Shadow Revealed (The Enlightened Species Book Two) (21 page)

“You don’t want to be directly in front of me.” Though he addressed the two guards who had targeted him, he saw the blue mist shift out of his path. Thank goodness the assassin had understood his message. Enlil tapped into his power, targeting the two guards, and began siphoning their energy. Taking advantage of their rapidly weakened state, Enlil sliced through the wand arm of the guard nearest him. Undeterred, the guard lunged at him with a dagger. Enlil spun out of range; the continuity of his momentum flowed to the arc of his sword and cut through the guard’s neck.

He turned to engage the second guard. Fully drained of energy the guard, dropped to his knees without aggression. He pounded the handle of his sword to the guard’s temple, finishing the job. It would be good to keep one alive for now.

Shane had already killed one of his guards and was making short work of another. The warrior from Irsu’s unit likewise had his battle nearly won. Irsu herself faced three guards. The female was holding the guards at bay, but the arcing wands were coming closer to her. The blue mist stepped into range of the trio challenging Irsu. The ghost expertly dodged Irsu’s defensive moves to reach his mark, and blood suddenly splattered across Irsu’s face from the removal of the arm that held the wand. Her blade removed the amputated guard’s head an instant later. The teal-blue mist had moved on to the next. Realizing the two who remained had distanced themselves to come at Irsu from opposite sides, Enlil targeted the third with his power while Irsu advanced on the one he weakened, making short work of the guard. Enlil reigned in his siphon before it could harm Irsu. She pivoted in time to again be sprayed with the blood of the final guard, his throat cut by the teal-blue mist.

Their ragged breathing was the only sound that remained in the ensuing silence.

The shadowed male manifested next to Irsu, his appearance startling her, and she swung her blade in defense. The assassin hit the grass below the swipe of her blade and began laughing. “Nice,” the assassin said, lying at Irsu’s feet.

Irsu had brought her hand to her mouth. “Oh, Fates, I’m sorry.”

The male had a few injuries, and he too was splattered in blood. “Don’t be. That was a stupid move on my part. I haven’t fought alongside real warriors before.” The male was still grinning up at Irsu. She dropped her hand from her mouth and extended it to help the male to his feet, then dashed off to help her warrior with their fallen member. Enlil joined Shane to face the male ghost who was watching Irsu run.

“Where’s Jess?” Shane shook with adrenalin.

“They are in a room in the basement of the main house. Follow me.” The assassin stomped through the blood-soaked dirt. That he gave Enlil and Shane his back showed that he trusted them. Someone had already killed the guards they encountered inside the dwelling. Enlil counted ten dead between the front door and the stairwell.

He heard voices coming from below and tightened his grip on the sword, noting Shane’s tension beside him. The assassin mumbled, “Asshole could have left us a few more.” Who was he referring too?

Chapter Eighteen

“Who are you?” Jess asked. She leaned in and palm-heeled the air. A low male grunt came from the space in front of the female. Grip marks appeared on Jess’s upper arms where her attacker held them. Jess must have surprised the male when she went limp and dropped down. Using the grip on her arms for balance, she kicked out with her feet, connecting hard with her unseen attacker, who grunted again.

“Stop!” a deep voice whispered. “If I wanted to hurt you, you’d be dead already. I’m here to help my … Umbrae.”

“Then let me go!” Jess snapped.

Umbrae used the marks on Jess’s arms to target the male. With all her strength she brought her elbow down at what should be the male’s arm, and she felt his grip on Jess give way. She circled between Jess and thin air to bring her other elbow down across the opposite wrist. And pushed back against the solid chest she couldn’t see.

Jess stumbled back, free from her attacker. The female warrior resumed a fighting position. A sigh sent Umbrae after the ghost until she noticed Jess looking in an entirely different direction. What was going on?

The deep voice whispered, “Give this to Umbrae. You need to be her sight. Guide her through the fight with Osiris.” A sword materialized in Jess’s hand.

Jess looked down at the weapon in her hand and then back at whatever she saw with a nod. She unerringly stepped over to Umbrae and handed off the sword. Umbrae could feel the metal conductivity work with her ability. A weapon made of the same unknown material as her chain. It shadowed with her, firm in her grip. Jess’s next words filled her with dread.

