Sign of the Throne: Book One in the Solas Beir Trilogy (27 page)

“Fine. It can have the car.”

“Make you a deal,” David said, slamming the door behind them. “If we kill that thing, I’ll get you a new Mustang. Seeing how you saved my life and all.”

“You better.”

“I will,” David promised.

Abby looked around the living room—where was everyone? The Buchans’ car was outside, so they had to be home. “Cassandra? Riordan?” Abby called.

“Up here in the office!” Riordan shouted from his study upstairs. Abby could hear an edge to his voice—something was wrong. The lights in the house began to flicker.

“Okay David, you and Jon get the silver, and I’ll grab the salt,” Abby said.

David beckoned Jon to follow him into the dining room and Abby ran to the kitchen. Through the kitchen door, Abby could see that there was an uneaten meal on the table—she was even more worried now. She heard a clatter as David and Jon scooped up silverware from the sideboard. They met Abby in the hall near the stairs. She had commandeered several containers of salt.

“The salt won’t hold the beast for long,” she explained, “but maybe it will buy us time to figure out how to kill it.” She turned and charged up the stairs with David and Jon close behind.

Abby led the way to Riordan’s office. As she stepped into the room, a large black shadow cat emerged from behind a stack of books piled on the floor; it hissed and jumped at her. Screaming, she poured salt on it, reducing it to a smoking ruin of black sludge. David and Jon hurried into the room, looking alarmed. “I’m okay,” she said, waving them off. “It tried to bite me, but I annihilated its butt.”

David let out a low whistle and grinned. “I’ll say. Nicely done.”

Abby started to smile, but then the lights began to flicker again
, and Riordan called out, “I’m sorry, Abby—we should have left when you warned us. I believed you—I just didn’t know what they were like—I didn’t
know
…” He sounded scared.

Abby looked across the room
to see him and Cassandra backed up against the bay windows, holding their children. Riordan was pressing Rowan’s head against his chest, as if trying to shield the toddler from seeing more than he already had. Siobhan’s little face was burrowed in her mother's long auburn hair; a lock of it and part of her blouse were balled up in a death-grip in the frightened girl's fist. Ciaran was hiding behind Cassandra, his arms clutching her leg. As he looked up at Abby, she could see the terror in his eyes. The little ones might be too young to fully grasp what was happening, but Ciaran knew, and he was trembling.
There was no sign of Moira.

“We were eating dinner,” Cassandra said, her eyes wide with horror. “They just appeared out of thin air. Suddenly they were
everywhere
.” She nodded her head toward the ceiling.

Abby looked up. The ceiling was covered with black shadow cats—they started to slink down the walls, bristling and dripping toxic oil, surrounding the humans. Quickly, Abby, David, and Jon crossed the room to the Buchans. Abby poured a circle of salt around everyone, and David handed silver eating utensils to Riordan and Cassandra. Abby also swiped Riordan’s silver-plated, dagger-shaped letter opener from his desk, studying her choice as she held it out threateningly. It wasn’t very sharp, but it was better than a fork or a butter knife.

David watched with horror as the Kruorumbrae advanced to the circle’s edge—but they were not crossing. Maybe the salt boundary would hold them back. There was a larger, lemur-like cat in their midst, about the size of a German shepherd. It walked right up to the line of salt and sat down on its haunches. Its rotting smell was all too familiar to David. A Cheshire cat grin was carved into one side of its face, and the other was ruined, dripping. David thought he could make out the spiraled shape of a nautilus in that mushy flesh. There was something disturbingly human about the feline face, like it belonged to a child. It clicked its tongue knowingly at him, chiding him like a scolding parent. Then it turned its red eyes on Abby.

“Well hello, girlie. Remember me?” it asked. “Why did you run away last night? Didn’t you want to play?”

David could see the terror in Abby’s eyes as she stepped back. He stepped in front of Abby, shielding her. “Leave her alone.”

