War of the Princes 03: Monarch (9 page)

Pouncing, I reached my torso over the railing, grabbing onto the final chain. “Gotcha!” I cheered, and funneled the Spark down my arms. My excitement fed the power of my attack. As the electricity pooled in my hands, I felt the keen awareness that I could reshape my creation the way I worked clay. The thousands of tiny strands of lightning that burst forth pressed closely together to form a cormorant bird, with a long tail that connected to my hands. It flew in tight circles around the chain in a corkscrew motion, threads of electricity connecting it to the metal links. When it reached the turret, I made the lightning bird tuck its wings the way cormorants do, and dive into the water-coated deck.

It was over in four seconds.

Hurried by the conducting elements of metal and water, the Spark attacked, and none were safe from it. Light flashed, a puff of thunder followed the impact, and everyone onboard fell to ground or sea. My pulse should have been enough to stun, but not kill them.

I made
certain that no electricity returned to the chain, or slipped aboard our own ship, and when I was sure it was safe, I released the chain. Though a little lightheaded from the effort of molding the Spark, I was ready to throw my hands up and cheer. We freed ourselves, but most impressively, we'd worked as a team. And somehow I managed to consciously mold my lightning into a complex form. That was something that I'd only seen Prince Raserion do.

Before I could celebrate, I frowned. As though merely thinking about him could summon him, I thought I saw a shadow
figure climbing along the chain. Stretching, it reached out from below me and peeled the links apart. The final chain snapped free, I blinked, and the shadow was gone.

The strong sound of our hover engines roaring into action should have been a comfort to me. The way the ship vibrated as we lifted off away from the water's surface should have made me smile. It didn't.

A freezing chill, colder than open water, stabbed through my flesh.

It's onboard. It protected us, and it's onboard.

Spinning around to face the others, I was met with relief and surprisingly high spirits. They hadn't seen it at all.

“
Thank you, Katelyn,” Dylan said in a sour tone. “There. See how easy that was?”

The hatch below
deck whipped open and Kyle popped out. “Finally! We couldn't risk flight until that connection had been cut.”

“
I wished we had,” Dylan said, propping his elbow on the rail. “I would have loved to see the look on that captain's face when we'd begun to drag him skyward.”

“
Oh, yeah.” Kyle's response was dry. “
That
would have been hilarious, right up until we ripped apart, stalled, and landed right on top of them!”

“
Well done,” Rune said to us all. “I mean that.”

“
Do you?” Dylan chimed. “Does this make us brothers-in-arms?”

Rune looked as though he almost might laugh.
“Not quite.”

Only Sadie noticed my perturbation and sat beside my leg. She looked up at me with round, silver eyes. Her
sharply pointed teeth shone as she breathed in and out of her mouth. I hoped I could rely on her loyalty. The last thing I needed were two powerful enemies lurking aboard our ship.

He's following me. He knows what we're doing.

Chapter 15:
Chasing Shadows

Over the next two days, I didn't see much of anyone. I know that may
seem kind of strange, considering we were all on the same boat with nowhere in particular to go. Carmine had been furious about the attack, blaming us for all of it. If we hadn't been playing hide-and-seek with our Lurcher, spitting fire and smoke into the sky, we might not have been discovered. I just chalked it up to bad luck.

She beg
an drinking after that– said it was to soothe her nerves. We didn't set the Flying Fish down again, and Carmine quit sleeping altogether.

As for the rest of us, we'd been divided and given a schedule. Kyle was busy keeping things moving in the engine room, while Rune and Dylan were split up to help with repairs and stand watch. We wouldn't fall victim to salvagemen again, or anything else, if Carmine had her way.

Part of me was glad that we'd all been separated. After I saw the shadow figure break the chain that held our ship to the salvageman’s vessel, I was a nervous wreck, starting at the slightest sound. I knew that I was probably being paranoid, that it could have just been a play of the light through the clouds. But if it wasn't a trick of the eye, it meant that Raserion had sent something to watch me, to make sure that I followed through with our agreement. Much as I wished a concussion was to blame, our meeting had been as real as the medallion in my pocket. I'd made a pact with him and wagered the lives of all of my friends and family. If Rune or Kyle asked me why I wasn't sleeping, what would I tell them? I didn't want to lie. I didn't want to worry them with a simple nightmare either. Kyle was having enough of those for the both of us. Shadows within Shadows... would anyone believe me if I told them that such a place existed? No, it was better if I didn't say anything. I'd calm down, eventually, and then all I'd need to worry about would be our potentially one-way trip to beg for protection from Raserion's psychotic brother.

