Page 18 of Light and Shadow
Pretty sure whatever is about to be said is private, I back toward the door and excuse myself.
Aaran stands at the side rail, staring out at the sea. His eyes narrow.
Searching in the same direction, I don’t see anything but clouds and waves. “Is there something there?”
He shakes his head. “I thought there was, but now I don’t see anything.”
The ocean rolls and crashes as if it wants us to go back. Saltwater sprays over the rails, and I hold on with both hands. Normal rain rages until it’s pouring down in cold sheets, and wind whips my hair into my face.
“We should get inside the bridge.” Aaran’s voice barely reaches me over the booming thunder, rain pounding the deck, and crashing ocean.
The boat’s rocking hurls me halfway across the deck, and I struggle to stay on my feet.
Aaran wraps his arm around my waist. “Hang on.”
Loving the feel of his arm banding around me, I smile up at him, but my pleasure is short-lived.
Behind him, a dark mass moves across the sky, blending in with the storm clouds. For a moment, I think it’s part of the weather, but it moves too purposefully to be nature. “Aaran?”
He follows my gaze. “Shadow demon!” Shoving me behind him, he raises his hands in defense. A golden wave pushes from his fingers, stopping the descent of the demon and sending it careening to the right.
Bert screams from the window, “Hang on!”
A wave crashes over the port side.
I’m swallowed by salt water and fall on my ass as I’m hurled across the deck. Only the rail keeps me from plunging into the ocean, the cold metal bruising my shoulder. Coughing up seawater, I search the sky, but it’s dark, and all I see is the driving rain in the wheelhouse lights.
Water flows out the drains at the sides of the swamped deck, nearly taking me with it.
Grabbing my upper arm, Aaran helps me to my feet, then crouches, ready for the next attack.
Nancy rushes down the steps, and her glamor disappears. Long blond hair and a youthful face replace the middle-aged woman, while pointed ears push through, leaving no doubt of her elven nature. “There!” She points at the darkness, and a shard of silver shoots from her fingers, illuminating the shadow within the clouds.
The demon screams and changes direction to avoid the missile. It shoots straight up into the sky.
Bert screams, “What should I do?”
“Keep going!” Aaran commands and waves his hand toward the front of the boat.
The screeching of the demon returns.
Another wave floods the deck, but I’m holding tight to the rail and stay upright.
I’ve barely caught my breath and spit the salt from my mouth when the demon is spinning like a top and shooting straight for me. Lifting my hands, I pray for some kind of strength. A bright white light shoots out of my fingers. It pushes the demon into the sea.
Barely able to breathe, I stare at my hands as if I’ve never seen them before. How can this be possible?
The demon pops out of the sea and hovers at the rail. There’s almost a human face in the black emptiness where a head should be. It stares at me, then turns to Aaran and flies forward like an arrow. With a deafening screech, it wraps itself around his throat.
Hitting the deck hard, Aaran’s head bounces against the wood. His eyes roll back, and his face turns red. Then his color drains away.
Fury fills me from someplace deep inside and mixes with the terror of losing Aaran. He may be new in my life, but I’m not letting him die for me or because of me. Power surges through me, it balls up in the center of my chest, and I grab the shadow demon with both hands.
Blinding light pours from my hands, fills the demon, and explodes.
I hit the deck hard enough to jar my teeth.
Ash floats down in black smudges and is washed away by the driving rain.
