Chapter Two
“No,” Nox said. He clutched his healing ribs, scowling at Erlandur and Faith. They shared the med bay with him, explaining the fantastical tale that somehow, somehow, they had Shadows on their side. “How could you keep something like this away from us? You never said once that you were in contact with this… Supreme. You simply told us that you had made some friends. My father trusted you.”
Erlandur smiled thinly, his eyes strangely hollow. For once, he didn’t don his helmet, so his southerner features stood clear in the flickering light of the room. “What do you think will be the first reaction I’ll get if I even attempt to explain about Helena?”
Nox paused. “That doesn’t matter. You can’t hold onto something like that. It betrays the trust of those who choose to follow you. What if none of us wish to forge an alliance with such a creature? Why not let us have that choice?”
“As far as I’m aware,” Erlandur replied, his voice cool, “we’re not winning this war. They’re reaching the south in more numbers each day, even with the brave resistance of your people. And once they get through the south, there’ll be nothing to stop them devouring all the humans of the world. Also… I’d known for a while that not all Shadows were evil.”
He refused to elaborate on that, but it did nothing to quell Nox’s unease. He could just about tolerate the idea of working with a black veined witch. By the moon, he could even deal with the fact that Erlandur had the same condition, and Erlandur actually used magic to animate his undead wolves.
Nox growled. The Spine wolves were the greatest clan. They may not have the history of Lunehill, but they lived on death’s doorstep, and had built themselves up into a sizeable military force. Nothing compared to the number of citizens in the Fractured City, as Faith and Erlandur insisted on ramming the notion into his head about.
Mostly, he felt pissed off that Erlandur kept such a heavy secret. He reckoned others back in the clan headquarters would feel the same. Who wanted to follow a leader that withheld vital information? Who worked with the enemy?
“I don’t understand how they used my grandmother’s body,” Faith was saying. “I know they buried her. I’ve visited her grave before.”
“Do you want to hear an answer from me?” A voice drifted from outside the room, and Nox fixed his attention on a slight, white haired woman with dark eyes and pale, pale skin. His nostrils flared slightly, taking in the prominent veins upon her body. One of the cursed. Although… something seemed off about her. Disconcerting.
“I imagine if I don’t, you’ll tell me anyway.”
“Right,” the newcomer said, allowing a smile to lift her incredibly red lips. The contrast of color made Nox stare closer.
He vaguely remembered being carried out of the chasm, and the lull of her voice, but nothing else. Even with everything the witch and knight had said, understanding the alliance with an underground resistance dedicated on toppling the Shadow city, he didn’t fully trust them. He didn’t see what benefit a Shadow got from slaughtering their own kind.
“It’s like this.” The woman edged in, and her face took on a cold, neutral slant. “Shadows can possess bodies, if they don’t devour the flesh. Even if the body is dead, as long as a Shadow finds one, it can be taken. And, let’s face it. The Lunar Wastes can keep bodies perfectly preserved for years. Which is enough time for a Supreme to link the body to a Shadow from the origin world.”
Link? Origin world? Dead body possession? Nox shuddered, baring his teeth in distaste. Hard to wipe out his undying hatred of Shadows, and to stomach the idea of accepting one as an ally.
“Echo, that is disturbing,” Faith replied, clearly unhappy with the fact. Erlandur’s mouth wrinkled as well.
Echo smiled, though there was a dark undertone to it. For some reason, although she wasn’t exactly what you would call pretty, there was something arresting about her features. Her dark eyes pierced the room, and her face was sharp, hawk like, yet somehow attractive. Nox resisted the stirrings of primal urges in his gut in a silent huff of disgust. He didn’t have time for this.
“It’s good to see you’re recovering,” Echo said, indicating to Nox with a nod of her head. “When I found you, I honestly thought you had to be dead at first.”
“You found me?” Nox allowed one eyebrow to twitch. “Then I thank you for my life.”
