Chapter 43 – Shadows in the Dark

Chapter 43 – Shadows in the Dark
Calla’s POV

“You think he’s really alive?” I asked, still hearing that name echo in my ears. Dorian. A name Raiden had never spoken, one I thought belonged only to his past. His dead past.

There was a delay in Raiden's answer. His jaw got tight, and he looked into the forest with wide eyes as if he were looking for a ghost. Possibly he was.

Eventually, he said, "We buried him." "I saw his wreckage." Honorably burned.

After that, what was that? I moved closer and asked. "You believed it." His name was called out by the Shadow King.

Raiden looked into mine. His eyes were dark and filled with something I could not put my finger on. Maybe fear. Shame. His voice was low as he said, "If he is still alive, then I failed him."

The trees made a cracking sound before I could ask more. Something breaking.

We both turned at once.

Raiding got his sword out.

I tried to come to my senses.

There, shadows moving quickly through the trees. There is no smell. Heat not working.

killers.

I did not attend.

Call out and run! I screamed and grabbed Raiden's arm. It means "Now!"

Unfortunately, it was too late.

They were like smoke coming at us. They were black-robed figures with silver claws and blank faces. Absolutely no eyes. Keep your mouths shut. In the moonlight, it was just skin stretched over bone and blades that sparkled.

The warrior Raiden walked up to me with his sword drawn. Tell Calla to go. I will take care of them—

"No," I threatened. "All of us fight together."

He was not angry.

The first killer lunged at me very quickly. It did not bleed when I dodged low and cut across its leg. A dry, cold hissing sound came from it instead.

I had another one grab my arm.

I spun around, changing into a half-wolf shape (just enough for claws), and raked it across the face.

It is still not bleeding.

"Why are these things here?" I screamed.

"Not alive!" yelled Raiden. "Not completely."

From the trees came three more.

They were more than us.

Not as good.

It then grabbed Raiden by the throat and threw him against a tree. He gasped and struggled as the claws on it got stronger.

I ran at it and cut across its back. It dropped him and turned its eyes on me, making them look like they were full of darkness.

Raiden whispered, "Calla," as he tried to stand up. "Get behind me!"

It is too late now.

Another killer jumped out from behind and threw me to the ground. I hit the ground hard, and pain shot through my ribs. I just barely raised my arm in time as its claws came down on my chest.

Injuries were deep.

The noise made me scream.

I did not stop, though.

I moved everything about myself—fur, teeth, and strength—and growled to push it off of me. Rolling, jumping, and tearing its throat open with my jaws, I did all of these things.

The dead body turned into ash.

Themselves could die.

"Barricade!" I screamed. "Blow them up!"

He was on it already, cutting with deadly skill. He used his blade to kill two more.

But there was more.

Several dozen.

Someone was after us. This was not just an attack either.

There was a death here.

Regarding me.

It was Raiden who saw it.

He said out loud, "They are not after me." "They require you."

It made my blood run cold.

I moved back and leaned against him. We were shoulder to shoulder, and dark shadows were moving around us.

I informed them that the Shadow King had sent them. "To complete what Lysandra refused to do."

I could feel my heart beating in my ears.

I did not want to die.

Presently not.

Not when things were starting to get real.

After fixing so many things, I could not say no.

"Goal?" Raiden asked very quietly.

"Live," I told them.

I drew a deep breath and let the wolf run things.

The world was different.

Quicker. Simpler. Stronger smell than pain. Each step was a mix of instinct and memory.

We fought with swords, claws, and fire next to each other.

But there were way too many.

I had a cut. Getting cuts on my legs. This is my arm. These are my shoulders.

Raiden was limping and clearly had a cut on his side.

Later I saw it.

It got through one of them. An extended blade. Targeting him directly.

I said "No!" I snorted.

If I threw myself between them, the blow would hit me on the back.

The pain blew up.

While I was falling, Raiden caught me.

"Please call and say no."

I gasped, "I am fine," but I wasn't.

I felt like I was going to die just looking at him.

He told her, "You can not die." "You have to not."

It was getting darker again, though.

They got away from us.

I spoke in a whisper, "Downstream." It was the river. Our feet hit the ground.

He was unsure.

"Hacker. Tell me you trust me.

One nod from him.

We sprinted.

We were cut by branches and tripped by roots, and blood ran behind us. But the sound of water grew louder.

And the edge came fast.

What? A cliff.

Raging river below.

No time to think.

“Jump!” I screamed.

And we did.

The fall literally took my breath away. It was like ice hitting me, pulling me under and spinning me around in the dark.

I battled up.

Strangled.

Knuckled.

And then—air.

Raiden popped up next to me, coughing and reaching for me. Grabbing each other, we let the river carry us a long way.

Lots of miles away from the forest.

Far from the assassins.

A few hours later, we slid onto the muddy bank.

It was very quiet.

There is too little noise.

I shivered and fell down next to a tree.

While trying to stop my bleeding, Raiden got down on his knees next to me.

"Why do this now?" I inquired. "Why not earlier?"

First, he did not answer.

He later said, "Because you are too close."

It was awkward.

"Exactly what you say."

"to terminate him."

We sat there in silence, feeling sad and cold.

The Shadow King sent killers to kill us, not to scare us.

But lastly, we.

He was in a lot of pain.

That made me think he was scared.

You could also use fear.

Raiden's shoulder was closest to my head. "He is going wrong."

Raiden answered, "Yes." "And we must be ready."

I was not ready for what he said next.

"I actually believed I had lost you again."

I did not change. "You almost did."

Stop talking.

It was then that his hand touched mine.

Comfortable and warm.

Truthful.

There was no going back for a long time.

As I watched the sky get lighter.

The next time the Shadow King came for us, we knew—

We wouldn’t run.

But even as the sun rose, painting the sky gold, I knew the worst wasn’t over.

Because in the distance, on a ridge far above us, a shadow watched.

Still.

Please be quiet.

Unknown.