“Who are all of you?” Jess asked. Umbrae wanted to ask how many she meant, but she knew silence was her best ally when shadowed. No answered followed. Jess was looking around the room—apparently there were many of them. Jess’s eyes never even paused when they passed where Umbrae stood, not giving away her position.

From the furthest corner the deep voice whispered again. “I am Eros Sicarius. If you need to distract Osiris, use my name. He believes he’s safe with your siphon abilities muted in this room.” Eros gave a cynical snort. “Hell, so did I. Very glad you proved me wrong, ladies.”

Jess stared into the corner behind her. “If my abilities are muted, why aren’t yours?”

“Shadowing uses internal psychic energy. Siphoning requires energy transfer externally,” he answered. Jess seemed to relax somewhat. “That said, you are still a very dangerous young warrior.”

“Jess. My name is Jess Einar. How are there six of you?” Jess asked, giving Umbrae the answer to her question. Umbrae liked Jess more and more. The female had smarts.

Rather than answer; Eros addressed her directly. “Umbrae, do you want this fight with Osiris?”

Umbrae felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Eros was giving her a choice? Just like the people in the SOSC had given her since the day of her rescue. “Yes.” If Osiris was her family, it was her responsibility to take him out.

Jess opened her mouth when the wall slid open once more. “Oh, shit.” How could Jess tell who was who? “Umbrae, my twelve o’clock, four feet.”

Following the instruction, Umbrae lunged, feeling the tip of the blade nick flesh, and then quickly moved to a new position.

“Your two o’clock. Duck!” Jess called out.

Umbrae dropped, pushing into thin air with the sword. Jess crouched into a fighting position. Invisible hands yanked her backward. The sound of swords crossing in front of Jess gave Umbrae some relief. Eros had protected the female.

Jess’s eyes tracked the path of Osiris. “Six feet, my one o’clock, two three.”

Umbra was able to get a clear line on Osiris’s movements with Jess’s guidance. Anticipating his momentum she stepped into position and sliced at neck height with the blade, pushing through the resistance she met. Wet droplets peppered her face. Osiris manifested, his mouth working silently, falling toward her. His head slid free before his body hit the ground. Umbrae raised the sword and changed position again; there were still six ghosts in the room.

She edged toward the open doorway, aware that Jess could see her progress. If Jess could, she’d follow; if she didn’t follow, Umbrae would work her way to her side. Two males appeared on either side of the door, another next to Osiris’s fallen form. Two more were between her and Jess, swords crossed protectively in front of the female. Another was in the corner behind Jess where the voice had whispered. He had blood on his lip. Six huge males that could shadow and communicate enough to keep track of one another’s positions was more than Umbrae could win against, though she would die trying.

“Your brothers will not harm you, Umbrae.” The male in the corner offered in her general direction. “You can drop your shadow.” Brothers? She glanced to the faces of the males surrounding her.

Jess kept her eyes averted, letting Umbrae make up her mind without giving her shifting positions away. “Maybe you should introduce yourselves.” Jess suggested to Eros.

“Boys, introduce yourselves.” Eros leaned casually against the corner where he stood.

The one beside Osiris spoke first. “I am Victor.” The two on either side of Jess looked identical to each other.

“Brock.” On the right.

“Baden.” On the left.

She turned to the two still standing on either side of the entry. Both males seemed amused. Brothers? The question floated through her mind again.

“Jacob.” The male on the left spoke first.

“I’m not introducing myself if she’s going to hide from us.” The male on the right of the door stated.

Eros sighed “Fine, he’s Daniel.” The male at the door turned to the one on the opposite side, annoyed, but Jacob shrugged. “You’ve met us; will you allow us to meet you?”

She looked and took a moment to search each of the males’ faces. If they meant no harm, why did they continue to surround Jess? She worked her way over to Jess and grabbed her hand, towing the female out the open doorway. Jess stopped in the hallway. Umbrae tried to tug her further, but she refused to budge.

“Umbrae, they all look just like you, they can do what you do, they gave you a sword and told us how to defeat Osiris, and they are not threatening us. I think you should hear what they have to say.” Jess crossed her arms over her chest, the same pose she remembered Etana doing in her memories. Umbrae dropped her shadow and followed Jess back into the room. Jess’s expression became distracted and she smiled. “Shane’s here.” She clapped her hands in front of her chest. That would mean Enlil was almost here too … she hoped. Umbrae felt a shiver of anticipation.