“No problem. I’m going to be heading back out to search for any other members of the scout team as well. If you survived, maybe there’s others.”
“When? Now?”
Echo nodded. “The faster, the better, wouldn’t you agree?”
Something about her tone seemed off. Nox disregarded it. “I want to help.”
“No,” Echo said bluntly. “I don’t need help.”
Nox snarled. “I can’t sit here and do nothing. “You’ll need a werewolf’s sense of smell to be able to catch anyone you can’t see.”
Echo considered this for a moment. “If you do come, there’s a condition.”
“Yes. What is it?”
Echo grinned mordantly. “I get to ride on you. I get tired of having to use my magic to get around everywhere.”
Nox rolled his eyes. “Really?” He considered the witch for a moment.
“Well, that, and the fact that you’re going to have to tolerate the magic I use. And I don’t think you’ll like it.”
Nox shook his head. “I’ve not been liking Shadow magic since I’ve first heard about it. But I can see its use. We have a witch called Yarrow, she’s able to directly communicate to Shadows.”
Echo pursed her lips in thoughtfulness. “That’s interesting. Was she born with this power?”
Nox closed his eyes, trying to remember the Ghost Laker’s power. “No. She was a lightning witch before it affected her.”
“Huh. I’ve not heard of that before. I was born with this,” she explained, and Nox felt a momentary horror. Born with such dark gifts? He couldn’t imagine that. Holding a squirming infant in his arms with the black taint in their veins.
He examined Echo again, now with increased interest. Something about her mannerism appealed to him. The dark eyes looked attractive, with those long eyelashes, those rounded cheeks and ruby lips which appeared soft and kissable. The veins, well, he could pretend they were inked tattoos, and not a froth of corruption in her veins. A hardness existed about her, too. Something cold and heavy and dark. He sniffed the air, and caught a scent of damp rock and earth emanating from her skin.
“Are all the people in the underbelly like you? Black veined?”
Echo shook her head. “Not everyone. But we stand out the least in this city, believe me. If a Shadow catches you looking normal, they’ll devour you. When you’re tainted, they already think you’re one of them, even though that’s not always the case.” She sucked on her lip. “If you’re ready, I’ll be leaving in ten minutes. We can’t waste time looking for your friends.”
Nox nodded in full agreement. “Of course. I’ll be fine.”
“I’d come, but I’m still healing,” Faith said.
“And I think I’m not allowed to leave,” Erlandur added. Nox noticed how Erlandur’s hand strayed to Faith. Apparently those two had gotten cosy during the trip. He examined Erlandur’s dark veins in a mix of trepidation and respect. Human had sacrificed a lot in his pursuit of an end to the Shadows. Nox admired him for that. Shame he wasn’t born a werewolf, really. He’d be a fine warrior.
With a grunt, Nox rolled out of bed as Echo left, and he stared after her unusual, long white hair. An interesting individual. Something smelled different about her. Like she was dangerous.
Nox had a thing for dangerous women. He grinned to himself, preparing for the trip.
He got the shock of his life when Echo demonstrated her magic on the surface, letting it flick out of her fingers to coalesce into a monstrous demon. He hissed in alarm as the monstrosity, which gave off the distinctive pulse of a Shadow, stood there with black long arms hanging.
“This is my magic. I can summon a creature. I call it Monster.”
Monster is a suitable name for that thing, Nox thought. He narrowed his eyes at it in suspicion. “Does it contaminate?”
Echo shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. I used it to carry you back. Can you see me lugging your body all the way from the chasm to the town?”
“Huh.” Nox wasn’t sure what to think about that. The notion of being carried by that thing sent unpleasant shivers groping his spine, like icy fingers. Echo released Monster with a sigh of relief, rubbing her cranium.
“I’ve already used Monster too much. I need to rest a bit. Well. Are you morphing then? We got some people to rescue.”
Nox rolled his eyes, growled, then constricted himself, transforming into his warrior form.