A Shadow's Tale (13 page)

‘Won't activate until ten o'clock.' He pressed the button on his watch again, the faint blue light illuminating the planes of his face. I tilted my head to one side. He didn't look particularly comfortable in the presence of his clone. I dismissed those thoughts. Of course it was strange if you didn't happen to have an identical twin. I still got a bit unnerved when I looked at Amarath and realised that I wasn't looking into a mirror. Lost in my thoughts, I jumped when the replica sat up. It nodded at Bart before calmly sauntering off to do whatever it is that clones do when they're impersonating their originals. He looked a little lost, as if he was watching a large part of his life walking away with his clone. I felt quite sorry for him, standing in the cold winter winds, now homeless while another person took his place in his family.

‘Need any help chasing that relic of yours?' I asked quietly. He glanced at me before looking up at the moon.

‘I dunno,' he said, looking a little guilty. ‘Someone said that you were kinda dangerous right now. I just don't know if I can trust you…'

I won't say that didn't hurt, because it did. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to come back with a Holly-style sarcastic quip. ‘Well, I guess you met my family before you met me then, huh?' I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head, hiding my expression in shadow so he couldn't read the thoughts on my face.

‘Sorry,' he said quickly, his emotions telling me that he was aware that he had made a mistake. ‘I don't really want people I don't know joining me on this. It's too dangerous. It's too easy to get hurt, and I don't know what to do if anyone does get hurt.'

‘Fair enough,' I answered neutrally, walking over to the
fountain and dipping my hand into its frigid waters, the cold searing my skin as I flicked the drops from my fingers. I could sense his confusion.

‘Where are you going?'

‘Nowhere in particular,' I murmured, ‘I just need to get away from my family.'

‘I need to get away from mine too, but I guess for different reasons than yours.' I turned to look at him. Instead of the human I had seen before, this humanoid was covered in brown fur, his eyes turned red, his hands clawed and a monkey's tail slicing at the air. He tilted his head to the side as he watched me. ‘You're leaving your family to save yourself, but I'm guessing that there's another reason behind that one.'

I turned back to the fountain, looking down at my reflection, at the damning evidence of the prophecy in the scar around my eye. ‘They're trying to protect me, to keep me away from something very dangerous, but it won't work for long. I just don't want to see them hurt…'

‘I like that. You're trying to protect your loved ones even though it puts you in danger.' I felt his hand gingerly touch my shoulder, as if he was unsure of what to do. ‘I guess you could come with me, if you still want to. I'll try to protect you too, but I'm not really good at medical things. I know the basic human anatomy and that's about it, and even then it's only approximately.'

‘Don't worry about healing,' I replied, turning to him. ‘Vrael's taught me a few bits about medicine. So, where do we start?'

‘The relic's last known position was in a mountain range north-west from here, so I guess we start moving. There's something you should know about where it's kept though.' I glanced at him, wondering what it was as he took a deep breath. ‘They say that the walls move. No one's ever come back from trying to find it.'

I smiled slightly. ‘Sounds like a challenge.'

We moved out, starting the journey to the outskirts of the city. If this All Teller necklace had been made by the Kraferrs, then their scent should still linger on it. I sniffed at Bart as discreetly as I could. Yep, there was a scent here that was definitely not human, and not like anything I had ever come across. Taking that as the scent of the Kraferrs, I kept my nose on alert for anything close to it. There were several living scents in the city, but this one shouldn't be moving. I stopped. There was something wrong here. A smell that didn't belong. A smell that
couldn't
belong. Bart stopped as well, glancing back at me with a worried expression. I listened carefully, putting a hand on the hilt of one of the two swords strapped permanently to my side. There's one thing about walking down a deserted street with another person. There should only be two patterns of footsteps. Not three. Someone was following us.

‘Shadow?' Bart asked.

‘There's someone there,' I replied quickly, in a low voice. I unsheathed one sword. He readied his claws, looking around for the unknown stalker. I took on my battle stance, breathing deeply, eyes searching the dark streets. Something whistled through the air. Ducking quickly, I watched as a lock of purple hair drifted to the ground and an arrow quivered in the wall behind me.

