The Land Of Shadows (12 page)

“I only heard moaning, dark whispers. What do you hear, Luna?” I shake my head in reply. There is no way I’m telling him.

“Tell me!” His face grows grim when I refuse to answer him.

I mouth the word ‘no’ and silently make a promise to never tell him that his mentor and King are both stuck in the pits of Hell. I will follow Alchera tonight! I will free their souls by killing Void. I will set King Eryon and Aurian free!

“You really cannot continue to go on like this, Luna. You need to allow me to help you.” He sighs heavily and glances at Raighne. “There is something I have to set right with you, something about that day – the day I died.”

“Storm!” Raighne attempts to get closer to us while he shields his eyes from my bright light.

“I have to! She has blamed herself all this time.” Storm takes my hand in his and smiles faintly. “Raighne met me early that morning for training and the weather was good, the air was moist. I started out with silly things. I fooled around with whirlwinds and hail, and then added some tornadoes and an ice storm for more effect. Everything was going well until Raighne said we should try a hurricane. I felt so confident … so did he.” I watch as he inhales deeply and then brings my hand to his lips, placing a kiss on the tip of my fingers. Every time he speaks, his lips brush cold against my skin and when he exhales I feel his icy breath against me. “The reason Raighne trained me is because of his talent to move things. He kept control over my storms while I practiced them, but with the hurricane I did not concentrate enough. Raighne was controlling the winds which were swirling around us at great speeds. That was before I decided to create the lightning.”

I remember that day as if it happened yesterday. I was so amazed by everything Storm could do.

He continues, a sad look clouding his eyes. “At first everything was going well, but then I grew arrogant and created an orb of electricity with voltage that was so high it could have destroyed the village. I did not think, I only wanted to see how far I could push myself.” Storm chokes on his words and it’s the first time I see him struggle to remain calm. “I do not know what I was thinking when I did it, but Raighne was already controlling a full-blown hurricane when I suddenly decided to throw the orb at him. He did what any normal Immortal would have done. His only defense was the wind I had created and he ended up throwing the whole hurricane back at me. It slammed the orb of electricity into my chest, right into my heart. The very thing I am made of killed me that day. My own storm was my demise.”

Storm brushes his lips over my fingers. He looks at me, while tightening his hold on my hand. “Your small orb of light did nothing to me, Luna. You can never do me any harm. You have seen it yourself these past days. I absorb what you have.”

I can barely suck in a breath. “I was not responsible for your death?” With my light fading I turn to Raighne. “Why did you let me believe it was me?” My heart is breaking from a feeling I cannot understand. “You treated me like a murderer when you knew it was not my fault?”

‘Vengeance, revenge, tsk … tsk. Where is the justice these days?’

I stop at the voice hissings around me. This voice is not like the others that have been whispering in my mind, it’s much darker. I react automatically, getting ready to come face-to-face with my own worst nightmare. I know he’s here.

~*~

Death, I leave my door open to you but still you pass me by. If even
you
reject me, what a poor soul I must have!

To take another in my place is surely death meant for my heart.

Storm~

Luna suddenly rips her hand from mine and wildly looks around. Her whole body tenses. “What is it?” I look around but don’t see anything that can be a danger.

She doesn’t answer me, sparing only a worried glance in my direction. Cautiously she starts to move away as if I’m an enemy about to attack her. Confused, I watch as she takes a fighting stance, the very one I taught her. Is she mad? I’m not going to fight her! I just wanted to let her know the truth!

“Luna, I am sorry for not telling you sooner but I was unaware you held yourself responsible,” I quickly explain. I take a step toward her but she holds her hand up to silence me.

That’s when the air stirs over the back of my neck and the feel of cold fingers running down my spine puts every one of my senses on full alert.

“He is here,” she whispers, her eyes filling with dread.

I try taking another step closer to her, but she quickly steps away from me, holding both her hands up between us as a barrier.

And then I hear it. The dark voice sends shivers of disgust racing over my skin.
“You are not going to seek revenge for all the pain you have lived with all these years? Come on, Luna. I expected more from you. This day is turning out to be such a disappointment.”
An eerie emptiness fills the air as the voice tries to provoke Luna.

“Show yourself!” she screams and a determination I have never before seen, makes her look like the guardian I have trained all these years. I can feel energy pulsing in her, begging to be set free. She’s so beautiful in this moment.

The eerie emptiness becomes thicker as creepy laughter echoes around us.

“Go back to the Hell you came from, Void!” Shock ices my veins at hearing that name from Luna. I want to grab her and run, not stay and fight the monster she has just unmasked. Her hands begin to shimmer as she lifts her chin an inch into the air.

Void’s voice thunders with anger, and I can see even Raighne is weary of the danger stalking around us. “You challenge
me
? Do you think you can destroy
me
? You are but a speck of dust in this universe that I can bend at my will!”

Luna’s body is suddenly jerked back and away from me. “Luna!” My cry is raw as total fear of the voice I had hoped to never hear, fills me with dread.

