Page 5 of Sword & Shadow
Passing into the sunshine-yellow beams of light in the antechamber, Evylin felt an immediate sense of warmth spread through her. The metalwork windows bore images of suns, and as they walked farther, the light grew brighter. Their boots thumped against the stone floor, each soldier cautiously drawing weapons. Auden hesitated momentarily before placing a hand on the iron door. An immediatethunksounded the release of the Keep’s lock, then a rollingclick-click-clickaccompanied the door’s opening.
The rooftop garden of the Day Keep awaited them, a heavy brown sky hanging above them. But the moment Auden set foot inside, the sky flared to life. Yellow pulsed all around the tower, causing Evylin’s eyes to ache in its instant brightness. The sweet scent of flowers drifted to her nose as she moved along at the Mages’ backs. Vibrant grass and a pebbled path stretched to the back of the Keep, flowered bushes and trees guiding their way.
With cautious steps forward, the troop scanned every inch of the garden. The path led to a tall obelisk at the back of the Keep, where the entrance to the Chamber lay. Shifting her grip on the leather hilt of her sword, Evylin moved to Ilain’s side. Her heart started beating heavily in anticipation. She tried to grasp hold of the sensation, willing her magic to kick in. After their time inthe Water Keep, she’d yet to lock onto her powers as a Warrior again. It seemed to elude her, held away by the mundane depression she fought.
She feared that she couldn’t access it anymore and would fail her friends when they needed her most. But as the pebbles crunched beneath her feet and the golden light surrounded her there in the Keep, she found her senses coming alive with sharp relief.
Suddenly, Deckard moved to Evylin’s flank. “I hear them,” he said, sword raised in preparation.
Fanning out, Thom and Rafferty shifted before the Mages while Ethenn nocked an arrow, gazes keen on the roof’s edges. They took position not a moment too soon, as hundreds of Shades rose over the sides. The humming pulse of their presence filled Evylin’s ears, undulating with the creamy yellow light that fused their clay forms.
As though summoned by the magic itself, Evylin’s Warrior senses sharpened, her skin prickling with ready power. Her muscles grew taut with eagerness for action. She could see every blade of grass, feel every pebble under her boots, and hear her companions’ heightened breaths. The world slowed imperceptibly to allow her to take it in.
Thetwangof Ethenn’s bowstring drawing back signaled Evylin that the fight was about to begin, and she readied herself when Auden suddenly cried out, “Wait!”
Body primed to strike, Evylin nearly stumbled forward, and Ethenn fought to hold the tension on the string.
The Shades stood still at the tower’s edges, staring at the troop as their magical forms hummed.
Auden set a hand to the Day Relic. “It’s warm,” he said to Ilain.
Her hand flew to the Fire Relic at her breast. “Mine’s not.”
Red hair shining with a golden tint in the brightness, Auden took a step forward, surveying the Shades. “You,” he pointed to a particular Shade, “come here.”
As instructed, the Shade stepped forward while the rest remained still.
Though the threat seemed nonexistent, Evylin and Deckard exchanged a worried glance, weapons ready. Thom shifted uneasily on her other side.
Examining the Shade up close, Auden’s green gaze swept over it excitedly. The Shade bore no facial features, only an oblong head. Its form mimicked humanity in the most rudimentary way, as though someone had shaped their clay but had not taken the time to put in the details.
“No one has ever....” Auden paused as though remembering their business here in the Keep. He looked up to where the Shade’s eyes should have been. “You are under my control?”
The Shade’s glow winked once as if in answer, and Auden gasped. “I heard it,” he murmured, then looked to Ilain. “I heard it in my head. They can speak through the Relic.”
Mouth ajar, Ilain blinked rapidly. “We don’t have time for study, Auden.”
He nodded as though trying to convince himself, turning back to the Shade. “You will let us pass unharmed?”
Another wink of light.
“Will you join us below in the Chamber?”
This time, the light winked twice.
Auden frowned. “No,” he translated for the troop. “I’d hoped we could take them with us into Night.”
“Too good to be true,” Ilain quipped.
Relaxing his stance, Deckard let his sword lower, and Evylin followed his lead. She could hear the other men easing beside them. Ethenn shook out his arm, taxed from holding the bow taut for so long.
Auden dismissed the Shades with a near-reluctant tilt to his voice. He was ever the magister, a scholar seeking new knowledge. His eyes carefully studied the Shades as they retreated down the sides of the tower and out of sight, their hum receding with them.
Rafferty clapped a hand onto Auden’s shoulder. “Not to worry, Highlord,” he teased. “With that Relic around your neck, I’m sure they’d happily let you come back and prod them to death in pursuit of academia.”
As Ilain chuckled along with Rafferty, the Mages made for the path. Ethenn jogged around them to move to the front. He kept an arrow nocked as he ensured the way was clear. Evylin looked up at the Deckard brothers, one on either side. “Too good to be true?” she muttered to them.
Thom let out a huff.