‘That was too close for comfort,' I muttered. I drew my other sword, taking comfort in the twin weights in my hands. I was good with these weapons. I could defend myself and Bart if necessary. Memories of Amarath's words started to murmur in the back of my mind, reminders of how to handle an opponent. I scanned the shadows, looking for anything out of place. I spotted the assailant, a black clothed man standing in an alleyway, bow in his hands. Another arrow only just missed Bart. The Kraferr darted towards the man, zigzagging to make a projectile attack more difficult. Obviously panicked, the attacker drew a sword, holding it at the ready. A scream caught in my throat as I watched
Bart launch himself at the person, too fast to stop his attack. The man lunged at the Kraferr with the sword, piercing Bart's arm then his chest. Bart seemed to laugh, raking at the assailant's eyes with his claws. The attacker ripped his sword out of Bart as I ran to help the Kraferr, throwing it towards me before he fled. My eyes widened as the sword headed straight for me. It was too late to dodge. Too late to slow down. Too late to do anything. The metal buried itself in my chest, straight through my heart. Gasping, I fell to the ground. I lay there on my side, trying to think of what to do. Nothing came to mind, just the pain of the blade skewering me like a particularly morbid kebab. The smell of Bart's blood came closer to me, his breathing ragged and panicked.

‘Shadow, can you hear me? I need to call Vrael, but how?'

‘I can hear…' I managed to get out. Goddess, breathing hurt. How was Bart holding up? I knew that demons had a secondary heart. I would be okay as long as I didn't bleed to death. But Kraferrs? I was fairly sure they weren't as resilient as the supposed spawn of evil. ‘Don't call…Vrael. They…can't know.' I had to get this sword out of my chest before it caused any more damage. Grasping the hilt, slippery with Bart's and my blood, I wrenched it out, letting it clatter onto the concrete. Given the amounts of blood pouring out of the wound, I was starting to doubt my survival. Gritting my teeth, I pushed those thoughts away. The consequences were too dire to contemplate. ‘I won't die,' I muttered to myself. I WILL NOT DIE!' I pushed myself up on my elbows, then my knees, then my feet, grabbing onto a nearby lamppost to keep myself upright. I felt Bart grab my arm, pulling it over his shoulders before he picked me up with an ease that betrayed his injuries. I cringed as the pain he felt flooded my mind. My own pain was too great for me to keep up my usual defences. Reaching up a hand to his temple, I let my magic flow into him, to lessen some of his wounds. I couldn't heal myself. No demon could. But I could help him. He pulled his head away
from my touch.

‘Keep your energy, Shad, you need it more than I do.' he murmured. We reached a doctor's surgery a few streets over. Carefully sitting me on the ground, he set about picking the locks with a claw. I put my hand against the wall, sending a magical pulse through the electric system to disable the alarms. I gasp as the energy left me, leaving me dizzy and barely conscious. He swore, picking me up again and bundling me into one of the treatment rooms. I vaguely heard him muttering to himself as he searched for the necessary materials. A syringe pierced the skin close to the wound, but I barely felt a pinprick. It was surpassed by the gash left by the sword. I was dimly aware of the needle passing back and forth, closing the wound. Slowly, I became more and more aware of the things around me, coming further and further away from unconsciousness.

‘I'm sorry,' he was saying quietly. ‘I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you. This was the first time we were attacked and I still couldn't protect you.'

‘It's okay,' I murmured, reaching out to squeeze his hand. ‘There wasn't much you could have done.' I sat up slowly, grimacing as I pulled the sutures slightly. They were going to be a pain in the backside, especially since they would have to be renewed at some point, probably by Vrael if he didn't kill me first. With demonic blood being slightly more acidic than human, most stitches didn't last long. ‘We should get moving before they attack again.' Hearing no answer, I glanced at Bart. His body was sprawled on the ground, his breathing shallow. All around the room were pools of red blood. His blood. Swearing in every language I knew, I knelt next to him, placing my hands over his wounds. Focusing my magic, I concentrated on repairing at least some of the damage. It wasn't enough. I grabbed the things I needed from the shelves, ignoring the pain in both my hearts. It didn't matter. I was going to live, but he wasn't if I didn't do something fast. I crouched next to him again, prepping a needle
and thread. His hand reached out to grip mine.

