Child of Blackwen (An Artemis Ravenwing Novel Book 1) (33 page)

Lady Clarayne shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She then began to laugh, which confused Arlina.

“Goddesses, am I witnessing the first crack of the lady’s sanity?” Arlina frowned, while folding her arms.

“I pity you, Arlina, truly,” Lady Clarayne said, mocking Arlina by using the same gesture of holding her hand over her heart. “Destroying
the joys of others, just to gain as much power as possible. Even vampires cannot live forever, let alone in solitude, Arlina. Were you so jealous of your sister because she had things you could never have? The promise of a throne? Love? A child?”

“Only weaklings allow themselves to be tied down by such useless anchors,” Arlina scoffed. “I rather like power. I can do whatever I want, however I want. Why would I want to ruin that with an annoying, attention-seeking child and an overbearing husband? After seeing
your
husband, I knew right then and there I had made the right choice of taking the path I did.”

“You’re despicable.”

“You’ve known this for ages, Clarayne. Why should now be any different?” Arlina reminded her as she jumped past the desk and backed Lady Clarayne against the wall. Her sai created sparks along Lady Clarayne’s sword.

“I will not go easily, Arlina,” Lady Clarayne growled, shoving Arlina off.

“There’s no fun in an easy kill!” Arlina beamed. “How I’ve waited for this moment…”

Shadow ran as fast as he could to the Hall of the Elders. It was taking him longer than he thought, for there was a full-blood at every corner and Shadow was too well-known for them to ignore. He fought his way through each one, and Shadow stopped himself from running off once he saw a familiar face doing battle with a full-blood.

Her pointed blue hat was missing, and he wasn’t sure if he should laugh or be horrified at the sight of her fighting in her nightgown. Talisa caught sight of him and glared.

“Don’t you dare judge me, Shadow!” Talisa snapped while catching a full-blood by the throat. She tossed him into the flames of what was once a cluster of oak trees. “Shut it!”

Shadow moved to strike down a full-blood who attempted to sneak up on her, and he then succumbed to laughter. “Do I really want to know, Talisa?”

“You stupid elf!” she fumed as she stole a sword from one full-blood and killed it. “I am the
last
person you want to toy with right now!”

He grinned after he disposed of a full-blood who leaped at him from above. “You’re amusing when you’re annoyed, did you know that?”

“I would smack you right now if the circumstances were different,” Talisa grumbled, while rubbing her hands along her bloodied and dirt-stained nightgown. “This was my favorite, too…”

“I’m sure you could find a spell that would fix that, Talisa.”

“Enjoy all of this now while you still can. You still have
many
favors left to do.” Talisa glared.

“And you call
me
a killjoy.” Shadow sighed.

“My good mood ended the moment Ellewynth caught fire.” Talisa huffed.

“I sent Artemis to your cottage. She is with Azrael.”

“
I
sent them to my cottage,” Talisa corrected him. “Arlina nearly succeeded in killing them both.”

Shadow froze. “No…”

“She
is
safe, I swear it. They both took my personal veil,” Talisa explained. “Kiare will reprimand me for letting that happen, but I am willing to suffer the consequences. They’re both hurt, but they will be fine. Jack will know what to do with them.”

Shadow clenched his fist. He was angry. Arlina found Artemis and he wasn’t there to protect her. And Azrael hurt as well? It took a lot to stop himself from abandoning Netira’s rescue just to go find them. They were in great need of the Blackwen City dhampir.

They realized they had a reprieve from attacking full-bloods, and Shadow took the opportunity to catch his breath. He then noticed small tears in the back of Talisa’s nightgown, as well as many cuts that were recently made by a sword tip. “What happened? What did you do?”

She cursed when she saw him staring at the cuts. “We’re not the only ones looking to spring Netira from her prison. She has a full-blood lover.”

“Oh goddesses,” Shadow answered, as he ran a bloodied hand through his hair. “And you think this lover of hers will get to her before us? I doubt he’ll be able to succeed.”

“Shadow, he’s not the common idiot full-blood from Blackwen City! He’s a
mage
. A damned vampire mage!”

Something clicked in his mind. He’d had suspicions that a mage was serving in Blackwen City, not only because of the strange runes that were etched in the cloaks of the full-bloods, but also because of how Netira was able to briefly control the element of fire. He didn’t expect a
vampire
mage, let alone him being Netira’s lover.

“Avilyne’s hell!” Shadow swore. “We need to get to Netira before he does.”

“And how do you propose we handle the mage should we encounter him, Shadow?” Talisa snapped. “I’m sure he’s part of Arlina’s council as well. That means he has a hell of a lot more resources than we will after this battle. He will hunt us down until he gets Netira back.”

“He gave you those cuts, huh?” Shadow asked. Talisa nodded. “So…why did he do so rather than kill you?”

Talisa sighed. “He let me go to help save Ellewynth. A lot of good that did…that bastard…”

“Let’s ignore the fact that he actually captured you and you’re still recovering from wounded pride,” Shadow said, ignoring another glare from the witch. “This full-blood’s a mage, yes. He’s also in love. That can work to our advantage, Talisa.”

“Speaking from personal experience, Shadow?” Talisa winked.