My waking hours were divvied between helping our pilot navigate and keeping a lookout on the aft deck. How I wound up with the night shift, I'd never know. The upside of my backward hours was that I could only manage to sleep if I was on the mid or upper decks in blindingly bright sunlight. The downside was that I was awake
… all night.

The dark was endless. I couldn't see moon or star or any lights but our own, and they seemed a feeble ally. The sky must have been thick with clouds, but I couldn't see them. It was quiet and cold. I barely noticed the sound of our engines anymore. I couldn't even hear the sea. I didn't spot any other ships. From my perch on the aft
deck, buried in coats and cloaks and scarves, my only worries were the shadows.

I'd catch movement in the corner of my eye and find nothing but darkness, again and again. If it weren't for Sadie sitting with me, I might have lost my mind. Her responses
tended to be accurate, and most of the time, I was the one to jump without cause.

Occasionally, though, her head would swing to follow my own, and she'd stare into the void with predatory focus. It had only happened twice.

At the very end of my shift on that second night, it happened again. I was walking carefully down the steps, heading for the cabins and the helm when I saw something flash ahead of me. Sadie was after it in an instant, and I trailed after her with less enthusiasm.

I need to know if
it’s really here, that I'm not imagining it.

The shadow retreated into the corner of the outer cabin. Putting a little electricity in my hand, I flooded the area with light. Sadie stood face to face with the wall, my white light illuminating the dull green marbling of her coat. Her paw scraped at the corner. There was no shadow to be seen. Was it enough proof to stop blaming my overly active imagination?

“Come out,” I said, quietly at first. “Come out! You coward. If you're here, show yourself.” I squeezed my hands into fists.

I felt a breeze of movement behind me. My heartbeat raced in my ears. Sadie whipped around to chase after it, and I turned. She stood, splay-legged, head twitching in all directions as she searched for it.

Icy rain began to trickle down from the sky, pattering onto my head.

It was gone.

Of course it was. How many times would I let myself get carried away? A lack of sleep could easily cause hallucinations, and I sure didn't need any help in the creative delusions department. Maybe Sadie was playing. Chasing a bug.

Fed up, I tightened my coats around me and turned to march toward the cabin door.

A lumbering black shape, vaguely humanoid, stood in the doorframe, and its empty white eyes stared out at me.

I screamed, stumbling backwards. The light on my swinging hand cast eerie, fractured patterns on the ship. Instead of using its eyes to connect me to the Prince, or wrapping around me to bring me to Shadows within Shadows, it melted half into the wall, half into the floor, and vanished.

Sadie screeched and attacked the place where it had stood, scratching the floor with her claws.

The rainstorm announced its intentions by pelting mercilessly down on us, and I fled through the place it had stood and into the cabin, with hands that were shaking in an all too familiar way.

Chapter 16:
One Enemy Too Many

I'd seen it. Sadie saw it. It was real and it was with us on the Flying Fish. I stormed down the hall
, letting the Pull take me. Sadie was at my heels, and I didn't care in the least that I was breaking one of Carmine's rules by letting her in. One by one, I shrugged off my layered coats, letting them each fall to the floor like a trail of breadcrumbs. I wasn't concerned about tidiness either. I needed my arms free. When I was down to my white linen shirt, I pushed up the sleeves and formed a pair of electrical rings around each of my forearms. If it followed me, I wouldn't be helpless.

I passed Kyle's bunkroom first. Pushing the door, I let my light in. He was asleep, his eyes moving behind closed lids. His arms twitched, and his brows were low on his face. He wasn't screaming. That was an improvement. I decided to let him rest. We were a boat full of insomniacs and if
anyone was getting sleep, I should let them.

Light seeped from beneath the doors to the
galley. Upon entering, I was greeted by warmth and enticing savory scents. Sadie snaked in with me before the doors could close. The room was nothing but four small square tables with two chairs each, and a bar with stools that separated the counters, burners and pantries. It was all warm wood and copper, brightened by a wagon-wheel chandelier. There were no other decorations, but Carmine was clean-and-simple like that.

It was a comforting place that didn't welcome dark thoughts like mine.

Rune was behind the counter, surrounded by wafting tendrils of steam. The aroma was exquisite. He looked up, and seeing me, delivered a boyish grin. “Good timing! I just made–” Blue eyes training on the electric rings on my arms, his rare cheer broke away, replaced by severity. The former Dragoon flashed around the counter with a cleaver in his hand. “What's wrong? What happened?” He looked untrustingly down at Sadie, squeezing his fingers around the handle.