Undeterred, the creature turned to David, continuing its singsong mocking. “I
love
to play. Your parents did too.”

“Leave my parents out of this.”

The thing laughed, clearly amused. “Too late.”

It’s lying,
David thought.
It has to be. My parents are not dead.
He understood the creature was baiting him, trying to pick a fight so he would leave the safety of the circle. But in his heart, David knew the creature might be telling the truth. The thought terrified him.

Riordan reached out and swiped at the creature with a silver knife. He had a clear shot while it was distracted, but he was holding Rowan, and the added weight threw him off balance. He missed and stumbled, almost dropping the chubby toddler.

Instantly, the Shadow turned its attention to Riordan, crossing the line with one long-fingered paw as its jaws snapped at the air where Riordan’s hand had been a split second before. The flesh around the claws smoked and fizzed, and the creature pulled its paw back. It settled on its haunches nonchalantly and inspected the wound. Then it casually licked the burn, delicately stretching out its fingers to get between the talons.

When it spoke again, its tone of voice was dryly mocking, the lilt of playfulness gone. “Careful, Daddo. That circle will only help you if you stay
in
it. But you know, sooner or later you’re all going to have to come out.”

“Get away from us,” Abby said, her voice low.

David looked at her. The fear in her eyes had been replaced by a look of determination. He took her hand and squeezed it.

The creature simply smiled and put a claw-tipped finger to its lips. “Shhhhh…hush now.”
It began to pace back and forth, dangerously close to the salt boundary, its voice loud and animated like the ringmaster at a very disturbed circus. “Laaaaadies and gentlemen! Your attention please! Please keep your hands, feet, arms, aaaaand legs inside the circle at all times! Any fleshy bits crossing the line will promptly be removed! And hold on tight to those little kiddies—there’s nothing we enjoy more than fresh-faced baby! Mmmm-MMMM!”

The other shadow cats tittered in response and crept closer to the circle. They seemed to be vibrating collectively with some kind of energy. They looked ravenous.

Suddenly the whole house shook. There was a loud crash from somewhere downstairs, and then the old, wooden stairs strained and creaked as something huge ascended.

The creature taunting the humans smiled broadly and giggled, its long, furry tail twitching manically in anticipation. The other Shadows pressed together, close to the salt boundary, waiting and hungry.

Large as a bull, the cat thing that had smashed Jon’s car entered the room, its bulky shoulders knocking the doorframe loose. The creature’s hairless skin was taut, stretched across thickly muscled limbs. The beast’s barreled rib cage and brawny abdomen were big enough that a large man could easily fit inside. David glanced down at Abby, and couldn’t help thinking how she could fit in there with room to spare if the creature devoured her. He would die before he let that foul thing touch her.

The beast’s eyes burned red-hot and its nostrils flared with rage. Its voice was a low growl, deliberate, deadly, as it addressed the lemur-like creature. “Malden. Stop toying with the meat-bags. You will be feasting on them soon enough.”

At this, the smaller creature grinned wickedly, its tongue running over what was left of its lips. The other Shadows grew frenzied, pressing even closer to the line. Those on the edge of the salt boundary got singed and didn’t seem to notice. The humans were tantalizingly close, and the Shadows had but one collective desire: to feed. The tiny band of humans squeezed as closely together as they could, pressed up against the glass of the second-story windows, clutching the three children tightly out of reach.

David could feel Abby’s heart beating wildly as she leaned up against him. He held her tight, trying to calm the panicked beat of his own heart.

“Stop.” A voice rang out, strong, clear, and authoritative.

To David’s astonishment, the smaller Shadows immediately stepped back from the line; a path cleft between them as they broke into two groups that settled quietly on either side of the room. Malden’s mad grin vanished. He tucked his tail between his legs, backing away submissively to stand on the right side of the room. The beast, however, stood its ground, turning to face the speaker.