“I’m sorry. I guess I should be thanking you.” Umbrae cleared her throat. “I have trust issues.” She tried for a jest; Fates, she sucked at sarcasm.

“You did well, Umbrae. You have no reason to be sorry or to thank us. We only learned of your existence a few weeks ago. It is I who should be apologizing to you … daughter.” There was sadness in Eros’s eyes.

Daughter? She turned to Jess, who was smiling at her. The female was no help at all. “If you didn’t know about me, how can I be your daughter?” She slid back into the bondage chair. It wasn’t like she could win a fight against them anyway. She probably should sit for this.

Eros stood from the wall to pace back and forth. “I loved every one of your brothers’ moms. All of the women I have loved have been heredity. Four of those women married me, lived their mortal lives with me, and bore me sons. They all knew what I was, what their sons were.” Eros pause his jaw ticked and his voice held sorrow when he resumed. “The last woman I loved was your mother. I showed her my true form before we married, but after our wedding night she fled me. I searched for months, only to learn she’d taken her own life. I didn’t detect her fertility, and there was never any mention of her having been pregnant or having a child.”

“How do you know I am from that union then?” This was all too much. The boys looked at each other.

“I went to kill my nephew.” He used his chin to indicative Osiris’s body. “I overheard Osiris when he contacted the Morsdente and gave him the information on how to find you and Jess in Mesa.” Umbrae looked over to the body and her stomach rolled. She’d killed her cousin. The knowledge didn’t negate her feeling of righteous empowerment. Kin or not Osiris was a monster. “I spent thousands of years searching for the Aquatie prince who killed my brother Tenebrae. When I found him, I learned the truth. The prince had ordered the destruction of Atlantis, and I was severely injured, though Tenebrae thought me dead. He volunteered to avenge the Volaticus. Osiris betrayed his own father to the Aquatie prince. The prince ambushed Tenebrae, boiled him, and sent his body back to the High Ones as a warning.” His eyes glanced at the body of Osiris again, filled with sadness. What kind of son betrays his own father?

“I decided to see why he was searching for two young Hulven females before destroying him.” Eros shrugged.

Umbrae met Jess’s gaze. Truth was, she still had no idea why Osiris had kidnapped her and Jess. His reference to a longing for family was pretty well mute in the face of his betrayal of his father. Only one reason made sense to her.

“Judging from this room, I’d say he wanted us for sex slaves or brood mares,” Umbrae offered, seeing Jess flinch out of the corner of her eye.

“I suspect he wanted to mate with … Jess, though I doubt that was his primary objective,” Eros said. “Jess’s abilities make her one of our bloodline’s weaknesses. He knew you were family somehow, so I doubt he held that intent with you. That may have been another reason to capture you both. Perhaps he was trying to circumvent the Fates and inadvertently brought his destiny to pass. Tenebrae told me an Oracle had told Osiris he would be killed by a shadowed siphon. However, that is not the real Osiris.” He shot the corpse an angry glare.

A long sigh warned he was getting back to Umbrae being his child. “While we were looking into you and Jess, Victor accessed your personnel file with the SOSC. It stated you were a shadower. We used the information we found in it to track down the orphanage you’d originally been kidnapped from. We thought we’d hit a dead end when we found it in ruins. Until we found several dispatches in the Vatican’s archived files, dispatches that had been sent by one of the nuns at the orphanage. Some of them referred to you. One gave the date you were sent into the anonymous orphan intake cylinder. It was the day your mother was said to have committed suicide. We returned to Scotland and learned that you had left for Mesa. We ported into the desert and heard rifle shots. We followed Osiris and his guards here.”

“I have five brothers,” Umbrae whispered as the sound of footsteps pounded down the stairs. Eros and her brothers shadowed.

“Six.” Another male entered and plopped on the floor next to her chair, smiling. “Sorry I’m late. I’m Othos. Thanks for leaving us some scraps. We had a hell of a fight.” She couldn’t help but smile back.

“Brae.” She looked toward the door, hearing Enlil’s voice, full of emotion. He stepped into the room and looked her head to foot. Stepping aside, he allowed Shane to catch a squealing Jess in his arms.