while I screamed, raged, and prayed to the deaf ears of the goddess to save her.
Except, that wasn’t how life worked. Begging, pleading, and prayers did nothing for the fae of Faerie…especially for me. Sometimes one had to take fate into their own hands and tell destiny to fuck off, even if it meant using a dark forbidden power I once vowed to my parents to never ever use. Not for any circumstance.
When her beautiful grey eyes finally flashed open that night, I practically drowned in my own relief and guilt. Holding her tightly, we recovered and watched in eerie silence as darkness suddenly rolled in across the valley. It was quickly followed bywind, fire, and earth. Finally coming to our aide, walking side by side, the queen of Faerie, Deirdre Seelie and her shadow fae war general, Remnant Dark, faced the spirit realm without a flicker of fear or uncertainty.
That was the first time we had seen the infinite power of the shadows and realized one very important lesson. Remnant Dark's power far surpassed that of the queen of Faerie.
On cue, Xi’s story picked up where my memories had led and I turned my attention back to her. "Together they walked through the blood soaked lands, silver and black, with all the elements forming a tidal wave of death that met the spirit realm with not even a single flicker of fear. Taking on the task of closing the spirit veil, the queen left General Dark's side for her to face hundreds of mad rabid fae on her own. Dancing across the plains, with her black sword whirling in the night, she cut down spirits without mercy. But it was her shadows, her loyal pets of the damned, that instilled fear into every surviving soul there. Their darkness latched onto the possessed fae and drained them slowly of all their life forces…" Leaning forward, she peered into the silent crowd, every single soul here, including myself, hanging onto her next words, "and you know what she said as they did it?”
Enamored and drunk on Hydra Piss, I didn't even notice that the tavern had gone quiet. The air was still as if collectively they all held their breath, fearful eyes no longer on Xi but directed beyond, towards the entrance.
I inhaled sharply when the darkness crept in waves from the open doorway and then snapped swiftly in a puff of smoke to the very table Xi sat at.
Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.
She was here. Remnant Dark, the general of Faerie's throne, the most powerful shadow fae alive was fucking here.
In the dead silence the chair across from Xi scraped harshly against the floor, pulled out by a lean, toned arm full of swirling tattooed ink. Wearing fitted black leather, Remnant Dark sat down gracefully. With her hair pulled back sharply in a ponytail that trailed over the back of the chair, the shadow fae general's famous green eyes were distinguished even more, highlighting the current bright light and mirth held within their emerald depths.
Xi met my eyes briefly in panic before her singular one stared back at the shadow fae sitting across from her. The darkness undulated in waves from the chair, forcing the fae around us to step backwards on whispered feet while I did the exact opposite.
Stepping into deadly shadows, I stood behind my friend. For if we were to face death, then we would sure as fuck do it together.
"Go on then," Remnant Dark said, tapping on the table with a single digit. Her voice was unlike anything I ever heard. Dark and commanding but also safe, alluring, like it had the power to change the world. "Finish the story, Xi Chin. Whatexactlydid I say?"
Chapter 2
Istared into thevery eyes that had been part of my waking nightmare for the past six months.
Her brow arched as she watched me stare like a goddess damn ninny. My words escaped me along with my soul that seemed to run as far from here as it possibly could, leaving mybody to betray itself in the presence of a great power that some called monstrous.
Riley stepped closer, his strong presence bolstering the confidence I so desperately needed as shadows trailed around our feet, sniffing out our deceit like a bloodhound. My mouth opened but still no words came out.
"Can we help you, General Dark?" Riley said confidently over my head.
Tilting her head towards him, her long ponytail slid over her shoulder in blue black waves. "I am not entirely sure if that's the correct question to ask me, Riley Dragoon. I believe it is more or less if you arewillingto help me, isn't it? But first I'd like to know the end of this lovely story." Looking back at me, her emerald green eyes seized my heart, skittering its thunderous beat to a full stop before accelerating faster than before.
Panic set in. Sheknew.She had to know.
Riley's wind fluttered against the back of my neck, stirring my hair, and calming my racing pulse. I exhaled slowly, licking at my suddenly chapped lips then narrowing my gaze, chin lifted. I would not fear her. Only victims feared others and I would never be a victim again. "You said spirits make the shadows go tipsy because they are light on the palette."
It seemed like the world slowed down with the blink of her eyes and then sped back up again when she released a loud snicker, leaning back in her chair to cross her powerful legs. Her booted foot bounced with thought, "Well I suppose that is better than the last version I heard of The Wailing."
I licked at my lips again. "You said you would see if we are willing to help you. Now I want to know with what exactly? How can the humble fae of the plainswillfullyhelp the general of Faerie?"
Clinging to the slow bounce of her foot, the shadows crawled along it, already bored with their perusal and needing some sortof new stimulus to occupy them while mother had a chat with friends. Except we were not her friends and if she knew what we had done, chances were we were now her direct enemy.
"Of course," she said, her eyes flashing, "I suppose this information is for all here to hear." Briefly her gaze fell on the crowd of fae giving her a wide berth, shifting away the moment her eyes trailed off of them in her scrutiny. Faces pale, eyes wide, they couldn't look away from her even though they wanted to run. Her eyes settled back to me, nodding softly to herself. "It has come to the Capital's attention that something was stolen from the palace on the night of the Winter Solstice. An artifact to be precise. An artifact that I have tracked to these plains. Unfortunately, the trail has gone somewhatawry."
My stomach sank and my hair fell in a soft curtain across my face but I did not react. Staying still. "And what exactly is this artifact you speak of?"
