Page 94 of Hunted in the Shadows
A pair of deer made their careful way through the vibrant bushes. Their coats were white as freshly fallen snow, and pink blossoms had sprouted from their antlers. They avoided us peacefully, disappearing among the brush.
The water seemed clearer here, too. Darting schools of fish were visible, bold with bright colors. I glimpsed a snake with shifting, iridescent patterns shimmering over its scales before it slithered into the water to avoid Jon and Cliff’s wandering trek. Butterflies skirted over the swamp, bearing vibrant wings that reminded me of revel nights and the stained glass of the church. A few of them glimmered, twinkling silver and gold like wayward stars above the water.
“Glowing lights,” Cliff murmured. “Ring any bells?”
The legend Hannah had recounted came flooding back, but this time, it didn’t fill me with uneasiness. The truth behind the story made my heart swell with hope.
“Sylv,” Jon murmured, marveling at a glowing blue lily that opened slightly at his touch. He caught my gaze, a breathless grin growing on his face.
We smiled wordlessly at each other, coming to the same conclusion. This was the sign we had been so desperately searching for. All of these creatures and unnatural blooms were signs that a powerful gemstone was nearby—right within reach.
A shadow skirted over the meadow, and we raised our heads to see a hawk circling through the trees. I flinched closer to Jon, certain for a moment that thebird of prey was coming forme.Its flight dipped low to the ground, circling around all three of us. When Cliff held up his hands defensively, the regal bird landed on his outstretched arm.
My jaw fell open as it folded its wings, giving Cliff’s shoulder a nudge with its head—as docile as one of Hannah’s cats. Instead of the typical high-pitched call, the bird emitted a deep, oscillating hum punctuated by unsettling clicks. Cliff straightened his arm like a falconer, exchanging an awestruck look with Jon.
“You guys seeing this?” Cliff breathed.
I swallowed hard, nodding back. The hawk wastranslucent, with glass-like feathers that allowed us to peer directly inside at the sinewy muscles and pulsing veins inside. When it spread its wings, sunlight refracted through each feather like crystal, casting fragmented rainbows over the waterlogged earth.
The stretch of water to our right gave a lurch as Aureline surfaced up to her shoulders, looking wholly out of place in this delicate sanctuary. I darted closer, waiting for further instruction. She dove back down before I could reach her, vanishing somewhere beneath the massive stone structure.
“That’s where she wants us to go,” I called over my shoulder.
When Cliff set forward, the altered hawk took flight again, soaring through the flowering vines above. I watched it go, committing the beautiful, strange creature to memory.
A narrow path cut across the water, leading toward the mysterious cobbled building. I kept pace with the hunters, searching for an opening in the stone until Cliff pushed away vines and moss to reveal the entrance. The cut of the arched opening had eroded, giving it the appearance of a cave more than a dwelling. The darkness that waited within was a far cry from the gorgeous landscape around us. It gaped like a maw, and I couldn’t help but hesitate.
“Maybe you should wait out here,” I suggested, beginning to understand how they must have felt when they told me to keep my distance from the outpost.
“No,” they both said at once.
I turned to face them, grateful and uncertain. “We don’t know how these fairies might take to humans—and if the siren lets on that you’re hunters—”
“You’re not going in there alone.” Jon leveled a firm look at me, then took the first step into the darkness.
18
Jon
Sunlight scarcely penetrated the thick canopy of vines draping the mouth of the cave, casting wavering shadows along the walls.
As Cliff and I stepped inside, the air grew cool and damp, the scent of the stone surrounding us. An arched door loomed at the back of the cave, carved directly into the stone wall. There was no handle, and a testing push revealed no give. Intricate carvings bristled beneath my fingertips, and I stepped back to take in the entire door.
Symbols were carved along the arch and in intricate, swirling patterns.Ancient Fae. I recognized the character shapes from the spellbooks Sylvia frequently pored over—and from the traitor mark branded across her left cheek. The heart of the door depicted a crescent moon with tears streaming down its grimacing face in lines far too delicate for any human craftsman to carve. Encircling the weeping moon were numerous shooting stars. Their tails dragged across the stone sky with eerie threads dripping from each like fallout plummeting toward the ground beneath our feet.
Cliff shined a penlight over the symbols, expression focused as he brushed a palm over some of the thinnest lines. With his artistic eye, I knew he had to be even more awed than I was. The craftsmanship was bewitching and difficult to look away from—but there was something fuckingcreepyabout the moon’s face and the way the stars seemed to be draining into the earth.
The focused line of Cliff’s light was joined by a wash of cerulean as Sylvia whispered the spell that ignited the ethereal glow beneath her skin. She circled around me.
“This must be nearly a thousand summers old,” Sylvia breathed, her delicate fingers outstretched to brush the stone. The reverence in her voice seized the small space, echoing around us.
“What’s it say?” Cliff asked. As she flew along the path of the arched doorway, he angled his light to provide her additional illumination to read by.
“Some of it’s too eroded to read.” Sylvia flew methodically, prioritizing the areas with the most intact etchings. “Passage… exchange… sacred requirement…” She glanced back at us with a frown. “I think it’s asking for some kind of payment.”
I locked eyes with Cliff, weary resignation stretching between us. Witches and warlocks commonly used security measures like this. I pulled the small bronze knife from my belt, the blade glinting dully in the strange wash of light.
“I think we know what kind of payment it wants,” I said.