~*~

Luna~

I have no control as my body is pulled through the air. Trees rush past me as my body flies faster. I slam hard into a tree and white hot pain pierces me. It feels as if my back might break in half as I start to fall to the ground. The impending plunge is going to cause a great deal of pain. I curse myself for not being more prepared, for letting him get the upper hand.

The fall turns out to be more painful than I imagined it would be. I slam into branch after branch. The branches tear at my clothes, and my skin. Plummeting to the ground like a shooting star I glow brighter, as I brace myself for the final impact. A smile steals across my lips as I think at how surprised Void must be. He can’t get rid of me so easily. Surviving this fall with nothing but a few scratches will show Void what I’m truly made of.

My body jerks to a sudden stop. Pain sears through my insides as a branch pierces right through me. My lips part on a painful gasp, but it’s muted by blood gurgling up in my throat. The pain is too excruciating to comprehend and for a moment I try to breathe through it.

Slowly, I look down at the branch that has turned into a stake and ripped right through my torso. I won’t survive this! This is not how I’m supposed to die! I’m supposed to kill Void.

I fight to keep the dizzying darkness at bay. The situation hits home and numbs my mind. I try to take shallower breaths and think the pain away, but it is unbearable and overwhelms me.

Glancing up at the young Hunter’s Moon, I attempt to draw some energy from it. I need more strength if I want to get myself out of this mess.

“Luna! Do not dare move!” Storm yells from below. He sounds worse then I feel. How is that even possible, I’m the one in pain?

The air starts to chill around me and my breaths come out in quick, little white puffs. My body feels broken beyond repair and I realize that even if I get down, Void will be able to take me out with a flick of his finger. Why he doesn’t do it now, I’ll never understand.

The drops of blood on my face start to freeze. I feel Storm’s weight as he steps onto the branch and I can’t keep back my cry. It sounds awful, gurgling past the blood, and it brings a new wave of dizziness crashing over me. He slows as he moves toward me and doesn’t speak a word as he assesses the damage done to my body.

“P-pretty bad?” I stutter. I’m freezing and the pain is eating away at me. I try to smile but I know I’m not very successful. Tears flood my eyes, and spill over my cheeks but they freeze immediately. “S-Storm … you are f-freezing m-me.” I start to lose all feeling in my body except for the endless shivering. My concentration is slipping, and as I struggle to keep my eyes open a thin layer of ice begins to coat my clothes and skin.

“I know.” Storm takes hold of my hand that’s gripped tightly around the branch sticking from my chest. His touch is an icy shock to my system. “Let me have a look,” he whispers, his voice thick with worry.

He forces my fingers loose from the piece of wood. “You have to let go and trust me.” It starts to snow, the temperature dropping well below the freezing point.

“W-why?” My icy breath carries the word to him.

“I am freezing you so your blood will not run as fast and you will be numb to the pain, at least some of it. Close your eyes, Love. I am going to pull you free now.” Storm’s voice is so tender I want to curl up against his chest and cry. A cold wind starts to blow icily around us. I fight to keep my eyes open, needing to see what he is doing.

Storm moves from the branch and I want to cry out to him to be careful, that he’ll fall, but the strong wind catches him and keeps him in the air. I feel movement on my back and over my ribs. When I glance down I see his hands are just below the branch, pressing flat against my stomach. Without any warning he pulls me toward him, and free. Bile rises and blood gurgles in my throat. Once freed from the stake, Storm holds my frozen body to his, taking us to the ground. When my feet touch the ground, Storm doesn’t let go of me. He holds me tightly, as if he fears losing me.

“I am so very sorry for what happened. I wish I could make your pain my own.” Storm sounds so close to tears and it makes me want to cry. It keeps me from the sleep that threatens to steal me away.

“You did not do this.” I have to be strong in this moment and I inject steel into my voice. I pull myself free from his arms, forcing my legs to carry my weight. “Storm, you need to take the others and leave.”

He shakes his head firmly in response and it makes me feel frustrated. I don’t want him to get hurt!

“Please, Storm! If you care for me at all you will do me this one thing. Trust me,
please
.” I can’t afford for Void to direct his attention to anyone else but me. This is my destiny, my death – not theirs.

“Peace be,” Void’s sneering voice sends a new wave of eerie chills through my body, “so called child of the Moon.” His humorless laughter echoes through the growing dark night.

I look up to my moon and draw as much energy from it as I can, so I will heal faster. I need all my strength to face Void. My torso burns and aches as it starts to heal.

Void’s shadows invade my mind and this time they don’t claw for control of my senses, they search for my soul. Void makes his appearance and I dig my nails into my palm. My wound is almost healed. I just need a few more seconds!

I face Void for the first time and as much as I want to hide in fear, I know I can’t. Darkness, death, and all that’s evil – the worst being to ever be given life is here standing a few feet from me, and I’m a trembling mess. I have to at least try! Without taking my eyes off the monster before me, I draw everything I can from my young moon. I can feel the wound is almost gone.

“Storm made for such immense entertainment, do you not think? Ahh, but you … you enthrall me, my little moonflower. Your mind is not an easy one to get into.” Void starts to close in on me, a sly smile playing on his cruel face.