I held a hand out to block her. It was still shaking, so I retracted it.
“It's not her.”

My words caught in my throat. I was so moved that he could read me well enough to know I wasn't playing around. Something really was wrong, and he trusted me, knew me well enough to take me seriously. He probably had his own instincts too. The kind that come with surviving
near-death experiences in battle.

I looked around us into each and every corner of the brightly lit room. Could it be lurking here with us? There was no evidence to support that fear. Sadie prowled toward the bar and sniffed at the rolling scent of freshly cooked food.

“Tell me,” he implored.

I was afraid to give him the truth. I could keep it to myself and spare my friends the worry of knowing what I did. Ignorance is bliss, right? I could handle it on my own.

Squeezing my eyes closed, I blurted, “One of the Prince's shadows is here, on the Flying Fish.”

Rune blinked.
“What?”

“
I just saw it again. I-I mean I think I've been seeing it. It's sort of like the Voice of the Prince, but... different. It has long claws and pointy ears sometimes, its body shape changes.”

“
That's impossible.” He looked like the wind had been knocked from his lungs.

His reaction made me quake even more than I had been. I gripped my hands together the way I usually did to stop them from shaking. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself for the worst.
“No, it's not. The night before we left Breakwater, it attacked me.”

“
But how? You were with me.”

“
After that. I went to get some water and it jumped on me. It changed shape and covered me up until I couldn't see. It was so dark. When I got up, I was somewhere else. Somewhere
wrong
. The sky was moving. The trees, grass, mountains, everything was a silhouette. I tried to use the Spark, but there were Shadow Chasers everywhere and they stole my energy.” I dug my nails into my wrists. “I was helpless, and I
hated
it.”

Rune's eyes grew wider and wider as I described the place.

“There were warhorses, and at certain angles, I could see through them to their bones. The three-headed ones were there too, and other things I've never seen before.”

He interrupted me with a whisper.
“Shadows within Shadows. You were there.” His eyes narrowed at the edges. “You met
him
. You met Prince Raserion in the heart of his realm.”

Damn. So Shadows within Shadows was a real place, after all.

“I met him,” I admitted.

Rune cursed, hacking his knife down into the table. More than an inch of the blade sunk into the wooden surface, and the handle wobbled where he left it.

I was not the target of his rage. “What did he do?”

“
Nothing, I mean– he didn't hurt me or anything. He used the shadows to show me his life. Prince Varion murdered their father to steal his Abilities and take the kingdom. Raserion has been set on revenge ever since. He knew who I was and he asked for my help. If I help him find and kill Prince Varion, he'll leave Haven alone and the war will finally be over.”

“
So that's it.” Rune sank into a chair. “First the Gateling appears in Breakwater and now here, on this very ship. He already knows what we’re doing. He knows about Lord Axton and the freed children.”

“
No,” I shook my head, taking the seat across from him. “He never once mentioned Breakwater or the kids. He would have used them as leverage too. He– he even told me that he'd leave
you
alone if I helped him.”

Rune snorted, staring darkly down at the table.
“I won't be free of him until he takes his final breath. No, Kat. We go north and he commands you to find Prince Varion? He knows exactly what we're doing. He didn't bring up Breakwater because he wants to lure you into a false sense of security. Haven’s safety is leverage enough.”

And you
rs.

My chest tightened at the thought of losing him after everything that we'd survived together. I was rattled.
“Do you think he knows that I have the Pull?”

His look was apologetic.
“It's safe to assume he knows everything at this point. He's probably given his navy the order to occupy Breakwater. It's just a matter of priority and timing, two of his strengths. By sending you out, he gains another soldier to work for him, and loses nothing. From this distance, and especially once in enemy territory, we can't hope to know what has befallen Breakwater.”

I rested my arms on the table, letting the Spark filter away. A crushing weight settled on me, and heat, the precursor to tears, burned my face.
“I didn't trust him, you know. I thought I was being careful. When I agreed to help him, I knew it might be a lie. I thought I'd changed, but I'm still a naive girl from Rivermarch.”

“
Don't do that.” He had the same rich accent as every Outside Worlder, but the way it was infused with strength and calm comforted me. “Being different doesn't make you weak. You see the world from an angle that we cannot. It just might be that difference that saves us all.”

I allowed myself to smile.
“Thanks for the confidence.”