Shadow glared at her. “We must get to the hall before he does. If we do meet the mage, I’ll handle it.”

“I swore I would kill him, you know,” Talisa spoke as they ran. “We must also reach the hall before Arlina does. She already had a head-start. That damned woman sicked her soldiers on me before I could stop her.”

Shadow cursed. Arlina would certainly go after his aunt considering their history. And now that Artemis escaped her…

“Run faster, Talisa!” Shadow ordered as he quickened his pace.

The wooden hall came into sight, and there wasn’t a soul to be found. The fire had not yet reached the building, which led Shadow to hope that they made it before the Mistress of Blackwen.

Shadow walked to the steps and stopped once he caught a glint to his right. He rolled over and spotted a knife in the ground where he stood before. Shadow waved Talisa off before she could speak.

“Go! If my aunt is still inside, get her out safely. I will get Netira once I’m done here. Move!”

Talisa nodded and disappeared into the hall as a full-blood appeared before Shadow. He recognized him from the time when he and Serlene had gone out to the open forest to claim Netira.

Shadow was face to face with Latos.

“Famous Shadow.” Latos grinned. “We meet again.”

“Bootlicker,” Shadow responded. He took his fighting stance. “The only title you’ll ever receive in this lifetime, it seems.”

“You’ve insulted me once and still live,” Latos reminded him, while letting his tongue run over his elongated eye teeth. “A mistake I will not repeat.”

“Talking never got one anywhere,” Shadow said, raising his sword. “Only actions did.”

Latos disappeared and reappeared beside Shadow, the same knife Shadow had missed now back in Latos’ hand. Shadow raised his sword to block the thrust Latos intended for his shoulder, and he angled his blade enough to create an opening to Latos’ chest. Before Shadow could land a punch, Latos disappeared again. He was too fast for Shadow to catch as he sliced through Shadow’s sleeve, making a deep cut within his arm.

Taking a step back to admire the blood seeping through Shadow’s sleeve, Latos smiled.

“Your blood smells delectable, famous Shadow,” Latos taunted, his irises completely red. “But I can’t end this just yet. I need to add a little more…spice…to get your blood just the way I want it.”

“I thought you’d have been used to disappointment by now,” Shadow said, ignoring his bleeding arm. “Perhaps you’re as old as I am. I have more titles than you’ll ever have. It’s a shame really…”

Latos disappeared again, and Shadow raised his blade over his chest, parrying the knife that suddenly appeared inches from the uninjured arm. The full-blood resorted to making the same move as before, and Shadow shifted his weight and heard Latos curse; he knew he’d drawn the vampire’s blood.

Latos held a hand to his now cut shoulder and glared at Shadow.

“I never fall for the same trick twice, you see,” Shadow explained, taking a stance once more.

“You
let
me cut you, elf!” Latos spat. “You did it so you would know how I attack! You tricky bastard…”

“Well, well.” Shadow smirked. “Perhaps there’s some hope for you in Arlina’s ranks after all.”

Shadow rushed Latos, and he could feel the full-blood’s fear at the display of his speed. The glyphs along Shadow’s blade glowed whenever it made contact with the vampire’s skin, and as Latos moved to strike, Shadow created an arc with his sword that traced along Latos’ chest. Latos screamed, and Shadow knew the full-blood felt he was burning alive with that strike. Shadow’s mysterious blade always had that effect on vampires, though he never knew why.

“What have you done to me, elf ?” Latos bellowed in fury. “What sorcery is this? You’re no elf mage!”

“It’s an old trick that I don’t need to have magical abilities to use,” Shadow explained. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m in a hurry. I didn’t want you to forget our encounter, however.”

Now appearing behind Latos, he slammed the back of the full-blood’s skull with the hilt of his sword. He smiled as he watched the vampire fall unconscious. “Until the next time we meet, bootlicker. I promise I won’t be so merciful then.”

felt something pat my cheek. The feeling continued as the pressure of it increased.

“Avilyne’s hell, please don’t be dead.”

Jack’s voice.

I forced my eyes open, and I saw Jack’s face. Relief had spread on his face.

“Hey there,” I coughed.

“Thank the goddesses,” Jack praised. He hoisted me from the ground and carried me inside of Talisa’s cottage. “What happened? How did you get here? How did you get those wounds?”

I remembered the mare. “Azrael…she is hurt. Tend to her first, Jack! I’ll be fine.”

“Keep your stubborn self,”—Jack gently put me down on the bed that once belonged to me— “on this bed while I go do that. From the looks of your head and the grimace you made when I picked you up, you have a concussion.”

“I’m all right,” I assured him.

“Like hell you are,” he frowned. He wagged a finger at me. “Stay here. I’ll be back after I tend to your horse. And stay awake! If I have to throw ice water on you, I will!”

He left before I could scold him about being bossy. My vision blurred as I tried to focus on the ceiling, and I fought the urge to shut my eyes.
The moment I did close them, I saw Arlina. She was pointing that pistol at me. I screamed as I heard the blast, and I was immediately splashed with ice water. An arm held me down when I tried to leap away.

“Sucks to be on the other end of these things, hmm?” I heard Jack say.