‘Don't let me die here.'

‘I won't. I promise I won't let you die.' After disinfecting the wound, I snatched a compression pad from my pile of supplies, applying it to the wounds, trying to staunch the bleeding. He had lost so much blood. Too much blood. I narrowed my eyes, grabbing an empty syringe. I stuck it into my arm, drawing blood into it. I knew that there would be a few side effects over from of the demonic part to my blood, but it would help. It was against so many rules that I couldn't count them all, but I didn't care. He had saved me. I had to do everything I could to save him. I injected it straight into his heart, followed by two more. My head began to feel light, but I forced myself to concentrate. I continued to apply pressure to Bart's wounds, praying that my blood would help him. The bleeding was slowing, and I started to stitch the wounds after injecting some local anaesthetic around them. Once I had tied off the final stitch, I placed a finger on his forehead, murmuring a spell that would hopefully bring him back from unconsciousness. He awoke with a gasp of pain. He tried to speak, his eyes wide in panic. I bit my lip, bowing my head.

‘You…you…you…'

‘I had to inject some of my blood into your system,' I said quietly. ‘You had lost so much…'

‘What'll happen to me?' he asked, his voice sounding stronger as the demonic blood running through his veins started to take hold.

‘I'm only half demon, so my blood isn't as potent as full-bloods.' I took a deep breath. ‘Actually, I have no idea…Uh, from what I know, it's kinda, uh, probable that you'll convert into a part demon…'

For a moment he said nothing, processing the information. I mentally kicked myself for not looking for some human blood to give him. He reached up a hand, touching my neck. I almost
flinched away, but he touched the pulse point next to my throat. ‘Your main heart isn't working yet…' I moved away slightly, dislodging his hand from my neck. I didn't want to answer that question.

‘We should get moving before someone finds us here.' I declared, holding out a hand to help him to his feet. I grabbed some of the medical supplies, slipping them into my pockets in case we needed them later.

As we walked down the street, I watched Bart carefully. He seemed to be holding up well given the havoc the demonic blood must be wreaking on his body. We walked in silence, the furrow of concentration on the Kraferr's forehead deepening as he tried to keep walking in a straight line. I glanced away, guilt clouding my mind. He stopped, crouching and placing one fur-covered hand on the ground.

‘Strange…'

I sniffed the air, but couldn't identify the smell. It was damp, mouldy and animalistic, dangerous and threatening. A part of me wondered if Karthragan had been out in the rain in his wolf form, looking for me, hunting me down.

‘We need to get out of here. Now!' Bart ordered. The edge of panic in his voice put me on edge. My already difficult concentration scattered completely. My mind froze as I tried to think of a way out, some way to escape.

‘I can't teleport us,' I said, not even willing to attempt it. There was no telling where we'd end up. Bart answered the problem at hand in his own way, seizing me around the stomach with one arm, scaling the side of the building next to us with an ease that I found hard to believe. We surfaced on the rooftop where Bart staggered, clutching at his wound. I felt his pain and grimaced.

‘Come here, let me heal that,' I said in a tone that implied that I wasn't going to take no for an answer. I didn't care that I was tired, or hurt, or that we were trying to hide from something I didn't know. He didn't put up a protest as I gently laid a hand on
the wound on his chest, concentrating on helping the minuscule fibres reconnect and heal. Once I had done as much as I could, I sat back, discreetly raising a finger to the pulse point on my neck. Still twice as fast as it needed to be. Although I had a secondary heart, it was smaller than the primary. It had to work harder to keep my body functioning. I let my hand fall, looking out over the city once more.

‘Who were they?' I asked.

‘The Ku'Rutiek. They're Kraferric outlaws who believe that the necklace should remain undiscovered, that it isn't the answer to our survival.' He turned to look at me through the red eyes of his were-monkey form. ‘They are the reason so many Kraferr Ones have failed.' I nodded silently, pondering. ‘Shad?'