I raise my hands in a protective manner, preparing to strike. I swallow the fear welling up in my throat and spare a prayer to Mara. She promised to be with me.

“Oh, no … no … no. We will play this game by
my
rules. Let us see how good you truly are.” He shimmers away before I can take my next breath, and terror fills me.

~*~

Storm~

It feels as if horror is crushing the very life out of me. This can’t be happening! That monster is not here, threatening the woman I love. I look around me and everyone looks horrified and scared, even Raighne.

“Alchera! Where is Alchera?” Luna screams. “I have to find her!” Luna closes her eyes, presses her fingers to her temple, and then she blurts out, “She is by the Virtues River.”

My jaw drops open. It seems I’m in for quite a few shocks and surprises today. How did she know that?

Raighne and Luna share a look, and I must be missing some unspoken language, because they suddenly both run off at a fast pace.

“Luna, where…?” I stop calling after her, knowing it will be a waste. I look to her father. “Call Alder! Tell him where we have gone and what has happened.” I set after them, hoping I’m in time to help.

I arrive in time to hear Alchera’s angry yell echo across the valley. “I’m not going home!” She spots me coming and her frown grows darker. “Storm, too? Is the whole village coming to drag me back?” How can she be this angry? How can she not see the state Luna is in? Surely she must notice something is wrong?

“Void has come for you!” Luna’s voice is just as harsh, and I don’t blame her. I feel like shaking some sense into Alchera! “We need to get you to safety.”

Raighne stalks up to Alchera, an old familiar flame burning in his eyes. He clenches his teeth and I can see he is doing his best to control his temper.

“As you so frequently say, ‘What the hell are you thinking? Do you want me to die of a heart attack?” For the first time in ages he raises his voice against her.

“Don’t you dare yell at me! I’m going to save Carter, with or without your permission. I can’t just leave him there to rot away. He saved my life! He’s my friend.” Her voice now matches his, with her own anger burning hot. It feels as if I should take Luna and go, leaving the two of them to have it out.

“You will do no such thing! Over my dead body!” Raighne almost loses it at hearing Carter’s name come from Alchera’s lips.
Maybe it’s a good thing we’re here after all. You know, to keep the peace … or pick up the pieces.

“That can be arranged,” Alchera snaps. Her remark has Luna giggling, and I tap her on the arm, shaking my head once to silence her. The last thing she needs is Raighne’s wrath after the tension and horror she just endured.

“Alchera! So help me Awo…!” Raighne growls at her as his frustration grows. He must not be used to her going against him anymore, and certainly not for a man he wants to rip apart with his bare hands. I can sympathize with him. I would feel the same way if Luna wanted to do the ‘right’ thing for Rue.

Raighne rubs his hands over his face, clearly frustrated. When he glares back at Alchera, she automatically takes a step back from him and I take one forward - he looks like he’s about to kill someone. Now is not the time for him to lose it.

“I will stop you from going to that monster one way or another.” His voice has never been filled with so much hatred and vengeance, forcing me to step in.

“Raighne, be calm.” Fear flashes across Alchera’s face. The situation is getting out of hand and the last thing I want to do is go face-to-face with Raighne to protect his wife against him! What is going on with them? I’ve never seen them act this way. They are Vaalbara’s dream couple.

“You stay out of this! This is between me and my wife. A wife who obviously feels she has made the wrong choice.” His breathing grows shallow, as he takes another threatening step toward Alchera.

“I didn’t make the wrong choice, Raighne! I just want to help him. He’s my friend, I
have
to!” Alchera pleads with Raighne to understand, and I ready myself to move at any given moment.

“I said I will stop you. I said over my dead body, and as you so foolishly stated, that can be arranged. Let us arrange it then. You will have to kill me in order to leave me for another man – a man who tried to kill you twice and promised to return for a third try.”

Raighne leaps for Alchera with such speed that he is a split-second faster than me. Silver light pulses a hair’s breadth past my chest and knocks Raighne off his feet. I stagger to a standstill as the orb sizzles to nothing, evaporating next to a now unconscious Raighne. I don’t know if I should be thankful or angry as I turn back to Luna. One look at her clears my doubts away. She stands ready for another attack with no sight of the gaping wound. It looks as if the moon is trying to burst from within her as she emanates a soft glow.

“Something is really wrong here,” Luna says. She eyes Raighne as he comes to, shaking the dizziness from his head.

I am just about to offer him my hand when a menacing voice surges through the late twilight, churning the air all around us. “Oh, this night is a masterpiece in the making. Raighne has given us such a beautiful performance. Do you not think so, my dearest Sweetling? I wanted to show you how easy it is for me to slip into someone’s mind. Just look how easy it has been to slip into your mind over the past few months. Hmm … and what an enchanting mind you have, Alchera.We are going to have so much fun together. Thank you, my moonflower, for taking Raighne out of the picture. Now, it is time to have some real fun.” Void’s delighted drawl has us all frozen in horror … everyone but Alchera.