He smiled back as though the gesture was becoming easier.
“I'll be here five days a week, tips are appreciated.”

A breathy chuckle slipped free and I felt myself relax, ever so slightly.
“Do you remember when the last chain that tethered us to the salvagemen snapped? It was the shadow-thing–”

“
Gateling.”

“
It was the Gateling that broke the link. It helped us.”

“
As it should. Raserion gains nothing from our deaths at sea.” He tapped the table pensively. “What bothers me is that the Gateling has been wandering free all this time.”

“
Is that not normal?”

“
No, it isn't. All of Raserion's creations live in Shadows within Shadows. It's the realm he created for them. We learned about it in training, since the same rule applies to the Mimics, our warhorses.”

I hummed.
“That was the name of his first horse. When it died, he created shadow versions of Mimic, and they became the shadow-warhorses we see today.”

“
That is an impressive piece of lore,” Rune said appraisingly. “I doubt that more than three people alive even know such a thing. Raserion might be manipulative, but the tale of his life was likely true. Our prince is obsessed with history. You should write down what he told you. Information from an immortal is priceless.”

Even if he is a murderous psychopath?

“Then I will,” I promised. “But, you were saying? About the shadow creatures?”

“
Well, warhorses, chasers, even Gatelings, must return to Shadows within Shadows when their work here is done. As I understand it, it's where they rest and regenerate. Also, all of them must be summoned by tracing a unique symbol.” He rolled up one dark sleeve to expose the brand on the inside of his forearm. “Like this one, and like the mark of the Shadow Chasers. They cannot leave Shadows within Shadows without it.”

I remembered the towering humanoid shadow that had forced me to speak with Raserion in Cape Hill. I knew there was more than one of them, and it was a terrifying concept, considering Raserion could use them like a pair of binoculars.
“What about the Voices of the Prince?”

“
They are probably one of the most complex of his creations, and thankfully, they're the only creatures whose eyes he can see through. If the Shadow Chasers were designed the same way, this war would have been over centuries ago. The Margraves summon the Voices of the Prince at designated intervals, and most Margraves have access to a Gateling. You saw the difference in how they operate.”

“
And you're sure he can't see through them?”

He nodded.
“They're just entities with orders. Their only real ability is in being a courier to Shadows within Shadows. I saw the old Margrave step out of one once. Commanders all compete with one another at the chance to be Margrave, not only for the power, but the closeness to the Prince.”

“
So that means someone summoned this Gateling.”

“
Exactly.” Rune steepled his fingers. “And its orders have been to follow you.”

“
Hest,” I said, the revelation illuminating my mind. “She probably summoned it and gave it the order before she died. It's been on the ship with us ever since. That's how Raserion knows about you, me, the children, Breakwater, even our mission.”

He nodded.
“My thoughts exactly. He can't see through a Gateling, or Command through them, but it must be able to report to him somehow.”

“
And since its task has been to follow me–”

Rune leaned back in his chair.
“It probably only returns partially to the shadow realm, just long enough to feed him information.”

“
How do we stop it?”

“
I don't know. We can't exactly force a shadow to do anything. If I observed accurately, it has to be visible to function. So, it can't watch us all the time. Then, there's always the chance that I have no idea what I'm talking about. What are the experiences of one Dragoon beside a force like the Prince? There are things I might not know.”

I sighed.
“No, it makes perfect sense.”

Rune watched me from the corner of his eye.
“All of this– is it why you've been avoiding me?”

The question caught me off guard and I looked up at him like a startled deer. Eventually, I nodded in shame.
“I never meant to. It's just I–”

“
You don't need to explain yourself. I'm just glad you told me.”

The hum of the Flying Fish's engines and Sadie's delicate snoring were the only sounds in the kitchen for a short while.

I wondered where his thoughts rested. Would he succumb to his Dragoon training and retreat to that cold, unfeeling place? Or did his natural sense of loyalty and family prevail? “Are you worried about Breakwater?”

The white noise of the ship swallowed my question.

“Of course,” he said lowly. “But it changes nothing. We must hurry north and seek Varion's aid, or we must serve him to Raserion, but either way, time is of the essence just as it was before.”

“
I guess you're right.” Looking at it that way just might have saved me from a nervous breakdown. “I guess now we only wait.”

“
Not only,” he said, standing. “We eat too.”

“
Can you really think about food at a time like this?”

“
Yeah.”

“
You're that used to being in life-threatening situations?”

He shrugged.
“Strength cannot be maintained on an empty stomach.”