“I said stop, Calder.” Moira Buchan stood in the battered doorway. Although she was tiny in comparison to the monster, she held her head up and her body straight and tall, not hunched over with age. Her face was still lined and weathered, but her eyes burned—dark, piercing, and ageless.

The creature met her gaze and growled defiantly, as if it meant to strike her down.

“Aunt Moira!” David cried. He was no longer angry about their argument the night before—he only feared for her. He couldn’t stand there and let the beast slaughter her. He started to cross the line so he could reach her and pull her to safety. Jon and Abby grabbed his arms to prevent him from leaving the circle. “No!” He struggled against them. “It’s going to kill her!”

“You
can’t
, man,” Jon said. His grip was like iron. “There’s no way you can reach her without it getting you.”

“Please, David,” Abby pleaded. “If anything happens to you, everything falls apart.”

David conceded and took a step back. They were right. The beast wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if it got the chance. As he studied Moira, a thought troubled him.
Calder. She called it Calder. How could she know about Calder?

As if in answer, the beast growled and lunged toward Moira. She calmly raised one hand, and the creature crumpled to the floor, writhing in pain.

“How dare you?” she asked. “How dare you defy
me
?” Thick black smoke swirled around her, starting at her feet, then rising upward. Her dark eyes burned red through the haze, and there was an audible ripping sound. When the smoke cleared, Moira was gone. Almost.

In her place stood a tall, proud woman with silvery blonde hair, wearing a thin, flowing sheath of the same color. Her face was young, fiercely beautiful. The shell that had been Moira Buchan’s body lay at her feet, a tattered, semitransparent husk, not unlike an outgrown exoskeleton cast from the body of a shedding cicada.

“Lucia?” Abby whispered.

“No,” insisted David. “
No
.”

Calder looked at David. He struggled to his feet, chuckling. “Yes.
Yes.
”

Lucia said nothing. She met David’s unbelieving gaze, her dark eyes ancient and knowing. Then she turned back to Calder.

The monster was fully on his feet again, and looked no less defiant than before. “I dare,” he replied coldly, “because you are weak.”

“Weak?” Lucia scoffed.

“
Weak
.” Calder spat the word. “Too weak to follow through on the one thing Tierney wanted of you. You should have killed the boy long ago. But have no worry. I will finish the job for you.”

“Fool!” Lucia cried. “You stupid, hulking fool!”

Calder roared, advancing toward her. She held up her hand, and he kept his distance.

“You know nothing of the old magic,” Lucia said. “The boy was an innocent. Shedding his blood would have undone our efforts—the balance of fate would have tipped in their favor, and he would have become a martyr, inspiring them to victory.”

“Lies. Nothing but lies,” Calder said. “Citing the old magic is nothing more than an empty excuse for your weakness. But it doesn’t matter, because he’s not so innocent now, is he? He has been with the humans too long—he smells of them. The boy who would be Solas Beir must die.”

Lucia faltered. “Fool. There’s no need. We need only keep him from returning.” Around her, David could see the Kruorumbrae shifting restlessly. She was losing her control over them.

“All these years of useless obedience to
her
will, and she has kept the truth from us all,” Calder scoffed, addressing the Kruorumbrae. He looked at her and laughed. “Poor Lucia. All this time in exile, and for what? Do you really think the Kruor um Beir ever loved you? That he will actually want
you
when he takes the throne?”

She didn’t answer.

“The only reason Tierney gave you so much power is so he could use you to destroy the Solas Beir,” Calder spat. “Nothing more.”

David could see that the beast hit a nerve—Lucia was
furious
. “And the reason you have
no
power is because you never learned to respect your master.” With that, she raised both hands, unleashing the full force of her power in a burst of electric blue energy.

Calder writhed in agony. Malden and the other Shadows stood still, mesmerized and excited by his pain. There was no loyalty here—the Kruorumbrae were feeding off his pain and fear as they would anyone else’s.